CHAPTER 47
. THE
DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON
IS REPRESENTED
UNDER THE IMAGE OF A
ROYAL VIRGIN
BROUGHT DOWN
IN A MOMENT FROM
HER MAGNIFICENT
THRONE TO THE EXTREME
OF DEGRADATION.
1. in the dust—(See on ; Job 2:13; Lamentations 2:10).
virgin—that is,
heretofore uncaptured [HERODOTUS,
1.191].
daughter of Babylon—Babylon
and its inhabitants (see on Isaiah 1:8;
Isaiah 47:3).
no throne—The seat of
empire was transferred to Shushan. Alexander intended to have made
Babylon his seat of empire, but Providence defeated his design. He
soon died; and Seleucia, being built near, robbed it of its
inhabitants, and even of its name, which was applied to Seleucia.
delicate—alluding to
the effeminate debauchery and prostitution of all classes at banquets
and religious rites [CURTIUS,
5.1; HERODOTUS, 1.199;
BARUCH, 6.43].
2. millstones—like the querns
or hand-mills, found in this country, before the invention of water
mills and windmills: a convex stone, made by the hand to turn in a
concave stone, fitted to receive it, the corn being ground between
them: the office of a female slave in the East; most degrading
(Job 31:10; Matthew 24:41).
uncover thy locks—rather,
"take off thy veil" [HORSLEY]:
perhaps the removal of the plaited hair worn round the women's
temples is included; it, too, is a covering (Matthew 24:41); to remove it and the veil is the badge of the lowest
female degradation; in the East the head is the seat of female
modesty; the face of a woman is seldom, the whole head
almost never, seen bare (see on Matthew 24:41).
make bare the leg—rather
"lift up (literally, 'uncover'; as in lifting up the train the
leg is uncovered) thy flowing train." In Mesopotamia,
women of low rank, as occasion requires, wade across the rivers with
stript legs, or else entirely put off their garments and swim across.
"Exchange thy rich, loose, queenly robe, for the most abject
condition, that of one going to and fro through rivers as a slave, to
draw water," &c.
uncover . . . thigh—gather
up the robe, so as to wade across.
3. not meet . . . as a man—rather,
"I will not meet a man," that is, suffer man to intercede
with me—give man an audience [HORSLEY].
Or, "I will not make peace with any man," before all
are destroyed. Literally, "strike a league with"; a phrase
arising from the custom of striking hands together in making a
compact [MAURER], (see on
; Proverbs 22:26;
Proverbs 11:15, Margin). Or
else from striking the victims sacrificed in making treaties.
4. As for—rather supply, "Thus
saith our Redeemer" [MAURER].
LOWTH supposes this verse
to be the exclamation of a chorus breaking in with praises, "Our
Redeemer! Jehovah of hosts," &c. ().
7. so that—Through thy vain
expectation of being a queen for ever, thou didst advance to such a
pitch of insolence as not to believe "these things"
(namely, as to thy overthrow, ) possible.
end of it—namely, of
thy insolence, implied in her words, "I shall be a lady for
ever."
9. in a moment—It should not
decay slowly, but be suddenly and unexpectedly destroyed; in a single
night it was taken by Cyrus. The prophecy was again literally
fulfilled when Babylon revolted against Darius; and, in order to hold
out to the last, each man chose one woman of his family, and
strangled the rest, to save provisions. Darius impaled three thousand
of the revolters.
in . . . perfection—that
is, "in full measure."
for . . . for—rather,
"notwithstanding the . . . notwithstanding"; "in spite
of" [LOWTH]. So "for"
(Numbers 14:11). Babylon was famous
for "expiations or sacrifices, and other incantations, whereby
they tried to avert evil and obtain good" [DIODORUS
SICULUS].
10. wickedness—as in , the cruelty with which Babylon treated its subject
states.
None seeth me— (Psalms 10:11;
Psalms 94:7). "There is none to
exact punishment from me." Sinners are not safe, though seeming
secret.
Thy wisdom—astrological
and political (Isaiah 19:11,
&c., as to Egypt).
perverted—turns thee
aside from the right and safe path.
11. from whence it riseth—Hebrew,
"the dawn thereof," that is, its first rising. Evil shall
come on thee without the least previous intimation [ROSENMULLER].
But dawn is not applied to "evil," but to prosperity
shining out after misery (). Translate, "Thou shall not see any dawn" (of
alleviation) [MAURER].
put . . . off—rather,
as Margin, "remove by expiation"; it shall be never
ending.
not know—unawares:
which thou dost not apprehend. Proving the fallacy of thy divinations
and astrology (Job 9:5; Psalms 35:8).
12. Stand—forth: a scornful
challenge to Babylon's magicians to show whether they can defend
their city.
laboured—The devil's
service is a laborious yet fruitless one ().
13. wearied—(compare Isaiah 57:10;
Ezekiel 24:12).
astrologers—literally,
those who form combinations of the heavens; who watch
conjunctions and oppositions of the stars. "Casters of the
configurations of the sky" [HORSLEY].
GESENIUS explains it: the
dividers of the heavens. In casting a nativity they observed four
signs:—the horoscope, or sign which arose at the time one
was born; the mid-heaven; the sign opposite the horoscope
towards the west; and the hypogee.
monthly prognosticators—those
who at each new moon profess to tell thereby what is about to happen.
Join, not as English Version, "save . . . from those
things," c. but, "They that at new moons make known
from (by means of) them the things that shall come upon thee"
[MAURER].
14. (Isaiah 29:6;
Isaiah 30:30).
not . . . a coal—Like
stubble, they shall burn to a dead ash, without leaving a live coal
or cinder (compare Isaiah 30:14),
so utterly shall they be destroyed.
15. Thus, c.—Such shall be the
fate of those astrologers who cost thee such an amount of trouble and
money.
thy merchants, from thy
youth—that is, with whom thou hast trafficked from thy earliest
history, the foreigners sojourning in Babylon for the sake of
commerce (Isaiah 13:14 Jeremiah 51:6;
Jeremiah 51:9; Nahum 3:16;
Nahum 3:17) [BARNES].
Rather, the astrologers, with whom Babylon had so many
dealings (Isaiah 47:12-14)
[HORSLEY].
to his quarter—literally,
"straight before him" (Ezekiel 1:9;
Ezekiel 1:12). The foreigners,
whether soothsayers or merchants, shall flee home out of Babylon (Ezekiel 1:12).
CHAPTER 47
. THE DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON IS REPRESENTED UNDER THE IMAGE OF A ROYAL VIRGIN BROUGHT DOWN IN A MOMENT FROM HER MAGNIFICENT THRONE TO THE EXTREME OF DEGRADATION.
1. in the dust—(See on ; Job 2:13; Lamentations 2:10).
virgin—that is, heretofore uncaptured [HERODOTUS, 1.191].
daughter of Babylon—Babylon and its inhabitants (see on Isaiah 1:8; Isaiah 47:3).
no throne—The seat of empire was transferred to Shushan. Alexander intended to have made Babylon his seat of empire, but Providence defeated his design. He soon died; and Seleucia, being built near, robbed it of its inhabitants, and even of its name, which was applied to Seleucia.
delicate—alluding to the effeminate debauchery and prostitution of all classes at banquets and religious rites [CURTIUS, 5.1; HERODOTUS, 1.199; BARUCH, 6.43].
2. millstones—like the querns or hand-mills, found in this country, before the invention of water mills and windmills: a convex stone, made by the hand to turn in a concave stone, fitted to receive it, the corn being ground between them: the office of a female slave in the East; most degrading (Job 31:10; Matthew 24:41).
uncover thy locks—rather, "take off thy veil" [HORSLEY]: perhaps the removal of the plaited hair worn round the women's temples is included; it, too, is a covering (Matthew 24:41); to remove it and the veil is the badge of the lowest female degradation; in the East the head is the seat of female modesty; the face of a woman is seldom, the whole head almost never, seen bare (see on Matthew 24:41).
make bare the leg—rather "lift up (literally, 'uncover'; as in lifting up the train the leg is uncovered) thy flowing train." In Mesopotamia, women of low rank, as occasion requires, wade across the rivers with stript legs, or else entirely put off their garments and swim across. "Exchange thy rich, loose, queenly robe, for the most abject condition, that of one going to and fro through rivers as a slave, to draw water," &c.
uncover . . . thigh—gather up the robe, so as to wade across.
3. not meet . . . as a man—rather, "I will not meet a man," that is, suffer man to intercede with me—give man an audience [HORSLEY]. Or, "I will not make peace with any man," before all are destroyed. Literally, "strike a league with"; a phrase arising from the custom of striking hands together in making a compact [MAURER], (see on ; Proverbs 22:26; Proverbs 11:15, Margin). Or else from striking the victims sacrificed in making treaties.
4. As for—rather supply, "Thus saith our Redeemer" [MAURER]. LOWTH supposes this verse to be the exclamation of a chorus breaking in with praises, "Our Redeemer! Jehovah of hosts," &c. ().
5. Sit—the posture of mourning (Ezra 9:4; Job 2:13; Lamentations 2:10).
darkness—mourning and misery (Lamentations 3:2; Micah 7:8).
lady of kingdoms—mistress of the world (Isaiah 13:19).
6. reason for God's vengeance on Babylon: in executing God's will against His people, she had done so with wanton cruelty (Isaiah 10:5; Jeremiah 50:17; Jeremiah 51:33; Zechariah 1:15).
polluted my inheritance— (Isaiah 43:28).
the ancient—Even old age was disregarded by the Chaldeans, who treated all alike with cruelty (Lamentations 4:16; Lamentations 5:12) [ROSENMULLER]. Or, "the ancient" means Israel, worn out with calamities in the latter period of its history (Isaiah 46:4), as its earlier stage of history is called its "youth" (Isaiah 54:6; Ezekiel 16:60).
7. so that—Through thy vain expectation of being a queen for ever, thou didst advance to such a pitch of insolence as not to believe "these things" (namely, as to thy overthrow, ) possible.
end of it—namely, of thy insolence, implied in her words, "I shall be a lady for ever."
8. given to pleasures—(See on Isaiah 47:4). In no city were there so many incentives to licentiousness.
I am . . . none . . . beside me— (Isaiah 47:10). Language of arrogance in man's mouth; fitting for God alone (Isaiah 47:10). See Isaiah 5:8, latter part.
widow . . . loss of children—A state, represented as a female, when it has fallen is called a widow, because its king is no more; and childless, because it has no inhabitants; they having been carried off as captives (Isaiah 23:4; Isaiah 54:1; Isaiah 54:4; Isaiah 54:5; Revelation 18:7; Revelation 18:8).
9. in a moment—It should not decay slowly, but be suddenly and unexpectedly destroyed; in a single night it was taken by Cyrus. The prophecy was again literally fulfilled when Babylon revolted against Darius; and, in order to hold out to the last, each man chose one woman of his family, and strangled the rest, to save provisions. Darius impaled three thousand of the revolters.
in . . . perfection—that is, "in full measure."
for . . . for—rather, "notwithstanding the . . . notwithstanding"; "in spite of" [LOWTH]. So "for" (Numbers 14:11). Babylon was famous for "expiations or sacrifices, and other incantations, whereby they tried to avert evil and obtain good" [DIODORUS SICULUS].
10. wickedness—as in , the cruelty with which Babylon treated its subject states.
None seeth me— (Psalms 10:11; Psalms 94:7). "There is none to exact punishment from me." Sinners are not safe, though seeming secret.
Thy wisdom—astrological and political (Isaiah 19:11, &c., as to Egypt).
perverted—turns thee aside from the right and safe path.
11. from whence it riseth—Hebrew, "the dawn thereof," that is, its first rising. Evil shall come on thee without the least previous intimation [ROSENMULLER]. But dawn is not applied to "evil," but to prosperity shining out after misery (). Translate, "Thou shall not see any dawn" (of alleviation) [MAURER].
put . . . off—rather, as Margin, "remove by expiation"; it shall be never ending.
not know—unawares: which thou dost not apprehend. Proving the fallacy of thy divinations and astrology (Job 9:5; Psalms 35:8).
12. Stand—forth: a scornful challenge to Babylon's magicians to show whether they can defend their city.
laboured—The devil's service is a laborious yet fruitless one ().
13. wearied—(compare Isaiah 57:10; Ezekiel 24:12).
astrologers—literally, those who form combinations of the heavens; who watch conjunctions and oppositions of the stars. "Casters of the configurations of the sky" [HORSLEY]. GESENIUS explains it: the dividers of the heavens. In casting a nativity they observed four signs:—the horoscope, or sign which arose at the time one was born; the mid-heaven; the sign opposite the horoscope towards the west; and the hypogee.
monthly prognosticators—those who at each new moon profess to tell thereby what is about to happen. Join, not as English Version, "save . . . from those things," c. but, "They that at new moons make known from (by means of) them the things that shall come upon thee" [MAURER].
14. (Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:30).
not . . . a coal—Like stubble, they shall burn to a dead ash, without leaving a live coal or cinder (compare Isaiah 30:14), so utterly shall they be destroyed.
15. Thus, c.—Such shall be the fate of those astrologers who cost thee such an amount of trouble and money.
thy merchants, from thy youth—that is, with whom thou hast trafficked from thy earliest history, the foreigners sojourning in Babylon for the sake of commerce (Isaiah 13:14 Jeremiah 51:6; Jeremiah 51:9; Nahum 3:16; Nahum 3:17) [BARNES]. Rather, the astrologers, with whom Babylon had so many dealings (Isaiah 47:12-14) [HORSLEY].
to his quarter—literally, "straight before him" (Ezekiel 1:9; Ezekiel 1:12). The foreigners, whether soothsayers or merchants, shall flee home out of Babylon (Ezekiel 1:12).