Isaiah 41:16

Isa 41:16 Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, [and] shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Ver. 16. Thou shalt fan them.] But find nothing in them of any solidity. The heart of the wicked is little worth.

And thou shalt rejoice in the Lord.] As the sole doer of all; for it is he that subdueth the people under us, and doeth all our works for us. {Isa 26:12}

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.

41:16 When the grain is thrown into the wind, the chaff is blown away. Likewise, Israel’s enemies appeared to be strong but would easily be driven off.

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

fan--winnowed (compare Mat 3:12).

whirlwind . . . scatter them-- (Job 27:21; Job 30:22).

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

Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them,.... In illusion to the custom of the Jews, who had their threshingfloors on the tops of hills and mountains, where they took the opportunity and advantage of the wind in winnowing their corn, which fanned it, and carried away the chaff, and scattered it abroad; in like manner, it is suggested, the enemies of the church and people of God should be dealt with, which are like the chaff the wind driveth away, and is found no more, Psa 1:5, and so Rome Pagan was no more as such when subdued by Constantine, nor will the Papal antichristian states, Dan 2:35. Compare with this what is said of literal Babylon, which will have its accomplishment in mystical Babylon, Jer 51:33,

and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord: the Targum is,

"in the word of the Lord;''

and so it paraphrases the preceding clause,

"his word shall scatter them as the whirlwind chaff;''

and therefore in him the saints shall rejoice, because it is he that destroys their enemies; so when Rome Pagan was abolished, and the devil and his angels, or the Heathen emperors, were drove out of it and destroyed, there was great joy among the people of God, saying, "now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ", Rev 12:10 there will be great rejoicing in the Lord likewise when Rome Papal falls, and the saints have got the victory over the beast, Rev 15:2.

and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel; whose arm alone has done the above things, and to whom the glory is to be given: it is the true character of believers to rejoice in Christ, in his person, offices, and grace, and to glory in his being made unto them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Phi 3:3.

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

Thou shalt fan them - Keeping up the figure commenced in the previous verse. To fan here means to winnow, an operation which was performed by throwing the threshed grain up with a shovel into the air, so that the wind drove the chaff away. So all their enemies, and all the obstacles which were in their way should be scattered.

And the whirlwind shall scatter them - The ancients believed that people might be swept away by a storm or whirlwind. See Job 27:

The cast wind carrieth him away and he departeth;

And as a storm hurleth him out of his place.

Compare Homer, Odys. xx. 63ff, thus rendered by Pope:

Snatch me, ye whirlwinds! far from human race,

Tost through the void illimitable space;

Or if dismounted from the rapid cloud,

Me with his whelming wave let ocean shroud!

See the notes at Job 30:22.

And thou shalt rejoice in the Lord - In view of the aid which he has vouchsafed, and the deliverance which he has performed for you.

Shalt glory - Shalt boast, or shalt exult. You will regard God as the author of your deliverance, and joy in the proofs of his interposition, and of his gracious protection and care.

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

Thou shalt fan them, when thou hast beaten them as small as dust or chaff.

Shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel; for to him, and not to thyself, thou shalt ascribe thy victory over thine enemies.

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

Fan - When thou hast beaten them as small as chaff. In the Holy One - For to him, thou shalt ascribe thy victory.

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

“Thou shalt fan (or winnow) them, and a wind shall take them up, and a whirlwind shall scatter them, and thou shalt joy in Jehovah, in the holy One of Israel shalt thou boast (or glory).” The figure of the preceding verse is here carried out and completed. The mountains, having been completely threshed, are winnowed, in the usual oriental mode, by being thrown to the wind. Israel, on the other hand, is safe, not through his own strength but in that of his protector, in whom, (i.e., in his relation to Whom, he finds his highest happiness and honor). The writer’s main design is evidently still to exhibit the contrast between God and His people on the one hand, and the idols and their people on the other.

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

Connecting Statement:

Yahweh continues to use the metaphor of separating grain from chaff to describe how Israel will defeat their enemies.

You will winnow them ... the wind will scatter them

Here the word "them" refers to the mountains and hill in Isaiah 41:15. This represents the next step in the process of threshing grain, in which the grain is winnowed to get rid of the chaff. Israel's enemies will disappear like chaff blown away by the wind. (See: Metaphor)

the wind will carry them away; the wind will scatter them

These two phrases mean the same thing. AT: "the wind will blow them away" (See: Parallelism)

translationWords

winnow

joy

Yahweh

Holy One

Israel

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

You shall winnow them You shall scatter them, as with a pitchfork, to the wind.

and a wind shall carry them off by themselves to Gehinnom.

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.

Thou shalt scatter them, etc. This verse indicates that the greater part of the Babylonians will perish, and also that the Israelites will take their spoil.

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.