Глава 17

1–3. The plight of Damascus 4–6. and the kingdom of Israel. 7–11. The reason for the fall of the kingdom of Israel. 12–14. Revenge on the devastators of the Israeli country. Isaiah 17:1–6. The prophet predicts the fall of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel, which were at war with Judea, and entered into an alliance with each other. Isa.17:1. Prophecy about Damascus. - Behold, Damascus is excluded from the number of cities and will be a heap of ruins. When was this prophecy made? Since it speaks of the impending destruction of the power of Damascus, and this event took place under the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pilezer in 732, when an Assyrian governor was installed in Damascus instead of the king, the prophecy should have been pronounced earlier than this year and even earlier than 735, before the invasion of the allied troops into Judea, because not a word is said about this invasion. "Damascus" - see Isaiah 15:2. By Damascus, most likely, we mean all of Syria, of which Damascus was the capital city. The fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy can be judged by one of the inscriptions of Tiglath-Pilezer, which reads: “I ordered countless numbers (of Syrians) to be beheaded; I besieged and took the palace of Adar, the father of Rezinov, which stood on inaccessible mountains; eight thousand inhabitants with their property, Mitiniti from Askapon... took into captivity; I made 500 (18 according to Smith’s reading) cities from the districts of the Damascus country like a heap of garbage.” (Compare 2 Kings 16). However, after this destruction, Damascus was soon restored again, as can be seen from the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. To this day it is one of the flourishing cities of the East. Isa.17:2. The cities of Aroer will be abandoned - they will remain for the herds that will rest there, and there will be no one to frighten them. “Cities of Aroer”, i.e., the cities of eastern Palestine, where there were two Aroer - one east of Rabbi Ammon (Joshua 13:25), the other on Arnon (Joshua 12:2); the first belonged to the tribe of Gad, the second to Reuben. Probably, the prophet from all the cities of the Trans-Jordanian country mentions these cities for the sake of example and because of the consonance of their name (Aroer) with the Hebrew word denoting the concept of a city (ar). From Damascus, the cloud of God's wrath travels, therefore, across Gilead to the south, through the possessions of the kingdom of Israel and then passes to the western side of the Jordan, to the very center of the kingdom of Israel. The prophecy that Gilead would become depopulated was fulfilled. Currently this country is in desolation; only in places there are tribes of wild, predatory Arabs found there (Protean of Olives, Biblical Geography, vol. I, p. 86). Isa.17:3. The stronghold of Ephraim and the kingdom of Damascus with the rest of Syria will no longer exist; The same thing will happen to them as to the glory of the children of Israel, says the Lord of hosts. “The Stronghold of Ephraim,” i.e., support for the kingdom of Ephraim or Israel, which Damascus has long served as - the Kingdom of Damascus, i.e. Damascus will cease to be the capital of an independent state - Syria will find itself under the rule of the Assyrians. "With the rest of Syria". that is, what remains in Syria (after the invasion of the Assyrians) will have a fate identical to the fate of the kingdom of Israel or the sons of Israel, who were taken captive to Assyria (2 Kings 17:6), Isa.17:4. And it will happen in that day that Jacob’s glory will diminish, and his fat body will become lean. "Jacob's glory will be diminished." Here, of course, is the same kingdom of Israel that was discussed in verse 3. "His fat body". These words indicate the strength and vastness of the kingdom of Israel compared to the kingdom of Judah. The populous and strong tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, around which the rest of the Israeli clans were grouped as one family, looked at the tribe of Judah with some contempt, or perhaps distrust. The exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Palestine was carried out under the leadership of the Josephites... Joshua, Jeroboam - in a word, all outstanding people, up to and including Samuel, came from this family... After the death of Solomon, the Jewish kings somehow fell into vassal dependence on the Israelis; they, at least, were forced by force to enter into an alliance with them, which subordinated them to the northern rulers... The House of Joseph stood spiritually above the tribe of Judah, as, we add, in relation to natural wealth (Chamberlain G.S. Jews, their origin and the reasons for their influence in Europe. St. Petersburg, 1906, pp. 164–166). Isa.17:5. It will be the same as when the reaper gathers the grain, when his hand reaps the grain, and when the grain is gathered in the valley of Rephaim. Isa.17:6. And he will have, as happens when olive trees are trimmed, two or three berries at the very top, or four or five on the fruitful branches, says the Lord, God of Israel. The “reaper” was supposed, according to the law of Moses (Lev. 19:9), not to reap all the ears of grain, but to leave a few ears of grain in the field, which could later be collected by the poor. The “Valley of Rephaim” was located southwest of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:7) and was very fertile. As for the Rephaim, after whom this valley is named, they most likely mean the ancient inhabitants of Palestine - the Ammorites, since both Hebrew names - Ammorite and Rephaim - mean tall people. Isaiah 17:7–11. The cause of the death of the kingdom of Israel was, on the one hand, oblivion of the true God and, on the other, a passion for idolatry. After the admonition received from the hand of God, Israel will again turn to the true God. Isa.17:7. On that day man will turn his gaze to his Creator, and his eyes will be directed towards the Holy One of Israel; Isa.17:8. and he will not look at the altars, at the work of his hands, and he will not look at what his fingers have made, at the images of Ashtoreth and Baal. “Idols of Astarte” - in Hebrew. haascherim. Most likely, here we mean specially processed wooden columns - symbols of the goddess of the moon and fertility Asherah or, in Chaldean, Istar (see Interpretation of the Bible on the book of Judges 3:7 - vol. 2, and on 1 Kings 14:15 - ibid.). “Idols... of Baal” - in Hebrew. hachamanim, i.e. pillars erected in honor of the sun god (chamah), Baal (see Interpretation of the Bible, vol. 2, to 1 Kings 16:32). Isa.17:9. On that day its fortified cities will be like ruins in the forests and on the tops of the mountains, abandoned before the children of Israel, and it will be desolate. "Ruins in the Woods". The newest critics consider it more natural to translate the LXX to this place and translate the words of the 2nd half of the verse as follows: “like the ruins remaining from the cities of the Gevites and the Amorites.” Isa.17:10. For you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not remembered the rock of your refuge; That’s why he planted pleasure gardens and planted cuttings from someone else’s vine. "Pleasure Gardens". Many of the newest critics (Duhm, Marti, Condamin, etc.) believe that we are talking about gardens in honor of Adonis, the favorite of Venus; torn to pieces by a boar and then revived again in the month of June. This month was called the month of Adonis by the Greeks. Greek women in special gardens dedicated to Adonis remembered his revival, sacrificing their innocence, after first coping with sadness on the day of his death. The very word naamanim - “pleasure” - resembles the Greek name of the flower dedicated to Adonis, ανεμωνη (in Arabic the red anemone is called: Adonis’s wound). In all likelihood, the Jews borrowed the cult of Adonis from the Syrians (2 Kings 16:10–13), who themselves became acquainted with him in Phenicia. Many interpreters identify Adonis with Thammuz mentioned in the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 8:14). “Cuttings from a foreign vine” is an allusion to the Israelis’ fascination with foreign cults (cf. Jer. 2:21). Isa.17:11. On the day of your planting, you took care that it would grow and that what you sown would bloom early; But on the day of gathering there will not be much harvest, but severe tribulation. “You cared” – from Hebrew. "fenced". The Prophet wanted to say that Israel carefully supported pagan cults and idolatry, like a grain sown in the ground, but the next morning Israel sprouted sprouts and flowers! But Israel received no benefit from this: on the day of the harvest (fruits) Israel will find only great sorrow in its field! Isaiah 17:12–14. The prophet already hears the noise made by the troops coming from Assyria to the Israeli country and at the same time calms the subjects of the Jewish king by indicating that the Lord will destroy these troops when they want to attack Jerusalem. Isa.17:12. Alas! the noise of many peoples! They make noise like the noise of the sea. Roar of the tribes! they roar like strong waters roar. "The Noise of Nations". The Assyrian troops consisted of warriors belonging to various peoples conquered by Assyria. “How... they roar” is a comparison reminiscent of the description of the invasion of the Assyrian king on Palestine in Chapter. 8th (v. 7 et seq.). Isa.17:13. The nations roar as mighty waters roar; but He threatened them and they ran far and were driven like dust over the mountains by the wind and like dust by a whirlwind. "But He". God stops these armies, rushing forward like mighty waters, with one threatening lift of a finger. "Like dust". that is, like fine dust thrown up on mountain roads by the strong wind that always blows in the mountains. Isa.17:14. Evening - and what a horror! and before morning he was no longer there. This is the fate of our robbers, the lot of our destroyers. "Evening". The Jews were terribly frightened by the invasion of the Assyrians who appeared under the walls of Jerusalem; but at night 180 thousand of the Assyrian army were destroyed by the Angel of the Lord (2 Kings 19:35). The authenticity of this prophecy concerning Damascus and Israel is not usually disputed by critics. Only 12-14 tbsp. the same critics consider it best to attribute the 18th chapter to the prophecy. – According to stanzas, Condamin’s prophecy is divided as follows: 1 stanza – 1–3 art. – (2, 2) Stanza 2 – 4–6 art. – (2, 2) 3 stanza – 7–8 art. – (1, 1) Stanza 1 – 9–10a) art. – (3) Stanza 2 – 10b)-11 art. – (3) You might be interested in: