him a polite answer, and translated it into Greek, which he sent with the work. The young academic was greatly surprised, and ever afterwards manifested peculiar respect for Mr. Jackson. Our friend was but little acquainted with the customs of polite society, and on that account he appeared often to great disadvantage, and was sometimes very rudely made the subject of the smothered laugh; but those persons who would at first smile at his awkwardness, were often afterwards disposed to be instructed by his experience and wisdom. His dearest friends well knew that he was most at home in the pulpit, and there he commanded their attention with reverence and respect. Few men attended more faithfully to the charge which the apostle Paul gave to his son Timothy "Preach the word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." Mr. Jackson laboured so to preach, 66 as to save himself and those that heard him." CRITICAL, PHILOLOGICAL, AND EXEGETICAL NOTES THIS chapter contains the description of a sublime vision, with which the prophet was favoured; the effect which it produced upon him; his commission to announce the obstinacy of the Jews, notwithstanding their continued enjoyment of the means of instruction; their dispersion in consequence of such conduct; and the merciful reservation of a remnant to serve as the stock of a new race, whose history would furnish fresh displays of the divine glory. Interpreters have been much divided respecting the occasion of this vision: some referring it to what they consider to have been the solemn inauguration of Isaiah to his prophetical office; while others are of opinion, that it was vouchsafed to him, when about to receive a new and special commission. In support of the former hypothesis, which seems best sustained, it is alleged, that the specification of the date" in the year in which King Uzziah died," which must mean before, and not after, that event, exactly coincides with the date, chap. i. 1; that all the circumstances of the vision were specially adapted to impress the mind of the prophet with feelings suitable to be cherished when entering on the functions of his office; that if he had been previously invested with it, there does not appear to have been any thing so peculiar in a new commission, as to require such extraordinary interposition; that commissions of a similarly express nature were given to the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, at the commencement of their prophetical career; and, especially, that the latter of these two prophets was likewise favoured with a sublime and august vision on the important occasion. The circumstance of the account of Isaiah's vision not standing at the beginning of the book is of no consequence; it being admitted, that many portions of the prophetical books are not placed in the exact order of time. 1. In the year in which Uzziah the king died, I saw Jehovah sitting upon a high and elevated throne, and his train filled the temple. Ver. 1. In the year of the death, &c. Comp. chap. xiv. 28, where the same phraseology occurs. That in both cases reference is made to what transpired previous to the death of the king, is obvious-since it would otherwise have been said, that it happened in the first year of his successor. We are not informed during how many months of the concluding year of Uzziah's reign, Isaiah prophecied. It is quite sufficient to justify the statement, chap. i. 1, if he commenced the functions of his office before the decease of that monarch. In order, indeed, to afford a wider scope for his labours, several interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, have supposed, that the death here spoken of was not the natural, but the civil death of Uzziah, when he was smitten with leprosy, and laid aside from public duty; but such an idea would probably never have been started, but for a mistaken rendering of the verb in the 5th verse. Instead of translating it: I am undone, or I perish, they give it: I was reduced to silence, and imagine the meaning to be, that Isaiah had been compelled to suspend his prophecy during the whole period of the king's seclusion. Some have even maintained, that his silence was a punishment inflicted on him for not reproving Uzziah: but who does not perceive, that all this is mere fancy, and totally unworthy of scripture interpretation?—The in has more of a temporal than a conjunctive power. It is equivalent to, then it was that, &c.- is to be taken in the prophetic acceptation, denoting a supernatural perception of the objects specified. The things constituting the symbols of the vision, the prophet did not behold with his bodily eyes. He was in a state of ecstatic inspiration, and had the things signified by such symbols vividly impressed upon his mind. There can be little doubt that this divine name has been substituted in the present verse, and in verses 8th and 11th for T. The latter name is found here in ninety-four of Kennicott and De Rossi's MSS., and has originally stood in nine more; it is found in eighty, and has originally stood in ten more, ver. 8th; and it is in nearly as many in the third instance. It is besides found in some of the early printed editions. The rendering of the Targum is the glory of the Lord; of which the Evangelist John clearly avails himself, when, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, "These things said Esaias, when he saw Tv dótav ȧvrov HIS GLORY, and spake of HIM," chap. xii. 41. The person who appeared to the prophet was the Divine Logos, the Brightness of the Father's glory, and the Express Image of his Person, Heb. i. 2. cedent, and they are thus used chap. lvii. 15: but the more natural mode of construction requires us to connect them with 3, the immediate antecedent. Thus the Targ. LXX. Symm., Coverdale, and most moderns.-As is used poetically for heaven, Ps. xi. 4; xviii. 7, Michaelis and others have supposed, that the scene of the prophet's vision was the celestial world. It seems more appropriate, however, to take it in its ordinary acceptation, as designating the temple of Jerusalem, especially since express mention is made of the altar, П, ver. 6. as something familiarly known. The term properly signifies a capacious and magnificent building, and is used of the royal palace at Babylon, -as their ante אֲדֹנָי may be referred to רָם וְנִשָׂא chap. xxxix. 7.—Dan. i. 4. Arab. from us to be great, immense in size. It commonly denotes the temple at Jerusalem in general; but, sometimes, it is employed to designate the body or large middle part of the building, usually called the Holy place, in contradistinction from the oracle or Holy of Holies, and the vestibule or porch erected at the entrance; the space between which it occupied, and contained the golden candlestick, the altar of incense, and the table of shew-bread. Between it and the Holy of Holies was a double veil, which was never drawn aside except once a year, to admit 4 T VOL. I. N. S. : 2. Seraphs stood beside him: each had six wings with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with the high priest, who alone enjoyed the privilege of appearing before the mercy seat.-Though we never find ? throne employed to designate the mercy seat, yet it may be regarded as applied to it in this place, inasmuch as the phrase dwelling, or sitting enthroned between the cherubim, 1 Sam. iv. 4. is descriptive of the visible glory of Jehovah, as displayed from it, above the ark of the covenant, which the two cherubim overshadowed with their wings, Exod. xxv. 20-22.-While God vouchsafed to this spot the peculiar symbol of his presence, his glory filled the great body of the temple, 1 Kings viii. 11. This glory Isaiah calls his train, or the long flowing skirts of his royal robe, in allusion to the ample robes of state in which oriental monarchs appeared on great occasions. Ver. 2. p. The scenery of the vision being taken from the temple, it is manifest the Seraphs, or living beings here described, can be no other than the antitypes of the golden cherubs, which were stationed, one on either end of the mercy seat, covering it with their wings. They correspond to the four living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel, between which and that of Isaiah, are several striking points of coincidence: only the former is fuller and contains many more particulars. A somewhat similar vision was accorded to the Apostle John, Rev. iv.; but the four wa or living creatures there described are an appropriation of the symbols spoken of by Ezekiel, to the Christian ministry, agreeably to the special scope of the Apocalypse. There is, therefore, no necessity, with Michaelis, Gesenius, and others, to derive from the Arab. شرف 5 اشراف those who to be noble, whence a noble or prince; plur. have descended from Mohammed; and so to interpret the term as designating the celestial nobility, or the angels viewed as princes of state, attendant upon Jehovah. As the symbolical figures in the Holy of Holies were called cherubim from their proximity to THE DIVINE PRESENCE-, from which the name is derived, being, as Hyde supposed, and as Gesenius now thinks not improbable, equivalent to to approach, draw near-so Isaiah appropriates to the beings whom they represented, the name of Seraphim, to denote their burning or dazzling appearance. This idea was naturally suggested by the splendid effulgence of the golden cherubs, when they reflected the glory of the Lord. We are told, indeed, by Gesenius that signifies to burn, burn up, and not to shine, which holds true of the English verb to burn, as well as of the Hebrew, if respect be simply had to the primary signification; but it was just as natural for the Hebrews to apply the word in a secondary or translated sense, as it is for us to express by our word, the excessive brightness proceeding from any luminous object. Thus also in Scripture, gems are called stones of fire, from their glittering appearance. What confirms this derivation of the term is the description of the living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel: “their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps-and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. ch. i. 13." The interpretation, therefore, of Kimchi: , and Abulwalid: angels of fire or fiery angels is not so far from the mark. To maintain, as Gesenius attempts to do, that the cherubim presented anything of the appearance of serpents, and that an analogy is to be traced between them and the sacred serpents in the temple of Jupiter at Thebes, is perfectly to degrade the subject. If the above interpretation be correct, it will be seen, that there is no foundation in Scripture for the opinion that Cherubim and Seraphim are distinct orders of angels. The two names are merely distinctive of two attributes 3. two he did fly. And the one called to the other, and said; Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts : The whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the foundations of the thresholds shook by reason of the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with attaching to the same order of beings-their nearness to Jehovah, and the glorious effulgence of their celestial nature. Comp. Dan. vii. 10; Matt. xviii. 10; Luke x. 26. The Seraphim are represented as standing, to intimate their readiness to execute the Divine behests. That is to be rendered beside, and not above, or before, comp. 1 Kings xxii. 19, where is explained by its being added: at his right hand and at his left. The two passages are parallel both in scene and phraseology.-Though is pointed as a dual, it is not meant that each seraph had six pair of wings. Things that naturally exist in pairs are expressed in the dual even when more than two are intended, see Zech. iii. 9. The repetition of the number of wings indicates distribution. To express the deep sense which the Seraphim cherished of their unworthiness to behold the Divine Majesty, they covered their faces, comp. Exod. iii. 6.; and to mark their reverential respect, they also covered their feet, or the whole of the lower part of the body-a practice which obtains in the East, when persons approach the presence of a monarch: the attribution to them of wings and flying, teaches the velocity with which they execute their commissions; and to intimate that what is here ascribed to them is habitual and constant, the verbs are put in the future See Gesen. Lehrgeb. p. 774. tense. Ver. 3. viii. That these words were sung responsively by the Seraphim is undeniable: whether one choir took up the first, another the second, and both joined in the third, as Rosenmüller supposes, cannot be determined. The triple use of the term has been considered as intended to intimate a Trinity in the Godhead. Thus Rabbi Joseph in fol. 34. a. 1. 24. Primam sanctitatem respiscere e decem sephiris Coronam Supremum; alteram Sapientiam; et tertiam Intelligentiam. It was also appealed to by the Fathers in proof of the Scripture doctrine of the Trinity; and there are many who still view it in this light but the trinary repetition of words in other passages, simply to express intensity or superlativeness of degree, satisfactorily shows, that, according to the usus loquendi, this is the meaning in the present instance. See Jer. vii. 4. ; xxii. 29; Ezek. xxi. 27, or 32. This angelic hymn is repeated with certain variations by the four living creatures, Rev. iv. 8. where however it is to be observed, the Vatican MS. B., a great number of cursive MSS., the Complutensian Edition, the Armenian Version, and Damascene have λέγοντα: ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, In some other MSS., it is repeated sir times; but these repetitions have, in all probability, crept into the text from a corruption of the Epicinion, which was sung by the congregation in the Greek church, after the Trisagion. See Suicer. Thes. in voc. Tpioay. The primary idea conveyed by the term is that of separation, especially from what is common or profane to a special and sacred purpose. Hence the notions of sanctity, moral purity, infinite excellence and perfection. It is in this last and most exalted acceptation that it is used by the Seraphim.lit. the fulness of the whole earth is his glory; but the meaning is, that the earth is entirely filled with it; there being no object within its compass which does not proclaim the perfections of God. The words appear to bear upon the scene described, ver. 1. in which the train of Jehovah is said to have filled the temple. Comp. Hab. iii. 3. Ver. 4. ni bases, foundations. The most probable etymology of this word is that which refers it to the Arab. Principia, radices, the plur. of 5. smoke. Then I said: Alas for me! surely I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the king, Jehovah 6. of hosts. And one of the seraphs flew to me, having a burning mater, radix, principium, Gol.; in architecture, the solid stones, stretching across the foot of a doorway, and supporting the sills or thresholds, which were based upon them. The LXX. take both terms together, and render, To inip0vpov; the Vulg. superliminaria cardinum; Vitringa, superliminaria postium. The agreement in gender of the verb with D and not with is, the nearer noun, to which it otherwise properly belongs, is owing to the prominence which is given to the former, by its having the article prefixed, and its denoting the special objects in which the effects of the earthquake were visible.Both were used of the tabernacle before the temple was built. See Joshua vi. 24. 1 Sam. i. 7, 9; iii. 3. On the filling of the temple with smoke, comp. 1 Kings viii. 10, 11; Ezek. x. 4. with Rev. .1 .ver הַהֵיכָל the same as הַבַּיִת xv. 8. Ver. 5., the reading of the Textus Receptus, can only be derived from , which, though in Kal it primarily signifies to be still, silent, reduce to silence, is only used in Niphal in the sense of being destroyed, or perishing. From the circumstance, however, that sixty-two MSS. and originally sir more, the Brixian Bible, the Proph. of Soncin. 1486, and seven other editions omit the former of the two Yods, some refer it to D or D2 and render: I am struck dumb, or, I am silent. In support of this interpretation, they allege the rendering of the LXX. (in some copies,) Aquila, Theodotion, Symm., the Syr. and Vulg. and the authority of some of the rabbins. But it so happens, that is not at all in use; and that, in Niphal, 2 never signifies to be silent, but always to be destroyed, cut off, perish. Add to which, that, pointed 77, is pronounced precisely as 2, and is only one of the numerous instances of the scriptio defectiva. The prophet, appalled by the display which he saw of the Divine glory, the theme and loud peals of the seraphim, the concussions of the earthquake, and a sense of his own sinfulness, and that of his nation, apprehended instant destruction. This was quite in accordance with the feelings of the ancient Hebrews, who were taught to expect immediate death, as the result of a vision of Jehovah. See Gen. xxxii. 30; Judges vi. 22, 23, 24; xiii. 22; and comp. Exod. xxxiii. 20, the difference between which and chap. xxiv. 10, 11, is not such as to warrant the conclusion of Gesenius, that the two chapters were written by different authors. In the one case, a perception of the Divine Essence is meant, which is expressly declared to be incompatible with the laws of mortal existence; in the other, such a view of the external effulgence which accompanied the Divine manifestations, as was enjoyed by Moses, the patriarchs, and prophets of old, and by John, under the new dispensation. The specification of the lips, as the seat of impurity, appears to have arisen from the impression produced upon the mind of Isaiah by the celestial anthem, which he had just heard, and in which he felt he was totally unworthy to join; though the seraph who addresses him, ver. 7, would rather seem to adapt the phrase to the unfitness of the prophet to be engaged as a divine messenger, till he had experienced the purifying influence there described. Ver. 6. is not properly a coal, but a heated or burning stone, ï¿ė, such as the Arabs use at this day for the purpose of baking their bread, or roasting, to which use reference is made in the phrase a cake baked on glowing stones. 1 Kings xix. 6. Vulg. calculus; but the LXX. Aquila, Symm. and Theodot. avopas, coal. From what follows, we learn, that such stones were laid upon the altar in order to burn the sacrifices. אֲשֶׁר supply לָקַה Before |