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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
ISAIAH CHAPTER 18
God, in defence of his church and punishing her enemies, will destroy the Ethiopians, Isa_18:1-6: an access thereby shall be to the church, Isa_18:7.
The land; either,
1. Of Arabia; or,
2. Of Ethiopia beyond Egypt; or,
3. Of Egypt, as some both ancient and later interpreters judge; of whom he speaks more darkly in this chapter, and then explains himself more clearly in the next chapter. But this controversy will be best determined by examining the following description.
Shadowing with wings: the title of wings is oft given, both in Scripture and in other authors, unto divers things which have, some general kind of resemblance to wings, as to the battlements of a house or temple, as Mat_4:5; to the skirts of a garment, as Rth_3:9, and oft elsewhere; to an army, as Isa_8:8 Jer_48:40 49:22; and to the sails of a ship, as this word is here commonly understood, and as it is unquestionably used in other authors. And shadowing with wings is nothing else but overspread or filled with them; which title may be given either to Ethiopia or Egypt, in regard of the great numbers, either,
1. Of their armies; or rather,
2. Of their ships or vessels sailing upon the sea or rivers: for,
1. In these they exceeded most of those nations who had dealings with the Jews, whereas other nations equalled or exceeded them in numerous armies. But they had an innumerable company of ships or boats, not only because of the commodiousness of the river Nilus, and its’ many branches, and the Red Sea, and the Midland Sea, for navigation; but also because of the frequent overflowings of the river Nilus over their land, which made them absolutely necessary.
2. This best suits with the next verse.
3. Those ancient and venerable interpreters, the LXX. and the Chaldee, who best understood the Hebrew words and phrases, expound it so.
Beyond; or, on this side, as this particle is rendered, Num_21:13 22:1, and in many other places. Or, as others translate it, besides, which may comprehend both sides; and so the land of which he speaks is supposed to be situated on both sides of this river or rivers; which is most true both of Egypt and of Ethiopia. The rivers: a late learned writer understands this of three or four rivers of Arabia Chusaeea, whereof one flows into the Red Sea, another into the Midland Sea, and a third into a great lake; which being obscure and very inconsiderable rivers, and running in so distant channels, it is not probable that this land should receive its denomination from them. And therefore it seems more reasonable to understand this of the great river Nilus. which comes from Ethiopia, and runs through the length of that land, and through Egypt, into the Midland Sea; and which is here called rivers, in the plural number, as it is also Exo_7:19 Isa_7:18 Eze_29:3,4, and unquestionably Nab. iii. 8. And so it might well be called, either for its greatness, or for the many rivulets that run into it, or for the various streams or channels into which it is divided; as Tigris, upon the same reasons, hath the same title of rivers ascribed to it, Nah_2:6. Of Ethiopia, Heb. of Cush; by which he seems to understand either,
1. Arabia, which in many places of Scripture comes under that name, though not in all places, as some learned men contend. Nor doth this place seem to be understood here, because these rivers were not interposed between Judea, in which Isaiah wrote this prophecy, and Arabia; nor were the rivers of Arabia, mentioned before, interposed between Judea and Egypt or Ethiopia: and besides, those rivers were but small and inconsiderable; and therefore, as was noted before, this land, whatsoever it is, would not have been denominated from them, especially when it is not properly situated either beyond them, or on this side of them. But if this Cush be Arabia, peradventure it were better to understand the rivers, or the river, as it was explained before, of the Red Sea, beyond which indeed both Egypt and Ethiopia were, in reference to Arabia. And whereas it may be objected that the title of river or rivers is very improperly given to the sea, it may be fairly answered, that as rivers are sometimes called by the name of the sea, as Euphrates is, Isa_21:1 Jer_51:36; so this very word here rendered river is used concerning the sea in the Hebrew text, Jon 2 3, and indeed may not unfitly be given to the Red Sea, which both for its length and breadth hath a manifest resemblance unto some large rivers which are in the world. And so the words may be very truly understood either of Egypt or of Ethiopia, both which countries in this sense are beyond the rivers or river of Arabia. But this I only propose, and submit to the reader’s judgment. Or,
2. Ethiopia, properly so called; for the Cushites or Ethiopians are distinguished by Herodotus, and divers other both ancient and later writers, into the eastern, which seem to be the Arabians, and the western, which seem to be the Ethiopians under Egypt. And it is probably thought that these Cushites were first planted in Arabia, and, upon their increase, part of them passed over into Africa by crossing the Red Sea, which was; very short and an easy passage, and settled there. And according to this interpretation of the word, the description of the land given in the last clause of this verse agrees either to Ethiopia or to Egypt, as is evident from what hath been already said for the clearing of this dark and difficult verse.