ISAIAH 45 COMMENTARY

EDITED BY GLENN

1 This is what the Lord says to his anointed,

to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of

to subdue nations before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

1.BARNES, Thus saith the Lord to his anointed - This is a direct apostrophe to Cyrus, though it was uttered not less than one hundred and fifty years before Babylon was taken by

him. The word anointed is that which is usually rendered Messiah ( mashyach), and

here is rendered by the Septuagint, To christo mou Kuro - To Cyrus, my Christ, i. e, my anointed. It properly means the anointed, and was a title which was commonly given to the kings of Israel, because they were set apart to their office by the ceremony of

anointing, who hence were called " hoi christoi Kuriou - The anointed of the Lord 1Sa_2:10, 1Sa_2:35; 1Sa_12:3, 1Sa_12:5; 1Sa_16:6; 1Sa_24:7, 1Sa_24:11; 1Sa_26:9, 1Sa_26:11, 1Sa_26:23; 2Sa_1:14, 2Sa_1:16; 2Sa_19:22-23. There is no evidence that the Persian kings were inaugurated or consecrated by oil, but this is an appellation which was common among the Jews, and is applied to Cyrus in accordance with their usual mode of designating kings. It means here that God had solemnly set apart Cyrus to perform an important public service in his cause. It does not mean that Cyrus was a man of piety, or a worshipper of the true God, of which there is no certain evidence, but that his appointment as king was owing to the arrangement of Gods providence, and that he was to be employed in accomplishing his purposes. The title does not designate holiness of character, but appointment to an office.

Whose right hand I have holden - Margin, Strengthened. Lowth, whom I hold fast by the right hand. The idea seems to be, that God had upheld, sustained, strengthened him as we do one who is feeble, by taking his right hand (see the notes at Isa_41:13; Isa_42:6)

To subdue nations before him - For a general account of the conquests of Cyrus, see the notes at Isa_41:2. It may be added here, that besides his native subjects, the nations which

Cyrus subdued, and over which he reigned, were the Cilicians, Syrians, Paphlagonians, Cappadocians, Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Phenicians, Arabians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Bactrians, Saeae, and Maryandines. Xenophon describes his empire as extending from the Mediterranean and Egypt to the Indian Ocean, and from Ethiopia to the Euxine Sea, and conveys a physical idea of its extent by observing that the extremities were difficult to inhabit, from opposite causes - some from excess of heat, and others from excess of cold; some from a scarcity of water, and others from too great abundance. - (Pictorial Bible.)

And I will loose the loins of kings - The ancients dressed in a large, loose, flowing robe thrown over an under-garment or tunic, which was shaped to the body. The outer robe was girded with a sash when they toiled, or labored, or went to war, or ran. Hence, to gird up the loins is indicative of preparation for a journey, for labor, or for war. To unloose the girdle, or the loins, was indicative of a state of rest, repose, or feebleness; and the phrase here means that God would so order it in his providence that the kings would be unprepared to meet him, or so feeble that they would not be able to resist him (compare Job_38:3; Jer_1:17). See also Job_12:21 :

He poureth contempt upon princes, And weakeneth the strength of the mighty;

Margin, more correctly, Looseth the girdle of the strong. There was a literal fulfillment of this in regard to Belshazzar, king of Babylon, when the city was taken by Cyrus. When the hand came forth on the walls of his palace, and the mysterious finger wrote his condemnation, it is said, Then the kings countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against the other Dan_5:6. The Vulgate renders this, I will turn the backs of kings.

To open before him the two-leaved gates, and the gates shall not be shut - The folding gates of a city, or a palace. It so happened in the scene of revelry which prevailed in Babylon when Cyrus took it, that the gates within the city which led from the streets to the river were left open. The city was not only enclosed with walls, but there were walls within the city on each side of the river Euphrates with gates, by which the inhabitants had access to the water of the river. Had not these gates been left open on that occasion, contrary to the usual custom, the Persians would have been shut up in the bed of the river, and could all have been destroyed. It also happened in the revelry of that night, that the gates of the palace were left open, so that there was access to every part of the city. Herodotus (i. 191) says, If the besieged had been aware of the designs of Cyrus, or had discovered the project before its actual accomplishment, they might have effected the total destruction of these troops. They had only to secure the little gates which led to the river, and to have manned the embankments on either side, and they might have enclosed the Persians in a net from which they could never have escaped; as it happened they were taken by surprise; and such is the extent of that city, that, as the inhabitants themselves affirm, they who lived in the extremities were made prisoners before the alarm was communicated to the center of the palace. None but an omniscient Being could have predicted, a hundred and fifty years before it occurred, that such an event would take place; and this is one of the many prophecies which demonstrate in the most particular manner that Isaiah was inspired.

2. CLARKE, Loose the loins of kings ungird the loins of kings - See the note on Isa_5:27. Xenophon gives the following list of the nations conquered by Cyrus: the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the Phrygians, Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, Babylonians. He moreover reigned over the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae Paphlagones, and ldariandyni. - Cyrop., lib. 1 p. 4, Edit. Hutchinson, Quarto. All these kingdoms

he acknowledges, in his decree for the restoration of the Jews, to have been given to him by Jehovah, the God of heaven. Ezr_1:2.

To open before him the two leaved gates, etc. That I may open before him the valves; and the gates shall not be shut - The gates of Babylon within the city leading from the streets to the river, were providentially left open, when Cyruss forces entered the city in the night through the channel of the river, in the general disorder occasioned by the great feast which was then celebrated; otherwise, says Herodotus, 1:191, the Persians would have been shut up in the bed of the river, and taken as in a net, and all destroyed. And the gates of the palace were opened imprudently by the kings orders, to inquire what was the cause of the tumult without; when the two parties under Gobrias and Gadatas rushed in, got possession of the palace, and slew the king. - Xenoph., Cyrop. 7 p. 528.

3. GILL, Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,.... Cyrus is called the Lord's anointed, not because he was anointed with material oil, as the kings of Israel and Judah were; but because he was appointed by the Lord to be a king, and was qualified by him for that office; and was raised up by him to be an instrument of doing great things in the world, and particularly of delivering the Jews from their captivity, and restoring them to their own land: whose right hand I have holden; whom he raised up, supported, strengthened, guided, and directed to do what he did: to subdue nations before him; which was accordingly done. Xenophon (y) relates, that he subdued the Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, both the countries of Phrygia, the Lydians, Carians, Phoenicians, and Babylonians; also the Bactrians, Indians, Cilicians, the Sacae, Paphlagonians, and Megadinians; likewise the Greeks that inhabit Asia, Cyprians and Egyptians. Herodotus (z) says, that he ruled over all Asia: all which the Lord subdued under him; for it was he that did it rather than Cyrus; it was he that clothed him with strength and courage, gave him skill in military affairs, and success and victory: I will loose the loins of kings; as Croesus king of Lydia, and Belshazzar king of Babylon, by divesting them of their dignity, power, and government; and particularly this was true of the latter, when, by the handwriting on the wall, he was thrown into a panic; "and the joints of his loins were loosed", Dan_5:6, "to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut"; the gates of cities and palaces wherever he came, which were opened to receive him as their conqueror and sovereign; this was very remarkably true of the gates of the palace of the king of Babylon, when the army of Cyrus by a stratagem had got into the city, and were come up to the king's palace, they found the gates shut; but a clamour and noise being made, the king ordered to see what was the matter; the gates being opened for that purpose, the soldiers of Cyrus rushed in to the king, and slew him (a); but, what is more remarkable, the gates of brass, which shut up the descents from the keys to the river, were left open that night Babylon was taken, while the inhabitants were feasting and revelling; which, had they been shut (b), would have defeated the enterprise of Cyrus; but God in his providence ordered it to be so.

4. HENRY, Cyrus was a Mede, descended (as some say) from Astyages king of Media. The pagan writers are not agreed in their accounts of his origin. Some tell us that in his infancy he was an outcast, left exposed, and was saved from perishing by a herdsman's wife. However, it is agreed that, being a man of an active genius, he soon made himself very considerable, especially

when Croesus king of Lydia made a descent upon his country, which he not only repulsed, but revenged, prosecuting the advantages he had gained against Croesus with such vigour that in a little time he took Sardis and made himself master of the rich kingdom of Lydia and the many provinces that then belonged to it. This made him very great (for Croesus was rich to a proverb) and enabled him to pursue his victories in many countries; but it was nearly ten years afterwards that, in conjunction with his uncle Darius and with the forces of Persia, he made this famous attack upon Babylon, which is here foretold, and which we have the history of Dan. 5. Babylon had now grown exorbitantly rich and strong. It was forty-five miles in compass (some say more): the walls were thirty-two feet thick and 100 cubits high. Some say, They were so thick that six chariots might drive abreast upon them; others say, They were fifty cubits thick and 200 high. Cyrus seems to have had a great ambition to make himself master of this place, and to have projected it long; and at last he performed it. Now here, 210 years before it came to pass, we are told,

I. What great things God would do for him, that he might put it into his power to release his people. In order to this he shall be a mighty conqueror and a wealthy monarch and nations shall become tributaries to him and help him both with men and money. Now that which God here promised to do for Cyrus he could have done for Zerubbabel, or some of the Jews themselves; but the wealth and power of this world God has seldom seen fit to entrust his own people with much of, so many are the snares and temptations that attend them; but if here has been occasion, for the god of the church, to make use of them, God has been pleased rather to put them into the hands of others, to be employed for them, than to venture them in their own hands. Cyrus is here called God's anointed, because he was both designed and qualified for this great service by the counsel of God, and was to be herein a type of the Messiah. God engages to hold his right hand, not only to strengthen and sustain him, but to direct his motions and intentions, as Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands when he was to shoot his arrow against Syria, 2Ki_13:16. Being under such direction,

1. He shall extend his conquests very far and shall make nothing of the opposition that will be

given him. Babylon is too strong a place for a young hero to begin with; and therefore, that he

may be able to deal with that, great additions shall be made to his strength by other conquests.

(1.) Populous kingdoms shall yield to him. God will subdue nations before him; when he is in the full career of his successes he shall make nothing of a nation's being born to him at once: yet

it is not he that subdues them; it is God that subdues them for him; the battle is his, and

therefore his is the victory. (2.) Potent kings shall fall before him: I will loose the loins of kings, either the girdle of their loins (divesting them of their power and dignity) or the strength of their

loins, and then it was literally fulfilled in Belshazzar, for, when he was terrified by the

handwriting on the wall, the joints of his loins were loosed, Dan_5:6. (3.) Great cities shall surrender themselves into his hands, without giving him or themselves any trouble. God will

incline the keepers of the city to open before him the two-leaved gates, not treacherously nor timorously, but from a full conviction that it is to no purpose to contend with him; and therefore

the gates shall not be shut to keep him out as an enemy, but thrown open to admit him as a

friend. (4.) The longest and most dangerous marches shall be made easy and ready to him: I will go before thee, to clear the way, and to conduct thee in it, and then the crooked places, shall be made straight; or, as some read it, the hilly places shall be levelled and made even. Those will find a ready road that have God going before them. (5.) No opposition shall stand before him.

He that gives him his commission will break in pieces the gates of brass that are shut against him, and cut asunder the bars of iron wherewith they are fastened. This was fulfilled in the letter, if that be true which Herodotus reports, that the city of Babylon had 100 gates all of brass,

with posts and hooks of the same metal.

5,JAMISON, Isa_45:1-25. The subject of the deliverance by Cyrus is followed up.

Isa_45:1-7. These seven verses should have been appended to previous chapter, and the new chapter should begin with Isa_45:8, Drop down, etc. [Horsley]. Reference to the deliverance by Messiah often breaks out from amidst the local and temporary details of the deliverance from Babylon, as the great ultimate end of the prophecy.

his anointed Cyrus is so called as being set apart as king, by Gods providence, to fulfil His special purpose. Though kings were not anointed in Persia, the expression is applied to him in reference to the Jewish custom of setting apart kings to the regal office by anointing.

right hand ... holden image from sustaining a feeble person by holding his right hand (Isa_42:6).

subdue nations namely, the Cilicians, Syrians, Babylonians, Lydians, Bactrians, etc.; his empire extended from Egypt and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and from Ethiopia to the Euxine Sea.

loose ... girdle loins that is, the girdle off the loins; and so enfeeble them. The loose outer robe of the Orientals, when girt fast round the loins, was the emblem of strength and preparedness for action; ungirt, was indicative of feebleness (Job_38:3; Job_12:21); weakeneth the strength of the mighty (Margin), looseth the girdle of the strong. The joints of (Belshazzars) loins, we read in Dan_5:6, were loosed during the siege by Cyrus, at the sight of the mysterious handwriting on the palace walls. His being taken by surprise, unaccoutred, is here foretold.

to open ... gates In the revelry in Babylon on the night of its capture, the inner gates, leading from the streets to the river, were left open; for there were walls along each side of the Euphrates with gates, which, had they been kept shut, would have hemmed the invading hosts in the bed of the river, where the Babylonians could have easily destroyed them. Also, the gates of the palace were left open, so that there was access to every part of the city; and such was its extent, that they who lived in the extremities were taken prisoners before the alarm reached the center of the palace. [Herodotus, 1.191].

6. K&D 1-3, The first strophe of the first half of this sixth prophecy (Isa_44:24.), the subject of which is Cyrus, the predicted restorer of Jerusalem, of the cities of Judah, and of the temple, is now followed by a second strophe (Isa_45:1-8), having for its subject Cyrus, the man through whose irresistible career of conquest the heathen would be brought to recognise the power of Jehovah, so that heavenly blessings would come down upon the earth. The naming of the great shepherd of the nations, and the address of him, are continued in Isa_45:1-3 : Thus saith Jehovah to His anointed, to Koresh, whom I have taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him; and the loins of kings I ungird, to open before him doors and gates, that they may not continue shut. I shall go before thee, and level what is heaped up: gates of brass shall I break in pieces, and bolts of iron shall I smite to the ground. And I shall give thee treasures of darkness, and jewels of hidden places, that thou mayest know that I Jehovah am He who called out thy name, (even) the God of Israel. The words addressed to Cyrus by Jehovah commence in Isa_45:2, but promises applying to him force themselves into the introduction, being evoked by the mention of his name. He is the only king of the Gentiles whom Jehovah ever

meshch (my anointed; lxx ). The fundamental principle of the politics of the empire of the world was all-absorbing selfishness. But the politics of Cyrus were pervaded by purer motives, and this brought him eternal honour. The very same thing which the spirit of Darius, the father of Xerxes, is represented as saying of him in the Persae of Aeschylus (v. 735),

'*+-125 (for he was not hateful to God, because he was well-disposed), is here said by the Spirit of revelation, which by no means regards the virtues of the heathen as splendida vitia. Jehovah has taken him by his right hand, to accomplish great things

through him while supporting him thus. (On the inf. rad for rod, from radad, to tread down, see

Ges. 67, Anm. 3.) The dual delathaim has also a plural force: double doors (fores) in great number, viz., those of palaces. After the two infinitives, the verb passes into the finite tense:

loins of kings I ungird (discingo; pittea9ch, which refers primarily to the loosening of a fastened garment, is equivalent to depriving of strength). The gates - namely, those of the cities which he storms - will not be shut, sc. in perpetuity, that is to say, they will have to open to him. Jerome refers here to the account given of the elder Cyrus in Xenophon's Cyropaedia. A general picture may no doubt be obtained from this of his success in war; but particular statements need

support from other quarters, since it is only a historical romance. Instead of ()? in

Isa_45:2, the keri has ?; just as in Psa_5:9 it has instead of . A hiphil cannot

really be shown to have existed, and the abbreviated future form would be altogether

without ground or object here. G (tumida; like , amaena, and others) is meant to refer

to the difficulties piled up in the conqueror's way. The gates of brass' (nedhushah, brazen,

poetical for nechosheth, brass, as in the derivative passage, Psa_107:16) and bolts of iron remind one more especially of Babylon with its hundred brazen gates, the very posts and lintels of which were also of brass (Herod. i. 179); and the treasures laid up in deep darkness and jewels preserved in hiding-places, of the riches of Babylon (Jer_50:37; Jer_51:13), and especially of those of the Lydian Sardes, the richest city of Asia after Babylon (Cyrop. vii. 2, 11), which Cyrus conquered first. On the treasures which Cyrus acquired through his conquests, and to which allusion is made in the Persae of Aeschylus, v. 327 (O Persian, land and harbour of many riches thou), see Plin. h. n. xxxiii. 2. Brerewood estimates the quantity of gold and silver mentioned there as captured by him at no less than 126,224,000 sterling. And all this success is given to him by Jehovah, that he may know that it is Jehovah the God of Israel who has called out with his name, i.e., called out his name, or called him to be what he is, and as what he shows himself to be.

7. B I, Cyrus

The name of Cyrus is written Kuras in Babylonian cuneiform, Kurush in Old Persian. Ctesias stated on the authority of Parysatis, the wife of the Persian king Ochus, that her younger son was named Cyrus from the sun, as the Persians called the sun Kupos (Epit. Phot. 80; Plut. Artax. 1) . In Zend, however, the sun is hware, which could not take the form Kupos in Old Persian, though in modern Persian it is khur, khir, and kher. The classical writers have given extraordinary accounts of his birth and rise to power All these versions have been shown to be unhistorical by contemporaneous cuneiform inscriptions. The most important of these are

(1) a cylinder inscription of Nabonidus, the last king of the Babylonian Empire, from Abu Habba (Sippara);

(2) an annalistic tablet written shortly after the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus;

(3) a proclamation of Cyrus of the same date . . . The proclamation of Cyrus shows that he was not a Zoroastrian like Darius and Xerxes, but that as he claimed to be the successor of the Babylonian kings, so also he acknowledged the supremacy of Bel-Merodaeh the supreme Babylonian god. Hence the restoration of the Jewish exiles was not due to any sympathy with monotheism, but was part of a general policy. Experience had taught him the danger of allowing a disaffected population to exist in a country which might be invaded by an enemy; his own conquest of Babylonia had been assisted by the revolt of a part of its population; and he therefore reversed the policy of deportation and denationalisation which had been attempted by the Assyrian and Baby-Ionian kings. The exiles and the images of their gods were sent back to their old homes; only in the case of the Jews, who had no images, it was the sacred vessels of the temple which were restored. (Prof. A. H. Sayce, LL. D.)

Cyrus: his character

To Greek literature Cyrus was the prince pre-eminent,set forth as the model for education in childhood, self-restraint in youth, just and powerful government in manhood. Most of what we read of him in Xenophons Cyclopaedia is, of course, romance; but the very fact that, like our own king Arthur, Cyrus was used as a mirror to flash great ideals down the ages, proves that there was with him native brilliance and width of surface as well as fortunate eminence of position. He owed much to the virtue of his race. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

Cyrus, Gods tool

Cyrus is neither chosen for his character, nor said [in the Isaiah passages] to be endowed with one. But that he is there, and that he does so much, is due simply to this, that God had chosen him. What he is endowed with is force, push, swiftness, irresistibleness. He is, in short, not a character, but a tool; and God makes no apology for using him but this, that he has the qualities of a tool. Now, we cannot help being struck with the contrast of all this, the Hebrew view of Cyrus, with the well-known Greek view of him. To the Greeks he is first and foremost a character. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)

The victories of Cyrus

We have vividly described to us the victories of Cyrus; in his whirlwind career, subduing the nations before him, loosing the loins of kings (that whole troop of vassal empires enumerated by Xenophon), and opening before him the hundred brazen gates of Babylon (also minutely described by Herodotus, as guarding alike the approaches to the river and the temple of Belus), and cutting in sunder the bars of iron. The spoil amassed on that occasion was probably unexampled in the annals of war; for besides the enormous wealth of palatial Babylon itself, it included the fabulous riches of Croesus, king of Lydia, who brought waggon-load after waggon-load to lay at the feet of the conqueror. The aggregate was computed to be equivalent to upwards of a hundred and twenty-six millions of our money. Well, therefore, might the prophet here chronicle, among the predestined exploits of this mighty prince (Isa_45:3), the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places. (J. R.Macduff, D. D.)

Loosing the loins of kings

The monarchs of eastern nations were accustomed to wear girdles about their loins, which were considered as giving strength and firmness to their bodies; and, being richly decorated, served as badges of royal dignity. When, therefore, God declares that He would deprive them of their girdles and loose their loins, the expression imports that He would divest them of their power and majesty, and reduce them to a mean and contemptible condition. (R. Macculloch.)

Special Divine instrumentalities in the worlds renovation

1. For the enlargement of His Church, God often selects special instruments. In setting into motion a whole system of agencies this is almost uniformly the case. We recognise the fact all along the history of the Church. We see men raised up with peculiar gifts and clothed with peculiar powers to effect certain great works. The text gives us a remarkable illustration of this method of Divine procedure. In the bosom of the Church itself there are two still more remarkable examples of this law; the two men who bore the largest part in the inauguration and establishment of the chief dispensations. Moses and Paul were not indifferent characters; nor were their training and position like that of the multitude. They stand out boldly in history as men of peculiar natural gifts and attainments. Their early discipline exalted their intrinsic power; while their relation to the people among whom their work was to be performed, and to the science of the age in which they lived, imparted special qualifications for their great mission, it is not that the human is thus exalted above the Divine, but simply that the Divine uses that kind and measure of humanity which are best fitted to accomplish its purposes.

2. It is just as certain that the great Sovereign chooses particular nations to effect certain parts of His work in the final triumph of the Gospel, as that He chooses certain individuals for some special operation This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth My praise. His sovereignty reaches back of the immediate work. It chooses according to the character of the nation; it reaches to the antecedent training and the natural characteristics which combine to prepare the nation most fully for the work; nay, this sovereignty in its far-reaching wisdom has been busy all along the history of the people in so ordering the moulding influences under which characters and position are attained, that when the time comes for them to enter into His special work, they will be found all ripe for His purpose. This nation, to whom the passage before us refers, is a marked illustration of this thought. The Jew was designed to be the conservator of the Word of God. He was chosen for this purpose. The object was not propagation, but conservation. The race by nature and education had just those qualities which fitted it for this work. Its wonderful tenacity of impression, its power to hold what once had fairly been forced into it by Divine energy, like the rock hardened around the crystal, belongs to its nature, reveals itself after Providence had shattered the nation, in that granite character which, under the fire of eighteen centuries, remains unchanged. At every step of the progress of Christianity since, illustrations multiply of the truth that God forms nations to His work, and chooses them because of their fitness to accomplish certain parts of that work. The Greek with his high mental culture and his glorious languagefit instrument through which the Divine Word breathed His life-giving truth; the Roman sceptred in power over the whole realm of civilisation, and undesignedly constructing the great highway for the Church of Jesus; the German, with his innate freedom of spirit, nourishing the thoughtful souls whose lofty utterances awoke, whose wondrous power disenthralled a sleeping and captive Church. (S. W. Fisher, D. D.)

8. MEYER, JEHOVAHS CHOSEN INSTRUMENT

Isa_45:1-13

Cyrus is one of the noblest figures in ancient history. His character became a model for the Greek youth in strength, simplicity, humanity, purity, and self-restraint. We have seen that Jehovah had assured His people that Jerusalem would be restored, Isa_44:26. They probably expected a repetition of the Red Sea and the Exodus. But God does not repeat Himself; and their deliverance from captivity was to be achieved through the victories that made Cyrus master of Babylon. See Ezr_1:1-4.

Gods plans are achieved through individuals, whom He equips and raises up for their specific work. There is much in all our lives that we cannot account for, and which is due to the girding of the Almighty. We do not always recognize the real sources of our lives. They are hidden in God. He girds us though we do not know Him. Let us not gird ourselves in our own strength, but stretch forth our hands unto Him, sure that He will neither fail nor forsake. See Joh_21:18. They who thus utterly yield to God are bidden in the exercise of a daring faith to command, that is, to claim, His saving power.

9. PULPIT, GOD'S WILL CONCERNING HIM ANNOUNCED TO CYRUS. This direct address of God

to a heathen king is without a parallel in Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, Abimelech, were warned

through dreams. Nebuchadnezzar was even promised Divine aid (Eze_30:24, Eze_30:25). But no

heathen monarch had previously been personally addressed by God, much less called "his anointed,"

and spoken to by his name (Isa_45:4). Three motives are mentioned for this special favour to him:

(1) that he might acknowledge Jehovah to be the true God;

(2) that Israel might be benefited and advantaged by him;

(3) that the attention of the whole world might be attracted, and the unity of God made manifest far and

wide (Isa_45:3-6).

Isa_45:1

Thus saith the Lord to his anointed. The "anointed of Jehovah" is elsewhere always either an Israelite

king, or the expected Deliverer of the nation, "Messiah the Prince" (Dan_9:25). This Deliverer, however,

was to be of the line of David (Isa_11:1), and of the city of Bethlehem (Mic_5:2), so that we can scarcely

suppose Isaiah to have seen him in Cyrus. But he may have seen in Cyrus a type of the great Deliverer,

as he saw in the release of Israel from the power of Babylon a type of their deliverance from sin. Whose

right hand I have holden; rather, strengthened (comp. Eze_30:24). To subdue nations before

him (see above, Isa_41:2, and the comment ad loc.). Among the nations subdued by Cyrus may be

mentioned the Medes, the Babylonians, the Lydians, the Caftans, the Caunians, the Lycians, the

Bactrians, the Sacae, the Parthians, the Hyrcanians, the Chorasmians, the Sogdians, the Arians of Herat,

the Zarangians, the Arachosians, the Satagydians, and the Gandarians. I will loose the loins of

kings; i.e. render them weak and incapable of resistance" (comp. Dan_5:6), net "disarm them" (Cheyne);

for the chief royal weapons were the spear and the bow, neither of which was carried at the girdle. To

open before him the two-leaved gates. The cities and forts repro-sented on the Assyrian monuments

have invariably their gateways closed by two large gates or doors which meet in the centre of the

gateway. The bronze plating found at Ballarat gave the dimensions, and showed the strength of such

gates.

10CALVIN, 1.Thus saith Jehovah. He pursues the subject which he had begun to handle. He shews

that not in vain did he promise deliverance to his people, since the manner of it was altogether decreed

and appointed by him; (191) for when the question relates to our salvation, we always inquire into the way

and manner. Although God frequently chooses to hold us in suspense, and thus conceals from us the

method which he has ready at hand, yet, in this instance he indulges the weakness of his people, and

explains the method in which he will deliver them.

To Cyrus his anointed. He names the person by whose hand he will bring them back; for, since their faith

would be sharply tried by other temptations, he wished in this respect to provide against doubt, that the

difficulty of the event might not shake them. And in order to impart greater efficacy to this discourse, he

turns to Cyrus himself: have chosen thee to be a king to me; I will take hold of thy hand, and will subject

the nations to thy authority, so that they shall open up a passage for thee, and voluntarily surrender.

These words have greater effect than if the Lord spoke to his people.

Yet it might be thought strange that he calls Cyrus his Anointed; for this is the designation which was

given to the kings of Israel and Judah, because they represented the person of Christ, who alone, strictly

speaking, is Lord Anointed. Lord went forth with his Anointed, says Habakkuk, the salvation of his

people. (Hab_3:13.) In the person of David a kingdom had been set up, which professed to be an image

and figure of Christ; and hence also the prophets in many passages call him and Son of David.

(Eze_37:24.) It was indeed a special anointing, intended to distinguish that priestly kingdom from all

heathen kingdoms. Since therefore this title belonged to none but the kings of Judea, it might be thought

strange that it is here bestowed on a heathen king and a worshipper of idols; for although he was

instructed by Daniel, yet we do not read that he changed his religion. True, he regarded with reverence

the God of Israel, and considered him to be the Highest; but he was not prompted by a sincere affection

of the heart to worship him, and did not advance so far as to forsake superstitions and idolatries.

Thus God deigns to call him his not by a perpetual title, but because he discharged for a time the office

of Redeemer; for he both avenged the Church of God and delivered it from the Assyrians, who were its

enemies. This office belongs peculiarly to Christ; and this ordinary appellation of kings ought to be limited

to this circumstance, that he restored the people of God to the enjoyment of liberty. This should lead us to

observe how highly God values the salvation of the Church, because, for the sake of this single benefit,

Cyrus, a heathen man, is called Messiah, (192) or Anointed.

Whose right hand I have taken hold of. By this mode of expression, he means that Cyrus shall prosper in

all his undertakings, for he shall carry on war under God direction; and therefore Isaiah declares that, for

the sake of the Church, in order that he may deliver her, God will grant to him prosperity in all things;

while he again commends the providence of God, that the Jews may fully believe, amidst changes and

troubles, that God on high governs all things in such a manner as to promote the benefit of his elect. Now,

since it was not easy for Cyrus to penetrate as far as Babylon, because the whole of Asia had leagued

together in order to frustrate his designs, the Prophet testifies that God will dissolve all the strength which

men can bring against him.

I will loose the loins of kings. Because the whole strength lies in the reins, the Hebrew writers use the

phrase or the loins, to denote deprived of strength. We might also view it somewhat differently, that

is, that the Lord will bare, or their loins, according to the customary manner of Scripture, by which

kings are said to be ungirded of the belt, namely, of the badge of royalty, when they are deprived of

authority. Job (Job_12:18) employs this mode of expression, and Isaiah will afterwards employ it: (193)

will gird thee. (Ver. 5.) On this account I more readily adopt this sense, that the force of the contrast may

be more evident. This shews clearly that kings have just as much strength and power as the Lord

bestows on them for the preservation of each nation; for when he determines to convey their authority to

others, they cannot defend their condition by any weapons or swords.

To open the gates before him. By this expression he means that no fortresses can resist God, which

indeed is acknowledged by all, but yet they do not cease to place foolish confidences in bulwarks and

fortresses; for, where cities are well surrounded by walls, and the gates are shut, men think that there

they are safe. On the other hand the Prophet shews that all defences are useless, and that it serves no

purpose to block up every entrance, when the Lord wishes to open up a way for the enemies. Although it

is certain that the gates were shut and securely barred, yet, because Cyrus pushed his way as swiftly as

if all the cities had been thrown open, the Prophet justly affirms that nothing shall be closed against him.

(191) Estoit decrete et ordonne desia en son conseil. already decreed and appointed in his counsel.

(192) For an explanation of the meaning and use of the term see Harmony of the Evangelists, vol. 1, p.

92, n. 2, and p. 142, n. 2. Ed.

(193) Our author has already explained this allusion. See Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 2, p. 135. Ed.

2 I will go before you

and will level the mountains[a];

I will break down gates of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.

1.BARNES, I will go before thee - To prepare the way for conquest, a proof that it is by the providence of God that the proud conquerors of the earth are enabled to triumph. The idea is, I will take away everything that would retard or oppose your victorious march.

And make the crooked paths straight - (See the note at Isa_40:4). The Chaldee renders this, My word shall go before thee, and I will prostrate the walls. Lowth renders it, Make the

mountains plain. Noyes, Make the high places plain. The Septuagint renders it, JKN

Ore homalio - Level mountains. Vulgate, Gloriosos terroe humiliabo - The high places of the

earth I will bring down. The word ha9durym is from hadar, to be large, ample, swollen, tumid; and probably means the swollen tumid places, that is, the hills or elevated places; and the idea is, that God would make them level, or would remove all obstructions out of his way.

I will break in pieces the gates of brass - Ancient cities were surrounded by walls, and secured by strong gates, which were not unfrequently made of brass. To Babylon there were one hundred gates, twenty-five on each side of the city, which, with their posts, were made of brass. In the circumference of the walls, says Herodotus (i. 179), at different distances, were a hundred massy gates of brass, whose hinges and frames were of the same metal. It was to this, doubtless, that the passage before us refers.

The bars of iron - With which the gates of the city were fastened. One method of securing the gates of fortified places among the ancients, was to cover them with thick plates of iron - a custom which is still used in the East, and seems to be of great antiquity. We learn from Pitts, that Algiers has five gates, and some of these have two, some three other gates within them, and some of them plated all over with iron. Pococke, speaking of a bridge near Antioch, called the iron bridge, says, that there are two towers belonging to it, the gates of which are covered with iron plates. Some of these gates are plated over with brass; such are the enormous gates of the principal mosque at Damascus, formerly the church of John the Baptist (Paxton). The general idea in these passages is, that Cyrus would owe his success to divine interposition; and that that interposition would be so striking that it would be manifest that he owed his success to the favor of heaven. This was so clear in the history of Cyrus, that it is recognized by himself, and was also recognized even by the pagan who witnessed the success of his arms. Thus Cyrus says Ezr_1:2, Jehovah, God of heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth. Thus Herodotus (i. 124) records the fact that Harpagus said in a letter to Cyrus, Son of Cambyses, heaven evidently favors you, or you could never have thus risen superior to fortune. So Herodotus (i. 205) says that Cyrus regarded himself as endowed with powers more than human:, When he considered the special circumstances of his birth, he believed himself more than human. He reflected also on the prosperity of his arms, and that wherever he had extended his excursions, he had been followed by success and victory.

2. CLARKE, The crooked places The mountains - For hodurim, crooked

places, a word not easily accounted for in this place, the Septuagint read hararim, ,

the mountains. Two MSS. have hadarim, without the vau, which is hardly distinguishable from the reading of the Septuagint. The Divine protection that attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against Babylon easy and prosperous is finely expressed by Gods going before him, and making the mountains level. The image is highly poetical: -

At vos, qua veniet, tumidi subsidite montes,

Et faciles curvis vallibus este viae. Ovid, Amor. 2:16.

Let the lofty mountains fall down, and make level paths in the crooked valleys.

The gates of brass The valves of brass - Abydenus, apud, Euseb. Praep. Evang. 9:41, says, that the wall of Babylon had brazen gates. And Herodotus, i, 179. more particularly: In the wall all round there are a hundred gates, all of brass; and so in like manner are the sides and the lintels. The gates likewise within the city, opening to the river from the several streets, were of brass; as were those also of the temple of Belus. - Herod. i., 180, 181.

3. GILL, I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight,.... Or, "level the hilly places" (c); as pioneers do. The sense is, that he would remove all impediments and obstructions out of his way, and cause him to surmount all difficulties: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; with which the brasen gates were barred: in the wall that surrounded Babylon there were a hundred gates, all made of solid brass, twenty five on each side of the square; which, no doubt, are here referred to; which could not hinder the entrance of Cyrus into the city, and the taking of it; though they were not then destroyed by him, but by Darius afterwards (d) these gates of brass are mentioned by Abydenus (e), as made by Nebuchadnezzar, and as continuing till the empire of the Macedonians.

(c) The Septuagint render the word by , mountains; Gussetius by eminences, high places, such as stood in the way of passage into countries. The Vulgate Latin interprets it of glorious persons; and Abendana says it is right to understand it in this way; and applies it to Zerubbabel, and those that went up with him to Jerusalem, with the leave of Cyrus, who were good men, and honourable in their works, whom the Lord directed in their way right, and prospered them in the building of the temple, (d) Herodot. l. 1. c. 179. l. 3. c. 159. (e) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457.

4. SBC, I. Man must go. Each man is accomplishing a journey, going through a process. The only question isHow? Man may go, either with God or without Him. Whether we go with God or without Him, we shall find crooked places; we had better clearly understand this, lest any one should turn round after he has walked the first mile of Christian life, and say he expected there would have been no such places in all the course. Life is crooked; we ourselves are crooked; there is nothing in all human experience of which we can certainly say, This is perfectly straight. God Himself often inserts a crook in the lot. We should regard the text as a warning. There are crooked places.

II. The text is also a promise. "I will go before thee." God does not say where He will straighten our path; He does not say how; the great thing for us to believe is that there is a special promise for us, and to wait in devout hope for its fulfilment. He who waits for God is not misspending his time. Such waiting is true livingsuch tarrying is the truest speed.

III. The text is not only a warning and a promise, but also a plan. It is in the word before that I find the plan, and it is in that word before that I find the difficulty on the human side. God does

not say, I will go alongside thee; we shall go step by step: He says, I will go before thee. Sometimes it may be a long way before us, so that we cannot see Him; and sometimes it may be just in front of us. But whether beyond, far away, or here close at hand, the great idea we have to live upon is that God goes before us. (1) Let us beware of regarding the text as a mere matter of course. There is an essential question of character to be settled. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." (2) Let us beware of regarding this text as a licence for carelessness. Let us not say, "If God goes before me, and makes all places straight, why need I care?" To the good man all life is holy; there is no step of indifference; no subject that does not bring out his best desires. "The place whereon thou standest is holy ground" is the expression 6f every man who knows what it is to have God going before him.

Parker, City Temple, 1870, p. 4.

5,JAMISON, crooked ... straight (Isa_40:4), rather, maketh mountains plain [Lowth], that is, clear out of thy way all opposing persons and things. The Keri reads as in Isa_45:13, make straight (Margin).

gates of brass (Psa_107:16). Herodotus (1.179) says, Babylon had a hundred massive gates, twenty-five on each of the four sides of the city, all, as well as their posts, of brass.

bars of iron with which the gates were fastened.

6. PULPIT, I will J make the crooked places straight; rather, I will make the rugged places level. No

doubt intended generally, "I will smooth his way before him." The gates of brass - the bars of iron.

According to Herodotus, the gates of Babylon were of solid bronze, and one hundred in number (1.179).

Solid bronze gates have, however, nowhere been found, and would have been inconvenient from their

enormous weight. It is probable that the "gates of brass," or "bronze," whereof we read, were always, like

these found at Ballarat, of wood plated with bronze. To the eye these would be "gates of bronze." Gates

of towns were, as a matter of course, secured by bars, which would commonly be made of iron, as the

strongest material. Iron was well known to the Babylonians (Herod; 1:186).

7. CALVIN, 2.and 3.I will go before thee. These two verses contain nothing new; but, in general, he

shews that Cyrus will gain an easy and rapid victory, because he will have the Lord for the leader of his

expedition. Accordingly he promises that all crooked paths shall be made straight, because God will

remove every obstruction. Now, since money is the sinews of war, and Cyrus came from the scorched

and poor mountains of Persia, Jehovah says that treasures which were formerly hidden and concealed

shall come into the hands of Cyrus, so that, laden with rich booty, he shall have enough for defraying any

expenditure; for by the treasures of darknesshe means those which lay concealed, and as it were buried

in safe and deep places of defense. It is abundantly clear from history, that all these things happened; for

by taking Croesus, king of Lydia, who was at that time the richest of all men, he obtained large sums of

money. Nor would any one have expected that he would gain victories so easily; and the reason of so

great success is now added, because the Lord called and directed him, that he might give in him an

illustrious demonstration of his power; for he adds

That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah. True, Cyrus, as we formerly said, though he acknowledged

that the God of Israel is the true God, and was filled with admiration, yet was not converted to him, and

never embraced his pure worship according to the standard of the Law. This was therefore special

knowledge, that is, so far as he assisted the Church, for whose deliverance he was appointed; and

therefore it was necessary that he should be under the influence of this knowledge, in order that he might

execute this work of God. Thus he does not speak of that knowledge by which we are enlightened, or

about the Spirit of regeneration, but about special knowledge, such as men destitute of religion (194) may

possess.

Calling thee by thy name. From some commentators this mode of expression has received a trivial

interpretation, that Cyrus was born, God called and described him by his name. But we have seen in a

former passage, (Isa_43:1,) that the Prophet, while he used the same form of expression, meant

something different; for God is said to by name those whom he has chosen, and whom he appoints to

perform some particular work, that they may be separated from the multitude. This word denotes closer

and more familiar intercourse. Thus a shepherd is said to his sheep by name, (Joh_10:3,) because he

knows them individually. This applies indeed, in the highest degree, to believers, whom God reckons as

belonging to his flock, and to the number of the citizens of his Church. God did not bestow this favor on

Cyrus; but because, by appointing him to be the leader of so excellent a deliverance, he engraved on him

distinguished marks of his power; with good reason is the commendation of an excellent calling applied to

him.

The God of Israel. This ought to be carefully observed; for superstitious men ascribe to their idols the

victories which they have obtained, and, as Habakkuk (Hab_1:16) says, sacrifice every one to his god;

and therefore they wander in their thoughts, and conceive in their hearts any deity that they fancy, while

they ought to acknowledge that Jehovah is the only and true God. What is said of Cyrus ought to be

much more applied to us, that we may not fashion any knowledge of God according to our fancy, but may

distinguish him from idols, so as to embrace him alone, and to know him in Christ alone, apart from whom

nothing but an idol, or even a devil can be worshipped. In that; respect, therefore, let us surpass Cyrus, to

whom the knowledge of God was revealed, so that we may lay aside superstitions and all false worship,

and may thus adore him in a holy and upright manner.

(194) Les profanes et incredules. and infidels.

3 I will give you hidden treasures,

riches stored in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

1.BARNES, And I will give thee the treasures of darkness - The treasures which kings have amassed, and which they have laid up in dark and secure places. The word darkness, here, means that which was hidden, unknown, secret (compare Job_12:22). The treasures of the kings of the East were usually hidden in some obscure and strong place, and were not to be touched except in cases of pressing necessity. Alexander found vast quantities of treasure thus hidden among the Persians; and it was by taking such treasures that the rapacity of the soldiers who followed a conqueror was satisfied, and in fact by a division of the spoils thus taken that they were paid. There can be no doubt that large quantities of treasure in this manner would be found in Babylon. The following observations from Harmer (Obs. pp. 111, 511-513), will show that it was common to conceal treasures in this manner in the East; We are told by travelers in the East, that they have met with great difficulties, very often from a notion universally disseminated among them, that all Europeans are magicians, and that their visits to those eastern countries are not to satisfy curiosity, but to find out, and get possession of those vast treasures they believe to be buried there in great quantities.

These representations are very common; but Sir John Chardin gives us a more particular and amusing account of affairs of this kind: It is common in the Indies, for those sorcerers that accompany conquerors, everywhere to point out the place where treasures are bid. Thus, at Surat, when Siragi came thither, there were people who, with a stick striking on the ground or against walls, found out those that had been hollowed or dug up, and ordered such places to be opened. He then intimates that something of this nature had happened to him in Mingrelia. Among the various contradictions that agitate the human breast, this appears to be a remarkable one; they firmly believe the power of magicians to discover bidden treasures, and yet they continue to hide them. Dr. Perry has given us all account of some mighty treasures hidden in the ground by some of the principal people of the Turkish empire, which, upon a revolution, were discovered by domestics privy to the secret.

DHerbelot has given us accounts of treasures concealed in the same manner, some of them of great princes, discovered by accidents extremely remarkable: but this account of Chardins, of conquerors pretending to find out hidden treasures by means of sorcerers, is very extraordinary. As, however, people of this cast have made great pretences to mighty things, in all ages, and were not unfrequently confided in by princes, there is reason to believe they pretended sometimes, by their art, to discover treasures, anciently, to princes, of which they had gained intelligence by other methods; and, as God opposed his prophets, at various times, to pretended sorcerers, it is not unlikely that the prophet Isaiah points at some such prophetic discoveries, in those remarkable words Isa_45:3 : And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. I will give them, by enabling some prophet of mine to tell thee where they are concealed.

Such a supposition throws a great energy into those words. The belief that the ruins of cities abound with treasures that were deposited there long since, prevails in the East, and the inhabitants of those countries regard all travelers who come there, Burckhardt informs us, as coming to find treasures, and as having power to remove them by enchantment. It is very unfortunate, says he, for European travelers, that the idea of treasures being hidden in ancient edifices is so strongly rooted in the minds of the Arabs and Turks; they believe that it is sufficient for a true magician to have seen and observed the spot where treasures are hidden (of which be is supposed to be already informed by the old books of the infidels who lived on the spot), in order to be able afterward at his ease to command the guardian of the treasure to set the whole before him. It was of no avail to tell them to follow me and see whether I searched for money.

Their reply was, Of course you will not dare to take it out before us, but we know that if you are a skillful magician you will order it to follow you through the air to whatever place you please. If the traveler takes the dimensions of a building or a column, they are persuaded it is a magical proceeding. (Travels in Syria, pp. 428, 429. Ed. Lond. 4to, 1822.) Laborde, in his account of a visit to Petra, or Sela, has given an account of a splendid temple cut in the solid rock, which is called the Khasne, or treasury of Pharaoh. It is sculptured out of an enormous block of freestone, and is one of the most splendid remains of antiquity. It is believed by the Arabs to have been the place where Pharaoh, supposed to have been the founder of the costly edifices of Petra, had deposited his wealth. After having searched in vain, says Laborde, all the coffins and funeral monuments, to find his wealth, they supposed it must be in the urn which surmounted the Khasne. But, unhappily, being out of their reach, it has only served the more to kindle their desires.

Hence, whenever they pass through the ravine, they stop for a moment, charge their guns, aim at the urn, and endeavor by firing at it, to break off some fragments, with a view to demolish it altogether, and get at the treasure which it is supposed to contain. (Labordes Sinai and Petra, p. 170. Ed. Lond. 1836.) The treasures which Cyrus obtained in his conquests are known to have been immense. Sardis, the capital of Croesus, king of Lydia, the most wealthy monarch of his time, was, according to Herodotus (i. 84), given up to be plundered; and his hoarded wealth became the spoil of the victor (see also Xen. Cyr. vii.) That Babylon abounded in treasures is expressly declared by Jeremiah Jer_51:13 : O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures. These treasures also, according to Jeremiah Jer_50:37, became the spoil of the conqueror of the city. Pithy also has given a description of the wealth which Cyrus obtained in his conquests, which strikingly confirms what Isaiah here declares: Cyrus, in the conquest of Asia, obtained thirty-four thousand pounds weight of gold, besides golden vases, and gold that was made with leaves, and the palm-tree, and the vine.

In which victory also he obtained five hundred thousand talents of silver, and the goblet of Semiramis, which weighed fifteen talents. (Nat. Hist. 33. 3.) Brerewood has estimated that this gold and silver amounted to one hundred and twenty-six million, and two hundred and twenty-four thousand pounds sterling. (De Pon. et Men. 10.) Babylon was the center of an immense traffic that was carried on between the eastern parts of Asia and the western parts of Asia and Europe. For a description of this commerce, see an article in the Bib. Rep. vol. vii. pp. 364-390. Babylonian garments, it will be remembered, of great value, had made their way to Palestine in the time of Joshua Jos_7:21. Tapestries embroidered with figures of griffons and other monsters of eastern imagination were articles of export (Isaac Vossius, Observatio). Carpets were made there of the finest materials and workmanship, and formed an article of extensive exportation. They were of high repute in the times of Cyrus; whose tomb at Pasargada was adorned with them (Arrian, Exped. Alex. vi. 29). Great quantities of gold were used in Babylon. The vast image of gold erected by Nebuchadnezzar in the plain of Dura is proof enough of this fact. The image was sixty cubits high and six broad Dan_3:1. Herodotus (i. 183) informs us that the Chaldeans used a thousand talents of frankincense annually in the temple of Jupiter.

That thou mayest know - That from these signal successes, and these favors of heaven, you may learn that Yahweh is the true God. This he would learn because he would see that he owed it to heaven (see the note at Isa_45:2); and because the prediction which God had made of his success would convince him that he was the true and only God. That it had this effect on Cyrus is apparent from his own proclamation (see Ezr_1:2). God took this method of making himself known to the monarch of the most mighty kingdom of the earth, in order, as he repeatedly declares, that through his dealings with kingdoms and people he may be acknowledged.

Which call thee by thy name - (See the notes at Isa_43:1). That thou mayest know that I, who so long before designated thee by name, am the true God. The argument is, that none but God could have foretold the name of him who should be the deliverer of his people.

Am the God of Israel - That the God of Israel was the true and only God. The point to be made known was not that he was the God of Israel, but that the God of Israel was Yahweh the true God.

2. CLARKE, I will gave thee the treasures of darkness - Sardes and Babylon, when taken by Cyrus, were the wealthiest cities in the world. Croesus, celebrated beyond all the kings of that age for his riches, gave up his treasures to Cyrus, with an exact account in writing of the whole, containing the particulars with which each wagon was loaded when they were carried away; and they were delivered to Cyrus at the palace of Babylon. - Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. 7 p. 503, 515, 540.

Pliny gives the following account of the wealth taken by Cyrus in Asia. Jam Cyrus devicta Asia, pondo 34 millia auri invenerat; praeter vasa aurea, aurumque factum, et in eo folia, ac platanum, vitemque. Qua victoria argenti quingenta millia talentorum reportavit; et craterem Semiramidis, cuius pondus quindecim talents colligebat. Talentum autem Aegyptium pondo lxxx. patere 50 capere Varro tradit. - Nat. Hist. 33:15. When Cyrus conquered Asia, he found thirty-four thousand pounds weight of gold, besides golden vessels and articles in gold; and leaves, (folia, perhaps solia, bathing vessels, Hol.), a plane, and vine tree, (of gold.) By which victory he carried away fifteen thousand talents of silver; and the cup of Semiramis, the weight of which was fifteen tatents. The Egyptian talent, according to Varro, was eighty pounds. This cup was the crater, or large vessel, out of which they filled the drinking cups at great entertainments. Evidently it could not be a drinking vessel, which, according to what Varro and Pliny say, must have weighed 1, 200 pounds!

The gold and silver estimated by weight in this account, being converted into pounds sterling, amount to one hundred and twenty-six millions two hwndred and twenty-four thousand pounds. - Brerewood, De Ponderibus, cap. x.

Treasures of darkness may refer to the custom of burying their jewels and money under the ground in their house floors, fearing robbers.

3. GILL, And I will give thee treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,.... What had been laid up in private places, and had not seen the light for many years. The Jewish Rabbins say (f), that Nebuchadnezzar having amassed together all the riches of the world, when he drew near his end, considered with himself to whom he should leave it; and being unwilling to leave it to Evilmerodach, he ordered ships of brass to be built, and filled them with it, and dug a place in Euphrates, and hid them in it, and turned the river upon them; and that day that Cyrus ordered the temple to be built, the Lord revealed them to him: the riches of Croesus king of Lydia, taken by Cyrus, are meant; especially what he found in Babylon, which abounded in riches, Jer_51:13. Pliny (g) says, when he conquered Asia, he brought away thirty four thousand pounds of gold, besides golden vessels, and five hundred thousand talents of silver, and the cup of Semiramis, which weighed fifteen talents. Xenophon (h) makes mention of great riches and treasures which Cyrus received from Armenius, Gobryas, and Croesus: that thou mayest know that I the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel; to call him by name two hundred years, or near it, before he was born, was a proof that he was God omniscient, and knew things before they were, and could call things that were not, as though they were; and this Cyrus was made acquainted with; for, as Josephus (i) says, he read

this prophecy in Isaiah concerning him; and all this being exactly fulfilled in him, obliged him to acknowledge him the Lord, to be the Lord God of heaven, and the Lord God of Israel, Ezr_1:2.

4. HENRY, He shall replenish his coffers very much (Isa_45:3): I will give thee the treasures of darkness, treasures of gold and silver, that have been long kept close under lock and key and had not seen the light of many years, or had been buried under ground by the inhabitants, in their fright, upon the taking of the city. The riches of many nations had been brought to Babylon, and Cyrus seized all together. The hidden riches of secret places, which belonged either to the crown or to private persons, shall all be a prey to Cyrus. Thus God, designing him to do a piece of service to his church, paid him richly for it beforehand; and Cyrus very honestly owned God's goodness to him, and, in consideration of that, released the captives. Ezr_1:2, God has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and thereby has obliged me to build him a house at Jerusalem.

II. We are here told what God designed in doing all this for Cyrus. What Cyrus aimed at in undertaking his wars we may easily guess; but what God aimed at in giving him such wonderful success in his wars we are here told.

1. It was that the God of Israel might be glorified: That thou mayest know by all this that I the Lord am the God of Israel; for I have called thee by thy name long before thou wast born. When Cyrus should have this prophecy of Isaiah shown to him, and should there find his own name and his own achievements particularly described so long before, he should thereby be brought to acknowledge that the God of Israel was the Lord, Jehovah, the only living and true God, and that he continued to own his Israel though now in captivity. It is well when thus men's prosperity brings them to the knowledge of God, for too often it makes them forget him.

5,JAMISON, treasures of darkness that is, hidden in subterranean places; a common Oriental practice. Sorcerers pretended to be able to show where such treasures were to be found; in opposition to their pretensions, God says, He will really give hidden treasures to Cyrus (Jer_50:37; Jer_51:13). Pliny (Natural History, 33:3) says that Cyrus obtained from the conquest of Asia thirty-four thousand pounds weight of gold, besides golden vases, and five hundred thousand talents of silver, and the goblet of Semiramis, weighing fifteen talents.

that thou mayest know namely, not merely that He was the God of Israel, but that He was Jehovah, the true God. Ezr_1:1, Ezr_1:2 shows that the correspondence of the event with the prediction had the desired effect on Cyrus.

which call ... thy name so long before designate thee by name (Isa_43:1).

6. PULPIT, I will give thee the treasures of darkness; i.e. "treasures stored in dark places""bidden

treasures." Treasuries were built for greater security without windows. Of the treasures which fell into the

hands of Cyrus, the greatest were probably those of Babylon (Herod; 1.183) and of Sardis (Xen; 'Cyrop.,'

7.2, 11). The value of the latter has been estimated at above one hundred and twenty-six millions

sterling. That thou mayest know; or, acknowledge. If these documents are accepted as genuine, or

even as true in substance (Ewald), Cyrus must be considered to have identified Jehovah with his own

Ormuzd, and to have viewed the Jewish and Persian religions as substantially the same. He would be

under no temptation, with so weak and down-trodden a people as the Jews, to resort to politic pretences,

as he might be in the case of the Babylonians (see the comment on Isa_41:25). Which call thee by thy

name (comp. Isa_45:1 and Isa_44:28). (On the special favour implied in God's condescending to "know"

or "call" a person by his name, see the 'Pulpit Commentary' on Exo_33:12.) Am the God of Israel; rather,

am the Lord J the God of Israel.

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,

of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

and bestow on you a title of honor,

though you do not acknowledge me.

1.BARNES, For Jacob my servants 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.

2. PULPIT, For Jacob my servant's sake. This second motive is, in a certain sense, the main one.

Cyrus is raised up, especially, to perform God's pleasure with respect to Judah and Jerusalem

(Isa_44:26-28). Jacob, his Church, is more important in God's eyes than any individual. No doubt his

Church is maintained, in part, that it may be "a light to lighten the Gentiles;" but it is not maintained solely:

or even mainly, for this end. Its welfare is an end in itself, and would be sought by God apart from any

further consequence. Israel mine elect (comp. Isa_41:8; Isa_44:1). I have surnamed thee; i.e. "given

thee designations of honour," e.g. "my anointed" (Isa_45:1); "my shepherd" (Isa_44:28); "he who shall do

all my pleasure" (Isa_44:28). Though thou hast not known me; rather, though thou didst not know

me. Cyrus's honours, his titles, his mention by name, etc; were accumulated upon him before his birth,

when he knew nothing of God, when, therefore, he had in no way merited them. Thus all was done, not

for his sake, but lot the sake of Israel.

3. GILL, For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name,.... Not so much for the sake of Cyrus, and to do honour to him, was it that he so long before he was born called him by his name; but to assure the people of the Jews, the Lord's chosen people, and who were his servants, of the certainty of their deliverance, their deliverer being mentioned by name; and it was for their sakes, and not his, that he called him, and raised him up to do such great things as he did, that he might deliver them from their captivity: and it is for the sake of God's elect, whom he has chosen to holiness and happiness, to serve him, and be with him for ever, that he has called Christ, of whom Cyrus was a type, and sent him into the world, to be the Saviour and Redeemer of them: I have surnamed thee; not only called him by his name, Cyrus, but surnamed him his "shepherd", and "his anointed", Isa_44:28, though thou hast not known me; as yet not being born; and when he was, and was grown up, he was ignorant of the true God; and though, upon sight of the above prophecy, and under an immediate influence and impression, he acknowledged the God of Israel to be the God of heaven yet it does not appear that he left the Pagan idolatry; for Xenophon (k) relates, that when he found his end was near, he took sacrifices, and offered them to Jupiter, and the sun, and the rest of the gods; and gave them thanks for the care they had taken of him; and prayed them to grant happiness to his wife, children, friends, and country.

4. HENRY, It was that the Israel of God might be released, Isa_45:4. Cyrus knew not God as the God of Israel. Having been trained up in the worship of idols, the true God was to him an unknown God. But, though he knew not God, God not only knew him when he came into being, but foreknew him, and bespoke him for his shepherd. He called him by his name, Cyrus, nay, which was yet great honour, he surnamed him and called him his anointed. And why did God do all this for Cyrus? Not for his own sake, be it known to him; whether he was a man of virtue or no is questioned. Xenophon indeed, when he would describe the heroic virtues of an excellent prince, made use of Cyrus's name, and many of the particulars of his story, in his Cyropaedia; but other historians represent him as haughty, cruel, and bloodthirsty. The reason why God preferred him was for Jacob his servant's sake. Note, (1.) In all the revolutions of states and kingdoms, the sudden falls of the great and strong, and the surprising advancements of the weak and obscure, God is designing the good of his church. (2.) It is therefore the wisdom of those to whom God has given wealth and power to use them for his glory, by showing kindness to his people. Cyrus is preferred that Israel may be released. He shall have a kingdom, only that God's people may have their liberty; for their kingdom is not of this world, it is yet to come. In all this Cyrus was a type of Christ, who was made victorious over principalities and powers, and entrusted with unsearchable riches, for the use and benefit of God's servants, his elect. When he ascended on high he led captivity captive, took those captives that had taken others captives, and opened the prison to those that were bound.

5,JAMISON, (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; see on Isa_44:28; see on 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 Gods call, Cyrus did know Him in some degree (Ezr_1:1-3).

6. K&D 4-7, A second and third object are introduced by a second and third . 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 which follows the second reason assigned like an apodosis, is construed

doubly: I called to thee, calling thee by name. The parallel X 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 \ 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 ^ in Isa_18:5, or

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 (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.

7. CALVIN, 4.For the sake of my servant Jacob. He shews for what purpose he would grant such

happy and illustrious success to this prince. It is, in order that he may preserve his people; as if the Lord

had said, shalt indeed obtain a signal victory, bur I will have regard to my own people rather than to

thee; for it is for their sake that I subject kings and nations to thy power. By these predictions, indeed, the

Lord intended to encourage the hearts of believers, that they might not despair amidst those distresses;

but undoubtedly he intended likewise to excite Cyrus to acknowledge that he owed to that nation all that

he should accomplish, that he might he more disposed to treat them with all kindness.

And Israel mine elect. In this second clause there is a repetition which serves still farther to explain that

reason; and at the same time he shews on what ground he reckons the Israelites to be servants. It is

because he condescended to choose them by free grace; for it is not in the power of men to make

themselves of God, or to obtain so great honor by their own exertions. This clause is therefore

added, (195) as before, for the sake of explanation. But still it denotes also the end of election; for, since

we are naturally the slaves of Satan, we are called in order that, being restored to liberty, we may serve

God. Yet he shews that no man is worthy of that honor, as we have said, but he whom God hath chosen;

for who will boast that he is worthy of so high an honor, or what can we render or offer to God? Thus are

not sufficient of ourselves, but the Lord hath made us sufficient, as Paul says. (2Co_3:5.) The beginning

of our salvation, therefore, is God election by free grace; and the end of it is the obedience which we

ought to render to him.

But although this is limited to the history of Cyrus, still we may draw from it a general doctrine. When

various changes happen in the world, God secures at the same time the salvation of his people, and in

the midst of storms wonderfully preserves his Church. We are indeed blind and stupid as to the works of

God, yet we ought firmly to believe that, even when everything appears to be driven about at random, and

to be tossed up and down, God never forgets his Church, whose salvation, on the contrary, he promotes

by hidden methods, so that it is at length seen that he is her guardian and defender.

Josephus relates a memorable narrative about Alexander, who, while he was besieging Tyre, sent

ambassadors to Jerusalem, to demand the tribute which the Jews were paying to Darius. Jaddus, the

high-priest, who had sworn that he would pay that tribute, would not become subject to Alexander, and

refused to pay him the tribute. Alexander was highly offended, and, swelling with pride and fierceness,

determined to destroy Jerusalem, and, after having conquered Darius, marched to Jerusalem, for the

purpose of consigning it to utter destruction. Jaddus went out to meet him, accompanied by other priests

and Levites, wearing the priestly dress; and Alexander, as soon as he saw him, leapt from his horse, and

threw himself down as a suppliant at his feet. Every person was astonished at a thing so strange and so

inconsistent with his natural disposition, and thought that he had lost his senses. Parmenio, who alone of

all who were present asked the reason, received a reply, that he did not adore this man, but God, whose

servant he was; and that, before he left Dion, a city of Macedonia, a man of that appearance and dress,

who appeared to have the form of God, presented himself to him in a dream, encouraged him to take

Asia, and promised to be the leader of the army, so that he ought to entertain no doubt of victory, and

therefore that he could not but be powerfully affected by seeing him. In this manner, therefore, was

Jerusalem rescued from the jaws of that savage highwayman who aimed at nothing else than fire and

bloodshed, and even obtained from him greater liberty than before, and likewise gifts and privileges. (196)

I have quoted this example in order to shew that the Church of God is preserved in the midst of dangers

by strange and unusual methods. Those were troublous times, and scarcely a corner of the earth was at

rest; but above all other countries Judea might be said to be devoted to destruction. Yet behold the

Church rescued in a wonderful and unusual manner, while other nations are destroyed, and nearly the

whole world has changed its face!

And yet thou hast not known me. These words are added for the purpose of giving greater force to the

statement, not only that Cyrus may learn that this is not granted on account of any of his own merits, but

that he may not despise the God of Israel, though he does not know him. The Lord frequently, indeed,

reminds us on this subject, that he anticipates all the industry that exists in men, in order that he may beat

down all the pride of the flesh. But there is another reason, as regards Cyrus; for if he had thought that

the Lord granted those things for his own sake, he would have disregarded the Jews and treated them as

despicable slaves. For this reason the Lord testifies that it does not happen on account of Cyrus own

merit, but only for the sake of the people, whom he determines to rescue out of the hands of enemies.

Besides, nothing was more probable than that this man, in his blindness, would appropriate to his idols

that which belonged to the true God; because, being entirely under the influence of wicked superstitions,

he would not willingly have given place to a strange and unknown God, if he had not been instructed by

this prediction.

(195) Ce mot d eleu est donc adjuste. word elect is thus added.

(196) Joseph. Ant., Book 11, chap. 8.

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged me,

1.BARNES, I am the Lord ... - (see the notes at Isa_42:8; Isa_43:2; Isa_44:8; Isa_45:14, Isa_45:18, Isa_45:22).

I girded thee ... - (see the note at Isa_45:1). The sense is, I girded thee with the girdle - the military belt; I prepared thee, and strengthened thee for war and conquest. Even people who are strangers to the true God are sustained by him, and are unable to accomplish anything without his providential aid.

2. PULPIT, I girded thee. As God "loosed the loins" of Cyrus's adversaries (Isa_45:1), to weaken

them, so he "girded" those of Cyrus, to give him strength (comp. Psa_18:32)

3. GILL, I am the Lord, and there is none else,.... Whom thou, O Cyrus, for the words are directed to him, ought to own, serve, and worship: there is no God besides me; in heaven or earth, in any of the countries conquered by thee, and thou rulest over; for though there were gods and lords many, so called, these were only nominal fictitious deities; not gods by nature, as he was; of which the following, as well as what is before said, is a proof: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me; the Lord girded him with a royal girdle, a symbol of kingly power; he made him king over many nations; he girded him with strength, courage, and valour for war; and made him so expeditious, successful, and victorious, as he was, though a Heathen prince, and ignorant of him, in order to answer some valuable ends of his own glory, and the good of his people, and particularly for what follows.

4. HENRY, God here asserts his sole and sovereign dominion, as that which he designed to prove and manifest to the world in all the great things he did for Cyrus and by him. Observe,

I. How this doctrine is here laid down concerning the sovereignty of the great Jehovah, in two

things: - 1. That he is God alone, and there is no God besides him. This is here inculcated as a

fundamental truth, which, if it were firmly believed, would abolish idolatry out of the world.

With what an awful, commanding, air of majesty and authority, bidding defiance, as it were, to

all pretenders, does the great God here proclaim it to the world: I am the Lord, I the Lord, Jehovah, and there is none else, there is no God besides me, no other self-existent, self-sufficient, being, none infinite and eternal.

5,JAMISON, (Isa_42:8; Isa_43:3, Isa_43:11; Isa_44:8; Isa_46:9).

girded thee whereas I will loose (the girdle off) the loins of kings (Isa_45:1), strengthening thee, but enfeebling them before thee.

though ... not known me (Isa_45:4). God knows His elect before they are made to know Him (Gal_4:9; Joh_15:16).

6. SBC, God has a definite life-plan for every human person, girding him, visibly or invisibly, for some exact thing, which it will be the true significance and glory of his life to have accomplished. What a thought is this for every human soul to cherish! What dignity does it add to life! What instigations does it add to send us onward in everything that constitutes our excellence! We live in the Divine thought. We fill a place in the great everlasting plan of Gods intelligence. We never sink below His care, never drop out of His counsel. But the inquiry will be made, supposing this to be true, how can we ever get hold of this life-plan God has made for us, or find our way into it?

I. Observe, first, some negatives that are important, and must be avoided. They are these: (1) You will never come into Gods plan if you study singularity; for if God has a design and plan for every mans life, then it is exactly appropriate to his nature; and as every mans nature is singular and peculiar to himselfas peculiar as his face or lookthen it follows that God will lead every man into a singular, original, and peculiar life, without any study or singularity on his part. (2) As little must we seek to c