It will be like when the harvester gathers the wheat, and his arm reaps the grain. Yes, it will be like when one gleans grain in the valley of Rephaim.
Parallel Translations
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It will be like when the harvester gathers the wheat, and his arm reaps the grain. Yes, it will be like when one gleans grain in the valley of Rephaim.
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And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
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And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the standing corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; yea, it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Isaiah 17:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
- Jeremiah 51:33 For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: “The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden. Yet a little while, and the time of harvest comes for her.”
- Joel 3:13 Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
- 2 Samuel 5:18 Now the Philistines had come and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
- Revelation 14:15-20 Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe!” He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. Another angel came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully ripe!” The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred stadia.
- 2 Samuel 5:22 The Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
- Matthew 13:39-42 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
- Joshua 15:8 The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem) southward; and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward.
- Isaiah 17:11 In the day of your planting, you hedge it in. In the morning, you make your seed blossom, but the harvest flees away in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
- Jeremiah 9:22 Speak, “Yahweh says, “ ‘The dead bodies of men will fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester. No one will gather them.’ ”
- Hosea 6:11 “Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, when I restore the fortunes of my people.
- Joshua 18:16 The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As the abundance of corn doth not fear the…
As the abundance of corn doth not fear the harvest men that should cut it down: no more shall the multitude of Israel make the enemies to shrink, whom God shall appoint to destroy them.
Which valley was plentiful and fertile.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 17:5 And it shall be as when the…
Isa 17:5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
Ver. 5. And it shall be as when the harvest man.] Their utter captivity is set forth by three lively similitudes, for better assurance, a very small remnant only left in the land. This by some ancients is alleged to show how few shall be saved - surely not one of ten thousand, said Simeon. And before him Chrysostom, {a} How many, think you, shall be saved in this city of Antioch? Though there be so many thousands of you, yet there cannot be found a hundred that shall enter into God’s kingdom, and I doubt much of those too, &c.
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In the valley of Rephaim.] Which was nigh to Jerusalem. {Jos 15:8} Nam similitudine populari propheta utitur. {b}
{a} Hom. iv. Ad Pop. Antioch.
{b} Jun.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Reapeth the ears with his arm; taking care, as…
Reapeth the ears with his arm; taking care, as far as may be, that all may be gathered in, and nothing left. So shall the whole body of the ten tribes be carried away captive, some few gleanings only being left of them, as it is in the harvest.
The valley of Rephaim; a very fruitful place near Jerusalem, Jos 15:8; 18:16.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth…
And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn,.... The "standing" corn, as in the Hebrew text: "and reapeth the ears with his arm"; or "his arm reaps the ears" (o); that is, with one hand he gathers the standing corn into his fist, and then reaps it with his other arm; and just so it should be with the people of Israel: they were like a field of standing corn, for number, beauty, and glory; the Assyrian was like a harvestman, who laid hold upon them, and cut them down, as thick and as numerous as they were, just as a harvestman cuts down the corn, and with as much ease and quick dispatch; they being no more able to stand before him than a field of corn before the reaper! this was done both by Tilgathpilneser, Kg2 15:29 and by Shalmaneser, Kg2 17:6 kings of Assyria:
and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim; the Targum renders it,
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"the valley of giants.''
and so it is translated, Jos 15:8 mention is made of it in Sa2 5:18 it was a valley not far from Jerusalem, as Josephus (p) says; who also calls it the valley of the giants: it is thought to have been a very fruitful place, where the ears of corn were very large and heavy, and so great care was taken in gathering and gleaning that none be lost: wherefore, as the former simile signifies the carrying off the people of Israel in great numbers by the above kings, this may signify, as some have thought, either the picking up of those that fled without, or the gleaning of them in after times by Esarhaddon, Ezr 4:2.
(o) "et brachium ejus spicas demeteret", Junius & Tremellius; "demetit", Piscator, &c. (p) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 4. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Gathereth - Taking care, as far as may be,…
Gathereth - Taking care, as far as may be, that all may be gathered in, and nothing left. So shall the whole body of the ten tribes be carried away captive, some few gleanings only being left. Rephaim - A very fruitful place near Jerusalem.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. As when the harvestman gathereth - "As…
Verse 5. As when the harvestman gathereth - "As when one gathereth"] That is, the king of Assyria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the reaper strippeth off the whole crop of corn; and the remnant shall be no more in proportion than the scattered ears left to the gleaner. The valley of Rephaim near Jerusalem was celebrated for its plentiful harvest; it is here used poetically for any fruitful country. One MS., and one ancient edition, has באסף beesoph, "IN gathering," instead of כאסף keesoph, "AS the gathering."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And it shall be ... - This is the…
And it shall be ... - This is the other figure by which the prophet sets forth the calamities that were coming upon Ephraim - an image designed to denote the fact that the inhabitants and wealth of the land would be collected and removed, as the farmer gathers his harvest, and leaves only that which is inaccessible in the upper boughs of the tree, or the gleanings in the field.
As when the harvest-man gathereth the corn - The wheat, the barley, etc.; for so the word “corn” - now applied by us almost exclusively to maizes means in the Scriptures. The sense in this passage is plain. As the farmer cuts down and collects his grain and removes it from the harvest field, so the enemies of Ephraim would come and remove the people and their wealth to a distant land. This received a complete fulfillment when the ten tribes were removed by the Assyrians to a distant land. This was done by Tiglath-pileser 2Ki 15:29, and by Shalmaneser 2Ki 17:6.
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And reapeth the ears with his arm - As he collects the standing grain with one arm so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand. The word rendered ‘reapeth’ (קצר qâtsar) means here “to collect together” as a reaper does the standing grain in his arm. The word rendered ‘ears’ (שׁבלים shı̂bălı̂ym) means here rather the spires or stalks of standing grain.
In the valley of Rephaim - The valley of Rephaim is mentioned in 2Sa 5:18, 2Sa 5:22; 2Sa 23:13; 1Ch 11:15; 1Ch 14:9. The name means ‘the Giants;’ but why it was given to it is now unknown. In passing from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, it lies on the left, and descends gradually to the southwest, until it contracts in that direction into a deeper and narrower valley, called wady el-Werd, which unites further on with wady Ahmed, and finds its way to the Mediterranean. The plain extends nearly to Jerusalem, and is terminated by a slight rocky ridge forming the brow of the valley of Hinnom (see Josephus, “Ant.” vii. 4. 1; viii. 12. 4; also Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. i. pp. 323, 324). It seem to have been distinguished for its fertility, and is used here to denote a fertile region in general.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Raphaim. Near Jerusalem, 3 Kings xxiii. 13. Septuagint, "of…
Raphaim. Near Jerusalem, 3 Kings xxiii. 13. Septuagint, "of stones." (Calmet) --- It will be equally difficult to find any men left in the kingdom of Israel. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain harvestman, &c.--The inhabitants and wealth of Israel shall be…
harvestman, &c.--The inhabitants and wealth of Israel shall be swept away, and but few left behind just as the husbandman gathers the corn and the fruit, and leaves only a few gleaning ears and grapes (Kg2 18:9-11).
with his arm--He collects the standing grain with one arm, so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand.
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Rephaim--a fertile plain at the southwest of Jerusalem toward Beth-lehem and the country of the Philistines (Sa2 5:18-22).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. Harvestman gathereth the corn — The figure used…
5. Harvestman gathereth the corn — The figure used here denotes that the people and wealth of Israel are collected and removed by the Assyrian, just as the husbandman gathers the wheat or barley in his arm to reap down with his sickle; a common fact observable every season in the Valley of Rephaim, near Jerusalem, just south of the city, veering westward of Bethlehem: the largest area of harvest land in the vicinity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. The succeeding pictures are exceedingly graphic,—an evidence of…
5. The succeeding pictures are exceedingly graphic,—an evidence of Isaiah’s intense interest in rural life. The reaper gathers the stalks of wheat with one hand and with the other cuts off the ears close to the head.
and it shall be … Rephaim] Render as R.V. and it shall be as when one gleaneth ears, &c. See Rth_2:2; Rth_2:7; Rth_2:15 ff. The clause might perhaps be read as the beginning of Isa_17:6; one simile passing insensibly into another. The “valley of Rephaim,” (=“valley of the giants,”) Jos_15:8; Jos_18:16 (cf. 2Sa_5:18; 2Sa_5:22; 2Sa_23:13),—a fertile plain to the south of Jerusalem where Isaiah had watched the reapers and gleaners at work.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) And it shall be as when the harvestman…
(5) And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn.—The work of devastation is described under another image. The conqueror shall plunder the cities of Israel as the reaper cuts off the ears of corn. With his usual Dantesque vividness the prophet localises the imagery. The valley of Rephaim, or, as in Jos_15:8; Jos_18:16, “of the giants,” lay to the south-west of Jerusalem in the direction of Bethlehem. It was famous for its fertility, and was often on that account attacked by the Philistines, who came to carry off its crops (2Sa_23:13). The prophet had looked on the reaper’s work and had seen in it a parable of that of the Assyrian invader.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain As when the harvestman gathereth the corn. Death is…
As when the harvestman gathereth the corn. Death is the "harvestman" here, and gathers the Israelites by shocks, or sheaves, into his garner. A great depopulation appears in 2Ki_17:25, where we learn that lions so multiplied in the land as to become a terror to the few inhabitants. Reapeth the ears. Mr. Cheyne well remarks that the "ears" only were reaped, the stalk being cut close under the ear. This was the practice also in Egypt (Rawlinson," Hist. of Ancient Egypt," vol. 1. p. 162). In the valley of Rephaim. The valley of Rephaim was the scene of David"s double victory over the Philistines, related in 2Sa_5:17-25. It is disputed whether it lay north or south of Jerusalem; but the connection with Bethlehem (2Sa_23:13-17) and with the cave of Adullam seem decisive in favor of a southern position. A "valley," however (emek), suitable for the cultivation of corn, in this direction, has yet to be discovered.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Isa_17:5-7. And it shall be as when the harvestman,…
DIMINUTIONS AND CHANGES OF LIFE
Isa_17:5-7. And it shall be as when the harvestman, &c.
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God’s visitations of judgment are the subject of the prophet’s burdens (Isa_17:1). So the text. Adversities and sorrows set in. Blessings gone, except a few. “Two or three berries,” &c.
I. The various illustrations of the text.
1. In the adverse changes of life. Many who were rich and prosperous are now poor. All gone, except two or three berries. Some so through their own folly, &c.; others by the allotment of Providence, sickness, &c. (H. E. I., 4403–4406, 4975–4986).
2. In the failure of bodily health and vigour. Once strong and robust, &c.; now left but a few berries, &c.
3. In the bereavements of kindred and friends. Once a crowd of them—parents, brothers, sisters, children—but they have gone, one after another.
4. In the powers and capacities for useful activity. Once active, useful, but now frailty and weakness have superseded. This is distressing to the sensitive, &c. Pushed aside by another generation.
5. It will apply to times and seasons of probation. How wise was old Barzillai! (2Sa_19:31). The indications of age, &c. (Ecc_12:1). Few years left, &c., or even days.
II. The uses we should make of the subject.
1. It should impress us with the vanity of earthly things. All fleeting, all retiring; like the seasons, like streams.
2. The folly of earthly-mindedness. How extreme! Grasping shadows, resting on the moving wave, building castles in the air, &c.
3. The necessity of wisely using our opportunities. For the best ends. Working while it is day—now, while we have light and life.
4. Seeking a fitness for the world of the future (Heb_10:34; Heb_11:3-16).
5. Believing and devotional confidence in God.
Application:—Christ is ever the same. In all His offices, work, and graciousness, He is without a shadow of turning.—Jabez Burns, D.D.: 150 Sketches of Sermons, pp. 296, 297.
This striking passage depicts the process of God’s judgments upon Israel. We may take it as suggestive—
I. Of the sweeping destructiveness of calamities in human life (Isa_17:5). How often has the picture been realised!—
1. In the history of nations. The process of the depopulation and misery with which Israel was threatened, may be imagined from the view given in chap. Isa_3:1-8. Modern parallels may easily be found, the wars of the Roses, the plague of London, &c.
2. In the social calamities of families. One after another is broken up, one relationship after another is severed, until only an “outmost” branch is left as a remnant. Widow, orphans, friendless. Such are those who remain to tell the tale.
3. In the physical calamities of individuals.
4. In the degradation of the soul through the deceitfulness of sin. In some extreme cases, what a sad undermining of character and destruction of capacity do we behold.
II. Of the hopefulness of human life even when it is at its worst (Isa_17:6). Though the reaper has made sure work, yet enough remains to give hope. There is here true gospel, suggesting such thoughts as these:—
1. Begin at the point of your ability, however low it may be. Every man is rightly expected to make use of whatever power he has. If it is only sight, or only hearing, or only one hand, one talent out of ten, he must use it. The loss of the other nine will not excuse his neglect of the one he has.
2. Beginning thus low down, yet in earnest, we have the assurance of improvement and progress. We have abundant illustration of this in the history of the “remnant” that was left in Israel (2Ch_30:11; 2Ch_34:6; 2Ch_34:9, &c.). We see here an encouragement for every sinner who will awake, though late, to the true purposes of life. Redemption is the favourite work of God. He is on the side of feeble, struggling men, and delights to encourage and help “the remnant” which is spared (H. E. I., 934–941, 956, 958, 2368, 4790–4792; P. D., 474). The very purpose for which Christ came into the world was to help the struggling, to save the lost. Those who have been brought down to the extremity of need and the verge of despair may find friendship and help in Him (H. E. I., 928, 929).—William Manning.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:5 The valley of Rephaim was a fertile valley…
17:5 The valley of Rephaim was a fertile valley in Judah; however, it looked bare after each harvest.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.