Armenia in comments -- Book: Isaiah (tIs) Եսայի
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tIs 11:6 The wolf also shall, etc. "Then shall the wolf," etc. - The idea of the renewal of the golden age, as it is called, is much the same in the Oriental writers with that of the Greeks and Romans: - the wild beasts grow tame; serpents and poisonous herbs become harmless; all is peace and harmony, plenty and happiness: -
Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni Occidet.
Vega. Eclog. 4:24.
"The serpent's brood shall die. The sacred ground
Shall weeds and noxious plants refuse to bear."
- Nec magnos metuent armenta leones.
Virg. Eclog. 4:22.
"Nor shall the flocks fear the great lions."
Non lupus insidias explorat ovilia circum,
Nec gregibus nocturnus obambulat: acrior illum
Cura domat: timidae damae cervique fugaces
Nunc interque canes, et circum tecta vagantur.
Virg. Georg. 3:537.
"The nightly wolf that round the enclosure prowled,
To leap the fence, now plots not on the fold:
Tamed with a sharper pain, the fearful doe
And flying stag amidst the greyhounds go;
And round the dwellings roam, of man, their former foe."
Dryden.
Nec vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,
Nec intumescit alta viperis humus.
Hor. Epod. 16:51.
"Nor evening bears the sheepfold growl around,
Nor mining vipers heave the tainted ground."
Dryden.
Εσται δη τουτ' αμαρ, ὁπηνικα νεβρον εν ευνᾳ
Καρχαροδων δινεσθαι ιδων λυκος ουκ εθελησει.
Theoc. Idyl. 24:84.
There shall be a time when the ravenous wolf shall see the kid lying at ease, and shall feel no desire to do it an injury.
I have laid before the reader these common passages from the most elegant of the ancient poets, that he may see how greatly the prophet on the same subject has the advantage upon the comparison; how much the former fall short of that beauty and elegance, and variety of imagery, with which Isaiah has set forth the very same ideas. The wolf and the leopard not only forbear to destroy the lamb and the kid, but even take their abode and lie down together with them. The calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, not only come together, but are led quietly in the same band, and that by a little child. The heifer and the she-bear not only feed together, but even lodge their young ones, for whom they used to be most jealously fearful, in the same place. All the serpent kind is so perfectly harmless, that the sucking infant and the newly weaned child puts his hand on the basilisk's den, and plays upon the hole of the aspic. The lion not only abstains from preying on the weaker animals, but becomes tame and domestic, and feeds on straw like the ox. These are all beautiful circumstances, not one of which has been touched upon by the ancient poets. The Arabian and Persian poets elegantly apply the same ideas to show the effects of justice impartially administered, and firmly supported, by a great and good king: -
"Mahmoud the powerful king, the ruler of the world,
To whose tank the wolf and the lamb come, together to drink."
Ferdusi.
"Through the influence of righteousness, the hungry wolf
Becomes mild, though in the presence of the white kid."
Ibn Onein. Jones, Poes. Asiat. Comment., p. 380.
The application is extremely ingenious and beautiful: but the exquisite imagery of Isaiah is not equalled. Isaiah 11:7
tIs 11:6 The wolf also - In this, and the following verses, the prophet describes the effect of his reign in producing peace and tranquility on the earth. The description is highly poetical, and is one that is common in ancient writings in describing a golden age. The two leading ideas are those of "peace" and "security." The figure is taken from the condition of animals of all descriptions living in a state of harmony, where those which are by nature defenseless, and which are usually made the prey of the strong, are suffered to live in security. By nature the wolf preys upon the lamb, and the leopard upon the kid, and the adder is venomous, and the bear, and the cow, and the lion, and the ox, cannot live together. But if a state of things should arise, where all this hostility would cease; where the wild animals would lay aside their ferocity, and where the feeble and the gentle would be safe; where the adder would cease to be venomous, and where all would be so mild and harmless that a little child would be safe, and could lead even the most ferocious animals, that state would represent the reign of the Messiah. Under his dominion, such a change would be produced as that those who were by nature violent, severe, and oppressive; those whose disposition is illustrated by the ferocious and bloodthirsty propensities of the lion and the leopard, and by the poison of the adder, would be changed and subdued, and would be disposed to live in peace and harmony with others. This is the "general" idea of the passage. We are not to cut the interpretation to the quick, and to press the expressions to know what particular class of people are represented by the lion, the bear, or the adder. The "general" image that is before the prophet's mind is that of peace and safety, "such as that would be" if a change were to be produced in wild animals, making them tame, and peaceful, and harmless.
This description of a golden age is one that is common in Oriental writers, where the wild beasts are represented as growing tame; where serpents are harmless; and where all is plenty, peace, and happiness. Thus Jones, in his commentary on Asiatic poetry, quotes from an Arabic poet, "Ibn Onein," p. 380:
Justitia, a qua mansuetus fit lupus fame astrictus,
Esuriens, licet hinnulum candidurn videat -
'Justice, by which the ravening wolf, driven by hunger, becomes tame, although he sees a white kid.' Thus, also, Ferdusi, a Persian poet:
Rerum Dominus, Mahmud, rex. potens,
Ad cujus aquam potum veniunt simul agnus et lupus -
'Mahmud, mighty king, lord of events, to whose fountain the lamb and the wolf come to drink.' Thus Virgil, Eclogue iv. 21:
Ipsae lactae domum referent distenta capellae
Ubera; nec magnos metuent armenta leones -
Home their full udders, goats, unurged shall bear,
Nor shall the herd the lordly lion fear.
And immediately after:
Occidet et serpens, et fallax herba veneni
Occidet -
The snake, and poison's treacherous weed shall die.
Wrangham.
Again, Eclogue, v. 60:
Nec lupus insidias pecori, nec retia cervis
Ulla dolum mediantur: amat bonus otia Daphnis.
So also Horace, "Epod." 16:53, 54:
Nec yespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,
Nec intumescit alta viperis humus.
See also "Claudian," Lib. ii. v. 25ff; and Theocritus, Idyl xxiv. 84, as quoted by Gesenius and Rosenmuller.
These passages are beautiful, and highly poetic; but they do not equal the beauty of the prophet. There is an exquisite sweetness in the passage of Isaiah - in the picture which he has drawn - particularly in the introduction of the security of the young child, which does not occur in the quotations from the pagan poets.
That this passage is descriptive of the times of the Messiah, there can be no doubt. It has been a question, to what particular part of his reign the prophet has reference. Some have referred it to the time when he came, and to the influence of his gospel in mitigating the ferocity of his enemies, and ultimately disposing them to suffer Christens to live with them - the infuriated enemies of the cross, under the emblem of the wolf, the bear, the leopard, and the adder, becoming willing that the Christian, under the emblem of the lamb, and the kid, should live with them without molestation. This is the interpretation of Vitringa. Others have referred it to the Millennium - as descriptive of a state of happiness, peace, and universal security then. Others have referred it to the second coming of the Messiah, as descriptive of a time when it is supposed that he will reign personally on the earth, and when there shall be universal security and peace, and when the nature of animals shall be so far changed, that the ferocity of those which are wild and ravenous shall cease, and they shall become harmless to the defenseless. Without attempting to examine these opinions at length, we may, perhaps, express the sense of the passage by the following observations:
(1) The eye of the prophet is fixed upon the reign of the Messiah, not with reference to time, but with reference to the actual facts of that reign. He saw the scene pass before his mind in vision (see the Introduction, Section 7, 3: (4.) (5.), and it is not the nature of such descriptions to mark the "time," but the order, the passing aspect of the scene. "Under the reign of the Messiah," he saw that this would occur. Looking down distant times, as on a beautiful landscape, he perceived, under the mild reign of the Prince of peace, a state of things which would be well represented by the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the leopard crouching down with the kid, and a little child safe in their midst.
(2) It was, "in fact," partially fulfilled in the earliest times of the gospel, and has been everywhere. Under that gospel, the mad passions of men have been subdued; their wild ferocious nature has been changed; their love of conquest, and war, and blood taken away; and the change has been such as would be beautifully symbolized by the change of the disposition of the wolf and the leopard - suffering the innocent and the harmless to live with them in peace.
(3) The scene will not be fully realized until the reign of the Messiah shall be extended to all nations, and his gospel shall everywhere accomplish its full effects. The vision of Isaiah here has not yet received a full completion; nor will it until the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, Isa 11:9. The mind is, therefore, still directed onward. In future times, under the reign of the messiah, what is here described shall occur - a state of security, and peace, and happiness. Isaiah saw that splendid vision, as in a picture, pass before the mind; the wars, and persecutions, and trials of the Messiah's kingdom were, for a time at least, thrown into the back ground, or not represented, and, in that future time, he saw what is here represented. It has been partially fulfilled in all the changes which the Messiah's reign has made in the natural ferocity and cruelty of men; in all the peace which at any time the church has been permitted to enjoy; in all the revolutions promoting human safety, welfare, and happiness, which Christianity has produced. It is to receive the complete fulfillment - τὸ ἀποτελέσμα to spotelesma - only in that future time when the gospel shall be everywhere established on the earth. The essential thing, therefore, in the prophecy, is the representation of the peace, safety, and harmony which shall take place under the Messiah. So to speak, it was a taking out, and causing to pass before the mind of the prophet, all the circumstances of harmony, order, and love in his reign - as, in a beautiful panoramic view of a landscape, the beauties of the whole scene may be made to pass before the mind; the circumstances that might even then, if surveyed closely, give pain, were hid from the view, or lost in the loveliness of the whole scene.
(4) That it does not refer to any literal change in the nature of animals, so that the ferocity of the untamed shall be wholly laid aside, the disposition to prey on one another wholly cease, and the poisonous nature of the adder be destroyed, seems to me to be evident:
(a) Because the whole description has a highly figurative and poetical cast.
(b) Because such figurative expressions are common in all poetry, and especially among the Orientals.
(c) Because it does not appear how the gospel has any tendency to change the nature of the lion, the bear, or the serpent. It acts on men, not on brutes; on human hearts, not on the organization of wild animals.
(d) Because such a state of things could not occur without a perpetual miracle, changing the physical nature of the whole animal creation, The lion, the wolf, the panther, are made to live on flesh. The whole organization of their teeth and digestive powers is adapted to this, and this alone. To fit them to live on vegetable food, would require a change in their whole structure, and confound all the doctrines of natural history. The adder is poisonous, and nothing but a miracle would prevent the poisonous secretion, and make his bite innocuous. But where is a promise of any such coutinued miracle as shall change the whole structure of the animal creation, and make the physical world different from what it is? It is indeed probable that wild animals and venomous serpents will wholly retire before the progress of civilization and Christianity, and that the earth may be inhabited everywhere with safety - for such is the tendency of the advance of civilization - but this is a very different thing from a change in the physical nature of the animal creation.
The fair interpretation of this passage is, therefore, that revolutions will be produced in the wild and evil passions of men - the only thing with which the gospel has to do as great "as if" a change were produced in, the animal creation, and the most ferocious and the most helpless should dwell together. The wolf (זאב ze'êb) is a well-known animal, so called from his yellow or golden color. The Hebrew name is formed by changing the Hebrew letter ה (h) in the word זהב zâhâb, "gold," to the Hebrew letter א - Bochart. The wolf, in the Scriptures, is described as ravenous, fierce, cruel; and is the emblem of that which is wild, ferocious, and savage among human beings; Gen 49:27 : 'Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf;' Eze 22:27 : 'Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey;' Mat 7:15 : 'Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves;' Joh 10:12; Mat 10:16; Luk 10:3; Act 20:29. The wolf is described as sanguinary and bloody Eze 22:27, and as taking its prey by night, and as therefore particularly an object of dread; Jer 5:6 : 'A wolf of the evenings shall spoil them; Hab 1:8 : 'Their horses are more fierce than the evening wolves;' Zep 3:3 : 'Her judges are evening wolves, they gnaw not the bones until tomorrow.' in the Scriptures, the wolf is constantly represented in contrast with the lamb; the one the emblem of ferocity, the other of gentleness and innocence; Mat 10:16; Luk 10:3. The pagan poets also regard the wolf as an emblem of ferocity and cruelty:
Inde lupi cen
Raptores, atra in nebula quos improba ventris
Exegit caecos rabies, etc. -
(Virg. AEn. ii. 355ff.)
As hungry wolves, with raging appetite,
Scour through the fields, nor fear the stormy night -
Their whelps at home expect the promised food,
And long to temper their dry chaps in blood -
So rushed we forth at once.
Dryden.
Cervi, luporum praeda rapacium.
Hor. Car. Lib. iv. Ode iv. 50.
See a full illustration of the nature and habits of the wolf in Boehart, "Hieroz." Part i. B. iii. ch. x. pp. 821-830. "Shall dwell." גר ger. Shall sojourn, or abide. The word usually denotes a residence for a time only, away from home, not a permanent dwelling. The idea here is, that they shall remain peacefully together. The same image occurs in Isa 65:25, in another form: 'The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.'
The lamb - Everywhere the emblem of mildness, gentleness, and innocence; and, therefore, applied often to the people of God, as mild, inoffensive, and forbearing; Joh 21:15; Luk 10:3; Isa 40:2. It is very often applied, by way of eminence, to the Lord Jesus Christ; Joh 1:29; Act 8:32; Isa 2:7; Pe1 1:19; Rev 5:6, Rev 5:8, Rev 5:12-13; Rev 6:16; Rev 7:9-10, Rev 7:14, Rev 7:17, "et al."
And the leopard - נמר nâmêr. The leopard, a well-known wild beast, was regarded in Oriental countries as second in dignity only to the lion. The Arabic writers say, 'He is second in rank to the lion, and, as there is a natural hatred between them, victory is alternate between them.' Hence, in the Scriptures, the lion and the leopard are often joined together as animals of the same character and rank; Sol 4:8 :
From the lions' den,
From the mountains of the leopards.
See Jer 5:6, and Hos 13:7 :
Therefore I will be unto them as a lion,
As a leopard by the way will I observe them.
The leopard is distinguished for his spots; Jer 13:23 : 'Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?' it has small white eyes, wide jaws, sharp teeth, and is represented as extremely cruel to man. It was common in Palestine, and was an object of great dread. It lurked for its prey like the lion, and seized upon it suddenly Jer 5:6; Hos 13:7, and was particularly distinguished for its velocity Hab 1:8), and is often referred to in the classic writers as an emblem of fleetness. See "Bochart." The image used here by Isaiah, that 'the leopard should lie down with the kid,' as an emblem of peace and safety, occurs almost in the same form in the Sybilline oracles, Lib. iii:
παρδάλιές τ ̓ ἐριφοίς ἅμα βοσκήσονται, -
parklies t' eriphois hama boskēsontai, -
'Leopards shall feed together with kids.' "See" Bochart, "Hieroz." Part i. B. iii. ch. vii. pp. 786-791.
With the kid - The young of the goat; Gen 37:21; Lev 23:19; Luk 15:29. Like the lamb, it was an emblem of gentleness, mildness, and inoffensiveness.
And the calf - Another emblem of inoffensiveness and innocence.
And the young lion - The Hebrew word used here - כפיר kephı̂yr - denotes one that is old enough to go abroad for prey. It is employed as emblematic of dangerous enemies Psa 34:2; Psa 35:17; Psa 58:7; and also as emblematic of young heroes, or defenders of a state; Eze 38:15; Nah 2:12.
And the fatling - The calf or other animal that was well fed, and that would be therefore particularly an object of desire to a wild beast. The beauty of the image is heightened, by the circumstance that now the ravenous beast would live with that which usually excites its keenest appetite, without attempting to injure it.
And a little child shall lead them - This is an especially beautiful image introduced into the picture of peace and prosperity. Naturally, the lion and the leopard are objects of dread to a young child. But here, the state of peace and safety is represented as not only so entire that the child might live with them in safety, but their natural ferocity is so far subdued and tamed, that they could be led by him at his will. The verisimilitude of the picture is increased by the circumstance, that these wild beasts may be so far tamed as to become subject to the will of a man, and even of a child. Isaiah 11:7 tIs 11:11 And it shall come to pass - The prophet having, in the previous verse, stated the effect of the reign of the Messiah on the Gentile world, proceeds to state the result on the scattered Jews. Whether it is to be a literal re-collecting of the scattered tribes to the land of their fathers, has been a subject of debate, and is still so by expositors. We may be able to determine what is the correct general interpretation after the particular phrases have been examined.
In that day - That future time referred to in this whole prophecy. The word "day" is often used to denote a long time - or the time during which anything continues, as "the day" denotes all the hours until it is terminated by night. So "day" denotes the time of a man's life - 'his day;' or time in general; or the time when one shall be prominent, or be the principal object at that time. Thus it is applied to the time of the Messiah, as being the period of the world in which he will be the prominent or distinguished object; Joh 8:56 : 'Abraham rejoiced to see my day;' Luk 17:24 : 'So shall the Son of man be in his day.' The expression here means, that somewhere in that future time, when the Messiah should appear, or when the world should be put under him as the Mediator, the event would take place which is here predicted. As the word 'day' includes "all" the time of the Messiah, or all his reign from his first to his second advent, it is not to be supposed that the event would take place when he was personally on earth. Isaiah saw it in vision, as "one" of the events which was to occur after the 'root of Jesse' should stand as an ensign to the nations.
That the Lord shall set his hand - That Yahweh shall undertake this, and accomplish it. To set the hand to anything is to undertake to perform it.
The second time - שׁנית shênı̂yth. This word properly means, as it is here translated, the second time, implying that the prophet here speaks of a deliverance which would resemble, in some respects, a "former" deliverance or recovery. By the former recovery to which he here refers, he cannot mean the deliverance from Egypt under Moses, for at that time there was no recovery from scattered and distant nations. Besides, if "that" was the reference by the former deliverance, then that mentioned here as the 'second' deliverance would be that from the Babylonian captivity. But on the return from that captivity, there was not a collecting of the Jews from all the nations here specified. When the Jews were led back to Judea under Nehemiah, there is no record of their having been collected from 'Egypt,' or from 'Cush,' or from 'the islands of the sea.' It is evident, therefore, I think, that by the former deliverance to which the prophet here alludes - the deliverance which was to precede that designated here as the "second" - he refers to the return from the captivity of Babylon; and by the 'second,' to some still more future recovery that should take place under the administration of the Messiah. This is further confirmed from the fact that the whole scope of the prophecy points to that future period.
To recover - Hebrew, 'To possess,' or, to obtain possession of - לקנות lı̂qenôth. This word properly means to obtain possession of by purchasing or buying anything. But it is also applied to any possession obtained of an object by power, labor, skill, or by delivering from bondage or captivity, and is thus synonymous with "redeem" or "deliver." Thus it is applied to the deliverance of the people from Egypt; Deu 32:6; Exo 15:16; Psa 74:2. It means here, that Yahweh would redeem, rescue, recover his people; but it does not specify the "mode" in which it would be done. Any mode - either by collecting and rescuing them from the regions into which they were scattered into one place, or by a "spiritual" turning to him, wherever they might be, would meet the force of this word. If in the lands where they were scattered, and where they had wandered away from the true God, they were converted, and should become again his people, the event would correspond with all that is meant by the word here.
They would "then" be purchased, possessed, or recovered to himself, by being delivered from their spiritual oppression. It is not necessary, therefore, to resort to the interpretation that they should, in the 'second' deliverance, be restored literally to the land of Canaan. Any argument for that doctrine from this passage must be drawn from the word here used - 'recover' - and that "that" idea is not necessarily involved in this word is abundantly manifest from its familiar use in the Old Testament. All that that word implies, is, that they should "be possessed" by God as his people; an idea which is fully met by the supposition that the scattered Jews everywhere will be converted to the Messiah, and thus become his true people. For this use of the word, see Gen 25:10; Gen 47:22; Gen 49:30; Gen 50:13; Jos 24:32; Sa2 12:3; Lev 27:24; Neh 5:8. In no place does it necessarily imply the idea of "collecting or restoring" a scattered people to their Own land.
The remnant of his people - That is, the remnant of the Jews, still called his people. In all the predictions respecting the calamities that should ever come upon them, the idea is "always" held out that the nation would not be wholly extinguished; but that, however great the national judgments, a remnant would still survive. This was particularly true in regard to the fearful judgments which Moses denounced on the nation if they should be disobedient, and which have been so strikingly fulfilled; Deut. 28. As the result of those judgments, Moses does not say that Yahweh would annihilate the nation, or extinguish their name, but that the would be 'left few in number,' Deu 28:62; that Yahweh would scatter them among all people, from the one end of the earth even to the other, Deu 28:64; and that among these nations they should find no ease, neither should the sole of their foot have rest.
In like manner it was predicted that they should be scattered everywhere. 'I will scatter them also among the pagan, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curse, in all places whither I will drive them;' Jer 9:16; Jer 24:9-10. 'I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds;' Eze 5:10. 'I will also scatter them among the nations, among the pagan, and disperse them in the countries;' Eze 12:15, 'I will sift the house of Israel among the nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. They shall be wanderers among the nations;' Amo 9:9. 'I will make a full end of the nations whither I have driven thee, but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished;' Jer 46:28.
From all these, and from numerous other passages in the Old Testament, it is evident that it was designed that the Jewish nation should never be wholly destroyed; that though they were scattered among the nations, they should still be a distinct people; that while other nations would wholly cease to exist, yet that a "remnant" of the Jewish people, with the national peculiarities and customs, would still survive. How entirely this has been fulfilled, the remarkable history of the Jewish people everywhere testifies. Their present condition on the earth, as a people scattered in all nations, yet surviving; without a king and a temple, yet preserving their national prejudices and peculiarities, is a most striking fulfillment of the prophecy; see Keith's "Evidence of the Fulfillment of Prophecy," pp. 64-82.
From Assyria - The name Assyria is commonly applied to that region of country which lies between Media, Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Babylon, and which is now called Kurdistan. The boundaries of the kingdom have often varied, and, as a kingdom or separate nation, it has long since ceased to exist. The name "Assyria" in Scripture is given,
(1) To ancient Assyria, lying east of the Tigris, and between Armenia, Susiana, and Media - the region comprising mostly the modern kingdoms and the pashalic of Mosul.
(2) Most generally the name Assyria means the "kingdom of Assyria," including Babylonia and Mesopotamia, and extending to the Euphrates; Isa 7:20; Isa 8:7.
(3) After the overthrow of the Assyrian empire, the name continued to be applied to those countries which were formerly held under its dominion - including Babylonia Kg2 23:29; Jer 2:18, Persia Ezr 6:22, and Syria. - "Robinson; Calmet."
It is in this place applied to that extensive region, and means that the Jews scattered there - of whom there have always been many - shall be brought under the dominion of the Messiah. If the Nestorian Christians in the mountains of Kurdistan are the descendants of the lost ten tribes (see the note at Isa 11:12), then the reference here is, doubtless, to them. There are, however, other Jews there, as there always has been; "see" Dr. Grant's work on 'The Nestorians, or, the Lost Ten tribes,' New York, 1841.
And from Egypt - The well-known country in Africa, watered by the Nile. In all ages, there have been many Jews there. Its vicinity to Palestine; its remarkable fertility, and the advantages which it offered to them, attracted many Jews there; and at some periods they have composed no inconsiderable part of the population. It was in this country that the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into the Greek language, called the Septuagint, was made, for the use of the numerous Jews residing there. At present they are numerous there, though the exact number is unknown: During the reign of Bonaparte, an estimate was made, for his information, of the number of Jews in the world, and, in that estimate, 1,000,000 was assigned to the Turkish empire - probably about a third part of all on the earth. A large portion of this number is in Egypt.
And from Pathros - This was one of the three ancient divisions of Egypt. It was the same as Upper Egypt, or the southern part of Egypt, the "Coptic" portion of that country. The inhabitants of that country are called "Pathrusini." To that place many of the Jews retired in the calamities of the nation, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Isaiah; Jer 44:1, Jer 44:15. For this act God severely threatened them; see Jer 44:26-29.
And from Cush - The Chaldee reads this, 'And from Judea.' The Syriac, 'And from Ethiopia.' This country denotes, properly, the regions settled by the descendants of Cush, the oldest son of Ham; Gen 10:8. Commentators have differed very much about the region understood in the Scriptures by the name Cush. Bochart supposes that by it the southern parts of Arabia are always meant. Gesenius supposes, that by Cush is always meant a region in Africa. Michaelis supposes that by Cush the southern part of Arabia and the African Ethiopia were both intended. In the Scriptures, however, it is evident that the name is given to different regions.
(1) It means what may be called the "Oriental Cush," including the region of the ancient Susiana, and bounded on the south by the Persian Gulf, and on the west and southwest by the Tigris, which separates it from the Arabian Irak. This province has the name Chusastan, or Chusistan, and was, probably, the ancient "Cush" mentioned in Zep 3:10 : From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, (Hebrew, Cush), my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.' The principal rivers there were the Ulai, the Kur, the Chobar, and the Choaspes. The same place is referred to in Kg2 17:24, where the king of Assyria is said to have 'brought men from Babylon, and from "Cuthah," and from Ava,' where the word "Cuthah" evidently refers to Cush, the Armenian mode of pronouncing Cush by exchanging the letters "Shin" for "Tav," as they always do in pronouncing "Ashur," calling it "Athur, etc.;" see the Chaldee Paraphrase, and the Syriac version, "passim."
(2) "Cush," as employed by the Hebrews, "usually" denoted the southern parts of Arabia, and was situated chiefly along the coast of the Red Sea, since there are several passages of Scripture where the name "Cush" occurs which can be applied to no other country, and least of all to the African Cush or Ethiopia; see Num 12:1, where the woman whom Moses married is called an 'Ethiopian,' (Hebrew, 'Cushite'). It can be scarcely supposed that she came from the distant regions of Ethiopia in Africa, but it is evident that she came from some part of Arabia. Also Hab 3:7, says:
I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
And the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.
From which it is evident, that "Cushan" and "Midian" were countries adjacent; that is, in the southern part of Arabia; compare Ch2 21:16; Ch2 14:9.
(3) The word "Cush" is applied to Ethiopia, or the country south of Egypt, now called Abyssinia. This country comprehended not only Ethiopia above Syene and the cataracts, but likewise Thebais, or Upper Egypt; compare Jer 13:23; Dan 11:3; Eze 30:4-5; Isa 44:14; see the notes at Isa 18:1. To which of these regions the prophet here refers, it is not easy to determine. As the other countries mentioned here, however, are chiefly in the East, it is most natural to suppose that he refers to "the Oriental Cush" mentioned under the first division. The general idea of the prophet is plain, that the scattered Jews should be gathered back to God.
And from Elam - This was the name of a country originally possessed by the Persians, and so called from the son of Shem of the same name; Gen 14:1. It was the southern part of Persia, situated on the Persian Gulf, and included, probably, the whole of the region now called Susiana or Chusistan. The city Susa or Shushan was in it; Dan 8:2.
And from Shinar - This was a part of Babylonia, and is supposed to be the plain lying between the Tigris and the Euphrates; Gen 10:10; Gen 11:2; Dan 1:2; Zac 5:11. It was the region elsewhere called Mesopotamia. The Septuagint renders it, 'And from Babylon;' and it is remarkable that Luke Act 2:9, where he has reference, probably, to the place, speaks of 'the dwellers in Mesopotamia' as among those who heard 'the wonderful works of God' in their own language. It was in this plain that the tower of Babel was commenced; Gen. 10.
And from Hamath - See the note at Isa 10:9. "And from the islands of the sea." This expression probably denotes the islands situated in the Mediterranean, a part of which were known to the Hebrews. But, as geography was imperfectly known, the phrase came to denote the regions lying west of the land of Canaan; the unknown countries which were situated in that sea, or west of it, and thus included the countries lying around the Mediterranean. The word translated, 'islands' here (איים 'ı̂yı̂ym) means properly "habitable dry land," in opposition to water; Isa 42:13 : 'I will make the rivers "dry land;"' where to translate it "islands" would make nonsense. Hence, it means also land adjacent to water, either washed by it, or surrounded by it, that is, a maritime country, coast, or island. Thus it means "coast" when applied to Ashdod Isa 20:6; to Tyre Isa 22:2, Isa 22:6; to Peloponnesus or Greece (called Chittim, Eze 27:6). It means an "island" when applied to Caphtor or Crete Jer 47:4; Amo 9:7. The word was commonly used by the Hebrews to denote distant regions beyond the sea, whether coasts or islands, and especially the maritime countries of the West, to them imperfectly known through the voyages of the Pheonicians; see the note at Isa 41:1; compare Isa 24:15; Isa 40:15; Isa 42:4, Isa 42:10, Isa 42:12; Isa 51:5. Isaiah 11:12