Matthew Henry on Isaiah 29:1-8
That it is Jerusalem which is here called Ariel is agreed, for that was the city where David dwelt; that part of it which was called Zion was in a particular manner the city of David, in which both the temple and the palace were. But why it is so called is very uncertain: probably the name and the reason were then well known. Cities, as well as persons, get surnames and nicknames. Ariel signifies the lion of God, or the strong lion: as the lion is king among beasts, so was Jerusalem among the cities, giving law to all about her; it was the city of the great King (Psa 48:1, Psa 48:2); it was the head-city of Judah, who is called a lion's whelp (Gen 49:9) and whose ensign was a lion; and he th…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 29:6
Thou--the Assyrian army.
thunder, &c.--not literally, in the case of the Assyrians (Isa 37:36); but figuratively for an awful judgment (Isa 30:30; Isa 28:17). The ulterior fulfilment, in the case of the Jews' foes in the last days, may be more literal (see as to "earthquake," Zac 14:4).
John Gill on Isaiah 29:6
Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise,.... That is, not the multitude of strangers and terrible ones, unless they could be understood of the wicked among the Jews; but thou Ariel, or Jerusalem, shalt be punished by the Lord of hosts; for this visitation or punishment was from him, for their sins and iniquities; the Romans were only the instruments he made use of, and the executioners of his vengeance; which was attended with thunder in the heavens, a shaking of the earth, and a great noise or voice heard in the temple, saying, let us depart hence; at which time comets were seen in the heavens, and chariots and armed men in the air, and…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Isaiah 29:6
From Jehovah of hosts shalt thou be visited. He next assigns the reason why all this multitude of garrisons shall be "like chaff;" and he expresses this by an opposite metaphor, for with those soldiers he contrasts the anger and "visitation of the Lord." What is "chaff" to the flame of "a devouring fire?" What is "dust" to the force and violence of a "whirlwind?" He shews that the vengeance of God will be such as all their preparations shall be unable to resist. This meaning, in my opinion, makes the passage to flow easily, and the clauses will not be so well adjusted, if we follow a different interpretation.
Hence we learn that those who assail us can do no more than what the Lord permits…
