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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-7

The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 22:1

The burden of the valley of vision ,.... A prophecy concerning Jerusalem, so called, because it lay in a valley, encompassed about with mountains, and which was the habitation of the prophets or seers, and the seat of vision and prophecy; and perhaps there is an allusion to its name, which signifies the vision of peace, or they shall see peace. The Septuagint version calls it, "the word of the valley of Sion"; and the Arabic version, "a prophecy concerning the inhabitants of the valley of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 22:1

Art - gone up to the house-tops "Are gone up to the house-tops" - The houses in the east were in ancient times, as they are still, generally, built in one and the same uniform manner. The roof or top of the house is always flat, covered with broad stones, or a strong plaster of terrace, and guarded on every side with a low parapet wall; see Deuteronomy 22:8 . The terrace is frequented as much as any part of the house. On this, as the season favors, they walk, they eat, they sleep, they... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1

The burden of the valley of vision . "The valley of vision" is only mentioned here and in Isaiah 22:5 . It must have been one of the deep depressions near Jerusalem troll which there is a good view of the town. The LXX . render, "the burden of the valley of Zion ." What aileth thee now ? Jerusalem is addressed by the prophet, who assumes the role of a spectator, surprised at what he sees , and asks an explanation. That thou art wholly gone up to the housetops . Partly, no... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-2

Ill-timed joy. The "valley of vision" is, without doubt, Jerusalem, though Mr. Birks thinks Samaria may be meant. The Prophet Isaiah speaks thus poetically of it as the place where he had his visions. Now he sees the people hurrying, in great excitement, on to the fiat roofs of the city, to watch the gathering hosts of Sennacherib's army. The attitude of the people surprised him. At such a time, when pestilence decimated the inhabitants, the leading citizens had fled to secure their personal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

A PROPHECY AGAINST JERUSALEM . The prophet, present in Jerusalem, either actually, or at any rate in spirit, sees the inhabitants crowded together upon the housetops, in a state of boisterous merriment ( Isaiah 22:1 , Isaiah 22:2 ). Outside the walls is a foreign army threatening the town ( Isaiah 22:5-7 ). Preparations have been made for resistance, which are described ( Isaiah 22:8-11 ); but there has been no turning to God. On the contrary, the danger has but made the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

Judgment upon Jerusalem. I. THE PROPHET AS SPECTATOR . The valley of vision seems to mean Jerusalem as a whole, round about which are mountains ( Psalms 125:2 ); the city is spoken of, when compared with the surrounding mountains, as the "inhabitant of the valley," otherwise as the "rock of the plain" ( Jeremiah 21:13 ; comp. Jeremiah 17:3 ). If Isaiah is gazing from his house in the lower town, the city would appear as in a valley in relation to the mountains inside as much... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 22:1-14

The sorrow of the world. We have here a striking picture of that which, in distinction from "godly sorrow," Paul calls "the sorrow of the world." I. THAT GOD SENDS SORROW TO HUMAN SOULS . These national distresses were to be of his sending; it was to be "a day of trouble … by the Lord of hosts" ( Isaiah 22:5 ). The human instrumentality would be visible enough, and both those who inflicted the blow and those who endured it—their enemies and themselves—might fail to... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 22:1

The burden - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). “The valley” גיא gay'. Septuagint, Φάραγγος Pharangos - ‘Valley.’ Chaldee, ‘The burden of the prophecy respecting the city which dwells (that is, is built) in the valley, which the prophets have prophesied concerning it.’ There can be no doubt that Jerusalem is intended (see Isaiah 22:9-10). It is not usual to call it “a valley,” but it may be so called, either(1) because there were several valleys “within” the city and adjacent to it, as the vale... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 22:1-3

Isaiah 22:1-3. The burden of the valley of vision Of Judah, and especially of Jerusalem, called a valley, because a great part of it stood in a valley between the opposite hills of Zion and Acra, and between Acra and Moriah; (see Josephus’s Jewish War, 5: 13; and 6:6;) and the valley of vision, because it was the seat of divine revelation, the place where chiefly prophetic visions were given, and where God manifested himself visibly in the most holy place. The reader will observe this... read more

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