Bibelkommentare

1. and princes shall rule] Some render emphatically: “and as for princes—they shall rule,” on account of a preposition in the Hebr.; but this is probably only a copyist’s error. On “righteousness” and “judgment,” see ch. Isaiah 1:21; cf. Isaiah 11:4-5.

1, 2. It is characteristic of Isaiah that the renovation of society is represented as commencing at the top, with the king and aristocracy. (Cf. ch. Isaiah 1:26, Isaiah 3:1-7) The ideal king has already been described (ch. Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1-4) as supernaturally endowed with the virtues of a perfect ruler; here the emphasis lies on the manifestation of these qualities in righteous government; and this, according to the constitutional principles of Isaiah’s time, required an order of state officials animated by the same spirit as the king himself.

Ch. Isaiah 32:1-8. The ideal commonwealth of the Messianic Age

This passage, although treated by many expositors as the continuation of ch. 31, bears all the marks of an independent prophecy. Its insertion in the present group of discourses is sufficiently explained by the picture it gives of a reformed upper class, in contrast with the irreligious and unscrupulous nobility against whom the previous chapters have been mainly directed. The time of its actual composition cannot be determined with certainty, but it is perhaps most naturally assigned to the close of Isaiah’s ministry, when his mind was occupied with the hope of the ideal future. Much has been made of the fact that the figure of the Messianic King (Isaiah 32:1) is less idealised than in the great prophecies of ch. Isaiah 9:1-6 and Isaiah 11:1-4. But this circumstance is easily accounted for by the leading idea of the prophecy (which is the transformation of social relationships), and cannot be safely used as a criterion of date. Still less does it furnish an argument against the Isaianic authorship of the passage. It is true, however, that in its somewhat laboured didactic style, and in the terms employed, the passage differs widely from anything else in the acknowledged writings of Isaiah; and the suggestion that it may have owed its final literary form to a later hand cannot be altogether ignored.

The contents of the prophecy are as follows:—

(1) Isaiah 32:1-2. A perfectly just and beneficent government will be established; king and nobles alike being endowed with the virtues necessary for their office, and yielding protection to the poor.

(2) Isaiah 32:3-4. Public opinion also will be enlightened and purified; the people will no longer be misled by false and superficial judgments, but even the most ignorant will be gifted with the faculty of sound moral discernment.

(3) Isaiah 32:5-8. The consequences of this will be that “the aristocracy of birth and wealth will be replaced by an aristocracy of character” (Delitzsch); men will find their proper level and be estimated at their true worth (5). To this is appended an analysis of the two contrasted types, the “churl” and the true nobleman (6–8).

2. For a man read each one (of the princes). The meaning of the figure is that every great man, instead of being a tyrant and oppressor of the poor (Isaiah 29:20 f.), shall be a protection against calamity and a source of beneficent activity.

from the tempest] from the rain storm; cf. ch. Isaiah 4:6.

the shadow of a great (lit. “heavy”) rock] cooler than that of a tree. Frequently cited parallels (since Gesenius) are the σκιὴ πετραίη of Hesiod (Works, 589) and the “saxea umbra” of Vergil (Georg. III. 145).

3. shall not be dim] shall not be closed (R.V. marg.). The verb, although disguised in the pointing, is no doubt the same as that used in ch. Isaiah 6:10, Isaiah 29:10 (lit. “smear”). The curse there pronounced shall be removed.

3, 4. The quickening of the moral perceptions of the people. Comp. ch. Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 29:24, Isaiah 30:20 f.

4. the rash] i.e. the hasty, inconsiderate person, who constantly blurts out crude and ill-judged opinions. The stammerers, on the other hand, are those who, even when their thoughts are right, lack the gift of clear utterance. To the former class is promised “understanding,” to the latter the power to speak promptly and “plainly” (lit. lucidities). Sound judgment and fluent speech combine to form a good popular orator.

5. True and false nobility shall no longer be confounded because of artificial caste-distinctions.

The vile person] or, the fool; see the typical specimen, Nabal by name and by nature, in 1 Samuel 25.

liberal] Better: noble (in rank). The word denotes, first, one of generous, self-sacrificing disposition; and then one of noble degree; Numbers 21:18 and often.

The word rendered churl occurs only here (and Isaiah 32:7), and its meaning is uncertain. The view adopted by most commentators derives it from a root signifying guile or craftiness (hence Cheyne well renders knave). bountiful represents another rare word (only Job 34:19 [E.V. “rich”]), perhaps man of substance.

6. The characteristics of the “fool.” Render: For a fool speaks folly and his heart works (LXX. “meditates”) mischief, to practise impiety (cf. Isaiah 9:17) and to speak error (Isaiah 29:24) against Jehovah, &c. The fool here depicted is a free thinker, a practical atheist, as in Psalm 14:1; the baneful effect of his principles is seen in his conduct towards his fellow-men, in his pitiless and cruel selfishness.

to make empty …] to deprive the destitute of their scanty subsistence.

6–8. The two types contrasted in their conduct.

7. The instruments] i.e. the weapons or methods, of the knave. The word is chosen because of its close similarity to that for “knave” (kçlai—kçlâv). On these machinations of the knave, see ch. Isaiah 29:21.

even when the needy speaketh right] in a forensic sense (= “speaks with right on his side”).

8. But the liberal (the noble man) deviseth liberal (noble) things—and thereby evinces genuine nobility.

by liberal things …] Better: in noble things doth he continue (nearly as R.V.). His generous impulses are sustained in his conduct.