Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_400.lzh/6_450.TXT

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never siay one more: and that grave, which devoured
as many, will never be opened more, or one more put
into it; and then it may be said, grave, where is thy
victory ? thou shall conquer no more, but be at an end.
Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes; that is, the
Lord will never repent of his decree of redemption
from hell, death, and the grave; nor of the work of it
by Christ; nor of the entire destruction of these things;
which being once done, will never be repented of nor
recalled, but remain so for ever.
Ver. 15. Though he be fruitful among his brethren,
&c.] This is not spoken of Christ, as some think,
who take the words to be a continuation ofthe prophecy
concerning the Redeemer, who should increase his bre-
thren, and bring many to him; and be as noxious to hell
and death as the east wind is to persons and things,
and dry up the fountains and springs of hell and death;
the sins of men he should abolish, and be victorious
over all his enemies, and divide their spoils: but
they are rather the words of Christ himself concern-
ing Ephraim, in connexion with ver. 13. expressing
his character and state, and explaining the sorrows
and calamities that should come upon him for his
folly, in not staying the time of the breaking forth
children; and to be understood either of his spiritual
fruitfulness in the last days; when Israel shall return
to the Lord by repentance, and believe in the true
Messiah, and bring forth the fruit of good works, as
an evidence of it, along with their brethren, those of
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and so all Israel
should be saved; which yet should not hinder the dis-
tresses and destruction that should co,he u port the ten
tubes by the Assyrians, afterwards declared: or rather
of his political fruitfulness, in allusion to his name;
increasing in numbers, abounding in power and au-
thority, in wealth and riches; either before the sin of
the calves, as Kimchi, before he fell into idolatry;
or afterwards, particularly in the times of Jeroboam
the second, who enlarged the border of Israel; and in
after-times, when the kings of' Israel entered into alli-
ance with the Assyrians, and enjoyed peace and ln'o-
sperity, and thought themselves secure of the continu-
ance of it. Some render it, because he is fierce {}; or
liken wild ass's colt; not only foolish and unwise, but
fierce and unruly among his brethren, and would not
stay the time of the breaking forth of children: there-
fore an east wind shall come: which is very vehement,
cold, blasting, aud exceeding noxious and pernicious
to fruit; meaning Salmaneser king of Assyria, who
came from the east; his kingdom, the land of Assyria,
lying, as Kimchi observes, eastward to the land of
Israel. So the Targum, "now will I bring against
"hint a king strong as a burning wind ;" so the king
of Babylon and his army are compared to a strong and
violent wind, Jet. iv. 1'1, 12, 13. The wind of the Lord
shall come up from the wilderness; the same is called
the wind of the Lord, partly to denote the strength and
vehemency of it, as mountains of the Lord, and cedars
of the Lord, s:.gnify great and mighty ones; and partly
to shew that this enemy would come at the call of the
Lord, by his direction and appointment. So the Tar-
gum, "by the word of the Lord, through the way of'
"the wilderness shall he come up;" this circumstance,
from the .wilderness, is mentioned, not only because
winds from thence usually blow more strongly and
violent!y, but because the way from Assyria to the
land of Israel lay through a wilderness. And his spring
shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried
his land wasted and destroyed; his fields, vineyards,
and oliveyards, trodden down and ruined, which
yielded a large increase; trade and commerce stopped,
and so all the springs and fountains of wealth and
riches dried up; as well as their wives and children
destroyed, as often mentioned, which were the source
and spring of their continuance as a people in ages to
come. He shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels;
not Christ, nor Ephraim, but the Assyrian; who, en-
tering into their cities, would plunder them of all their
vessels ofdesire {}, or desirable ones; their vessels of
gold and silver; all their rich household goods and
furniture of value; all their wealth and riches trea-
sured up by them, their gold, silver, precious stones,
rich garments, &c. So the Targum, "he shall destroy
"the house of his treasures, and shall lay waste the
"city of his kingdom; he shall spoil the treasuries, all
"vessels of desire."
Ver. 16. Samaria shall become desolate, &c.] With
this verse the 14th chapter begins in the Hebrew co-
pies, and in the Targum, and in many versions; but
seems better to conclude the present chapter; since it
is in close connexion with the preceding verse, and ex-
plains the figurative expressions there used. Samaria
was the head of Ephraim, Isa. vii. 9. or the metropolis
of the ten tribes of Israel; whose desolation is here
prophesied of, and was accomplished by Salmaneser
king of Assyria, signfied by the east wind; by' whom
tt was not only besieged and taken, but very probably
its houses were demolished, its walls broken down,
and razed to the very foundation; see 2 Kings xvii.
5, 6. and, as this was the head city, it may be put for
all the rest, and even for the whole land, which was at
the same time laid waste. The Targum is," Samaria
"shall be guilty ;" that is, shall be found guilty of
many sins; her transgression shall be revealed, as
Jarchi, become manifest by the just punishment in-
flicted on her. For she hath rebelled against her God;
and bitterly provoked him to wrath and anger, as the
word {u} signifies; by reliquishing him and his worship,
and by serving idols, the calves at Dan and Beth-el,
Baal and other idols; when the Lord was their God,
not only by creation, as of all men, but by the choice
he made of them, and the covenant he made with
them; by a national adoption of them, attended with
various blessings and privileges, and by their profession
of him; all which were an aggravation of their rebel-
lion against him. They shall fall by the sword: the
inhabitants of Samaria, and of the land, particularly
the men thereof'; and especially their armed men, their
men of war, that fought for them, and defended them;
these should fall by the sword of the Assyrian. Their

{s} \^ayrpy\^ "ille fero modo aget", Cocceius; "ferox est, notat ferum, vel
ferocem esse sicut onagrum", Schmidt, Burkius. So R. Jonah in Ben
Melech.
{t} \^hdmx ylk lk\^ "omnium vasorum desiderii", Montanus; "omnis vasis
desiderii", Schmidt.
{u} \^ttrm\^ "ad amaritudinem concitavit", V. L.; "significat amsricare,
vel amaritudine replere", Rivet.