8 It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, Immanuel.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And crossing over into Judah The verb chlph, (chalaph,) which sometimes signifies to pass through, here means to attack and cut off: that is, it will not only water Judea, but will overflow it, so as utterly to drown it; for it will spread far and wide on every part. He adds -- Even to the neck. The comparison is taken from a man who, entering a river, dips into it gradually, till the water reaches to the neck. In this manner shall Judea be overflowed by that rapid river, that is, by the Assyrian, till he be plunged up to the neck. He means Jerusalem, which was the metropolis of the country; and when the Assyrian came to it, Judea was at no great distance from destruction. The breadth of thy land. That is, in all directions; for he pursues his metaphor in his prophecy, and shows how violent the Assyrian will be, and enlarges the representation of his strength and violence by the same comparison; that is, by comparing him to an impetuous river, which bursting through its barriers and overflowing its banks, spreads far and wide, and overturns and destroys everything by its violence. He proceeds in his discourse against the Jews, as he had begun to do in the two former verses; for, having foretold the destruction of the Israelites and Syrians, he likewise threatens that the Jews, in their turn, shall be punished for their unbelief. To understand this better, Isaiah's highly beautiful and closely connected discourse must be examined. First, he turned aside to address others; for Ahaz was unworthy of being addressed. The Lord will give you a sign; which was declared in the former chapter. Next, he adds the manner of preserving Jerusalem, by the sudden changes which should take place in Syria and Samaria. This was confirmed, in the beginning of this chapter, both by a commandment and by a vision. He now comes to the Jews themselves, that they may not hope to escape without being punished, or be too highly elated by the destruction of their enemies; for he declares that for them also a reward is prepared, and that they, too, will be punished for their wickedness and treachery, because they despised the Lord, and would not rest satisfied with his promises, and signs, and acts of kindness largely and bountifully offered. O Immanuel. It may be asked, Why does the Prophet direct his discourse to Christ, instead of simply calling the land "God's holy land?" For there can be no doubt that by the name Immanuel he means Christ. It might be thought that this expression was used in order to express the disgrace more strongly; for, since Judea not only was set apart to God, but in the person of the Mediator had God as the guardian of its safety, it was disgraceful that it should be destroyed by a heathen king. But I rather think that the Prophet added this name, in order to hold out to good men some remnant of hope, and to comfort them in so great a calamity; for, when the country was wasted and cruelly torn, they might have lost courage. He therefore means, that that desolation would not prevent the coming of the Redeemer, of whom he had formerly spoken. As if he had said, "Nevertheless, the land shall be thine, O Immanuel; in it shalt thou have thy residence and abode." This was, therefore, added instead of a consolation, in order to intimate that the land, though torn and wasted, belongs to God and not to men. The sudden change too a direct address (apostrophe) is emphatic; for in this way the Prophet solemnly declares his belief in redemption, that the Lord may set a limit to the frightful calamities.
He shall - That is, the Assyrians - though still retaining the idea of an overflowing stream, or a deluge of waters.
Reach even to the neck - Chaldee, 'They shall come even to Jerusalem.' 'The prophet compares Jerusalem here,' says Kimchi, 'to the head of the human body. As when the waters reach to the neck of a man, he is very near drowning, so here, the prophet intimates that the whole land would be deluged, and that it would be nearly utterly destroyed.' The figure thus understood is a very sublime one Jerusalem was situated on hills - elevated above the surrounding country, and, in reference to the whole land, might be aptly compared to the human head. Thus, Josephus (De Bello, lib. iii. ch. ii.), describing Jerusalem, says - Ἱεροσόλυμα προανίσχουσα τῆς περιοίκου πάσης, ὥσπερ ἡ κεφαλὴ σώματος Hierosoluma proanischousa tēs perioikou pasēs, hōsper hē kephalē sōmatos - "Jerusalem, eminent above all the surrounding region, as the head of the body." The country is represented as being laid under water - a vast sea of rolling and tumultuous waves - with Jerusalem alone rising above them, standing in solitary grandeur amidst the heaving ocean, and itself in danger each moment of being ingulphed; see a similar figure, Isaiah 30:28 :
He is spirit is like a torrent overflowing
It shall reach to the middle of the neck.
And so also, Habakkuk 3:13 :
Thou didst go forth for the salvation of thy people,
For the salvation of thine anointed:
Thou didst smite the head from the house of the wicked,
Destroying the foundation even to the neck.
And the stretching out of his wings - This is a continuation of the same idea under a new figure. The term wings is often applied to an army, as well in modern as in ancient writings. It denotes that the invading army would be so vast as, when expanded or drawn out, to fill the land.
Shall fill the breadth - Shall occupy the entire land, so that there shall be no city or town which he shall not invade.
Thy land, O Immanuel - see the note at Isaiah 7:14. If this be understood as referring to the son of Isaiah that was to be born, then it means that the child was given as a pledge that the land would be safe from the threatened invasion. It was natural, therefore, to address the child in that manner; as reminding the prophet that this land, which was about to be invaded, belonged to God, and was yet under his protection. Its meaning may be thus paraphrased: 'O thou who art a pledge of the protection of God - whose birth is an assurance that the land is under his care, and who art given as such a sign to the nation. Notwithstanding this pledge, the land shall be full of foes. They shall spread through every part and endanger all.' Yet the name, the circumstances of the birth, the promise at that time, would all remind the prophet and the king, that, notwithstanding this, the land would be still under the protection of God. If the language be understood as referring to the future Messiah, and as an address made to him then, by calling the land his land, it is intimated that it could not be brought to utter desolation, nor could the country where he was to be born remain wasted and ruined. It would be indeed invaded; the armies of the Assyrian would spread over it, but still it was the land of Immanuel; and was to be the place of his birth, and it was to be secure until the time should arrive for him to come. The probability is, I think, that the address is here solely to the Messiah; and that the purpose of God is to fix the mind of the prophet on the fact that the Messiah must come, as an assurance that the land could not be wholly and perpetually desolate; see the notes at Isaiah 7:14.
He shall reach even to the neck - He compares Jerusalem, says Kimchi, to the head of the human body. As when the waters come up to a man's neck, he is very near drowning, (for a little increase of them would go over his head), so the king of Assyria coming up to Jerusalem was like a flood reaching to the neck - the whole country was overflowed, and the capital was in imminent danger. Accordingly the Chaldee renders reaching to the neck by reaching to Jerusalem.
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach [even] to the (i) neck; and the spread of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O (k) Immanuel.
(i) It will be ready to drown them.
(k) He speaks this to Messiah, or Christ, in whom the faithful were comforted and who would not suffer his Church to be destroyed utterly.
And he shall pass through Judah,.... That is, the king of Assyria, compared to a river of mighty waters; who should not only run over and possess the land of Israel, or the ten tribes, but should enter into Judea, and pass through it, as a chastisement for not trusting in the Lord, but sending to Assyria for help; who instead of helping, distressed them in the times of Ahaz, even Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 2-Chronicles 28:20,
he shall overflow, and go over; the whole land of Judea, as Sennacherib king of Assyria did in Hezekiah's time:
he shall reach even to the neck; that is, to Jerusalem: the whole land is compared to a body, of which Jerusalem was the head; the Assyrian army, comparable to the waters of a great river, overflowed the whole land, took all the fenced cities of Judah, and came up even to Jerusalem, so that the whole was in great danger of being drowned and destroyed; as a man is, when the waters are come up to his neck; see 2-Kings 18:13,
and the stretching out of his wings, the wings of the Assyrian army,
shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel; Judea, called Immanuel's land, because he was to be born there, and converse and die there; and this is particularly mentioned, to show that, though this land should be overrun by the Assyrians, yet not destroyed, until Immanuel, the son of the virgin, was born here. The Targum is,
"and he shall pass through the land of the house of Judah as an overflowing torrent, unto Jerusalem shall he come; and the people of his army shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.''
pass through--The flood shall not stop at Syria and Samaria, but shall penetrate into Judea.
the neck--When the waters reach to the neck, a man is near drowning; still the head is not said to be overflowed. Jerusalem, elevated on hills, is the head. The danger shall be so imminent as to reach near it at Sennacherib's invasion in Hezekiah's reign; but it shall be spared (Isaiah 30:28).
wings--the extreme bands of the Assyrian armies, fulfilled (Isaiah 36:1; Isaiah 37:25).
thy land, O Immanuel--Though temporarily applied to Isaiah's son, in the full sense this is applicable only to Messiah, that Judea is His, was, and still is, a pledge that, however sorely overwhelmed, it shall be saved at last; the "head" is safe even now, waiting for the times of restoration (Acts 1:6); at the same time these words imply that, notwithstanding the temporary deliverance from Syria and Israel, implied in "Immanuel," the greatest calamities are to follow to Judah.
Not till then would this overflowing reach as far as Judah, but then it would do so most certainly and incessantly."And presses forward into Judah, overflows and pours onward, till it reaches to the neck, and the spreading out of its wings fill the breadth of thy land, Immanuel." The fate of Judah would be different from that of Ephraim. Ephraim would be laid completely under water by the river, i.e., would be utterly destroyed. And in Judah the stream, as it rushed forward, would reach the most dangerous height; but if a deliverer could be found, there was still a possibility of its being saved. Such a deliverer was Immanuel, whom the prophet sees in the light of the Spirit living through all the Assyrian calamities. The prophet appeals complainingly to him that the land, which is his land, is almost swallowed up by the world-power: the spreadings out (muttoth, a hophal noun: for similar substantive forms, see Isaiah 14:6; Isaiah 29:3, and more especially Psalm 66:11) of the wings of the stream (i.e., of the large bodies of water pouring out on both sides from the main stream, as from the trunk, and covering the land like two broad wings) have filled the whole land. According to Norzi, Immanul is to be written here as one word, as it is in Isaiah 7:14; but the correct reading is Immân El, with mercha silluk (see note on Isaiah 7:14), though it does not therefore cease to be a proper name. As Jerome observes, it is nomen proprium, non interpretatum; and so it is rendered in the Sept., Μεθ ̓ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός.
Reach - So that they shall be in great danger of being desired. He persists in the metaphor of a river swelling so high as to reach to a man's neck, and be ready to overwhelm him. Such was the danger of Judah's land, when Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, 2-Kings 18:13, and sent his army against Jerusalem. Wings - Of his forces, or of the wings of his army, as they still are called. My land - Of the land of Judah, so called because the Messiah, who is called Immanuel, should be born there. And this is added emphatically for the consolation of God's people, to assure them, that notwithstanding this dreadful scourge, yet God would make a difference between Israel and Judah, and whereas Israel should not be a people, Judah should be restored, for the sake of the Messiah, to be the place of his birth and ministry.
*More commentary available at chapter level.