Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Isaiah Kabanata 27

Isaiah 27:1. In that day, &c.— In that day shall Jehovah punish with his sword; his well-tempered, and great, and strong sword; Leviathan the rigid serpent, and Leviathan the winding serpent: and shall slay the monster, that is in the sea. Lowth. This prophesy may be connected either with the last verse of the preceding chapter, and that day, or time, refer to the time of indignation there spoken of; or you may connect it with the latter end of the 24th chapter, and particularly the 21st verse; for the destruction of the kings of the earth there mentioned, is the same with that of the animals in the present verse. There are three distinct creatures here spoken of: By the leviathan, rigid or straight serpent, the crocodile seems to be meant; by the winding serpent, the dragon, or large African serpent; and by the monster in the sea, most probably the whale. Vitringa thinks, that by the two first of these creatures are signified the kingdoms of Egypt and Assyria, as they existed after the times of Alexander the Great; and by the whale the kingdom of Arabia, and the other neighbouring nations, which were adversaries to the people of God; or that by these three animals are to be understood the persecutors and adversaries of the church, who should exist successively in the world, and be destroyed by the divine judgments. See his Note.

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Isaiah 27:2. In that day, &c.— The church, being purified by the fire of affliction, shall at that time, the prophet informs us, appear in its true character: Fervent in faith, love, zeal, piety, it shall be beheld in all its full beauty and comeliness, which is the end and design of all its afflictions and trials, This he sets forth by an elegant emblem, declaring that God should have at that time a vineyard of red, or fervent wine; alluding to the church, glowing with the zeal of religion and red with the blood of martyrs: see Revelation 7:14. This was the case of the church at the time of the Maccabees, and at the time of the apostles, after the Dioclesian persecution; but yet, says Vitringa, we expect something greater in the full completion of this prophesy.

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Isaiah 27:12. And it shall come to pass, &c.— This verse contains the 5th attribute of that time, in which God, raising his church as it were from the dead, and purifying it from idolatry and superstition, collected together by his powerful arm the dispersed members thereof. The prophet makes use of a peculiar expression, יחבט iachbot, which we render shall beat off: It is metaphorical, and alludes not only to the beating or thrashing of wheat, but also to the beating of olives from the trees; and the meaning is, that God will beat or thrash the land and people of Syria, which kingdom extended as widely as the prophet here expresses; taking vengeance of the tyranny and perfidy which they had used towards his people; that by this means liberty might be granted to the Jewish nation of going to Jerusalem, and performing the duties of their religion. They should be gathered one by one like olives, which, being beaten by a vehement motion from the tree, are carefully gathered one by one and brought together. See Jer 3:14 and Vitringa.

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