a tower (from its size or height) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
fenced
בְצוּרָֽהve.tzu.Rah
H1219
to gather grapes · verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular absolute
wall
חוֹמָ֥הcho.Mah
H2346
a wall of protection · noun, common feminine 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
Isaiah 25:12 And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 2:10–end
The prophet here goes on to show what a desolation would be brought upon their land when God should have forsaken them. This may refer particularly to their destruction by the Chaldeans first, and afterwards by the Romans, or it may have a general respect to the method God takes to awaken and humble proud sinners, and to put them out of conceit with that which they delighted in and depended on more than God. We are here told that sooner or later God will find out a way,
I. To startle and awaken secure sinners, who cry peace to themselves, and bid defiance to God and his judgments (Isa 2:10): "Enter into the rock; God will attack you with such terrible judgments, and strike you with such terr…
tower . . . wall--Towers were often made on the walls of cities.
fenced--strongly fortified.
John Gill on Isaiah 2:15
And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall. Which may signify everything that serves to support and defend the antichristian hierarchy, particularly the secular powers. The Targum paraphrases it,
"and upon all that dwell in a high tower, and upon all that reside by a fortified wall.''
John Calvin on Isaiah 2:15
And upon every lofty tower What he adds about towers and walls is not figurative or metaphorical. We know how men, when they think that they are well defended, congratulate themselves that they no longer need the assistance of God. Accordingly, under the name of towers and walls Isaiah mentions the object of false confidence; for if any place seem to be impregnable, there do irreligious men build their nest, that they may look down from it on heaven and earth; for they imagine that they are placed beyond all the uncertainties of fortune. Isaiah therefore threatens that, when it shall please God to humble men, he will throw down all the defenses on which they place a false confidence. And alt…
(Verse 15) And over every high tower, and over every fortified wall. Those who refer these times to Vespasian and Adrian, say that the things written have been fulfilled in bodily form, that neither a high tower, nor a strongest wall, nor any multitude of ships and the industry of commerce, were able to prevail against the power of the Roman army; but such fear had come upon the inhabitants of Judea, that they themselves, along with their wives and children, thinking that gold and silver would be of help to them, were submerged in the pits of the earth, and sought the deepest caves. For if the belly of the voracious and luxurious is God, why should gold and silver not be called God? Others refer these things to the times of Babylon. Therefore, according to the laws of tropology, let us go through each individual thing. A tower is built either for the defense of the city or for a lookout, so that the approaching enemy can be seen from afar. Therefore, each one of us must build a tower, after calculating the expenses, lest, according to the Gospel parable (Luke 14), when he cannot complete the work, he be laughed at. This well-constructed tower will persist. But if it is built in pride and does not have a strong foundation, it will fall on the one from whom it was built, just like that tower in Siloam, which killed eighteen men. Therefore, the Lord speaks to those who hear: 'And unless you repent, you will all likewise perish' (Luke 13:3). We will also read in the following that the Lord built a tower in his vineyard and made a winepress, and surrounded it with a wall, but all of these were destroyed and laid waste because they swelled with the empty pride of their arrogance (Isaiah 5). They also build high walls so that the city is not quickly destroyed, so that it is not open to enemies who surround it, fortified by men of great wisdom and by every means, so that no false doctrine prevails over the truth. God speaks about these walls to Jerusalem: 'Behold, I have depicted your walls on my hands, and they are always before me.' (Jeremiah XLV, 16, trans. LXX). But if those who had previously attacked the Church, upon discovering the truth, turn to faith and fight for it, which they had previously attacked, then this will be fulfilled: 'You will quickly be rebuilt by those by whom you were destroyed.' (Ibid., 17). In Leviticus, we also read that a house, which…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Isaiah · and distrust of God — and distrust of God
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Towers · Frequently very high — Frequently very high
Walls · Of cities: Strongly fortified — Of cities: Strongly fortified
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).
Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 2:15-16
The glory of nature is followed by what is lofty and glorious in the world of men, such as magnificent fortifications, grand commercial buildings, and treasures which minister to the lust of the eye. "As upon every high tower, so upon every fortified wall. As upon all ships of Tarshish, so upon all works of curiosity." It was by erecting fortifications for offence and defence, both lofty and steep (bâzur, praeruptus, from bâzar, abrumpere, secernere), that Uzziah and Jotham especially endeavoured to serve Jerusalem and the land at large. The chronicler relates, with reference to Uzziah, in 2 Chron 26, that he built strong towers above "the corner-gate, the valley-gate, and the southern poi…
The prophet used several images of human strength to elaborate on 2:11-12.
2:13 The cedars of Lebanon were prized trees used in the construction of Solomon’s Temple and palace (1 Kgs 5:6) and other important buildings (Ezra 3:7). They represented wealth and power (2 Chr 25:18; Pss 92:12; 104:16), yet these mighty trees were as nothing before the Lord (Isa 10:34; 33:9; see the boast of Sennacherib in 37:24). • The oaks of Bashan were also an image of strength and splendor (Ezek 27:6); they, too, will disappoint (Isa 33:9; Nah 1:4; Zech 11:2).
Rashi on Isaiah 2:14
And over all the high mountains over their inhabitants.
