appearance of the Redeemer, to the words: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government is upon His shoulder."-This great change is brought about by the zeal of the Lord who raises this glorious King to His people; comp. John iii. 16. The zeal in itself is only energy; the sphere of its exercise is, in every instance, determined by the context. In Exod. xx. 5; Deut. iv. 24; Nah. i. 2, the zeal is the energy of wrath. In the passage before us, as in the Song of Solomon viii. 6, and in chap. xxxvii. 32: "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and escaped ones out of Mount Zion; the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this," the zeal of God means the energetic character of His love to. Zion.

We must, in conclusion, still make a few remarks, on the interpretation of vers. 5 and 6. The older interpreters were unanimous in referring these verses to the Messiah. Even by the Jews, this explanation was abandoned at a subsequent period only. To the Messiah this passage is referred by the Chaldean Paraphrast, by the Commentary on Genesis known by the name Breshith Rabbah in the exposition of Genesis xli. 44 (see Raim. Martini, Pugio fidei, Vol. iii. sec. 3. chap. xiv. § 6), by Rabbi Jose Galilaeus in the book Ekha Rabbati, a Commentary on Lamentations (see Raim. Matt. iii. 3 chap. 4. §. 13). Ben Sira (fol. 40 ed., Amstel. 1679), mentions among the eight names of the Messiah, the following from the passage before us: Wonderful, Counsellor, El Gibbor, Prince of Peace. But the late Jewish interpreters found it objectionable that the Messiah, in opposition to their doctrinal views, was here described as God; for doctrinal reasons, therefore, they gave up the received interpretation, and sought to adapt the passage to Hezekiah. Among these, however, Rabbi Lipmann allows the Messianic explanation to a certain degree to remain. Acknowledging that the prophecy could not refer exclusively to Hezekiah, he extends it to all the successors from the House of David, including the Messiah, by whom it is to attain its most perfect fulfilment. Among Christian interpreters, Grotius was the first to abandon the Messianic explanation. Even Clericus acknowledges that the predicates are applicable to Hezekiah "sensu admodum diluto" only. At the time when Rationalism had the ascendancy, it became pretty current to explain them of Hezekiah. Gesenius modified this view by suppos

ing that the Prophet had connected his Messianic wishes and expectations with Hezekiah, and expected their realization by him. At present this view is nearly abandoned; after Gesenius, Hendewerk is the only one who still endeavours to defend it.

Against the application to Hezekiah even this single argument is decisive, that a glory is here spoken of, which is to be bestowed especially upon Galilee which belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes. Farther-Although the prophecy be considered as a human foreboding only, how could the Prophet, to whom, everywhere else such a sharp eye is ascribed, that, from it, they endeavour to explain his fulfilled prophecies,—how could the Prophet have expected that Hezekiah, who was at that time a boy of about nine years of age, and who appeared under such unfavourable circumstances, should realize the hopes which he here utters in reference to the world's power, should conquer that power definitively and for ever, should infinitely extend his kingdom, and establish an everlasting dominion? How could he have ascribed divine attributes to Hezekiah who, in his human weakness, stood before him? Finally-The undeniable agreement of the prophecy before us with other Messianic passages, especially with Ps. lxxii. and Is. xi., where even Gesenius did not venture to maintain the reference to Hezekiah, is decidedly in opposition to the reference to Hezekiah.

THE TWIG OF JESSE.

(Chap. xi., xii.)

These chapters constitute part of a larger whole which begins with chap. x. 5. With regard to the time of the composition of this discourse, it appears, from chap. x. 9-11, that Samaria was already conquered. The prophecy, therefore, cannot be prior to the sixth year of Hezekiah. On the other hand, the defeat of the Assyrian host, which, under Sennacherib, invaded Judah, is announced as being still future. The prophecy, accordingly, falls into the period between the 6th and the 14th

year of Hezekiah's reign.

From the circumstance that in it the king of Asshur is represented as being about to march against Jerusalem, it is commonly inferred that it was uttered shortly before the destruction of the Assyrian host, and, hence, belongs to the fourteenth year of Hezekiah. But this ground is not very safe. It would certainly be overlooking the liveliness with which the prophets beheld and represented future things as present; it would be confounding the ideal Present with the actual, if we were to infer from vers. 28-32 that the Assyrian army must already have reached the single stations mentioned there. The utmost that we are entitled to infer from this liveliness of description is, that the Assyrian army was already on its march; but not even that can be inferred with certainty. In favour of the immediate nearness of the danger, however, is the circumstance that, in the prophecy, the threatening is kept so much in the background; that, from the outset, it is comforting and encouraging, and begins at once with the announcement of Asshur's destruction, and Judah's deliverance. This seems to suggest that the place which, everywhere else, is occupied by the threatening, was here taken by the events themselves; so that of the two enemies of salvation, proud security and despair, the latter only was here to be met. The prophecy before us thus opens the whole series of the prophecies out of the 14th year of Hezekiah, the most remarkable year of the Prophet's life, rich in the revelations of divine glory, in which his prophecy flowed in full streams, and spread on all sides.

The prophecy divides itself into two parts. The first, chap. x. 5—34, contains the threatening against Asshur, who was just preparing to inflict the deadly blow upon the people of God. The fact that in chap. xi. we have not an absolutely new beginning before us, sufficiently appears from the general analogy, according to which, as a rule, the Messianic prophecy does not begin the prophetical discourse; but still more clearly from the circumstance that chap. xi. begins with "and ;" to which argument may still be added the fact that the figure in the first verse of this chapter evidently refers to the figure in the last verse of the preceding chapter. Asshur had there been represented as a stately forest which was to be cut down by the hand of the Lord; while here the house of David appears as a stem cut

down, from the roots of which a small twig shall come forth, which, although unassuming at first, is to grow up into a fruit-bearing tree. The purpose of the whole discourse was to strengthen and comfort believers on the occasion of Asshur's inroad into the country; to bring it home to the convictions of those who were despairing of the Kingdom of God, that He who is in the midst of them is greater than the world with all its apparent power; and thereby to awaken and arouse them to resign themselves entirely into the hands of their God. It is for this purpose that the Prophet first describes the catastrophe of Asshur; that then, in chap. xi., he points to the highest glorification which in future is destined for the Church of God by the appearance of Christ, in order that she may the more clearly perceive that every fear regarding her existence is folly.

The connection of the two passages appears so much the more plainly when we consider, that that which, in chap. x., was said of Asshur, and especially the close in vers. 33 and 34: "Behold Jehovah of hosts cuts down the branches with power, and those of a high stature shall be hewn down, and the high ones shall be made low. And He cuts down the thickets of the forest with the iron, and Lebanon shall fall by the glorious one," refers to him as the representative of the whole world's power; that the defeat of Sennacharib before Jerusalem is to be considered as the nearest fulfilment only, but not as the full and real fulfilment.

From the family of David sunk into total obscurity-such is the substance there shall, at some future period, rise a Ruler who, at first low and without appearance, shall attain to great glory and bestow rich blessings,-a Ruler furnished with the fulness of the Spirit of God and of His gifts, filled with the fear of God, looking sharply and deeply, and not blinded by any appearance, just and an helper of the oppressed, an almighty avenger of wickedness, vers. 1-5. By Him all the consequences of the fall, even down to the irrational creation, in the world of men and of nature, shall be removed, vers. 6-9. Around Him the Gentiles, formerly addicted to idols, shall gather, ver. 10. In vers. 11–16 the Prophet describes what He is to do for Israel, to whom the discourse was in the first instance addressed, and upon whom it was to impress the word: "Fear not." Under Him they obtain

deliverance from the condition of being scattered and exiled from the face of the Lord, the removal of pernicious dissensions, conquering power in relation to the world which assails them, and the removal of all obstacles to salvation by the powerful arm of the Lord.

The reference of the prophecy to the Messiah is, among all the explanations, the most ancient. We find it in the Targum of

ויפק מלכא מבנוהי : Jonathan, who thus renders the first verse St Paul quotes this prophecy דישי ומשיחא מבני בנוהי יתרבי

in Rom. xv. 12, and proves from it the calling of the Gentiles. In 2 Thes. ii. 8 he quotes the words of ver. 4, and assigns to Christ what is said in it. In Rev. v. 5, xxii. 16, Christ, with reference to vers. 1 and 10, is called the root of David. The Messianic explanation was defended by most of the older Jewish interpreters, especially by Jarchi, Abarbanel, and Kimchi.1 It is professed even by most of the rationalistic interpreters, by the modern ones especially, without any exception (Eichhorn, De Wette, Gesenius, Hitzig, Maurer, Ewald), although, it is true, they distinguish between Jesus Christ and the Messiah of the Old Tesment,-as, e.g., Gesenius has said: "Features such as those in vers. 4 and 5 exclude any other than a political Messiah, and King of the Israelitish state," and Hitzig: "A political Messiah whose attributes, especially those assigned to him vers. 3 and 4, are not applicable to Jesus."

But the non-Messianic interpretation, too, has found its defenders. According to a statement of Theodoret the passage was referred by the Jews to Zerubbabel.2 Interpreters more numerous and distinguished have referred it to Hezekiah. This interpretation is mentioned as early as by Ephraem Syrus; among the Rabbis it was held by Moses Hukkohen, and Abenezra; among Christian interpreters, Grotius was the first who professed it, but in such a manner that he assumed a higher reference to Christ. ("The Prophet returns to praise Hezekiah in words under which the higher praises of Christ are concealed.") He was followed by

1 Their testimony is collected by Seb. Edzardi in the treatise: Cap. xi. Esaiae Christo vindicatum adversus Grotium et sectatores ejus, imprimos Herm. v. d. Hardt. Hamburg 1696.

"The madness of the Jews is indeed to be lamented who refer this prophecy to Zerubbabel."

VOL. II.

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