Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 9

Nevertheless the dimness ... —It is obvious, even in the English version, that the chapters are wrongly divided, and that what follows forms part of the same prophetic utterance as Isaiah 8:0. That version is, however, so obscure as to be almost unintelligible, and requires an entire remodelling:— Surely there is no gloom to her that was afflicted. In the former time he brought shame on the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter he brings honour on the way by the sea, beyond Jordan, the circuit of the Gentiles.

The prophet had seen in the closing verses of Isaiah 8:0 the extreme point of misery. That picture, as it were, dissolves, and another takes its place. She who was afflicted, the whole land of Israel, should have no more affliction. The future should be in striking contrast with the past.

The lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, the region afterwards known as the Upper and Lower Galilee, had been laid waste and spoiled by Tiglath-pilneser (2 Kings 15:29). That same region, described by the prophet in different terms (the former representing the tribal divisions, the latter the geographical), is in the future to be the scene of a glory greater than Israel had ever known before.

The way of the sea ... —The context shows that the “sea” is that which appears in Bible history under the names of the sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11; Deuteronomy 3:17), the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1), Gennesaret (Mark 6:53). The high road from there to Damascus was known as Via Maris in the time of the Crusaders (Renan, quoted by Cheyne).

Beyond Jordan ... —This, the Peræa of later geography, included the regions of Gilead and Bashan, the old kingdoms of Moab and Ammon, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. These also had suffered from the ravages of the Assyrian armies under Pul (1 Chronicles 5:26).

Galilee of the nations ... —The word Galilee, derived from the same root as Gilgal (Joshua 5:9), means strictly “a circle,” or “circuit.” It was applied to the borderlands of the Phoenician frontier of the northern kingdom, inhabited by a mixed population, and therefore known as Galilee of the Gentiles (Matthew 4:15–16), what in medieval German would have been called the Heidenmark.

The people that walked in darkness ... —These words direct us back to Isaiah 8:21-22. The prophet sees in his vision a light shining on the forlorn and weary wanderers. They had been wandering in the valley of the shadow of death (the phrase comes from Psalm 23:4; Job 3:5), almost as in the gloom of Sheol itself. Now there breaks in the dawn of a glorious day.

Historically, the return of some of the inhabitants of that region to their allegiance to Jehovah and the house of David (2 Chronicles 30:11; 2 Chronicles 30:13) may have been the starting point of the prophet’s hopes. The words have a special interest to the Christian student, as they were quoted by Matthew (Matthew 4:15–16) in connection with our Lord’s ministry in Galilee, perhaps with His being “of Nazareth,” which was in the tribe of Zebulun.

We cannot positively say that such a fulfillment as that was in the prophet’s thoughts. The context shows that he was thinking of Assyrian invasions, and the defeat of Assyrian armies, of a nation growing strong in numbers and prosperity. In this, as in other cases, the Evangelist adapts the words of prophecy to a further meaning than that which apparently was in the mind of the writer, and interprets them by his own experience. When he compared the state of Galilee, yet more, perhaps, that of his own soul, before and after the Son of man had appeared as the light of the world, Isaiah’s words seemed the only adequate expression of the change.

You have multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy ... —Better, following the marginal reading of the Hebrew: You have increased its joy. The picture is one of unmingled brightness; the return as of a golden age, the population growing to an extent never attained before (Jeremiah 31:27; Ezekiel 36:11), and hardly allows for the dark shadow introduced by the reading of the text, unless, with some critics (Kay), we see in the words a contrast between the outward prosperity of the days of Solomon and Uzziah, in which there was no permanent joy, and the abundance of joyfulness under the ideal king.

They joy before you according to the joy in harvest ... —The words “before you” are significant. The gladness of the people is that of worshippers at a sacrificial feast (Isaiah 25:6; Deuteronomy 12:7; Deuteronomy 12:12; Deuteronomy 12:18), who find the secret spring of blessing in their consciousness of the presence of Jehovah. So the New Testament writers speak of rejoicing in the Lord (Philippians 3:1), of joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14:17).

This “joy of harvest” represents the peaceful side of that gladness, thought of as the gift of God (Acts 14:17). But it had another aspect. It was the rejoicing after a conflict, historically with enemies like the Assyrians, spiritually with all powers hostile to the true kingdom of God (Matthew 12:29). The joy of the conquerors on the battle-field, like that of harvest, had become proverbial (Psalms 119:162).

For you have broken the yoke of his burden ... —The text comes in the Hebrew with all the emphasis of position. The yoke of his burden ... you have broken. The phrase suggests a bondage like that of Egypt, where the “task-masters” (the same word as that here rendered “oppressors”) drove the people to their labors with their rods.

As in the day of Midian. —The historical allusion was probably suggested by the division of spoil that had been in the prophet’s thoughts. Of all victories in the history of Israel, that of Gideon over the Midianites had been most conspicuous for this feature (Judges 8:24–27). In Psalms 83:9-11 (which the mention of Assur shows to have been nearly contemporary with Isaiah) we find a reference to the same battle. Men remembered “the day of Midian” centuries after its date, as we remember Poitiers and Agincourt.

For every battle of the warrior ... —Here again the whole verse requires re-translating: “Every boot of the warrior that tramps noisily, and the cloak rolled in blood, are (i.e., shall be) for burning, (as) fuel for fire.

The picture of the conquerors collecting the spoil is continued from Isaiah 9:3. The victory is decisive, and the reign of peace begins. Consequently, the weapons of war, the garments red with blood (Isaiah 63:1–3), the heavy boot that makes the earth ring with the warrior’s tread, these shall all be burnt up. Similar pictures of a time of peace are found in Zechariah 9:10; Ezekiel 39:9; Psalms 46:9; and Psalms 76:3.