Charles Ellicott Commentary


Charles Ellicott Commentary
"Unto them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." — Isaiah 56:5 (ASV)
Even to them will I give ... — The words may refer simply to the spiritual blessedness of the faithful (Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:5), but the customs of Eastern temples and of the later synagogues suggest that they may refer primarily to the memorial tablets which were put up in such places in commemoration of distinguished benefactors. For “place” read memorial. We note, of course, the special adaptation of the words better than of sons and daughters to the case which the prophet has in view; but it has to be remembered also that the whole promise substitutes the principle of catholicity for the rubrics of exclusiveness which we find in Deuteronomy 23:1.