Isaiah 19:4

Isa 19:4 And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts.

Ver. 4. And the Egyptians will I give over.] Heb., Shut up - sc., as fishes in a pond.

Into the hand of a cruel lord.] Heb., Lords - viz., those twelve tyrants that reigned after Sethon, and were put down by Psammeticus, one of their own number, who afterwards reigned alone and with rigour. {a}

And a fierce king,] viz., Psammeticus, the father of that Pharaohnecho who slew Josiah. {2Ki 23:29} This fierce king reigned fifty-four years, and by his harshness caused 200,000 of his men of war to leave him, and to go into Ethiopia.

{a} Herodot.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa 19:4. The Egyptians will I give into the hand of a cruel lord, &c. — This is the second calamity here threatened, and the most essential part of the prophecy; and “it may with great truth and propriety be understood of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, whose dominion was very grievous to the conquered nations: but with the greatest propriety and justice may be applied to the Persians, and especially to Cambyses and Ochus; one of whom put the yoke upon the neck of the Egyptians, and the other riveted it there, and who are both branded in history for cruel tyrants and monsters of men.” — Bishop Newton.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19:4 hard, cruel master: In 671 BC, the Assyrian king Esarhaddon invaded Egypt and destroyed the royal city of Memphis. In 663 BC, Ashurbanipal attacked and destroyed Thebes (see Nah 3:8-10).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

cruel lord--"Sargon," in Hebrew it is lords; but plural is often used to express greatness, where, one alone is meant (Gen 39:2). The parallel word "king" (singular) proves it. NEWTON makes the general reference to be to Nebuchadnezzar, and a particular reference to Cambyses, son of Cyrus (who killed the Egyptian god, Apis), and Ochus, Persian conquerors of Egypt, noted for their "fierce cruelty." GESENIUS refers it to Psammetichus, who had brought into Egypt Greek and other foreign mercenaries to subdue the other eleven princes of the dodecarchy.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. A cruel lord - "Cruel lords"] Nebuchadnezzar in the first place, and afterwards the whole succession of Persian kings, who in general were hard masters, and grievously oppressed the country. Note, that for קשה kasheh, lord, a MS. reads קשים kashim, lords, agreeable to which is the rendering of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(4) Into the hand of a cruel lord.—The later history of Egypt presents so many pictures of oppressive government, that it is hard to say to which of them the picture thus drawn bears most resemblance. Sargon, or Esarhaddon, or Psammetichus, who became king of Egypt on the breaking up of the dodecarchy, or Nebuchadnezzar, or Cambyses, has, each in his turn, been identified as presenting the features of the “cruel lord.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. R.V. And I will give over (lit. “shut up”) the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel (“hard”) lord (in Hebr. plur. of majesty), &c. The words suggest a foreign ruler and are quite applicable to any Assyrian monarch likely to undertake the conquest of Egypt. Esarhaddon in 672 and again Asshurbanipal in 662 ravaged the country as far as Thebes; the Empire was broken up into twenty petty principalities, and all attempts at revolt were sternly suppressed until 645, when Psammetichus, one of the native princes, succeeded in shaking off the Assyrian yoke and uniting Egypt under his own sway.

the Lord, the Lord of hosts] here, as always, in confirmation of a threat. See on Isa_1:24.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hands of a cruel lord,.... Not of Sennacherib king of Assyria, which way go many interpreters, both Christian and Jewish, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi; nor of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, as in Jer 46:25 but either of the twelve tyrants that rose up after the death of Sethon above mentioned; for the word is in the plural number, "lords", though the adjective rendered "cruel" is singular; or else Psammiticus, the father of Pharaohnecho, that slew Josiah; and who conquered the other eleven tyrants, and ruled alone, for the space of fifty four years, with great rigour; and the same is designed in the next clause:

and a fierce king shall rule over them; it is reported of Psammiticus, that he gave such offence to his subjects, that two hundred thousand of his soldiers left him, and went into Ethiopia (a). Vitringa interprets this of the Persian emperors, into whose hands Egypt fell, as Cambyses and Ochus; and who, according to historians, were very cruel princes. That there might be no doubt of the sure and certain accomplishment of this prophecy, it is added,

saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts; of the armies above and below; and who does what he pleases among the kings and kingdoms of the earth.

(a) See Raleigh's History of the World, B. 2. c. 27. sect. 3. p. 357.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And the Egyptians - The Egyptian nation; the entire people, though divided into factions and contending with each other.

Will I give over - Margin, ‘Shut up.’ The Hebrew word (סכר sākar) usually has the sense of shutting up, or closing. Here it means that these contentions would be “closed” or concluded by their being delivered to of a single master. The Septuagint renders it, Παραδώσω Paradōsō - ‘I will surrender.’

Into the hands of a cruel lord - Hebrew, ‘Lords of cruelty, or severity.’ The word rendered ‘lord,’ meaning master, is in the Hebrew in the plural number (אדנים 'ădônı̂y). It is, however, generally supposed that it is pluralis excellentiae - denoting majesty and dignity, and applicable to a “single” monarch. The connection requires this, for the state here described would be different from that where “many” rule, and it seems to suppose that “one” should succeed to the many who had been contending. In the parallel member, also, a name in the singular number is used - ‘a fierce king;’ and as this evidently denotes the same, it follows that the word here is used to denote a single monarch. The plural form is often thus used in the Hebrew (see Psa 7:10; Eze 29:3; Hos 12:1). God here claims jurisdiction over the nation, and says that “he” will do it - a most striking illustration of the power which he asserts over contending people to deliver them to whomsoever he will.

Dr. Newton supposes that this was Nebuchadnezzar, or more properly Cambyses, by whom Egypt was made subject to the authority of Persia, and who was eminently a cruel man, a madman. But the more probable interpretation is that which refers it to Psammetichus. twelve kings were in contention, of whom he was one. He called in the aid of the Arabians, the pirates of Caria and Iona (Herodot. ii. 152; see the Analysis of the chapter; Diod. i. 66). This was in the twentieth year of the reign of Manasseh. Psammetichus reigned fifty-four years and was succeeded by Nechus his son, called in Scripture Pharaoh-Necho, and often mentioned under that name. Psammetichus, during a considerable part of his reign, was engaged in wars with Assyria and Palestine. He is here called a ‘cruel lord;’ that is, an oppressive monarch, probably because he secured the kingdom by bringing in to his aid foreign mercenaries - robbers and pirates, and because his wars made his government oppressive and burdensome.

A fierce king - Hebrew, ‘A king of strength’ - a description particularly applicable to one who, like Psammetichus, had subdued eleven rivals, and who had obtained the kingdom by conquest.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Masters. Twelve kings. Psammitichus, one of them, shall gain the ascendancy.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

A fierce king; either,

1. The king of Assyria or Chaldea; or,

2. Those twelve petty kings, the singular number being put for the plural; or,

3. Psammetichus, who being at first one of those twelve kings, waged war with the rest, and subdued them, and conquered all the land of Egypt, and ruled it with rigour.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. A fierce king — Rather, a strong, powerful king, but such as proved a cruel master. As without much doubt the prophecy is general, this one character may apply to several rulers — Nebuchadnezzar, Psammetichus, and Cambyses — the most merciless of whom, however, was Psammetichus. See SMITH’S Dictionary of Biography.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord. It has been observed above that Piankhi will not answer to this description. It will, however, well suit Esarhaddon. Esarhaddon, soon after his accession, cut off the heads of Abdi-Milkut, King of Sidon, and of Sanduarri, King of Kundi, and hung them round the necks of two of their chief officers (G. Smith, "Eponym Canon," pp. 137-139). In an expedition which he made into Arabia, he slew eight of the sovereigns, two of them being women ("Records of the Past," vol. 3. pp. 106, 107). On conquering Egypt he treated it with extreme severity. Not only did he divide up the country into twenty governments, but he changed the names of the towns, and assigned to his twenty governors, as their main duty, that they were "to slay, plunder, and spoil" their subjects (G. Smith, "History of Asshur-bani-pal," p. 37, 1. 7; comp. p. 16, 1. 7). He certainly well deserved the appellations of "a cruel lord," "a fierce king."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A fierce king - Psammetichus, who being at first one of those twelve kings, waged war with the rest, and subdued them, and conquered all the land of Egypt and ruled it with rigor.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“And I will shut up Egypt in the hands of a hard master, and a strong king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts.” Master, literally masters, a pluralis majestaticus, elsewhere applied to individual men (Gen 42:30; Gen 42:33; 2Ki 2:3; 2Ki 2:5; 2Ki 2:16). The king here mentioned is identified, according to various hypotheses, with Sethos, Psammetichus, Sennacherib, Sargon, Nebuchadnezzar, Cambyses, Ochus, and Charlemagne! The very multiplicity of these explanations shows how fanciful they are, and naturally leads us to conclude that the Prophet is describing in a general way the political vicissitudes of Egypt, one of which would be subjection to an arbitrary power, whether foreign or domestic, or to both at different periods of its history.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will deliver וְסִכַּרְתִּי, And I will deliver. Alternatively, it can be interpreted as an expression like (Gen. 8:2): “And the fountains of the deep were stopped up (וַיִּסָּכְרוּ).” I will stop him up and bind him.

into the hands of a harsh master Heb. אֲדֹנִים קָשֶׁה. Any expression of lordship is used in the plural, even for a singular. Comp. (ibid. 39:20) “Joseph’s master (אֲדֹנֵי)”; (ibid. 16) “Until his master (אֲדֹנָיו) came.”

and a mighty king The king of Assyria.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

וסכרתי And I will give over. The כ is here, according to some, substituted for נ, but, in fact, only the silent letters interchange; it is rather to be compared with ויסכרו and were stopped (Gen. 8:2).

אדנים קשה A cruel lord. The grammatical irregularity is already explained (Ex. 21:4).

And a fierce king. The king of Assyria.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.