Isaiah 29:22

Isa 29:22 Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.

Ver. 22. Who redeemed Abraham., ] sc., Out of his idolatry, that pulled him as a brand out of Ur of the Chaldees. {Jos 24:2-3} The Rabbis say that his father Terah was a maker and seller of images.

Concerning the house of Jacob,] i.e., The calling of the Jews. Compare Rom 11:2-5.

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 29:22-24. Therefore thus saith the Lord — These verses contain the third consequence of turning Lebanon into a fruitful field; “a wonderful increase of the true seed of Abraham and Jacob disseminated through the whole world, in whom those patriarchs, according to the promises given them by God, might be able to recognise their true image.” Who redeemed Abraham — From manifold dangers, and especially from idolatry, in which his family and ancestors were generally involved; Jacob shall not now be ashamed — The posterity of Jacob, who had great cause to be ashamed for their continued infidelity, for their persecutions of God’s prophets and righteous servants, and for their rejection of their own Messiah, shall, at last, be brought back unto the God of their fathers, and to their own Messiah. Neither shall his face now wax pale — Through fear of their enemies, who from time to time had molested them, for now they shall be delivered from them all, and shall serve God without fear, Luk 1:74. But when he seeth his children — When the believing seed of Jacob shall see those children whom they have begotten to God, by the gospel, even the Gentiles; the work of my hands — The children, not of the flesh, but of the promise, whom I, by my almighty grace, have regenerated; in the midst of him — Incorporated with the Jews, into one and the same body; they shall sanctify my name, &c. — Instead of despising and hating the Gentiles, and envying them the grace of God, they shall praise and glorify God with them, and for them. They also that erred — Those Gentiles who had erred from God’s truth, being led aside by a lying spirit to idolatry, and all manner of impiety; shall come to understanding — Shall come to the knowledge of the truth; and they that murmured, &c. — They that would not receive the doctrine of God, but murmured at his faithful teachers who delivered it; shall learn doctrine — Shall receive God’s truth in the love of it.

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

29:22-24 The prophecy of woe, which began at 29:15, now ends with a prophecy of salvation.

29:22 Abraham was the father of all Israel (see Gen 12:1-3; see also Gal 3:29). • Rescued from human abuse and God’s judgment, the people would no longer be ashamed; their disgrace resulted from the apparent failure of what they had trusted (see Ps 71:1; 1 Pet 2:6).

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

Join "saith . . . concerning the house of Jacob."

redeemed--out of Ur, a land of idolaters (Jos 24:3).

not now--After the moral revolution described (Isa 29:17), the children of Jacob shall no longer give cause to their forefathers to blush for them.

wax pale--with shame and disappointment at the wicked degeneracy of his posterity, and fear as to their punishment.

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 22. Who redeemed Abraham] As God redeemed Abraham from among idolaters and workers of iniquity, so will he redeem those who hear the words of the Book, and are humbled before him, Isa 29:18-19.

Concerning the house of Jacob - "The God of the house of Jacob"] I read אל El as a noun, not a preposition: the parallel line favours this sense; and there is no address to the house of Jacob to justify the other.

Neither shall his face now wax pale - "His face shall no more be covered with confusion."] "יחורו yechoro, Chald. ut ὁ μεταβαλει, Theod. εντραπησεται, Syr. נחפרו necaphro, videtur legendum יחפרו yechepheru: hic enim solum legitur verbum, חור chavar, nec in linguis affinibus habet pudoris significationem." - SECKER. "Here alone is the verb חור chavar read; nor has it in the cognate languages the signification of shame."

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

(22) Thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham.—The words gain in vividness if we think of them as referring to the Jewish tradition that Abraham had been accused by his kinsmen before Nimrod for not worshipping the host of heaven. That history was for the prophet the assurance that Jehovah would not abandon him to his accusers.

Jacob shall not now be ashamed . . .—The patriarch appears, as Rachel does in Jer_31:15, as if watching over the fortunes of his descendants with varying emotions. Those emotions had been of shame and terror; now there was the dawning of a brighter day.

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

22. who redeemed Abraham] The clause is suspicious both from its position in the original, and from its contents. There is no incident in the biblical history of Abraham to which the expression “redeem” is specially appropriate; there is, however, a late Jewish legend about his being delivered from a fiery death prepared for him by his heathen relations (Book of Jubilees, ch. 12). The words may be a late interpolation.

not now] spoken from the standpoint of the ideal future.

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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham,.... That brought him from Ur of the Chaldees; that freed him from idolatry, and from a vain conversation before conversion, and delivered him from many evils and dangers afterwards; and saved him with an everlasting salvation, through the Messiah, the great Redeemer, that sprung from him, and took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham:

concerning the house of Jacob; his family and posterity, the whole body of the Jewish people; or rather the church of God in Gospel times, consisting of the posterity of Jacob; that trod in his steps, plain hearted Christians, Israelites indeed, praying souls, wrestling Jacobs, and prevailing Israels; of whom the Lord speaks the following things:

Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale; as formerly, when those that descended from Jacob rejected the Messiah, traduced his character, as if he was the worst of men; blasphemed his person, doctrines, and miracles; spit upon him, buffeted, scourged, and crucified him; which filled those of the same descent and nation, that believed in him, with shame and confusion, so that their faces blushed, or turned pale or white; but now this should be no longer their case, because of the conversion and salvation of that people in the latter day, which is predicted in the next verse Isa 29:23, with which this is connected.

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

Therefore - In consequence of the happy change which shall take place in the nation when the oppressor shall be removed Isa 29:20-21, and when the poor and the meek shall rejoice Isa 29:19, and the ignorant shall be instructed Isa 29:18, Jacob shall not be ashamed of his descendants as he was before, nor have cause to blush in regard to his posterity.

Who redeemed Abraham - That is, who brought him out of a land of idolaters, and rescued him from the abominations of idolatry. The word ‘redeem,’ here (פדה pâdâh), properly denotes “to ransom, that is, to redeem a captive, or a prisoner with a price paid Exo 13:13; Exo 34:20. But it is also used as meaning to deliver in general, without reference to a price, to free in any manner, to recover 2Sa 4:9; 1Ki 1:29; Job 5:20; Psa 71:23. It is used in this general sense here; and means that Yahweh had rescued Abraham from the evils of idolatry, and made him his friend. The connection, also, would seem to imply that there was a reference to the promise which was made to Abraham that he should have a numerous posterity (see Isa 29:23).

Jacob shall not now be ashamed - This is a poetical introduction of Jacob as the ancestor of the Jewish people, as if the venerable patriarch were looking upon his children. Their deportment had been such as would suffuse a father’s cheeks with shame; henceforward in the reformation that would occur he would “not” be ashamed of them, but would look on them with approbation.

Neither shall his face wax pale - The face usually becomes pale with fear: but this may also occur from any strong emotion. Disappointment may produce paleness as well as fear; and perhaps the idea may be that the face of Jacob should no more become pallid as “if” he had been disappointed in regard to the hopes which he had cherished of his sons.

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

Who redeemed Abraham from manifold dangers, and especially from that idolatry in which his family and ancestors were generally involved, Jos 24:2,3.

Jacob; the Israelites or posterity of Jacob, who are oft called Jacob in Scripture, who had great cause to be ashamed, for their continued infidelity, and for their persecutions of God’s prophets and righteous servants, and for their rejection of their own Messiah; but shall at last be brought back unto the God of their fathers, and to their Messiah.

Neither shall his face now wax pale, through fear of their enemies, who, from time to time, have molested them; but now they shall be delivered from them all, and shall serve God without fear, as is said, Luk 1:74.

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

22-24. Jehovah, who called Abraham out of heathendom, says, that in consequence of this happy change, which shall take place in the nation when the oppressor shall be removed, and the poor and meek shall rejoice, and the ignorant shall be properly instructed, the holy ancestry of Israel shall no more blush in shame nor wax pale as aforetime on account of the base life of their descendants. But they shall look out of heaven upon the whole body of purified Israel sanctifying the name of Jehovah, who hath wrought in them this great change. They shall see those of formerly erring spirit now learning true wisdom, and the hardened ones accepting sound instruction.

From the foregoing we may fairly infer that the prophet sees just before him in the future, during the improved times of Hezekiah, the beginning of this happy change; and that, with prophetic ken, he leaps on to the better days beyond the captivity, and thence to the glorious period of the Messiah. At least, in other prophetic pieces, such appears to be the law under which the soul of Isaiah was wrought upon.

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

The Lord, who redeemed Abraham; rather, who delivered Abraham, as the verb used is often rendered. (see Job_33:28 Psa_51:18 Psa_69:18 Psa_78:42, etc.) God"s directions to Abraham to remove from a land of idolaters (Jos_24:2, 3 Act_7:2, Act_7:3) were practically a "deliverance." The work thus commenced could not be suffered to remain incomplete. Israel the true Israelwould not be ashamed, or wax pale through fear any more; they would be God"s children, his true worshippers, and would have no need to experience either fear or shame.

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

Redeemed - From manifold dangers, and especially from idolatry. Jacob - The Israelites or posterity of Jacob, who had great cause to be ashamed, for their continued infidelity, shall at last be brought back to the God of their fathers, and to their Messiah. Pale - Through fear of their enemies.

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

Everything that was incorrigible would be given up to destruction; and therefore the people of God, when it came out of the judgment, would have nothing of the same kind to look for again. "Therefore thus saith Jehovah of the house of Jacob, He who redeemed Abraham: Jacob shall not henceforth be ashamed, nor shall his face turn pale any more. For when he, when his children see the work of my hands in the midst of him, they will sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shudder before the God of Israel. And those who were of an erring spirit discern understanding, and murmurers accept instruction." With אל (for which Luzzatto, following Lowth, reads אל sda, "the God of the house of Jacob") the theme is introduced to which the following utterance refers. The end of Israel will correspond to the holy root of its origin. Just as Abraham was separated from the human race that was sunk in heathenism, to become the ancestor of a nation of Jehovah, so would a remnant be separated from the great mass of Israel that was sunk in apostasy from Jehovah; and this remnant would be the foundation of a holy community well pleasing to God. And this would never be confounded or become pale with shame again (on bōsh, see at Isa 1:29; châvar is a poetical Aramaism); for both sins and sinners that called forth the punishments of God, which had put them to shame, would have been swept away (cf., Zep 3:11). In the presence of this decisive work of punishment (ma‛ăseh as in Isa 28:21; Isa 10:12; Isa 5:12, Isa 5:19), which Jehovah would perform in the heart of Israel, Israel itself would undergo a thorough change. ילדיו is in apposition to the subject in בּראתו, "when he, namely his children" (comp. Job 29:3); and the expression "his children" is intentionally chosen instead of "his sons" (bânı̄m), to indicate that there would be a new generation, which would become, in the face of the judicial self-manifestation of Jehovah, a holy church, sanctifying Him, the Holy One of Israel. Yaqdı̄shū is continued in vehiqdı̄shū: the prophet intentionally repeats this most significant word, and he‛ĕrı̄ts is the parallel word to it, as in Isa 8:12-13. The new church would indeed not be a sinless one, or thoroughly perfect; but, according to Isa 29:24, the previous self-hardening in error would have been exchanged for a willing and living appropriation of right understanding, and the former murmuring resistance to the admonitions of Jehovah would have given place to a joyful and receptive thirst for instruction. There is the same interchange of Jacob and Israel here which we so frequently met with in chapters 40ff. And, in fact, throughout this undisputedly genuine prophecy of Isaiah, we can detect the language of chapters 40-66. Through the whole of the first part, indeed, we may trace the gradual development of the thoughts and forms which predominate there.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“Therefore thus saith Jehovah to the house of Jacob, he who redeemed Abraham, Not now shall Jacob be ashamed, and not now shall his face turn pale.” The Hebrew phrase ‘not now’ does not imply that it shall be so hereafter, but on the contrary that it shall be so no more. The phrase ‘redeemed Abraham’ may be naturally understood, either as signifying deliverance from danger and the divine protection generally, or in a higher sense as signifying Abraham’s conversion and salvation. Shame and fear are here combined as strong and painful emotions from which Jacob should be henceforth free. Some understand by Jacob here the patriarch himself, poetically represented as beholding and sympathizing with the fortunes of his own descendants. Most interpreters suppose the name to be employed like Israel in direct application to the race itself.

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

redeemed

(See Scofield "Isa 59:20") See Scofield "Exo 14:30".

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the house of Jacob

Here "house" represents a family. AT: "the descendants of Jacob" (See: Metonymy)

who redeemed Abraham

This possibly refers to when Yahweh called Abraham from his home country and sent him to the promised land. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Jacob will no longer ... his face ... he sees his children

Here "Jacob" represents his descendants. AT: "Jacob's descendants will no longer ... their faces ... they see their children" (See: Metonymy)

nor will his face be pale

This is an idiom that means they will no longer be afraid. AT: "nor will they be afraid" (See: Idiom)

But when he sees his children, the work of my hands

Here "hands" represents Yahweh's power and action. AT: "When they see all the children I have given them and all that I have done" (See: Metonymy)

they will make my name holy

Here "name" represents Yahweh. AT: "they will honor me" (See: Metonymy)

They will make holy the name of the Holy One of Jacob

Here "name" represents Yahweh. Yahweh refers to himself as "the Holy One of Jacob." AT: "They will honor me, the Holy One of Jacob" (See: Metonymy and First, Second, or Third Person)

of the God of Israel

Yahweh refers to himself as "the God of Israel." AT: "of me, the God of Israel" (See: First, Second, or Third Person)

Those who err in spirit

Here "spirit" represents a person's inner being. AT: "Those who are wrong in what they think" or "Those who are wrong in their attitude" (See: Metonymy)

will gain understanding

This can be made more explicit to explain what they will understand. AT: "will begin to understand Yahweh and his laws" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

complainers will learn knowledge

This can be made more explicit to explain what knowledge they will learn. AT: "those who complain will begin to know that what Yahweh teaches them is true" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Yahweh

house

Jacob

redeem

Abraham

shame

children

hand

honor

name

Holy One

awe

Israel

spirit

know

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Who redeemed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees.

Now Jacob shall not be ashamed of his father.

and now his face shall not pale because of his father’s father, for no imperfection has been found in his bed, and his bed is perfect.

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.

Who redeemed Abraham, by taking him away from amongst the wicked.

יחורו Shall wax pale. The root חור to be white is frequent in Chaldee.

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.