Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024
the Second Week of Advent
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Bible Commentaries
Isaiah

Coke's Commentary on the Holy BibleCoke's Commentary

Chapter 1
Call to Repentance; Judgment and Promise.
Chapter 2
The Future Glory of Zion; Judgment on Nations.
Chapter 3
Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah; Societal Decay.
Chapter 4
The Future Glory and Purification of Zion.
Chapter 5
The Song of the Vineyard; Woes to the Wicked.
Chapter 6
Isaiah's Vision of God and Prophetic Commissioning.
Chapter 7
The Sign of Immanuel; the Syro-Ephraimite War.
Chapter 8
Prophecies about Assyria and the Coming Darkness.
Chapter 9
Prophecy of a Child Born to Rule; Light in Darkness.
Chapter 10
Assyria's Judgment and the Remnant of Israel.
Chapter 11
The Coming of the Righteous King; Peace.
Chapter 12
Praise and Thanksgiving for God's Salvation.
Chapter 13
Judgment against Babylon and the Day of the Lord.
Chapter 14
The Fall of Babylon; Taunt against the King.
Chapter 15
Lament over Moab's Destruction.
Chapter 16
A Call for Refuge in Moab and Future Judgment.
Chapter 17
Judgment against Syria and Israel.
Chapter 18
Prophecy Concerning Cush and Future Events.
Chapter 19
Judgment against Egypt and Future Blessing.
Chapter 20
Isaiah's Symbolic Act Concerning Egypt and Cush.
Chapter 21
Oracles Concerning Babylon, Edom, and Arabia.
Chapter 22
Judgment on Jerusalem; the Prophecy of Shebna.
Chapter 23
Prophecy against Tyre; its Future Desolation.
Chapter 24
The Lord's Judgment on the Earth; Global Desolation.
Chapter 25
Praise for God's Deliverance and Future Blessings.
Chapter 26
The Song of Trust; Deliverance and Restoration.
Chapter 27
The Deliverance of Israel and Judgment on Leviathan.
Chapter 28
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem; Coming Judgment.
Chapter 29
Judgment on Jerusalem; Future Restoration.
Chapter 30
Woe to Rebellious Judah; Promise of Restoration.
Chapter 31
Woe to Those Who Rely on Egypt; Deliverance Promised.
Chapter 32
A Future King's Righteousness and Transformation.
Chapter 33
Woe to the Destroyer; Future Blessing for Zion.
Chapter 34
God's Judgment on the Nations; Edom's Desolation.
Chapter 35
Joyful Restoration of Zion; Transformation of the Wilderness.
Chapter 36
Assyrian Invasion of Judah; Rabshakeh's Message.
Chapter 37
Hezekiah's Prayer; God's Deliverance from Assyria.
Chapter 38
Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery; God's Promise.
Chapter 39
Envoys from Babylon; Prophecy of Exile.
Chapter 40
Comfort and Promise of God's Coming Deliverance.
Chapter 41
God's Support for Israel; Promise of Victory.
Chapter 42
The Servant of the Lord; Prophecy of Justice.
Chapter 43
Israel's Redemption and Promise of Restoration.
Chapter 44
God's Promises; Rebuke of Idolatry.
Chapter 45
Cyrus's Role in God's Plan; Sovereignty and Righteousness.
Chapter 46
God versus Idols; Promises of Salvation.
Chapter 47
Babylon's Fall; Humiliation and Judgment.
Chapter 48
Rebuke of Israel's Disobedience; Promise of Deliverance.
Chapter 49
The Servant's Mission; Restoration of Israel.
Chapter 50
The Servant's Suffering and Obedience.
Chapter 51
Comfort for the Oppressed; Future Restoration.
Chapter 52
The Lord's Salvation; Zion's Redemption.
Chapter 53
The Suffering Servant; Atonement for Sins.
Chapter 54
God's Everlasting Covenant and Restoration of Zion.
Chapter 55
Invitation to Salvation; Blessings of the Lord.
Chapter 56
Salvation for All; True Worship and Justice.
Chapter 57
Warnings to the Wicked; Promises of Renewal.
Chapter 58
True Fasting and Social Justice; God's Response.
Chapter 59
Sin's Separation from God; Promise of Redemption.
Chapter 60
The Glory of Zion; Future Blessings.
Chapter 61
The Servant's Mission; Promises of Restoration.
Chapter 62
Zion's Future Glory and Salvation.
Chapter 63
God's Vengeance and Redemption; Lament and Praise.
Chapter 64
Prayer for Mercy and Intervention; Longing for Righteousness.
Chapter 65
New Heavens and New Earth; Judgment and Blessings.
Chapter 66
Final Judgment and Restoration; New Creation.

- Isaiah

by Thomas Coke

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH.

THE son of Amoz, the first of the four great prophets, was, as it is said, of the royal family; his father being, as is supposed, the son of king Joash, and brother to Amaziah, king of Judah. The beginning of Isaiah's prophecies we date, says Calmet, immediately from the death of Uzziah; and the death of this prophet we place in the reign of Manasseh, who began to reign in the year of the world 3306 before Jesus Christ 694 before the Vulgar Era 698. The great and principal objects of Isaiah's prophecies are, the captivity of Babylon, the return of the Jews from this captivity, and the reign of the Messiah: For this reason, the sacred writers of the New Testament have cited him more than any other prophet; and the fathers say, that he is rather an evangelist than a prophet. Dr. Taylor thinks, that the first chapter, "by reason of the grand exordium, might be judged proper to stand at the front of the book; but it gives such an account of the distressed and desolate state of the land of Judah, as agrees much better with the wicked and afflicted reign of the apostate Ahaz, than with the flourishing circumstances of the country, in the reigns of Uzziah, and of his son and successor Jotham; who were both, in the main, good princes. Compare chap. Isaiah 1:7-9 with 2 Chronicles 26:1-16 and the whole 27th chapter. But the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th chapters of this prophecy describe, and exactly correspond to, a state of national wealth and prosperity, which are usually attended with pride, arrogance, and luxury: Therefore I take this to be the order of those chapters. In the 6th chapter the prophet, in the council of God, received his commission, and soon after delivered the contents of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th chapters; and these chapters contain all that remains of his prophecies in the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham, for the space of about sixteen years, till the first year of king Ahaz." See Taylor's Scripture Divinity, p. 326. I shall principally follow, in my observations on this book, the divisions and analysis of Vitringa. It is the constant tradition both of Jews and Christians, that Isaiah was put to death with a saw at the beginning of the reign of Manasseh; to which the apostle is generally thought to have respect, Hebrews 11:37. Isaiah is justly esteemed the most eloquent of all the prophets. Grotius compares him with Demosthenes: In the prophet we meet with all the purity of the Hebrew tongue, as in the orator all the delicacy of the Attic taste. Both are sublime and magnificent in their style, vehement in their emotions, copious in their figures, and very impetuous when they set off things of an enormous nature, or which are grievous and odious. Whatever of its ancient sweetness and sublimity the Hebrew poetry preserves, it is all to be found in this exquisite book. The author of Ecclesiasticus says, that "Isaiah was great and faithful in his vision: In his time the sun went backward, and he lengthened the king's life: he saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last, and he comforted them that mourned in Sion; he shewed what should come to pass for ever, and secret things ere ever they came." Sir 48:22, &c. See Calmet and Bishop Lowth's 21st Prelection.

 
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