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Selected Verse: Isaiah 17:4 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 17:4	Strong Concordance	And in that day [03117] it shall come to pass, that the glory [03519] of Jacob [03290] shall be made thin [01809], and the fatness [04924] of his flesh [01320] shall wax lean [07329].
	King James	And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
glory of Jacob--the kingdom of Ephraim and all that they rely on (Hos 12:2; Mic 1:5). fatness . . . lean--(See on Isa 10:16).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

glory of Jacob--the kingdom of Ephraim and all that they rely on (Hos 12:2; Mic 1:5).

fatness . . . lean--(See on Isa 10:16).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
The glory of Jacob - "Jacob" is used here to denote the kingdom of Israel, or Samaria. The word 'glory' here denotes dignity, power; that on which they relied, and of which they boasted. Shall be made thin - Shall be diminished, as a body wastes away by disease, and becomes feeble. The prophet sets forth the calamities of Ephraim by two figures; the first is that of a "body" that becomes emaciated by sickness, the other that of the harvest when all the fruits are gathered except a few in the upper branches Isa 17:5-6. And the fatness his flesh shall wax lean - He shall become feeble, as a man does by wasting sickness. Chaldee, 'The riches of his glory shall be removed.'

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Second turn: "And it comes to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob wastes away, and the fat of his flesh grows thin. And it will be as when a reaper grasps the stalks of wheat, and his arm mows off the ears; and it will be as with one who gathers together ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet a gleaning remains from it, as at the olive-beating: two, three berries high up at the top; four, five in its, the fruit tree's, branches, saith Jehovah the God of Israel. At that day will man look up to his Creator, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the Astartes nor the sun-gods." This second turn does not speak of Damascus, but simply of Israel, and in fact of all Israel, the range of vision widening out from Israel in the more restricted sense, so as to embrace the whole. It will all disappear, with the exception of a small remnant; but the latter will return. Thus "a remnant will return," the law of Israel's history, which is here shown first of all in its threatening aspect, and then in its more promising one. The reputation and prosperity to which the two kingdoms were raised by Jeroboam II and Uzziah would pass away. Israel was ripe for judgment, like a field of corn for the harvest; and it would be as when a reaper grasps the stalks that have shot up, and cuts off the ears. קציר is not used elliptically for קציר אישׁ (Gesenius), nor is it a definition of time (Luzzatto), nor an accusative of the object (Knobel), but a noun formed like נביא, פליל, פריץ, and used in the sense of reaper (kōtzēr in other cases). (Note: Instead of kâtzar (to cut off, or shorten), they now say kâratz in the whole of the land to the east of the Jordan, which gives the idea of sawing off - a much more suitable one where the Syrian sickle is used.) The figure suggested here is more fully expanded in John 4 and Rev 14. Hardly a single one will escape the judgment: just as in the broad plain of Rephaim, which slopes off to the south-west of Jerusalem as far as Bethlehem, where it is covered with rich fields of wheat, the collectors of ears leave only one or two ears lying scattered here and there. Nevertheless a gleaning of Israel ("in it," viz., in Jacob, Isa 17:4; Isa 10:22) will be left, just as when the branches of the olive tree, which have been already cleared with the hand, are still further shaken with a stick, there still remain a few olives upon the highest branch (two, three; cf., Kg2 9:32), or concealed under the foliage of the branches. "Its, the fruit tree's, branches:" this is an elegant expression, as, for example, in Pro 14:13; the carrying over of the ה to the second word is very natural in both passages (see Ges. 121, b). This small remnant will turn with stedfast gaze to the living God, as is becoming in man as such (hâ'âdâm), and not regard the idols as worthy of any look at all, at least of any reverential look. As hammânim are here images of the sun-god חמן בעל, which is well known from the Phoenician monuments, (Note: See Levy, Phnizisches Wrterbuch (1864), p. 19; and Otto Strauss on Nahum, p. xxii. ss.) 'ashērim (for which we find, though more rarely, 'ashēroth) apparently signifies images of the moon-goddess. And the combination of "Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven" in Kg2 23:4, as well as the surname "queen of heaven" in Jer 7:18; Jer 44:18-19, appears to require this (Knobel). But the latest researches have proved that 'Ashērâh is rather the Semitic Aphrodite, and therefore the planet Venus, which was called the "little luck" (es-sa‛d el-as'gar) (Note: See Krehl, Religion der vorislamischen Araber (1863), p. 11.) by the Arabs, in distinction from Musteri (Jupiter), (Note: This was the tutelar deity of Damascus; see Comm. on Job, Appendix.) or "the great luck." And with this the name 'Asherah the "lucky" (i.e., the source of luck or prosperity) and the similar surname given to the Assyrian Istar agree; (Note: "Ishtar," says Rawlinson in his Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, - a work which challenges criticism through its dazzling results - "Ishtar is the goddess who rejoices mankind, and her most common epithet is Amra, 'the fortunate' or 'the happy.' But otherwise her epithets are vague and general, insomuch that she is often scarcely distinguishable from Beltis (the wife of Bel-Nimrod)." Vid., vol. i. p. 175 (1862).) for 'Asherah is the very same goddess as 'Ashtoreth, whose name is thoroughly Arian, and apparently signifies the star (Ved. stir = star; Zend. stare; Neo-Pers. sitâre, used chiefly for the morning star), although Rawlinson (without being able to suggest any more acceptable interpretation) speaks of this view as "not worthy of much attention." (Note: The planet Venus, according to a Midrash relating to Gen 6:1-2, is 'Istehar transferred to the sky; and this is the same as Zuhare (see Geiger, Was hat Muhammed, etc. 1833, pp. 107-109).) Thus Asherim is used to signify the bosquets (shrubberies) or trees dedicated to the Semitic Aphrodite (Deu 16:21; compare the verbs used to signify their removal, גדע, כרת, נתשׁ); but here it probably refers to her statues or images (Note: The plural Ashtaroth, Hathors, which occurs upon Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, has a different meaning.) (Kg2 21:7; compare the miphletzeth in Kg1 15:13, which is used to denote an obscene exhibition). For these images of the sun-god and of the goddess of the morning star, the remnant of Israel, that has been purified by the smelting furnace of judgment, has no longer any eye. Its looks are exclusively directed to the one true God of man. The promise, which here begins to dawn at the close of the second turn, is hidden again in the third, though only to break forth again in the fourth with double or triple intensity.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Second turn: "And it comes to pass in that day, the glory of Jacob wastes away, and the fat of his flesh grows thin. And it will be as when a reaper grasps the stalks of wheat, and his arm mows off the ears; and it will be as with one who gathers together ears in the valley of Rephaim. Yet a gleaning remains from it, as at the olive-beating: two, three berries high up at the top; four, five in its, the fruit tree's, branches, saith Jehovah the God of Israel. At that day will man look up to his Creator, and his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel. And he will not look to the altars, the work of his hands; and what his fingers have made he will not regard, neither the Astartes nor the sun-gods." This second turn does not speak of Damascus, but simply of Israel, and in fact of all Israel, the range of vision widening out from Israel in the more restricted sense, so as to embrace the whole. It will all disappear, with the exception of a small remnant; but the latter will return. Thus "a remnant will return," the law of Israel's history, which is here shown first of all in its threatening aspect, and then in its more promising one. The reputation and prosperity to which the two kingdoms were raised by Jeroboam II and Uzziah would pass away. Israel was ripe for judgment, like a field of corn for the harvest; and it would be as when a reaper grasps the stalks that have shot up, and cuts off the ears. קציר is not used elliptically for קציר אישׁ (Gesenius), nor is it a definition of time (Luzzatto), nor an accusative of the object (Knobel), but a noun formed like נביא, פליל, פריץ, and used in the sense of reaper (kōtzēr in other cases).

(Note: Instead of kâtzar (to cut off, or shorten), they now say kâratz in the whole of the land to the east of the Jordan, which gives the idea of sawing off - a much more suitable one where the Syrian sickle is used.)

The figure suggested here is more fully expanded in John 4 and Rev 14. Hardly a single one will escape the judgment: just as in the broad plain of Rephaim, which slopes off to the south-west of Jerusalem as far as Bethlehem, where it is covered with rich fields of wheat, the collectors of ears leave only one or two ears lying scattered here and there.

Nevertheless a gleaning of Israel ("in it," viz., in Jacob, Isa 17:4; Isa 10:22) will be left, just as when the branches of the olive tree, which have been already cleared with the hand, are still further shaken with a stick, there still remain a few olives upon the highest branch (two, three; cf., Kg2 9:32), or concealed under the foliage of the branches. "Its, the fruit tree's, branches:" this is an elegant expression, as, for example, in Pro 14:13; the carrying over of the ה to the second word is very natural in both passages (see Ges. 121, b). This small remnant will turn with stedfast gaze to the living God, as is becoming in man as such (hâ'âdâm), and not regard the idols as worthy of any look at all, at least of any reverential look. As hammânim are here images of the sun-god חמן בעל, which is well known from the Phoenician monuments,

(Note: See Levy, Phnizisches Wrterbuch (1864), p. 19; and Otto Strauss on Nahum, p. xxii. ss.)

'ashērim (for which we find, though more rarely, 'ashēroth) apparently signifies images of the moon-goddess. And the combination of "Baal, Asherah, and all the host of heaven" in Kg2 23:4, as well as the surname "queen of heaven" in Jer 7:18; Jer 44:18-19, appears to require this (Knobel). But the latest researches have proved that 'Ashērâh is rather the Semitic Aphrodite, and therefore the planet Venus, which was called the "little luck" (es-sa‛d el-as'gar)

(Note: See Krehl, Religion der vorislamischen Araber (1863), p. 11.)

by the Arabs, in distinction from Musteri (Jupiter),

(Note: This was the tutelar deity of Damascus; see Comm. on Job, Appendix.)

or "the great luck." And with this the name 'Asherah the "lucky" (i.e., the source of luck or prosperity) and the similar surname given to the Assyrian Istar agree;

(Note: "Ishtar," says Rawlinson in his Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, - a work which challenges criticism through its dazzling results - "Ishtar is the goddess who rejoices mankind, and her most common epithet is Amra, 'the fortunate' or 'the happy.' But otherwise her epithets are vague and general, insomuch that she is often scarcely distinguishable from Beltis (the wife of Bel-Nimrod)." Vid., vol. i. p. 175 (1862).)

for 'Asherah is the very same goddess as 'Ashtoreth, whose name is thoroughly Arian, and apparently signifies the star (Ved. stir = star; Zend. stare; Neo-Pers. sitâre, used chiefly for the morning star), although Rawlinson (without being able to suggest any more acceptable interpretation) speaks of this view as "not worthy of much attention."

(Note: The planet Venus, according to a Midrash relating to Gen 6:1-2, is 'Istehar transferred to the sky; and this is the same as Zuhare (see Geiger, Was hat Muhammed, etc. 1833, pp. 107-109).)

Thus Asherim is used to signify the bosquets (shrubberies) or trees dedicated to the Semitic Aphrodite (Deu 16:21; compare the verbs used to signify their removal, גדע, כרת, נתשׁ); but here it probably refers to her statues or images

(Note: The plural Ashtaroth, Hathors, which occurs upon Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, has a different meaning.)

(Kg2 21:7; compare the miphletzeth in Kg1 15:13, which is used to denote an obscene exhibition). For these images of the sun-god and of the goddess of the morning star, the remnant of Israel, that has been purified by the smelting furnace of judgment, has no longer any eye. Its looks are exclusively directed to the one true God of man. The promise, which here begins to dawn at the close of the second turn, is hidden again in the third, though only to break forth again in the fourth with double or triple intensity.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
In that day - That is, says Kimchi, the time when the ten tribes of Israel, which were the glory of Jacob, should be carried into captivity.

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¹⁶ Therefore shall the Lord [0113], the Lord [0136] [03068] of hosts [06635], send [07971] among his fat ones [04924] leanness [07332]; and under his glory [03519] he shall kindle [03344] a burning [03350] like the burning of a fire [0784].

⁵ For the transgression [06588] of Jacob [03290] is all this, and for the sins [02403] of the house [01004] of Israel [03478]. What is the transgression [06588] of Jacob [03290]? is it not Samaria [08111]? and what are the high places [01116] of Judah [03063]? are they not Jerusalem [03389]?

² The LORD [03068] hath also a controversy [07379] with Judah [03063], and will punish [06485] Jacob [03290] according to his ways [01870]; according to his doings [04611] will he recompense [07725] him.

⁵ And it shall be as when the harvestman [07105] gathereth [0622] the corn [07054], and reapeth [07114] the ears [07641] with his arm [02220]; and it shall be as he that gathereth [03950] ears [07641] in the valley [06010] of Rephaim [07497].
⁶ Yet gleaning grapes [05955] shall be left [07604] in it, as the shaking [05363] of an olive tree [02132], two [08147] or three [07969] berries [01620] in the top [07218] of the uppermost bough [0534], four [0702] or five [02568] in the outmost fruitful [06509] branches [05585] thereof, saith [05002] the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478].

¹³ And also Maachah [04601] his mother [0517], even her he removed [05493] from being queen [01377], because she had made [06213] an idol [04656] in a grove [0842]; and Asa [0609] destroyed [03772] her idol [04656], and burnt [08313] it by the brook [05158] Kidron [06939].

⁷ And he set [07760] a graven image [06459] of the grove [0842] that he had made [06213] in the house [01004], of which the LORD [03068] said [0559] to David [01732], and to Solomon [08010] his son [01121], In this house [01004], and in Jerusalem [03389], which I have chosen [0977] out of all tribes [07626] of Israel [03478], will I put [07760] my name [08034] for ever [05769]:

²¹ Thou shalt not plant [05193] thee a grove [0842] of any trees [06086] near unto [0681] the altar [04196] of the LORD [03068] thy God [0430], which thou shalt make [06213] thee.

¹ And it came to pass, when men [0120] began [02490] to multiply [07231] on [05921] the face [06440] of the earth [0127], and daughters [01323] were born [03205] unto them,
² That the sons [01121] of God [0430] saw [07200] the daughters [01323] of men [0120] that they [02007] were fair [02896]; and they took [03947] them wives [0802] of all which they chose [0977].

¹⁸ But since we left off [02308] to burn incense [06999] to the queen [04446] of heaven [08064], and to pour out [05258] drink offerings [05262] unto her, we have wanted [02637] all things, and have been consumed [08552] by the sword [02719] and by the famine [07458].
¹⁹ And when we burned incense [06999] to the queen [04446] of heaven [08064], and poured out [05258] drink offerings [05262] unto her, did we make [06213] her cakes [03561] to worship [06087] her, and pour out [05258] drink offerings [05262] unto her, without [01107] our men [0582]?

¹⁸ The children [01121] gather [03950] wood [06086], and the fathers [01] kindle [01197] the fire [0784], and the women [0802] knead [03888] their dough [01217], to make [06213] cakes [03561] to the queen [04446] of heaven [08064], and to pour out [05258] drink offerings [05262] unto other [0312] gods [0430], that they may provoke me to anger [03707].

⁴ And the king [04428] commanded [06680] Hilkiah [02518] the high [01419] priest [03548], and the priests [03548] of the second order [04932], and the keepers [08104] of the door [05592], to bring forth [03318] out of the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068] all the vessels [03627] that were made [06213] for Baal [01168], and for the grove [0842], and for all the host [06635] of heaven [08064]: and he burned [08313] them without [02351] Jerusalem [03389] in the fields [07709] of Kidron [06939], and carried [05375] the ashes [06083] of them unto Bethel [01008].

¹³ Even in laughter [07814] the heart [03820] is sorrowful [03510]; and the end [0319] of that mirth [08057] is heaviness [08424].

³² And he lifted up [05375] his face [06440] to the window [02474], and said [0559], Who is on my side? who? And there looked out [08259] to him two [08147] or three [07969] eunuchs [05631].

²² For though thy people [05971] Israel [03478] be as the sand [02344] of the sea [03220], yet a remnant [07605] of them shall return [07725]: the consumption [03631] decreed [02782] shall overflow [07857] with righteousness [06666].

⁴ And in that day [03117] it shall come to pass, that the glory [03519] of Jacob [03290] shall be made thin [01809], and the fatness [04924] of his flesh [01320] shall wax lean [07329].