Isaiah 37:22

22–29. The poem on Sennacherib is in substance a Taunt-song; but in form an elegy, written in the measure characteristic of the qînâh. The first two lines (Isa_37:22) read:

She hath despised thee, hath mocked thee—the virgin daughter of Zion;

Behind thee hath shaken the head—the daughter of Jerusalem.

The prophet anticipates the ignominious retreat of the Assyrian king (“behind thee”), leaving Jerusalem still a “virgin” fortress. To “shake the head” is in the O.T. a gesture of contempt (Psa_22:7; Jer_18:16; Lam_2:15, &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.

37:22 The virgin daughter of Zion: Jerusalem is personified as a young woman who mocks the Assyrian king (see also 3:26).

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

Whom God had chosen to himself as a chaste virgin, and over whom he had care to preserve her from the lusts of the tyrant, as a father would have over his daughter.

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

Transition to poetry: in parallelism.

virgin . . . daughter--honorable terms. "Virgin" implies that the city is, as yet, inviolate. "Daughter" is an abstract collective feminine personification of the population, the child of the place denoted (see on Isa 23:10; Isa 1:8). Zion and her inhabitants.

shaken . . . head--in scorn (Psa 22:7; Psa 109:25; Mat 27:39). With us to shake the head is a sign of denial or displeasure; but gestures have different meanings in different countries (Isa 58:9; Eze 25:6; Zep 2:15).

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

(22) The virgin, the daughter of Zion.—The same phrase had been used in Isa_23:12 of Zidon. There the virgin had been “oppressed,” i.e., “ravished” by the invaders, but Zion was to escape the ravisher, and laugh his lust to scorn.

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

By thy servants hast thou reproached the Lord,.... Particularly by Rabshakeh, and the other two that were with him, who, no doubt, assented to what he said; not content to reproach him himself, he set his servants to do it likewise; he made use of them as instruments, and even set them, as well as himself, above the Lord:

and hast said, by the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the height of the mountains; not only with his foot soldiers, but with his chariots, and a great number of them, he had travelled over hills and mountains, as Hannibal over the Alps, and was now upon the high mountains which were round about Jerusalem, and very near the mountain of the Lord's house; of which Jarchi interprets the words:

to the sides of Lebanon; meaning either the mountain of Lebanon, which was on the borders of the land of Israel, famous for cedars and fir trees, later mentioned; or, the temple made of the wood of Lebanon, near which his army now lay; so the Targum and Jarchi understand it:

and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof; to make way for his army, and to support himself with materials for the siege; to make tents with for his soldiers to lie in, or wooden fortresses from whence to annoy the city. The cedars of Lebanon were very large and tall. Mr. Maundrell (p) says he measured one of the largest, and

"found it six and thirty feet and six inches thick; its branches spread a hundred and eleven feet; its trunk from the ground was about fifteen or sixteen feet, and then divided into five branches, each of which would make a large tree.''

Monsieur Thevenot (q) says, now there are no more nor less that, twenty three cedars on Mount Lebanon, great and small: or it may be, these metaphorically intend the princes, and nobles, and chief men of the Jewish nation, he threatens to destroy; so the Targum,

"and I will kill the most beautiful of their mighty ones, and the choicest of their princes:''

and I will enter into the height of his border; some think the tower of Lebanon, which stood on the east part of it towards Syria, is meant; but it seems rather to design Jerusalem, the metropolis of the nation, which he thought himself sure of entering into, and taking possession of; and this was what his heart was set upon; so the Targum,

and I will subdue the city of their strength; their strong city Jerusalem, in which they placed their strength:

and the forest of his Carmel: or "the forest and his fruitful field" (r); the same city, which, for the number of its houses and inhabitants, was like a forest, and was Hezekiah's fruitful field, where all his riches and treasure were. The Targum interprets it of his army,

"and I will consume the multitude of their army.''

(p) Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 179. (q) Travels, part 1. B. 2. ch. 60. p. 221. (r) "sylvas, arva ejus", Junius & Tremellius; "sylvas et arva ejus", Piscator.

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

The virgin, the daughter of Zion - Jerusalem (see the note at Isa 1:8; compare the note at Isa 23:12). The parallelism in this and the following verses shows that the poetic form of speech is here introduced.

Hast despised thee - That is, it is secure from thy contemplated attack. The idea is, that Jerusalem would exult over the ineffectual attempts of Sennacherib to take it, and over his complete overthrow.

Hath laughed thee to scorn - Will make thee an object of derision.

Hath shaken her head at thee - This is an indication of contempt and scorn (compare Psa 22:7; Psa 109:25; Jer 18:16; Zep 2:15; Mat 27:39).

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

The virgin the daughter of Zion; i.e. Jerusalem. (comp. Isa_1:8 Isa_10:32 Isa_16:1 Isa_52:2 Isa_62:11) The expression, "virgin daughter," is used also by Isaiah of Zidon (Isa_23:12) and of Babylon. (Isa_47:1) The personification here is very effective. since it represents Jerusalem as a tender maiden, weak and delicate, yet still bold enough to stand up against Sennacherib and all his host, and bid him defiance. Confident in Jehovah, her Protector, she despises him, and laughs him to scorn; nay, "shakes her head at him," or rather. "after him," pursuing him with scornful gestures as In. retreats before her. (On shaking the head as a gesture of scorn, see Psa_22:7 Psa_109:25 Mat_27:39)

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

“This is the word which Jehovah hath spoken concerning (or against) him. The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee, she hath laughed thee to scorn, the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head after thee.” The simple meaning is that what follows is a revelation from God in answer to the vaunting of Sennacherib and the prayers of Hezekiah. For the meaning of the phrase daughter of Zion, see the note on Isa 1:8; for the construction of virgin, that on Isa 23:12. The virgin daughter Zion, (i.e., Zion considered as a daughter and a virgin). It may be a personification either of the whole church and nation, or of the city of Jerusalem, which last seems more appropriate in this connection. Not merely ‘at thee’, but ‘after thee as thou fleest’. Some understand by shaking a derisive nodding or vertical motion of the head accompanied by laughter. Others suppose that a wagging or lateral motion of the head, although not used by us for such a purpose, may have been common as a gesture of derision in the east, the rather as such signs are to a great extent conventional, and as other derisive gestures mentioned in the Scriptures are equally foreign from our habits and associations. Others again suppose that the shaking of the head, with the Hebrews as with us, was a gesture of negation, and that the expression of scorn consisted in a tacit denial that Sennacherib had been able to effect his purpose. Thus understood, the action is equivalent to saying in words, no, no! (i.e., he could not do it. See my note on Psa 22:8.) The meaning of the whole verse, divested of its figurative dress, is that the people of God might regard the threats of the Assyrian with contempt.

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