John Gill Commentary Isaiah 65

Ver. 1. I am sought of them that asked not for me
That this is a Isaiah 65:2

I have spread out mine hands all the day unto a rebellious
people
Meaning Israel, as the apostle explains it, (Romans 10:21) , whom he calls a "disobedient and gainsaying people"; who believed not in Christ, obeyed not his Gospel, but contradicted and blasphemed it; and were rebellious against him, would not have him to reign over them, nor submit to his ordinances; though he most affectionately invited them, earnestly pressed and urged them, and that daily and frequently, to attend his ministry; and used all human methods to gain audience of them, and acceptance with them, but all to no purpose; see (Matthew 23:37) .

They remained obstinate and inflexible, and so they did under the ministry of his apostles; for, notwithstanding their ill usage of him, he ordered the Gospel to be first preached to them, as it was, till they treated it with such indignity and contempt, that the apostles turned away from them to the Gentiles, as they were bid; see (Acts 13:46Acts 13:47) .

The Targum is, ``I sent my prophets every day''

which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts ;
in their own way, of their own devising, choosing, and approving, and which was a wicked one; and after their own imaginations and inventions; after the traditions of the elders the doctrines and commandments of men; and after a righteousness of their own, which they sought by the works of the law, and so submitted not to, but rejected the righteousness of Christ.

(See Gill on 1 Chronicles 21:1).

A people that provokes me to anger continually to my face, &c.] They committed their sins openly, without any fear of the divine Being, and in defiance of him, not at all awed by his omniscience and omnipresence.

They committed them in the open streets, and even in the temple, the place of the divine residence; and these they did constantly, which provoked him to anger and wrath against them; particularly the following sins: that sacrifice in gardens; to idols, as the Targum, placed there, as they were under every green tree; or in groves, where idols were worshipped.

Fortunatus Scacchus ^F8 thinks this refers to their having their sepulchres in their gardens, where they consulted the dead; which is favoured by a clause in the next verse: and burns incense on altars of brick: or, "upon bricks" ^F9 .

Kimchi says, when they made bricks, they put upon them incense for idols; or, "upon tiles"; upon the roofs of their houses, which were covered with tiles; see (Jeremiah 19:13) when incense should only have been burnt upon the golden altar erected for that purpose, (Exodus 30:1Exodus 30:3) .

not that these idolatrous actions were committed by the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, the times preceding their last destruction; for, after their return from the Babylonish captivity, they were not guilty of idolatry; but these were the sins of their fathers, which God would recompense into their bosoms, according to (Isaiah 65:7) they now filling up the measure of their iniquities, (Matthew 23:32) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F8: Sacr. Eleaochr. Myrothec. I. 2. c. 55. col. 580.
• F9: (Mynblh le) "super lateres", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vitringa.

Which remain among the graves

In order to practise necromancy, to consult the dead, where they imagined demons and departed spirits haunted, and of whom they fancied they might get knowledge of future things: and lodge in the monuments :

whole nights for the same purposes. The Vulgate Latin version is, "that sleep in the temples of idols"; after the manner of the Heathens, who used to sleep there in order to obtain dreams, whereby they might be able to foretell things to come, as they did in the temple of Aesculapius; or, "in desolate places" ^F11 , as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; where they expected to meet with demons and noxious spirits, to give them knowledge of things to come.

The Targum paraphrases both clauses thus,

``who dwell in houses built of the dust of graves, and lodge with the corpse of the children of men;'' so corpse, according to Jarchi, are expressed by this word, which signifies "kept", or "preserved" ^F12 , as in (Isaiah 49:6) , because they are put in a strait place, from whence they cannot get out; though some think idols are meant, called so by way of derision, because kept for fear of being stolen, or because they cannot keep themselves, nor their votaries:

which eat swine's flesh ;

forbidden by the law, (Leviticus 11:7):

and broth of abominable things is in their vessels ;

or "pots": broth made of swine's flesh, and of other sorts of flesh which were unclean by the law. Our version follows the marginal ^F13 reading; as do the Targum, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi; but the written text is, "a fragment" ^F14 , or piece, or pieces, of abominable things; both may be retained in the sense of the passage; slices of flesh unclean, and so abominable by the law, were put into their pots and stewed, and made broth of, which they drank.

Spencer ^F15 thinks the milk in which kids were boiled is meant, which the Zabians kept in vessels, and sprinkled on the trees in their gardens, to make them more fruitful; hence mention is made of idolatrous practices in gardens, in the preceding verse.

FOOTNOTES:

• F11: "In desertis locis", Munster, Pagninus.
• F12: (Myrwunb) "apud custodita", Junius & Tremellius; "custoditos", Piscator.
• F13: (qrm) "jusculum".
• F14: (qrp) "fragmentum".
• F15: De Legibus Hebr. I. 2. c. 8. sect. 2. p. 275.

Which say, stand by yourself , &c], According to Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, these are the unclean persons that did the above things; who say to the righteous, "draw near to yourself" ^F16 ; so the words are, go to your own place, or to your own company: and come not near to me ; keep off at a distance, as unworthy of such company: for I am holier than you ; but this is the language of a self-righteous man, of a Pharisee that strictly observed the rituals of the law; and fitly describes such who lived in the times of Christ; and exactly agrees with the characters of such, who not only would have no dealings with the Samaritans, but washed themselves when they came from market, or any public place, lest they should be defiled with the common people of their own nation; and, even with religious persons, would not stand near them while praying; but despised them, if they had not arrived to that pitch of outward sanctity they had; see (John 4:9) (Mark 7:4) (Luke 18:9Luke 18:11Luke 18:12) .

The phrase may be rendered, "do not touch me" ^F17 ; and the Pharisees would not suffer themselves to be touched by the common people, nor would they touch them. Maimonides ^F18 says, ``if the Pharisees touched but the garments of the common people, they were defiled all one as if they had touched a profluvious person, and were obliged to dip themselves all over;'' so that, when they walked in the streets, they used to walk on the sides of the way, that they might not be defiled by touching them ^F19 .

So Epiphanius ^F20 relates of the Samaritan Jews, that when they touch one of another nation, they dip themselves with their clothes in water; for they reckon it a defilement to touch anyone, or to touch any man of another religion; and of the Dositheans, who were another sect of the Samaritans the same writer observes ^F21 , that they studiously avoid touching any, for they abhor every man.

A certain Arabic geographer of note ^F23 makes mention of an island, called the island of the Samaritans, inhabited by some Samaritan Jews, as appears by their saying to any that apply to them, do not touch; and by this it is known that they are of the Jews who are called Samaritans; and this same arrogant superstition, as Scaliger observes ^F24 , continues in that people to this day, as those relate who have conversed with them:

these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day : very offensive to the divine Being, as smoke is to the eyes and nostrils; very abominable to him; and whose proud and vain conduct raised indignation in him, and kindled the fire of his anger, which was continually exercised on them; see (Luke 16:15) . The Targum is, ``their vengeance is in hell, where the fire burns all the day.''

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (Kyla brq) "accede ad te", Vatablus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Cocceius; "appropinqua ad te", Piscator.
• F17: (yb vgt la) "ne contigas me"; so some in Vatablus; "ne attingite me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "ne tangae rue": Cocceius.
• F18: In Misn. Chagiga, c. 2. sect. 7.
• F19: lb. Hilcot Abot Tumaot, c. 13. sect. 8.
• F20: Contra Haeres. haeres. 9.
• F21: Contra Haeres, haeres 13.
• F23: Apud Scaliger de Emendat, Temp. l. 7.
• F24: Ibid.