Isaiah 19:1 Kommentar

As Assyria was a breaking rod to Judah, with which it was smitten, so Egypt was a broken reed, with which it was cheated; and therefore God had a quarrel with them both. We have before read the doom of the Assyrians; now here we have the burden of Egypt, a prophecy concerning that nation, I. That it should be greatly weakened and brought low, and should be as contemptible among the nations as now it was considerable, rendered so by a complication of judgments which God would bring upon them (v. 1-17). II. That at length God's holy religion should be brought into Egypt, and set up there, in part by the Jews that should flee thither for refuge, but more fully by the preachers of the gospel of Christ, through whose ministry churches should be planted in Egypt in the says of the Messiah (Isa 19:18-25), which would abundantly balance all the calamities here threatened.

Though the land of Egypt had of old been a house of bondage to the people of God, where they had been ruled with rigour, yet among the unbelieving Jews there still remained much of the humour of their fathers, who said, Let us make us a captain and return into Egypt. Upon all occasions they trusted to Egypt for help (Isa 30:2), and thither they fled, in disobedience to God's express command, when things were brought to the last extremity in their own country, Jer 43:7. Rabshakeh upbraided Hezekiah with this, Isa 36:6. While they kept up an alliance with Egypt, and it was a powerful ally, they stood not in awe of the judgments of God; for against them they depended upon Egypt to protect them. Nor did they depend upon the power of God when at any time they were in distress; but Egypt was their confidence. To prevent all this mischief, Egypt must be mortified, and many ways God here tells them he will take to mortify them. I. The gods of Egypt shall appear to them to be what they always really were, utterly unable to help them, Isa 19:1. "The Lord rides upon a cloud, a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt. As a judge goes in state to the bench to try and condemn the malefactors, or as a general takes the field with his troops to crush the rebels, so shall God come into Egypt with his judgments; and when he comes he will certainly overcome." In all this burden of Egypt here is no mention of any foreign enemy invading them; but God himself will come against them, and raise up the causes of their destruction from among themselves. He comes upon a cloud, above the reach of the opposition or resistance. He comes apace upon a swift cloud; for their judgment lingers not when the time has come. He rides upon the wings of the wind, with a majesty far excelling the greatest pomp and splendour of earthly princes. He makes the clouds his chariots, Psa 18:9; Psa 104:3. When he comes the idols of Egypt shall be moved, shall be removed at his presence, and perhaps be made to fall as Dagon did before the ark. Isis, Osiris, and Apis, those celebrated idols of Egypt, being found unable to relieve their worshippers, shall be disowned and rejected by them. Idolatry had got deeper rooting in Egypt than in any land besides, even the most absurd idolatries; and yet now the idols shall be moved and they shall be ashamed of them. When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt he executed judgments upon the gods of the Egyptians (Num 33:4); no marvel then if, when he comes, they begin to tremble. The Egyptians shall seek to the idols, when they are at their wits' end, and consult the charmers and wizards (Isa 19:3); but all in vain; they see their ruin hastening on them notwithstanding. II. The militia of Egypt, that had been famed for their valour, shall be quite dispirited and disheartened. No kingdom in the world was ever in a better method of keeping up a standing army than the Egyptians were; but now their heroes, that used to be celebrated for courage, shall be posted for cowards: The heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it, like wax before the fire (Isa 19:1); the spirit of Egypt shall fail, Isa 19:3. They shall have no inclination, no resolution, to stand up in defence of their country, their liberty, and property; but shall tamely and ingloriously yield all to the invader and oppressor. The Egyptians shall be like women (Isa 19:16); they shall be frightened and put into confusion by the least alarm; even those that dwell in the heart of the country, in the midst of it, and therefore furthest from danger, will be as full of frights as those that are situate on the frontiers. Let not the bold and brave be proud or secure, for God can easily cut off the spirit of princes (Psa 76:12) and take away their hearts, Job 12:24. III. The Egyptians shall be embroiled in endless dissensions and quarrels among themselves. There shall be no occasion to bring a foreign force upon them to destroy them; they shall destroy one another (Isa 19:2): I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians. As these divisions and animosities are their sin, God is not the author of them, they come from men's lusts; but God, as a Judge, permits them for their punishment, and by their destroying differences corrects them for their sinful agreements. Instead of helping one another, and acting each in his place for the common good, they shall fight every one against his brother and neighbour, whom he ought to love as himself - city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. Egypt was then divided into twelve provinces, or dynasties; but Psammetichus, the governor of one of them, by setting them at variance with one another, at length made himself master of them all. A kingdom thus divided against itself would soon be brought to desolation. En quo discordi cives perduxit miseros! - Oh the wretchedness brought upon a people by their disagreements among themselves! It is brought to this by a perverse spirit, a spirit of contradiction, which the Lord would mingle, as an intoxicating draught made up of several ingredients, for the Egyptians, Isa 19:14. One party shall be for a thing for no other reason than because the other is against it; that is a perverse spirit, which, if it mingle with the public counsels, tends directly to the ruin of the public interests. IV. Their politics shall be all blasted, and turned into foolishness. When God will destroy the nation he will destroy the counsel thereof (Isa 19:3), by taking away wisdom from the statesmen (Job 12:20), or setting them one against another (as Hushai and Ahithophel), or by his providence breaking their measures even when they seemed well laid; so that the princes of Zoan are fools: they make fools of one another, every one betrays his own folly, and divine Providence makes fools of them all, Isa 19:11. Pharaoh had his wise counsellors. Egypt was famous for such. But their counsel has all become brutish; they have lost all their forecast; one would think they had become idiots, and were bereaved of common sense. Let no man glory then in his own wisdom, nor depend upon that, nor upon the wisdom of those about him; for he that gives understanding can when he please take it away. And from those it is most likely to be taken away that boast of their policy, as Pharaoh's counsellors here did, and, to recommend themselves to places of public trust, boast of their great understanding ("I am the son of the wise, of the God of wisdom, of wisdom itself," says one; "my father was an eminent privy-counsellor of note in his day for wisdom"), or of the antiquity and dignity of their families: "I am," says another, "the son of ancient kings." The nobles of Egypt boasted much of their antiquity, producing fabulous records of their succession for above 10,000 years. This humour prevailed much among them about this time, as appears by Herodotus, their common boast being that Egypt was some thousands of years more ancient than any other nation. "But where are thy wise men? Isa 19:12. Let them now show their wisdom by foreseeing what ruin is coming upon their nation, and preventing it, if they can. Let them with all their skill know what the Lord of hosts has purposed upon Egypt, and arm themselves accordingly. Nay, so far are they from doing this that they themselves are, in effect, contriving the ruin of Egypt, and hastening it on, Isa 19:13. The princes of Noph are not only deceived themselves, but they have seduced Egypt, by putting their kings upon arbitrary proceedings" (by which both themselves and their people were soon undone); "the governors of Egypt, that are the stay and cornerstones of the tribes thereof, are themselves undermining it." It is sad with a people when those that undertake for their safety are helping forward their destruction, and the physicians of the state are her worst disease, when the things that belong to the public peace are so far hidden from the eyes of those that are entrusted with the public counsels that in every thing they blunder and take wrong measures; so here (Isa 19:14): They have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof. Every step they took was a false step. They always mistook either the end or the means, and their counsels were all unsteady and uncertain, like the staggerings and stammerings of a drunken man in his vomit, who knows not what he says nor where he goes. See what reason we have to pray for our privy-counsellors and ministers of state, who are the great supports and blessings of the state if God give them a spirit of wisdom, but quite the contrary if he hide their heart from understanding. V. The rod of government shall be turned into the serpent of tyranny and oppression (Isa 19:4): "The Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord, not a foreigner, but one of their own, one that shall rule over them by an hereditary right, but shall be a fierce king and rule them with rigour," either the twelve tyrants that succeeded Sethon, or rather Psammetichus that recovered the monarchy again; for he speaks of one cruel lord. Now the barbarous usage which the Egyptian task masters gave to God's Israel long ago was remembered against them and they were paid in their own coin by another Pharaoh. It is sad with a people when the powers that should be for edification are for destruction, and they are ruined by those by whom they should be ruled, when such as this is the manner of the king, as it is described (in terrorem - in order to impress alarm), Sa1 8:11. VI. Egypt was famous for its river Nile, which was its wealth, and strength, and beauty, and was idolized by them. Now it is here threatened that the waters shall fail from the sea and the river shall be wasted and dried up, Isa 19:5. Nature shall not herein favour them as she has done. Egypt was never watered with the rain of heaven (Zac 14:18), and therefore the fruitfulness of their country depended wholly upon the overflowing of their river; if that therefore be dried up, their fruitful land will soon be turned into barrenness and their harvests cease: Every thing sown by the brooks will wither of course, will be driven away, and be no more, Isa 19:7. If the paper-reeds by the brooks, at the very mouth of them, wither, much more the corn, which lies at a greater distance, but derives its moisture from them. Yet this is not all; the drying up of their rivers is the destruction, 1. Of their fortifications, for they are brooks of defence (Isa 19:6), making the country difficult of access to an enemy. Deep rivers are the strongest lines, and most hardly forced. Pharaoh is said to be a great dragon lying in the midst of his rivers, and guarded by them, bidding defiance to all about him, Eze 29:3. But these shall be emptied and dried up, not by an enemy, as Sennacherib with the sole of his foot dried up mighty rivers (Isa 37:25), and as Cyrus, who took Babylon by drawing Euphrates into many streams, but by the providence of God, which sometimes turns water-springs into dry ground, Psa 107:33. 2. It is the destruction of their fish, which in Egypt was much of their food, witness that base reflection which the children of Israel made (Num 11:5): We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely. The drying up of the rivers will kill the fish (Psa 105:29), and will thereby ruin those who make it their business, (1.) To catch fish, whether by angling or nets (Isa 19:8); they shall lament and languish, for their trade is at an end. There is nothing which the children of this world do more heartily lament than the loss of that which they used to get money by. Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecunia veris - Those are genuine tears which are shed over lost money. (2.) To keep fish, that it may be ready when it is called for. There were those that made sluices and ponds for fish (Isa 19:10), but they shall be broken in the purposes thereof; their business will fail, either for want of water to fill their ponds or for want of fish to replenish their waters. God can find ways to deprive a country even of that which is its staple commodity. The Egyptians may themselves remember the fish they have formerly eaten freely, but now cannot have for money. And that which aggravates the loss of these advantages by the river is that it is their own doing (Isa 19:6): They shall turn the rivers far away. Their kings and great men, to gratify their own fancy, will drain water from the main river to their own houses and grounds at a distance, preferring their private convenience before the public good, and so by degrees the force of the river is sensibly weakened. Thus many do themselves a greater prejudice at last than they think of, [1.] Who pretend to be wiser than nature, and to do better for themselves than nature has done. [2.] Who consult their own particular interest more than the common good. Such may gratify themselves, but surely they can never satisfy themselves, who to serve a turn contribute to a public calamity, which they themselves, in the long run, cannot avoid sharing in. Herodotus tells us that Pharaoh-Necho (who reigned not long after this), projecting to cut a free passage by water from Nilus into the Red Sea, employed a vast number of men to make a ditch or channel for that purpose, in which attempt he impaired the river, lost 120,000 of his people, and yet left the work unaccomplished. VII. Egypt was famous for the linen manufacture; but that trade shall be ruined. Solomon's merchants traded with Egypt for linen-yarn, Kg1 10:28. Their country produced the best flax and the best hands to work it; but those that work in fine flax shall be confounded (Isa 19:9), either for want of flax to work on or for want of a demand for that which they have worked or opportunity to export it. The decay of trade weakens and wastes a nation and by degrees brings it to ruin. The trade of Egypt must needs sink, for (Isa 19:15) there shall not be any work for Egypt to be employed in; and where there is nothing to be done there is nothing to be got. There shall be a universal stop put to business, no work which either head or tail, branch or rush, may do; nothing for high or low, weak or strong, to do; no hire, Zac 8:10. Note, The flourishing of a kingdom depends much upon the industry of the people; and then things are likely to do well when all hands are at work, when the head and top-branch do not disdain to labour, and the labour of the tail and rush is not disdained. But when the learned professions are unemployed, the principal merchants have no stocks, and the handicraft tradesmen nothing to do, poverty comes upon a people as one that travaileth and as an armed man. VIII. A general consternation shall seize the Egyptians; they shall be afraid and fear (Isa 19:16), which will be both an evidence of a universal decay and a means and presage of utter ruin. Two things will put them into this fright: - 1. What they hear from the land of Judah; that shall be a terror to Egypt, Isa 19:17. When they hear of the desolations made in Judah by the army of Sennacherib, considering both the near neighbourhood and the strict alliance that was between them and Judah, they will conclude it must be their turn next to become a prey to that victorious army. When their neighbour's house was on fire they could not but see their own in danger; and therefore every one of the Egyptians that makes mention of Judah shall be afraid of himself, expecting the bitter cup shortly to be put into his hands. 2. What they see in their own land. They shall fear (Isa 19:16) because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, and (Isa 19:17) because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts, which from the shaking of his hand they shall conclude he has determined against Egypt as well as Judah. For, if judgment begin at the house of God, where will it end? If this be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? See here, (1.) How easily God can make those a terror to themselves that have been, not only secure, but a terror to all about them. It is but shaking his hand over them, or laying it upon some of their neighbours, and the stoutest hearts tremble immediately. (2.) How well it becomes us to fear before God when he does but shake his hand over us, and to humble ourselves under his mighty hand when it does but threaten us, especially when we see his counsel determined against us; for who can change his counsel?

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 19 This chapter contains prophecies of various calamities that should come upon Egypt in a short time, and of the conversion of many of them to Christ in Gospel times. The calamities are many; the Lord's coming unto them, which their gods cannot prevent, nor stand before, nor save them, and at which the hearts of the Egyptians are dispirited, Isa 19:1 civil wars among themselves, Isa 19:2 want of counsel, which sends them to idols and wizards, but in vain, Isa 19:3 subjection to a cruel lord, Isa 19:4 drying up of their rivers and waters, so that the paper reeds wither, and fishes die; and hence no business for fishermen, nor for workers in flax, or weavers of nets, Isa 19:5 the stupidity of their princes and wise counsellors, given up by the Lord to a perverse spirit, so that they concerted wrong measures, and deceived the people, Isa 19:11 a general consternation among them, because of the hand and counsel of the Lord; and because of the Lord's people, the Jews, who were a terror to them, Isa 19:16 and then follows the prophecy of their conversion in later times, which is signified by their speaking the language of Canaan, and swearing to the Lord, Isa 19:18 by their erecting an altar, and a pillar to the Lord, which should be a sign and witness to him; and by their crying to him, and his sending them a Saviour, and a great one, Isa 19:19 by his being known unto them, by their offering sacrifice to him, and by his smiting and healing them Isa 19:21 and the chapter is concluded with a prophecy of that harmony, and agreement, and fellowship, that shall be between Jew and Gentile, between Egypt, Assyria, and Israel; and that the blessing of God should be upon them all, Isa 19:23.

The burden of Egypt;.... Or a prophecy concerning Egypt, as the Arabic version; a very grievous one, declaring many calamities that should come upon them. The Targum is, "the burden of the cup of cursing, to make the Egyptians drink.'' The people of the Jews reposed great confidence in the Egyptians their allies; wherefore, in order to break this confidence, it was necessary they should be acquainted with the destruction that was coming upon them, which is the design of this prophecy. Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud: or a "light" one (q) denoting the speed with which he came, he would come quickly, light clouds move swiftly; the suddenness and unexpectedness of his coming, clouds being rarely seen in Egypt, where was no rain; and the irresistible power with which he would come, for who or what can stop the clouds of heaven? not anything on earth, not armies, nor castles, and fortified places. The Lord is represented as riding in great state and majesty, as a general at the head of his army against his enemies; or as a judge going to try and condemn criminals; he rides upon the heavens, walks on the wings of the wind, and the clouds are his chariot, Psa 68:4 so Christ is represented as coming in the clouds of heaven, and as sitting on a white cloud, when he shall come to judge the world, Rev 1:7 though these words are not to be understood of that coming of his; and much less of his first coming in the flesh, to which they are weakly applied by Jerom and others; who, by the light cloud, understand the Virgin Mary, as the Christians of Syria; or the human nature of Christ, as Salmero, who relates, that upon Christ's flight into Egypt, and entering into Heliopolis, and the temple there, in which were as many idols as days of the year, they all fell, and so this prophecy was fulfilled (r) but of the Lord's coming to inflict punishment on the Egyptians; so the Targum, "and, behold, the Lord shall be revealed in the cloud of his glory, to take vengeance on the Egyptians:'' and shall come into Egypt; not by Sennacherib king of Assyria, and his army, whom he should send to invade it, and enter into it, as some think; but rather by Cambyses and Ochus, kings of Persia; though it seems that what is here foretold should be done, was done, not by means of any foreign power, but by the Lord himself, who did by his own power and providence, or suffer to be done, what was done: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence; or tremble before him; these were many, the chief of them were Osiris and Isis, Apis, Serapis, Vulcan, Bubastis, &c.; some were living creatures, as cats, dogs, oxen, sheep, &c. who might move and tremble, in a literal sense; and some were images, "made with hands", as the Septuagint here render the word; and which, as the Targum paraphrases it, should "be broken"; the sense is, that they could none of them save the Egyptians, or deliver them out of their distresses: and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it; like wax before the fire; even the most courageous among them, their soldiers, their army, with their officers and generals; which were the heart of the people, and their defence, and who used to fight for them, and protect them, but now would be dispirited. (q) "super nubem levem", V. L. Pagninus, &c. (r) Vid. Hackspan. Not. Philolog. in S. Scrip. par. 584.

Egypt is sometimes understood to mean the whole world in [Isaiah], because of superstition and malediction.

Under Egypt he meant the world, and under things made with hands its idolatry, and under the shaking its subversion and dissolution. And the Lord, the Word, he represented as upon a light cloud, referring to that most pure tabernacle, in which setting up His throne, our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to shake error.

This prophecy says that the one who is begotten after the God and Lord of all things, meaning the Word of God, will come into Egypt, and not undercover or invisibly or without a body but riding on a light cloud, or better “on thick light.” This is the meaning of the Hebrew word. Let the Hebrew children tell us when after the time of Isaiah the Lord visited Egypt, and which Lord it was. The God over all is one. Let them tell us how he is said to ride on “thick light” and to come to any particular place on the earth. Let them interpret “thick light” and explain why the Lord is not said to visit Egypt without it. Let them also say when the prophecy that the Egyptian idols made with hands would be shaken and Egyptians would fight Egyptians by the coming of the Lord is to have been fulfilled.

Now one can consider that the prophecy has not been fulfilled if the following are true: if the Egyptians in our own time cannot be seen to have abandoned the gods of their fathers and calling on the God of the prophets; throughout every town and city in the country of Egypt there are not altars built to the God that previously only the Hebrews acknowledged; the idols have not been shaken.… How can we deny that the prophecies of ages past have been fulfilled? They promised beforehand that the Lord would not come to Egypt in an incorporeal manner but on a light cloud, or better “on a thick light,” which is the meaning of the Hebrew word. This figuratively speaks of his incarnation. The prophecy continues by calling him a human being who is the Savior, saying, “And he shall send to them a man who is a savior.” The Hebrew here is, “And he shall send to them a savior who will save them.” This clear demonstration leads me to conclude that there is no doubt of the time of the promise of the appearing of the Lord.

I suppose that the reason why it is foretold that the Lord would come to Egypt is this: The Egyptians are said to have been the first to practice the errors of polytheism.… And Holy Scripture witnesses that they were the enemies of God’s people from the very beginning, for it is written that their ancient king confessed that he did not know the Lord, when he said, “I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” So, then, it is because Scripture wishes to show the great marvel of the divine power of Christ that it foretells his going to Egypt, in predicting that the Egyptians will undergo an extraordinary conversion, when it goes on to say, “And the Egyptians shall know the Lord, who before knew him not, and shall pray to the Lord,” and so on.… Here it is predicted of Egypt and its people that they will not acknowledge idols any more but will acknowledge the Lord revealed by the Jewish prophets. Now if we cannot see this actually fulfilled before our eyes, we must not say that the Lord’s coming to Egypt has taken place. But if beyond all need of argument the truth is shown by facts and reveals clearly to the most unobservant the Egyptians rescued from hereditary superstition, and followers of the God of the prophets who foretold that this would take place, serving him only and greeting every form of death for their duty to him, to what else can we attribute it but to the Lord coming to Egypt, as the prophecy before us predicted?

Hear, for the flesh of the Lord was a shadow: Behold, the Lord sits upon a light cloud, and will come to Egypt. And David says: Protect me under the shadow of your wings. Therefore, he became a shadow emptied for us, whom the sun of iniquity had burned. We saw him in the shadow when faith first advanced. But now he illuminates the whole world: and yet we still see him through the shadow of his body, which is the Church, not yet face to face; for the eyes of the body are unable to receive the brightness of divinity. This shadow also protects the entire world every day. Therefore, the conclusion is beneficial; For God has concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all.

[At the Mount of Transfiguration] the Father uttered a voice out of the cloud. Why out of the cloud? Because this is how God appears. For a “cloud and darkness are around him.” “He sits on a light cloud,” and “He makes clouds his chariot.” “A cloud received him out of their sight.” “As the Son of Man coming in the clouds.”14His voice comes from a cloud so that they might believe that the voice proceeds from God.

That it was Jesus himself [at the ascension] they knew from the fact that he had been conversing with them (for had they seen only from a distance, they could not have recognized him by sight), but that he is taken up into heaven the angels themselves inform them. Observe how it is ordered, that not all is done by the Spirit, but the eyes also do their part. But why did “a cloud receive him”? This too was a sure sign that he went up to heaven. Not fire, as in the case of Elijah, nor fiery chariot, but “a cloud received him”; which was a symbol of heaven, as the prophet says, “Who makes the clouds his chariot”; it is of the Father himself that this is said. Therefore he says, “on a cloud”; in the symbol, he would say, of the divine power, for no other power is seen to appear on a cloud. For hear again what another prophet says: “The Lord sits upon a light cloud.”

Appreciate what that means: The Lord comes, the Lord and Savior, into the Egypt in which we live; the Lord comes into the land of darkness where Pharaoh is. But he does not come save riding on a swift cloud. Now what is this swift cloud? I think it is holy Mary with child of no human seed. This swift cloud has come into the world and brought with it the Creator of the world. What does Isaiah say? “The Lord will enter into Egypt upon a swift cloud; and the idols of Egypt shall be shattered.” The Lord has come, and the false gods of Egypt tremble violently, crash together and are destroyed.

We must think of that swift cloud as befitting either the body of the Savior, because his body was light, not weighted down by any sin; or certainly holy Mary, who was heavy with child by no human seed. Behold the Lord has entered the Egypt of this world on a swift cloud, the Virgin.

Behold, the Lord has entered the Egypt of this world on a soft cloud, the Virgin. “He led them with a cloud by day.” Beautifully said, by day, for the cloud was never in darkness but always in light. “And all night with a glow of fire.” “For you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day.” “And all night with a glow of fire.” “The Lord our God is a consuming fire.” A consuming fire. The psalmist did not say what the fire is consuming; he left that to our intelligence.

“The Lord is riding on a swift cloud on his way to Egypt.” Appreciate what that means: the Lord comes, the Lord and Savior, into the Egypt in which we live; the Lord comes into the land of darkness where Pharaoh is. But he does not come save riding on a swift cloud. Now what is this swift cloud? I think it is holy Mary with child of no human seed. This swift cloud has come into the world and brought with it the Creator of the world. What does Isaiah say? “The Lord will enter into Egypt upon a swift cloud; and the idols of Egypt shall be shattered.” The Lord has come, and the false gods of Egypt tremble violently, crash together and are destroyed. This is the cloud that in Alexandria destroyed Sarapis; no general did it, no mortal man, but this cloud that came into Alexandria.

(Chapter 19, Verse 1) The Burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a light cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst thereof. It is the custom of the Scriptures to connect the clear with the obscure, and to openly declare with a clear voice what was previously expressed in enigmas. Therefore, in the present passage, because He had pronounced woes against Egypt before, saying, 'Woe to the land overshadowed with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia,' and other things which the prophetic discourse has woven together, He now makes the understanding more clear, and threatening Egypt itself, He speaks, not that the Angels, but the Lord Himself, shall come upon a light cloud, that is, a swift one, and shall enter into Egypt, and make the idols of Egypt tremble, and cause the heart of the mighty to melt, and fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel (or Jeremiah): 'I will destroy the idols, and I will cause the idols of Memphis to cease' (Ezekiel 30:13). Some refer this whole prophecy to the time of the Savior, when he entered upon a light cloud, that is, a human body, which he had assumed from the Virgin, not burdened with any mingling of human seed: or because he was carried on a light cloud, that is, a Virginal body, and at his entrance all the demons trembled, and then the first downfall of idols occurred, unable to bear the presence of the Lord.

(Chapter 19, Verse 1) The Burden of Egypt. Symmachus and Theodotion: The Assumption of Egypt. Septuagint: The Vision of Egypt. Where in Hebrew it is written Massa Mesraim (), which we have interpreted as the Burden or Weight of Egypt: for which Aquila translated ἄρμα Αἰγύπτου, we can say that because the prophet carries and bears the yoke of the Lord, it is fitting for him to carry the burden of Egypt and see or bear the prophecy of Egypt. Hence, I wonder that the Septuagint translated it as Vision in Babylon; and as Word in Philistia, Moab, and Damascus; and now as Version in Egypt; when in Hebrew it is not Word and Vision in all these cases, but Massa (), that is, Burden, weight, that is placed. But what Symmachus and Theodotion have always translated as λῆμμα, that is, assumption, we must understand that the prophet received spiritual grace from the Lord to know the sacraments of Egypt, or to see with the eyes of the mind, as the Septuagint translated. However, this Egypt is not the same as the one the Jews think, as Josephus believed, who relates in the book of Antiquities: that Onias the priest fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah by building a temple in the region of Heliopolis, which the Egyptians call νομὸν, according to the likeness of the Temple of God, and an altar. For let us grant that these things were said about Onias, and about the altar that he built in Egypt, which will be five cities that speak the Canaanite language in Egypt, of which one is called ἀσεδὲκ according to the LXX; according to other interpreters, the city is called Ars or Ares, or city of the sun? And who will be this savior who was sent to the Egyptians to save them, and so that the Egyptians may know the Lord? When they worshiped him with sacrifices and gifts, and fulfilled their vows? When did the Lord strike Egypt and heal it? At what time can we teach that there was a way from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians entered Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria; and the Egyptians served Assyria? When Israel was in Egypt for the third time; and among the Assyrians, it was like a blessing in the midst of the land, so that the Lord said: Blessed is my people in Egypt, and the work of my hands in Assyria? It is clear that these things do not pertain to the Egypt that the Jews estimate. Therefore, we can call this place in which we live, and the world which is situated in evil: Egypt, especially because Mizraim, which is called Egypt, is interpreted as ἐκθλίβουσα, that is, troubling or bringing into distress. However, it should be known that many Egyptian burdens or visions pertain to the province of Egypt, which is inhabited and seen even today. But both in this and in other places of Scripture, many things are stated which cannot stand according to history, so that by necessity we are compelled to seek a deeper understanding.

I have diligently examined many of the prophecies of Egypt, which Isaiah raised up or saw, in a historical explanation. Therefore, now according to tropology, the most important things are to be taken. The Lord ascends upon a light cloud, the body of the holy Virgin Mary, which is not burdened by the weight of any human seed: or certainly His own body, which was conceived of the Holy Spirit. And he entered into Egypt of this world; and immediately all the Egyptian idols were moved, so that the divinations and all the fraud of idolatry, which possessed and deceived the whole world, felt that it had been broken: to such an extent that the wise men from the East, who were taught by demons, or according to the prophecy of Balaam (Num. XXIV), understanding that the Son of God had been born, who would destroy all the power of their art, came to Bethlehem and, with the star guiding them, adored the child (Matt. II). Then the heart of Egypt trembled.

It is relevant to recall that holy Isaiah uttered a particular prophecy concerning Egypt: “And the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt within them” and the rest.In the same class with these prophets were those who rejoiced because they knew he had come whom they had been expecting. Such were Simeon and Anna, who recognized Jesus when he was born, and Elizabeth, who, in the Spirit, realized that he had been conceived, and Peter, who, by revelation of the Father, affirmed, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”

Therefore all the human qualities of the Lord Christ, hunger, I mean, and thirst and weariness, sleep, fear, sweat, prayer, and ignorance, and the like, we affirm to belong to our nature which God the Word assumed and united to himself in effecting our salvation. But the restitution of motion to the maimed, the resurrection of the dead, the supply of loaves and all the other miracles we believe to be works of the divine power. In this sense I say that the same Lord Christ both suffers and destroys suffering; suffers, that is, as touching the visible, and destroys suffering as touching the ineffably indwelling Godhead. This is proved beyond question by the narrative of the holy Evangelists, from whom we learn that when lying in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes, he was announced by a star, worshiped by magi and hymned by angels. Thus we reverently discern that the swaddling bands and the lack of a bed and all the poverty belonged to the manhood; while the journey of the magi and the guiding of the star and the company of the angels proclaim the Godhead of the unseen. In like manner he makes his escape into Egypt and avoids the fury of Herod by flight, for he was man; but as the prophet says, “He shakes the idols of Egypt,” for he was by nature God.

But Isaiah announced the Lord’s future trip to Egypt some time ago when he said, “Behold, the Lord will be seated upon a light cloud and will come to Egypt.” By this saying, the mystery of the Lord’s incarnation is clearly shown. For because the Lord himself, “dawning from on high,” is called “the sun of justice,” it is not without merit that he was foretold to be coming “upon a light cloud,” that is, in a holy body which no sin was able to weigh down. It was under the veil of this corporeal cloud that he concealed the light of his majesty.

To make himself visible, the “sun of justice” assumed a human body like a cloud, according to which it was said, “Behold, the Lord will come upon a light cloud.” What is the cloud upon which the Lord, the sun of justice, was predicted to arrive if not the cloud of the human body, through which the appearance of his divine radiance was shielded? But just as the sun is less visible to us when covered by a cloud, even though its nature remains unchanged, so also the Son of God did not cease to retain the glory of his divinity when he covered his radiance with the cloud of a human body. The Gospel said that “his face shone like the sun and his clothing was made as white as snow” to show the power of his divine radiance, through which even his clothing was made white like snow. “And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with them,” it continues. The Lord had already promised the glory of this vision long ago to the same Moses, saying, “You will see my back [posteriora mea].” He used “posterior” here to indicate that he would reveal himself to Moses at a posterior time, after his assumption of the body. “But Peter responded and said to him, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you like, let’s pitch three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ ”

The psalmist spoke of this solemnity [when he said], “God has ascended with a shout of jubilation, and the Lord with the sound of the trumpet.” He ascended with a shout of jubilation, since he sought heaven as the disciples rejoiced in the glory of his being lifted up. He ascended with the sound of the trumpet, since he went up to the throne of his heavenly kingdom as the angels heralded his return to judge the living and the dead.How God, who is present always and everywhere and does not change from place to place, ascended, the same [inspired writer] declares elsewhere, saying, “He who makes a cloud his stairway and walks upon the wings of the winds.” He calls the substance of human weakness with which “the sun of righteousness” clothed himself, that [the sight of him] might be borne by human beings, a cloud. Hence Isaiah says, “Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud and will enter Egypt, and the idols of Egypt will be shaken before his face.” The Lord ascended upon a swift cloud so that when he entered Egypt he might overturn its idols when “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” He took upon himself a body immune from all stains of iniquity and entered the world in it, so that he might destroy the cult of idolatry and make clear the true light of divinity to the shadowy and dark hearts of the Gentiles. He who is not enclosed in a place willed to go from place to place by means of this cloud, his human nature; in it he who always remains invisible in his divinity willed to suffer mockery, scourging and death; by means of it he who fills the heavens in the power of his divinity ascended into heaven, crowned with the power of his resurrection.

Such brief downpours are rightly compared with the shallow, inflated boasting of secular teaching which often seems to pour forth an endless, deep river of eloquence and broad learning but soon dries up entirely, as though it had never existed at all, where the sun of justice and the summer of evangelical radiance shine. The Lord himself laments this state of affairs through the prophet: “They abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug for themselves broken cisterns which cannot hold water.” Isaiah also says, “Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a light cloud and will come to Egypt,” and again, “The water of the sea will dry up and the river will be desolate and arid.” “A well of living waters,” he said, “which flows from Lebanon,” that is, from the church, whose life is both clear and deep. For Lebanon, which means “clarity,” fills its camps with saving streams of wisdom for its subjects, as though they were an audience, like the Lord promises in the Gospel: “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture teaches, ‘rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” Explaining this, the Gospel adds, “He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him would receive.”

The blessed Virgin, being purely human, was unable to receive bodily all the plenitude of divinity. But the power of the Most High overshadowed her, that is, her body received the incorporeal light of divinity. The prophet comments on this beautifully: “Behold, the Lord will ascend upon on a light cloud and will come to Egypt,” which is to say, Behold, the coeternal Word of God the Father, the light from light who was born before the ages, will receive at the end of the age a flesh and soul not burdened with any sin, and he will enter the world from a virginal womb, like a bridegroom from his chamber. Therefore, what will be born will be called holy, the Son of God. In distinction from our holiness, Jesus alone is said to be born holy.

But if the entire world is divided against itself with respect to faith in Christ, each home contains both infidels and believers. A good war is waged, therefore, to disrupt an evil peace. Isaiah also announced prophetically under the figure of Egypt: “Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a light cloud and will come to Egypt, and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them, and I will cause Egyptians to attack Egyptians.” Clearly this refers to a struggle between proponents of the faith and its enemies.

The burden of Egypt. In this part, he threatens the destruction of the Egyptians, describing the manner and the order. And this is divided into three parts: in the first, the preparation of the punishment is described; in the second, the destruction itself: and I will deliver Egypt (Isa 19:4); in the third, the attainment of advantage, where it says, in that day there shall be five cities (Isa 19:18). The preparation of the punishment is described as to four things. First, as to the disposition of the enemy: he will ascend, inspiring, upon a cloud, from which comes a storm, light, because of his agility and promptness: clouds and darkness are round about him (Ps 96[97]:2). Second, as to the stupor of the gods that govern them: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved, because they were shattered by the Assyrians, or because they could not give an answer, or because they did not appear on that day: your idols shall be broken in pieces (Ezek 6:4); and of the men that govern them, the heart of Egypt, that is, the king and princes, from whom came all the vigor of Egypt, above: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is sad (Isa 1:5). Note on the words, the Lord will ascend upon a cloud (Isa 19:1), that the cloud is manifold. First, the cloud of the flesh he assumed: where were you when I made a cloud the garment thereof, and wrapped it in a mist as in swaddling bands? (Job 38:9); second, is the cloud of the virginal womb: behold a little cloud arose out of the sea (1 Kgs 18:44); third, is the cloud of the devout mind: his magnificence, and his power is in the clouds (Ps 67:35[68:34]); fourth, is the cloud of the judicial seat: clouds and darkness are round about him: justice and judgment are the establishment of his throne (Ps 96[97]:2). Likewise, note that from the first cloud proceeds sacramental rain or the rain of sanctification: from the side of the Lord immediately there came out blood and water (John 19:34); from the second cloud proceeds the bread of consolation: a cloud overshadowed their camps and where water was before, dry land appeared (Wis 19:7); and below this: seeing your miracles and wonders: for they fed on their food like horses (Wis 19:8–9); from the third cloud proceeds the lightning of preaching: corn desires clouds, and the clouds spread their light (Job 37:11); from the fourth cloud proceeds the storm of damnation: behold he shall come up as a cloud (Num 5); his power is in the clouds (Ps 67:35[68:34]). Likewise, note on the words, a light cloud (Isa 19:1), that the first cloud is called light because of eminence of dignity: lo, one like the Son of man came in the clouds of heaven (Dan 7:13); the second cloud is called light because of purity of virginity: behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man (Rev 14:14); the third cloud is called light because of swiftness of obedience, below: who are these, that fly as clouds? (Isa 60:8); the fourth cloud is called light because of ease of execution: by his greatness he has fixed the clouds, and the hailstones are broken (Sir 43:16).

By the significant type of breaking a potter's vessel, Jeremiah is directed to predict the utter desolation of Judah and Jerusalem, Jer 19:1-15. The prophets taught frequently by symbolic actions as well as by words.

The burden of Egypt - That is, the prophet's declaration concerning Egypt.

(Isa. 19:1-25) burden--(See on Isa 13:1). upon . . . cloud-- (Psa 104:3; Psa 18:10). come into Egypt--to inflict vengeance. "Egypt," in Hebrew, Misraim, plural form, to express the two regions of Egypt. BUNSEN observes, The title of their kings runs thus: "Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt." idols--the bull, crocodile, &c. The idols poetically are said to be "moved" with fear at the presence of one mightier than even they were supposed to be (Exo 12:12; Jer 43:12).

The oracle opens with a short introduction, condensing the whole of the substance of the first half into a few weighty words - an art in which Isaiah peculiarly excelled. In this the name of Egypt, the land without an equal, occurs no less than three times. "Behold, Jehovah rideth upon a light cloud, and cometh to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shake before Him, and the heart of Egypt melteth within it." Jehovah rides upon clouds when He is about to reveal Himself in His judicial majesty (Psa 18:11); and in this instance He rides upon a light cloud, because it will take place rapidly. The word kal signifies both light and swift, because what is light moves swiftly; and even a light cloud, which is light because it is thin, is comparatively עב, i.e., literally dense, opaque, or obscure. The idols of Egypt shake נוּע, as in Isa 6:4; Isa 7:2), because Jehovah comes over them to judgment (cf., Exo 12:12; Jer 46:25; Eze 30:13): they must shake, for they are to be thrown down; and their shaking for fear is a shaking to their fall נוּע, as in Isa 24:20; Isa 29:9). The Vav apodosis in ונעוּ together the cause and effect, as in Isa 6:7. - In what judgments the judgment will be fulfilled, is now declared by the majestic Judge Himself.