Comentario sobre Isaías 20:10

Sargon.¹According to Niebuhr (Geschichte Assurs und Babels, p. 160 ff.) Sargon is the name of a king between Tiglath Pileser and Sennacherib, and identical with Shalmaneser. Either Sennacherib or another Assyrian king.

Ashdod. A place belonging to the Philistines.

and you shall gird sackcloth over your loins (וּפִתַּחְתָּ) Jonathan renders: “And you shall gird the sackcloth over your loins.” And his interpretation is evidenced by the fact that until now, He had not commanded him to gird himself with sackcloth, that He should tell him to remove it. Moreover, when He tells him, “And you shall remove your shoes from upon your feet,” this is a sign of mourning. (It is, therefore, likely that He commanded him to gird himself with sackcloth, also a sign of mourning.) And the meaning of וּפִתַּחְתָּ is like: (Exodus 39:6) “Engraved like the engravings of a seal (מְפֻתָּחוֹת פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם),” to gird himself with sackcloth tightly on his flesh, so that it appears to be engraved in his flesh.

And loose the sackcloth, etc. This shows that the prophet wore sackcloth. It would be a strange thing that the prophet should have gone naked, as a sign for Egypt. I shall explain this circumstance, with the help of the Lord, at the beginning of the minor prophets (Hos. 1:1).²I. E. explains this as a vision. Isaiah saw in a vision that he was going naked, as a symbol for Egypt; as Hosea saw in a vision himself marrying a harlot, and having children by her, to whom be gave symbolical names as allusions to the fate of his people.

over your loins above your loins.

naked (עָרוֹם). Jonathan renders: פְּחֵיחַ, with torn and worn out clothing, but not actually naked.

three years shall he go in this manner as a sign and a symbol for Egypt and for Cush, that, at the end of three years the king of Assyria shall lead the captivity of Egypt... We learn that Tartan conquered Ashdod three years prior to the downfall of Sennacherib, for his downfall was when he brought the captives of Egypt and Tirhakah the king of Cush before Jerusalem in chains, when he came to besiege Hezekiah.

ומופת And an example.³A. V., Wonder, sign.³A. V., Wonder, sign. Comp. And Ezekiel shall be unto you an example (Ez. 24:24).

שלש שנים וגו׳ Either in three years from that day,⁴בעוד שלש שנים═שלש שנים. or three years, shall Egypt be in misfortune.

with bare buttocks (וַחֲשׂוּפַי), like חֲשׂוּף, and the yud is superfluous, like the yud of חַלּוֹנָי (the window), חוֹרָי, (nets), שָׂדָי (the field).

Ethiopia, that came to help them.

buttocks Near the anus. Comp. (II Sam. 10:4): “And he cut off their garments in half, up to their buttocks (שְׁתוֹתֵיהֶם).” This retribution was due them because of Ham their ancestor, who saw his father’s nakedness and did not cover it, payment in kind.

וַחְַשׁוּפַי And my naked people.⁵A. V., And uncovered The first person refers either to the prophet, the people whose nakedness he indicated by going naked, or to God; the people whom God hath made bare.⁶I. E. considers the ending –ַי in וחשופַי as a pronominal suffix of the first person. It is generally believed to be equivalent to וחשופֵי, the construct state of the plural חשופים.

שת The back. Comp. 2 Sam. 10:14.

ערות מצרים Either, To the shame of Egypt; or join וחשופי, mentioned before, also to ערות, so that ערות מצרים is in apposition to .⁷According to the first explanation ערות מצרים refers to the whole sentence. All the preceding will be to the disgrace of Egypt; according to the second, it is the complement to וחשופי uncovered with regard to their nakedness.שת

shall be broken and ashamed All those who look in expectation upon the aid of Cush and boast of the support of Egypt.

And they shall be afraid. The Israelites, that flee to Egypt, will fear.

their boasting vantance in O.F.

Their expectation. The country to which their eyes are directed for help.

Their glory. Of whom—that is, of whose alliance—they were proud.

the inhabitants of this isle The land of Israel, who relied on Pharoah for aid.

The inhabitant of this isle. The Israelites, who live in these islands near Egypt, will say,

isle like the islands of the sea.

This has happened to those to whom we fled, etc.⁸The last two verses are generally referred to Ashdod, which, being situated on the sea, and commanding the islands, is called אי island.