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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comKeil and Delitzsch Commentary - Isaiah 60:5 - 60:5
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When this takes place, Zion will be seized with the greatest delight, mingled with some trembling. “Then wilt thou see and shine, and thine heart will tremble and expand; for the abundance of the sea will be turned to thee, the wealth of the nations cometh to thee.” It is a disputed question whether the proper reading is תִּרְאיִ, תִּרֲאיִ, or תִּירְאיִ - all three point to יָרֵ) - or תִּרְאיִ, from רָאָה. The last is favoured by the lxx, Targ., Syr., Jerome, Saad., and all the earlier Jewish commentators except AE, and is also the Masoretic reading; for the Masora finalis (f. 1, col. 6) observes that this רתאי is the only instance of such a form from רָאָה (differing therefore from תִירְאיִ in Zep 3:15, where we also find the readings תִירְאיִ and תִרְאיִ); and there is a note in the margin of the Masora, חטף לית, to the effect that this תראי is the only one with chateph, i.e., Sheva. Moreover, תִּרְאיִ (thou shalt see) is the more natural reading, according to Isa 66:14 and Zec 10:7; more especially as יָרֵא is not a suitable word to use (like pâchad and râgaz in Jer 33:9) in the sense of trembling for joy (compare, on the contrary, יָרַע, Isa 15:4, and רָהָה in Isa 44:8). The true rendering therefore is, “Then wilt thou see and shine,” i.e., when thou seest this thou wilt thine, thy face will light up with joy; nâhar as in Psa 34:6. Luther render it, “Then wilt thou see thy desire, and break out,” viz., into shouting; Jerome, on the contrary, has, “Thou wilt overflow, i.e., thou wilt be inundated with waters coming suddenly like rivers.”
The impression produced by this revolution is so overpowering, that Zion's heart trembles; yet at the same time it is so elevating, that the straitened heart expands (וְרָחַב, a figure quite unknown to the classical languages, although they have angor and angustia; the lxx renders it καὶ ἐκστήση, after the reading וְרָהַב in Chayug, and Isaac Nathan in his Concordance, entitled נתיב מֵיר): for hămōn yâm, i.e., everything of value that is possessed by islands and coast lands (hâmōm, groaning, a groaning multitude, more especially of possessions, Psa 37:16, etc.), is brought to her; and chēl gōyim, the property, i.e., (looking at the plural of the predicate which follows; cf., Hag 2:7) the riches (gold, silver, etc., Zec 14:14) of the heathen, are brought into her, that she may dispose of them to the glory of her God.