Isaiah 41:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 41:25
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
to wake (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil perfect, 1st person common singular
north
מִצָּפוֹן֙mi.tza.fOn
H6828
properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
come
וַיַּ֔אתvai.Yat
H857
to arrive · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
rising
מִמִּזְרַחmi.miz.rach-
H4217
sunrise · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
sun
שֶׁ֖מֶשׁShe.mesh
H8121
the sun · noun, common both genders singular absolute
call
יִקְרָ֣אyik.Ra'
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
name
בִשְׁמִ֑יvish.Mi
H8034
an appellation · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
come
וְיָבֹ֤אve.ya.Vo'
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal, 3rd person masculine singular
princes
סְגָנִים֙se.ga.Nim
H5461
a prefect of a province · noun, common masculine plural absolute
morter
חֹ֔מֶרCho.mer
H2563
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
potter
יוֹצֵ֖רyo.Tzer
H3335
to mould into a form · noun, common masculine singular absolute
treadeth
יִרְמָסyir.mos-
H7429
to tread upon (as a potter · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
clay
טִֽיטTit
H2916
mud or clay · 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 41:2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave th…
2 Samuel 22:43 Then did I beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the mire of the street, and did spread them abroad.
Isaiah 10:6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take…
Isaiah 44:28-45:6 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple,…
Isaiah 46:10-11 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do…
Micah 7:10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God? mine eyes shall behold he…
Zechariah 10:5 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the…
Ezra 1:2-3 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 41:21–end
The Lord, by the prophet, here repeats the challenge to idolaters to make out the pretentions of their idols: "Produce your cause (Isa 41:21) and make your best of it; bring forth the strongest reasons you have to prove that your idols are gods, and worthy of your adoration." Note, There needs no more to show the absurdity of sin than to produce the reasons that are given in defence of it, for they carry with them their own confutation.
I. The idols are here challenged to bring proofs of their knowledge and power. Let us see what they can inform us of, and what they can do. Understanding and active power are the accomplishments of a man. Whoever pretends to be a god must have these in perfec…
raised up--in purpose: not fulfilled till a hundred fifty years afterwards.
north--In Isa 41:2, "from the East"; both are true: see the note there.
call . . . my name--acknowledge Me as God, and attribute his success to Me; this he did in the proclamation (Ezr 1:2). This does not necessarily imply that Cyrus renounced idolatry, but hearing of Isaiah's prophecy given a hundred fifty years before, so fully realized in his own acts, he recognized God as the true God, but retained his idol (so Naaman, 2Ki. 5:1-27; compare Kg2 17:33, Kg2 17:41; Dan 3:28; Dan 4:1-3, Dan 4:34-37).
princes--the Babylonian satraps or governors of provinces.
mortar--"mire"; He shall tread them under foot as di…
I have raised up one from the north,.... Either one people, or one person; a mighty king, as the Targum; meaning either Cyrus, who might be said to come from the north, and from the rising of the sun, or the east, as in the next clause; since he was by birth a Medo-Persian, hence called a mule; by his mother a Mede, and the country of Media lay rather to the north of Babylon; and by his father a Persian, and Persia lay to the east of it; and the forces he brought with him against it were partly Medes, and partly Persians; though some, as Jarchi observes, think two persons are meant in this and the next clause; in this Nebuchadnezzar, who came from Babylon, which lay north of Judea, to invade…
The Church Fathers
Yet he speaks against the idols, and those who did not want to abandon them after the coming of Christ. He says that he himself, having arisen from the North, has raised up the people of the nations.… And this will be the answer of all, that they all follow vanity and winds, and adore the works of their own hands. Whatever we have said about idols and nations, let us attribute it to the doctrines of wickedness; and to their leaders, heresiarchs, who, when the Church announces peace in Christ and shows them the way of truth, themselves follow error and are compared to wind and whirlwind.
He threatens the idols with destruction. He calls "the one who comes from the east" the righteousness that has awakened, concerning which he had earlier said, "Who has roused righteousness from the east?" And he calls the one from the north the church drawn from the nations, toward which came the one from Theman or from the "rainy country," according to the other translators. For God came from Theman, that is, from the south. It is to this church that the Master Christ has revealed himself, finding it scattered by the deceit of the idols. He warmed [the church] with the southern rays and led it to life. Its leaders, priests and teachers have trampled the idols under their feet.
(Verse 25) He stirred up from the north, and he will come from the rising sun: he will call my name, and he will bring magistrates like clay: and like a potter treading the earth. LXX: But I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun; they shall call upon my name. Let the princes come and be like the potter's vessel, and let the potter tread down the clay. Yet he speaks against the idols, and those who did not want to abandon them after the coming of Christ. He says that he himself, having arisen from the North, has raised up the people of the nations. For from the North shall evil be kindled against all inhabitants of the earth. And to Jeremiah it is said: What do you see, Jeremiah? And he answered: I see a burning pot, and its face is towards the North. They are stirred up from the North, that they may believe in him who came from the East. As we read above: Who has stirred up the just one from the East, or justice? Also in another place: Behold a man, the East is his name. Those who call them (Others have called them) by my name, so that, forsaking idols, they may worship one God. For he himself speaks in the Gospel: I came in my Father's name, and you did not receive me; another will come in his own name, and you will receive him (John 5:43). He will trample down the princes and rulers and all the pride of the world, and they will be subjected to him like clay in the hand of the potter, so that he may make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor (Romans 9). The Hebrews, rising from the North, and coming from the rising of the sun, interpret it as Assyria and Persia, who will come to Jerusalem, and trample all its princes; and let him know that none of the idols they worship will come to pass, except the Lord alone, who has avenged them for their sins.
Dictionary and topics
Clay — This word is used of sediment found in pits or in streets (Isa. 57:20; Jer. 38:60), of dust mixed with spittle (John 9:6), and of potter’s clay (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14; Jer. 18:1-6; Rom. 9:21). Clay…
Isaiah, Book Of — I. Chapters 1-5 contain Isaiah’s prophecies in the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham, foretelling that the present prosperity of Judah should be destroyed, and that Israel should be brought to desolation.…
Mortar — (Heb. homer), cement of lime and sand (Gen. 11:3; Ex. 1:14); also potter’s clay (Isa. 41:25; Nah. 3:14). Also Heb. ‘aphar, usually rendered “dust,” clay or mud used for cement in building (Lev.…
North country — A general name for the countries that lay north of Palestine. Most of the invading armies entered Palestine from the north (Isa. 41:25; Jer. 1:14, 15; 50:3, 9, 41; 51:48; Ezek. 26:7).
Pottery — The art of, was early practised among all nations. Various materials seem to have been employed by the potter. Earthenware is mentioned in connection with the history of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18), of…
Clay · Used by potter — Used by potter
Mortar · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Pottery · Clay prepared for, by treading — Clay prepared for, by treading
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).
I have raised him from the north. He again returns to that argument which he had briefly handled, respecting the foreknowledge and power of God, and shews that to him alone in whom these are found, the name of God belongs; and therefore that they are empty idols, which neither know nor can do anything. When he says that he "raised him from the north," some explain this as relating to Cyrus, and others as relating to Christ. But I think that here the Prophet denotes two things; for when he says "from the north," he means the Babylonians, and when he says "from the east," he means the Medes and Persians; as if he had said, "Two changes shall happen that are worthy of remembrance; for I will ra…
The more conclusively and incontrovertibly, therefore, does Jehovah keep the field as the moulder of history and foreteller of the future, and therefore as God above all gods. "I have raised up from the north, and he came: from the rising of the sun one who invokes my name; and he treads upon satraps as mud, and like a potter kneadeth clay." The object of the verb hâ‛ı̄rōthı̄ (I have wakened up) is he who came when wakened up by Jehovah from the north and east, i.e., from Media and Persia (ויּאת = ויּאתּ for ויּאת, with evasion of the auxiliary pathach, Ges. 76, 2, c), and, as the second clause affirms, who invokes or will invoke the name of Jehovah (at any rate, qui invocabit is the real…
I have stirred up a leader: The God who had planned the Exile through Babylon had already planned for Israel’s restoration from exile through Cyrus (see 41:2; see also 13:17). • Although Persia is located to the east, rough terrain required those traveling to Israel and Judah to enter from the north. • I will give him victory . . . He will trample them: As Babylon was sent to trample Assyria, so Persia would trample Babylon.
Rashi on Isaiah 41:25
I have aroused from the north and he came I tell the future events. Behold I arouse Cyrus from the north to build the ruins of Jerusalem, and he came upon Babylon to destroy it.
from the rising of the sun he shall call in My name (Ezra 1:2) “All the kingdoms of the earth has the Lord God of the heavens given me.” And it appears that Persia is northeast of Eretz Israel. Another explanation is: I aroused Nebuchadnezzar from the north to destroy My city, and he came, and I aroused Cyrus from the east, that he call in My name to build My city, for the kingdom of Persia is east of Eretz Israel, as it is stated (Dan. 8:4): “I saw the ram butting etc.” [This verse in Daniel proves it. “I saw the r…