Romans 11:8

Rom 11:8. Ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς πνεῦμα κατανύξεως, ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ μὴ βλέτειν καὶ ὦτα τοῦ μὴ ἀκούειν) Deu 29:4, yet the Lord God hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. Isa 29:10, LXX., πεπότικεν ὑμᾶς Κύριος, πνεύματι κατανύξεως, καὶ καμμύσει τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν κ.τ.λ. The Lord hath made you drunk with the spirit of slumber, and He will shut their eyes, etc. Add Matthew 13 [12,] 14, note. Ἒδωκεν, hath given, by a most righteous judgment, and hath said to them, have.[121]—κατανύξεως) ΚΑΤΆΝΥΞΙς in this passage denotes suffering from frequent pricking, which terminates in stupor. It is taken in a good sense, Act 2:37, and very often among ascetic writers. The Latins use similarly compunctio, compunction.—ἕως, even unto) A tacit limitation, 2Co 3:14.

[121] According as you have chosen. The have, refers to spiritual goods. “From him who hath not (his spiritual privileges to any good purpose) shall be taken away even that he hath.” God gives to men, that which they choose for themselves. You fancy you have, I give you accordingly.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_11:8. This ἐπωρώθησαν ensued in conformity with that which stands written, etc. That which is testified of the hardening of the people in the time of Isaiah, and as early as that of Moses, has its Messianic fulfilment through the hardening of the Jews against the gospel, so that this hardening has taken place καθὼς γέγραπται κ.τ.λ. This prophetic relation is groundlessly denied by Tholuck and Hofmann. The agreement denoted by καθ. γέγρ. is just that of prophecy and fulfilment according to the divine teleology. Comp. Mat_15:7.

In the citation itself, Isa_29:10 (as far as κατανύξ.) and Deu_29:3 (not Isa_6:9) are combined into one saying, and quoted very freely from the LXX. Deuteronomy l.c. has after ἀκούειν: ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης, hence ἕως τῆς σήμ. ἡμ. belongs to the quotation; and the words καθὼς … ἀκούειν must not be put in a parenthesis, as Beza, Wolf, Griesbach, and others have done.

ἔδωκεν] He gave not mere permission (Chrysostom, Theophylact, and many).

πνεῦμα κατανύξεως] Heb. רוּחַ תַּרְדֵּמָה, i.e. a spirit producing stupefaction, which is obviously a daemonic spirit. Comp. 2Co_4:4; Eph_2:2. Elsewhere the LXX. translate תרדמה by ἔκστασις (Gen_2:21; Gen_15:12), or θάμβος (1Sa_26:12), or ἀνδρόγυνον (Pro_19:15). They gave the approximate sense of the word differently according to the connection. But that they understood κατάνυξις actually as stupefaction, intoxication, is clear from Psa_60:5, where they have rendered יַיִן תַּרְעֵלָה, intoxicating wine, by οἶνον κατανύξεως. See in general, Fritzsche, Exc. p. 558 ff. This sense of ΚΑΤΆΝΥΞΙς is explained by the use of ΚΑΤΑΝΎΣΣΕΣΘΑΙ, compungi, in the LXX. and the Apocrypha to express the deep, inward paralyzing shock caused by grief, fear, astonishment, etc., whereby one is stupified and as if struck by a blow (Schleusner, Thes. III. p. 256; comp. on Act_2:37). In classical Greek neither the substantive nor the verb is found. We may add that every derivation is erroneous, which does not go back to νύσσειν (comp. ΝΎΞΙς, Plut. Mor. p. 930 F); nor is it admissible (since Paul certainly knew that κατάν. expressed תרדמה) to seek explanations which depart from the notion of תרדמה. So e.g. Calvin: Spiritum vocat … compunctionis, ubi scilicet quaedam fellis amaritudo se prodit, imo etiam furor in respuenda veritate. Similarly Luther (an embittered spirit) and Melanchthon. Chrysostom, indeed (and Theophylact), hits the thing itself rightly: κατάνυξιν ἐνταῦθα τὴν περὶ τὸ χεῖρον ἕξιν τῆς ψυχῆς φησὶ τὴν ἀνιάτως ἔχουσαν καὶ ἀμεταθέτως, but his analysis of the word: κατανυγῆναι γὰρ οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐστιν ἢ τὸ ἐμπαγῆναι ποῦ καὶ προσηλῶσθαι, is arbitrarily far-fetched.

τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν] A fatally pregnant oxymoron. The genit. is that of the aim: eyes, in order that they may not see, etc. Linguistically correct is also the rendering of Grotius: eyes of not-seeing, i.e. oculos ad videndum ineptos, Fritzsche, comp. Philippi and van Hengel. But the former view corresponds better at once to the original text (LXX. ΟὐΚ ἜΔΩΚΕ … ὈΦΘΑΛΜΟῪς ΒΛΈΠΕΙΝ Κ. ὮΤΑ ἈΚΟΎΕΙΝ) and to the telic ΤΟῦ ΜῊ ΒΛΈΠΕΙΝ, Rom_11:10. Comp. Isa_6:9-10; Joh_12:40; Act_28:27.

ἝΩς Τ. ΣΉΜ. ἩΜΈΡ.] belongs to the whole affirmation ἜΔΩΚΕΝ Κ.Τ.Λ. Thus uninterruptedly God dealt with them. The glance at a future, in which it was to be otherwise (Hofmann), is here (comp. Rom_11:10) still quite remote.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 11:8 ff. This hardening (at the present day Rom 11:5 ) agrees with God’s action toward Israel in the past, as exhibited in Scripture. The words from the O.T. can hardly be called a quotation; Deu 29:4 , Isa 29:10 , Isa 6:9-10 , all contributed something to them. The πνεῦμα κατανύξεως is from Isa 29:10 , and answers to the Heb. רוּחַ תַּרְדֵּמָה , a spirit of deep sleep or torpor. Virtually it is defined by what follows unseeing eyes, unhearing ears: a spirit which produces a condition of insensibility, to which every appeal is vain. κατάνυξις only occurs in LXX, Isa 29:10 , Psa 59:4 ( οἶνον κατανύξεως ); but the verb κατανύσσομαι is used by Theod. in Dan 10:15 to translate נִרְדַּם (cognate to תַּרְדֵּמָה ), and in other places of any overpowering emotion: see Fritzsche ad loc [5] Winer, p. 117. It is God Who sends this spirit of stupor, but He does not send it arbitrarily nor at random: it is always a judgment. ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας : in Deu 29:4 ἕως τῆς ἡ . ταύτης . The change emphasises the fact that what Israel had been from the beginning it was when Paul wrote, and that God had acted toward it from the beginning on the same principle on which He was acting then. Cf. Act 7:51 f. καὶ Δαυεὶδ λέγει : another proof of ἐπωρώθησαν , though strictly speaking a wish or an imprecation cannot prove anything, unless it be assumed that it has been fulfilled, and so can be taken as the description of a fact. Paul takes it for granted that the doom invoked in these words has come upon the Jews. γενηθήτω ἡ τράπεζα αὐτῶν κ . τ . λ . Their table in the psalm is that in which they delight, and it is this which is to prove their ruin. παγίς , θήρα , and σκάνδαλον are all variations of the same idea, that of snare or trap i.e. , sudden destruction. What the Jews delighted in was the law, and the law misunderstood proved their ruin. In seeking a righteousness of their own based upon it they missed and forfeited the righteousness of God which is given to faith in Christ. καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδομα αὐτοῖς : this does not exactly reproduce either the Heb. or the LXX, but it involves the idea that the fate of the Jews is the recompense of their sin not a result to be simply referred to a decree of God. Their perverse attitude to the law is avenged in their incapacity to understand and receive the Gospel. τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν : for this Gen [6] both in Rom 11:8 and Rom 11:10 , see Buttmann, Gram. of N.T. Greek , p. 267 (. tr.). τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διὰ παντὸς σύγκαμψον : keep them continually in spiritual bondage, stooping under a load too heavy to be borne: cf. Act 15:10 .

[5] loc. ad locum , on this passage.

[6] genitive case.

This is the condition in which by God’s act, requiting their own sins, and especially their self-righteous adherence to the law as a way of salvation, the Jews find themselves. It is a condition so grievous, and so remote from what one anticipates for a people chosen by God, that it confronts Paul again with the difficulty of Rom 11:1 , and obliges him to state it once more this time in a way which mitigates its severity, and hints that the fall of Israel is not the last thing concerning them to be taken into account. What if God’s purpose includes and uses their fall? What if it is not final? It is with new ideas of this sort, introduced to take the edge from the stern utterances of Rom 11:8-10 , that Paul deals in Rom 11:11-24 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_11:8

According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, ears that they should not hear. This passage, as is the case with Rom_9:33, is composed of several passages found in the Old Testament. In Isa_6:9, it is said, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; see ye indeed, but perceive not; Isa_6:10, Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears. Deu_29:4, Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. Isa_29:10, For the Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes. The spirit, and to some extent, the language of these passages, Paul cites in support of his argument. They are in part descriptive of what had occurred in the times of the prophets, and in part prophetic of what should hereafter occur, and are therefore applicable to the character and conduct of the Jews during the apostolic age. See Mat_13:14. The design of such citations frequently is to show that what was fulfilled partially in former times, was more perfectly accomplished at a subsequent period. The Jews had often before been hardened, but at no former period were the people so blinded, hardened, and reprobate, as when they rejected the Son of God, and put him to an open shame. It had often been predicted that such should be their state when the Messiah came. The punitive character of the evils here threatened, cannot escape the readers notice. This blindness and hardness were not mere calamities, nor were they simply the natural effects of the sins of the people. They were punitive inflictions. They are so denounced. God says, I will give you eyes that see not. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. The strokes of his justice blind, bewilder, and harden the soul. The words even unto this day, may, as by our translators, be connected with the last words of the preceding verse, The rest were blinded even unto this day. Or they may be considered as a part of the quotation, as they occur in Deu_29:4.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And yet this hardness of heart cometh not but by God’s just decree and judgment, and yet without fault, whom as he so punisheth the unthankful by taking from them all sense and perseverance and by doubling their darkness, that the benefits of God which are offered unto them, do redound to their just destruction.

That is, eyes unjust to see.

A very dead sleep which taketh away all sense.

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

as it is written-- (Isa 29:10; Deu 29:4).

God hath given--"gave"

them the spirit of slumber--"stupor"

unto this day--"this present day."

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 8. God hath given them the spirit of slumber] As they had wilfully closed their eyes against the light, so God has, in judgment, given them up to the spirit of slumber. The very word and revelation of God, which should have awakened their consciences, and opened their eyes and ears, have had a very different effect; and because they did not receive the truth in the love thereof, that which would otherwise have been the savour of life unto life, has become the savour of death unto death; and this continues to the present day.

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

8. Given them has God, etc. There is no doubt, I think, but that the passage quoted here from Isaiah is that which Luke refers to in Acts, as quoted from him, only the words are somewhat altered. Nor does he record here what we find in the Prophet, but only collects from him this sentiment, — that they were imbued from above with the spirit of maliciousness, so that they continued dull in seeing and hearing. The Prophet was indeed bidden to harden the heart of the people: but Paul penetrates to the very fountain, — that brutal stupor seizes on all the senses of men, after they are given up to this madness, so that they excite themselves by virulent stimulants against the truth. For he does not call it the spirit of giddiness, but of compunction, when the bitterness of gall shows itself; yea, when there is also a fury in rejecting the truth. And he declares, that by the secret judgment of God the reprobate are so demented, that being stupified, they are incapable of forming a judgment; for when it is said, that by seeing they see nothing, the dullness of their senses is thereby intimated.

Then Paul himself adds, to this very day, lest any one should object and say, that this prophecy had been formerly fulfilled, and that it was therefore absurd to apply it to the time of the gospel: this objection he anticipates, by subjoining, that it was not only a blindness of one day, which is described, but that it had continued, together with the unhealable obstinacy of the people, to the coming of Christ.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(8) The spirit of slumber.—This phrase, again, has a curious history. Etymologically, the word translated “slumber” would seem to agree better with the marginal rendering, “remorse.” It comes from a root meaning to “prick or cut with a sharp instrument.” There happens to be another root somewhat similar, but certainly not connected, which means “drowsiness,” “slumber.” Hence, where the word in the text has been used to render the Hebrew word for “slumber,” it has been thought that there was a confusion between the two. It appears, however, from the LXX. usage, that the sense of “slumber” had certainly come to attach to the word here used by St. Paul. From the notion of a sharp wound or blow came to be derived that of the bewilderment or stupefaction consequent upon such a blow, and hence it came to signify stupor in general.

The quotation is a free combination of two passages of the LXX. (Isa_29:10, and Deu_29:4), no doubt put together by the Apostle from memory.

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

8. according as it is written] Isa_29:10, and Deu_29:4. (Hebrews , 3.) The two passages combined read thus, from the Heb., “The Lord hath poured out (or spread) over you the spirit of deep sleep, and the Lord hath not given to you eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day:” The unbelief of Israel of old, traced by Moses and Isaiah to the mysterious withholding of grace, is here interpreted by St Paul to be a “prophecy in act” of the unbelief of Israel, and of its cause, in the days of Messiah.—It will be seen that the words “unto this day” are part of the quotation, and that therefore no brackets should be used in this verse. As Moses indicated by them a continuous “hardening” of the mass of the nation in his day, so St Paul takes them to foreshadow the like continuousness in the Gospel age.

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.

According as it is written,.... In Isa 29:10 which passages the apostle seems to refer to, though it is not exactly word for word as here, yet the sense is the same:

God hath given them the spirit of slumber; or of stupidity and insensibility, so that they were as persons in a deep sleep; their senses locked up, without any knowledge of, or concern about, the danger they were in; having no sense of sin, or of the need of a Saviour; or of their being upon the borders of eternal ruin and damnation, or of any ways and means to escape it; but careless and secure, as persons fast asleep in the midst of the sea, or upon the top of a mast, who, when stricken and beaten, feel it not; but if by jogging are awaked at all, immediately return to sleep again, and so sleep the sleep of eternal death:

eyes that they should not see; which being closed by the deep sleep and stupidity of mind they were judicially given up to, could see no beauty in Christ, wherefore they should desire him; none of the glories and excellencies of his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice; noticing amiable and agreeable in his Gospel, and the truths of it; nor had they any light in the prophets of the Old Testament, which were so remarkably fulfilled in him; their minds were blinded, a vail was upon their hearts, and which remains to this day:

and ears that they should not hear; for persons in a sleep, as their eyes are closed that they cannot see, so their ears are stopped that they cannot hear: and thus it was with these Jews, the awful judgment being upon them; they were uncircumcised in heart and ears; they were like the deaf adder, stopping their ears to the charming voice of Christ in the Gospel; and being given up in a judicial way, could neither understand his speech, nor hear his word: and this spirit of stupidity and insensibility, as it appeared in the times of Isaiah, so it continued

unto this day; the then present time, in which the apostle lived; and has continued ever since, at least in part, and will until the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in. These passages, with some others following, are produced by the apostle out of their own prophets, to take off their resentment against him; and lest, he should be thought to be severe upon them, when he said no more of them, but what had been prophesied long before concerning them. So Jarchi on Isa 29:10; says, that Isaiah prophesies , "concerning the transgressors of Israel".

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

8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

Ver. 8. The spirit of slumber] So that with those bears in Pliny they cannot be awakened with the sharpest prickles; and with those asses in Etruria, that feeding upon henbane they lie for dead, and awake not till half-hilded. Such a dead lethargy is now befallen Papists.

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.

According as it is written - That is, they are blinded in accordance with what is written. The fact and the manner accord with the ancient declaration. This is recorded in Isa 29:10, and in Deu 29:4. The same sentiment is found also substantially in Isa 6:9-10. The principal place referred to here, however, is doubtless Isa 29:10, “For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the prophets and your rulers hath he covered.” The quotation is not however literally made either from the Hebrew or the Septuagint; but the sense is preserved. The phrase “according as” means upon the same principle, or in the same manner.

God hath given - Expressions like this are common in the Scriptures, where God is represented as having an agency in producing the wickedness and stupidity of sinners; see Rom 9:17-18; see the Mat 13:15 note; Mar 4:11-12 note; see also 2Th 2:11. This quotation is not made literally. The Hebrew in Isaiah is, God has poured upon them the spirit of slumber. The sense, however, is retained.

The spirit of slumber - The spirit of slumber is not different from slumber itself. The word “spirit” is often used thus. The word “slumber” here is a literal translation of the Hebrew. The Greek word, however κατανύξεως katanuxeōs, implies also the notion of compunction, and hence in the margin it is rendered “remorse.” It means any emotion, or any influence whatever, that shall benumb the faculties, and make them insensible. Hence, it here means simply insensibility.

Eyes that they should not see ... - This expression is not taken literally from any single place in the Old Testament; but expresses the general sense of several passages; Isa 6:10; Deu 29:4. It denotes a state of mind not different from a spirit of slumber. When we sleep, the eyes are insensible to surrounding objects, and the ear to sounds. Though in themselves the organs may be perfect, yet the mind is as though they were not; and we have eyes which then do not see, and ears which do not hear. Thus, with the Jews. Though they had all the proper faculties for understanding and receiving the gospel, yet they rejected it. They were stupid and insensible to its claims and its truths.

Unto this day - Until the day that Paul wrote. The characteristic of the Jews that existed in the time of Isaiah. existed also in the time of Paul. It was a trait of the people; and their insensibility to the demands of the gospel developed nothing new in them.

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

God hath given them, &c. Not by his working, or acting in them; but by his permission, and by withdrawing his grace in punishment of their obstinacy. (Challoner) --- Permitted them (says St. John Chrysostom) to fall into the spirit of insensibility. Literally, the spirit of [1] compunction. Compunction is not here taken, as in some spiritual writers, for a great sorrow for sins. In the Latin Vulgate (Isaias vi. 9.) it is called the spirit of slumber, as in the Protestant translation. We cannot have a better judge of the sense of the word than St. John Chrysostom, who tells us, that it signifies a habit of the soul, firmly fixed in evil, and an insensible disposition: as, saith he, persons under a pious compunction are not to be removed from their good resolutions; so the wicked, under a hardened compunction, are nailed, as it were, to vice. And that here this is the true sense, appears by the following words out of Isaias: he hath given them eyes that they should not see, &c. And also out of David, (Psalm lxviii. 23.) let their table be made a snare, &c. We may understand the spiritual food of the word of God, and of the Scriptures; which by the blindness of this people, have served to their great condemnation. --- And a recompense, that is, for a just punishment of their obstinacy. --- And bow down their back always, a metaphor to represent the condition of such, as are under heavy oppressions. (Witham) --- Although by bending their back is literally understood the yoke of servitude and captivity, with which the Jews were oppressed at the destruction of Jerusalem; yet it seems more conformable to the apostle’s meaning, when considered in a spiritual sense, and then it will signify the insensibility of the Jews, as to heavenly things, and their anxious solicitude for the things of the earth. This their avaricious and carnal disposition was so manifest, that the poet said of them--- O curvæ in terram animæ et cœlestium inanes.--- (Estius)

===============================

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Spiritum compunctionis; Greek: pneuma katanuxeos. In the Latin Vulgate, Isaias xxix. 10, the same Greek words are translated, spiritum soporis; the spirit of slumber. See Mr. Legh, Crit. Sacr. on the word Greek: katanusso. St. John Chrysostom, Greek: om ith. p. 163. Greek: katanuxin, entautha ten peri to cheiron exin tes psuches, &c. See Corn. a Lap. S. Chrys. in the same place; Greek: katanugenai gar ouden eteron esti to empagenai, kai proselosthai.

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).

It is written; viz. in Isa 6:9; 29:10.

The spirit of slumber; the word signifieth, such a dead sleep, as those have, who are pricked or stung with venomous beasts, out of which they hardly or never awake.

Unto this day: q.d. So it was of old, and so it is still. Or else these words (the former being included in a parenthesis) may be joined with the last words of the foregoing verse, thus, the rest were blinded unto this day.

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

8. God hath given them—Because they would have it from him; just as God gives stupor and death to the man who swallows a large dose of laudanum. But he does this purely as the God of nature, carrying out the established laws of cause and effect. So upon the man who swallows moral opiates in order to a false repose, and who silences the voice of truth that he may not be awakened, God, sustaining the laws of cause and effect, will bestow the spirit of slumber. (See note on Act_28:26.)

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

Vers. 8-10. According as it is written, God gave them a spirit of slumber (rather, stupor. The word is katanuxiv , cited from Isa_29:10 in the LXX Cf. Psa_60:3, where the LXX has oinon katanuxewv . It is from the verb which means katanussein , properly "to prick". (see Act_2:37, katenughsan th kardia) The noun seems to have got its sense as above from the idea of a pricking shock, causing stupefaction, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. The references in ver. 8 are a combination of Deu_29:3 and Isa_29:10, quoted freely from the LXX; that in ver. 9 is to Psa_69:23, Psa_69:24, also quoted freely. (For similar combination and free quotation of texts, so as to bring out Old Testament ideas, cf. Rom_3:10-19 Rom_9:32, Rom_9:33) It is not necessary that the passages here referred to should be regarded as directly prophetic of the time of Christ. It is enough for the purpose of the argument that God"s people should be shown to be liable to the state of stupefaction described, without ceasing to be his people. And so the thought, which has been in view all along, is now taken up, of the present hardening of Israel as a nation not being intended to be permanent.

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

God hath at length withdrawn his Spirit, and so given them up to a spirit of slumber; which is fulfilled unto this day. Isaiah xxix, 10

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

God

Jehovah. Isa 29:10.

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

according as it is written [ Isa_29:10 ; Eze_12:2 ; Deu_29:4 ], God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this very day . [As the passage quoted is a combination of Isaiah and Deuteronomy, and is found in part also in Ezekiel, it suggests that the spirit of stupor, deafness and blindness characterized the course of Israel from beginning to end; and it was therefore to be guarded against as a chronic sin. Katanuxis (stupor) may be derived from katanussoo (Fritsche, Meyer), which means to prick or sting, and hence, as in bites of reptiles, etc., to cause stupefaction; or it may come from katanuzoo (Volkmar), which means to bend the head in order to sleep, to fall asleep. It is used in Psa_60:3 ; where it is translated "wine of staggering," though Hammond contends that the passage refers to the stupefying wine given to them who were to be put to death. It means, then, that condition of stupor, or intellectual numbness, which is almost wholly insensate; for the term "spirit" means a pervading tendency. "Such expressions," says Gifford, "as 'the spirit of heaviness' ( Isa_61:3 ), 'a spirit of meekness' ( 1Co_4:21 ), 'the spirit of bondage' ( Rom_8:15 ), show that 'spirit' is used for the pervading tendency and tone of mind, the special character of which is denoted by the genitive which follows."]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. As it is written. Isaiah 29:10. The deep sleep spoken of by the prophet was sent because Israel abused its opportunities. They who love darkness will finally be left in darkness.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

8. καθάπερ γέγρ. Isa 29:10, Deu 29:4, a free conflation.

πνεῦμα κατανύξεως, καταν. Isa. l.c[214] Psa 9:3 only. ‘Torpor’ seems to be the meaning of the noun, but is not easily paralleled by the uses of the verb (Isa 6:5, Dan 10:15 are nearest): perhaps produced by the influence of κατανυστάζω, cf. S. H. n., Field. In any case the idea is of the dulling of the spiritual sense as in ἐπωρώθησαν.

[214] l.c. locus citatus

ὀφθ. κ.τ.λ. Cf. Mar 4:12 qu. Isa 6:9 f.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8.] but the rest were hardened (not ‘blinded;’ see note on Eph 4:18:—σκληροτέραν ἡ ἀπιστία τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἀπειργάσατο. Theodoret. It is passive, and implies God as the agent. This for the sake of the context, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς κ.τ.λ., not necessarily for the meaning of the word itself, which might indicate ‘became hard,’ but certainly does not here),—as it is written (if we are to regard these passages as merely analogous instances of the divine dealings, we must remember that the perspective of prophecy, in stating such cases, embraces all analogous ones, the divine dealings being self-consistent,—and especially that great one, in which the words are most prominently fulfilled), God gave to them (LXX and Heb., πεπότικεν ὑμᾶς) a spirit (see reff.) of stupor (there is at the end of Fritzsche’s commentary on this chapter an elaborate excursus on κατάνυξις, in which he has thoroughly investigated its derivation and meaning. He comes to the conclusion that it is derived from κατανύσσω, ‘compungo,’ and might signify any excitement of mind, pity, sadness, &c.,—but in the few places where it occurs, it does import stupor or numbness:—so ref. Ps. ἐπότισας ἡμᾶς οἶνον κατανύξεως,—which Hammond explains to mean the stupifying wine given to them that were to be put to death. Hamm. also cites from Marcus Eremita, νουθες. ψυχ. p. 948, a passage where he describes πόνον τῆς κατανύξεως as the consequence of οἰνοποσίαι. Tholuck compares the similar meanings of ‘frappé,’ struck, betroffen),—eyes that they should not see (such eyes that they might not see: in the Heb. and LXX the negative is joined with the verb, καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν κύριος ὁ θ. ὑμῶν κ.τ.λ.) and ears that they should not hear unto this present day. These last words are not, as Beza, E. V., Griesb., Knapp, to be separated from the citation, and joined to ἐπωρώθησαν: they belong to the words in Deut. and are adduced by St. Paul as applying to the day then present, as they did to the day when Moses spoke them: see 2Co 3:15.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. καθὼς γέγραπται. St. Paul supports and explains his last statement οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐπωρώθησαν by quotations from the O. T. The first which in form resembles Deu 29:4, modified by Isa 29:10; Isa 6:9, Isa 6:10, describes the spiritual dulness or torpor of which the prophet accuses the Israelites. This he says had been given them by God as a punishment for their faithlessness. These words will equally well apply to the spiritual condition of the Apostle’s own time, showing that it is not inconsistent with the position of Israel as God’s people, and suggesting a general law of God’s dealing with them.

The following extracts, in which the words that St. Paul has made use of are printed in spaced type, will give the source of the quotation. Deu 29:4 καὶ οὐκ ἓδωκεν Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῖν καρδίαν εἰδέναι καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς βλέπειν καὶ ὦτα ἀκούειν ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης. Isa 29:10 ὅτι πεπότικεν ὑμᾶς Κύριος πνεύματι κατανύξεως: cf. Isa 6:9, Isa 6:10 ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. … καὶ εἶπα Ἓως πότε, Κύριε; While the form resembles the words in Deut., the historical situation and meaning of the quotation are represented by the passages in Isaiah to which St. Paul is clearly referring.

πνεῦμα κατανύξεως: ‘a spirit of torpor,’ a state of dull insensibility to everything spiritual, such as would be produced by drunkenness, or stupor. Isa 29:10 (RV.) ‘For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath He covered.’

The word κατάνυξις is derived from κατανύσσομαι. The simple verb νύσσω is used to mean to ‘prick’ or ‘strike’ or ‘dint.’ The compound verb would mean, (1) to ‘strike’ or ‘prick violently,’ and hence (2) to ‘stun’; no instance is quoted of it in its primary sense, but it is common (3) especially in the LXX of strong emotions, of the prickings of lust Susan. 10 (Theod.); of strong grief Gen 34:7; Ecclus. 14:1; and so Act 2:37 κατενύγησαν τῇ καρδίᾳ of being strongly moved by speaking. Then (4) it is used of the stunning effect of such emotion which results in speechlessness: Isa 6:5 ὢ τάλας ἐγὼ ὄτι κατανένυγμαι: Dan 10:15 ἔδωκα τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ κατενύγην, and so the general idea of torpor would be derived. The noun κατάνυξις appears to occur only twice, Isa 29:10 πνεῦμα κατανύξεως, 59:4[4]οἶνον κατανύξεως. In the former case it clearly means ‘torpor’ or ‘deep sleep,’ as both the context and the Hebrew show, in the latter case probably so. It may be noticed that this definite meaning of ‘torpor’ or ‘deep sleep’ which is found in the noun cannot be exactly paralleled in the verb; and it may be suggested that a certain confusion existed with the verb νυστάξω, which means ‘to nod in sleep,’ ‘be drowsy,’ just as the meaning of ἐριθεία was influenced by its resemblance to ἔρις (cf. 2:8). On the word generally see Fri. ii. p. 558 ff.

ἔως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας: cf. Act 7:51 ‘Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did so do ye.’ St. Stephen’s speech illustrates more in detail the logical assumptions which underlie St. Paul’s quotations. The chosen people have from the beginning shown the same obstinate adherence to their own views and a power of resisting the Holy Ghost; and God has throughout punished them for their obstinacy by giving them over to spiritual blindness.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is written. Three quotations follow, two of which we blended in this verse : Isa 29:10; Deu 29:3. 55 Hath given [οδωκεν] . Heb., poured out. Sept., given to drink.

Slumber [κατανυξεως] . Heb., deep sleep. Only here in the New Testament. Lit., pricking or piercing, compunction. Compare the kindred verb katenughsan were pricked, Act 2:37. Rev. renders stupor, the secondary meaning; properly the stupefaction following a wound or blow.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vv. 8. Holy Scripture had already either witnessed to an operation of God in this direction in certain cases, or had raised the foreboding of it in regard to the Jews. So when Moses said to the people after their exodus from Egypt, Deu 29:4 : “The Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” And yet (Rom 11:2) “they had seen all that the Lord did before their eyes.” All the wonders wrought in the wilderness they had seen in a sort without seeing them; they had heard the daily admonitions of Moses without hearing them, because they were under the weight of a spirit of insensibility; and this judgment which had weighed on them during the forty years of their rejection in the wilderness continued still at the time when Moses spoke to them in the plains of Moab, when they were preparing to enter Canaan: until this day. In quoting this remarkable saying, Paul modifies it slightly; for the first words: “God hath not given you a heart to perceive,” he substitutes a somewhat different expression, which he borrows from Isa 29:10 : “The Lord hath poured upon you the spirit of deep sleep.” The negative form of which Moses had made use (“God hath not given you”...) perfectly suited the epoch when this long judgment was about to close: “God hath not yet bestowed on you this gracious gift to this day; but He is about to grant it at length!” While, when the apostle wrote, the affirmative form used by Isaiah to express the same idea was much more appropriate: “God hath poured out on you”...The state of Israel indeed resembled in all respects that of the people when in Isaiah’s time they ran blindfold into the punishment of captivity. Hence it is that Paul prefers for those first words the form of Isaiah to that of Moses.

There is something paradoxical in the expression: a spirit of torpor; for usually the spirit rouses and awakens, instead of rendering insensible. But God can also put in operation a paralyzing force. It is so when He wills for a time to give over a man who perseveres in resisting Him to a blindness such that he punishes himself as it were with his own hand; see the example of Pharaoh (Rom 9:17) and that of Saul (1Sa 18:10).

The term κατάνυξις, which is ordinarily translated by stupefaction, and which we prefer to render by the word torpor, may be explained etymologically in two ways: Either it is derived from νύσσω, the act of piercing, rending, striking, whence there would result, when the blow is violent, a state of stupor and momentary insensibility; or it is taken to be from νύω, νύζω, νυστάζω, to bend the head in order to sleep, whence: to fall asleep. It is perhaps in this second sense that the LXX. have taken it, who use it pretty frequently, as in our passage, to translate the Hebrew term mardema, deep sleep. This second derivation is learnedly combated by Fritzsche; but it has again quite recently been defended by Volkmar. If we bring into close connection, as St. Paul does here, the saying of Isaiah with that of Deuteronomy, we must prefer the notion of torpor or stupor to that of sleep; for the subject in question in the context is not a man who is sleeping, but one who, while having his eyes open and seeing, sees not.

The works of God have two aspects, the one external, the material fact; the other internal, the divine thought contained in the fact. And thus it comes about, that when the eye of the soul is paralyzed, one may see those works without seeing them; comp. Isa 6:10; Mat 13:14-15; Joh 12:40, etc.

The apostle adds in the following verses a second quotation, taken from Psa 69:22-23.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.