Isaiah 51:9 - Exposition

Awake, awake (comp. Psalms 7:6 ; Psalms 35:23 ; Psalms 44:23 ; Psalms 78:65 ). When God neglects the prayers and supplications of his people, he is spoken of as "asleep," and needing to be awoke by a loud cry. The anthropomorphism is obvious, and of course not to be taken literally (see 1 Kings 18:27 , ad fin. ) . Put on strength . Gird the strength to thee ( Psalms 93:1 ) which thou hadst laid aside while thou wept asleep . Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab? rather, was it not thou that didst cleave Rahab in pieces? Here, as in Psalms 87:4 and Psalms 89:10 , "Rahab" would seem to be a symbolical expression for Egypt. " Rahab " is literally " pride ," or "the proud one." The event alluded to, both here and in Psalms 89:10 , is the destruction of Pharaoh's host in the Red Sea (see Psalms 89:10 ). And wounded the dragon . "The dragon" is another symbol of the Egyptian power (comp. Ezekiel 29:3 , "Pharaoh, King of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers"). Originally designating God's great enemy, Satan ( Genesis 3:14 ; Revelation 12:7-9 ; Revelation 20:2 ), it is a term which comes to be applied to the adversaries of the Almighty generally.