13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth,
And my right hand hath spanned the heavens:
When I call unto them, they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear;
Which among them hath declared these things?
The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon,
And his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him:
I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
On Isa_48:14. Expositors have made difficulty about construing
æְøֹòåֹ
as accusative, because “to perform Jehovah’s or His own arm “is an incomprehensible mode of speech even taken as zeugmatic (Delitzsch), Klostermann, too, (l. c., pp. 7,19) is of the opinion that to translate “He will accomplish his will on Babylon and his punitive work on the Chaldeans” needs a dispensation from Hebrew usus loquendi.
æְøåֹòַ
does, indeed, not mean “punitive work,” and this is not an instance of mere zeugma, but zeugma and metonymy. It is surely one of the most usual metonymical forms of expression in the Old Testament to put the arm for what is manifested by the arm, i.e., for the power or the might. Comp. Isa_33:2; Jer_17:5; Eze_31:17; Psa_83:9, etc Moreover Isa_44:12 proves that the Prophet conceives of the arm, as also in Isa_45:9 of the hand, as the seat of power. Might not our passage read:
éַòֲֽùֶׂä áְּáָáֶì åּðְáåּøָúåֹ ëַּùְׂãִּéí
(or
ëֹּçåֹ
,
çֵéìåֹ
)
çֶôְöåֹ
? For one may very well say
òָùָׂä ðְëåּøָä
for “to display strength, power” (1Ki_16:27). Accordingly, if taken strictly, one need not even assume a zeugma, if the slight difference be not urged that exists between
òùׂä
in
òָùָׂä çֵôֵõ
and
òùׂä
in
òָùָׂä ðְáåּøָä
.—There can be no doubt that the prefix
áּ
should be repeated before
ëַּùְׂãִּéí
.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Hearken unto me——up together, Isa_48:12-13. The verses of this section are almost wholly a compilation of the chief elements of chapts. 40–47. The words
ùׁîò
as far as
î÷øàé
are only a solemn introductory formula, containing an emphatic summons to give attention, in order to intimate the importance of the subject. Comp. Isa_48:1; Isa_44:1; Isa_46:3.—
îְ÷ֹøָà
, “the called,” as regards the word, occurs only here; but as regards the sense it is essentially one with what we read Isa_41:9; Isa_43:1. A double calling is spoken of here: Of the ancient and original one which Israel received in the person of its ancestor (Isa_41:9), and of the future one when the Lord calls back His people from the Exile (Isa_43:1; comp. Isa_48:5 sqq.; Isa_44:22). Thus Israel is named
îְ÷ֹøָà
as the doubly called people. In what follows the Prophet calls to mind first those fundamental facts that are a guaranty that Jehovah can foretell and fulfil the deliverance by Cyrus. They are 1) His absoluteness and uniqueness. As such He is
äåּà
, the He par excellence, the absolute subject. As such the Prophet has already named Him, Isa_43:10; Isa_43:13; Isa_43:25; Isa_41:4; Isa_46:4. 2) His eternity, by virtue of which He is the first and the last. He has already been so called Isa_41:4; Isa_44:6; comp. Isa_43:13. 3) The creation of heaven and earth, which also has been spoken of in what precedes, in the same sense, viz. that He who created the world can also foretell and fulfil Israel’s deliverance: Isa_40:12 sqq., Isa_40:22; Isa_40:26; Isa_40:28; Isa_42:5; Isa_44:24; Isa_45:12; Isa_45:18.
2. All ye, assemble——his way prosperous, Isa_48:14-15. The words
ä÷áöå
as far as
àֵìֶּä
(“All ye assemble——these things”) represent here all those passages in which the Prophet has variously uttered the thought, that Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth, has challenged all idols to a contest in prophesying in order, by exposing their impotency, to prove their nothingness and His divinity. The passages are Isa_41:1 sqq., Isa_41:21 sqq., Isa_41:26 sqq.; Isa_43:9; Isa_44:7 sqq., Isa_44:24 sqq.; Isa_45:20 sqq.; Isa_46:9 sqq. Especially our passage recalls Isa_43:9 and Isa_45:20. In Isa_43:9 the interrogatory clause occurs almost verbatim, except the Niph. of
÷áõ
. For there it reads
îִé áָäֶí éַâִּéã æֹàú
. In Isa_45:20, as here, the first word is
ä÷áöå
. It is self-evident that
áָּäֶí
in our passage, as in Isa_43:9, is to be referred to the idols, as that
àֵìֶּä
refers to the things concerning Cyrus. This appears from what immediately follows. For there again we have a collective citation, if I may so express myself. For there all that has been previously said of Cyrus is recalled by the brief words, Isa_48:14 b, 15, that emphasize the chief particulars. Jehovah hath loved him is said first. It is true this statement has not occurred literally before; but it has as to sense. For that the Lord loves Cyrus underlies all those passages that speak of him; Isa_41:2 sq., 25; Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1-7; Isa_45:13 sq.; Isa_46:11. Moreover the words: He will do His pleasure on Babylon, and His arm on the Chaldeans, though not literally, occur as to sense in what precedes (comp. Isa_41:25; Isa_43:14; Isa_44:28, where, moreover, the words
ëֹּì çֶôְöִé éַùְׁìִéí
occur; Isa_45:1 sqq.; Isa_46:1 sq., Isa_46:10; Isaiah 47 entire).—In Isa_48:15 the Lord Himself speaks, confirming the word of His Prophet. He, the Lord, has foretold that which concerns Cyrus (Isa_45:21); He called him (Isa_45:4), He brings him on, taking him by the hand (Isa_45:1), and sees to it that he completes his way (Isa_41:3).
