Chapter 40

thence; in ver. 8, by the restoration of the dominion of the Davidic race; and in v. 1 ff., by the appearance of the Messiah. It is especially from v. 3 (4), according to which the Messiah stands and feeds in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God,--and from v. 4 (5), according [Pg 449] to which He is the Peace, that we infer with certainty that the judging also shall be done by His mediation. In Isaiah we meet the person of the Messiah in the prophecy of chap. iv., which, along with that in chap. ii., belongs to one discourse, and supplements it. The judging and rebuking (הוכיח with ל, "to rebuke," "to reprove") refer to the strifes among the nations which hitherto could not be allayed, because there was wanting the counterpoise to selfishness which was productive of wrong. But such a counterpoise is now given in the word of God, which, carried home by His Spirit, penetrates deeply into the heart.--"_Strong_ nations," who were hitherto most ready to seize the sword. The words, "And they beat," etc., refer to Joel iv. (iii.) 10, where the heathen beat their ploughshares into swords, their pruning-knives into spears; and they do so to the prejudice of the people of God, which the prophet, although apparently he speaks in general terms, has specially in view. By this allusion Micah indicates that, with reference to the disposition of the heathen world, Joel has spoken a word, true, indeed, but giving only a partial view. The words of _Justinus_ in the _Dialogus cum Tryphone_--For, having learned the fear and worship of God from the Law and Gospel which came to us through the Apostles from Jerusalem, we have fled for refuge to the God of Jacob, and the God of Israel; and we, who formerly were filled with war and murder, and every wickedness, have put away the instruments of war from the whole earth, and have, every one of us, changed the swords into ploughshares, and the spears into agricultural implements, and cultivate the fear of God, justice, brotherly love, faith, hope," etc.,--show that, even soon after the appearance of Christ, it was held that the fulfilment of this prophecy had commenced. But it was acknowledged by the prophet also, that even after the appearance of the salvation, this description would, in the meantime, give only a partial exhibition of the truth; inasmuch as not every one will submit to the judging activity of the Lord, how powerful soever may be the effect of the new principle which entered into the life of the nations; for in v. 4, 5 (5, 6) he speaks of the nations which, in the Messianic time, attack the people of God; in ver. 8 (9), of their adversaries and enemies; and in ver. 14 (15), of such as do not hear. But the [Pg 450] imperfect fulfilment is a pledge and guarantee for that which is perfect, as it will take place when, by the last judgment, they have been removed who have obstinately preserved within themselves the spirit of strife and hatred. According to the predictions of the prophets--compare especially Is. xi. 6, 7--peace shall, at some future period, be extended even to the irrational creation, and the strife which has come upon earth by the fall, shall entirely cease from it.

Ver. 4. "_And they sit every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree, and none maketh them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it._"

This verse contains a description of the happy consequences which the peaceful influence which goes forth from the Lord to the heathen world, shall have upon Israel. For Israel is the subject in ישבו, and the verse does not at all pretend to give a description of "a Solomonic time for all the nations." This is shown by what is stated, in the following verse, as to the ground of this happy change, as well as by a comparison of the fundamental passages. Lev. xxvi. 6: "And I give peace in the land, and ye lie down, and none maketh you afraid;" and 1 Kings v. 5 (iv. 25): "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely every man under his vine and fig-tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon;" and of the parallel passages, Micah v. 4 (5); Zech. iii. 10. It is _further_ shown by the connection with what precedes, where great calamity, and the devastation of their whole country had been predicted to Israel,--and by the mention of the vine and fig-tree, which are characteristic of the land of Israel. The words, "For the mouth of the Lord," etc., point out the pledge, which the person of Him who promises affords for the fulfilment of the promise, which appears incredible.

Ver. 5. "_For all the nations shall walk, every one in the name of their God; and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever._"

The causal particle כי states the ground of the fact that the Lord of hosts has spoken this, and given the promise of the final safety of Israel, and of his enjoying peace after the strife, in consequence of God's exercising dominion from Zion over the whole heathen world; while this peace after the strife is then more fully described in vers. 6, 7. The lot of every people corresponds to the nature of their God. And now, how [Pg 451] could it be otherwise, than that all other nations should be humbled, because their gods are idols, while Israel, on the other hand, is exalted and endowed with everlasting salvation and prosperity, because his God is the only true God? Is. xlv. 16, 17 is parallel: "They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them; they shall go to confusion, the makers of idols. Israel is saved by the Lord, with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded in all eternity."--"The name of the Lord" is the complex whole of His excellency which is revealed, and proved by deeds; compare Prov. xviii. 10: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is exalted." Inasmuch as the name of the Lord is to manifest itself in His dealings with His people, it represents itself as the way in which they are to walk: the prayer of the Psalmist in Ps. xxv. 5, that the Lord would lead him in His _truth_, forms a parallel to this; and so does also what he says in ver. 9 of the same Psalm, that "He guides the meek in _judgment_." But exactly corresponding is Zech. x. 12: "And I strengthen them in the Lord, and _in His name shall they walk_" = in the path of His name, so that the latter manifests itself in His dealings with them; compare the remarks on that passage. In favour of our exposition, moreover, is the comparison of the passage Is. ii. 5, the evidently requisite harmony of which with the passage under consideration is obtained, only if the latter be understood as we have explained it. The _light_, _i.e._, the salvation of the Lord spoken of there, corresponds with the name of the Lord in the passage under review. Several interpreters explain: "They may walk, they may worship their gods. Although all nations should be idolaters, yet we, inhabitants of Judah, shall faithfully worship Jehovah." Against this explanation _Caspari_ remarks, "An exhortation, or a resolution which implies an exhortation, is here not easily justified, because it would stand in the midst of promises." Moreover, the כי cannot be explained according to this interpretation, as appears with sufficient clearness from the remark of _Justi_: "This verse does not seem to be so closely connected with the preceding one." The connection is more firmly established by the explanation of _Tarnovius_, _Michaelis_, and others: "Surely so brilliant a lot must fall to us; for we are faithful worshippers of the true God, while all other nations walk after their idols." [Pg 452] But the objections to tins explanation are: (1) the circumstance that it is rather unusual to found the salvation of the people upon their Covenant-faithfulness (of which, from the preceding reproof, we cannot entertain very high notions), instead of founding it upon God's grace and faithfulness, compare vii. 18-20;[3] (2) the repeated use of the Future, while, according to it, we should have expected the Preterite, at least in the first member; and (3), and most decisive of all, the expression, "For ever and ever;" compare the expression, "From henceforth, even for ever," in ver. 7.

Ver. 6. "_In that day, saith the Lord, I will assemble that which halteth, and that which hath been driven out I will gather, and that which I have afflicted._ Ver. 7. _And I make that which is halting a remnant, and that which is far off a strong nation, and the Lord reigneth over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever._"

The expression "in that day" does not refer to "at the end of the days," in ver. 1, but is connected with, and resumes ver. 4^a That the verb אסף has here the signification "to assemble," and not that "to receive," is shown by ii. 12, and especially by Ezek. xi. 17. The word refers to the announcement of Israel's being carried away, which was formerly made, and with which the scattering is connected. They are assembled for their return to the Holy Land. Such an assembling, however, is meant, as is connected with the full enjoyment of salvation, and in which the Congregation truly manifests itself in a close unity, as a kingdom of priests. In the passage, Zeph. iii. 19, which is founded upon the one under review, we find "I save" instead of "I assemble." Of such a description, the assembling under Zerubbabel was not; compare Nehem. ix. 36, 37. It can therefore come into notice only as a prelude to the true assembling.--"The Fem. sing, of the Partic.," says _Hitzig_, "must be understood collectively; and it is not several subjects, but predicates of the same subject, viz., of the whole of Israel, [Pg 453] which are thereby designated." The "halting," which is a condition of bodily helplessness and weakness, occurs also in Ps. xxxv. 15, and xxxviii. 18, as a designation of adversity and misery.--The expression, "to make a remnant," forms the contrast to total annihilation. While these words show that a limit will be put to the _diminution_, the following words predict a vast _increase_. In the words, "In Mount Zion," the contrast with iii. 12 appears once more at the close of the section. As regards מלך יהוה, compare Ps. xciii. 1. It does not refer to the constant government of the Lord, but to a new and glorious manifestation of it--as it were to a new ascension to the throne. The expression, "From henceforth," refers to the _ideal_ present. In spirit, the prophet is in that time when the Lord is just entering upon His government. The words, "The Lord reigneth ... for ever," are thus beautifully illustrated by _Calvin_: "Micah does not here mention the descendants of David, but Jehovah Himself; not as if he wished thereby to exclude that dominion of David, but in order to show that God would make it manifest that He was the author of that dominion, yea, that He Himself held all the power. For, although God governed the ancient people by the hand of David, and by the hand of Josiah and Hezekiah, _yet there was, as it were, a shadow placed between, so that God's government was then perceived darkly only._ The prophet, therefore, here expresses, that there would be some difference betwixt that shadowy government, and the future new dominion which He was openly to set up by the advent of the Messiah. And this was truly and solidly fulfilled in Christ's person. For although Christ was the true seed of David, yet He was also, at the same time, Jehovah, viz., God made manifest in the flesh." With respect to this promise, however, it must also be kept in mind that it will be finally fulfilled only in the future, when the kingdom and throne of glory (compare Matt. xix. 28) shall be set up.

The prophet had hitherto described the kingdom which was to be established anew, as a kingdom of God, without mentioning the channel through which His mercy was to be poured out upon the Congregation--the mediator who was to represent Him among them. His representation, therefore, was still defective; it still wanted the connection with the promise given to David, and so frequently celebrated by him, and by other [Pg 454] holy Psalmists and Prophets--the promise of the eternal dominion of David's house. According to this promise, every new, great manifestation of grace, must be through some descendant of this family as a mediator. This house must ever form the substratum on which the divine power and the divine nature, in its most complete manifestation, showed themselves. This blank is supplied in ver. 8.

"_And thou tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee it will come; and to thee cometh the former dominion, the kingdom of the daughter of Zion._"

In the words immediately preceding it is said: "And the Lord reigneth over them from henceforth, even for ever." We have here, then, a prediction of the dominion of the house of David, by whose mediation the Lord is to reign; compare v. 3 (4), where it is said of Him in whom the Davidic race is to centre, "And He stands, and feeds in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God." All interpreters agree that the Davidic race is designated by the "Tower of the flock," and by "the hill of the daughter of Zion;" but, with respect to the ground of this designation, they are very much at variance. A great number of them (_Grotius_, and among the recent interpreters, _Rosenmüller_, _Winer_, _Gesenius_, _De Wette_) think of that Tower of the flock, in the neighbourhood of which Jacob, according to Gen. xxxv. 21, took up his abode for a time. They say that, according to _Jerome_, this Tower of the flock was situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Bethlehem; that it is used here only by way of a _metalepsis_ for Bethlehem, and that Bethlehem again designates the Davidic race; so that the passage agrees altogether with v. 1 (2). But, upon a closer examination, this interpretation appears to be objectionable, for the following reasons. 1. It is anything but fixed that that Tower of the flock was situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Bethlehem. It cannot be inferred from the passage in Genesis, and as little can it be proved from _Jerome_. In the _Quest. ad Genes. Opp._ iii. p. 145, Frcf., he first mentions the opinion of the Jews, according to which, by the "Tower of the flock" is to be understood the place on which the temple was afterwards built, and then says: "But if we follow the direction of the road, we find, by Bethlehem, a 'place of the shepherds,' which was so called, either because it was there [Pg 455] that, at the birth of the Lord, the angels sang their hymn of praise; or because Jacob fed his flock there, and gave this name to the place; or, which is more likely, because even then the future mystery was, by a revelation, shown to him." According to this, _Jerome_ does not know anything of a "Tower of the flock" near Bethlehem. From the direction of the road which Jacob took, he only _ surmises_ that it was situated thereabouts; and since there was, in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, a place called "the place of the shepherds," he, from a mere combination, declares this to be identical with the Tower of the flock; while, after all, he is so cautious as not at once to reject the only true derivation of this name from the shepherds at the birth of Christ. By this, the other passage in the book _de locis Hebr._ must be judged, where _Jerome_ expressly delivers his supposition as if it were historical truth: "Bethlehem, the city of David ... and about a thousand paces (_passus_) distant is the tower _Ader_, which is called 'the Tower of the flock,' indicating that, by some vision, the shepherds had, beforehand, been made conscious of the birth of the Lord." That tradition knew but little of any "Tower of the flock" in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, appears also from _Eusebius Onom._ s. v. _Gader._ p. 79, ed. _Cleric_: "The tower Gader ... While Jacob dwelt there, Reuben went in to Bilhah." _Eusebius_ evidently knew nothing more regarding the "Tower of the flock" than what we also may learn from the passage in Genesis. He does not venture to offer even a conjecture as to its position. The same ignorance is shown by the Jews, mentioned by _Jerome_, who certainly would not have thought of a reference to the temple, if a place called "Tower of the flock" had existed in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. 2. But even assuming the existence of the Tower of the flock in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, is it anything else than the assumption of a pure _quid pro quo_, to assert, without assigning any reason, that the "Tower of the flock" stands for Bethlehem? _Rosenmüller_, at least, has felt this. He makes the attempt to assign a reason: "In substituting, however, an unknown hamlet in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, for Bethlehem itself, he intended to indicate that the dominion of David would be altogether weakened and brought low." But this reason is certainly not by any means sufficient; Bethlehem was, in itself, so small, that no further [Pg 456] diminution was required; compare v. 1 (2). It had, moreover, been always small, and had not by any means sunk down in the course of time from former greatness. Hence, such a designation, in contrast with its former glory, would be entirely out of place; and even supposing that it were not, the mode of this designation would always be inexplicable, unless we could assume a closer reference of the "Tower of the flock" to the Davidic family. It is only by establishing such a reference, that the whole explanation can be saved and confirmed. For this purpose, it would be necessary to suppose that Bethlehem, and the district belonging to it, were the general designation of the native place of the Davidic family, while the "Tower of the flock" was the special one. But there is not the slightest ground on which to support this hypothesis. Everywhere, Bethlehem itself appears as the residence of Jesse, the father of David (compare 1 Sam. xvi. 1, 18, 19, xvii. 12), and likewise of Boaz, Ruth ii. 4.

The incorrectness of another explanation is still more evident. According to it, we are, by the "Tower of the flock," to understand a tower which is alleged to have stood at Jerusalem, near to the Sheep-gate. But the existence of such a tower is supported by no evidence whatsoever, and does not become even probable by the existence of a sheep-gate; for a Tower of the flock is not a tower which stands near the Sheep-gate, but a tower which is erected for the protection of the flock, as is clearly seen from _Migdal Eder_ in Genesis. But, even supposing that such a tower existed, is there anything which could somehow make it a suitable designation of the Davidic family?

Let us now proceed to the establishment of our own opinion, by which the arguments advanced against the other explanations will be considerably strengthened. Concerning the situation of Jerusalem, _Josephus_, _de B. J._ i. 6, c. 13, remarks as follows: "It was built on two hills fronting each other, separated by a chasm running between, down to which the houses were situated. One of the hills, on which the upper part of the city lay, was much higher and longer than the other. And, because it was fortified, it was called the Citadel of King David," etc. These two hills are Akra and Zion. The city situated upon the latter, is, in other passages also, described by Josephus to be very high and steep; _e.g._, vi. 40: τὴν ἄνω πόλιν περίκρημνον [Pg 457]οὖσαν. The sight afforded by the towers in this steep height is, by him, compared with that of the beacon at Alexandria from the sea (_B. J._ vi. c. 6: "It resembled in shape the lighthouse as seen by people sailing up to Alexandria"). Compare the similar representation of _Tacitus_, _Lib._ 5. _Histor._ c. 11 (_Reland_ ii. p. 848 sqq.).

On the summit of this high and steep hill, in the upper town, was situated the royal castle, called the "upper house of the king," Neh. iii. 25. Its situation could not fail to afford to it extraordinary security. This is sufficiently shown by the ridicule of the Jebusites, when David, who did not build, but only enlarged it, was about to besiege it. They were of opinion that the lame and the blind would be sufficient for its defence, 2 Sam. v. 7-9; compare _Faber's Archæol._ p. 191.

Far above this royal castle, which David first selected for his residence (compare 2 Sam. v. 9: "And David dwelt in the castle and called it the City of David, and built it round about"), a tower jutted prominently out, and afforded a majestic sight. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The principal passage is Neh. iii. 25: "Opposite the tower which standeth out from the upper house of the king (appositely the Vulgate: _quæ eminet de domo regis excelsa_) in the court of the prison;" compare ver. 26, where the tower standing out, and elevated far above the king's castle, is likewise spoken of. Concerning the words, "In the court of the prison," we obtain some information from Jer. xxxii. 2: "Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, בחצר המטרה, which is in the house of the king of Judah;" compare Jer. xxxviii. 6, according to which the pit into which the prophet was let down, was in the court of the prison. According to these passages, the court of the prison formed, agreeably to the customs of the East, part of the royal castle on Zion; and it was in this court that the tower rose. The other principal passage is in the Song of Solomon iv. 4: "Thy neck is like the tower of David built for arms; a thousand bucklers are hanging on it, all arms of heroes." According to this passage, the majestic appearance which the tower afforded was still further increased by the glittering arms which covered it. _Döpke_ and others think of the armour of conquered heroes; but that we must rather think of the armour of David's own heroes, appears from Ezek. xxvii. 10, 11, where it is said of [Pg 458] the hired troops of the Tyrians, "Shield and helmet they hanged up in thee," and is confirmed by the constant designation of David's faithful ones, as _his heroes_; compare Song of Sol. iii. 7: "Threescore heroes stand around the bed of the king, of the heroes of Israel;" and 1 Chron. xii. 1: "These were among the heroes, helpers in the war." The expression in the Song of Solomon iv. 4, "All shields of the heroes," indicates that the armour of all those who were received into the number of the heroes, was hung up on that tower, as an outward sign of this reception, as a kind of diploma of it. The circumstance that this tower, which is certainly quite identical with the tower mentioned by Nehemiah, is called the tower of David, refutes the supposition of _Clericus_, on Nehemiah, _l.c._, according to which, it is not the castle of David or Zion which is spoken of in that passage, but another castle and its tower in the lower town, supposed to have been built by Solomon. This hypothesis is refuted, moreover, by that passage itself, inasmuch as the castle is there designated as the upper, or high one.

Now, it is this tower which Micah considers as the symbol of the Davidic house; and in so doing, he follows the example of the Song of Solomon, where it is the symbol of the lofty elevation of Israel, the centre and life-blood of which was the Davidic family. It scarcely needs any lengthened demonstration to show how well suited it was for this signification, how very naturally it represented the thing signified. It was indeed the most elevated part of the castle, the main-mast, as it were, of the ship, which, since the elevation of the Davidic family to the royal dignity, had been for centuries, and was still to be, the seat of the Davidic race. Its height was a symbol of the royal dignity and authority. Its relation to the whole of the rest of the city, which it overlooked and commanded, and which looked up to it with astonishment, symbolized the relation of the subjects to their king.

Micah calls this tower the "Tower of the flock." The main reason for this appellation must be sought in what immediately precedes, in vers. 6 and 7. As in chap. ii. 12, 13, so here also, Micah represented the Covenant-people under the figure of a flock that was to be gathered from its dispersion and estrangement, and protected against every hostile attack. Could anything then be more natural than that, continuing the image [Pg 459] which he had begun, he should call the tower, which, to him, symbolized the family by whom, under the guidance of the Lord, that gathering should be accomplished, the "Tower of the flock?"[4] It is just this close connection with what precedes which furnishes an important proof for the correctness of our explanation, for which the way was prepared by all those expositors who, like _Jerome_, _Theodoret_, _Cyril_, _Cocceius_, and _Paulus_ (_über die Evang._ i. p. 189), understand מגדל עדר as an appellative, and regard, as the ground of the appellation, the protection and the refuge. In the East, they look out from the towers of the flock, whether beasts of prey or hostile bands be approaching. It is into these that the flocks are driven, in those regions where there are no towns and villages, as soon as danger appears; compare the proofs in _Faber_, l.c., p. 192 ff. There was so much the stronger reason for Micah's choosing this figurative mode of representation, as he had the type immediately before his eyes. According to 2 Chron. xxvi. 10, xxvii. 4, Uzziah and Jotham erected, in the woods and pasture grounds, castles and towers for the protection and refuge of the flocks. But, besides this main reason, there seems to have existed a secondary one for choosing this appellation. They who adhere so firmly to the "Tower of the flock," mentioned in Genesis, are not altogether wrong. Except in that passage, מגדל עדר nowhere occurs in precisely the same manner as it stands here. If, then, we consider that, besides this reference, there occur in Micah other plain references to the Pentateuch (and very numerous they are, compared with the extent of his prophecies; compare, _e.g._, ii. 12, 13. [vide supra], vi. 4, 5, vii. 14, where the words שכני לבדד receive light from Num. xxiii. 9 only[5]); and still more, if we consider that, in v. 1 (2), the appellation Bethlehem Ephratah is likewise taken from Gen. xxxv. 19, and that it is in ver. 21 of the same chapter that the "Tower of the flock" is mentioned,--we shall certainly not be guilty of trifling, if we assert that there is a suspicion of error and unsoundness against all those interpretations which cannot connect the "Tower of the flock" [Pg 460] in Micah with that which is spoken of in Genesis. But the explanation which we have given is not liable to this charge. For why should not Jacob, and the tower which he built for the protection of his literal flocks, serve the prophet as a type and substratum for the relation of a spiritual Shepherd? We must not overlook the truth, that the main and secondary reasons which we have adduced, do not stand beside each other, but run into each other,--are related to each other as the general and particular. For the reason why the prophet had specially in view the "Tower of the flock" which had been built by Jacob was certainly this only: that it partook of the nature of all such towers of the flocks. The _tertium comparationis_ is not thereby changed; the figure is only more individualized, and, therefore, more striking and impressive. A reference to the pastoral life of the Patriarchs is certainly one of the reasons of the frequent use of images taken from pastoral life. In a different way, _Hitzig_ endeavours to come to the same result. He supposes that the "Tower of the flock" mentioned in Genesis was not situated in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem, but is identical with the tower of the castle on Zion, and of the castle of Millo which David already found existing, and which was only more strongly fortified by him and by Solomon, 2 Sam. v. 9; 1 Kings ix. 15, 24, xi. 27. The figure of the "Tower of the flock" was so much the more appropriate in the passage under consideration, as the founder of the royal dynasty had been, for a long time, a shepherd of the lambs, before he was elected to be a shepherd of the people, and had thus himself prefigured his future relation--a circumstance to which allusion is frequently made in Scripture itself; compare 2 Sam. v. 2, vii. 8; 1 Chron. xi. 2; Ps. lxxviii. 70-72.

After having thus ascertained what is to be understood by the "Tower of the flock," there can be no great difficulty in explaining the "hill of the daughter of Zion." The daughter of Zion is Zion itself, personified, and represented as a virgin; and if her hill be spoken of, what else can be meant, than Mount Zion in the more restricted sense--the Mount κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, before which Akra and Moriah are changed into plains? We have thus a most appropriate relation of the two appellations to each other,--the tower of the flock being the particular, and the hill of the daughter of Zion, the general. [Pg 461] _Further_,--We obtain the most perfect harmony and agreement with the last words of the verse. The hill which, morally and physically, commands the daughter of Zion, is the same which obtains dominion over the daughter of Jerusalem. _Finally_,--We see the most striking contrast with iii. 12, and the most admirable connection with iv. 1-7, in which, everywhere, Mount Zion is spoken of, and the exaltation is described which, after its deep abasement, it shall obtain in the future, by the flowing of the heathens to it, and by the dominion of the Lord to be there exercised.

It is only in appearance that our explanation is contradicted by passages of the Old Testament, and of _Josephus_, where _Ophel_ is mentioned as a particular place; compare _Bachiene_ 2. 1, § 76; _Hamelsveld_ 2, S. 35 ff. The supposition of several interpreters, that this _Ophel_ is some particular hill (compare, _e.g._, _Vitringa de Templo Ezech._ L. i. c. iii. p. 159, and his _Commentary on Isaiah_ xxxii. 13), has already been invalidated by _Reland_ (p. 855), and _Faber_ l.c., p. 347, who rightly remark, that _Josephus_, in enumerating the hills of Jerusalem, makes no mention of _Ophel_, but speaks always only of the place _Ophel_. All the difficulties, however, which stand in the way of the other assumptions, are removed by the following view of the matter. Mount Zion was called העפל, the Hill κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, and this word became, by and by, a _nomen proprium_, and, in this state, as well as in its transition to the _nomen proprium_, was used without the Article. From this it followed--and numerous analogies everywhere occur--that the foot of the mountain, the place where it was connected with the lower part of the temple-mountain by means of a deep valley, acquired this name in preference, and received it, as it were, as a _nomen proprium_. At this foot of Zion--and hence over against the temple, and near it--dwelt the Nethinim, the temple servants, Neh. iii. 26; and _Josephus_ says, that the wall surrounding Mount Zion extended on the east side to the place which was called _Ophel_, and ended at the eastern porch of the temple (_de Bell. Jud._ vi. 6).

The view which we have taken, not only of _Ophel_, but of this whole passage, receives an important confirmation by Is. xxxii. 13, 14: "Upon the land of My people come up thorns and briars, for they shoot up in all the houses of joy, in the joyous city. For palaces are forsaken, tumult of the city is [Pg 462] forsaken, _hill_ and _tower_ are around caves (_i.e._, it is only this which they have to protect) for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks." In this threatening of punishment, _hill_, עפל, and _tower_, בחן (properly "a watch-tower," corresponding to מגדל), are joined, just as in Micah's promise; and this is a certain proof of the unsoundness of all those explanations which would sever the two in Micah. Perhaps there is, in that passage of Isaiah, the addition of a third object, standing in the middle between the two, viz., the castle of the king which was situated on Zion, and of which the highest and strongest part was formed by the tower. There seems, at least, to be better ground for understanding this by ארמון than the temple, as is done by _Vitringa_. It will, nevertheless, be better to understand the palace collectively, and to view it as being parallel to the houses of joy in ver. 13. So much is, at all events, evident, that here also, _Ophel_ cannot be understood of the lowest part of Mount Zion, inasmuch as it had nothing distinguished about it that could account for its being mentioned in this context; and to this, the circumstance of its being connected with the tower, must, moreover, be added. _Faber_, l.c., has convincingly proved, that _Ophel_, in the stricter sense, neither had, nor could have, any fortifications.

עדיך, "unto thee," seems here to have that emphasis which originally belongs to עד. It indicates that the object in motion really reaches its goal, while אל originally expresses only its direction towards the goal. It points to all the obstacles which seem to render it impossible for the dominion to reach its goal, and represents them as such as shall be overcome by divine omnipotence. This is quite in accordance with the scope of the whole representation, which _Calvin_ thus appositely points out: "The prophet endeavours to confirm the faith and hope of the godly, that they might look forward to the distant future, and not dwell only upon the present destruction; that they might rather believe that the matter was in the hands of God, who had promised, that He who raised the dead, would also restore the kingdom of David, which had been destroyed."

Several interpreters, _e.g._, _Rosenmüller_, connect תאתה immediately with what follows: "The kingdom shall come and attain." But, in opposition to this, there are not only the _accents_ (_Michaelis_; "The _Athnach_ is intended to keep the mind [Pg 463] of the reader in suspense for some time, and to direct his attention to what follows"), but also the change of the tenses, which is intended just to prevent this connection, and the weak sense which would be the result, inasmuch as one of the verbs would be a pleonasm. It must rather be supposed, therefore, that the subject in תאתה is indefinite. The remark which _Hävernick_, in his _Commentary on Daniel_, S. 386, makes on the omission of the indefinite subject, is here fully applicable, although he himself makes a wrong application of it to that passage: "The indefinite subject," he says, "has a special emphasis. By the omission of the definite idea, it is, as it were, left to the reader to supply everything possible (in the passage under consideration, the compass of all that is glorious), for which the writer cannot find language."

The "first," _i.e._, former, or ancient "dominion," refers to the splendid times under David and Solomon; but, at the same time, it supposes a period when the dominion is altogether taken away from the dynasty of David. Such a period had already been announced by the prophet, in his first discourse, inasmuch as it is implied in the carrying away of all Judah into captivity; and still more distinctly in