and grievouS prophecy, concerning the destruction of "
it; the Arabic version is, "the prophecy of Isaiah
"concerning Damascus;" and the Targum is, "the
"burden of the cup of cursing to give Damascus to
"~, drink., Behold, Damascus is taken away from being
a city; a kingdom, .as the TargUm; it was the -head of
one, but now its walls were demolished, its houses
pulled down, and its inhabitants carried captive; this
was done by Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, 2 Kings
xvi. 9. it had been a very ancient city, see Gen.
and the  head of the kingdom of Syria, ch. vii. 8, and
though it underwent this calamity, it was rebuilt
again, and was a city of great fame, when destroyed
by Nebuchadnezzar, Jar. xlix. 24, 25. after which it
was raised up again, and was in being in the apostle's
time, and still is, Acts ix. 2. œ Car. xi. 32. and it shall
be a ruinous heap; or a heap .of stones, as the. Targum
and Kimchi interpret it. "A ,behold is prefixed to the.
whole, as being very wonderEal .and ,reanarkable,
thought of, and unexpected.
Ver. 2. The cities of Aroen are .forsaken, &c.] The,
inhabitants of them being slain, or carried captive,
obliged to flee, Aroer was a city by the. river,
on the. borders of Moab and Amman, Deut.ii.
and iii. 12. it was .originally in, the hands of the
Amorites,. and sometimes in the hands of theMoa bi tea
and Ammonites: it wns givnen by Moses. to'the,Reuben-
ires and, Gadires, from .whom it. was taken .by the
Syrians, and i'n whose p6s. sesaian it seems to have
been at this-time; see 2 Kirigs x. 33-. though Jarchi
thinks it was now in the hands of Pekah king! of Israel,
and said to be forsaken, because the ,Reubenites
Gadites were now carried captive. Jerom {m} says. it was
seen in his time. upon the tap of the mountain. Here
it seems to designs c9untry of this name, iirwhieh were
many cities. Cretins thinks it was a tract Of had in
Syria, the same with the Aveir'a of Ptolemy ". V-itringa
is of opinion that Damascus itseft is. meant, w, hich was
a double city, like that. div, ided by the river Chry-
sorrhoas, as. this was. by Arnou. They shall, be-for
flocks which shall lie down; instead of houses, there
should be sheepcotes and shepherds' tents, and instead
of men, sheep; and where streets were, grass would
grow. and flocks feed and lie down; which iS ex-
pressive of the utter desolation of these cities. or this
tract of ground: and none shall make them afraid ; the,.
flocks of sheep. timorous creatures, easily frighted;
but so great should be the depopulation now, there
would be no man. upon t.he spot. or any pass by. to
give them any disturbance
Ver. 3. The fortress also shah cease from Ephraim,
&c.] The ten tribes. now in confederacy with the
Syrians. whose metropolis or fortress was Samaria,
which seems to be intended here; and should be de-
stroyed. at least taken out of the hands of the Israelites,
and they be carried captive by Salmaneser king of As-
syria, 2 Kings xvii. 6. and this may be understood, not
of that particular city and fortress only. but of aH
their strong holds. the singular being, put for the
plural. The Targum is, the government shall cease
from Ephraim; they shall have no more a king over
them, nor have they to this day: and the kingdom from
Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; Datnascus was
the head'city of Syria, where the kings of Syria had
their palace; but now that and the rest of Syria should
no more be a kingdom of itself, but should be subject
unto others, as it has been ever since: they shah be as
the glory of the children of Israel. saith the Lord of
hosts; that is, the Syrians, who were in alliance with
Israel, should share the same fate; should be carried
captive as they were; should have their tnetropolis and,
other cities. and their whole kingdom, taken from
them.and be stripped of their grandeur ar/d wesl eh, and,
havana more glory than they had; which was none at
all; or at least very small. as the next verse shews.
.. Ver. 4. ,And in that day it shall come to pass, &c.]
It being much aboutthe same time that both kingdoms
were destroyed by the Assyrians: that the glory of
Jacab shall be made thin; the same with Ephraim and
ISrael, the ten tribes, whose glory lay in the superior
number of.their tribes to Judah ;-in the multitude of
their cities, and the inhabitants of them; but now,
Would' bethlane&; !by the vast numbers that should be
carried captive : and the fatness .Of his fiesh shall wax
lean :. like a man in a consumption. that is become .a
mare skeleton, and reduced to skin and bones: the
meaning is, that all their wraith and riches should be
taken away ;..so the Targum, " and. the riches of his
"glory shall be carried away."
Vet..s.., And; ú it shall be as when the harvestman
q!atltereth the corn, &e.] The standing corni, as in; the
ebrew text :. and roapeth the ears with his wrm ; or his
arm neaps the ears {o}; treat is, with one hand he gathers
the standing corn into his fist, and then reaps it with
his other firm; and just, so it should be with the people
of Israel : they were like a field of standing corn, 'f0t,
number, haunt, y,. and glory ; the Assyrian was like a
harvestman, who laid hold upon them, and cut them
down, as thick and as numerous as they were, just as a
harvestman cuts down the corn, and with as much
ease and quick. dispatch; they being no more abide to
stand before him than a field of corn before the reaper!
this was done bath hy Tilgath-pilneser, 2 Kings. xv.
29. and by Salmaneser, 2 Kings xvii. 6. kings of As-
syria .: and it .shah be as he that gatheraSh ears in the
valley of Rephaim; the Targum renders it, "the valley
"" of ,giants ." and so it is translated, Josh. xv. 8. and
xviii. 16. mention is madeof itin 2 Sam. v. 18, 22. and
.xxiii. 13. it was, a valley not far from Jerusalem, as
Jos_ephuts {p} says; who also. calls it-the valley of the
giants: it is thought to have been avery fruitful place.
where the ears ofcorn were very large and heavy, and
so great care was taken laguShering and gleanlug that
none be lost: wherefore, as the former si.mile sig, nifies
the carrying off the people of Israel in great, numbers
by the above kings, this may Signify, as some have
thought, either the picking up of those that fled with-
out, or the gleaning of them in after-times by Esar.
haddon, Ezra iv. 2.
Ver. 6. Yet gleanlug grapes shah be 'left in it, &c.]

{m} De locis. Heb. fol. 87. 1.
{n} Geograph. l. 5. c, 15.
{o} \^rwuqy Mylbv werzw\^ et brachium ejus spicas demeteret, Junius
& Tremellius ; demetit, Piscator, &c.
{p} Antiqu. 1, 7. c. 4. sect. 1.