Isaiah 66:12 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 66:12
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
extend
נֹטֶֽהno.teh-
H5186
to stretch or spread out · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
peace
שָׁל֜וֹםsha.Lom
H7965
safe · noun, common masculine singular absolute
river
כְּנָהָ֨רke.na.Har
H5104
a stream (including the sea · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
glory
כְּב֥וֹדke.Vod
H3519
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Gentiles
גּוֹיִ֖םgo.Yim
H1471
a foreign nation · noun, common masculine plural absolute
flowing
שׁוֹטֵ֛ףsho.Tef
H7857
to gush · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
stream
וּכְנַ֧חַלu.khe.Na.chal
H5158
a stream · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
suck
וִֽינַקְתֶּ֑םvi.nak.Tem
H3243
to suck · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
borne
תִּנָּשֵׂ֔אוּti.na.Se.'u
H5375
to lift · verb, niphal imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
sides
צַד֙tzad
H6654
a side · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dandled
תְּשָׁעֳשָֽׁעוּte.sho.'o.Sha.'u
H8173
(in a good acceptation) to look upon (with complacency) · verb, pual imperfect, 2nd person masculine plural
knees
בִּרְכַּ֖יִםbir.Ka.yim
H1290
a knee · noun, common feminine dual 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 48:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
Isaiah 60:16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and th…
Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and the…
Isaiah 66:11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her gl…
Isaiah 49:19-23 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they…
Isaiah 54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be in…
Isaiah 61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in…
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to estab…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 66:5-14
The prophet, having denounced God's judgments against a hypocritical nation, that made a jest of God's word and would not answer him when he called to them, here turns his speech to those that trembled at his word, to comfort and encourage them; they shall not be involved in the judgments that are coming upon their unbelieving nation. Ministers must distinguish thus, that, when they speak terror to the wicked, they may not make the hearts of the righteous sad. Bone Christiane, hoc nihil ad te - Good Christian, this is nothing to thee. The prophet, having assured those that tremble at God's word of a gracious look from him (Isa 66:2), here brings them a gracious message from him. The word of…
extend--I will turn peace (prosperity) upon her, like a river turned in its course [GESENIUS]. Or, "I will spread peace over her as an overflowing river" [BARNES], (Isa 48:18).
flowing stream--as the Nile by its overflow fertilizes the whole of Egypt.
borne upon . . . sides--(See on Isa 60:4).
her . . . her--If "ye" refers to the Jews, translate, "ye shall be borne upon their sides . . . their knees," namely, those of the Gentiles, as in Isa 49:22; and as "suck" (Isa 60:16) refers to the Jews sucking the Gentile wealth. However, English Version gives a good sense: The Jews, and all who love Jehovah (Isa 66:10), "shall suck, and be borne" by her as a mother.
Adam Clarke on Isaiah 66:12
Like a river, and - like a flowing stream "Like the great river, and like the overflowing stream" - That is, the Euphrates, (it ought to have been pointed כנהר cannahar, ut fluvius ille, as the river), and the Nile.
Then shall ye suck "And ye shall suck at the breast" - These two words על שד al shad, at the breast, seem to have been omitted in the present text, from their likeness to the two words following; על צד al tsad, at the side. A very probable conjecture of Houbigant. The Chaldee and Vulgate have omitted the two latter words instead of the two former. See note on Isa 60:4 (note).
John Gill on Isaiah 66:12
The Church Fathers
So, then, the Holy Spirit is the river, and the abundant river, which according to the Hebrews flowed from Jesus in the lands, as we have received it prophesied by the mouth of Isaiah. This is the great river that flows always and never fails. And not only a river but also one of the copious stream and overflowing greatness, as also David said, "The stream of the river makes glad the city of God."
And Scripture calls Christ "glory," for the psalmist says about him, "to prepare glory in our land." This entrance is the mystery of the economy in the flesh. Being God by nature, he became man through his incarnation and in such manner came into the world. Those feed on the precise message of faith concerning him, and they learn in what way the glory, that is, Christ came into the world. And directly connected to this, the divine prophet speaks of his clear appearance in the flesh, taking on Christ's voice as he says, "I will descend on them as a river of peace, and as a spring I will wash over the glory of the nations."
(Verse 12) For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will incline upon her like a river of peace, and like a torrent overflowing with the glory of the nations, whom you will nurse at your breast; they shall be carried on your side, and cuddled on your knees. LXX: For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will incline towards them like a river of peace, and like a overflowing torrent of the glory of the nations. Their little ones shall be carried on shoulders, and cuddled on knees. After Jerusalem has been rebuilt by the Apostles and restored to its former state, once its children and inhabitants have been comforted by the abundance of milk and have reached the delights of truth, through which we come to the glory of God, then the Lord will incline upon it a river of peace, of which we have often spoken: The river of God is filled with water (Psalm 64:10). And the rush of the river makes the city of God glad (Ps. 45:5); so that when peace possesses all things, and the wars of the nations cease, of which Scripture says, Scatter the nations that desire wars (Ps. 68:32), the torrent of God's teachings may irrigate the fields of the believers. Then his children, or the little ones (as the LXX translated), will be carried on shoulders and receive consolation on the knees. On shoulders, about which it was said in the earlier prophecy and which Jacob curses his son Issachar with: For he has placed his shoulder to work (Gen. 49:15), and he is called a farmer. For it is through excessive sweat and toil that we reach the abundance of fruits. Hence, it is said to Zion through Jeremiah: Put your heart upon your shoulders (Jerem. XXIV, 7), so that he may understand the Lord's commandments, imitating Him of whom it is written: Jesus began to do and to teach (Act. I, 1), so that faith may not be idle, but may run towards the reward through works. However, I have briefly explained the meaning of knees and bosoms above, and now Abraham can teach us by his example, in whose bosom Lazarus finds rest, and all who come from the East and the West will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Dictionary and topics
Conversion · Of Gentiles, predicted — Of Gentiles, predicted
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Joy · 2:11;4:7;5:11;9:2,14;13:5;14:7;16:5,6,8,9,11;17:15;19:8;20:5;21:1,6;28:7;30:5,11,12;32:1,2,11;33:21;35:9;36:8;40:16;42:4;43:4;45:15;46:4;51:8,12;53:6;63:5-7,11;64:10;68:3;69:32;70:4;71:23;85:6;89:15,16;97:11,12;100:1,2;104:34;105:3,43;119:1,2,14,16,55,111,162,165;126:5,6;132:16;138:5;149:2,5; — 2:11;4:7;5:11;9:2,14;13:5;14:7;16:5,6,8,9,11;17:15;19:8;20:5;21:1,6;28:7;30:5,11,12;32:1,2,11;33:21;35:9;36:8;40:16;42:4;43:4;45:15;46:4;51:8,12;53:6;63:5-7,11;64:10;68:3;69:32;70:4;71:23;85:6;89:15,16;97:11,12;100:1,2;104:34;105:3,43;119:1,2,14,16,55,111,162,165;126:5,6;132:16;138:5;149:2,5;
Peace, Spiritual · Promised to: The Church — Promised to: The Church
Rivers · Illustrative: (Steady course of,) of peace of saints — Illustrative: (Steady course of,) of peace of saints
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).
For thus saith the Lord, behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,.... As the river Euphrates, so the Targum; or as the Nile, which overflowed Egypt, and made it fruitful; or as any flowing river, large and spreading, continuing to flow, and brings blessings with it where it comes; and so denotes the abundance of this peace, the perpetuity of it, and its blessed effects. This respects not the first times of the Gospel; for though Christ the peacemaker came and made peace by his blood, and went and preached peace to Jews and Gentiles, and many enjoyed spiritual peace in believing, flowing from his blood and righteousness, yet there was very little outward peace to the churches of Chris…
I cause peace to flow on her like a river. He continues his metaphor, and compares the children of God to infants, that are carried in the arms, and warmed in the bosom of their mothers, who even play with them. And in order that he may express more strongly his affection toward us, he compares himself to a mother, whose love, as we have formerly seen, ([24]page 30,) exceeds every other by a wide interval. (Isaiah 49:15.) The Lord wishes to be to us in the room of a mother, that, instead of the annoyances, reproaches, distresses, and anxieties, which we have endured, he may treat us gently, and, as it were, fondle us in his bosom. By the word "peace" he means prosperity.
And the glory of th…
The reason is now given, why the church of the future promises such abundant enjoyment to those who have suffered with her. "For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I guide peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like an overflowing stream, that ye may suck; ye shall be borne upon arms, and fondled upon knees." Jehovah guides or turns (Gen 39:21) peace to Jerusalem, the greatest of all inward blessings, and at the same time the most glorious of all the outward blessings, that are in the possession of the Gentile world (kâbhōd as in Isa 56:6), both of them in the richest superabundance ("like a river," as in Isa 48:18), so that (perf. cons.) "ye may be able to suck yourselves full…
a river: The people, who lost peace and prosperity in the Exile, would receive it back abundantly (see 48:18).
Rashi on Isaiah 66:12
and like a flooding stream I extend to her the wealth of the nations.
on the side On the sides of your nurses, [in Aramaic,] גִּסְסִין.
you shall be dandled You shall be dandled as they dandle an infant. Esbanier in O.F.