Isaiah 7:19

Isa 7:19 And they shall come, and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.

Ver. 19. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them.] As flies do upon flesh, and as bees upon trees. They shall seize all.

In the desolate valleys, &c.] Hereby is set forth, saith Calvin, that in no lurking place any of the Jews should be secreted or secured from their enemies, but that they shall range about and rage everywhere throughout the whole land. And, because all this is done at a "hiss," the backwardness of Christians is condemned, saith Musculus, who cannot by most earnest preaching of long continuance be brought to do as God requireth them.

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.

7:19 Locations such as desolate valleys, caves, and thorny places were places of refuge for the desperate (see 2:10). However, Judah’s enemies would find them there.

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

Signifying, that no place shall be free from them.

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

rest--image of flies and bees kept up. The enemy shall overspread the land everywhere, even in "desolate valleys."

thorns--wild, contrasted with "bushes," which were valued and objects of care (see Margin).

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

Verse 19. Holes of the rocks - "Caverns"] So the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, whence Houbigant supposes the true reading to be הנחללים hannachalolim. One of my oldest MSS. reads הנחלולים hannochalolim.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) The desolate valleys . . .—The Hebrew adjective has rather the meaning of precipitous or steeply walled, and the noun that of torrent valley, like the Arabic wady. The whole verse is a graphic description of the characteristic features of the scenery of Judah.

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

19. The figure is kept up. desolate valleys] rather, precipitous ravines (lit. “valleys of precipices”). upon all thorns … bushes] Render: upon all the thorn-bushes (Isa_55:13) and upon all the pastures. These are the places naturally frequented by insects.

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.

And they shall come,.... The Egyptian and Assyrian armies, when the Lord calls for them in his providence, and his time is come to make use of them as a scourge to his people:

and shall rest all of them in the desolate valleys: made so by war; this is said in allusion to flies and bees resting on trees and flowers; and signifies that these armies, after long and tedious marches, should all of them, without being diminished by the way, enter the land of Judea, fill all places, and take up their abode there for a while:

and in the holes of the rocks. Kimchi thinks that the former phrase designs cities in valleys, and this fortified cities which are upon rocks:

and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes; in allusion to flies and bees. Kimchi interprets this of unwalled towns and villages. The Targum of the whole verse is,

"and they shall all of them come and dwell in the streets of the cities, and in the clifts of the rocks, and in all deserts full of sedges, and in all houses of praise.''

The sense is, that they should be in all cities, towns, and villages, whether fortified or not, and in all houses of high and low, rich and poor, in cottages and in palaces; there would be no place free from them, nor no escaping out of their hands.

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

And they shall come - The idea in this verse is, that they would spread over the land, and lay it waste. The poetic image of flies and bees is kept up; meaning, that the armies would be so numerous as to occupy and infest all the land.

And shall rest - As bees do. Thus the “locusts” are said to have “rested” in all the land of Egypt; Exo 10:14.

In the desolate valleys - The word translated “valleys” usually means “a valley with a brook,” or a brook itself. The Chaldee translates it, ‘In the streets of cities.’ But the idea is derived from the habits of flies and bees. The meaning is, that they should fill all the land, as innumerable swarms of flies and bees - would settle down everywhere, and would infest or consume everything. Bees, probably, chose situations near to running streams. Virgil, in his directions about selecting a place for an apiary, gives the following among others:

At liquidi fontes, et stagna virentia musco

Adsint, et tennis fugiens per gramina rivus.

Georg. iv. 18, 19.

But there let pools invite with moss arrayed,

Clear fount and rill that purls along the glade.

Sotheby.

In the holes of the rocks - Probably the same image is referred to here. It is well known that in Judea, as well as elsewhere, bees were accustomed to live in the holes or caverns of the rocks. They were very numerous; and the figure here is, that the Assyrians would be numerous as the swarms of bees were in that land, even in the high and inaccessible rocks; compare Isa 2:19-21.

Upon all thorns - The image here is kept up of flies and bees resting on everything. “Thorns” here refer to those trees and shrubs that were of little value; but even on these they would rest.

All bushes - Hebrew ‘All trees that are commendable, or that are to be praised;’ see the margin. The word denotes those shrubs and trees that were objects of “praise;” that is, that were cultivated with great attention and care, in opposition to “thorns” that grew wild, and without cultivation, and that were of little value. The meaning of the passage is, that the land would be invaded in every part, and that everything, valuable or not, would be laid waste.

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

They; the flies, and especially the bees.

Shall rest all of them; they shall have an easy victory; few or none of them shall be slain in the attempt.

The desolate valleys; either,

1. Such as were and had long been desolate. So it signifies the vast numbers of their enemies, which filled all places, both such as were well inhabited, and such as were in a great measure desolate. Or,

2. Such as they found very fruitful, but made them desolate.

The rocks; to which possibly the Israelites fled for refuge.

Bushes; which he mentions, partly because flies and bees use frequently to rest there, and partly to intimate that no place should escape the fury of this enemy.

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

19. They shall come — The armies “shall come.”

And shall rest all of them — They will settle down like bees in one part and like flies in another, in precipitous valleys, clefts of rocks, and in all thorn-hedges and pastures. A frightful figure of the different invasions of the armies of the two great countries, Assyria and Egypt. The great highway of these invaders of each other lay on the plain between the Mediterranean sea and the eastern foothills; but all the hill region also is here represented as covered, first by one army then by the other, but chiefly by the Assyrian and finally by the Babylonian armies.

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

And rest; or, settle. In the desolate valleys. Gesenius and Vance Smith translate "the precipitous valleys;" Mr. Cheyne, "the steeply walled valleys." But the cognate word used in Isa_5:6 can only mean "waste," which supports the rendering of the Authorized Version. The exact word used does not occur elsewhere. Upon all bushes; rather, upon all pastures.

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

Valleys - Such as they found fruitful, but made desolate. Rocks - To which possibly the Israelites fled for refuge. Bushes - Which he mentions because flies and bees use frequently to rest there; and to intimate, that no place should escape their fury.

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

Carrying out the figures of the preceding verse, the Prophet, instead of simply saying that the land shall be infested by foreigners, represents it as completely filled with bees and flies, who are described as settling upon all the places commonly frequented by such insects. “And they come and rest (or settle) all of them in the desolate (or precipitous) valleys, and in the clefts of rocks, and in all thorn-hedges, and in all pastures.” The words seem naturally to express the general notion of a country overrun, infested, filled with foreigners and enemies, not only by military occupation but in other ways.

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

in the desolate valleys Heb. נַחֲלֵי means valleys, i.e., fallow fields.

and in the clefts of the rocks to ambush. נְקִיקֵי is synonymous with נִקְרוֹתהַצּוּר.

and in the thornbushes the places of the thorns called broces [briars]. And similarly (infra 55:13): “Instead of the thornbush (הנַּעֲצוּץ) the fir tree shall come up.”

the shrines houses of praise [from Jonathan].

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.

וְנָחֽוּ And shall rest. Accent on the last syllable; comp. שָֽׂמוּ (Gen. 40:15), וְשָׂמֽוּ (Num. 6:27).

בתות Desolate places. Comp. בתה desolate (5:6).

ובנקיקי And in the holes of. Hapax legomenon; its meaning is found by the context.

נעצוצים Thorns Trees that bear no fruit. Comp. נעצוץ (55:13) thorn.

נהלולים Bushes. Hap. leg.—They will be so many that they will encamp even in uninhabited and desolate places.

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.