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Selected Verse: Isaiah 2:15 - Strong Concordance
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Isa 2:15 |
Strong Concordance |
And upon every high [01364] tower [04026], and upon every fenced [01219] wall [02346], |
|
King James |
And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
tower . . . wall--Towers were often made on the walls of cities.
fenced--strongly fortified. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Every high tower - Towers, or fortresses, were erected for defense and protection. They were made on the walls of cities, for places of observation (compare the note at Isa 21:5), or in places of strength, to be a refuge for an army, and to be a point from which they might sally out to attack their enemies. They were "high" to afford a defense against being scaled by an enemy, and also that from the top they might look abroad for observation; and also to annoy an enemy from the top, when the foe approached the walls of a city.
Every fenced wall - הומה בצוּרה betsûrâh hômâh. The word "fenced," בצוּרה betsûrâh, is from בצר bâtsar, to make inaccessible, and hence, to fortify. It denotes a wall that is inaccessible, or strongly fortified. Cities were commonly surrounded by high and strong walls to defend them from enemies. The sense is, God would overturn all their strong places of refuge and defense. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
The glory of nature is followed by what is lofty and glorious in the world of men, such as magnificent fortifications, grand commercial buildings, and treasures which minister to the lust of the eye. "As upon every high tower, so upon every fortified wall. As upon all ships of Tarshish, so upon all works of curiosity." It was by erecting fortifications for offence and defence, both lofty and steep (bâzur, praeruptus, from bâzar, abrumpere, secernere), that Uzziah and Jotham especially endeavoured to serve Jerusalem and the land at large. The chronicler relates, with reference to Uzziah, in 2 Chron 26, that he built strong towers above "the corner-gate, the valley-gate, and the southern point of the cheesemakers' hollow," and fortified these places, which had probably been till that time the weakest points in Jerusalem; also that he built towers in the desert (probably in the desert between Beersheba and Gaza, to increase the safety of the land, and the numerous flocks which were pastured in the shephelah, i.e., the western portion of southern Palestine). With regard to Jotham, it is related in both the book of Kings (Kg2 15:32.) and the Chronicles, that he built the upper gate of the temple; and in the Chronicles (Ch2 27:1-9) that he fortified the 'Ofel, i.e., the southern spur of the temple hill, still more strongly, and built cities on the mountains of Judah, and erected castles and towers in the forests (to watch for hostile attacks and ward them off). Hezekiah also distinguished himself by building enterprises of this kind (Ch2 32:27-30). But the allusion to the ships of Tarshish takes us to the times of Uzziah and Jotham, and not to those of Hezekiah (as Psa 48:7 does to the time of Jehoshaphat); for the seaport town of Elath, which was recovered by Uzziah, was lost again to the kingdom of Judah during the reign of Ahaz. Jewish ships sailed from this Elath (Ailath) through the Red Sea and round the coast of Africa to the harbour of Tartessus, the ancient Phoenician emporium of the maritime region watered by the Baetis (Guadalquivir), which abounded in silver, and then returned through the Pillars of Hercules (the Straits of Gibraltar: vid., Duncker, Gesch. i. 312-315). It was to these Tartessus vessels that the expression "ships of Tarshish" primarily referred, though it was afterwards probably applied to mercantile ships in general. The following expression, "works of curiosity" (sechiyyoth hachemdah), is taken in far too restricted a sense by those who limit it, as the lxx have done, to the ships already spoken of, or understand it, as Gesenius does, as referring to beautiful flags. Jerome's rendering is correct: "et super omne quod visu pulcrum est" (and upon everything beautiful to look at); seciyyâh, from sâcâh, to look, is sight generally. The reference therefore is to all kinds of works of art, whether in sculpture or paintings (mascith is used of both), which delighted the observer by their imposing, tasteful appearance. Possibly, however, there is a more especial reference to curiosities of art and nature, which were brought by the trading vessels from foreign lands. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
Wall - To which you trusted for your defence. |
5 Prepare [06186] the table [07979], watch [06822] in the watchtower [06844], eat [0398], drink [08354]: arise [06965], ye princes [08269], and anoint [04886] the shield [04043].
7 Thou breakest [07665] the ships [0591] of Tarshish [08659] with an east [06921] wind [07307].
27 And Hezekiah [03169] had exceeding [03966] much [07235] riches [06239] and honour [03519]: and he made [06213] himself treasuries [0214] for silver [03701], and for gold [02091], and for precious [03368] stones [068], and for spices [01314], and for shields [04043], and for all manner of pleasant [02532] jewels [03627];
28 Storehouses [04543] also for the increase [08393] of corn [01715], and wine [08492], and oil [03323]; and stalls [0723] for all manner of beasts [0929], and cotes [0220] for flocks [05739].
29 Moreover he provided [06213] him cities [05892], and possessions [04735] of flocks [06629] and herds [01241] in abundance [07230]: for God [0430] had given [05414] him substance [07399] very [03966] much [07227].
30 This same Hezekiah [03169] also stopped [05640] the upper [05945] watercourse [04161] [04325] of Gihon [01521], and brought it straight [03474] down [04295] to the west side [04628] of the city [05892] of David [01732]. And Hezekiah [03169] prospered [06743] in all his works [04639].
1 Jotham [03147] was twenty [06242] and five [02568] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and he reigned [04427] sixteen [08337] [06240] years [08141] in Jerusalem [03389]. His mother's [0517] name [08034] also was Jerushah [03388], the daughter [01323] of Zadok [06659].
2 And he did [06213] that which was right [03477] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068], according to all that his father [01] Uzziah [05818] did [06213]: howbeit he entered [0935] not into the temple [01964] of the LORD [03068]. And the people [05971] did yet corruptly [07843].
3 He built [01129] the high [05945] gate [08179] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and on the wall [02346] of Ophel [06077] he built [01129] much [07230].
4 Moreover he built [01129] cities [05892] in the mountains [02022] of Judah [03063], and in the forests [02793] he built [01129] castles [01003] and towers [04026].
5 He fought [03898] also with the king [04428] of the Ammonites [05984], and prevailed [02388] against them. And the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] gave [05414] him the same year [08141] an hundred [03967] talents [03603] of silver [03701], and ten [06235] thousand [0505] measures [03734] of wheat [02406], and ten [06235] thousand [0505] of barley [08184]. So much did the children [01121] of Ammon [05983] pay [07725] unto [02063] him, both the second [08145] year [08141], and the third [07992].
6 So Jotham [03147] became mighty [02388], because he prepared [03559] his ways [01870] before [06440] the LORD [03068] his God [0430].
7 Now the rest [03499] of the acts [01697] of Jotham [03147], and all his wars [04421], and his ways [01870], lo, they are written [03789] in the book [05612] of the kings [04428] of Israel [03478] and Judah [03063].
8 He was five [02568] and twenty [06242] years [08141] old [01121] when he began to reign [04427], and reigned [04427] sixteen [08337] [06240] years [08141] in Jerusalem [03389].
9 And Jotham [03147] slept [07901] with his fathers [01], and they buried [06912] him in the city [05892] of David [01732]: and Ahaz [0271] his son [01121] reigned [04427] in his stead.
32 In the second [08147] year [08141] of Pekah [06492] the son [01121] of Remaliah [07425] king [04428] of Israel [03478] began Jotham [03147] the son [01121] of Uzziah [05818] king [04428] of Judah [03063] to reign [04427].