Matthew Henry on Isaiah 7:1-9
The prophet Isaiah had his commission renewed in the year that king Uzziah died, Isa 6:1. Jotham his son reigned, and reigned well, sixteen years. All that time, no doubt, Isaiah prophesied as he was commanded, and yet we have not in this book any of his prophecies dated in the reign of Jotham; but this, which is put first, was in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham. Many excellent useful sermons he preached which were not published and left upon record; for, if all that was memorable had been written, the world could not have contained the books, Joh 21:25. Perhaps in the reign of Ahaz, a wicked king, he had not opportunity to preach so much at court as in Jotham's time, and therefore then h…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 7:6
vex--rather, "throw into consternation" [GESENIUS].
make a breach--rather, "cleave it asunder." Their scheme was to divide a large portion of the territory between themselves, and set up a vassal king of their own over the rest.
son of Tabeal--unknown; a Syrian-sounding name, perhaps favored by a party in Jerusalem (Isa 3:6, Isa 3:9, Isa 3:12).
John Gill on Isaiah 7:6
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it,.... By besieging or distressing it; or "stir it up" to war, as Jarchi interprets it:
and let us make a breach therein for us; in the walls of the city of Jerusalem, and enter in at it; the Targum is,
"let us join, and put it to us;''
and so Jarchi, let us level it with us, as this valley, which is even: the sense may be, let us make a breach and division among them, and then part the kingdom between us (c); or if we cannot agree on that, let us set up a king of our own, as follows:
and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal; which Jarchi, by a situation of the alphabet the Jews call "albam", makes it to be the same with Remala, that…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Isaiah 7:6
Let us go up. That is, Let us make an invasion nqytsnh (nekitzennah) is rendered by some, Let us distress or afflict; which is also expressed by the derivation of the word. But in this conjugation it rather signifies "to stir up and arouse." Though I do not reject the former interpretation, yet I prefer the latter, because it agrees better with the scope of the passage. Again, I understand the word arouse as meaning to disturb, and to cause revolutions; as we commonly say, to raise disturbances, [104] so as not to allow the tranquillity of that kingdom to be preserved.
Let us open it to us. The following word, nvqynh, (nabkignennah,) is interpreted by some, Let us break into it [105] Others…
