Isaiah 30:17

17. Their flight will be disgraceful. The words at the rebuke of five seem to weaken the force of the preceding hyperbole; hence some critics would insert “a myriad” in the second clause, after Lev_26:8; Deu_32:30.

beacon means “flag-staff” (elsewhere “mast”), cf. ch. Isa_33:23.

18 is frequently explained as a concluding threat—“Therefore will the Lord wait before having mercy on you”; will postpone your deliverance. But this interpretation does violence to the terms of the verse, which is really the introduction of a new section, full of glorious promises. The “waiting” of Jehovah is that of anxious expectancy for the opportune moment of intervention; His “exaltation” denotes His readiness to act. The emendation “he will be silent” for “he will be exalted” is unnecessary. It is difficult, however, to explain the conjunction “therefore,” after Isa_30:17; unless we can hold that it has adversative force (= “even under these circumstances,” “nevertheless”). The new passage seems to belong to a different time, and to continue another train of thought: see Isa_29:15-24.

a God of judgment] or “justice.”

that wait for him] Cf. ch. Isa_8:17; Psa_33:20, &c.

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.

Isa 30:17 One thousand [shall flee] at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.

Ver. 17. One thousand shall flee.] See Deu 32:30, with the note.

Until ye be left as a beacon.] Heb., A mast - i.e., a very poor few, or all alone, shred of all you had. This was fulfilled when Sennacherib wasted the country, even to the very walls of Jerusalem. Paucitatem salvandorum nobis insinuat, saith Oecolampadius.

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_30:17

Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain

Israels past, present, and future

I.

THE PAST.

1. Sins of Gods people (Isa_30:1-2; Isa_30:9-12). Rejecting His Word; trusting in arm of flesh.

2. Judgment on them (Isa_30:16-17).

3. Mercy to them in things spiritual and temporal (Isa_30:19-21; Isa_30:26; Isa_30:29; Isa_23:1-18; Isa_24:1-23). Deliverance from their enemies (Isa_30:30-33). Especially destruction of Sennacheribs army (Isa_30:31).

4. Glory to God, who is exalted--in His judgments--in His mercies.

II. THE PRESENT.

1. The people now left as a beacon. upon the top of a mountain (marg., tree bereft of branches). Condition bare, and seen of all. And as an ensign, on an hill. Word for ensign same as sign in Num_26:10. The people cannot be hid.

2. Now God waits for the set time, for the filling up of His peoples sins Hos_5:15); for the filling up of His judgments; for the fulness of the Gentiles to be come in (Rom_11:25); for the showing mercy in the end.

III. THE FUTURE. It will be as the past, but greater.

1. Sin still continues in unbelief of Messiah, in pride, worldliness, and self-righteousness.

2. Judgment on these sins up to the end.

3. Mercy when they cry. Deliverance from their enemies, as prophesied Isa_66:13-16.

4. Glory to God, the God of judgment, the Father of mercies. He shall be exalted, as prophesied in Isa_2:10-11; Isa_2:17-22.

5. Beacon and ensign--refer to again. Israel conspicuous now, will be more so in the last days, as a landmark amidst waves of trouble and strife. Ensign, the same word as rendered pole in Num_21:8-9. See again in Exo_17:15, Jehovah-Nissi. See Isa_31:9; Isa_11:11-12; Isa_18:3; Isa_49:22; Isa_62:10. Israel the rallying centre of the nations, in the midst of them the royal standard of the King, high on Gods hill, in the which it pleaseth Him to dwell (Psa_60:4; see Zec_8:2-3; Zec_8:22-23).

IV. THE BLESSING.

1. To the Jew first.

2. And also to the Gentile.

3. Note the correspondence between Gods waiting and His peoples waiting. (Flavel Cook, B. A.)

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

30:17 One . . . Five: This curse is the opposite of God’s blessing for obedience (Lev 26:8; Deut 32:30). • The Assyrians had dominated the rest of the land of Judah, leaving Jerusalem isolated like a lonely flagpole on a hill.

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

Whereas all the trees are cut down save two or three to make masts.

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

One thousand--A thousand at once, or, "As one man" [MAURER].

rebuke--the battle cry.

shall ye--at the rebuke of five shall ye, namely, all (in contrast to the "one thousand") flee so utterly that even two shall not be left together, but each one shall be as solitary "as a signal staff" [G. V. SMITH], or "a banner on a hill" (Isa 5:26; Isa 11:12). The signal staff was erected to rally a nation in war. The remnant of Jews left would be beacons to warn all men of the justice of God, and the truth of His threatenings. GESENIUS (from Lev 26:8; Deu 32:30) arbitrarily inserts "ten thousand." "At the rebuke of five shall ten thousand of you flee."

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 17. At the rebuke of five shall ye flee - "At the rebuke of five, ten thousand of you shall flee"] In the second line of this verse a word is manifestly omitted, which should answer to one thousand in the first: the Septuagint supply πολλοι, רבים rabbim. But the true word is רבבה rebabah, as I am persuaded any one will be convinced, who will compare the following passages with this place: -

"How should one chase a thousand;

And two put ten thousand (רבבה) to flight?"

De 32:30.

"And five of you shall chase a hundred;

And a hundred of you shall chase (רבבה) ten thousand."

Le 26:8.

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

(17) One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one.—The hyperbole is natural and common enough (Deu_32:30; Jos_23:10; Lev_26:8); but the fact that the inscription of King Piankhi Mer. Amon., translated in Records of the Past, ii. 84, gives it in the self-same words (“many shall turn their backs on a few; and one shall rout a thousand”) as his boast of the strength of Egypt, may have given a special touch of sarcasm to Isaiah’s words.

As a beacon upon the top of a mountain.—Literally, as a pine. As with a poet’s eye, the prophet paints two of the most striking emblems of solitariness: the tall pine standing by itself on the mountain height, the flag-staff seen alone far off against the sky. (Comp. the lowlier imagery of Isa_1:8.)

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

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one,.... A troop of horse, consisting of a thousand men, shall flee upon the attack and onset of a single person, so dispirited should they be, and so possessed of the fear of the enemy; what was promised to them with respect to their enemies is here turned against them, Lev 26:7,

at the rebuke of five shall ye flee; being attacked by a very small number, the whole army should run away: this denotes with what ease they should be routed, and put to flight; and is to be understood, not of what would be at the present time, but of what should come to pass hereafter, when the Chaldean army should come against them;

till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain; or, "as the mast of a ship", so the Septuagint and other versions. Jarchi says it signifies a high tree, or tall piece of wood fixed in the earth, like a ship's mast (p), set up to give warning of an enemy's approach, and when, and where, sometimes fires used to be kindled; hence the Targum is,

"till ye are left as a burning torch on the top of a mountain.''

The Syriac version renders it, "as a wild ass", solitary and alone:

and as an ensign on a hill; erected as a trophy of victory. The design of the metaphors is to show that there should be few that should escape falling into the enemy's hand, here and there one, that should he scattered about, and be very thin, as beacons and signs are, and should be warnings to others of pursuing the same foolish and sinful methods and practices.

(p) So Ben Melech says, it is a high piece of wood in a ship, on which they hang an ensign or flag; and so he interprets the ensign in the next clause of a veil, so called, because they lift it up upon the mast.

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

One thousand ... - The sense of this is, that you shall be easily alarmed and overcome by those who are inferior in numbers and strength. The number ‘one thousand,’ is put for a large indefinite number; probably meaning all.

At the rebuke of one - The number one here is put to denote a very small number; a number in the ordinary course of warfare entirely disproportionate to those who would be vanquished. There is probably a reference here to the prediction in Deu 32:30 :

How should one chase a thousand,

And two put ten thousand to flight,

Except their Rock had sold them

And Yahweh had shut them up?

At the rebuke of five - Of a very small number.

Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain - The word rendered ‘beacon’ (תרן toren), (Greek ἱστὸς histos, “a mast”), denotes properly the mast of a ship Isa 33:23; Eze 27:5; then anything resembling a mast, a flagstaff, or a beacon of any kind. It may refer to a staff or mast erected on a promontory to warn sailors, or to be a landmark - as it is not improbable that the masts of ships would be employed for that purpose; or it may refer to a flagstaff, erected on a conspicuous place, to which the nation could rally in time of war. On the sea coasts of America such beacons are often erected. Those which I have seen consist of a pole erected on an eminence or rising ground, with a cask or barrel painted white on the top. The idea seems to be, that of a long pole erected for any purpose, and which was standing alone, stripped of its leaves and branches, and without ornament. So would be the few, solitary, and scattered Jews when driven before their enemies.

And as an ensign on a hill - (see Isa 5:26, note; Isa 11:12, note). The idea is, that those who should escape would be few in number, and would stand alone, as a beacon in view of all the nations, to admonish them of the justice of God, and the truth of his threatening - like an ensign floating on a hill that can be seen from afar. What a striking description is this of the condition of the Jews in our times, and indeed in all ages since their dispersion! Their strength, and influence, and power as a people are gone. They stand as beacons to warn the nations of the evils of a want of confidence in God, and of his justice.

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

Five. A small number shall put you to flight. (Menochius) --- Mast, set up after a shipwreck, to warn others, or as a signal, chap. xxxiii. 23.

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).

Shall flee; which words are fitly supplied out of the following clause.

At the rebuke; either,

1. At his real rebuke, upon his assault or onset; or rather,

2. At his verbal rebuke, upon his mere threats, as fearing that he will proceed from words to blows.

Shall ye flee; all of you, how numerous soever.

Till ye be left as a beacon, & c.; till you be generally destroyed, and but a few of you left.

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

One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one. A hyperbole common in Scripture, (Deu_32:30 Jos_23:10 Lev_26:8) and not confined to the sacred writers. Piankhi the Ethiopian boasts, in his great inscription, that, with Ammon"s help, "many should turn their backs upon a few, and one should rout a thousand" ("Records of the Past," vol. it. p. 84). At the rebuke of five. The "rebuke" of five (i.e. their war-shout) would put to flight the whole army. As a beacon; rather, as a flag-staff stripped and bare. (comp. Eze_27:5) A tree stripped of its branches and left standing as a landmark seems to be intended. As an ensign. A military standard, such as was in common use among the Assyrians and Egyptians, as among the Greeks and Romans (see "Ancient Monarchies," vol. 2. p. 57; Rawlinson, "Hist. of Egypt," vol. 1. p. 463).

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

'Till - 'Till you be destroyed, and but a few of you left.

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

“One thousand from before the rebuke (or menace) of one, from before the rebuke of five shall ye flee, until ye are left like a mast (or pole) on the top of the mountain, and like the signal on the hill.” The allusion may be simply to the similar appearance of a lofty and solitary tree, or the common idea may be that of a flag-staff, which might be found in either situation.

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

One thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will flee

The word "solider" is understood. AT: "One thousand soldiers will flee at the threat of one enemy soldier; at the threat of five enemy soldiers all of your soldiers will flee" (See: Ellipsis)

One thousand

"1,000" (See: Numbers)

until your remnant will be like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, or like a flag on a hill

This simile means there will be so few people left that they will be like a single flag on top of a hill. (See: Simile)

translationWords

remnant

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

One thousand [of you], because of the shout of one of the enemies, or all of you because of the shout of five, shall flee.

you remain (lit., if you remain,) like ‘that you remain.’

like a mast (כַּתֹּרֶן) a lofty pole, inserted in the ground, like a sort of mast of a ship, that they call ‘mast’ in O.F.

and like a flagpole (וְכַנֵּס) That, too, is a lofty pole, which they place on a hilltop, and when the scout sees troops coming, he places a banner on it, and the wind moves it. This is the signal that they flee or assemble.

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.

אלף Thousand. It is in the constr. st. אלף אחד The thousand men of one of you; אחד signifies the officer. The meaning of the whole phrase is: An officer over a thousand men will flee at the threatening of one man.

Shall ye flee, shall all of you flee.

Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, etc., till a few out of many will be left. I think that the words as an ensign on a hill refer to those who remained in Jerusalem and did not go down to Egypt.

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.