Isaiah 22:16

Isa 22:16 What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, [as] he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, [and] that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?

Ver. 16. What hast thou here?] What inheritance, possession?

And whom hast thou here?] sc., Of thy stock and kindred? {a} Art not thou a foreigner, a new man, an upstart mushroom? Why, then, dost thou cut thee out such a costly and stately sepulchre in Jerusalem, as if you were of the royal family, or as if you were sure to die here in thy nest? Will it not prove a true κενοταφιον, as the Greeks call it? Some conceive that for the safeguard of his tomb, and other trinkets, Shebna was one of those princes {2Ki 19:2} that gave the king counsel to fortify so strongly. The Hebrews say that he likewise secretly kept correspondence with the enemy, that he might have a stake in store which way soever the dice chanced to turn; yea, that he treacherously agreed with the enemy to deliver the city into his hands; and therefore it was but time to take him a link lower, as Hezekiah did upon this prophecy of Isaiah. Some add, that for betraying the city he hoped to be made king there till his death, and therefore hewed him out a mausoleum or royal sepulchre there, and that among those of the house of David, say the Rabbis.

{a} Terrae filius. Son of the earth.

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 22:16-19. What hast thou here? — Or, What dost thou here? What right hast thou to this place and office? And whom hast thou here? — What relations or family? That thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre — That thou art ambitious of raising a stately sepulchre for thyself and thine heirs? As he that heweth out a sepulchre on high — In a high and eminent place; a habitation for himself in a rock — A monument that shall preserve his memory to all succeeding times. The Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity — Will cause thee to be carried into captivity by a strong hand, or by the hand of a mighty man, from which, therefore, thou shalt not be able to escape. The Hebrew, משׂלשׂלן שׂלשׂלה גבר, is rendered by Dr. Waterland, will throw thee out hence with a mighty throw, and may also be rendered, will cast thee away with the casting of a mighty man, that is, with great force; and will surely cover thee — Namely, with confusion, as is here implied, and as this phrase is more fully expressed Psa 109:29. Or, this may be an allusion to the condition of mourners in general, and particularly of condemned persons, whose faces were wont to be covered. He will violently turn and toss thee like a ball — Hebrew, צנוŠ יצנפן צנפה כדור, rolling he will roll thee with the rolling of a ball; into a large country — Like a ball which is cast into a large and plain spot of ground, where, being thrown with great force, it runs far and wide. Or, to a far country, meaning probably Assyria. There shalt thou die — After having lived in obscurity. And the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house — The honour thou didst arrive at, and the chariots in which thou didst ride with so much state at Jerusalem, shall turn to thy shame, and to the reproach of those who preferred so unworthy a person. Dr. Waterland translates the verse, He will toss and whirl thee, as he were whirling a ball, &c., and there shall be thy glorious chariots, O thou shame of thy lord’s house. And I will drive thee, &c. — These are the Lord’s words; and from thy state shall he pull thee down — Namely, the Lord shall; such sudden changes of persons being very usual in these writings.

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

22:16 Shebna was building a beautiful tomb . . . a monument. This lavish burial place was intended to last for centuries.

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

Meaning, that he was a stranger, and came up of nothing.

Whereas he thought to make his name immortal by his famous sepulcher, he died most miserably among the Assyrians.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

What . . . whom--The prophet accosts Shebna at the very place where he was building a grand sepulcher for himself and his family (compare Isa 14:18; Gen. 23:1-20; Gen 49:29; Gen 50:13). "What (business) hast thou here, and whom hast thou (of thy family, who is likely to be buried) here, that thou buildest," &c., seeing that thou art soon to be deposed from office and carried into captivity? [MAURER].

on high--Sepulchres were made in the highest rocks (Ch2 32:33, Margin).

habitation for himself--compare "his own house" (Isa 14:18).

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 16. A sepulchre on high - in a rock] It has been observed before, on Isa 13:1, that persons of high rank in Judea, and in most parts of the east, were generally buried in large sepulchral vaults, hewn out in the rock for the use of themselves and their families. The vanity of Shebna is set forth by his being so studious and careful to have his sepulchre on high - in a lofty vault; and that probably in a high situation, that it might be more conspicuous. Hezekiah was buried, למעלה lemalah, εν αναβασει Sept.: in the chiefest, says our translation; rather, in the highest part of the sepulchres of the sons of David, to do him the more honour, 2Ch 32:33. There are some monuments still remaining in Persia of great antiquity, called Naksi Rustam, which give one a clear idea of Shebna's pompous design for his sepulchre. They consist of several sepulchres, each of them hewn in a high rock near the top; the front of the rock to the valley below is adorned with carved work in relievo, being the outside of the sepulchre. Some of these sepulchres are about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the valley, which is itself perhaps raised above half as much by the accumulation of the earth since they were made. See the description of them in Chardin, Pietro della Valle, Thevenot, and Kempfer. Diodorus Siculus, lib. xvii., mentions these ancient monuments, and calls them the sepulchres of the kings of Persia. - L.

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

(16) What hast thou here? . . .—The prophet’s indignation is roused by Shebna’s last act of arrogance. He had no “sepulchre of his fathers” to deck with fresh stateliness, and, like the kings and great ones of the earth (the kings of Sidon, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the kings of Assyria), had built one for himself, hollowed out of the wells (probably on one of the hills of Jerusalem), to be his own everlasting “habitation,” his domus œterna. So in Ecc_12:5, the grave is the “long home” of man. Rock-hewn sepulchres of this type are found on the slopes of all the hills in the neighbourhood of the holy city.

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

16. We may imagine the meeting between Isaiah and the vizier to have taken place at the sepulchre which the latter, after the Eastern fashion, was having prepared in his lifetime. By this act the novus homo asserted his equality with the aristocracy of Jerusalem, a piece of presumption which evidently kindles the ire of the prophet.

What hast thou (to do) here? and whom (as kindred or descendants) hast thou here?] i.e. “Thou neither hast the rights of a citizen, nor canst claim to be the founder of a family.” Shebna’s grave was simply the monument of his own vulgar and ostentatious vanity.

that thou hast hewed … here] (see below)—in so conspicuous a position. That Shebna actually placed his tomb amongst those of the kings and princes of Judah is not to be assumed; but he had plainly chosen a pretentious situation.

as he that heweth …] Render: Hewing out his sepulchre on high! Graving in the rock an habitation for him! Ejaculations of unutterable scorn. The use of the third person suggests that there were bystanders.

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.

What hast thou here?.... In the king's house, or in Jerusalem; what business hast thou here? thou art unworthy of such an office, nor shalt thou long continue in it; what inheritance hast thou here? thou art an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and hast no estate or possession in the land:

and whom hast thou here? of thy family and kindred; what ancestors hast thou? where did they live or die, and were buried? what children hast thou to succeed thee in honour and estate? or what relations to be interred, when deceased, in thy grave, that thou hast made such a provision as follows? and it may be observed, that wherever he is spoken of, the name of his father is never mentioned. Aben Ezra's gloss is, who hast thou here of thy family that can help thee? his fall and ruin being at hand:

that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here; in the city of Jerusalem, or near it; the Jews say (x), among the sepulchres of the kings of the house of David; as if he thought to live and die here, and so had provided a sepulchre for himself and family, to lie in great pomp and splendour, like the kings and princes of the earth:

as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock; where sepulchres, as well as palaces, used to be built; see Mat 27:60 and great men, especially the Egyptians, used to build sepulchres like to palaces; though it may be observed, that the word "as" is not in the text; and the words may be understood of Shebna's hewing out a sepulchre in some high place near Jerusalem, and building a fine house upon a rock there; and which may design either one and the same thing, a grave or sepulchre being called a house, Job 30:23 or two different things, a sepulchre to be buried in when dead, and a palace to dwell in while living; and so the words may be rendered thus (y), "O he that heweth himself", &c.; "O he that graveth an habitation", &c.; so the Syriac version, "O thou that hewest thy sepulchre on high", &c.

(x) T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 26. 2. (y) "O caedens, &c. O statuens", &c. Junius & Tremellius.

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

What hast thou here? - This verse contains a severe repoof of the pride and ostentation of Shebna, and of his expectation that he would be buried where be had built his own tomb. It also contains an “implied” declaration that he would not be permitted to lie there, but would be removed to a distant land to be buried in some less honorable manner. It is probable that Isaiah met him when he was at the sepulchre which he had made, and addressed this language to him there: ‘What hast thou here? What right to expect that thou wilt be buried here, or why do you erect this splendid sepulchre, as if you were a holy man, and God would allow you to lie here?’ Probably his sepulchre had been erected among the sepulchres of holy people, and perhaps in some part of the royal burying place in Jerusalem.

And whom hast thou here? - Who among the dead that are entombed here are connected with you, that you should deem yourself entitled to lie with them? If this was the royal cemetery, these words might be designed to intimate that he had no connection with the royal family; and thus his building a tomb there was an evidence of vain glory, and of an attempt to occupy a place, even in death, to which he had no title.

That thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here - Sepulchres were hewn or cut out of rocks (see the note at Isa 14:9). It was usual also for princes and rich people to have their sepulchres or tombs constructed while they were themselves alive (see Mat 27:60). Shebna was doubtless a man of humble birth, none of whose ancestors or family had been honored with a burial in the royal cemetery, and hence, the prophet reproves his pride in expecting to repose with the royal dead.

He that heweth him out a sepulchre on high - On some elevated place, that it might be more conspicuous. Thus Hezekiah 2Ch 32:33 was buried ‘in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David.’ Hebrew, במעלה bema‛ălēh - ‘In the highest.’ Septuagint, Ἐν ἀναβάσει en anabasei. Such sepulchres are still found in Persia. They consist of several tombs, each hewn in a high rock near the top, the front of the rock being adorned with figures in relievo. ‘Sepulchres of this kind are remarkably exemplified in the very ancient tombs excavated in the cliffs of the mountain of sepulchres at Naksh-i-Roustan, a full description of which may be found in Sir Robert Ker Porter’s “Travels.” They are excavated in an almost perpendicular cliff of about 300 feet high. There are two rows, of which the uppermost are the most ancient and interesting, presenting highly sculptured fronts about fifty-three feet broad, crowned by a representation of an act of Sabean worship. To the lowest of them, which, however, he describes as not less than sixty feet from the ground, Sir Robert could gain access only by being drawn up by means of a rope fastened around his waist, by some active natives who had contrived to clamber up to the ledge in front of the tomb. These appear to be royal sepulchres, and probably not later than the time of the kings of Persia mentioned in Scripture.’ (“Pict. Bible.”) Two objects were probably contemplated by such sepulchres. One was security from desecration. The other was ostentation - sepulchres thus excavated furnishing an opportunity for the display of architectural taste in front, and being conspicuous objects. Such sepulchres are found at Petra (see the notes at Isa 16:1), and it is probable that Shebna sought this kind of immortality. - Many a man who has done nothing to deserve celebrity by his noble deeds while living, seeks it by the magnificence of his tomb.

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

CHAPTER XXII.

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).

What hast thou here? or, What dost thou here? what right hast thou to this place and office? Whom; either,

1. What friends, in whom thou canst confide? Thou hast so ill managed thyself and thy affairs, that thou art universally hated. Or,

2. What kindred or relations? For the Jews say he was a stranger by birth; which is the more probable, because his pedigree is not mentioned in any of those places of Scripture where he is named.

Hewed thee out a sepulchre, as great and ambitious men used to do. Here; not in thine own country, the proper place for such a monument; but in Jerusalem, which should not be defiled nor disparaged with it.

On high; in a high and eminent place, as Isa 57:7. An habitation; either,

1. A sepulchre, which is called a man’s house, Job 30:23; or,

2. A dwelling-house. He erected, or is compared to one that doth erect, a stately house to live in, and a stately sepulchre to receive him when he dies. And these two are fitly joined together, because their sepulchres were commonly built in or near their houses. See Isa 14:18; Joh 19:41. In a rock; a fit place both for strength and state. Thus we read of a sepulchre hewed out of a rock, Mat 27:60.

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

What hast thou here? i.e. what business, or what right? It seems, certainly, to be implied that Shebna was wholly unconnected with Jerusalem. Whom hast thou here? i.e. what relations? what family? To be justified in hewing out a large tomb, Shebna should have had a numerous family for whom graves would be needed. Otherwise, his excavation of a grand sepulcher was merely selfish and ostentatious. As he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high. Jewish tombs of any pretension were generally excavations in the solid rock, on the side of some hill or mountain, and had often a very elevated position. Tombs exist on the slopes of all the hills about Jerusalem, but are most numerous on the eastern side of the temple mount, which slopes steeply to the Kedron valley. A square-topped doorway leads into a chamber, generally square, from which recesses, six or seven feet long, two broad, and three high, are carried into the rock horizontally, either on a level with the floor, or with a platform, or shelf, halfway up one of the walls. These recesses have been called loculi. After a body had been placed in one, it was commonly closed by a stone, which fitted into the end, and thus shut off the body from the chamber. Chambers had sometimes twelve such loculi. A habitation. (Ecc_12:5) We must not suppose, however, that the Jews, like the Egyptians and Etruscans, regarded the soul as inhabiting the tomb. The soul descended into sheol; the grave was the habitation" of the body only.

Vers. 16, 17. Man"s plans for himself frustrated by God"s plan for him.

The answering New Testament case to this is our Lord"s account of the prosperous farmer, who had no room to bestow his fruits and his goods. He said to himself, "I will pull down my barns and build greater." But God said, "Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee." In the passage before us, Shebna, in the full "assurance that he will die quietly, and be buried honorably in the neighborhood of Jerusalem, proposes to build a tomb or sepulcher for himself. It would be one of the rock-hewn sepulchers on the slopes of the hills surrounding the holy city. The aristocratic families had their private sepulchers, but this Shebna was a new man, not belonging to any of the ancient families, so he had to begin a sepulcher as one part of his ambition to found a family. God"s plan for him was quite different to his plan for himself. He was to be carried away into captivity, and the fair creation of his energies would fall into ruins. "Man proposes, God disposes.

I MEN OUGHT TO MAKE PLANS. The Bible never opposes foresight, practical wisdom, reasonable ambitions, taking life with a strong hand, or the statesmanlike sagacity, that estimates public movements and prepares for inevitable changes, life man"s ship is expected to drift anyhow; the man"s hand must be always at the helm, and the man must know for what port he sails.

II MEN TOO OFTEN MAKE PLANS IN A SPIRIT OF SELFRELIANCE. As the Apostle James (Jam_4:13-15) puts it, men say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain." The mistake lies in that will. "Whatever happens, I will." "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare.

III MEN SHOULD MAKE PLANS IN THE SPIRIT OF DEPENDENCE ON GOD; and with due reference of every case to him. As James says, (Jam_4:15) "For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this, or that." Man"s will sometimes is strong, and carries him over and through great difficulties; but God is ever stronger than he, and grasps him with effectual restraints. R.T.

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

What - What right hast thou to this place and office? Whom - What kindred or relations? For the Jews say, he was a stranger by birth; which is the more probable, because his pedigree is not mentioned in any of those places of scripture where he is named. On high - In an high and eminent place. An habitation - He erected a stately house to live in, and a stately sepulchre to receive him when he died. And these two are fitly joined together, because their sepulchres were commonly built in or near their houses. A rock - A fit place both for strength and state.

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

“What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewn thee here a sepulchre? Hewing on high his sepulchre, graving in the rock a habitation for himself!” The negation implied in the interrogation is not that he had none to protect and aid him, or that none of his kindred should be buried there because they should be banished with him, but rather that he had none buried there before him; it was not his birth-place or the home of his fathers. What interest, what part or lot, what personal or hereditary claim, hast thou in Judah? Here then refers not to the sepulchre, but to Jerusalem. The foreign form of the name Shebna, which occurs only in the history of Hezekiah, and for which no satisfactory Hebrew etymology has been proposed, seems to confirm this explanation of the first clause as representing him to be a foreigner, perhaps a heathen. Another confirmation is afforded by the otherwise unimportant circumstance, that the name of Shebna’s father is nowhere added to his own, as in the case of Eliakim and Joah (v. 20. Isa 36:3). These seem to be sufficient reasons for concluding that the Prophet is directed to upbraid him, not with seeking to be buried in the royal sepulchres although of mean extraction, but with making provision for himself and his posterity in a land to which he was an alien, and from which he was so soon to be expelled. The Prophet, after putting to him the prescribed question, was to express his own contemptuous surprise at what he saw, or to let his eyes pass from the man to the sepulchre which he was hewing, It is not necessarily implied however in this explanation that the conversation was to take place at the sepulchre. The labour and expense bestowed on ancient sepulchres (of far later date however than Isaiah’s time), is still attested by the tombs remaining at Jerusalem, Petra, and Persepolis, where some are excavated near the tops of lofty rocks in order to be less accessible, to which practice there may be allusion in the verse before us, and also in the words of 2Ch 32:33, as explained by most interpreters, viz. that Hezekiah was buried in the highest of the tombs of the sons of David. (See Robinson’s Palestine, I 516-539. II 525.) The word habitation is supposed by some to have allusion to the oriental practice of making tombs in shape (and frequently in size) like houses, by others more poetically to the idea of the grave, as a long homes (Ecc 12:5). In this case, as in many others, the ideal and material allusion may have both been present to the writer’s mind. What (is) to thee and who is to thee are the usual unavoidable periphrases for what and whom hast thou, the verb ‘to have’ being wholly wanting in this family of languages.

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

What have you here Scripture denigrates him because he wished to surrender Hezekiah to the king of Assyria, as is stated in San. (26a): He wrote a note and shot it on an arrow, “Shebna and his company wish to make peace; Hezekiah and his company do not wish to make peace.”

and whom do you have here Who of your family is buried here?

he hews his grave on high For he hewed a grave for himself among the graves of the House of David, to be buried among the kings. Therefore, he says to him, “What right of heritage do you have in these graves?”

he hews (חֹצְבִי). The ‘yud’ is superfluous. Comp. (Deut. 33:16): “Who dwells (שׁוֹכְנִי) in the thornbush”; (Psalms 113:7) “He raises up (מְקִימִי) the poor man from the dust.”

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.

What hast thou here? Why didst thou stop here? And whom hast thou here of thy family that could assist thee?

חצבת Thou hast hewed. Comp. חצובים hewed (Deut. 6:11). Thou thinkest that thou wilt always remain treasurer, and that thou wilt die in Jerusalem, and therefore thou hast already prepared a grave for thee.—Those commentators that take gravein the sense of palace are mistaken, as shown by the words there shalt thou die (ver. 18).

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.