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
Exodus 39:28 And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen,
Genesis 35:4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them…
Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring…
Ezekiel 16:12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
Hosea 2:13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, a…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 3:16–end
The prophet's business was to show all sorts of people what they had contributed to the national guilt and what share they must expect in the national judgments that were coming. Here he reproves and warns the daughters of Zion, tells the ladies of their faults; and Moses, in the law, having denounced God's wrath against the tender and delicate woman (the prophets being a comment upon the law, Deu 28:56), he here tells them how they shall smart by the calamities that are coming upon them. Observe,
I. The sin charged upon the daughters of Zion, Isa 3:16. The prophet expressly vouches God's authority for what he said. lest it should be thought it was unbecoming in him to take notice of such th…
bonnets--turbans.
ornaments of the legs--the short stepping-chains from one foot to another, to give a measured gait; attached to the "tinkling ornaments" (Isa 3:16).
headbands--literally, "girdles."
tablets--rather, "houses of the breath," that is, smelling boxes [Vulgate].
earrings--rather, amulets suspended from the neck or ears, with magic formulÃ&brvbr inscribed; the root means to "whisper" or "conjure."
John Gill on Isaiah 3:20
The bonnets,.... This word is used sometimes for the tire of the heads of men, Ezekiel 24:17 and even for the bonnets of the priests, Exodus 39:28. The Targum renders the word "crowns"; the Jewish women wore golden crowns on their heads, in the form of the city of Jerusalem, with which they might not go out on a sabbath day (b):
and the ornaments of the legs; and so the Targum,
"the chains or bracelets of the feet;''
with which Jarchi and Kimchi agree; but the word is used for a bracelet on the arm in 2 Samuel 1:10 and Aben Ezra so interprets it here:
and the headbands: the, word is rendered "attire" in Jeremiah 2:32 according to Jarchi, they were short binders with which the hair was bo…
Amulets — were ornaments, gems, scrolls. etc.. worn as preservatives against the power of enchantments, and generally inscribed with mystic forms or characters. The “earrings” in (Genesis 35:4) were obviously…
Anklet — This word does not occur in the Authorized Version; but anklets are referred to in (Isaiah 3:16,18,20) They were fastened to the ankle band of each leg; were as common as bracelets and armlets and…
Bonnet — (Heb. peer), Ex. 39:28 (R.V., “head-tires”); Ezek. 44:18 (R.V., “tires”), denotes properly a turban worn by priests, and in Isa. 3:20 (R.V., “head-tires”) a head-dress or tiara worn by females. The…
Crown — (1.) Denotes the plate of gold in the front of the high priest’s mitre (Ex. 29:6; 39:30). The same Hebrew word so rendered (ne’zer) denotes the diadem worn by Saul in battle (2 Sam. 1:10), and also…
Earrings — Rings properly for the ear (Gen. 35:4; Num. 31:50; Ezek. 16:12). In Gen. 24:47 the word means a nose-jewel, and is so rendered in the Revised Version. In Isa. 3:20 the Authorized Version has…
Head-bands — (Heb. kishshurim), properly girdles or belts for the waist (Isa. 3:20, R.V., “sashes;” Jer. 2:32, rendered “attire”, i.e., a girdle round the waist).
Head-dress — Not in common use among the Hebrews. It is first mentioned in Ex. 28:40 (A.V., “bonnets;” R.V., “head-tires”). It was used especially for purposes of ornament (Job 29:14; Isa. 3:23; 62:3). The Hebrew…
Ornaments, Personal — The number, variety and weight of the ornaments ordinarily worn upon the person form one of the characteristic features of Oriental costume, in both ancient and modem times. The monuments of ancient…
Tablet — Probably a string of beads worn round the neck (Ex. 35:22; Num. 31:50). In Isa. 3:20 the Hebrew word means a perfume-box, as it is rendered in the Revised Version.
Bonnet · Worn by women — Worn by women
Therefore will the Lord make bald [67] the crown of the head Here the particle v, (vau,) which signifies and, is put for therefore; for he threatens that, since neither gentle advices nor any words can reform them, the Lord will deal with them in a very different manner, and will not only employ sharp and severe language, but will advance in dreadful array, with an armed band, to take vengeance. Accordingly, as they had manifested their obstinacy from head to foot, so he declares that the Lord will exhibit the marks of his vengeance in every part of their body. He therefore begins with the head, where ornament is chiefly bestowed, and afterwards takes notice of the other parts.
It is worthy…
The prophet then proceeds to describe still further how the Lord would take away the whole of their toilet as plunder. "On that day the Lord will put away the show of the ankle-clasps, and of the head-bands, and of the crescents; the ear-rings, and the arm-chains, and the light veils; the diadems, and the stepping-chains, and the girdles, and the smelling-bottles, and the amulets; the finger-rings, and the nose-rings; the gala-dresses, and the sleeve-frocks, and the wrappers, and the pockets; the hand-mirrors, and the Sindu-cloths, and the turbans, and the gauze mantles." The fullest explanation of all these articles of female attire is to be found in N. W. Schrder's work, entitled Commentar…
In a reversal of fortune, the affluent and proud people of Jerusalem would suffer disgrace. Some of their ornaments (3:18) likely were amulets to keep evil away, but they could not ward off the calamity of judgment. These items of beauty were status symbols and represented financial security.
Rashi on Isaiah 3:20
The tiaras Heb. פְּאֵרִים. The Targum renders: tiaras. This resembles (Exodus 39:28): “the beautiful hats (פַּאֲרֵי הַמִּגְבָּעוֹת).”
and the foot chains Heb. וְהַצְּעָדוֹת, circlets for the legs.
and the hair ribbons [Lit. ties,] as the name implies, short ties with which they tie their hair, and some make them gilded, fres in O.F.
and the clasps Heb. וּבָתֵּי הַנֶּפֶשׁ, [the houses of the soul] opposite the heart, nosche in O.F.
and the earrings Heb. לְחָשִׁים, rings for the ear, the place into which people whisper (לוֹחֲשִׁים).
Dress · Bonnets (R. V., head-tires), worn by women — Bonnets (R. V., head-tires), worn by women
Ear-Ring · Worn for idolatrous purposes — Worn for idolatrous purposes
Headbands · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Jewels · Regar — Regar
Perfume · General references — General references
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Woman · Of distinction: Fond of dress and ornaments — Of distinction: Fond of dress and ornaments
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).
