Bibelkommentare

Syria and Ephraim were confederate against Judah (Isa 7:1,2), and, they being so closely linked together in their counsels, this chapter, though it be entitled "the burden of Damascus" (which was the head city of Syria), reads the doom of Israel too. I. The destruction of the strong cities both of Syria and Israel is here foretold, Isa 17:1-5,9-11. II. In the midst of judgment mercy is remembered to Israel, and a gracious promise made that a remnant should be preserved from the calamities and should get good by them, Isa 17:6-8. III. The overthrow of the Assyrian army before Jerusalem is pointed at, Isa 17:12-14. In order of time this chapter should be placed next after Isa 19:1-25, for the destruction of Damascus, here foretold, happened in the reign of Ahaz, 2Ki 16:9.

The prophecy which comprises Isaiah 17:1-11, professes, by its title, to be against Damascus only. But it relates to the kingdom of Samaria no less than to Damascus. The reason is, that the kingdoms of Israel and Damascus were confederated against the kingdom of Judah. The design of the prophecy may have been to warn the kingdom of Israel of the approaching destruction of the city of Damascus, and, by this means, to keep them from forming an alliance with them against Judah. When it was delivered is unknown. Lowth supposes that it was immediately after the prophecies in the seventh and eighth chapters, in the reign of Ahaz, and this supposition is not improbable, though it is not quite certain. He also supposes that it was fulfilled when Damascus was taken captive by Tiglath-pileser, and its inhabitants carried to Kir 2 Kings 16:9, and when he overran, also, a great part of the kingdom of Israel, and carried its inhabitants captive to Assyria.

In regard to the "time" when it was uttered, there can be little doubt that it was when the alliance existed between Damascus and the kingdom of Ephraim, or Samaria, for on no oilier supposition can it be accounted for, that the two kingdoms were united in the prophecy (see Isaiah 17:3). The scope or design of the prophecy is indicated in the close Isaiah 17:14 : 'This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us;' and one design, at least, was to give an assurance to the kingdom of Judah, that the alliance between Damascus and Samaria was not to be dreaded, but that the kingdom of Judah would be safe. No alliance formed against them would be successful; no purpose to destroy them should be an abject of dread.

The prophecy may be regarded as consisting of three parts.

I. The prediction of the divine judgment against Damascus Isaiah 17:1-2.

II. The prediction respecting Ephraim, the ally of Damascus, and its fulfillment Isaiah 17:3-11.

III. A prediction respecting the Assyrians, and the calamities that should come upon them as a nation Isaiah 17:12-14.

The kingdom of Syria, or Damascus, was overthrown in the fourth year of the reign of Ahaz. It is clear, therefore, that the prophecy was delivered before that time. And if so, its proper place, in the collection of the prophecies of Isaiah: would have been immediately after the ninth chapter. The reason why it is placed here, Lightfoot supposes to be, that in the seventh and eighth chapters the special design was to denounce judgment on the two kingdoms of Damascus and Ephraim; but that the design here was to connect the prediction of those judgments with the surrounding kingdoms, and to show how they would be affected by it. The prophecy is, therefore, placed amidst those which relate to foreign nations; or to kingdoms out of the land of Canaan.

Damascus was a celebrated city of Syria, and was long the capital of the kingdom of Damascus. It was a city in the time of Abraham, for the steward in his house, Eliezer, was said to be of Damascus Genesis 15:2. It is situated in a very fertile plain at the foot of mount Anti-Libanus, and is surrounded by hills. It is watered by a river which the ancients caned "Chrysorrhoas," as if it flowed with gold. This river was divided into several canals, which were conducted to various parts of the city. It rose in the mountains of Anti-Libanus, and it is probable that the branches of that river were anciently called Abana and Pharpar 2 Kings 5:12. This river is now called the Bar-raday, and the unique beauty and fertility of Damascus is owing wholly to it. It rises in the adjacent mountains of Anti-Libanus, and, by numerous natural and artificial channels, is made to spread over the plain on which the city stands. It waters the whole extent of the gardens - an extent of country about nine miles in diameter, in the midst of which the city is situated - and when this is done, the water that is left flows off to the southeast through the plain, where, amid the arid sands, it is soon absorbed or evaporated, and the river disappears. The gardens are planted with all kinds of trees; mostly such as produce fruit, among which the apricot holds the ascendancy. Pomegranate, orange, lemon, and fig trees abound, and rising above these are other trees of huge proportions, intermingled with the poplar and sometimes the willow. Into every garden of the city water is carried, and this river, thus divided, gives to Damascus the beauty for which it has been so celebrated. The Persian geographers say, that the plain of Damascus is one of the four paradises of the East, and it is now said that there is not in all Syria a more delightful place.

From the time of Abraham until David, the Scripture says nothing of Damascus. In his time it was subdued, and brought under his authority. Toward the end of the reign of Solomon, the authority of the Jews was cast off by Rezin, and Damascus became again independent. Jeroboam, king of Israel, again conquered Damascus, and brought Syria into subjection 2 Kings 14:25; but after his death the Syrians again established their independence. Rezin became king of Damascus, and entered into an alliance with Pekah, king of Israel, and, unitedly, they invaded Judah, and made great havoc in its territories (see the notes at Isaiah 7; compare 2 Kings 16:5). Tiglath-pileser, however, king of Assyria, came to the assistance of the king of Judah and took Damascus, and destroyed it, and killed Rezin, and carried the Syrians into captivity beyond the Euphrates. To this event, probably, Isaiah refers in the prophecy before us. He, however, did not foretell its utter and "perpetual" ruin as he did that of Babylon. Damascus again recovered from its calamities. Holofernes again took it (Judith 2:27). It is spoken of as flourishing in the time of Ezekiel EZechariah 27:2. The Romans took it in the time, and by the agency, of Pompey the Great, about sixty years before Christ. It afterward fell into the hands of the Arabians. It was taken by the Ottomans 1517 a.d.; and has since been in the possession of the Turks. At present, it has a population of about 100,000. The name by which it is now known is "El-Sham." It is a part of the pashalic of Damascus, which extends to the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. Mehemet Ali of Egypt obtained possession of it without resistance, in June 1832, and since that time it has been under the jurisdiction of his son Ibrahim. It is regarded by Mussulmans as a place of special sanctity. According to them, Mecca has the first place, Jerusalem the next, and Damascus the third.

The prophecy respecting Damascus occupies Isaiah 17:1-11. The general sense is, that Damascus and its allies would be greatly enfeebled and almost destroyed. Its fulfillment is to be referred to the invasion of Damascus by Tiglath-pileser and the Assyrians. The remainder of the chapter Isaiah 17:12-14 is a distinct prophecy (see the notes at Isaiah 17:12).

Judgments of God upon Damascus, Isaiah 17:1-3; and upon Israel, Isaiah 17:4-6. Good effects of these judgments on the small remnant or gleaning that should escape them, Isaiah 17:7, Isaiah 17:8. The same judgments represented in other but stronger terms, and imputed to irreligion and neglect of God, Isaiah 17:9-11. The remaining verses are a distinct prophecy, a beautiful detached piece, worked up with the greatest elegance, sublimity, and propriety; and forming a noble description of the formidable invasion and sudden overthrow of Sennacherib, exactly suitable to the event, Isaiah 17:12-14.

This prophecy by its title should relate only to Damascus; but it full as much concerns, and more largely treats of, the kingdom of Samaria and the Israelites, confederated with Damascus and the Syrians against the kingdom of Judah. It was delivered probably soon after the prophecies of the seventh and eighth chapters, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz; and was fulfilled by Tiglath-pileser's taking Damascus, and carrying the people captives to Kir, (2 Kings 16:9), and overrunning great part of the kingdom of Israel, and carrying a great number of the Israelites also captives to Assyria; and still more fully in regard to Israel, by the conquest of the kingdom, and the captivity of the people, effected a few years after by Shalmaneser. - L.

INTRODUCTION TO Isaiah 17

This chapter contains a prophecy of the ruin of Syria and Israel, the ten tribes; who were in alliance; and also of the overthrow of the Assyrian army, that should come against Judah. The destruction of Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, and of other cities, is threatened, Isaiah 17:1 yea, of the whole kingdom of Syria, together with Ephraim or the ten tribes, and Samaria the head of them, Isaiah 17:3 whose destruction is expressed by various similes, as by thinness and leanness, and by the reaping and gathering of corn, Isaiah 17:4 and yet a remnant should be preserved, compared to gleaning gapes, and a few berries on an olive tree, who should look to the Lord, and not to idols, Isaiah 17:6 and the reason of the desolation of their cities, and of their fields and vineyards, was their forgetfulness of the Lord, Isaiah 17:9 and the chapter is closed with a prophecy of the defeat of the Assyrian army, who are compared for their multitude and noise to the seas, and to mighty waters, and the noise and rushing of them, Isaiah 17:12 and yet should be, at the rebuke of God, as chaff, or any small light thing, before a blustering wind, Isaiah 17:13 and who, in the evening, would be a trouble to the Jews, and be dead before morning; which was to be the portion of the spoilers and plunderers of the Lord's people, Isaiah 17:14.

Ch.Isaiah 17:1-11. The approaching overthrow of Damascus and North Israel

This oracle, the Isaianic authorship of which is beyond question, should be read after ch. Isaiah 9:8 to Isaiah 10:4 and before ch. 7. It deals mainly with the fate of the Northern Kingdom; but the combination of Syria and Ephraim in one prophecy shews that the league between these two nations had already been formed. With a serenity of faith which is more akin to the contemptuous attitude of ch. Isaiah 7:4 than to the impassioned utterances of Isaiah 9:8 ff., the prophet discloses the inevitable issues of an alliance based on practical rejection of Jehovah and the adoption of foreign idolatries (Isaiah 17:10 f.). The date is certainly prior to the Assyrian conquest of Damascus (c. 732), and since there is no mention of the outbreak of hostilities against Judah, we may fix it in the early days of the coalition (c. 735).

The passage divides itself into four sections:—

i. Isaiah 17:1-3. An announcement of the impending ruin of the kingdom of Damascus, Israel’s bulwark against the Assyrians.

ii. Isaiah 17:4-6. A figurative description of the fate of Ephraim: his strength shall be consumed until only an insignificant remnant is left.

iii. Isaiah 17:7-8. The effect of this display of the Divine power on men’s religious attitude.

iv. Isaiah 17:9-11. A renewed description of the judgment, which is shewn to be the fruit of Israel’s apostasy and devotion to heathen cults.

Isa 17:1-11.

PROPHECY CONCERNING DAMASCUS AND ITS ALLY SAMARIA, that is, Syria and Israel, which had leagued together (seventh and eighth chapters).

Already, Tiglath-pileser had carried away the people of Damascus to Kir, in the fourth year of Ahaz

(2Ki 16:9);

but now in Hezekiah's reign a further overthrow is foretold

(Jer 49:23; Zec 9:1).

Also, Shalmaneser carried away Israel from Samaria to Assyria

(2Ki 17:6; 18:10, 11)

in the sixth year of Hezekiah of Judah (the ninth year of Hoshea of Israel). This prophecy was, doubtless, given previously in the first years of Hezekiah when the foreign nations came into nearer collision with Judah, owing to the threatening aspect of Assyria.

1. Damascus--put before Israel (Ephraim,

Isa 17:3),

which is chiefly referred to in what follows, because it was the prevailing power in the league; with it Ephraim either stood or fell

(Isa 7:1-25).

The burden of Damascus - The oracle indicating calamity or destruction to Damascus (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). "Damascus is taken away." That is, it shall be destroyed. It was represented to the prophet in vision as destroyed (see the note at Isaiah 1:1).

And it shall be a ruinous heap - See Isaiah 35:2. This took place under the kings of Assyria, and particularly under Tiglath-pileser. This was in the fourth year of Ahaz 2 Kings 16:9.

The burden of Damascus - Which is, according to the common version, The cities of Aroer are forsaken. It has already been observed by the learned prelate that the prophecy, as it relates to Damascus, was executed in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, probably about the third year. If we credit Midrash, the Damascenes were the most extensive and flagrant of all idolaters. "There were in Damascus three hundred and sixty-five streets, in each of these was an idol, and each idol had his peculiar day of worship; so that the whole were worshipped in the course of the year." This, or any thing like this, was a sufficient reason for this city's destruction.

A ruinous heap - For מעי mei, "a ruinous heap," the Septuagint reads לעי lei, "for a ruin," the Vulgate כעי kei, "as a ruin." I follow the former.