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ISAIAH CHAPTER 27
God’s care over his vineyard Isa_27:1-6. His chastisements on them, Isa_27:7-9. His severe judgments against them, Isa_27:10,11. Their return, Isa_27:12,13.
Shall punish leviathan; what kind of creature the leviathan is, See Poole "Job_41:1", &c.; whence it is evident that it was a very great and terrible sea-monster. But here it is certain that the expression is metaphorical, and that by this leviathan, serpent, and dragon (for all signify the same thing) he understands some very powerful enemy or enemies (for the singular number may be here put for the plural, as it is in many other places) of God, and of his church or people, which may well be called by these names, partly for their great might, and partly for the great terror and destruction which they cause upon the earth, as the leviathan doth in the sea. He seems to have a special respect to some particular enemy and oppressor of God’s people; either the Assyrian emperor, who now was so; or rather the Babylonian, who should be so. Some understand this of the devil; but although it may be applied to him in a mystical sense, it seems to be literally meant of some potent and visible adversary; which seems more agreeable to the following verses, and to the usage of this and other prophets.
The piercing serpent; which by its sting pierceth quickly and deeply into men’s bodies. Or, the bar (as this word is elsewhere used) serpent, as this may be called, either for its length, or strength, or swift motion.
That crooked serpent; winding and turning itself with great variety and dexterity; whereby he seems to signify the craftiness and activity of this enemy, which being added to his strength makes it more formidable.
The dragon; or rather, the whale, as this word is rendered, Gen_1:21 Job_7:12, and elsewhere; which agrees better with the following words,
that is in the sea, which possibly were added only to limit that general and ambiguous word to a sea-monster, and not to describe the place in which the enemy signified by this dragon had his abode. Although the sea, which here follows, may be metaphorically understood of the great largeness of his empire, and the multitude of his subjects, by comparing this with Rev_17:1,15.