Isaiah 49:22 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 49:22
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Lord
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai
H136
the Lord (used as a proper name of God only) · proper noun, a title
GOD
יְהוִ֗הYah.weh
H3069
YHWH · proper noun, a title
up
אֶשָּׂ֤א'e.Sa'
H5375
to lift · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
hand
יָדִ֔יya.Di
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
Gentiles
גּוֹיִם֙go.Yim
H1471
a foreign nation · noun, common masculine plural absolute
up
אָרִ֣ים'a.Rim
H7311
to be high actively · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular
standard
נִסִּ֑יni.Si
H5251
a flag · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
people
עַמִּ֖ים'a.Mim
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
bring
וְהֵבִ֤יאוּve.he.Vi.'u
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
sons
בָנַ֙יִךְ֙va.Na.yikh
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
arms
בְּחֹ֔צֶןbe.Cho.tzen
H2684
the bosom (as comprised between the arms) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
daughters
וּבְנֹתַ֖יִךְu.ve.no.Ta.yikh
H1323
a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
carried
תִּנָּשֶֽׂאנָהti.na.Se.nah
H5375
to lift · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person feminine plural
shoulders
כָּתֵ֥ףka.Tef
H3802
the shoulder (proper · 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
Psalms 86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
Isaiah 14:2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servan…
Luke 13:29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psalms 67:4-7 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
Psalms 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Psalms 72:17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him…
Isaiah 2:2-3 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shal…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 49:18-23
Two things are here promised, which were to be in part accomplished in the reviving of the Jewish church after its return out of captivity, but more fully in the planting of the Christian church by the preaching of the gospel of Christ; and we may take the comfort of these promises.
I. That the church shall be replenished with great numbers added to it. It was promised (Isa 49:17) that her children should make haste; that promise is here enlarged upon, and is made very encouraging. It is promised,
1. That multitudes shall flock to the church from all parts. Look round, and see how they gather themselves to thee (Isa 49:18), by a local accession to the Jewish church. They come to Jerusalem fr…
lift . . . hand--that is, beckon to (see on Isa 13:2).
standard-- (Isa 11:12).
bring . . . sons in . . . arms--The Gentiles shall aid in restoring Israel to its own land (Isa 60:4; Isa 66:20). Children able to support themselves are carried on the shoulders in the East; but infants, in the arms, or astride on one haunch (Isa 60:12). "Thy sons" must be distinct from "the Gentiles," who carry them; and therefore cannot primarily refer to converts among the Gentiles.
John Gill on Isaiah 49:22
Thus saith the Lord God,.... In answer to the questions, where had these children been? and from whence did they come? who begot them, and brought them up? and by what means was all this done, or would be done?
I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles; beckoning them to come unto him, directing and ordering them what to do; or rather exerting the power of his grace in the conversion of them. The Targum is,
"I will reveal my power among the Gentiles;''
his efficacious grace attending the ministry of the word, whereby it becomes "the power of God unto salvation"; for when that hand is lifted up or exerted, the "word" comes "not in word only", "but in power, and in the Holy Ghost", and is ef…
(Verse 22, 23.) Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise my hand to the nations, and I will exalt my sign to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. And kings shall be your foster fathers, and queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet; and you shall know that I am the Lord, those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. LXX: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will raise my hand against the nations, and raise my signal against the islands; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame. And the Church said: Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away. I, abandoned and alone, where were they? The Lord answered: Are you surprised why these things have happened? You will not be surprised when you hear, for I have raised my hand against the nations. It is of this that the Holy One speaks: You formed me and laid your hand upon me (Ps. 138:4). And the Savior himself: No one can snatch from the hand of my Father (John 10:29). And the Apostle Peter: Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time (1 Peter 5:6). This hand lifted up towards the nations is the same of which the Prophet spoke: Jesse's root will arise to be the ruler of nations; in him the nations will place their hope (Isa. XI, 10). Not only will he lift up his hand towards the nations, but he will also exalt his sign among the peoples. Undoubtedly, the banner of the cross, so that what is written may be fulfilled: the earth is filled with his praises. And again: his wonderful name is praised in all the earth (Ps. VIII, 1). Then they shall bring in their arms, or on their shoulders, the sons of Zion, and her daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Such was Lazarus, and all the saints who rest in the bosom of Abraham (Luke XVI), and the souls of the believers, to whom the Apostle Paul spoke: I have fed you with milk (I Cor. III, 2). And elsewhere: My little children, of whom I…
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
Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
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.…
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Jews, The · Promises respecting: Gentiles assisting in their restoration — Promises respecting: Gentiles assisting in their restoration
Standard · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
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).
on Isaiah 49:22
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah. Isaiah confirms what he had said a little before, that the Lord would cause his Church, though for a very long time she had been "barren" and "bereaved," to have an exceedingly numerous offspring, and to be constrained to wonder at her own fruitfulness; and he does so, in order to remove all doubt which might have found its way into their hearts.
I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles. He declares that he will give children to the Church, not only from among the Jews, as formerly, but likewise from among "the Gentiles." And yet he indirectly asserts that this generation shall be spiritual through the grace of adoption; for the metaphor of a banner was intended t…
The prophecy now takes a step backward in the domain of the future, and describes the manner in which the children of Zion get back to their home. "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lift up my hand to nations, and set up my standard to peoples: and they bring thy sons in their bosom; and thy daughters, upon shoulders are they carried." The setting up of a standard (Isa 5:26; Isa 11:12; Isa 18:3, cf., Isa 62:10) is a favourite figure with Isaiah, as well as swaying the hand. Jehovah gives a sign to the heathen nations with His hand, and points out to them the mark that they are to keep in view, with a signal pole which is set up. They understand it, and carry out His instructions, and br…
carry your little sons . . . your daughters: The mighty rulers of the nations, some of whom had previously killed children in Israel, would aid in their return to Zion (see also 60:3-9). Elsewhere Isaiah envisioned people of foreign nations streaming to Zion to worship the Lord (see 2:2-4).
Rashi on Isaiah 49:22
My hand...My standard A signal to bring the exiles.
a standard Perka in O.F., [perche in modern French,] a pole. Comp. (supra 30:17) “And like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) on a hill.” It is a signal for gathering, and they place a cloth [a flag] on the end of it.
in their armpits Ajjsela [aisela] in O.F., [aisselle in modern French]. Comp. Ezra (Neh. 5:13): “Also I shook out my armpit (חָצְנִי).”
