Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 8:19

"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living [should they seek] unto the dead?" — Isaiah 8:19 (ASV)

And when they shall say - When the people, instead of putting confidence in God, propose to apply to necromancers. In the time of Ahaz the people were, as they often were, much inclined to idolatry (2 Kings 16:10). In their troubles and embarrassments, instead of looking to Yahweh, they imitated the example of surrounding nations and applied for relief to those who professed to be able to communicate with spirits. It is well known that it was common for idolatrous people to seek direction from those who professed that they had the power of divining (Isaiah 29:4). It was expressly forbidden to the Jews to resort to those who made such professions (Leviticus 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:10–11).

Yet, notwithstanding this express command, it is evident that it was not uncommon for the Jews to seek such instructions; see the case of Saul, who applied to the woman of Endor, who professed to have a familiar spirit (1 Samuel 28:7–25). Among pagan nations, nothing was more common than for persons to profess to have contact with spirits and to be under the influence of their inspiration. The oracle at Delphi, of this nature, was celebrated throughout Greece and throughout the world. Kings and princes, warriors, and nations sought responses from the priestess who presided there when undertaking any important enterprise and were guided by her instructions (see the Travels of Anacharsis, vol. ii, 376 and following).

Seek unto - Apply to for direction.

That hath familiar spirits - Hebrew, אבות 'obôth. The word ‘familiar,’ applied to spirit, is supposed to have been used by our translators to imply that they were attended by an invisible spirit that was subject to their call, or that would inspire them when they sought its direction. The Hebrew word is used to denote a necromancer, a conjurer; particularly one who was supposed to have power to call up the dead to learn from them regarding future events (see 1 Samuel 28:7–19; Deuteronomy 18:11). The word is most commonly applied to women, as it was almost entirely confined to women to profess this power (Leviticus 19:31; Leviticus 20:6; 1 Samuel 28:7).

The idea was that they could call up the spirits of the dead, who were supposed to have seen objects invisible to the living, and who could, therefore, inform them regarding things that mortals on earth could not see. The Vulgate renders this as ‘Pythons and diviners.’ A Python, among the Greeks and Romans, denoted one that had the spirit of prophesying and was particularly applied to the priestess of Apollo at Delphi.

The Septuagint renders the passage this way: ‘And if they say to you, Seek the “ventriloquists,” ἐγγαστριμύθους engastrimuthous — and those speaking from the earth, and speaking vain things, who speak from the belly,’ οἵ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας φωνοῦσιν hoi ek tēs koilias phōnousin. From this it is evident that the art of the ventriloquist, so well known now, was also known then. It is highly probable that the secret of the soothsayers' art largely consisted in being able to throw the voice, with various modifications, into different places, so that it would seem to come from a grave or from an image of a dead person made to appear at the appropriate time.

And unto wizards - The word used here—ידענים yidd^e‛ônı̂ym—is derived from the verb ידע yâda‛, to know, and means a wise man, a soothsayer, a magician, or one possessed with a spirit of divination. The arts of the magician or soothsayer were often the arts of one skilled in natural magic, somewhat acquainted with the laws of chemistry, and therefore able to produce appearances among an ignorant people that would surprise them (see Brewster’s Natural Magic, where this art is fully explained).

That peep - This word is properly used of young birds and means to chirp, to pip, and also to make a small noise by the gentle opening of the mouth. It is then applied to the gentle whispering that the ancients ascribed to departed spirits: the small, low, shrill voice that they were supposed to use, and that, probably, those who claimed the power of raising them to the earth attempted to imitate. It was believed among all the ancient nations that departed spirits did not speak out openly and clearly, but with an indistinct, low, gentle, suppressed voice. Thus, in Virgil:

- Pars tollere vocem
Exiguam.
AEneid, vi. 492.

- gemitus lachrymabilis imo
Auditur tumulo, et vox reddita fertur ad aures.
AEneid, iii. 39.

Thus Horace:

Umbrae cum Sagana resonarint triste et acutum.
Sat. lib i. 8, 40.

Thus Homer, speaking of the shade or spirit of Patroclus, says that it went with a whizzing sound: ̓Ωχετο τετριγυῖα Ǒcheto tetriguia — Iliad, ψ:101.

He said, and with his longing arms essayed
In vain to grasp the visionary shade;
Like a thin smoke he sees the spirit fly
And hears a feeble, lamentable cry.
This night my friend, so late in battle lost,
Stood at my side a pensive, plaintive ghost.
Pope.

So, also, Lucian says of the infernal regions, ‘The whizzing shades of the dead fly around us’ (see Gesenius, in loc., and Rosenmuller; also Bochart’s Hieroz., Part 1, Book 3, Chapter 2, p. 731).

And that mutter - The word used here—הגה hâgâh—usually means to meditate, to consider, and then to speak, to utter. It also means to sigh, to mourn (Jeremiah 48:31; Isaiah 16:7); to coo, as a dove (Isaiah 37:14; Isaiah 59:11); and then to roar like a lion—not the loud roar, but the grumbling, the suppressed roar (Bochart; Isaiah 31:4). The idea here is probably that of gently sighing or mourning—uttering feeble, plaintive lamentations or sighs, as departed shades were supposed to do; and this was probably imitated by necromancers. By thus feigning that they communicated with the dead, they imposed on the ignorant populace and led them to suppose that they had supernatural powers.

Should not a people seek ... - Is it not proper that a people should inquire of the God whom they worship, in order to be directed in perplexing and embarrassing events? Some have understood this to be a question from the idolaters, asking whether it was not right and proper for a people to seek counsel from those whom they worshipped as God.

I understand it, however, as a question asked by the prophet, and as the language of strong and severe rebuke. ‘You are seeking idols, necromancers, and the dead, but Yahweh is your God. And should not a people so signally favored, a people under his special care, apply to him and seek his direction?’

For the living - On account of the affairs of the living. To ascertain what will be their lot, what is their duty, or what will occur to them.

To the dead - The necromancers pretended to have contact with the spirits of the dead. The prophet strongly exposes the absurdity of this. What could the dead know of this? How could they declare future events regarding the living? Where was this authorized? People should seek God—the living God—and not pretend to consult the dead.