Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_200_p.lzh/5_208.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-09 | 7KB | 131 lines

delivered ? it is not; as sure as other lands have been
destroyed, so sure shall thine.
Vet. l2. Have the gods of the nations delivered them
which my fathers have destroyed, &c.] They have not,
But what then ? is the God of Israel to be put upon a
level with'such dunghit-gods? so Sennacherib reck-
oned him, as Rabshakeh before, in his .name, ch. xxxvi.
i8, 19, 20: as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the
children of Eden, wttich were in Telassar.' Gozan was
the same, it may be, with the Gnusosiris of Ptolemy
which he makes 'mention of in his description of Meso-
potamia; and the rather, since Haran or Chapman was
a city of MesopOtamia, 'Gen. xi. 3t. Acts vii. e, 4. called
by Ptolemy by the name of Carrot; and who also, in the
same place, makes mention of Rezeph, under the name
of Rhescipha; though he likewise speaks of another
place in Palmyrene in Syria, called Rhaesapha {b}, which
some think to be the place here intended. Eden was
also in Mesopotamia, in the eastern part of which was
the.garden of Eden; and this Telassar, inhabited by
the children of Eden, was a city in that country, which
is by Ptolemy {c} called Theida; though Hillerus a is of
opinion that the city Thatatha is meant, which- is
placed · near the river Tigris, a river of paradise. A
very learned freSh is Of Opinion, that the Eden, Isaiah
here speaks of, belongs either to Syria of Damascus,
and to the Lebanon and Paneas from whence Jurdan
arose; or to Syro-Phoenicia, and the Mediterranean sea,
which the name Thalassar shews, as if it was \~yalassa\~,
the Syrians being used to derive not a few of their
words from the Greeks: and certain it in, that there is
now a village called Eden on Mount Lebanon, which
Thevenot{g} mentions; and another, near Damascus,
Mr. Moundtell {h} speaks of; see Amos i. 5. and Tyre in
Phoenicia is called Eden, Ezek. xxviii. 13.
Ver.' 13. Where is the king of Hamath, and the Icing
of Arp'had, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, &c.3
The 'same, as some think, with the gods or idols ot'
those places, as in ch. xxxvi. 19.. see the note there;
though it tnay be.the princes that ruled over those ci.
ties are meant, who were either slain, or become tribu-
tary to the king of Assyria. It is added, Henah and lvah:
which some take to be the names of the gods or kings
of Sepharvaim; but rather, since Sephnrvaim is of the
dual number, it was a double city, the river Euphrates
passing between them; and these, as Musculus on-
jectures', were the names of them; or it may be, these
were distinct cities' from that, but what or where 'they
were is not certain. Ptolemy makes mention of a
place cailed [ngine, near Gausanitis or Gozau, supposed
to be Henah ; though others rather think' it to be Ange,
which he places in Arabia{i}, which I think is -not so
probable. lvah perhaps is the same with Arab, in
2 Kings xvii. 24. The Targum does not take them
for' names or' places, but translates them, "hath he not
· ' removed them, and carried them captive ?" and so
Jarchi's note is, "the king of Assyria hath moved
"and overthrow.n them, and destroyed them, and re-
"moved them out of their place;" referring to the
other cities.
Vet. 14. And Hezekiah received the letter from the
hand of the messengers, and read it, &c.] Or boohs {k},
in which the above things were written; and every
one of these he read, as Kimchi interprets it; though
the Targum is, "he took the letters from the hand of
"the messengers, and re. ad one of them;" that is, as
Kimchi's father explains it, in which was the blas-
phemy against. God; 'this he read over carefully to
himself, observed the contents of it, and then did with
it as follows: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of
God; the temple, the outward court of it, further than
which he could not go: and spread it be. fore the Lord;
not to read it, as he had done, or to acquaint him with
thecontents of it, which he fully knew ;but, as it chiefly
regarded him, and affected his hunour and glory, he
laid it before him, that he might take notice of it, and
vindicate himself, and avenge his owu cause; he brought
it as a proof of what he had to say to him in prayer,
and to support him in his allegations, and as a means
to quicken himself in the discharge of that duty.
Yet. 15. And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying.]
He did not return railing for railing, but committed
himself and his cause to him that judge, th righteously;
he did not write an answer to the letter himself., but
lays it bctbre the Lord, and prays him to answer it, who
was most principally reflected on in it.
Vet. 1t5. O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest
between the cherubim, &c.] Or, the inhabitant of the
cherubinz {l}; which were over the mercy-seat, the resi-
dence of the Shechinah, or Majesty of God, the sym-
bol of the divine Presence in the holy of holies; a
title which the God of Israel, the Lord of armies
in heaven,and earth bears, and distinguishes him from
all other gods, and which several titles carry in them
arguments to strengthen faith in prayer; being the
Lord of hosts, he was able to do whatsoever was de-
sired, and more abundantly; being the God of Israel,
their covep. ant-God, it might be hoped and expected
he would protect and defend them; and sitting between
the cherubim, on the mercy-seat, great encouragement
might be .had that he would be gracious and merciful,
and hear and help: thou art the God, even thou alone,
of all the kingdoms of the earth; this is opposed to the
conceit of Sennacherib, that he was only the God of
the Jews, and had no concern with other kingdoms and
nations; whereas all belong to him, and him only;
· they are all under his jurisdiction and domifiion, and.
at his will and control: thou hast made heaven and
earth; and so has an indisputable right'to the govern-
ment of the whole world, and to the disposal of-all
things in it.
Vet. 17. Incline thine ear, 0 Lord, and hear, &c.]
The prayer which Hezekiah was now pres_enting to
him, as also the reproach of th'e enemy: open-thine
eyes, 0 Lord, and see; the letter he spread before him,
and 'take notice of the blasphemies in it; and punish


{z} Geograph, 1. 5. c. 18.
{a} Ibid.
{b} Ibid. c. 15.
{c} lbid. c. 18.
{d}l Onomast. Sacr. p. 945.
{e} Geograph. 1. 5. c.20.
{f} Nichol. Abrami Pharus Vet. Test. 1.2. c. 16. p. 57.
{g} Travels, part 1. B. 2. ch. 60. p. 221.
{h} Journey from Aleppo, p. 119, 120. Ed. 7th.
{i} Geograph. I. 6. c. 7.
{k} \^Myrpo ta\^ libros, Vulg. Lat.
{l} \^Mybrkh bvy\^ cherubim inhabitator, Forerius.