Isaiah 51:15

15. that divided the sea &c.] Render with R.V. which stirreth up (see on Isa_51:4) the sea so that the waves thereof roar (cf. Job_26:12).

The idea is parallel with that of Isa_51:9 f., being an illustration of Jehovah’s power over the elements. He can, as it were, play with the sea, for His stirring it up to fury implies that He is able to restrain it, and at the right time to still it again.

the Lord of hosts is his name] Chs. Isa_47:4, Isa_48:2, Isa_54:5.

15, 16. These verses contain a remarkable number of resemblances to other passages (see below). Isa_51:15, apart from the introductory words, occurs in Jer_31:35, though it is doubtful to which passage it originally belongs. Giesebrecht (on Jeremiah) unhesitatingly pronounces it a citation from this verse.

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 51:15 But I [am] the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts [is] his name.

Ver. 15. For I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea.] Or, I the Lord thy God am he that stilleth the sea when the waves of it roar; how much more then can I curb and control the rage of man! "Surely," saith David, "the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain"; where the Septuagint have it, It shall keep holiday to thee, εωρταζει σοι.

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.

51:15 I am the Lord: The Lord uses this formula to identify himself as the covenant God and to assure his people of the truth of his word and the reliability of his actions (see 27:3-4).

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

divided . . . sea--the Red Sea. The same Hebrew word as "make to rest" (Isa 51:4). Rather, "that terrify the sea," that is, restrain it by My rebuke, "when its waves roar" [GESENIUS]. The Hebrew favors MAURER, "that terrify the sea so that the waves roar." The sense favors GESENIUS (Jer 5:22; Jer 31:35), or English Version (Isa 51:9-10, which favors the special reference to the exodus from Egypt).

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

(15) But I am . . .—Better, Seeing that I am. The fact which follows is not contrasted with that which precedes, but given as its ground. The might of Jehovah is seen in the storm-waves of the sea. It is seen not less in the fall and rise of empires.

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

But I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves roared,.... Referring to the dividing of the Red sea by a violent wind, at which time the waves of it doubtless roared till they were made to stand quietly, as a wall on the right and left, for the Israelites to pass through, as in Isa 51:10. Or this is to be understood of the power of God at any time in stilling and quieting the sea when it rages; which signification the word (s) here used has, as Aben Ezra observes; which power is expressed by a rebuke or reproof of it. And so the Targum,

"I am the Lord thy God, that rebuketh the sea:''

and in like manner the Syriac version; see Psa 106:9 with which compare Mat 8:26. Now he that can do, and oftentimes has done this, can rebuke, restrain, and still the fury of the oppressors, the rage of the persecutors, Rome Pagan or Papal, and deliver out of their hands, Psa 65:7,

the Lord of hosts is his name: the Lord of armies in heaven and earth, and therefore is able to do these things in a natural, civil, and religious sense.

(s) "qui tranquillat" Gakater; "faciens quiescere", so some in Vitringa; and the word has the signification of rest and quietness in ver 4.

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

But I am the Lord thy God - In order to show them that he was able to save them, God again refers to the fact that he had divided the sea, and delivered their fathers from bondage and oppression.

That divided the sea - The Red Sea. The Chaldee renders this, ‘That rebuked the sea.’ The Septuagint, Ὁ ταράσσων ho tarassōn - ‘Who disturbs the sea.’ or, who excites a tempest. Lowth renders it, ‘Who stilleth at once the sea.’ The Hebrew word is the same which occurs in Isa 51:4, where it is rendered, ‘I will make my judgment to rest’ (רגע râga‛). Probably the idea here is, that he restrains the raging of the sea as if by fear; that is, makes it tranquil or still by rebuking it. He had this power over all raging seas, and he had shown it in a special manner by his rebuking the Red Sea and making it rest, and causing a way to be made through it, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt.

The Lord of hosts is his name - (See the notes at Isa 1:9; compare the notes at Isa 42:8).

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

But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea; rather, for I, the Lord thy God, am he that divided the sea (comp. ver. 10). The reference is once more to the great miracle wrought at the Exodus, when the Red Sea was "divided" before the host of Israelites. (Exo_14:21 Psa_74:13) Whose waves roared. (see Exo_14:27 Exo_15:10)

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

“And I (am) Jehovah thy God, rousing the sea and then its waves roar; Jehovah of Hosts (is) His name.” Another appeal to the power of God as a pledge for the performance of His promise. Roga‘ has been understood in two directly opposite senses, that of ‘stilling’ and that of ‘agitating’. The first is strongly recommended by the not infrequent use of the derivative conjugations in the sense of ‘quieting’ or ‘being quiet’.

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

Who wrinkles the sea Heb. רֹגַע, an expression similar to (Job 7:5) “My skin was wrinkled (רָגַע).” Froncir in O.F. [froncer in Modern French, to wrinkle, gather, pucker].

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.

רגע Who stilleth. Some say that גער ═ רגע who rebuketh, by metathesis; others compare it with מרגוע rest (Jer. 6:17), and render it who giveth rest; I approve of this latter explanation. ויהמו גליו Whose waves roared, that is, whose waves have been roaring. The meaning of the verse might also be the following: I am he who stilleth the sea, but I am also he who commandeth that its waves shall roar. Sea and waves are figurative expressions for the oppressors.

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.