Isaiah 57:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 57:6
Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
a stream · noun, common masculine singular absolute
portion
חֶלְקֵ֔ךְchel.Kekh
H2506
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
lot
גּוֹרָלֵ֑ךְgo.ra.Lekh
H1486
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
poured
שָׁפַ֥כְתְּsha.Fakht
H8210
to spill forth (blood · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
offering
נֶ֙סֶךְ֙ne.sekh
H5262
a libation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
offered
הֶעֱלִ֣יתhe.'e.Lit
H5927
to ascend · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
offering
מִנְחָ֔הmin.Chah
H4503
a donation · noun, common feminine singular absolute
comfort
אֶנָּחֵֽם'e.na.Chem
H5162
properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 1st person common singular
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
Jeremiah 3:9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pou…
Habakkuk 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and ther…
Deuteronomy 32:37-38 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offerin…
Isaiah 66:3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if…
Jeremiah 5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Jeremiah 5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 57:3-12
We have here a high charge, but a just one no doubt, drawn up against that wicked generation out of which God's righteous ones were removed, because the world was not worthy of them. Observe,
I. The general character here given of them, or the name and title by which they stand indicted, Isa 57:3. They are told to draw near and hear the charge, are set to the bar, and arraigned there as sons of the sorceress, or of a witch, the seed of an adulterer and a whore, that is, they were such themselves, they were strongly inclined to be such, and their ancestors were such before them. Sin is sorcery and adultery, for it is departing from God and dealing with the devil. They were children of disobed…
The smooth stones, shaped as idols, are the gods chosen by thee as thy portion (Psa 16:5).
meat offering--not a bloody sacrifice, but one of meal and flour mingled with oil. "Meat" in Old English meant food, not flesh, as it means now (Lev 14:10).
Should I receive comfort--rather, "Shall I bear these things with patience?" [HORSLEY].
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 57:6
Among the smooth stones of the stream "Among the smooth stones of the valley" - The Jews were extremely addicted to the practice of many superstitious and idolatrous rites, which the prophet here inveighs against with great vehemence. Of the worship of rude stones consecrated, there are many testimonials of the ancients. They were called βαιτυλοι and βαιτυλια· probably from the stone which Jacob erected at Beth-el, pouring oil upon the top of it. This practice was very common in different ages and places. Arnobius, lib. i., gives an account of his own practice in this respect before he became a Christian: Si quando conspexeram lubricatum lapidem, et ex olivi unguine sordidatum; tanquam iness…
Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion,.... Or thy god; but the portion of Jacob is not like them, stocks and stones, Jeremiah 10:16. Whenever they could pick up smooth stones, and such as were fit for their purpose, whether in the stream of a brook, or in a valley, as the word also signifies, they polished and formed them into an image, and made gods of them; and these were their portion and inheritance, and which they left to their children. There is an elegant play on words (k) in the Hebrew tongue, between the word for "smooth stones", and that for a "portion (l)", which cannot be expressed in our language: or, "in the smooth or slippery places of the valley shall be thy po…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 6.) In the parts of the torrent is your portion: this is your fate, and you have poured out libations for them, you have offered sacrifices. Shall I not be angry with these things? LXX: This is your portion, this is your fate: and for them you have poured out libations and prepared sacrifices. Shall I not be angry with these things? They fit with the times of Isaiah, who says: For all the mountains, valleys, and torrents were full of the worship of demons, of which Jeremiah speaks: They make idols of wood, and kindle fire to worship them, to make the heavenly powers angry, with women kneading dough and mixing fat, to provoke the Lord to anger (Jeremiah 7). There is no doubt that pancakes, or small crusts prepared by the hand of the artisan, are delightful. For in our language, they are called chavonas. Concerning these, Moses, as the mouthpiece of the Lord, foretold in the Song of Deuteronomy with prophetic spirit: They stirred me to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations they provoked me to anger; they sacrificed to demons, not to God (Deut. XXXII, 16, 17). And they did this of their own accord, for it lies within our power to choose between good and evil. Finally, those who offer themselves to God with virtues are said: He has chosen his inheritance for us: the beauty of Jacob, which he has loved (Psalms 46:5). And in another place: The people of Jacob have become the portion of the Lord, his inheritance is Israel (Deuteronomy 32:9). And it is reported in the Acts of the Apostles that many have given themselves as part and portion of Paul and Silas. Therefore, those who are the portion and inheritance of the Lord, like the Levites, will have a share of the Lord and can say with David: The Lord is my portion (Psalms 73:26). Which things we are able to receive and, regarding the person of the heretics themselves, they indeed, having set aside the worship of God, worship the images of their errors, and offer sacrifices and pour out libations to them, doing secretly those things which are shameful to even speak of, and leading away captive weak-willed women loaded with sins, who are led on by various lusts, always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3). Therefore, since the wicked do these things in both impieties, is it not just for God's wrath to be provoked against them?
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
Drink Offering · Idolatrous Jews: Reproved for offering, to idols — Idolatrous Jews: Reproved for offering, to idols
Idolatry · .Libations — .Libations
Infidelity · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Meat Offerings · The Jews: Condemned for offering, to idols — The Jews: Condemned for offering, to idols
Scorning And Mocking · Idolaters addicted to — Idolaters addicted to
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).
Amidst polished stones, or, in parts of the valley. He continues the same subject, and reproves in various ways the superstitions which abounded in Judea; for no place was altogether free from idolatry. There were no rocks, no rivers, no valleys, no corner whatever, in which they had not erected a monument of their superstition. They had their groves and mountains, in which they sacrificed after the manner of the Gentiles.
Whether we here adopt the reading, "Polished stones," or "Parts of the river," the meaning will be the same. The Prophet means that the Jews chose their own method of worshipping God, and turned aside from the rule which he had laid down in his Law; and consequently that…
The participles which follow in the next v. are in apposition to אתּ, and confirm the predicates already applied to them. They soon give place, however, to independent sentences. "Ye that inflame yourselves by the terebinths, under every green tree, ye slayers of children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks. By the smooth ones of the brook was thy portion; they, they were thy lot: thou also pouredst out libations to them, thou laidst meat-offerings upon them. Shall I be contented with this?" The people of the captivity are addressed, and the idolatry handed down to them from their ancestors depicted. The prophet looks back from the standpoint of the captivity, and takes his colours…
Liquid offerings and grain offerings were believed to satisfy the basic needs of the gods and thus to earn their favor.
Rashi on Isaiah 57:6
Of the smooth [stones] of the valley [Lit. of the smooth ones of the valley, i.e.,] among the smooth stones that are in the valley.
your portion With them they will stone you.
they, they are your lot to be saddened with them. Why? For to them too you have poured out libations.
in the face of these shall I relent from doing harm to you?
