The ignominious captivity of the Egyptians, and the Ethiopians.
The ignominious captiuitie of Aegyptians, and Aethiopians is againe foreshewed by the Prophet going naked. 5. wherat the Iewes are astonied and afeard, seing their co•federaies so confounded.
1In the year that Tharthan entered into Azotus, when Sargon the king of the Assyrians had sent him, and he had fought against Azotus, and had taken it:Nell'anno, in cui Tharthan mandato da Sargon re degli Assiri, giunse ad Azoto, e la combattè, e la prese,IN the yeare, that Tharthan entred into Azotus, when Sargon the king of the Assyrians had sent him, and he had fought against Azotus, and had taken it:In anno quo ingressus est Thathan in Azotum, cum misisset eum Sargon, rex Assyriorum, et pugnasset contra Azotum, et cepisset eam: 2At that same time the Lord spoke by the hand of Isaias the son of Amos, saying Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and take off thy shoes from thy feet. And he did so, and went naked, and barefoot.In quel tempo stesso il Signore parlò ad Isaia figliuolo di Amos, dicendo: Va, e spogliati del tuo sacco, e cavati le scarpe da' piedi; ed ei fece così, andando ignudo, e scalzo.at that time our Lord spake in the hand of Isaie the sonne of Amos, saying: Goe, and loose the sackcloth from of thy loynes, and take of thy shooes from thy feete. And he did so going naked, and barefoote.in tempore illo locutus est Dominus in manu Isaiæ, filii Amos, dicens: Vade, et solve saccum de lumbis tuis, et calceamenta tua tolle de pedibus tuis. Et fecit sic, vadens nudus et discalceatus. 3And the Lord said: As my servant Isaias hath walked, naked and barefoot, it shall be a sign and a wonder of three years upon Egypt, and upon Ethiopia,E disse il Signore: Come il mio servo Isaia è andato ignudo, e scalzo in segno, e predizione di tre anni contro l'Egitto, e contro l'Etiopia,And our Lord said: As my seruant Isaie hath walked, naked & barefoote, it shal be a signe & a wonder of three heres vpon Aeghpt, and vpon Aethiopia,Et dixit Dominus: Sicut ambulavit servus meus Isaias nudus et discalceatus, / trium annorum signum et portentum erit / super Ægyptum et super Æthiopiam; 4So shall the king of the Assyrians lead away the prisoners of Egypt, and the captivity of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt.Così il re degli Assiri condurrà via la turba de' prigionieri, e di esuli dall'Egitto, e dall'Etiopia, giovani, e vecchj, ignuda, e scalza, scoperte le parti oscene a scorno dell'Egitto.so shal the king of the Assyrians leade the captiuitie of Aegypt, and the transmigration of Aethiopia, yong and old, naked and vnshod, their buttockes vncouered to the ignominie of Aegypt.sic minabit rex Assyriorum captivitatem Ægypti, / et transmigrationem Æthiopiæ, / juvenum et senum, nudam et discalceatam, discoopertis natibus, ad ignominiam Ægypti.
5And they shall be afraid, and ashamed of Ethiopia their hope, and of Egypt their glory.E saranno sbigottiti, e si vergogneranno di aver posta la loro speranza nell'Etiopia, e la loro gloria nell'Egitto.And they shal feare, & be ashamed of Aethiopia their hope, and of Aegypt their glorie.Et timebunt, et confundentur / ab Æthiopia spe sua, / et ab Ægypto gloria sua. 6And the inhabitants of this isle shall say in that day: Lo this was our hope, to whom we fled for help, to deliver us from the face of the king of the Assyrians: and how shall we be able to escape?Egli abitanti di quell'isola diranno in quel giorno: Ecco adunque que', che eran nostra speranza, a' quali ricorremmo per aiuto, affinchè ci liberassero dal re degli Assiri: e come potremo scamparne noi?And the inhabitant of this ile shal say in that day: Loe this was our hope, to whom we fled for helpe, that they should deliuer vs from the face of the king of the Assyrians: and how shal we be able to escape?Et dicet habitator insulæ hujus in die illa: / Ecce hæc erat spes nostra, / ad quos confugimus in auxilium, ut liberarent nos / a facie regis Assyriorum: / et quomodo effugere poterimus nos ?
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Year of the World 3291, Year before Christ 713.
Calmet
Year. Eighteen after the preceding predictions. (Calmet)
Calmet
Sargon. Sennacherib, (St. Jerome) Salmanasar, (Sanctius) or Assaradon, who intended to revenge Sennacherib, and sent his "collector of taxes" to take Azotus from Ezechias, and then to proceed farther. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Sackcloth. The prophets lived in poverty, Zacharias 13:4. Their persons were prophetic. It is not agreed whether Isaias went quite naked, or only without his upper garment. The former supposition would represent better the condition of slaves, (ver. 4.) and is adopted by St. Jerome, etc. (Calmet)
Haydock
People are said to be naked when they are almost so, 2 Kings vi., and John xxi. (Haydock)
Worthington
Yet "nothing is more honest than to obey God." (St. Jerome) (Worthington)
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Shame. Thus captives were generally exposed to sale, Isaias 47:2., and Nahum 3:5.
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Calmet
Glory. The alliance of these nations shall not avail the Jews, who are said to inhabit an island, because they neglected God's service no less than the most distant and abandoned nations. (Calmet)
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The holie prophet, of noble bloud, vvas not disobedient, nor ashamed to goe naked, because nothing is more honest then to obey Gods commandment. S. Ierom. in •un• locum.
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6. Loe this vvas our hope.] God to shew the vanitie of al hope, that is reposed in men, or in wordlie thinges, layeth the meruelous and miserable mutations of Gods prouidence in punishing al that trust in men & not in him. temporal great kingdoms, before the eyes of his people. That we may see, and admire his merciful prouidence, and our owne follie, when we trust in the helpe of our selues, or of other men, who can not defend them selues from ruine and ignominie: and much lesse can they saue vs, or we our selues. As these examples make manifest. The kingdom of Israel (or tenne tribes) trusted in Damaseus, which could not defend it self, but was ouerthrowne. The kingdom of Examples of mutations in kingdomes. Iuda (or two tribes) trusted in Aegypt. The Aegyptians trusted in the Ethiopians, and both were ouerthrowne by the Assirians. The Assirians glorying in their victories and triumphes, attributing al to their owne streingth, were ouercome by the Babylonians. The Babylonians, likewise insolent and proud, were oppressed by the Medes and Persians. The Medes and Persians were subdued by Alexander the great. VVho was shortly taken away in his youth by poyson; and his great Monarchie diuided amongst his seruantes. And so other peoples, and kingdomes, much more particular persons, and families are turned like a whole. And therfore our only refuge must be to God: in whom is al true hope, helpe, safetie, and happines, temporal and eternal.
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 18
Further: even though one were of necessity to go about naked on account of this sort of self-denial, neither so were it any disgrace. Since Adam too was “naked” in paradise, “and was not ashamed;” and Isaiah was “naked, and barefoot,” and more glorious than all the Jews;
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 40.1
… Is it not pitiful that the man who is curing the patient is callous to his sufferings, and has to appear as his enemy? Yet such is the order of nature. While truth is always bitter, pleasantness waits upon evil-doing. Isaiah goes naked without blushing as a type of captivity to come.
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Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 7.7
… We have the history of the life of each of the prophets; but it will be enough at present to direct attention to the life of Moses, whose prophecies are contained in the law; to that of Jeremiah, as it is given in the book which bears his name; to that of Isaiah, who with unexampled austerity walked naked and barefooted for the space of three years.
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1. IN THE YEAR THAT TARTAN CAME TO ASHDOD, WHEN SARGON SENT HIM. Sanchez thinks Sargon to be Shalmaneser, the father of Sennacherib, who in the sixth year of Hezekiah laid waste Samaria, and then rushed upon the neighboring Philistines, and besieged Ashdod, sending his commander Tartan. But on all sides others, as St. Jerome testifies, hold that Sargon is Sennacherib, who had many names. For Tartan, who is here said to be sent by Sargon, is the same one who in IV Kings XVIII, 17, is said to be sent by Sennacherib; therefore Sargon is Sennacherib. For not Shalmaneser, as all acknowledge, but Sennacherib laid waste Egypt and Ethiopia. This Josephus teaches expressly, in book X of the Antiquities, chapter 1: "In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah," he says, "Sennacherib, with a most well-equipped army, attacked him, and took all the cities of Judah and Benjamin, and was now about to move his camp against Jerusalem; but Hezekiah through envoys made peace with him, on the condition that he would pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty of gold. The Assyrian accepted the money, but did not keep the agreement. For he himself set out with forces against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, leaving Rabshakeh as commander to continue the war against Jerusalem." Josephus cites at the end of the chapter Berossus, who likewise narrates that Sennacherib harassed all of Asia and Egypt with war. From this you may gather that Berossus the Annian, in whom there is no mention of Sennacherib, is very different from the true Berossus. Herodotus also teaches the same thing, in book II: but from what he had heard from sacred history, that the camp of Sennacherib was destroyed from heaven, he invented that he was defeated by the Egyptians and Ethiopians through mice, which they themselves obtained from their gods: "For in one night," he says, "such a multitude of mice arose in the camp of Sennacherib, that they gnawed the bows of the enemy and the rest of the weapons; by which it came about that the king, disarmed, withdrew his army with Psamtik." But these are the fables of the Gentiles envying the Jews. From what has been said it is clear that this prophecy of Isaiah happened in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. You will say: Sennacherib, in IV Kings XVIII, is said only to have come against Judah. I answer: Directly, and in person he came against Judah, but he came with companions also against the neighbors: hence, remaining himself in Judaea, he sent Tartan to Ashdod with part of his forces. Therefore Isaiah here prophesies against the Egyptians and Ethiopians, lest, with Sennacherib approaching, Hezekiah and the Jews should flee to their aid as usual, but should place their hope in God.
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2. LOOSE THY SACKCLOTH. They err who think this was merely an imaginary vision and that Isaiah did not truly go about naked, but only seemed to himself to do so in the vision. Note: The sackcloth of Isaiah and the Prophets was haircloth, woven from the hair of goats or camels, and they wore it over their bare flesh, as the Capuchins do, as the king of Israel did, IV Kings VI, 30, and Judith, cap. VIII, vers. 6 (and as now they cover themselves with a sackcloth garment, so that they may lie; for if anyone now were to clothe himself not over bare flesh, but only externally with haircloth, he would be held a hypocrite); for it was a garment of austerity and penance, so that they might give its example to the people, and when they moved them to penance, and at the same time made satisfaction to God for the people's sins, and obtained pardon and grace from God for them. This is evident from the fact that false prophets, feigning themselves to be Prophets, clothed themselves in haircloth, as Ezechiel says, cap. XIII, 5: "Nor shall they be covered," he says, "with a sackcloth garment, so that they may lie." And this was the habit of Elias the prophet; for he was "a hairy man, and girt with a leather girdle about his loins," IV Kings I, 8; and of St. John the Baptist, whose garment was rough, made of camel's hair. Throw this habit in the face of soft heretics, who adorn themselves like the suitors of Penelope, and therefore find fault with the peculiar habit of the Capuchins and Monks. Thus Clement of Alexandria, lib. II of the Paedagogus, showed that the garment of Isaiah and the Prophets was rough: "Elias," he says, "made use of a sheepskin as clothing, and bound himself with a sheepskin girdle made of hair. But Isaiah was naked, and made use of no shoes; often, however, he also made use of sackcloth, which is a garment of humility. But if you also call to mind Jeremiah, he had only a linen girdle. For just as well-nourished bodies, if naked, show their strength and vigor more openly: so also the beauty of morals, if not wrapped up in unsuitable trifles, shows more clearly the greatness and magnificence of the soul." Note secondly: Hugh, Forerius and Sanchez think that Isaiah was not entirely naked, but laid aside the outer garment, which was made of haircloth and prophetic (without which he would have gone about indecorously, as if he were plainly a commoner), and retained an inner, shorter tunic, which covered what should be covered, just as Saul, I Kings XIX, 24, naked, that is, having laid aside his royal garment, is said to have fallen; and David naked, that is, having laid aside his royal attire, danced before the ark; for he is said to have been clothed with a linen ephod, therefore he was not entirely naked. The reason is: for by this nakedness Isaiah was signifying the nakedness of the captive Ethiopians and Egyptians; but they were not going to be entirely naked, but clothed in torn and short garments. The mortification would be similar if a Religious, having laid aside the garment of his Religion, were ordered to go out in public with only his breastplate and breeches. This opinion is probable, and more chaste and honest in appearance. But St. Jerome, St. Cyril (and St. Ambrose indicates it in Psalm XXXIX), Haymo, Dionysius and Adam think that Isaiah was entirely naked, even in those parts which natural modesty most covers. And this is proved first, because in vers. 4 it is said that, just as Isaiah went about naked, "so shall the king of the Assyrians lead away the captivity of Egypt, etc., with the buttocks uncovered (the Chaldean translator renders it, the shameful parts) to the shame of Egypt;" therefore likewise Isaiah went about with uncovered buttocks. If with uncovered buttocks, what wonder if he went about naked in the rest of his body? nay, if clothed in the rest of his body, he went about with naked buttocks, the more shameful was this mockery, the more ignominious was this spectacle of the Prophet. What therefore Pintus and Montanus leave to Isaiah as a loincloth, is said not only without foundation, but also contradicts this Scripture, and the custom of the Hebrews, who are not accustomed to use loincloths or breeches, but long tunics, after the manner of Orientals. We gather this from the fact that God commanded the priest sacrificing to clothe himself with breeches, as if otherwise the priest, equally as the laity, lacked them according to the custom of the nation; therefore breeches were not the garment of laymen, but of priests and sacred things, and this for this reason, namely, lest, if during the sacrifice the priest's robe were opened or spread, their thighs appear naked, as I said in Exodus XXVIII, 42. Second, because sackcloth was the garment of penance worn upon naked flesh, as I have said: therefore, putting off the sackcloth or hairshirt, he was entirely naked. Third, because Isaiah is said here to have been made a portent to the people: but it is a portent if someone walks about entirely naked, not if he walks in a common garment. And thus Ezekiel was made a portent, eating cow dung, and sleeping 390 days on one side; and Jeremiah, laden with chains, walked about; and Zechariah, when he took the vessels, that is the instruments, of the foolish shepherd; and Hosea, when he took a fornicatress as wife. For God was wont to command the Prophets to do certain things altogether exotic, for this reason, that they might strike and bend the hard minds of the Jews, which were otherwise immovable and inflexible. Fourth, because by this nakedness he signified the extreme both ignominy and spoliation, and poverty of the Egyptians; therefore he was plainly naked. Fifth, because allegorically, he represented the nakedness of Christ on the cross, which was full and complete for explaining the sin of Adam and concupiscence, and thence sprung shame and blushing: for they blushed because they saw themselves entirely naked in those members in which lust and concupiscence rebelling against reason hold sway. For this is shameful and blushing to man. To expiate this nakedness and shame of Adam, Christ on the cross took upon himself to atone for it, and this was a great ignominy, shame and cross to Christ the virgin. Christ therefore on the cross hung entirely naked, as he had come forth from his mother's womb. Thus teach St. Ambrose, Athanasius, St. Bonaventure, and from them Francis Suarez, III part., Question XLVI, art. 8, sect. 4, and Jacob Gretser, lib. I On the Cross, cap. XXII and seq., Francis Lucas in Matthew XXVII, and others. You will say: To walk about entirely naked is shameful and scandalous, and an incentive to lust; therefore God did not command this of Isaiah. I answer to the antecedent, that this is true, if it be done willingly and from wantonness, but not if it be done from necessity, as when someone flees naked from a fire, or from the destruction of a city; or if it be done from the will and command of God: then indeed God's command wipes away all foulness from this nakedness. But here it was clear to the Jews that Isaiah was a Prophet of God, and was walking naked by God's command, and for this reason, that he might represent to the people that they themselves were to be stripped by the enemy in like manner; whence he incited them more to fear and dread by this nakedness of his than to lust: especially because his body, already made hairy, wasted away by leanness and fasting, moved horror rather than concupiscence. Thus God, commanding the Prophet Hosea and a man of honor to take a vile harlot as wife (which was shameful and unworthy), wiped away all foulness from this matter. Thus God, granting polygamy to Abraham, Jacob and others, removed all turpitude from it by this dispensation of his. Thus God commanded not only to be stripped naked, but also to be circumcised in the genital parts. Note secondly, with St. Jerome and others, the remarkable obedience and mortification of Isaiah, in that a man of noble birth from the royal line did not blush to walk about for three days through the most celebrated city, preaching in the middle of the day entirely naked: for although this in itself was unseemly and foul, yet it was made honorable, and was an act of remarkable virtue by God's command: "For nothing is more honorable than God's precepts," says St. Jerome. And for this reason, that by that ternary, and his three-day nakedness, by the very deed and his walking about, he might represent the ternary of captivity, namely, that for three years Egypt and Ethiopia were to be laid waste and stripped of all things, and men from there were to be led away naked to ignominy: for this day of Isaiah, as also of Ezekiel cap. IV, 6, was reckoned for a year. Thus St. Jerome and Cyril. Forerius wishes Isaiah to have walked naked not for three days only, but for the whole three years; and this the Septuagint has according to the edition of Carafa, although the Complutensian edition and others omit the phrase "for three years." But this does not seem to be true: for by this ternary of nakedness, he signified the ternary of years of the captivity of Egypt to come: but that was to be, not after three years, but after three days from this prophecy. For Sennacherib in this same year 14 of Hezekiah, in which he attacked Judah, went forth against Tirhakah and the Ethiopians, as I shall say in verse 3.
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3. AS HE WALKED. Refer this to verse 4: "So will the king threaten:" for there the comparison is completed by the return; the remaining things which intervene, namely, "a sign and portent of three years," up to "so," are to be taken in parenthesis. A SIGN AND PORTENT OF THREE YEARS WILL IT BE. Understand that, or which, namely, the walking of Isaiah will be a portent of three years. This can be explained in two ways: first, that this three-day nakedness of Isaiah portends that the desolation of Egypt and Ethiopia will be after three years from this prophecy; second, and better, that this desolation will last for three years. For it began in the 14th year of Hezekiah, when Sennacherib, hearing that Tirhakah king of the Ethiopians was about to come, went against him, leaving Rabshakeh in Judaea, as Josephus teaches, lib. X Antiq. 1, and Scripture, IV Kings XIX, 9; and after three years he returned to Jerusalem, where he was struck down by an Angel, as is evident there, verse 35, and Isaiah XXXVII, 36. He was therefore occupied with war and the devastation of Egypt and Ethiopia for three years. Thus Sanchez. Wherefore what Josephus adds there: "Sennacherib spent much time in preparing the siege of Pelusium, and had already raised the mound almost level with the walls, and it seemed he would make an assault shortly, when he heard that Tirhakah (this is Tirhaca) king of the Ethiopians was coming to bring aid to the Egyptians: terrified by this report, he hastily departed with his men." This, I say, does not sufficiently agree with his preceding statements, nor with Scripture, which teaches that Sennacherib heard of the coming of Tirhakah not at Pelusium, but in Judaea: and it appears that Josephus drew these things from Herodotus, who is plainly fabulous here. Wherefore a learned man, moved by these words of Josephus, not without reason refers this calamity of Egypt and Ethiopia predicted here by Isaiah to the times of Assarhaddon son of Sennacherib; or rather to Nebuchadnezzar, who after three years from the devastation of Jerusalem, devastated Egypt and Ethiopia. NAKED AND BAREFOOT. He expresses this particularly, and to naked adds barefoot, because besides the ignominy, the Prophet's bare feet experienced great hardship and affliction in walking through rough and rocky places; and it was to be greater for the Egyptians and Ethiopians, going barefoot from Egypt on a very long and difficult journey all the way to Babylon. From this precept and deed of Isaiah arose the heresy of the Barefoot, concerning which St. Augustine, lib. De Haeres. in 68: "There is another heresy," he says, "of those always walking barefoot, because the Lord said to Moses or to Joshua: Loose thy shoe from off thy feet, Exod. III, Joshua V; and because the prophet Isaiah was commanded to walk barefoot."
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4. SO WILL HE DRIVE AWAY (as it were cattle, namely as captives taken by hand in war: for victors properly drive these before them, as shepherds their flocks) THE CAPTIVITY (Captives) OF EGYPT, AND THE MIGRATION (those migrating and being led away) OF ETHIOPIA, YOUNG MEN AND OLD. For young men administer and defend the commonwealth by arms, old men by counsel. "The counsels of the old are the spears of the young," says Pindar in Plutarch's Life of Lycurgus. And Aristotle, lib. VII Politic., cap. IX: "Strength," he says, "is in young men, prudence in old men." And the Poet: Ἔργ' ἀνδρῶν, πολεμεῖτε νέων, βουλαὶ δὲ γερόντων. The works of men, the battles of young men, the counsels of old men. WITH BUTTOCKS UNCOVERED TO THE SHAME OF EGYPT. Some explain "with buttocks uncovered" as if to say, with garments cut off up to the buttocks, as Hanun did, II Kings X, 4. But there is a difference between cut off and uncovered. Barbarian victors were accustomed, either for mockery or for lust, to uncover the members of captive enemies which modesty covers. Isaiah teaches this here, and cap. XLVII, verse 2, concerning Babylon: "Uncover," he says, "thy shame, reveal thy legs," etc.; and Nahum, cap. III, verse 5: "I will reveal," he says, "thy shame to the nations, and thy ignominy;"; and elsewhere God often threatens that He will "uncover shame, reveal the shameful or more modest parts" of this or that nation.
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5. AND THEY WILL BE AFRAID, that is to say, the Jews, who until now had hope in the Egyptians and Ethiopians, and gloried in their aid and resources, will be afraid and confounded when they see them captured and devastated so ignominiously.
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6. AND THE INHABITANT OF THIS ISLAND WILL SAY. Judaea is here metaphorically called an island. First, because it was situated between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. Second, because it was small in comparison to Babylon, which is called a sea in the following chapter, verse 1. Third, and rather, because, as St. Jerome explains, it was beaten by the waves and wars of neighboring nations, especially the Assyrians and Egyptians, just as an island is beaten on all sides by the waves of the sea. Fourth, because, just as an island alone rises in the sea and lifts up its head, while the rest is submerged in the sea: so Jerusalem alone lifted up its head and escaped, when Sennacherib submerged the cities of Judaea, as it were with the sea, with his forces: this is indeed what he said in chapter VIII, verse 8: "He will pass through Judah, overflowing and passing over, even to the neck he will come," that is to say, Sennacherib will submerge Judaea up to the neck, so that Jerusalem alone, which is the head, stands out and is saved. Thus Sanchez. These last two senses are more fitting and genuine than the others.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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Hic ponitur destructionis tempus; et dividitur in partes tres: et primo ponitur designans quoddam, scilicet propheticum factum; secundo facti significatum, ibi, Et dixit Dominus; tertio ostendit significati effectum, ibi, Et timebunt, et confundentur. Circa primum tria. Primo ponitur propheiae tempus, In anno quo ingressus est Tharthan in Azotum, civitas Palaestinorum. Amos 1: « Ubi est Gaza, • Geth, Accaron, Ascalon, Azotus? » Sargon, qui et Senacherib, secundum Jeronymum, quia sex nomina habuit, quae sunt Sargon, Senach, Phua, Salmanasar, Teglathphalasar, Asrael. In manu, idest in opere verbis concordante.
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Oseaë 12: « In manibus prophetarum assimilatus sum. » Secundo ponit divinum praeciptum, Vade, et solve. Ezech. 24: « Eritque Ezechiël vobis in portentum. » Tertio praecipti complementum. Et fecit sic. Et dixit Dominus etc. Hic ponitur significantum praedicti facti.
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Et primo quantum ad tempus quo duravit persecutio, Trium annorum, per tres dies quibus nudus ivit, significatorum Ezech. 4: « Diem pro anno dedi tibi. » Secundo quantum ad destructionis auctorem, Sic minabit rex. Ezech. 50: « In die illa egredientur nuntii a facie mea in trieribus ad conterendam Aethiopiam confidentiam. » Tertio quantum ad destructionis conditionem, in universalitatem, Juvenem et senem; in vilitatem, Nudam; scilicet captivitatem. Jer. 46: « Sanitas non est tibi. » Et timebunt.
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Hic ponit effectum in Judaeis: primo timorem, Et timebunt; secundo confusionem, et confundentur; tertio utriusque expressionem, et dicet habitator insulae, idest Jerusalem, quae persecutionis fluctibus incessanter tundebatur, sicut insula fluctibus maris; Haecine, in quo confusio, et quomodo, in quo timor. Infra 50: « Erit vobis fortitudo Pharaonis in confusionem. »
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v. 4 « In anno quo ingressus est. Tharthan in. Azotum, cum misisset eum Sargon rex Assyriorum et pugnasset. contra Azotum et cepisset eam,
Vaticinio modo in tempus longinquum prolato additur ex tempore mox futuro confirmatio quaedam ac veluti pignus. Id minime abhorrere a more prophetae, iam advertimus, cum oraculo de ruina Babel subiungeretur vaticinium ad Assur pertinens (14, 25) vel onus Moab eventu mox futuro concluderetur (16, 14); « de bonis in Aegyptios conferendis vaticinatus ea quae mox finem nactura erant subdidit, ut a praesentium eventu ea quae diuturno post tempore futura erant credibilia essent iis qui tunc propheticorum sermonum auditores erant » (Euseb. sim. Procop.). Eo quoque vaticinio simul clare ac distincte via designatur, qua Dominus Aegyptum sit humiliaturus et minas praedictas opere complere incipiat, et cum adeo determinatum subdatur oraculum tempore et conditionibus cireumscriptum atque definitum, iure inde quoque inferre licet, oraculum antecedens in ratione potius generali describenda et in universum delineanda versari. — Cladem et captivitatem Aegyptiorum et Aethiopum vates habitu suo iubetur publice declarare :
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v. 29 in tempore illo locutus est Dominus in manu. Isaiae filii Amos dicens : vade et solve saccum de | lumbis tuis et. calceamenta tua tolle de pedibus tuis. Et fecit sic vadens mudus et discalcea- (u$ » ; —eoanno quo dux supremus militaris — id enim significat Tharthan, assyriace tur-ta-nu, quem miserat Sargon, qui post Salmanasar rerum assyriacarum potitus est (an. 7122-103 a. Chr.)'!, ad expugnandam urbem Asdod accessit, [saias habitu captivi incedere iubetur. Inscriptionibus cuneiformibus de bello cum Philisthaeis: eo tempore gesto et de obsidione ac expugnatione urbis Asdod (Azoti) satis edocemur; iis enim refertur, Azuri, rerem Asdod animo obdurato vectigalia imposita non solvisse, immo nuntiis missis alios quoque principes ad defectionem ab Assyriis incitasse, unde eum a Sargone esse regno privatum et fratrem eius Achimit regem institutum ; sed contra eum insurrexisse ipsos Azotidas eoque pulso sibi constituisse regem alium Iaman (Yavan) nomine et simul ab Aegyptiis opem efflagitasse contra Assyrios. Quare Sargon dicit se expeditionem in Asdod suscepisse ; quo nuntio audito Iaman aufugisse in Aegyptum ; porro narrat urbem Asod esse osessam et captam !, idola, uxorem regiam et filios et filias et opes et thesauros esse ablata in Assyriam (cf. Vigouroux, l. c. p. 163 seq. Schrader, Keilinschriften u. A. T. ad h. 1). Expeditio haec undecimo anno regis Sargon est suscepta. Aegyptii rebellionem contra Assur semper fovebant et principes civitatum regesque foedere contra illos unire ac continere conabantur. Verum quantopere vires eorum iam fuerint fractae, inde ostenditur quod Iaman regem qui confugerat in Aegyptum statim cum Sargon id postularet traderent. Etiam maiorem humiliationem mox iis fore vates iubetur habitu suo declarare. Solvere iubetur saccum i. e. vestem extimam duram et asperam ex rudi panno vel cilicino confectam, quo habitu ipso austero tempora agi aspera satis iam indicabat. Sed eum quoque deponere iubetur, ita ut nudus 1. e. tunica. solum interiore ac breviore contectus, proinde habitu indecoro et ad ignominiam conformato incederet. Nudus enim apud orientales ille iam appellatur qui toga vel pallio deposito sola tunica interiore vestitur (cf. 1 Reg. 19, 24. 2 Reg. 6, 20; ita communiter et merito). Id factum est, ut insolito spectaculo animi popularium excitarentur et ad vaticinium et salutare documentum percipiendum attentiores redderentur (vide quae notavi ad Os. 1, 2). Atque merito praedicat S. Hier. promptum prophetae ad obediendum animum et ad mandatum adeo ignominia plenum fortiter subeundum ; « quod iubeatur nudus incedere et nihil cunctari idque confestim agere in oculis adstantium, maximae sane obsequentiae erga Deum et alacritatis, parati item sublimisque animi argumentum fuerit, qui humanam glo- plane incogniti, firura nobis est servata. Vide plura apud Schenkel, Bibellex. IV p. 182 seq. ; Rielun, Handwoerterb. II p. 1370 ; Vigourowr, l|. c. I p- 144. IV. p. 122 seq. 128-110 ; Br iun. Civiltà catholica NI. 4, 144 seq. 1. Neque ullo pacto cum nostro textu pugnat quod Sargon dicit : ego obsedi ot copi; riam ne flocci quidem faciat » (Euseb.), Et. Sanct. advertit: « quis ex vulgo ignobili non horreret omnique studio atque arte contenderet, ne insignem illam ignominiam subiret; sed nihil arduum humilibus est, nihil foedum ac turpe his, qui in explenda divina voluntate summum sibi honorem et commendationem constituerunt ». Ceterum Deum sacpius difficilia et ardua a prophetis suis postulare, exemplo sunt Ieremias et Ezechiel. Iam quid eo habitu sit portendendum, declaratur
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v. 3 « et dixit Dominus : sicut ambvlavit servus meus Isaias nudus et discalceatus, trium annorum signum et portentum erit super Aegyptum et super Aethiopiam,
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v. 4 sic minabit rez Assyriorum captivitatem Aegypti et transmigralionem Aethiopiae iwvenum et senum nudam et discalceatam discoopertis natibus ad ignominiam Aegypti »; — hebr. sieut ambulavit servus meus ... per tres annos signum, et yorimám super ...., sic minabit etc. imibus verbis exprimi videtur, Isaiam per tres annos eo habitu incessisse et tum demum signi huius ac portenti declarationem a Deo esse datam ; dicitur enim sicut ambulavit, LXX 6v «pózo» «enógsu- :«; dein per tres annos (hebr.) uti LXX quoque zeíz &;; neque hebr. intelligi potest eum fuisse trium annorum signum i. e. expletis tribus annis foreimpletionem. Impletio enim non accidit nisi, ut videtur, quando Asarhaddon et Asurbanipal Aegyptum invaserant. Illum enim devicto Tharaca innumerabiles captivos abduxisse in cuneiformis inscriptionibus legitur, hune autem devicto Urdamani Thebas usque processisse:et cum spoliis ingentibus plurimos quoque captivos abduxisse Niniven, iam ad Nah. 3, 8 dictum est. Captivos habitu ignominioso ad ludibrium et turpitudinem fuisse indutos vel etiam nudatos, vide Is. 4, 2. Ut autem actio haec symbolica Isaiae effectu suo in animos Iudaeorum non careret, plane necessarium erat, ut revera externe perageretur; quare merito iam monet Mald. interpretes lat. audiendos minime esse qui ob rei foeditatem putent sola visione id esse a propheta peractum. Ceterum non opus erit rem ita concipere quasi continuo per tres annos ita incesserit Isaias ; sufficiet si iteratis vicibus per tres annos illo se habitu oculis civium intulerit; nam etiam is iure dicitur per tres annos veste extima spoliatus incessisse, qui id quod neque antea neque postea exhibuit, per tres annos frequenter et in publico quasi muneris sui partem in se suscepit, sicut dicitur v. g. per duos meuses ad valetudinem roborandam equitasse, vel balnea adhibuisse, vel montes ascendisse is, qui istud saepius eo temporis spatio ex medicorum consilio fecit, minime vero continuo. Alii signum per tres annos referri censent ad calamitatem quae per tres an- nos duratura sit; ita S. Hier. Mald. Sanct. Pint. Sasb. Lap. Men. Tir. Troch. ; sed in verbis ipsis id non indicatur, sed solum effertur eum per tres annos habitu suo esse signum et portentum, eum ergo per tres annos incessu suo animos popularium ad rem futuram attentos reddidisse vel per tres annos edidisse prophetiam ipsa agendi ratione symbolica. Sed ex sola duratione symboli duratio rei per symbolum repraesentatae certo colligi non potest. Duratio enim symboli praecipi potest propter alium finem, ut nostro loco esse videtur, scil. ut diu et efficaciter admoneantur et a foedere aegyptiaco deterreantur, et ideo res quae brevi spatio temporis erit peragenda, nihilominus symbolo diu durante exhiberi et adumbrari potest. — A textu alienum est quod alii censent Isaiam solum per tres dies ita incessisse (ita Haim. S. Thom. Lap.); sed quod alias Deus diem legitur pro anno computasse (Ez. 4, 5. 6), eo certe non efficitur etiam hoc loco Isaiam dici esse portentum per tres annos eo quod nudus incesserit per tres dies, cum de diebus ne verbulum quidem legatur. Neque aliunde regula generali constat actionem symbolicam per diem exercitam eventum praesignificare per annum duraturum. — Sunt qui contendant Isaiam incedere iussum esse plane nudum (cf. Sasb. Lap. Calm.) ; verum id uti ab omni honestatis sensu abhorret, ita verbis non necessario exigitur, cum nudus iam ille dicatur qui veste superiore careat sola breviore vestimento tectus ; ita rem iam expendunt Sanct. For. Men. Tir. Est. et communiter recentiores (cf. Ges. Km. Winer s. v. Kleidung, Schenkel, Bibellex. lll p. 541 ; Del. Naeg. Troch. Rohl. ete.). — Saccus proprie est vestis quae luctus tempore geritur; propheta igitur ut muneris rationem declararet et pro populi peccatis lugeret eo vestimento continuo usus esse videtur. Ceterum eo vestimenti genere indutos fuisse prophetas colligi potest ex iis quae 4 Reg. 1, 8. Zach. 13, 4. Matth. 3, 4. Hebr. 11, 3T. Apoc. 11, 3 dicuntur. Talem autem saecum esse gestum pro veste superiore, inde ostendi potest. quod frequenter saccum induere "27 cingere, exuere nn5 solvere, aperire dicitur, qui loquendi modus solum usurpatur de veste superiore, de cingulo, gladio, armis, nunquam autem de tunica interiore (de nin2), de qua induere v/25, exuere v2 adhibetur (cf. Kn.). Quod 4 Reg. 5, 30 narratur saccum super carnem esse gestum a rege, ipso narrandi modo tamquam res insolita proponitur. Haec vero summa Aegyptiorum et, Aethiopum ignominia atque humiliatio adeo diu Iudaeis est ob oculos posita, ut ne fiduciam in illorum ope collocent ullam. Nam tempore quoque Ezechiae regis adfuisse inter Bn qui ab oppressione assyriaca sese ope Aegyptiorum et foedere egyptiaco defendere posse existimarent, res est certissima (ef. Is. 30, : 2. Quare propheta non sine acrimonia dicit, tum demum, si Aeg gyptii in UP ge foede abripiuntur, illos esse suam ipsorum stultitiam intelleeturos
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v. 5 « et timebunt et conf'undentur ab Aethiopia spe sua et ab Aegypto b. $ud» ; — quanta ironia spectaculo illo abductionis turpis exhibito! in eiusmodi reposuisse spem, quaesivisse gloriandi et sese iactandi materiam, ab eiusmodi ornatum et rerum omnium incrementum exspectasse, et confusioni pudorique erit et simul timori iustissimo, ne simile quid ipsis quoque eveniat. Ut antequam ista confusione obruantur, melius sapiant fiduciamque humanam abiiciant, propheta iis exponit, quomodo clade illa omnes habitatores Palaestinae erudiantur
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v. 6 «et dicet habitator insulae huius in die illa : ecce haec erat spes nostra ad quos confugimus in auxilium, ut liberarent nos a facie regis Assyriorum ! et quomodo effugere poterimus nos» ? — "x est ora maritima; ita vocatur Soph. 2, 5 regio Philisthaeorum et Is. 23, 6 Phoenice. Hoc nostro loco tota terra palaestinensis ita appellari videtur; sane praecipue institutionem atque eruditionem Iudaeorum spectat propheta et simul cum aliis populis Iudaeos quoque opem contra Assyrios exspectasse ab Aegyptiis certum est. Unde Aabitator de variis Palaestinae gentibus intelligatur oportet, sed praecipue de Iudaeis. Forte indicare voluit propheta appellatione illa quae alias de terra palaestinensi non usurpatur, Iudaeos spe illa seipsos in censum quasi et ordinem redegisse gentium terramque sanctam effecisse regionem communem. De duobus autem eventu illo edocendi sunt : quam stultum sit spem ponere in hominibus (cf. 30, 3; 31, 3) et eandem miseriae sortem sibi ipsis imminere, nisi interventu Domini protegantur. Unde bene adnotat S. Hier. : « est igitur hic ordo providentiae Dei omne hominum genus ineffabili iudicio dispensantis ; contra Dei iram Israel speravit in Damasco; diruatur civitas quae adversus illius voluntatem impiis praestat auxilium ; Iudas speravit in Aegyptiis, et Aegyptus destruatur; Assyrii superbierunt non Dei sed suarum virium arbitrantes esse victoriam et ipsi vincantur a Babyloniis, Babylon elevavit contra Deum caput et ipsa a Medis Persisque superetur .... demum excidatur lapis de monte sine manibus et potentissimum primum regnum ac ferreum, deinde fragile et infirmum in testarum modum conterat ».
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Ashdod (Hebrew: ʾAšdādh; Akkadian: Ašdādh; Greek: ʾAšdōr; modern: Esdūd)
Sargon, king of Assyria, took possession of it in 711 B.C. (Is. 20:1) and, according to Herodotus (II, 157), Psammetichus I, king of Egypt (663-610), did so as well. …
… (Eccl. 36, 1-16: Saturday I) prays to God for the Israelites dispersed throughout the world, that he may make himself recognized by all peoples, gather Israel together and restore to Jerusalem her ancient glory. - 8. 9. Isaiah in the first canticle (Is. 20, 1-6: Monday II) invites us to praise God, proclaiming the liberation from Babylonian slavery; in the second (45, 16-26: Friday I) he raises a hymn of jubilation to the invincible God, …
… Ashdod, made tributary by Tiglath-Pileser (734), captured in 711 by Sargon, was for some time the capital of the Assyrian province of Ashdodu (Isa. 20:1). From those times on, under the Neo-Babylonians, the Persians, the successors of Alexander the Great, each of the Philistine cities has its own history.
The Bible relates that S.'s turtanu besieged and despoiled Ashdod (Ašdādh; Is. 20, 1). The cuneiform inscriptions are so numerous that S. may be called the best-known figure in the ancient East: triumphal records, annals and other accounts of his deeds, foundation stones, slabs. …
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… It was the ordinary dress of the prophets, preachers of penance (Is. 20:2; 2 Kings 1:8; Mt. 3:4). Along with the cilice, ashes were also used to sprinkle the head; hence the biblical expression: "to do penance in sackcloth and ashes" (Mt. 11:21). As …
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… But the biblical texts that invite us to place C. in Africa, south of Egypt, that is, vaguely in modern Ethiopia (v.), are much more numerous (cf. 2 Kings 19:9; Ps. 67:32; 86:4; Is. 11:11; 18:1; 20:3, 5; Ez. 29:10).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.