Isaiah 40:14

Isa 40:14 With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?

Ver. 14. With whom took he counsel?] See Isa 40:13.

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.

path of judgment--His wisdom, whereby He so beautifully adjusts the places and proportions of all created things.

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

(14) Counsel . . . judgment.—The cluster of words belonging to the sapiential vocabulary of the Book of Proverbs is to be noted as parallel with Pro_11:23, Isa_33:15.

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

14. and who instructed] Or, so that he instructed.

path of judgment] path of right (mishpâṭ). See ch. Isa_28:26, where the word means orderly procedure; here the reference is to the order of nature, or else the transition is already made from creation to providence (Isa_40:15).

way of understanding] Or, way of insight. The intermediate clause and taught him knowledge is omitted by the LXX., and since it disturbs the parallelism, and repeats the verb just used, it may be a gloss.

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.

With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him,.... This is the same as before, only repeated in other words, the more strongly to deny that any mere creature counselled, taught, and instructed the Spirit of Christ, in the ordering and managing the works of creation:

and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding? or gave him that judgment, knowledge, and understanding in framing the world, and all things in it, in that beautiful and regular manner that it is; which shows it to be a work of wisdom, more than human or angelical, and to be purely divine; no one, angel or man, could have struck out such a path of judgment, such a way of understanding, or showed such exquisite skill and knowledge, as appear in the works of creation; see Psa 104:24.

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

With whom took he counsel - The sentiment of the former verse is repeated here, in order, probably, to make it more emphatic.

In the path of judgment - The way of judging correctly and wisely; or the way of administering justice. It denotes here his boundless wisdom as it is seen in the various arrangements of his creation and providence, by which all things keep their places, and accomplish his vast designs.

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

Taught him in the path of judgment; how to walk and manage all his affairs with good judgment and discretion.

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

“Whom did He consult (or with whom took He counsel) and he made Him understand, and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and the way of understanding, I will make him known?” The consecution of the tenses is the same as in the foregoing verse. By ‘judgment’ we must either understand discretion, in which case the whole phrase will be synonymous with way of understanding in the parallel clause; or rectitude, in which case the whole phrase will mean the right way, not in a moral sense, but in that of a way conducting to the end desired, the right way to attain that end. As these are only different expressions of the same essential idea, the question is of little exegetical importance. The first clause of this verse is quoted in Rom 11:34, with the following words added, ‘or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?’ It is probable that the words were introduced into the Septuagint from the text in Romans, where they are really no part of the quotation from Isaiah, but the apostle’s own paraphrase of it or addition to it, the form of which may have been suggested by the first clause of Job 41:11. Such allusive imitations occur elsewhere in Paul’s writings. In the present case, the addition agrees fully with the spirit of the passage quoted; since the aid in question, if it had been afforded, would be fairly entitled to a recompense.

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

With whom did He take counsel and give him to understand With which of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He take counsel, as He took counsel with the prophets, as it is said concerning Abraham (Gen. 18:17): “Do I conceal from Abraham...?”

and give him to understand, and teach him in the way of justice With which one of the heathens ([mss., K’li Paz:] nations) did He do so, that He taught him wisdom as He did to Abraham, to whom He gave a heart to recognize Him by himself and to understand the Torah, as it is said (ibid. 26:5): “And he kept My charge,” and Scripture states further (ibid. 18:19), “For he commands etc.” And his kidneys would pour forth wisdom to him, as it is said (Ps. 16:7): “Even at night my kidneys chastised me.” (With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him to understand [With which man did He take counsel and which] man gave the Holy One, blessed be He, [to understand?] Behold all the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and how could they teach Him?)

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.

נועץ It is the past of Niphal; the ע has therefore a Pathah; it means, He took counsel.

ויבינהו And gave Him understanding. And taught Him the path of judgment, how to fix the punishment for every sin,

and taught Him knowledge (דעת), to know future events.

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.