Isaiah 30:14

Isa 30:14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water [withal] out of the pit.

Ver. 14. And he shall break it as the breaking of a potter’s vessel.] Collige ex hoc loco, saith Oecolampadius, gather we may from this text that remediless ruin will befall such as resist the Holy Ghost, and sin against light.

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_30:14

He shall break it as the breaking of the potters vessel

A pottery mound

One of the most curious objects in Rome is a huge artificial mound called Monte Testaccio.

It stands near the gate of St. Pauls, between the Aventine Hill and the Tiber . . . It is a conspicuous object, being nearly one-third of a mile in circumference, and about a hundred and fifty feet high, commanding from its top an extensive view of the most desolate and historical parts of the Eternal City, and the Campagna a beyond. It is an easy task to climb it, for on different sides there are well-worn tracks from the base to the summit. The surface covered in a few places with a little sprinkling of soil, and a sparse vegetation of grass and coarse weeds; but a close examination reveals the remarkable fact that the mound is almost entirely composed of fragments of broken earthenware. Specimens of ancient pottery of all kinds may be found lying loosely on the surface of the heap, or by digging a little way into the mass . . . Not one vessel was whole, nor could the broken pieces be united to form even the least important part of any vessel. The mound, from the nature of its materials, is evidently of very ancient origin, nothing having been added to it since the early Christian ages; but it must have taken many centuries to form it by slow accumulation. Various theories have been proposed regarding it; but the most plausible conjecture is that which connects it with the neighbouring emporium or custom house, where all the goods that were landed at the ancient quay of Rome were stored up for a time. It was the practice in those days to import not only wine and oil, and other fluids, but also corn and solid articles of food and of domestic use into the imperial city in earthenware jars for more convenient carriage. In the act of unloading, immense quantities of these fragile vessels would be broken, and the fragments carried away to this spot, where they would accumulate in course of time into the huge heap which now astonishes every spectator. This explanation, however, is only a partial one; for were it complete we should expect to find in the mound only vessels of one kind, fitted for storage purposes. But it contains, as I have said, fragments of the most varied assortment of vessels for household use and for ornamental and even for sepulchral purposes . . . It became, in fact, the general receptacle for the broken pottery of the whole city. That this was carefully collected into this one spot, instead of being thrown out anywhere, and that no other rubbish was allowed, except accidentally, to ruing o with it, shows clearly that the heap was intended for some economical use. We have indeed reason to believe that this broken earthenware, ground into smaller fragments and pulverised, formed an ingredient in the famous Roman cement employed in the construction of buildings whose hardness and durability were proverbial. But it is not in Rome only that such ancient mounds of broken pottery are found. Similar heaps of potsherds, not on quite so large a scale, may be seen outside the walls of Alexandria and Cairo. The sites, indeed, of many ancient towns, especially those built of crude, sun-dried bricks, are often covered with great quantities of such fragments exposed to view and collected together by the disintegrating action of the weather upon the ruins, giving them the appearance of a deserted pottery rather than that of a town. Parti-coloured heaps of broken pottery are common in the neighbourhood of old villages and towns in Palestine. They are especially abundant in one or two places near Jerusalem. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)

The shivering of the potters vessel

The passage is literally, And its shivering שֶׁבֶר shever, from which perhaps comes our shiver) shall be like the shivering of a potters vessel, a shattering unsparingly; so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a potsherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the pit. Bearing in mind the size and strength of many potters vessels in Palestine, it is clear, that a mere dashing out of the hand upon the ground would fail to effect a shivering anything like this. To what then do the prophets refer? We think the matter admits of a very clear explanation. One of the most constant features of the land is the well or beer, which, as no rain falls for many months together, and springs and streams are rare, becomes an essential adjunct to every house. In these large underground structures rainwater is collected from surface drainage, and stored for use during the year. The Moabite stone records an act, passed by Mesha, King of Moab, so far back as the days of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, directing every man to make a beer, or rain cistern, in his house. But such testimony would not be needed to establish the great age of these huge artificial cisterns. They abound everywhere, and many of them, In fine preservation, mark the sites of very ancient cities, where no other structure remains. There are no less than thirty of them, some of vast size, built on piers, and arched like the crypt of a church, to be found within the precincts of the temple area at Jerusalem. They are specially numerous in the fine olive grove to the north of the city, where they are in such a ruinous condition, apparently from extreme age, that they now form a series of dangerous pitfalls. In addition to these wells is to be found a system of immense artificial pools, or rain reservoirs, which are often referred to in the Bible, and of which no less than seven may now be traced in and around Jerusalem itself. To all these cisterns and reservoirs, whether cut in the rock, or built of rough masonry, one thing is common. To render them perfectly watertight, a peculiar cement has to be used. This cement is composed partly of lime and partly of a large admixture of what is called in Arabic, homrah. This homrah is nothing else than broken pottery of every description, ground down generally into very small pieces, and sometimes into powder. It answers excellently the purpose for which it is employed. Every year it grows harder; until, in the case of those wells and pools where it is presumably many hundred years old, it is as firm as the rock to which it adheres. This homrah is consequently an article of daily commerce throughout the country. Its preparation by the peasants still remains the same simple and striking sight that must always have been familiar to the dwellers in every Judean town, but especially to those who lived within the waterless precincts of Zion. (J. Neil, B. A.)

Shivering the potters vessel

It may be seen now every autumn in the valley of the son of Hinnom. Upon the upper terrace, on the side adjoining the city, several fellahin (peasants), both men and women, sit on the ground in front of small brown heaps. They have under their hands a huge stone or rather rough piece of rock slightly rounded, about a foot in diameter, which they push backwards and forwards over the mounds before them. These mounds consist of broken pottery, which they have purchased in the city, or picked up from the heaps outside. Here we may see the whole of this simple but very effective process of shivering or crushing the potters vessel. (J. Neil, B. A.)

The potters vessel

It could hardly be expected that a custom so ancient and so suggestive as this should have remained unutilised by the spiritual teachers of Israel to point a moral. It lent itself so easily and naturally to the peculiar didactic method of instruction which the Orientals affect, that it was early taken advantage of for this purpose. Throughout the Bible there are numerous direct and indirect allusions to it. In the second Psalm it is said of those who oppose the Messianic kingdom of God that they shall be dashed in pieces like a potters vessel; and Isaiah foretells that a similar fate should happen to those who despised Gods Word and placed their confidence in Egypt. They should be like one of those high mud walls--like the cob walls of Devonshire, said to be derived from the East--which so often decline from the perpendicular, and bulge out in different parts. (H. Maxmillan, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Signifying, that the destruction of the wicked shall be without recovery.

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

he--the enemy; or rather, God (Psa 2:9; Jer 19:11).

It--the Jewish state.

potter's vessel--earthen and fragile.

sherd--a fragment of the vessel large enough to take up a live coal, &c.

pit--cistern or pool. The swell of the wall is at first imperceptible and gradual, but at last it comes to the crisis; so the decay of the Jewish state.

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 14. He shall not spare - "And spareth it not"] Five MSS. add the conjunction ו vau to the negative; ולא velo.

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

(14) As the breaking of the potters’ vessel . . . Psa_2:9 had given currency to the figure. In Jer_18:4; Jer_19:10, it passes into a parable of action. The schemes of the intriguers were to be not crushed only but pulverised.

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

14. he shall break it] or: it shall be broken.

that is broken … spare] R.V. “breaking it in pieces without sparing”; better: shivering it unsparingly (Cheyne).

in the bursting of it] among its fragments. So completely will the Jewish state be shattered by the crooked policy of its leaders.

For pit read cistern (as R.V.).

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 he shall break it as the breaking of the potter's vessel,.... That is, their confidence in an arm of flesh, and they that place it there; and this either God shall do, or the enemy, and God by him; or rather it may he rendered impersonally, "it shall be broken"; and may refer to the wall to which the ruin of this people is compared, that that when it falls shall be broke to pieces, as a potter's vessel is when it falls upon a pavement, or is dashed against anything, or, struck with a rod of iron:

that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare; or that is broken in pieces without mercy, as the Targum; no pity shall be shown by the enemy, nor mercy from the Lord:

so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit; as poor people are wont to do, to take fire from the hearth, and water out of a well, in a piece of a broken pitcher (n); but this vessel should be broke into so many shivers, that there should not be such a piece left of it as could be made use of for such purposes. This denotes the utter and irreparable ruin and destruction of these people, which, though it was not at this time, yet afterwards by the Babylonians, and especially by the Romans.

(n) Vid. Misn. Sabbat, c. 8. sect. 7.

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

And he shall break it as the breaking - That is, its breaking shall be like the breaking of a potter’s vessel. The Septuagint reads it, ‘And its fall (τὸ πτῶμα to ptōma) shall be like the breaking of an earthen vessel,’

As the breaking of the potter’s vessel - That is, as an earthen, fragile vessel, which is easily dashed to pieces. The image here is all drawn from the bursting forth, or the complete ruin of the swelling wall; but the sense is, that the Jewish republic would be entirely broken, scattered, demolished.

He shall not spare in the bursting of it - Figuratively in the bursting of the wall; literally in the destruction of the Jewish state and polity.

A sherd - A piece of pottery; a fragment.

To take fire from the hearth - Large enough to carry coals on.

Or to take water withal out of the pit - Out of the fountain, or pool; that is, it shall be broken into small fragments, and the ruin shall be complete - as when a wall tumbles down and is completely broken up. The sense is, that the republic of Israel would be completely ruined, so that there should not be found a man of any description who could aid them. The prophet does not specify when this would be. It is not necessary to suppose that it would occur on the invasion of Sennacherib, or that it would be the immediate consequence of seeking the aid of Egypt, but that it would be a consequence, though a remote one. Perhaps the figure used would lead us to look to some remote period. A high wall will begin to give way many years before its fall. The swell will be gradual, and perhaps almost imperceptible. For some time it may appear to be stationary; then perhaps some new cause will produce an increase of the projecting part, until it can no longer sustain itself, and then the ruin will be sudden and tremendous. So it would be with the Jews. The seeking of the alliance with Egypt was “one” cause - though a remote one - of their final ruin. Their forsaking God and seeking human aid, was gradually but certainly “undermining” the foundations of the state - as a wall may be gradually undermined. Frequent repetitions of that would more and more impair the real strength of the republic, until, for their accumulated acts of want of confidence, the patience of God would be exhausted, and the state would fall like a mighty, bursting wall. The prophecy was fulfilled in the invasion of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans; it had a more signal and awful fulfillment in its destruction by the Romans.

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

He shall break it; he, either God, or he whom God shall send against them. Or, it shall be broken; for such phrases are oft taken indefinitely and passively; it, this iniquity last mentioned, Isa 30:13, your carnal confidence and all the grounds of it, and you that lean upon it.

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

And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters" vessel that is broken in pieces. Isaiah is fond of mixed metaphors, and of superseding one metaphor by another. From comparing Judah"s fall and ruin to the shattering of a lofty wall, he suddenly turns to a comparison of it with the breaking to pieces of an earthen pitcher. Judah shall be so broken as when the pitcher is crushed into minute fragments, so that there is no piece large enough to convey a coal from one fire for the lighting of another, or to be of even the least use for drawing water from a well. A complete dissolution of the political fabric is foreshadowed, such as did not actually take effect till the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

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

He - God.

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

“And it (the wall) is broken like the breaking of a potter’s vessel, broken unsparingly (or without mercy), so that there is not found in its fracture (or among its fragments) a sherd to take up fire from a hearth, and to skim (or dip up) water from a pool.” A potter’s vessel, literally, vessel of the potters. Sherd is an old English word, now seldom used, meaning a broken piece of pottery or earthenware, and found more frequently in the compound form of potsherd.

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

General Information:

Isaiah describes how Yahweh will destroy the people of Judah. (See: Isaiah 30:12-13)

He will break it

Here "it" refers to the part in the wall that is about to fall. The part in the wall is a metaphor that represents the people of Judah and their sin mentioned in Isaiah 30:12-13. (See: Metaphor)

as a potter's vessel is broken

This simile means that the piece of wall will break as quickly and completely as a clay jar that falls to the ground. (See: Simile)

potter

A potter is a person who makes pots and jars out of clay.

there will not be found

This can be stated in active form. AT: "no one will be able to find" or "there will not be" (See: Active or Passive)

a shard with which to scrape

"a shard big enough to scrape"

fire from the hearth

The word "fire" here refers here to ashes. AT: "ashes from the fireplace" (See: Metonymy)

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

a potter’s jug An earthenware jug.

shall not be found in the crushing of its fragments a shard large enough to scoop fire from a hearth, to pick up fire from a hearth. All scooping up of fire is referred to with an expression of חֲתִיָּה.

or to scoop water Or to draw. Comp. (Haggai 2:16): “To draw off (לַחְשׂף) fifty measures.” Also (below 47:2): “Draw off (חֶשְׂפִּי) the path.” Draw water from your path, Epuyse in O.F.

from a cistern (מִגֶּבֶא) A pit full of water.

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.

נבל Vessel.

He shall not spare, to break it.

לחתות אש To take fire. Comp. יחתה אש he takes fire (Prov. 6:27). גחלים אתה חותה thou shalt heap coals of fire (ib. 25:22). במכתתו In the bursting of it. Derived from כתת, a verb ע׳ע.

ולחשוף מים And to take water. Lit., to reveal the water, which is hidden. Comp. מחשוף to make appear (Gen. 30:37); חשף he made bare, (52:10).

גבא Pit. Comp. וגבאיו and its pits. (Ez. 42:11), and גבא, the Chaldæan translation of בור (14:15). This prophecy refers to those that went down to Egypt for assistance.

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.