Isaiah 41:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 41:1
Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.
to scratch · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
islands
אִיִּ֔ים'i.Yim
H339
properly · noun, common masculine plural absolute
people
וּלְאֻמִּ֖יםu.le.'u.Mim
H3816
a community · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural absolute
renew
יַחֲלִ֣יפוּya.cha.Li.fu
H2498
properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
strength
כֹ֑חַKho.ach
H3581
vigor · noun, common masculine singular absolute
near
יִגְּשׁוּ֙yi.ge.Shu
H5066
to be or come (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
speak
יְדַבֵּ֔רוּye.da.Be.ru
H1696
perhaps properly · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
near
נִקְרָֽבָהnik.Ra.vah
H7126
to approach (causatively · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
together
יַחְדָּ֖וyach.Dav
H3162
properly · adverb
judgment
לַמִּשְׁפָּ֥טla.mish.Pat
H4941
properly · preposition with the article + 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
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red lik…
Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Zechariah 2:13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Isaiah 41:6-7 They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Job 40:7-10 Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Isaiah 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which sh…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 41:1-9
That particular instance of God's care for his people Israel in raising up Cyrus to be their deliverer is here insisted upon as a great proof both of his sovereignty above all idols and of his power to protect his people. Here is,
I. A general challenge to the worshippers and admirers of idols to make good their pretensions, in competition with God and opposition to him, Isa 41:1. Is is renewed (Isa 41:21): Produce your cause. The court is set, summonses are sent to the islands that lay most remote, but not out of God's jurisdiction, for he is the Creator and possessor of the ends of the earth, to make their appearance and give their attendance. Silence (as usual) is proclaimed while the cau…
Keep silence before me, O islands,.... The great controversy in the world after the coming of Christ, which is expressly spoken of in the preceding chapter, was, as Cocceius observes, whether he was a divine Person; this was first objected to by the Jews, and afterwards by many that bore the Christian name; some, in the times of the apostles, especially the Apostle John; and others in later ages; some affirmed that he was a mere man, as Ebion and Cerinthus; others that he was a created God, as Arius; and others a God by office, as Socinus and his followers; now these are called upon, wherever they were, whether on the continent, or in the isles of the sea; and especially all such places whic…
Be silent to me, [133] O islands. Though the Prophet's discourse appears to be different from the former, yet he pursues the same subject; for, in order to put the Jews to shame, he says that he would have been successful, if he had been called to plead with unbelievers and blind persons. Thus he reproves not only the sluggishness, but the stupidity of that nation, "to whom God had been so nigh" and so intimately known by his Law. (Deuteronomy 4:7.) Yet we need not wonder that the people, overtaken by many terrors, trembled so that they scarcely received solid consolation; for we have abundant experience how much we are alarmed by adversity, because amidst; this depravity and corruption of o…
The Church Fathers
He calls the churches "islands," because they receive the assault of the waves of persecutors and because they are founded on the rock. He gives the title of "princes" to the heralds of truth, who have become changed from their [previous state] after their call: "Follow me," says [the Scripture] and I will make you fishers of men." They have consequently taken on new strength: it was no longer fish drawn from a single lake, but humans drawn from the entire world that they made their catch.
Scripture correctly says: Be renewed, O islands. For we are surrounded by the waves of sin, like islands in the sea of this world. Therefore, these islands were renewed by the coming of the Lord through the forgiveness of sins, that is, men were immersed in the water as if placed in the midst of the sea like islands, they were struck by the waves like islands, resounding with the waves of sins as if they were islands, in which, before, there were frequent shipwrecks for the simple reason that there was deceit in their hearts and flattery on their lips.
(Chapter 41, verses 1 and following.) Let the islands be silent before me, and let the nations change their strength: let them come near, and then let them speak: let us come together to judgment. Who raised up the Just One from the East, and called him to follow him? He will give nations before him, and he will rule over kings: he will make them like the dust with his sword, and like stubble driven by the wind to his bow. He will pursue them, and he will pass in peace, a path will not appear under his feet. Who has accomplished and done this, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and the last; I am He. The islands have seen and feared; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, 'Be strong!' The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows faint. LXX: Come near to me, you islands; let the leaders approach together and declare judgment. Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He makes them like dust with his sword, like windblown chaff with his bow. He pursues them and moves on unscathed, by a path his feet have not traveled before. Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—with the first of them and with the last—I am he.\ He will call her who has been called from the beginning of generations. I am the first God, and I am present in the things that are to come. The nations have seen and feared: the ends of the earth have stood in awe and approached: they have come together, each judging their neighbor to help and support their brother: and they will say: the skilled craftsman and blacksmith have prevailed, striking the hammer together, producing: sometimes indeed they say, 'it is good to strengthen'. They have strengthened it, they have set it in nails: and it will not be moved. People, that is, the islands, which are buffeted by the false and bitter waves of this age, are commanded to listen and to close their mouths, and to know that which was said to Israel: Listen, Israel, and be silent; and to change their strength, lest they cannot hear…
Dictionary and topics
Predestination — This word is properly used only with reference to God’s plan or purpose of salvation. The Greek word rendered “predestinate” is found only in these six passages, Acts 4:28; Rom. 8:29, 30; 1 Cor. 2:7;…
Island · Prophecies concerning — Prophecies concerning
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).
Summons to the contest: "Be silent to me, ye islands; and let the nations procure fresh strength: let them come near, then speak; we will enter into contest together." The words are addressed to the whole of the heathen world, and first of all to the inhabitants of the western islands and coasts. This was the expression commonly employed in the Old Testament to designate the continent of Europe, the solid ground of which is so deeply cut, and so broken up, by seas and lakes, that it looks as if it were about to resolve itself into nothing but islands and peninsulas. על החרישׁ is a pregnant expression for turning in silence towards a person; just as in Job 13:13 it is used with min, in the se…
The Lord here invited the nations to a trial where he would prove that he alone is God. They were defenseless as he declared that a king from the east (41:2) would crush Babylon, opening the way for Israel to return.
41:1 The nations coming together for a trial have to listen in silence to the presentation of God’s arguments. • Bring your strongest arguments: Literally let them find new strength, a play on 40:31. • God invited the nations to come . . . and speak, challenging them to refute his case.
Rashi on Isaiah 41:1
Be silent to Me in order to hear My words.
islands Heathens ([mss. Kli Paz:] nations).
shall renew [their] strength They shall adorn themselves and strengthen themselves with all their might perhaps they will succeed in their judgment by force.
they shall approach here, and then, when they approach, they shall speak.
to judgment let us draw near to reprove them to their faces.