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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house of bondage to the people of God, where they had been ruled with rigour, yet among the unbelieving Jews there still remained much of the humour of their fathers, who said, Let us make us a captain and return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted to Egypt for help (Isa. 30:2), and thither they fled, in disobedience to God's express command, when things were brought to the last extremity in their own country, Jer. 43:7. Rabshakeh upbraided... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 19:8

The fishers also shall mourn ,.... Because there will be no fish to catch, the waters of the river being dried up, and so will have none to sell, and nothing to support themselves and families with; and this must also affect the people in general, fish being the common food they lived upon, see Numbers 11:5 , not only because of the great plenty there usually was, but because they killed and ate but very few living creatures, through a superstitious regard unto them; though Herodotus says ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 19:8

The fishers also "And the fishers" - There was great plenty of fish in Egypt; see Numbers 11:5 . "The Nile," says Diodorus, lib. i., "abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts of fish." And much more the lakes. So Egmont, Pococke, etc. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

THE BURDEN OF EGYPT . It has been doubted whether this prophecy refers to the conquest of Egypt by Piankhi, as related in the monument which he set up at Napata, or to that by Esarhaddon, of which we gain our knowledge from the inscriptions of his son, Asshur-bani-pal. In the former case, we must suppose it written as early as B.C. 735; in the latter, its date might be as late as B.C. 690. The division of Egypt, "kingdom against kingdom," is a circumstance rather in favor of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:1-17

Egypt's punishment, a proof both of God's song-suffering and of His inexorable justice. The punishment of Egypt by the Assyrian conquest, on which the prophet enlarges in this chapter, may be regarded in a double light. I. AS STRONGLY EXHIBITING THE LONG - SUFFERING AND MERCY OF GOD . 1. Consider the long persistence of Egypt in sins of various kinds—idolatry, king-worship, practice of magic, kidnapping of slaves, cruel usage of captives, impurity, indecency;... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:2-10

A picture of penalty. The threatened penalty of Egypt as painted by the prophet here will, on examination, be found to be essentially the penalty with which God causes sin to be visited always and everywhere. I. STRIFE , especially internal strife ( Isaiah 19:2 ). The guilty nation will find itself plunged into civil war (Egypt, Greece, Rome, France, America—northern and southern states, etc.), or rent with bitter and vindictive factions; the guilty family will have its domestic... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:5-10

The drying up of the Nile. Nothing has left a deeper mark on the traditions of Eastern lands than the impressions of burning heat, the drying up of springs, the consequent suffering. Egypt was the "gift of the Nile," Herodotus said. Well might the presence or absence of its waters denote the pleasure or the wrath of Deity. I. THE DESCRIPTION . The Pelusiac arm of the Nile is dried. The neglected canals, dykes, and reservoirs become stagnant, the vegetation withers. The bright oasis... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:5-10

The withholding of God's gifts making man's woe. These verses are suggestive of the thousandfold forms of trouble that follow on an unusually low Nile, or the failure of the Nile flood. It is peculiar to the valley of the Nile, and the Delta forming the land of Egypt, that cultivation of the soil depends upon the yearly flooding of the river, which, by canals, sluices, ponds, and ditches, is led over the fields as the great fertilizer. Holy Scripture gives us the picture of supreme distress... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 19:8

The fishers also shall mourn . The fisherman's trade was extensively practiced in ancient Egypt, and anything which interfered with it would necessarily be regarded as a great calamity. A large class supported itself by the capture and sale of fish fresh or salted. The Nile produced great abundance of fish, both in its main stream and in its canals and backwaters. Lake Moeris also provided an extensive supply (Herod; 2.149). All they that east angle into the brooks ; rather, into the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 19:8

The fishers also - In this verse, and the two following, the prophet describes the calamities that would come upon various classes of the inhabitants, as the consequence of the failing of the waters of the Nile. The first class which he mentions are the fishermen. Egypt is mentioned Numbers 11:5, as producing great quantities of fish. ‘We remember the fish which we did eat in Eypt freely.’ ‘The Nile,’ says Diodorus (i.), ‘abounds with incredible numbers of all sorts of fish.’ The same was true... read more

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