Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 17:7-8
The coming destruction would result in the Israelites and the Arameans (Syrians) turning to their maker, the Holy One of Israel, in trust and away from idols. read more
Isaiah 17
Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 17:9-11
The land would be a desolation because the Israelites forgot their God and tried to supply their own needs independent of Him. The description of cultivating plants in these verses represents a pagan custom designed to secure the favor of local gods. Rather than trusting in their saving God, the Israelites had planted little seedlings of faith in idols. The Israelites’ horticultural attempts had been frustrating, as had their attempts to produce satisfaction in life and divine help by pursuing... read more
Thomas Constable
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 17:12-14
Many warriors would descend on Israel like the waves of the sea, but they would quickly dissipate because the Lord would rebuke them. They would disappear like dust before a strong wind. The terror that would be so strong would vanish overnight. God also gave such a deliverance to Judah when Sennacherib the Assyrian attacked Jerusalem (cf. Isaiah 37:36), but that is not in view here. The fact that Isaiah did not mention a particular nation as the enemy, suggests that he had more in mind than... read more
John Dummelow
John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 17:1-11
Judgment on Syeia and IsraelThis section is headed,’ oracle concerning Damascus,’ but its subject is in fact wider; it treats of the impending ruin not only of Syria, but also of Ephraim, i.e. the kingdom of Israel (Isaiah 17:3). This connexion of Ephraim with Syria is best explained by the alliance of the two kingdoms against Judah (Isaiah 7:1-2). Isaiah here teaches (as in Isaiah 7:16; Isaiah 8:4) that they will both be completely overthrown, an anticipation which was literally fulfilled... read more
John Dummelow
John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 17:12-14
Discomfiture of the AssyriansA short prophecy, in which Isaiah foretells sudden disaster for the Assyrian invaders; it is parallel to Isaiah 14:24-27,; belongs to the same period.12-13. The Assyrian hosts advance against Judah, but are suddenly dispersed in a single night.12. Read, ’Ah, the uproar of many peoples, which roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing,’ etc. Many people] The Assyrian army was recruited from many nations.13. Rolling thing] RV ’whirling dust’: cp. Psalms 83:13.... read more
Charles John Ellicott
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 17:1
XVII.(1) The burden of Damascus.—Syria, it will be remembered, had been “confederate with Ephraim,” i.e., with the kingdom of Israel, against Judah in the reign of Ahaz, and the prophet had then foretold its overthrow by Assyria (Isaiah 7:1-16). In 2 Kings 16:9, 2 Kings 16:2 Chron. 28:29, we have a partial fulfilment of that prediction. Writing probably early in the reign of Hezekiah, Isaiah now looks forward to a further fulfilment in the future.Damascus is taken away from being a city . .... read more
Charles John Ellicott
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 17:4
(4) The glory of Jacob shall be made thin.—The word is the same as that rendered “impoverished” in Judges 6:8. “Jacob” stands as commonly in the prophets, like Israel, for the northern kingdom, and the words point, therefore, to the downfall, or, adopting the prophet’s figurative language, the emaciation, of that kingdom. read more
Charles John Ellicott
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 17:5
(5) And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn.—The work of devastation is described under another image. The conqueror shall plunder the cities of Israel as the reaper cuts off the ears of corn. With his usual Dantesque vividness the prophet localises the imagery. The valley of Rephaim, or, as in Joshua 15:8; Joshua 18:16, “of the giants,” lay to the south-west of Jerusalem in the direction of Bethlehem. It was famous for its fertility, and was often on that account attacked by... read more
Charles John Ellicott
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 17:6
(6) Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it.—The idea of the “remnant” is still in the prophet’s thoughts, even in the case of the northern kingdom. First the vineyard, then the olive-yard, supplies a similitude. The “shaking” followed on the “beating” of Deuteronomy 24:20 (comp. Isaiah 24:13), but even after that a few berries might be seen on the topmost bough. read more
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Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 17:4-6
Isaiah revealed the reason for this defeat. In the day of God’s judgment (cf. Isaiah 17:7; Isaiah 17:9), Jacob’s prosperity would become lean, as when one grows old and loses his former strength, because of her unbelief: her lack of trust in God. She would experience a thorough reaping of her population, as reapers harvested abundant grain crops in the productive valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem. Yet a remnant would survive, like the few olives or fruits left after a harvest for gleaners to... read more