Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 19:18

"In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction." — Isaiah 19:18 (ASV)

In that day – The word 'day' is used in Scripture in a broad sense, as including the entire period under consideration, or the whole time that is embraced in the scope of a prophecy. In this chapter, it is used in this sense and evidently means that the event foretold here would take place somewhere in the period embraced in the design of the prophecy. That is, the event recorded in this verse would occur in the series of events that the prophet saw concerning Egypt . The sense is that somewhere in the general time designated here (Isaiah 19:4–17), the event described here would take place. There would be widespread fear of Yahweh and widespread acceptance of the true religion in the land of Egypt.

Five cities – The number 'five' here is evidently used to denote an indefinite number, in the same way that 'seven' is often used in the Scriptures . It means that several cities in Egypt would use that language, only one of which is specified.

The language of Canaan – Margin, 'Lip of Canaan.' So the Hebrew; but the word often means 'language.' The language of Canaan evidently means the Hebrew language. It is called 'the language of Canaan' either because it was spoken by the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan or, more probably, because it was used by the Hebrews who occupied Canaan as the promised land; it would then mean the language spoken in the land of Canaan. The phrase used here is probably employed to denote that they would be converted to the Jewish religion, or that the religion of the Jews would flourish there. A similar expression, to denote conversion to the true God, occurs in Zephaniah 3:9: For there I will turn to the people a pure language, that they may call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.

And swear to the Lord of hosts – That is, they will devote themselves to Him, or they will bind themselves to His service by a solemn covenant (Isaiah 45:20), where conversion to God and a purpose to serve Him are expressed in the same manner by swearing to Him—that is, by solemnly devoting themselves to His service.

One will be called – The name of one of them will be, etc. Why one particularly is designated is not known.

The city of destruction – There has been a great variety of interpretations regarding this expression. Margin, 'Heres,' or, 'The sun.' The Vulgate, 'The city of the sun'—evidently meaning Heliopolis. The Septuagint, Ἀσεδέκ (Asedik) – 'The city Asedek.' The Chaldee, 'The city of the house of the sun (בית שׁמשׁ, bēyith shemesh), which is to be destroyed.' The Syriac, 'The city of Heres.' The common reading of the Hebrew text is עיר ההרס ('iyr haheres). This reading is found in most manuscript editions and versions. The word הרס (heres) commonly means destruction, though it may also mean deliverance. Gesenius supposes the name was to be given to it because it was to be a delivered city; that is, it would be the city to which 'the savior' mentioned in Isaiah 19:20 would come, and which he would make his capital. Ikenius contends that the word 'Heres' is taken from the Arabic and that the name is the same as Leontopolis – 'The city of the lion,' a city in Egypt.

However, besides other objections that may be made to this interpretation, the meaning of lion is not given to the word in the Hebrew language.

The common reading is that which occurs in the text: the city of Heres. But another reading, החרס (hacheres), is found in sixteen manuscripts and has been copied in the Complutensian Polyglot. This word, חרס (cheres), properly means the sun, and the phrase means the city of the sun—that is, Heliopolis. Onias, who was disappointed in obtaining the high priesthood (149 B.C.) on the death of his uncle Menelaus, fled into Egypt. He ingratiated himself with Ptolemy Philometor and Cleopatra and was advanced to the highest rank in the army and the court. He used his influence to obtain permission to build a temple in Egypt like that in Jerusalem, with a grant that he and his descendants should always have the right to officiate in it as high priests.

To obtain this, he alleged that it would be in Egypt's interest, by inducing many Jews to come and reside there. He argued that their annual travel to Jerusalem for the great feasts would expose them to alienation from the Egyptians and risk them joining the Syrian interest (see Prideaux’s Connection, under the year 149 B.C.). Josephus expressly tells us (Antiquities 13.3.1–3) that to obtain this permission, Onias urged that Isaiah had predicted it six hundred years before. Consequently, Ptolemy granted him permission to build the temple, and it was built at Leontopolis.

It resembled the temple in Jerusalem but was smaller and less splendid. It was within the Nomos (or prefecture) of Heliopolis, twenty-four miles from Memphis.

Onias pretended that the very place was foretold by Isaiah, and this would seem to imply that the ancient reading was 'the city of the sun.' He urged this prediction to reconcile the Jews to the idea of another temple besides the one in Jerusalem, because a temple erected in Egypt would be an object of disapproval to the Jews in Palestine. Perhaps for the same reason, the Septuagint translation of Isaiah renders this Ἀσεδέκ (Asedik) – 'The city of Asedek' – as if the original were צדקה (tsedakah) – 'The city of righteousness' – that is, a city where righteousness dwells, or a city approved by God. But this is manifestly a corruption of the Hebrew text.

It may be proper to remark that the change in Hebrew between the word rendered 'destruction' (הרס, heres) and the word 'sun' (חרס, cheres) is a change of a single letter, where one might easily be mistaken for the other: the change of the Hebrew letter ה (h) into the Hebrew letter ח (ch). This might have occurred through a transcriber's error, though the circumstances would lead us to think it not improbable that it may have been made intentionally, but by whom is unknown.

It may have been originally as Onias pretended and subsequently altered by the Jews to counteract the authority he urged for building a temple in Egypt, but there is no certain evidence of this. The evidence from manuscripts is greatly in favor of the reading as in our translation (הרס, heres). This may be rendered either 'destruction' or, more probably, according to Gesenius, 'deliverance,' so called from the deliverance that would be brought to it by the promised savior (Isaiah 19:20).

It may be added that there is no evidence that Isaiah meant to designate the city where Onias built the temple, but merely to predict that many cities in Egypt would be converted, one of which would be the one designated here. Onias took advantage of this and made an artful use of it, but it was manifestly not Isaiah's design. Which is the true reading of the passage, it is now impossible to determine; nor is it important. I think the most probable interpretation is that Isaiah meant to refer to a city saved from destruction, as mentioned in Isaiah 19:20, and that he did not intend to designate any particular city by name. The city of Heliopolis was situated on the Pelusian branch of the Nile, about five miles below the point of the ancient Delta.

It was deserted in the time of Strabo. This geographer mentions its mounds of ruins, but the houses were shown in which Eudoxus and Plato had studied.

The place was celebrated for its learning and its temple dedicated to the sun. There are now no ruins of ancient buildings, unless the mounds can be regarded as such. The walls, however, can still be traced, and an entire obelisk is still standing. This obelisk is of red granite, about seventy feet high, and because of its great antiquity, it has attracted much attention among the learned. In the neighboring villages, there are many fragments that have evidently been transferred from this city.

Dr. Robinson, who visited it, says that 'the site is about two hours N.N.E. from Cairo. The way there passes along the edge of the desert, which is continually making encroachments as soon as the supply of water for the ground surface ceases. The site of Heliopolis is marked by low mounds, enclosing a space about three-quarters of a mile in length by half a mile in breadth, which was once occupied by houses and partly by the celebrated temple of the sun. This area is now a plowed field, a garden of herbs; and the solitary obelisk that rises in the midst is the sole remnant of the splendor of the place. Nearby is a very old sycamore, its trunk straggling and gnarled, under which legendary tradition relates that the holy family once rested' (Biblical Researches, vol. 1, pp. 36–37).

The illustration in the book, from the Pictorial Bible, will give an idea of the present appearance of Heliopolis.