Isaiah 29:6-9

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-8

That it is Jerusalem which is here called Ariel is agreed, for that was the city where David dwelt; that part of it which was called Zion was in a particular manner the city of David, in which both the temple and the palace were. But why it is so called is very uncertain: probably the name and the reason were then well known. Cities, as well as persons, get surnames and nicknames. Ariel signifies the lion of God, or the strong lion: as the lion is king among beasts, so was Jerusalem among the... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 29:9-16

Here, I. The prophet stands amazed at the stupidity of the greatest part of the Jewish nation. They had Levites, who taught the good knowledge of the Lord and had encouragement from Hezekiah in doing so, 2 Chron. 30:22. They had prophets, who brought them messages immediately from God, and signified to them what were the causes and what would be the effects of God's displeasure against them. Now, one would think, surely this great nation, that has all the advantages of divine revelation, is a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:6

Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise ,.... That is, not the multitude of strangers and terrible ones, unless they could be understood of the wicked among the Jews; but thou Ariel, or Jerusalem, shalt be punished by the Lord of hosts; for this visitation or punishment was from him, for their sins and iniquities; the Romans were only the instruments he made use of, and the executioners of his vengeance; which was attended with thunder in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:7

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel ,.... The Roman army, which consisted of men of all nations, that fought against Jerusalem; the city in which was the altar, as the Targum paraphrases it: even all that fight against her, and her munition, and that distress her ; that besieged it, and endeavoured to demolish its walls, towns, and fortifications, as they did: shall be as a dream of a night vision : meaning either that the Roman empire should quickly fall,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:8

It shall be even as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth ,.... That is, he dreams of food, and imagines it before him, and that he is really eating it: but he awaketh, and his soul is empty ; his stomach is empty when he awakes, and he finds he has not ate anything at all: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh : who fancies that he has got a cup of liquor in his hand, and at his mouth, and is drinking it with a great deal of eagerness and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 29:9

Stay yourselves, and wonder ,.... Stop a while, pause a little, consider within yourselves the case and circumstances of these people, and wonder at their stupidity. Kimchi thinks these words were spoken in the times of Ahaz, with respect to the men of Judah; and so Aben Ezra says, they are directed to the men of Zion; and it is generally thought that they are spoken to the more religious and sober part of them; though, by the following verse Isaiah 29:10 , it appears that the case was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 29:7

As a dream - This is the beginning of the comparison, which is pursued and applied in the next verse. Sennacherib and his mighty army are not compared to a dream because of their sudden disappearance; but the disappointment of their eager hopes is compared to what happens to a hungry and thirsty man, when he awakes from a dream in which fancy had presented to him meat and drink in abundance, and finds it nothing but a vain illusion. The comparison is elegant and beautiful in the highest... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 29:9

Stay yourselves, and wonder - התמהמהו hithmahmehu , go on what-what-whatting, in a state of mental indetermination, till the overflowing scourge take you away. See the note on Psalm 119:60 ; (note). They are drunken, but not with wine - See note on Isaiah 51:21 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-8

The city of God. "The city where David dwelt" was undoubtedly Jerusalem, the "city of God." It is here called Ariel ; i.e; according to some, the hearth or altar of God. This fact, taken with the prophecy itself, may remind us— I. THAT THE CITY OF GOD IS THE PLACE WHERE GOD DWELLS . It is where his hearth is —the "place of his abode" where he is at home with his people, where they are "at home" with him. The true Church of Christ, the ideal Christian family or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 29:1-12

Concerning Ariel. I. VICISSITUDES OF ARIEL . The name is symbolic, perhaps signifying " God ' s lion." It was the city where David dwelt. The prophet bids the city enter upon the new year, and run the round of the feasts. The distress will come, and the city, true to her name, will be mourning like a wounded lioness; and yet her prowess will be seen. She will be beleaguered, the mound for the battering-ram will be set up; she will be abased, and her low voice will be like the... read more

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