Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 29:1-24

"Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye year to year; let the feasts come round: then will I distress Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation; and she shall be unto me as Ariel. And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with posted troops, and I will raise siege works against thee. And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly. She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. Tarry ye and wonder; take your pleasure and be blind: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered. And all vision is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned. And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh [unto me], and with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been taught [them]; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that hide deep their counsel from Jehovah, and whose works are in the dark, and that say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Ye turn things upside down! Shall the potter be esteemed as clay; that the thing made should say of him that made it, He made me not; or the thing formed say of him that formed it, He hath no understanding? Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scoffer ceaseth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off; that make a man an offender in [his] cause, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought. Therefore thus saith Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But when he seeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name; yea, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall stand in awe of the God of Israel. They also that err in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmur shall receive instruction." — Isaiah 29:1-24 (ASV)

1. Woe to Ariel. In this part, he presents a threat against the people or against the city, and this is divided into two parts.

   In the first, he threatens the punishment of temporal destruction.

   In the second, he threatens the punishment of spiritual blinding: be astonished (Isaiah 29:9).

   Regarding the first, he does two things:

   First, he threatens destruction.

   Second, he presents a certain kind of consolation: and the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream (Isaiah 29:7).

   The first of these is divided into two:

   First, he describes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

   Second, he describes its destruction by the Romans: and I will encircle you like a sphere (Isaiah 29:3).

2. Regarding the first point, he does three things.

   First, he recalls their former dignity. Ariel means “lion of God,” for by God’s power in the time of David and Solomon they feared no one, like a lion: a lion, the strongest of beasts, who has no fear of any thing he meets (Proverbs 30:30). Alternatively, it is named for the altar of holocausts that was in Jerusalem, which, like a lion, consumed animals; this is understood from Ezekiel 43:15. Or perhaps it is named for its shape, for it was situated like a lion. The city which David took, as in, for I have takenExpugnavi. Vg.: interfeci. DR: “killed.” both a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:36).

3. Second, he describes the destruction, presenting three things:

   • The ending of feasts: year is added to year, as if to say, “for many years.” The solemnities have been unrolled, that is, they have perished: for they shall sit many days without sacrifice, and without ephod (Hosea 3:4).
   • The siege: and I will make a trench, namely, by the Chaldeans: and lay siege against it (Ezekiel 4:2).
   • He intimates the capture of the city from its sadness: and it shall be in sorrow, as in, my sighs are many (Lamentations 1:22).

4. Third, he describes the restoration made under Joshua the high priest and others, about whom it is written throughout Ezra. And it shall be to me as Ariel, as if to say it would retain a shadow of its former dignity.

   In contrast:

   Great is the glory of this last house more than of the first (Haggai 2:10).

   The response to this is that this was said because it had been physically visited by the Son of God himself.

5. And I will encircle. Here he threatens destruction by the Romans. Regarding this, he presents four things.

   • First, the siege: and I will encircle you like a sphere, that is, all around: your enemies shall cast a trench about you (Luke 19:43); he shall laugh at every strong hold, and shall cast up a mount (Habakkuk 1:10).
   • Second, the humiliation of the besieged: you shall be humbled. The sign of their humiliation is that you shall speak out of the earth; that is, you will be heard speaking humbly, as if from under the earth, like the quiet chanting of a medium: I will take away out of the midst of you your proud boasters (Zephaniah 3:11). Alternatively, this points to the reason for their humiliation, accusing them of the sin of avarice (you shall speak out of the earth) and idolatry (and your voice shall be like that of the python).
   • Third, he describes the multitude of the enemy: and the multitude of them that fan you, shall be like small dust, as in, a nation come up upon my land (Joel 1:6). Or, it refers to the destruction of the enemy, as stated before: he shall be carried away as the dust of the mountains before the wind (Isaiah 17:13).
   • Fourth, he describes the destruction itself: and it shall be at an instant suddenly. This is metaphorical, speaking to the ferocity of the enemy: he shall come up as a cloud, and his chariots as a tempest: his horses are swifter than eagles (Jeremiah 4:13).

6. And the multitude of all nations that have fought against Ariel, shall be as the dream. Here he adds some consolation drawn from the enemy’s punishment. For like a vain thing, they will come to nothing, gaining nothing of value from the destruction of Judea, just as someone hungry or thirsty gets nothing from the food or drink he dreams of: the hopes of a man that is void of understanding are vain and deceitful: and dreams lift up fools ; I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people (Zechariah 12:3).

7. Note on the words, it shall be as the dream (Isaiah 29:7), that something is called a dream for the following reasons:

   • First, because of vanity: the vision of dreams is the resemblance of one thing to another .
   • Second, because of brevity: as a dream that flees away he shall not be found (Job 20:8).
   • Third, because of obscurity of understanding: by a dream in a vision by night (Job 33:15).
   • Fourth, because of perversity of the soul, as stated later: sleeping and loving dreams (Isaiah 56:10).

8. Be astonished. Here he threatens the punishment of blinding.

   First, he foretells the blinding of the Jews.

   Second, he foretells the conversion of the Gentiles: is it not yet a very little while (Isaiah 29:17).

   Regarding the first point, he does two things:

   First, he describes the blinding.

   Second, he gives the reason for it: and the Lord said (Isaiah 29:13).

9. Regarding the first point, he does three things.

   • First, he foretells the blinding, describing those things that confused the judgment of their reason.
     • Be astonished, from considering the guilt of the wicked or their punishment: be astonished, O you heavens, at this, and you gates thereof, be very desolate (Jeremiah 2:12).
     • And wonder, from considering great things: wonderful are your works (Psalms 139:14).
     • Waver, from uncertainty in choosing: for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind (James 1:6).
     • Stagger, from inconsistency of intention: your handsManus. Vg.: sermones. DR: “words.” have confirmed them that were staggering (Job 4:4).
     • Be drunk, from the anxiety of sorrows: drink you also, and fall fast asleep: the cup of the right hand of the Lord shall compass you (Habakkuk 2:16).
   • Second, he describes the manner of blinding: for the Lord has mingled for you the spirit of a deep sleep, that is, as if he offered them mixed wine to drink. He will shut up your eyes, namely, the prophets. This is like the previous passage: the Lord has mingled in the midst thereof the spirit of giddiness (Isaiah 19:14).
   • Third, he describes the effect of the blinding: they will not understand the book of the Sacred Scriptures and the visions of all the prophets. And the vision of all shall be unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, as in, and I saw, in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book, sealed with seven seals (Revelation 5:1).

10. And the Lord said. Here he presents the cause of the blinding, namely, their own sins.

    He addresses this first in the affections, and second, in the intellect: woe to you that are deep of heart (Isaiah 29:15).

    Regarding the first point, he does two things.

    First, he describes the fault of contempt for God: but their heart is far from me. They conceal it with their words, with their lips, and with human observances: and they have feared me with the commandment and doctrines of men. As it is written, you are near in their mouth, and far from their reins (Jeremiah 12:2), and, you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition (Matthew 15:6).

    Second, he describes the punishment: therefore behold. Their wisdom, which was great according to their own reckoning or in former times, will be destroyed: wisdom shall perish (Obadiah 1:8); I will destroy the wisdom of the wise: and the prudence of the prudent I will reject (1 Corinthians 1:19).

11. Woe to you that are deep of heart. Here he describes their sin regarding the intellect, for they did not believe in the providence of God, thinking he did not know what happens among us. Regarding this, he does two things.

    First, the devising of their error is presented. They said their plans were hidden from God because of the depth of their hearts, where they managed their wicked counsels. Hence he says, woe to you that are deep of heart, as in, the heart is deepProfundum. Vg.: pravum. DR: “perverse.” above all things, and unsearchable, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). They also thought their deeds were hidden because of the darkness of the places where they carried them out. Hence he says, their works are in the dark, as in, every one that doth evil hates the light (John 3:20), and, say not: I shall be hidden from God .

12. Second, the just rebuke is presented: this thought of yours is perverse. It is as if the work should say to its maker, You made me not. For God knows a thing inasmuch as he is its cause, as stated later: woe to him that gainsays his maker (Isaiah 45:9), and, and now, O Lord, you are our father, and we are clay: and you are our maker, and we all are the works of your hands (Isaiah 64:8).

13. Is it not yet a very little while? Here he foretells the conversion of the Gentiles. Regarding this, he does three things.

    First, he foretells their conversion to grace. Lebanon, representing a Gentile people (for the mountain was in the land of the Gentiles), will be turned into Carmel, that is, into the grace that the Jews had through circumcision, because Carmel means “knowledge of circumcision.”Cf. Jerome, De nominibus Hebraicis (PL 864), and In Isaiam (PL 335B). And Carmel will be esteemed as a forest, that is, as the barrenness in which the Gentiles previously lived; the same is said in Isaiah 32:15.

    He also foretells their conversion to sacred knowledge: the deaf, namely the Gentiles who had not previously heard the words of the law, will hear. As it is written, the blind see (Matthew 11:5), and, for judgment I am come into this world: that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind (John 9:39).

    He also foretells their conversion to spiritual joy: and the meek shall increase their joy, as in, I will be glad, and rejoice in you: I will sing to your name, O you Most High (Psalms 9:2–3).

14. Second, he indicates the occasion or reason for their conversion. It comes from the fall of the devil: for he that did prevail by power has failed, and the scorner, the deceiver by cunning, has been consumed. As stated before, the wretch is consumed: he has failed, that trod the earth under foot (Isaiah 16:4). It also comes from the blindness of the Jewish people: that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in (Romans 11:25).

    They are cut off that watched with zeal to do evil: for they sleep not, except they have done evil (Proverbs 4:16).

    This refers to those that made men sin by wicked example and teaching; those that reproved them in the gate, showing contempt for instruction: they have hated him that rebukes in the gate (Amos 5:10); and those who declined in vain from the just, referring to the vanity of sin, for that which fails to attain its end is vain: what has pride profited us? Or what advantage has the boasting of riches brought us? .

15. Third, he describes the conversion of the Jews at the end of the world, when he says, therefore thus says the Lord that redeemed Abraham (Genesis 11). Jacob shall not now, that is, at this time, be confounded—a good confounding, for there is a confoundingConfusio. DR: “shame.” that brings glory and grace .

    His children refers to the Apostles. They that murmured refers to those who at first murmured, as mentioned before: when they shall rush out fromEgredientur impetu a. Vg.: ingrediuntur impetu ad. DR: “they shall rush in unto.” Jacob, Israel shall blossom (Isaiah 27:6).

16. Alternatively, this may be explained as concerning the prosperity promised to them when Sennacherib or Nebuchadnezzar were destroyed. Carmel shall be esteemed as a forest (Isaiah 29:17) means that the fertility of the promised land will be so great that the fertility of Carmel will be considered barrenness in comparison. The scorner (Isaiah 29:20) refers to Sennacherib or Nebuchadnezzar. He shall see his children . . . sanctifying my name (Isaiah 29:23) refers to the three children in the furnace of fire, or it means that their children will praise God’s name because they themselves did not do so in their youth.