Isaiah 43:5

Isa 43:5 Fear not: for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;

Ver. 5. I will bring thy seed from the east.] From all coasts and quarters. This was a type of the Church in the New Testament; see Mat 8:11 Joh 11:52 Joh 10:16 Gal 3:28; this was also a type of the last resurrection. See Rev 20:13.

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.

Isa_43:5-6

I will bring thy seed from the east

Obligations of Christians to labour for the conversion of the Jews

This prophecy looks far beyond the deliverance of the Jews from their former captivity.

It evidently points to that great and glorious deliverance which still awaits them. A deliverance that will eclipse and infinitely outshine their former deliverances from Egypt and from Babylon. Apply the passage to the recall and conversion of the Jews.

I. OUR OBLIGATIONS, AS CHRISTIANS, TO ENGAGE IN THIS WORK.

1. Gratitude for the inestimable benefits which we have derived from them Rom_3:1-2; Rom_9:4-5).

2. As a reparation of the cruel wrongs and injuries which we have inflicted upon them. Every Christian country is deep in this guilt, and every Christian country requires a national expiation of it.

3. From an ardent desire to promote the glory of God.

II. OUR ENCOURAGEMENT TO PROCEED AND PERSEVERE IN IT. To some, the attempt to convert the Jews may appear visionary; to others, inexpedient; but they who are acquainted with their Bibles must know that it is not hopeless. We are encouraged to attempt this work--

1. From the testimony of prophecy.

2. From the very great attention which has already been excited among the Jews.

3. From the present signs of the times.

III. THE GLORIOUS CONSEQUENCES THAT WILL RESULT FROM THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS.

1. To the world. It will be the commencement of a new and blessed era to all nations.

2. To the Church of God. The conversion of the Jews shall be the means of bringing in the whole fulness of the Gentiles.

(1) To Gods covenant with Abraham and with his seed you owe all that you are, and all that you hope to be.

(2) When Christ sent forth His apostles to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, He particularly charged them to begin at Jerusalem. (Earl Gibbee, D. D.)

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

Isa 43:5-7. I will bring thy seed from the east, &c. — Although the Jews, for their sins, shall be carried captives out of their own land northward and eastward into Babylon, and the adjacent countries; and others of them shall flee southward and westward, and shall there pine away in their iniquities, as I have threatened; yet I will bring back their posterity into Canaan, from all the places where they are dispersed. I will say to the north, Give up — Thou, who hast so long held my people in bondage, resign them to me, and permit them to return to their own land. He speaks to the countries by a prosopopœia. Bring my sons from far — Not only permit, but assist and further their return. Every one that is called — Rather, every one is called, or, they are all called, by my name — I own them for my people and children; and, therefore, what kindness or cruelty you exercise toward them, I take it as done to myself. I have created him for my glory — And therefore I will glorify my power, and goodness, and faithfulness in delivering them. I have formed him — I have not only created them out of nothing, but I have also formed and made them my peculiar people. We must observe, however, that while Isaiah “appears to speak of one thing only, two are understood: the less includes the greater. Speaking literally and properly of the collection of the dispersed church from Babylon, — a more noble collection, the spiritual one, of the converted Jews and Gentiles to the church of Christ, was in his view; and this is described in expressions taken from the external collection of the church from Babylon, and the restoration of the republic under the Maccabees; exactly in the same manner as in chap. 11:12, which should be compared with this place. The 7th verse plainly shows that the spiritual seed of Israel is spoken of. Every one that is called by my name, means, every one who is truly my son; for to be called by the name of any one is to be his son.” See chap. 45:5, and Vitringa.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

FOREBODINGS FORBIDDEN

(A Motto Text for the New Year.)

Isa_43:5. Fear not, for I am with thee.

Again we enter upon the dark of uncertainty. Standing upon the threshold of another year, which we know by experience will have its cares, and its perils, and its sorrows. What is the true antidote of fear? What is the real elixir of the happiness we wish to one another but the presence and protection of the Lord? This He guarantees to us: “Fear not, for I am with thee.”

I. FEAR IS NATURAL TO MAN.

1. As a feeble creature in the midst of the irresistible and mysterious powers of the universe. What can allay this fear but the protection of One who can control those forces, who is mightier than they, and will use that might in my behalf?

2. As a sinner, conscious of violations of the law of the Great Ruler, and therefore justly apprehensive of the divine displeasure. The religion of the Bible reveals the Creator as a Saviour, delighting in mercy. Thus the real language of the Bible is, Fear not. To Abraham, Isaac, Joshua, Gideon, &c. In all these exhortations not to fear, the reason given is Jehovah’s presence; but it is that very presence that makes the conscious sinner afraid (Gen_3:8). Yet in the Bible the presence of God is urged as a dissuasive against fear. Because God is revealed to us as merciful, &c.—in Jesus Christ as the Saviour and the friend of sinners.

II. THOSE QUALITIES WHICH RENDER THE PRESENCE OF GOD AN ANTIDOTE TO FEAR.

The power which any one possesses to dissipate fear by his presence depends upon the qualities of that person, his ability and his willingness to help. The character of God is what He is in Himself, what He has already done, and what He has promised to do; it is this which gives force to the exhortation, “Fear not, for I am with thee.”

III. SOME OF THOSE OCCASIONS TO WHICH THE EXHORTATION IS SPECIALLY APPLICABLE.

The first Sabbath of the year. We walk forward in darkness; what that darkness conceals we cannot even conjecture. Fear may suggest various evils. God says, “Fear not, for I am with thee.” To some the year is sure to prove one of severe trial. To some this year will be the last on earth.

CONCLUSION.—Appeal to those who do not regard the presence of God as the chief element of their joy, as that which chiefly will make the year a happy one.—Newman Hall, LL.B.: The Christian World, January 8, 1864.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

He prophesieth of their deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and so of the calling of the universal Church, alluding to that which is written, Deut. 30:3.

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

(Deu 30:3).

seed--descendants scattered in all lands. VITRINGA understands it of the spiritual "seed" of the Church produced by mystical regeneration: for the expression is, "bring," not "bring back." This sense is perhaps included, but not to the exclusion of the literal Israel's restoration (Jer 30:10-11; Amo 9:9; Zac 2:6-13).

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

(5) From the east . . .—Even from Isaiah’s stand-point, the dispersion of Israel might well be contemplated in all this wide extent. The Ten Tribes were already carried off to the cities of the Medes (2Ki_17:6). The Babylonian exile had its beginning under Esar-haddon (2Ch_33:11); others may have been found before the time of Zephaniah (Zep_3:10) beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Even in the time of Joel the slave-trade of the Phœnicians had carried the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the western isles of Javan, or Ionia (Joe_3:6).

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

5–7. The ingathering of the Dispersion (cf. ch. Isa_49:12).

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.

Fear not, for I am with thee,.... With thy ministers that preach the everlasting Gospel, to make it effectual to the conversion of many everywhere, as well as to bear thee up under all trials, and to cause thee to stand against all opposition:

I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; which is to be understood not literally of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for these several quarters, east, west, north, and south, will hardly agree with that, though it may be supposed they were scattered in several countries; but spiritually of the gathering in of God's elect, whether Jews or Gentiles, which were scattered abroad throughout the world, called the "seed" of the church, because born to her, and brought up in her, and of which she consists; and therefore she herself is said to be gathered, converts being brought in from all quarters; from the "east", even from India, where the Apostle Thomas is said to preach the Gospel, and from other "eastern" countries; and from the "west", from the European nations, good part of which lay west of Judea. Our Lord seems to have respect to this passage in Mat 8:12.

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

Fear not - (see the note at Isa 41:10, Isa 41:14; compare Isa 43:1).

I will bring thy seed - Thy children; thy descendants. The sense is, I will re-collect my scattered people from all parts of the world. The passage appears to have been taken from Deu 30:3, where God promises to gather his people together again if they should be scattered among the nations, and should then repent. Vitringa understands this of the spiritual descendants of the Jews, or of those who should believe on the Messiah among the Gentiles, and who should become the people of God. But the more natural interpretation is, to refer it to the Jews who were scattered abroad during the exile at Babylon, and as a promise to re-collect them again in their own land.

From the east ... - From all parts of the earth; from all lands where they were scattered. That they were driven to other places than Babylon on the invasion of their land by the Chaldeans, is abundantly manifest in the historical records Jer 9:16; Eze 5:12; Eze 17:21; Amo 9:9; Zec 2:6.

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

East. Babylon. --- West. The island beyond the Mediterranean.

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).

Although the Jews shall for their sins be carried captives out of their own land northward and eastward into Babylon and the adjacent countries, and others of them shall flee southward and westward, and shall there pine away in their iniquities, as I threatened; yet their posterity I will bring back into Canaan, from all the places where they are dispersed.

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

5-7. Fear not — Resumed from Isa_43:1, to add a second reason for Israel’s confidence — because God commands restoration from every quarter — from east, west, north, south. Not literal restoration of all the dispersed of Israel to the literal Zion, but a spiritual restoring, shall occur of every one… called by my name. Thus explaining why God has created… formed… made, Israel. Gentiles are hence intended as included with believing Jews.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fear not: for I am with thee. (comp. Isa_41:10) I will bring thy seed from the east... from the west. The actual extent of the Jewish diaspora in Isaiah"s day has been greatly exaggerated by some modern critics, who say that there were at that date "bands of Jewish exiles in the far lands of the Mediterranean, and even in China" (Cheyne). Israel had been carried captive into Mesopotamia and into Media, (1Ch_5:26) perhaps, also, into other regions belonging at the time to Assyria, as Babylonia, Assyria Proper, Syria. Two hundred thousand Jews had been taken to Nineveh by Sennacherib ("Eponym Canon," p. 134), and planted probably by him m outlying portions of his dominions. But such transplantation would not carry the dispersion further than Cilicia and Cyprus towards the west, Armenia towards the north, Media towards the east, and the shores of the Persian Gulf towards the south. Any scattering of the nation into regions more remote than these, as into Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, (Isa_11:11) and China if Sinim is (Isa_49:12) must have been seen by Isaiah in vision, or made known to him by revelation. It had not taken place in his day. The expression, "ends of the earth" (ver. 6), must not be pressed in Isaiah any more than in Herodotus, where the escatiai thv oikoumehv are India, Arabia, Ethiopia, and Scythia (3:106-116).

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

The encouraging "Fear not" is here resumed, for the purpose of assigning a still further reason. "Fear not; for I am with thee: I bring thy seed from the east, and from the west will I gather them; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the end of the earth; everything that is called by my name, and I have created for my glory, that I have formed, yea finished!" The fact that Jehovah is with Israel will show itself in this, that He effects its complete restoration from all quarters of the heaven (compare the lands of the diaspora in all directions already mentioned by Isaiah in Isa 11:11-12). Jehovah's command is issued to north and south to give up their unrighteous possession, not to keep it back, and to restore His sons and daughters (compare the similar change in the gender in Isa 11:12), which evidently implies the help and escort of the exiles on the part of the heathen (Isa 14:2). The four quarters and four winds are of the feminine gender. In Isa 43:7 the object is more precisely defined from the standpoint of sacred history. The three synonyms bring out the might, the freeness, and the riches of grace, with which Jehovah called Israel into existence, to glorify Himself in it, and that He might be glorified by it. They form a climax, for בּרא signifies to produce as a new thing; יצר, to shape what has been produced; and עשׂה, to make it perfect or complete, hence creavi, formavi, perfeci.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“Fear not, for I (am) with thee; from the east will I make (or let) thy seed come, and from the west will I gather thee.” The reference of this verse to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon is not only arbitrary and without foundation, but forbidden by the mention of the west as well as the east. That it refers to any restoration is the more improbable, because the Prophet does not say bring back but simply bring. The only interpretation which entirely suits the text and context, without supplying or assuming anything beyond what is expressed, is that which makes the verse a promise to the church that she should be completed, that all her scattered members should be ultimately brought together. (Compare Joh 11:52; Rom 3:29; 1Jn 2:2). ‘Thy seed’ has reference to Israel or Jacob as the ideal object of address.

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

From the east. From Babylon.

From the west. From Egypt and Assyria. Comp. Ezr. 6:22.

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.