إِشَعْيَاءَ 17:5

Smith Van Dyke Version

ويكون كجمع الحصادين الزرع وذراعه تحصد السنابل ويكون كمن يلقط سنابل في وادي رفايم.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as when: Jeremiah 9:22, Jeremiah 51:33, Hosea 6:11, Joel 3:13, Matthew 13:30, Matthew 13:39-42, Revelation 14:15-20

the valley: Joshua 15:8, Joshua 18:16, the valley of the giants, 2 Samuel 5:18, 2 Samuel 5:22

Reciprocal: Genesis 14:5 - Rephaims Genesis 15:20 - Rephaims 2 Samuel 23:13 - the valley 1 Chronicles 11:15 - in the 1 Chronicles 14:9 - the valley Job 24:24 - cut off Isaiah 17:9 - General Isaiah 21:17 - the mighty Isaiah 24:13 - there

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn,.... The "standing" corn, as in the Hebrew text: "and reapeth the ears with his arm"; or "his arm reaps the ears" o; that is, with one hand he gathers the standing corn into his fist, and then reaps it with his other arm; and just so it should be with the people of Israel: they were like a field of standing corn, for number, beauty, and glory; the Assyrian was like a harvestman, who laid hold upon them, and cut them down, as thick and as numerous as they were, just as a harvestman cuts down the corn, and with as much ease and quick dispatch; they being no more able to stand before him than a field of corn before the reaper! this was done both by Tilgathpilneser, 2 Kings 15:29 and by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17:6 kings of Assyria:

and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim; the Targum renders it,

"the valley of giants.''

and so it is translated, Joshua 15:8 mention is made of it in 2 Samuel 5:18 it was a valley not far from Jerusalem, as Josephus p says; who also calls it the valley of the giants: it is thought to have been a very fruitful place, where the ears of corn were very large and heavy, and so great care was taken in gathering and gleaning that none be lost: wherefore, as the former simile signifies the carrying off the people of Israel in great numbers by the above kings, this may signify, as some have thought, either the picking up of those that fled without, or the gleaning of them in after times by Esarhaddon, Ezra 4:2.

o וזרעו שבלים יקצור "et brachium ejus spicas demeteret", Junius Tremellius "demetit", Piscator, &c. p Antiqu. l. 7. c. 4. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And it shall be ... - This is the other figure by which the prophet sets forth the calamities that were coming upon Ephraim - an image designed to denote the fact that the inhabitants and wealth of the land would be collected and removed, as the farmer gathers his harvest, and leaves only that which is inaccessible in the upper boughs of the tree, or the gleanings in the field.

As when the harvest-man gathereth the corn - The wheat, the barley, etc.; for so the word “corn” - now applied by us almost exclusively to maizes means in the Scriptures. The sense in this passage is plain. As the farmer cuts down and collects his grain and removes it from the harvest field, so the enemies of Ephraim would come and remove the people and their wealth to a distant land. This received a complete fulfillment when the ten tribes were removed by the Assyrians to a distant land. This was done by Tiglath-pileser 2 Kings 15:29, and by Shalmaneser 2 Kings 17:6.

And reapeth the ears with his arm - As he collects the standing grain with one arm so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand. The word rendered ‘reapeth’ (קצר qâtsar) means here “to collect together” as a reaper does the standing grain in his arm. The word rendered ‘ears’ (שׁבלים shı̂bălı̂ym) means here rather the spires or stalks of standing grain.

In the valley of Rephaim - The valley of Rephaim is mentioned in 2 Samuel 5:18, 2 Samuel 5:22; 2Sa 23:13; 1 Chronicles 11:15; 1 Chronicles 14:9. The name means ‘the Giants;’ but why it was given to it is now unknown. In passing from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, it lies on the left, and descends gradually to the southwest, until it contracts in that direction into a deeper and narrower valley, called wady el-Werd, which unites further on with wady Ahmed, and finds its way to the Mediterranean. The plain extends nearly to Jerusalem, and is terminated by a slight rocky ridge forming the brow of the valley of Hinnom (see Josephus, “Ant.” vii. 4. 1; viii. 12. 4; also Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. i. pp. 323, 324). It seem to have been distinguished for its fertility, and is used here to denote a fertile region in general.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 17:5. As when the harvestman gathereth - "As when one gathereth"] That is, the king of Assyria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the reaper strippeth off the whole crop of corn; and the remnant shall be no more in proportion than the scattered ears left to the gleaner. The valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem was celebrated for its plentiful harvest; it is here used poetically for any fruitful country. One MS., and one ancient edition, has באסף beesoph, "IN gathering," instead of כאסף keesoph, "AS the gathering."