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Selected Verse: Isaiah 22:8 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 22:8	Strong Concordance	And he discovered [01540] the covering [04539] of Judah [03063], and thou didst look [05027] in that day [03117] to the armour [05402] of the house [01004] of the forest [03293].
	King James	And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.

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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]
he discovered the covering--rather, "the veil of Judah shall be taken off" [HORSLEY]: figuratively for, exposing to shame as a captive (Isa 47:3; Nah 3:5). Sennacherib dismantled all "the defensed cities of Judah" (Isa 36:1). thou didst look--rather, "thou shalt look." house of . . . forest--The house of armory built of cedar from the forest of Lebanon by Solomon, on a slope of Zion called Ophel (Kg1 7:2; Kg1 10:17; Neh 3:19). Isaiah says (Isa 22:8-13) his countrymen will look to their own strength to defend themselves, while others of them will drown their sorrows as to their country in feasting, but none will look to Jehovah.

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

he discovered the covering--rather, "the veil of Judah shall be taken off" [HORSLEY]: figuratively for, exposing to shame as a captive (Isa 47:3; Nah 3:5). Sennacherib dismantled all "the defensed cities of Judah" (Isa 36:1).

thou didst look--rather, "thou shalt look."

house of . . . forest--The house of armory built of cedar from the forest of Lebanon by Solomon, on a slope of Zion called Ophel (Kg1 7:2; Kg1 10:17; Neh 3:19). Isaiah says (Isa 22:8-13) his countrymen will look to their own strength to defend themselves, while others of them will drown their sorrows as to their country in feasting, but none will look to Jehovah.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And he discovered - Hebrew, ויגל vayegal - 'He made naked, or bare.' The expression, 'He discovered,' means simply that it "was" uncovered, without designating the agent. The covering of Judah - The word used here (מסך mâsak) denotes properly "a covering," and is applied to the "curtain" or veil that was before the tabernacle Exo 26:36; Exo 39:38; and to the curtain that was before the gate of the court Exo 35:17; Exo 39:40. The Septuagint understands it of the "gates" of Judah, 'They revealed the gates (τὰς πύλας tas pulas) of Judah.' Many have understood it of the defenses, ramparts, or fortifications of Judah, meaning that they were laid open to public view, that is, were demolished. But the more probable meaning, perhaps, is, that the invading army exposed Judah to every kind of reproach; stripped off everything that was designed to be ornamental in the land; and thus, by the figure of exposing one to reproach and shame by stripping off all his clothes, exposed Judah in every part to reproach. Sennacherib actually came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them and dismantled them Kg2 18:13; Isa 36:1. The land was thus laid bare, and unprotected. And thou didst look - Thou Judah; or the king of Judah. Thou didst cast thine eyes to that armory as the last resort, and as the only hope of defense. To the armor - Or rather, perhaps, the "armory, the arsenal" (נשׁק nesheq). The Septuagint renders it, 'To the choice houses of the city' (compare Neh 3:19). Of the house of the forest - This was built within the city, and was called the house of the forest of Lebanon, probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in building it Kg1 7:2-8. In this house, Solomon laid up large quantities of munitions of war Kg1 10:16-17; and this vast storehouse was now the principal reliance of Hezekiah against the invading forces of Sennacherib.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
When Judah, after being for a long time intoxicated with hope, shall become aware of the extreme danger in which it is standing, it will adopt prudent measures, but without God. "Then he takes away the covering of Judah, and thou lookest in that day to the store of arms of the forest-house; and ye see the breaches of the city of David, that there are many of them; and ye collect together the waters of the lower pool. And ye number the houses of Jerusalem, and pull down the houses, to fortify the wall. And ye make a basin between the two walls for the waters of the old pool; and ye do not look to Him who made it, neither do ye have regard to Him who fashioned it long ago." Mâsâk is the curtain or covering which made Judah blind to the threatening danger. Their looks are now directed first of all to the forest-house, built by Solomon upon Zion for the storing and display of valuable arms and utensils (nēshĕk, or rather, according to the Masora on Job 20:24, and the older editions, nĕshĕk), and so called because it rested upon four rows of cedar columns that ran all round (it was in the centre of the fore-court of the royal palace; see Thenius, das vorexil. Jerusalem, p. 13). They also noticed in the city of David, the southern and highest portion of the city of Jerusalem, the bad state of the walls, and began to think of repairing them. To this end they numbered the houses of the city, to obtain building materials for strengthening the walls and repairing the breaches, by pulling down such houses as were suitable for the purpose, and could be dispensed with (vattithtzu, from nâthatz, with the removal of the recompensative reduplication). The lower pool and the old pool, probably the upper, i.e., the lower and upper Gihon, were upon the western side of the city, the lower (Birket es-Sultan) to the west of Sion, the upper (Birket el-Mamilla) farther up to the west of Akra (Robinson, i. 483-486; V. Raumer, Pal. pp. 305-6). Kibbētz either means to collect in the pool by stopping up the outflow, or to gather together in the reservoirs and wells of the city by means of artificial canals. The latter, however, would most probably be expressed by אסף; so that the meaning that most naturally suggests itself is, that they concentrate the water, so as to be able before the siege to provide the city as rapidly as possible with a large supply. The word sâtham, which is used in the account of the actual measures adopted by Hezekiah when he was threatened with siege (Ch2 32:2-5), is a somewhat different one, and indicates the stopping up, not of the outflow but of the springs, and therefore of the influx. But in all essential points the measures adopted agree with those indicated here in the prophecy. The chronicler closes the account of Hezekiah's reign by still further observing that "Hezekiah also stopped the outflow of the upper Gihon, and carried the water westwards underground to the city of David" (Ch2 32:30, explanatory of Kg2 20:20). If the upper Gihon is the same as the upper pool, there was a conduit (teeâlâh), connected with the upper Gihon as early as the time of Ahaz, Isa 7:3. And Hezekiah's peculiar work consisted in carrying the water of the upper pool "into the city of David." The mikvâh between the two walls, which is here prospectively described by Isaiah, is connected with this water supply, which Hezekiah really carried out. There is still a pool of Hezekiah (also called Birket el-Batrak, pool of the patriarchs, the Amygdalon of Josephus) on the western side of the city, to the east of the Joppa gate. During the rainy season this pool is supplied by the small conduit which runs from the upper pool along the surface of the ground, and then under the wall against or near the Joppa gate. It also lies between two walls, viz., the wall to the north of Zion, and the one which runs to the north-east round the Akra (Robinson, i. 487-489). How it came to pass that Isaiah's words concerning "a basin between the two walls" were so exactly carried out, as though they had furnished a hydraulic plan, we do not know. But we will offer a conjecture at the close of the exposition. It stands here as one of those prudent measures which would be resorted to in Jerusalem in the anticipation of the coming siege; but it would be thought of too late, and in self-reliant alienation from God, with no look directed to Him who had wrought and fashioned that very calamity which they were now seeking to avert by all these precautions, and by whom it had been projected long, long before the actual realization. עשׂיה might be a plural, according to Isa 54:5; but the parallel יצרהּ favours the singular (on the form itself, from עשׂי = עשׂה, see Isa 42:5, and at Isa 5:12; Isa 1:30). We have here, and at Isa 37:26, i.e., within the first part of the book of Isaiah, the same doctrine of "ideas" that forms so universal a key-note of the second part, the authenticity of which has been denied. That which is realized in time has existed long before as a spiritual pattern, i.e., as an idea in God. God shows this to His prophets; and so far as prophecy foretells the future, whenever the event predicted is fulfilled, the prophecy becomes a proof that the event is the work of God, and was long ago the predetermined counsel of God. The whole of the Scripture presupposes this pre-existence of the divine idea before the historical realization, and Isaiah in Israel (like Plato in the heathen world) was the assiduous interpreter of this supposition. Thus, in the case before us, the fate of Jerusalem is said to have been fashioned "long ago" in God. But Jerusalem might have averted its realization, for it was no decretum absolutum. If Jerusalem repented, the realization would be arrested.

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

When Judah, after being for a long time intoxicated with hope, shall become aware of the extreme danger in which it is standing, it will adopt prudent measures, but without God. "Then he takes away the covering of Judah, and thou lookest in that day to the store of arms of the forest-house; and ye see the breaches of the city of David, that there are many of them; and ye collect together the waters of the lower pool. And ye number the houses of Jerusalem, and pull down the houses, to fortify the wall. And ye make a basin between the two walls for the waters of the old pool; and ye do not look to Him who made it, neither do ye have regard to Him who fashioned it long ago." Mâsâk is the curtain or covering which made Judah blind to the threatening danger. Their looks are now directed first of all to the forest-house, built by Solomon upon Zion for the storing and display of valuable arms and utensils (nēshĕk, or rather, according to the Masora on Job 20:24, and the older editions, nĕshĕk), and so called because it rested upon four rows of cedar columns that ran all round (it was in the centre of the fore-court of the royal palace; see Thenius, das vorexil. Jerusalem, p. 13). They also noticed in the city of David, the southern and highest portion of the city of Jerusalem, the bad state of the walls, and began to think of repairing them. To this end they numbered the houses of the city, to obtain building materials for strengthening the walls and repairing the breaches, by pulling down such houses as were suitable for the purpose, and could be dispensed with (vattithtzu, from nâthatz, with the removal of the recompensative reduplication). The lower pool and the old pool, probably the upper, i.e., the lower and upper Gihon, were upon the western side of the city, the lower (Birket es-Sultan) to the west of Sion, the upper (Birket el-Mamilla) farther up to the west of Akra (Robinson, i. 483-486; V. Raumer, Pal. pp. 305-6). Kibbētz either means to collect in the pool by stopping up the outflow, or to gather together in the reservoirs and wells of the city by means of artificial canals. The latter, however, would most probably be expressed by אסף; so that the meaning that most naturally suggests itself is, that they concentrate the water, so as to be able before the siege to provide the city as rapidly as possible with a large supply. The word sâtham, which is used in the account of the actual measures adopted by Hezekiah when he was threatened with siege (Ch2 32:2-5), is a somewhat different one, and indicates the stopping up, not of the outflow but of the springs, and therefore of the influx. But in all essential points the measures adopted agree with those indicated here in the prophecy. The chronicler closes the account of Hezekiah's reign by still further observing that "Hezekiah also stopped the outflow of the upper Gihon, and carried the water westwards underground to the city of David" (Ch2 32:30, explanatory of Kg2 20:20). If the upper Gihon is the same as the upper pool, there was a conduit (teeâlâh), connected with the upper Gihon as early as the time of Ahaz, Isa 7:3. And Hezekiah's peculiar work consisted in carrying the water of the upper pool "into the city of David." The mikvâh between the two walls, which is here prospectively described by Isaiah, is connected with this water supply, which Hezekiah really carried out. There is still a pool of Hezekiah (also called Birket el-Batrak, pool of the patriarchs, the Amygdalon of Josephus) on the western side of the city, to the east of the Joppa gate. During the rainy season this pool is supplied by the small conduit which runs from the upper pool along the surface of the ground, and then under the wall against or near the Joppa gate. It also lies between two walls, viz., the wall to the north of Zion, and the one which runs to the north-east round the Akra (Robinson, i. 487-489). How it came to pass that Isaiah's words concerning "a basin between the two walls" were so exactly carried out, as though they had furnished a hydraulic plan, we do not know. But we will offer a conjecture at the close of the exposition. It stands here as one of those prudent measures which would be resorted to in Jerusalem in the anticipation of the coming siege; but it would be thought of too late, and in self-reliant alienation from God, with no look directed to Him who had wrought and fashioned that very calamity which they were now seeking to avert by all these precautions, and by whom it had been projected long, long before the actual realization. עשׂיה might be a plural, according to Isa 54:5; but the parallel יצרהּ favours the singular (on the form itself, from עשׂי = עשׂה, see Isa 42:5, and at Isa 5:12; Isa 1:30). We have here, and at Isa 37:26, i.e., within the first part of the book of Isaiah, the same doctrine of "ideas" that forms so universal a key-note of the second part, the authenticity of which has been denied. That which is realized in time has existed long before as a spiritual pattern, i.e., as an idea in God. God shows this to His prophets; and so far as prophecy foretells the future, whenever the event predicted is fulfilled, the prophecy becomes a proof that the event is the work of God, and was long ago the predetermined counsel of God. The whole of the Scripture presupposes this pre-existence of the divine idea before the historical realization, and Isaiah in Israel (like Plato in the heathen world) was the assiduous interpreter of this supposition. Thus, in the case before us, the fate of Jerusalem is said to have been fashioned "long ago" in God. But Jerusalem might have averted its realization, for it was no decretum absolutum. If Jerusalem repented, the realization would be arrested.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
He - The enemy. Covering - He took those fenced cities, which were a covering or safe - guard both to the people of Judah, and to Jerusalem. The armour - Thy trust was placed in the arm of flesh. The forest - More fully called the house of the forest of Lebanon, Kg1 7:2, not because it was built in Lebanon, for it was in Jerusalem; but because it was built of the trees of Lebanon.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The armor "The arsenal" - Built by Solomon within the city, and called the house of the forest of Lebanon; probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in the building. See Kg1 7:2, Kg1 7:3.

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⁸ And he discovered [01540] the covering [04539] of Judah [03063], and thou didst look [05027] in that day [03117] to the armour [05402] of the house [01004] of the forest [03293].
⁹ Ye have seen [07200] also the breaches [01233] of the city [05892] of David [01732], that they are many [07231]: and ye gathered together [06908] the waters [04325] of the lower [08481] pool [01295].
¹⁰ And ye have numbered [05608] the houses [01004] of Jerusalem [03389], and the houses [01004] have ye broken down [05422] to fortify [01219] the wall [02346].
¹¹ Ye made [06213] also a ditch [04724] between the two walls [02346] for the water [04325] of the old [03465] pool [01295]: but ye have not looked [05027] unto the maker [06213] thereof, neither had respect [07200] unto him that fashioned [03335] it long ago [07350].
¹² And in that day [03117] did the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] of hosts [06635] call [07121] to weeping [01065], and to mourning [04553], and to baldness [07144], and to girding [02296] with sackcloth [08242]:
¹³ And behold joy [08342] and gladness [08057], slaying [02026] oxen [01241], and killing [07819] sheep [06629], eating [0398] flesh [01320], and drinking [08354] wine [03196]: let us eat [0398] and drink [08354]; for to morrow [04279] we shall die [04191].

¹⁹ And next to him [03027] repaired [02388] Ezer [05829] the son [01121] of Jeshua [03442], the ruler [08269] of Mizpah [04709], another [08145] piece [04060] over against the going up [05927] to the armoury [05402] at the turning [04740] of the wall.

¹⁷ And he made three [07969] hundred [03967] shields [04043] of beaten [07820] gold [02091]; three [07969] pound [04488] of gold [02091] went [05927] to one [0259] shield [04043]: and the king [04428] put [05414] them in the house [01004] of the forest [03293] of Lebanon [03844].

¹ Now it came to pass in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396], that Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] came up [05927] against all the defenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.

⁵ Behold, I am against thee, saith [05002] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635]; and I will discover [01540] thy skirts [07757] upon thy face [06440], and I will shew [07200] the nations [01471] thy nakedness [04626], and the kingdoms [04467] thy shame [07036].

³ Thy nakedness [06172] shall be uncovered [01540], yea, thy shame [02781] shall be seen [07200]: I will take [03947] vengeance [05359], and I will not meet [06293] thee as a man [0120].

¹⁶ And king [04428] Solomon [08010] made [06213] two hundred [03967] targets [06793] of beaten [07820] gold [02091]: six [08337] hundred [03967] shekels of gold [02091] went [05927] to one [0259] target [06793].
¹⁷ And he made three [07969] hundred [03967] shields [04043] of beaten [07820] gold [02091]; three [07969] pound [04488] of gold [02091] went [05927] to one [0259] shield [04043]: and the king [04428] put [05414] them in the house [01004] of the forest [03293] of Lebanon [03844].

² He built [01129] also the house [01004] of the forest [03293] of Lebanon [03844]; the length [0753] thereof was an hundred [03967] cubits [0520], and the breadth [07341] thereof fifty [02572] cubits [0520], and the height [06967] thereof thirty [07970] cubits [0520], upon four [0702] rows [02905] of cedar [0730] pillars [05982], with cedar [0730] beams [03773] upon the pillars [05982].
³ And it was covered [05603] with cedar [0730] above [04605] upon the beams [06763], that lay on forty [0705] five [02568] pillars [05982], fifteen [06240] in a row [02905].
⁴ And there were windows [08261] in three [07969] rows [02905], and light [04237] was against light [04237] in three [07969] ranks [06471].
⁵ And all the doors [06607] and posts [04201] were square [07251], with the windows [08260]: and light [04237] was against [04136] light [04237] in three [07969] ranks [06471].
⁶ And he made [06213] a porch [0197] of pillars [05982]; the length [0753] thereof was fifty [02572] cubits [0520], and the breadth [07341] thereof thirty [07970] cubits [0520]: and the porch [0197] was before [06440] them: and the other pillars [05982] and the thick beam [05646] were before them.
⁷ Then he made [06213] a porch [0197] for the throne [03678] where he might judge [08199], even the porch [0197] of judgment [04941]: and it was covered [05603] with cedar [0730] from one side of the floor [07172] to the other [07172].
⁸ And his house [01004] where he dwelt [03427] had another [0312] court [02691] within [01004] the porch [0197], which was of the like work [04639]. Solomon [08010] made [06213] also an house [01004] for Pharaoh's [06547] daughter [01323], whom he had taken [03947] to wife, like unto this porch [0197].

¹³ Now in the fourteenth [0702] [06240] year [08141] of king [04428] Hezekiah [02396] did Sennacherib [05576] king [04428] of Assyria [0804] come up [05927] against all the fenced [01219] cities [05892] of Judah [03063], and took [08610] them.

⁴⁰ The hangings [07050] of the court [02691], his pillars [05982], and his sockets [0134], and the hanging [04539] for the court [02691] gate [08179], his cords [04340], and his pins [03489], and all the vessels [03627] of the service [05656] of the tabernacle [04908], for the tent [0168] of the congregation [04150],

¹⁷ The hangings [07050] of the court [02691], his pillars [05982], and their sockets [0134], and the hanging [04539] for the door [08179] of the court [02691],

³⁸ And the golden [02091] altar [04196], and the anointing [04888] oil [08081], and the sweet [05561] incense [07004], and the hanging [04539] for the tabernacle [0168] door [06607],

³⁶ And thou shalt make [06213] an hanging [04539] for the door [06607] of the tent [0168], of blue [08504], and purple [0713], and scarlet [08438] [08144], and fine twined [07806] linen [08336], wrought [04639] with needlework [07551].

²⁶ Hast thou not heard [08085] long ago [07350], how I have done [06213] it; and of ancient [06924] times [03117], that I have formed [03335] it? now have I brought [0935] it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste [07582] defenced [01219] cities [05892] into ruinous [05327] heaps [01530].

³⁰ For ye shall be as an oak [0424] whose leaf [05929] fadeth [05034], and as a garden [01593] that hath no water [04325].

¹² And the harp [03658], and the viol [05035], the tabret [08596], and pipe [02485], and wine [03196], are in their feasts [04960]: but they regard [05027] not the work [06467] of the LORD [03068], neither consider [07200] the operation [04639] of his hands [03027].

⁵ Thus saith [0559] God [0410] the LORD [03068], he that created [01254] the heavens [08064], and stretched them out [05186]; he that spread forth [07554] the earth [0776], and that which cometh out [06631] of it; he that giveth [05414] breath [05397] unto the people [05971] upon it, and spirit [07307] to them that walk [01980] therein:

⁵ For thy Maker [06213] is thine husband [01166]; the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635] is his name [08034]; and thy Redeemer [01350] the Holy One [06918] of Israel [03478]; The God [0430] of the whole earth [0776] shall he be called [07121].

³ Then said [0559] the LORD [03068] unto Isaiah [03470], Go forth [03318] now to meet [07125] Ahaz [0271], thou, and Shearjashub [07610] thy son [01121], at the end [07097] of the conduit [08585] of the upper [05945] pool [01295] in the highway [04546] of the fuller's [03526] field [07704];

²⁰ And the rest [03499] of the acts [01697] of Hezekiah [02396], and all his might [01369], and how he made [06213] a pool [01295], and a conduit [08585], and brought [0935] water [04325] into the city [05892], are they not written [03789] in the book [05612] of the chronicles [01697] [03117] of the kings [04428] of Judah [03063]?

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].

² And when Hezekiah [03169] saw [07200] that Sennacherib [05576] was come [0935], and that he was purposed [06440] to fight [04421] against Jerusalem [03389],
³ He took counsel [03289] with his princes [08269] and his mighty men [01368] to stop [05640] the waters [04325] of the fountains [05869] which were without [02351] the city [05892]: and they did help [05826] him.
⁴ So there was gathered [06908] much [07227] people [05971] together [06908], who stopped [05640] all the fountains [04599], and the brook [05158] that ran [07857] through the midst [08432] of the land [0776], saying [0559], Why should the kings [04428] of Assyria [0804] come [0935], and find [04672] much [07227] water [04325]?
⁵ Also he strengthened [02388] himself, and built up [01129] all the wall [02346] that was broken [06555], and raised it up [05927] to the towers [04026], and another [0312] wall [02346] without [02351], and repaired [02388] Millo [04407] in the city [05892] of David [01732], and made [06213] darts [07973] and shields [04043] in abundance [07230].

²⁴ He shall flee [01272] from the iron [01270] weapon [05402], and the bow [07198] of steel [05154] shall strike him through [02498].

³ And it was covered [05603] with cedar [0730] above [04605] upon the beams [06763], that lay on forty [0705] five [02568] pillars [05982], fifteen [06240] in a row [02905].