Isaiah 16:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 16:5
And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Daniel 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an ev…
Micah 4:7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion f…
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,…
Daniel 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the mos…
Isaiah 32:1-2 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment.
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lo…
Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 16:1-5
God has made it to appear that he delights not in the ruin of sinners by telling them what they may do to prevent the ruin; so he does here to Moab.
I. He advises them to be just to the house of David, and to pay the tribute they had formerly covenanted to pay to the kings of his line (Isa 16:1): Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land. David made the Moabites tributaries to him, Sa2 8:2. They became his servants, and brought gifts. Afterwards they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel (Kg2 3:4), and paid it in lambs. Now the prophet requires them to pay it to Hezekiah. Let it be raised and levied from all parts of the country, from Selah, a frontier city of Moab on the one side, to t…
If Judah shelters the suppliant Moab, allowing him to remain in Idumea, a blessing will redound to Judah itself and its "throne."
truth . . . judgment . . . righteousness--language so divinely framed as to apply to "the latter days" under King Messiah, when "the Lord shall bring again the captivity of Moab" (Psa 72:2; Psa 96:13; Psa 98:9; Jer 48:47; Rom 11:12).
hasting--"prompt in executing."
John Gill on Isaiah 16:5
And in mercy shall the throne be established,.... That is, the throne of Hezekiah, and his government over Judah, which was more firmly settled and established after the overthrow of the Assyrian army, through the mercy of God vouchsafed to him, and on account of the mercy he exercised among his subjects, see Proverbs 20:28. Hezekiah was a type of Christ, and his throne typical of his, and the ultimate view of the prophecy may be to the stability of the kingdom of Christ; so the Targum,
"then the Christ of Israel, his throne shall be established in goodness:''
and he shall sit upon it in truth; which does not so much intend the reality of his sitting there, as his continuance, signified by…
According to Aquila, "his throne will be established in mercy," or according to Theodotion, "the throne will be established with mercy." Who will establish the throne? Or how is Christ born from the posterity of David? The throne will be established by the Moabites, according to the text; and Christ who is born from the tent (tabernacle) of David will sit upon the throne. By "the tent of David" the prophet means the church of God. David himself is called christ because from his posterity Christ is born according to flesh. Therefore, the tent (tabernacle) of David is the church, and the throne belongs to the head of the church. It refers to the humanity of Christ. Therefore, one should contemplate on the mystery of Christ revealed in the prophecy only in the Holy Spirit; and in such a cautious contemplation curiosity and speculation must be tamed.
(Verse 5) And a throne shall be prepared in mercy, and he shall sit upon it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking judgment, and quickly rendering what is just. The Hebrews interpret this place as follows: After the Assyrian is driven away, the just man Ezechias shall reign over Judah, and he shall retain the throne of David, ruling over the people of God in truth. Others understand it as referring to Christ. After the dust and destroyer of the Antichrist are removed, who trampled upon the whole earth, Christ the king shall come, who shall sit in the tabernacle of David, and on the day of judgment he shall render to all according to their works. And there is no doubt that this chapter predicts about Christ. But we can understand the same thing in his first coming, and show in the Church's tabernacle, that in all the land of Moab the trophies of the Churches rising up testify to the kingdom of Christ.
"And a throne will be prepared in mercy, and on it will sit in truth, in the tabernacle of David, one who judges and seeks judgment and quickly renders what is just." The Hebrews interpret this to mean that Hezekiah, a just man, after having expelled the Assyrians, will retain the throne of David and rule Judah, adjudging the people of God to be subject to himself in truth. Others understand that it is about Christ. With the antichrist reduced to dust and with the oppressor who had trampled all the earth removed, Christ the King will come and sit in the tabernacle of David and render to each person according to his works on the day of judgment. Neither is there any doubt that this chapter prophesies of Christ. But we are also able to understand the same thing in the first advent and to demonstrate in the tabernacle of the church that the surging victories of the churches of Moab in all the earth testify to the dominion of Christ.
Dictionary and topics
Tent — (1.) Heb. ‘ohel (Gen. 9:21, 27). This word is used also of a dwelling or habitation (1 Kings 8:66; Isa. 16:5; Jer. 4:20), and of the temple (Ezek. 41:1). When used of the tabernacle, as in 1 Kings…
Moabites · Prophesies respecting: Desolation and grief — Prophesies respecting: Desolation and grief
Rulers · CHARACTER AND QUALIFI — CHARACTER AND QUALIFI
Tabernacle · Illustrative: Of the Church — Illustrative: Of the Church
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And the throne shall be prepared in mercy. [256] The Jews explain the whole of this verse as referring to Hezekiah; but this is altogether inappropriate, for the Prophet speaks of a more important restoration of the Church, and the Moabites had not been punished during the flourishing condition of Hezekiah's reign; and the blessing of God again began to burst forth on the Jews. It is as if it had been said "All the enemies of the chosen people maliciously contrive the ruin of that kingdom, which God promised should be established for ever." (2 Samuel 7:13.) That the godly may not give way to despondency amidst the unhappy confusion, they are reminded of the perpetuity of the kingdom, of whic…
There they show themselves, on the spot to which their land once reached before it passed into the possession of Israel - there, on its farthest boundary in the direction towards Judah, which was seated above; and taking heart, address the following petitions to Zion, or to the Davidic court, on the other side. "Give counsel, form a decision, make thy shadow like night in the midst of noon; hide the outcasts, do not betray the wanderers. Let mine outcasts tarry in thee, Moab; be a covert to it from before the spoiler." In their extremity they appeal to Zion for counsel, and the once proud but now thoroughly humbled Moabites place the decision of their fate in the hands of the men of Judah (s…
God would establish one of David’s descendants as king (see also 9:7; 11:1-5, 10-12).
Rashi on Isaiah 16:5
And the throne shall be established through lovingkindness When this destruction comes upon you, then the throne of David shall be established and magnified, for at that time, Sennacherib shall meet his downfall through Hezekiah, whose throne shall be established through the lovingkindness that he shall perform, as we find that he bestowed lovingkindness, as it is stated in II Chron. (30:24): “For Hezekiah, king of Judah provided for the assembly a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep.”
and there shall sit...one who judges and demands justice and performs righteousness Heb. וּמְהִר צֶדֶק. Jonathan renders: and performs justice.
