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Selected Verse: Isaiah 45:4 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 45:4	Strong Concordance	For Jacob [03290] my servant's [05650] sake, and Israel [03478] mine elect [0972], I have even called [07121] thee by thy name [08034]: I have surnamed [03655] thee, though thou hast not known [03045] me.
	King James	For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

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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]
(See on Isa 41:8; Isa 43:14). surnamed--that is, designated to carry out My design of restoring Judah (see on Isa 44:5; Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1). MAURER here, as in Isa 44:5, translates, "I have addressed thee by an honorable name." hast not known me--previous to My calling thee to this office; after God's call, Cyrus did know Him in some degree (Ezr 1:1-3).

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

(See on Isa 41:8; Isa 43:14).

surnamed--that is, designated to carry out My design of restoring Judah (see on Isa 44:5; Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1). MAURER here, as in Isa 44:5, translates, "I have addressed thee by an honorable name."

hast not known me--previous to My calling thee to this office; after God's call, Cyrus did know Him in some degree (Ezr 1:1-3).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
For Jacob my servant's sake - (see the note at Isa 42:19). The statement here is, that God had raised up Cyrus on account of his own people. The sentiment is common in the Bible, that kings and nations are in the hand of God; and that he overrules and directs their actions for the accomplishment of his own purposes, and especially to protect, defend, and deliver his people (see the note at Isa 10:5; compare Isa 47:6). I have surnamed thee - On the meaning of the word 'surname,' see the notes at Isa 44:5. The reference here is to the fact that he had appointed him to accomplish important purposes, and had designated him as his 'shepherd' Isa 44:28, and his 'anointed' Isa 45:1. Though thou hast not known me - Before he was called to accomplish these important services, he was a stranger to Yahweh, and it was only when he should have been so signally favored of heaven, and should be made acquainted with the divine will in regard to the deliverance of his people and the rebuilding of the temple Ezr 1:1-3, that he would be acquainted with the true God.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
A second and third object are introduced by a second and third למען. "For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I called thee hither by name, surnamed thee when thou knewest me not. I Jehovah, and there is none else, beside me no God: I equipped thee when thou knewest me not; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and its going down, that there is none without me: I Jehovah, and there is none else, former of the light, and creator of the darkness; founder of peace, and creator of evil: I Jehovah am He who worketh all this." The ואקרא which follows the second reason assigned like an apodosis, is construed doubly: "I called to thee, calling thee by name." The parallel אכנּך refers to such titles of honour as "my shepherd" and "my anointed," which had been given to him by Jehovah. This calling, distinguishing, and girding, i.e., this equipment of Cyrus, took place at a time when Cyrus knew nothing as yet of Jehovah, and by this very fact Jehovah made known His sole Deity. The meaning is, not that it occurred while he was still worshipping false gods, but, as the refrain-like repetition of the words "though thou hast not know me" affirms with strong emphasis, before he had been brought into existence, or could know anything of Jehovah. The passage is to be explained in the same way as Jer 1:5, "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee" (see Psychol. pp. 36, 37, 39); and what the God of prophecy here claims for Himself, must not be questioned by false criticism, or weakened down by false apologetics (i.e., by giving up the proper name Cyrus as a gloss in Isa 44:28 and Isa 45:1; or generalizing it into a king's name, such as Pharaoh, Abimelech, or Agag). The third and last object of this predicted and realized success of the oppressor of nations and deliverer of Israel is the acknowledgement of Jehovah, spreading over the heathen world from the rising and setting of the sun, i.e., in every direction. The ah of וּממּערבה is not a feminine termination (lxx, Targ., Jer.), but a feminine suffix with He raphato pro mappic (Kimchi); compare Isa 23:17-18; Isa 34:17 (but not נצּה in Isa 18:5, or מוּסדה in Isa 30:32). Shemesh (the sun) is a feminine here, as in Gen 15:17, Nah 3:17, Mal 4:2, and always in Arabic; for the west is invariably called מערב (Arab. magrib). In Isa 45:7 we are led by the context to understand by darkness and evil the penal judgments, through which light and peace, or salvation, break forth for the people of God and the nations generally. But as the prophecy concerning Cyrus closes with this self-assertion of Jehovah, it is unquestionably a natural supposition that there is also a contrast implied to the dualistic system of Zarathustra, which divided the one nature of the Deity into two opposing powers (see Windischmann, Zoroastrische Studien, p. 135). The declaration is so bold, that Marcion appealed to this passage as a proof that the God of the Old Testament was a different being from the God of the New, and not the God of goodness only. The Valentinians and other gnostics also regarded the words "There is no God beside me" in Isaiah, as deceptive words of the Demiurugs. The early church met them with Tertullian's reply, "de his creator profitetur malis quae congruunt judici," and also made use of this self-attestation of the God of revelation as a weapon with which to attack Manicheesism. The meaning of the words is not exhausted by those who content themselves with the assertion, that by the evil (or darkness) we are not to understand the evil of guilt (malum culpae), but the evil of punishment (malum paenae). Undoubtedly, evil as an act is not the direct working of God, but the spontaneous work of a creature endowed with freedom. At the same time, evil, as well as good, has in this sense its origin in God - that He combines within Himself the first principles of love and wrath, the possibility of evil, the self-punishment of evil, and therefore the consciousness of guilt as well as the evil of punishment in the broadest sense. When the apostle celebrates the glory of free grace in Rom 9:11., he stands on that giddy height, to which few are able to follow him without falling headlong into the false conclusions of a decretum absolutum, and the denial of all creaturely freedom.

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

A second and third object are introduced by a second and third למען. "For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I called thee hither by name, surnamed thee when thou knewest me not. I Jehovah, and there is none else, beside me no God: I equipped thee when thou knewest me not; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and its going down, that there is none without me: I Jehovah, and there is none else, former of the light, and creator of the darkness; founder of peace, and creator of evil: I Jehovah am He who worketh all this." The ואקרא which follows the second reason assigned like an apodosis, is construed doubly: "I called to thee, calling thee by name." The parallel אכנּך refers to such titles of honour as "my shepherd" and "my anointed," which had been given to him by Jehovah. This calling, distinguishing, and girding, i.e., this equipment of Cyrus, took place at a time when Cyrus knew nothing as yet of Jehovah, and by this very fact Jehovah made known His sole Deity. The meaning is, not that it occurred while he was still worshipping false gods, but, as the refrain-like repetition of the words "though thou hast not know me" affirms with strong emphasis, before he had been brought into existence, or could know anything of Jehovah. The passage is to be explained in the same way as Jer 1:5, "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee" (see Psychol. pp. 36, 37, 39); and what the God of prophecy here claims for Himself, must not be questioned by false criticism, or weakened down by false apologetics (i.e., by giving up the proper name Cyrus as a gloss in Isa 44:28 and Isa 45:1; or generalizing it into a king's name, such as Pharaoh, Abimelech, or Agag). The third and last object of this predicted and realized success of the oppressor of nations and deliverer of Israel is the acknowledgement of Jehovah, spreading over the heathen world from the rising and setting of the sun, i.e., in every direction. The ah of וּממּערבה is not a feminine termination (lxx, Targ., Jer.), but a feminine suffix with He raphato pro mappic (Kimchi); compare Isa 23:17-18; Isa 34:17 (but not נצּה in Isa 18:5, or מוּסדה in Isa 30:32). Shemesh (the sun) is a feminine here, as in Gen 15:17, Nah 3:17, Mal 4:2, and always in Arabic; for the west is invariably called מערב (Arab. magrib). In Isa 45:7 we are led by the context to understand by darkness and evil the penal judgments, through which light and peace, or salvation, break forth for the people of God and the nations generally. But as the prophecy concerning Cyrus closes with this self-assertion of Jehovah, it is unquestionably a natural supposition that there is also a contrast implied to the dualistic system of Zarathustra, which divided the one nature of the Deity into two opposing powers (see Windischmann, Zoroastrische Studien, p. 135). The declaration is so bold, that Marcion appealed to this passage as a proof that the God of the Old Testament was a different being from the God of the New, and not the God of goodness only. The Valentinians and other gnostics also regarded the words "There is no God beside me" in Isaiah, as deceptive words of the Demiurugs. The early church met them with Tertullian's reply, "de his creator profitetur malis quae congruunt judici," and also made use of this self-attestation of the God of revelation as a weapon with which to attack Manicheesism. The meaning of the words is not exhausted by those who content themselves with the assertion, that by the evil (or darkness) we are not to understand the evil of guilt (malum culpae), but the evil of punishment (malum paenae). Undoubtedly, evil as an act is not the direct working of God, but the spontaneous work of a creature endowed with freedom. At the same time, evil, as well as good, has in this sense its origin in God - that He combines within Himself the first principles of love and wrath, the possibility of evil, the self-punishment of evil, and therefore the consciousness of guilt as well as the evil of punishment in the broadest sense. When the apostle celebrates the glory of free grace in Rom 9:11., he stands on that giddy height, to which few are able to follow him without falling headlong into the false conclusions of a decretum absolutum, and the denial of all creaturely freedom.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
I have - I knew, and called thee by thy name, when thou didst neither know nor think of me; nay, when thou hadst no being.

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¹ Now in the first [0259] year [08141] of Cyrus [03566] king [04428] of Persia [06539], that the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] by the mouth [06310] of Jeremiah [03414] might be fulfilled [03615], the LORD [03068] stirred up [05782] the spirit [07307] of Cyrus [03566] king [04428] of Persia [06539], that he made a proclamation [05674] [06963] throughout all his kingdom [04438], and put it also in writing [04385], saying [0559],
² Thus saith [0559] Cyrus [03566] king [04428] of Persia [06539], The LORD [03068] God [0430] of heaven [08064] hath given [05414] me all the kingdoms [04467] of the earth [0776]; and he hath charged [06485] me to build [01129] him an house [01004] at Jerusalem [03389], which is in Judah [03063].
³ Who is there among you of all his people [05971]? his God [0430] be with him, and let him go up [05927] to Jerusalem [03389], which is in Judah [03063], and build [01129] the house [01004] of the LORD [03068] God [0430] of Israel [03478], (he is the God [0430],) which is in Jerusalem [03389].

⁵ One shall say [0559], I am the LORD'S [03068]; and another shall call [07121] himself by the name [08034] of Jacob [03290]; and another shall subscribe [03789] with his hand [03027] unto the LORD [03068], and surname [03655] himself by the name [08034] of Israel [03478].

¹ Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] to his anointed [04899], to Cyrus [03566], whose right hand [03225] I have holden [02388], to subdue [07286] nations [01471] before [06440] him; and I will loose [06605] the loins [04975] of kings [04428], to open [06605] before [06440] him the two leaved gates [01817]; and the gates [08179] shall not be shut [05462];

²⁸ That saith [0559] of Cyrus [03566], He is my shepherd [07462], and shall perform [07999] all my pleasure [02656]: even saying [0559] to Jerusalem [03389], Thou shalt be built [01129]; and to the temple [01964], Thy foundation shall be laid [03245].

¹⁴ Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], your redeemer [01350], the Holy One [06918] of Israel [03478]; For your sake I have sent [07971] to Babylon [0894], and have brought down [03381] all their nobles [01281], and the Chaldeans [03778], whose cry [07440] is in the ships [0591].

⁸ But thou, Israel [03478], art my servant [05650], Jacob [03290] whom I have chosen [0977], the seed [02233] of Abraham [085] my friend [0157].

⁶ I was wroth [07107] with my people [05971], I have polluted [02490] mine inheritance [05159], and given [05414] them into thine hand [03027]: thou didst shew [07760] them no mercy [07356]; upon the ancient [02205] hast thou very [03966] heavily [03513] laid thy yoke [05923].

⁵ O [01945] Assyrian [0804], the rod [07626] of mine anger [0639], and the staff [04294] in their hand [03027] is mine indignation [02195].

¹⁹ Who is blind [05787], but my servant [05650]? or deaf [02795], as my messenger [04397] that I sent [07971]? who is blind [05787] as he that is perfect [07999], and blind [05787] as the LORD'S [03068] servant [05650]?

¹¹ (For [1063] the children being [1080] not yet [3380] born [1080], neither [3366] having done [4238] any [5100] good [18] or [2228] evil [2556], that [2443] the purpose [4286] of God [2316] according [2596] to election [1589] might stand [3306], not [3756] of [1537] works [2041], but [235] of [1537] him that calleth [2564]

⁷ I form [03335] the light [0216], and create [01254] darkness [02822]: I make [06213] peace [07965], and create [01254] evil [07451]: I the LORD [03068] do [06213] all these things.

² But unto you that fear [03373] my name [08034] shall the Sun [08121] of righteousness [06666] arise [02224] with healing [04832] in his wings [03671]; and ye shall go forth [03318], and grow up [06335] as calves [05695] of the stall [04770].

¹⁷ Thy crowned [04502] are as the locusts [0697], and thy captains [02951] as the great grasshoppers [01462], which camp [02583] in the hedges [01448] in the cold [07135] day [03117], but when the sun [08121] ariseth [02224] they flee away [05074], and their place [04725] is not known [03045] where [0335] they are.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, that, when the sun [08121] went down [0935], and it was dark [05939], behold a smoking [06227] furnace [08574], and a burning [0784] lamp [03940] that passed [05674] between [0996] those pieces [01506].

³² And in every place [03605] where the grounded [04145] staff [04294] shall pass [04569], which the LORD [03068] shall lay [05117] upon him, it shall be with tabrets [08596] and harps [03658]: and in battles [04421] of shaking [08573] will he fight [03898] with it.

⁵ For afore [06440] the harvest [07105], when the bud [06525] is perfect [08552], and the sour grape [01155] is ripening [01580] in the flower [05328], he shall both cut off [03772] the sprigs [02150] with pruning hooks [04211], and take away [05493] and cut down [08456] the branches [05189].

¹⁷ And he hath cast [05307] the lot [01486] for them, and his hand [03027] hath divided [02505] it unto them by line [06957]: they shall possess [03423] it for [05704] ever [05769], from generation [01755] to generation [01755] shall they dwell [07931] therein.

¹⁷ And it shall come to pass after the end [07093] of seventy [07657] years [08141], that the LORD [03068] will visit [06485] Tyre [06865], and she shall turn [07725] to her hire [0868], and shall commit fornication [02181] with all the kingdoms [04467] of the world [0776] upon the face [06440] of the earth [0127].
¹⁸ And her merchandise [05504] and her hire [0868] shall be holiness [06944] to the LORD [03068]: it shall not be treasured [0686] nor laid up [02630]; for her merchandise [05504] shall be for them that dwell [03427] before [06440] the LORD [03068], to eat [0398] sufficiently [07654], and for durable [06266] clothing [04374].

⁵ Before [02962] I formed [03335] thee in the belly [0990] I knew [03045] thee; and before thou camest forth [03318] out of the womb [07358] I sanctified [06942] thee, and I ordained [05414] thee a prophet [05030] unto the nations [01471].