The Lord, Yahweh of Armies says, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say, ‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!” Behold, Yahweh will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly. He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house. I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.
Parallel Translations
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The Lord, Yahweh of Armies says, “Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, and say,
‘What are you doing here? Who has you here, that you have dug out a tomb here?’ Cutting himself out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!”
Behold, Yahweh will overcome you and hurl you away violently. Yes, he will grasp you firmly.
He will surely wind you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there the chariots of your glory will be, you shame of your lord’s house.
I will thrust you from your office. You will be pulled down from your station.
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Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.
He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.
And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.
Show all 3 translations
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Thus saith the Lord, the GOD of hosts: Go, get thee unto this steward, even unto Shebna, who is over the house:
What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre, thou that hewest thee out a sepulchre on high, and gravest a habitation for thyself in the rock?
Behold, the LORD will hurl thee up and down with a man's throw; yea, He will wind thee round and round;
He will violently roll and toss thee like a ball into a large country; there shalt thou die, and there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of the lord's house.
And I will thrust thee from thy post, and from thy station shalt thou be pulled down.
Cross-references (28)
- Isaiah 36:3 (v15) Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder came out to…
- 2 Kings 18:18 (v15) When they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph…
- Isaiah 17:13 (v18) The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters: but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and will be chased like the…
- Matthew 27:60 (v16) and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.
- 2 Samuel 18:18 (v16) Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar which is in the king’s valley, for he said, “I have no son to…
Show all 28 cross-references
- 2 Kings 18:37 (v15) Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to…
- 2 Kings 19:2 (v15) He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the…
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 (v16) They buried him in his own tomb, which he had dug out for himself in David’s city, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet…
- Isaiah 37:2 (v15) He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the…
- Ezekiel 17:24 (v19) All the trees of the field will know that I, Yahweh, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green…
- Job 3:14 (v16) with kings and counselors of the earth, who built up waste places for themselves;
- Jeremiah 14:3 (v17) Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They…
- 1 Kings 4:6 (v15) Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
- 2 Kings 10:5 (v15) He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who raised the children, sent to Jehu, saying, “We…
- 2 Kings 18:26 (v15) Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah, said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in the Syrian language, for we…
- 1 Chronicles 27:25 (v15) Over the king’s treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the treasures in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in…
- Esther 7:8 (v17) Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was.…
- Job 9:24 (v17) The earth is given into the hand of the wicked. He covers the faces of its judges. If not he, then who is it?
- Job 40:11-12 (v19) Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the…
- Psalms 75:6-7 (v19) For neither from the east, nor from the west, nor yet from the south, comes exaltation. But God is the judge. He puts down one, and lifts…
- Isaiah 14:18 (v16) All the kings of the nations, sleep in glory, everyone in his own house.
- Isaiah 36:11 (v15) Then Eliakim, Shebna and Joah said to Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak to us in the…
- Isaiah 36:22 (v15) Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to…
- Isaiah 52:5 (v16) “Now therefore, what do I do here,” says Yahweh, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says…
- Amos 7:17 (v18) Therefore Yahweh says: ‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your…
- Micah 2:10 (v16) Arise, and depart! For this is not your resting place, because of uncleanness that destroys, even with a grievous destruction.
- Luke 1:52 (v19) He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly.
- Acts 8:27 (v15) He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 18 Because the Hebrew word doth also signify one that…
Because the Hebrew word doth also signify one that doth nourish and cherish, there are of the learned that think that this wicked man did nourish secret friendship with the Assyrians and Egyptians to betray the Church, and to provide for himself against all dangers: in the mean season he packed craftily, and got of the best offices into his hand under Hezekiah, ever aspiring to the highest.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–19 Isa 22:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts,…
Isa 22:15 Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, [even] unto Shebna, which [is] over the house, [and say],
Ver. 15. Go, get thee unto this treasurer.] This is Actio Iesaiae in Shebnam, sicut Ciceronis in verrem. Shebna was a great courtier and an ill member, advanced likely by King Ahaz, and tolerated for a time by good Hezekiah, as Joab was by David, because he could neither will nor choose; or as Stephanus the Persian was by Justinian, the second emperor of Constantinople; who, being praefectus aulae likewise, set over the house, grew so insolent that he spared not the emperor’s mother, though she were Augusta, but whipped her as if she had been his bond slave. {a} This Shebna is thought to have been an Egyptian, a Sochite, and of mean parentage.
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“ Asperius nihil est humili cum surgit in altum. ”
Shebna likely was one of those jeering epicures above taxed, and now particularly threatened. Some for treasurer render fautor, adiutor, a favourer and helper, sc., of those profane scoffers, {Isa 22:13} or of the enemies, with whom he underhand dealt and packed; he is therefore threatened to be ex-officed and sent packing into a strange country.
{a} Funccius.
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 On vv15–19 Get thee unto this treasurer; which the prophet might…
Get thee unto this treasurer; which the prophet might boldly do, because he had the protection not only of God, who sent him upon this errand, but probably of Hezekiah also, who at the time of this prophecy was either king, or his father’s viceroy, or at least heir-apparent to the crown.
Shebna; who seems to have been advanced by wicked Ahaz, and to have been a great patron of impiety and injustice in his reign, and by politic compliance with Hezekiah thought to gain his favour, and so to keep his place and power at court.
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Over the house; over the house of David, as is more fully expressed below, Isa 22:22. Possibly he was not only the lord treasurer, but also the king’s prime minister of state.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v15 We have here a prophecy concerning the displacing of…
We have here a prophecy concerning the displacing of Shebna, a great officer at court, and the preferring of Eliakim to the post of honour and trust that he was in. Such changes are common in the courts of princes; it is therefore strange that so much notice should be taken of it by the prophet here; but by the accomplishment of what was foretold concerning these particular persons God designed to confirm his word in the mouth of Isaiah concerning other and greater events; and it is likewise to show that, as God has burdens in store for those nations and kingdoms abroad that are open enemies to his church and people, so he has for those particular persons at home that are false friends to them and betray them. It is likewise a confirmation in general of the hand of divine Providence in all events of this kind, which to us seem contingent and to depend upon the wills and fancies of princes. Promotion comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south; but God is the Judge, Psa 25:6, Psa 25:7. It is probable that this prophecy was delivered at the same time with that in the former part of the chapter, and began to be fulfilled before Sennacherib's invasion; for now Shebna was over the house, but then Eliakim was (Isa 36:3); and Shebna, coming down gradually, was only scribe. Here is,
I. The prophecy of Shebna's disgrace. He is called this treasurer, being entrusted with the management of the revenue; and he is likewise said to be over the house, for such was his boundless ambition and covetousness that less than two places, and those two of the greatest importance at court, would not satisfy him. It is common for self-seeking men thus to grasp at more than they can manage, and so the business of their places is neglected, while the pomp and profit of them wholly engage the mind. It does not appear what were the particular instances of Shebna's mal-administration, for which Isaiah is here sent to prophesy against him; but the Jews say, "He kept up a traitorous correspondence with the king of Assyria, and was in treaty with him to deliver the city into his hands." However this was, it should seem that he was a foreigner (for we never read of the name of his father) and that he was an enemy to the true interests of Judah and Jerusalem: it is probable that he was first preferred by Ahaz. Hezekiah was himself an excellent prince; but the best masters cannot always be sure of good servants. We have need to pray for princes, that they may be wise and happy in the choice of those they trust. These were times of reformation, yet Shebna, a bad man, complied so far as to keep his places at court; and it is probable that many others did like him, for which reason Sennacherib is said to have been sent against a hypocritical nation, Isa 10:6. In this message to Shebna we have,
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1. A reproof of his pride, vanity, and security (Isa 22:16): "What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here? What a mighty noise and bustle dost thou make! What estate has thou here, that thou was born to? Whom hast thou here, what relations, that thou art allied to? Art thou not of mean and obscure original, filius populi - a mere plebeian, that comest we know not whence? What is the meaning of this then, that thou hast built thyself a fine house, hast graved thyself a habitation?" So very nice and curious was it that it seemed rather to be the work of an engraver than of a mason or carpenter; and it seemed engraven in a rock, so firmly was it founded and so impregnable was it. "Nay, thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre," as if he designed that his pomp should survive his funeral. Though Jerusalem was not the place of his father's sepulchres (as Nehemiah called it with a great deal of tenderness, Neh 2:3), he designed it should be the place of his own, and therefore set up a monument for himself in his life-time, set it up on high. Those that make stately monuments for their pride forget that, how beautiful soever they appear outwardly, within they are full of dead men's bones. But it is a pity that the grave-stone should forget the grave.
2. A prophecy of his fall and the sullying of his glory. (1.) That he should not quickly be displaced and degraded (Isa 22:19): I will drive thee from thy station. High places are slippery places; and those are justly deprived of their honour that are proud of it and puffed up with it, and deprived of their power that do hurt with it. God will do it, who shows himself to be God by looking upon proud men and abasing them, Job 40:11, Job 40:12. To this Isa 22:25 refers. "The nail that is now fastened in the sure place (that is, Shebna, who thinks himself immovably fixed in his office) shall be removed, and cut down, and fall." Those are mistaken who think any place in this world a sure place, or themselves as nails fastened in it; for there is nothing here but uncertainty. When the nail falls the burden that was upon it is cut off; when Shebna was disgraced all that had a dependence upon him fell into contempt too. Those that are in high places will have many hanging upon them as favourites whom they are proud of and trust to; but they are burdens upon them, and perhaps with their weight break the nail, and both fall together, and by deceiving ruin one another - the common fate of great men and their flatterers, who expect more from each other than either performs. (2.) That after a while he should not only be driven from his station, but driven from his country: The Lord will carry thee away with the captivity of a mighty man, Isa 22:17, Isa 22:18. Some think the Assyrians seized him, and took him away, because he had promised to assist them and did not, but appeared against them: or perhaps Hezekiah, finding out his treachery, banished him, and forbade him ever to return; or he himself, finding that he had become obnoxious to the people, withdrew into some other country, and there spent the rest of his days in meanness and obscurity. Grotius thinks he was stricken with a leprosy, which was a disease commonly supposed to come from the immediate hand of God's displeasure, particularly for the punishment of the proud, as in the case of Miriam and Uzziah; and by reason of this disease he was tossed like a ball out of Jerusalem. Those who, when they are in power, turn and toss others, will be justly turned and tossed themselves when their day shall come to fall. Many who have thought themselves fastened like a nail may come to be tossed like a ball; for here have we no continuing city. Shebna thought his place too strait for him, he had no room to thrive; God will therefore send him into a large country, where he shall have room to wander, but never find the way back again; for there he shall die, and lay his bones there, and not in the sepulchre he had hewn out for himself. And there the chariots which had been the chariots of his glory, in which he had rattled about the streets of Jerusalem, and which he took into banishment with him, should but serve to upbraid him with his former grandeur, to the shame of his lord's house, of the court of Ahaz, who had advanced him.
II. The prophecy of Eliakim's advancement, Isa 22:20, etc. He is God's servant, has approved himself faithfully so in other employments, and therefore God will call him to this high station. Those that are diligent in doing the duty of a low sphere stand fairest for preferment in God's books. Eliakim does not undermine Shebna, nor make an interest against him, nor does he intrude into his office; but God calls him to it: and what God calls us to we may expect he will own us in. It is here foretold, 1. That Eliakim should be put into Shebna's place of lord-chamberlain of the household, lord-treasurer, and prime-minister of state. The prophet must tell Shebna this, Isa 22:21. "He shall have thy robe, the badge of honour, and thy girdle, the badge of power; for he shall have thy government." To hear of it would be a great mortification to Shebna, much more to see it. Great men, especially if proud men, cannot endure their successors. God undertakes the doing of it, not only because he would put it into the heart of Hezekiah to do it, and his hand must be acknowledged guiding the hearts of princes in placing and displacing men (Pro 21:1), but because the powers that are, subordinate as well as supreme, are ordained of God. It is God that clothes princes with their robes, and therefore we must submit ourselves to them for the Lord's sake and with an eye to him, Pe1 2:13. And, since it is he that commits the government into their hand, they must administer it according to his will, for his glory; they must judge for him by whom they judge and decree justice, Pro 8:15. And they may depend upon him to furnish them for what he calls them to, according to this promise: I will clothe him; and then it follows, I will strengthen him. Those that are called to places of trust and power should seek unto God for grace to enable them to do the duty of their places; for that ought to be their chief care. Eliakim's advancement is further described by the laying of the key of the house of David upon his shoulders, Isa 22:22. Probably he carried a golden key upon his shoulder as a badge of his office, or had one embroidered upon his cloak or robe, to which this alludes. Being over the house, and having the key delivered to him, as the seals are to the lord-keeper, he shall open and none shall shut, shut and none shall open. He had access to the house of the precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices; and to the house of the armour and the treasures (Isa 39:2), and disposed of the stores there as he thought fit for the public service. He put whom he pleased into the inferior offices and turned out whom he pleased. Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator by an allusion to this (Rev 3:7), that he has the key of David, wherewith he opens and no man shuts, he shuts and no man opens. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable. 2. That he should be fixed and confirmed in that office. he shall have it for life, and not durante bene placito - during pleasure (Isa 22:23): I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, not to be removed or cut down. Thus lasting shall the honour be that comes from God to all those who use it for him. Our Lord Jesus is as a nail in a sure place: his kingdom cannot be shaken, and he himself is still the same. 3. That he should be a great blessing in his office; and it is this that crowns the favours here conferred upon him. God makes his name great, for he shall be a blessing, Gen 12:2. (1.) He shall be a blessing to his country (Isa 22:21): He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. he shall take care not only of the affairs of the king's household, but of all the public interests in Jerusalem and Judah. Note, Rulers should be fathers to those that are under their government, to teach them with wisdom, rule them with love, and correct what is amiss with tenderness, to protect them and provide for them, and be solicitous about them as a man is for his own children and family. It is happy with a people when the court, the city, and the country, have no separate interests, but all centre in the same, so that the courtiers are true patriots, and whom the court blesses the country has reason to bless too; and when those who are fathers to Jerusalem, the royal city, are no less so to the house of Judah. (2.) He shall be a blessing to his family (Isa 22:23, Isa 22:24): He shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. The consummate wisdom and virtue which recommended him to this great trust made him the honour of his family, which probably was very considerable before, but now became much more so. Children should aim to be a credit to their parents and relations. The honour men reflect upon their families by their piety and usefulness is more to be valued than that which they derive from their families by their names and titles. Eliakim being preferred, all the glory of his father's house was hung upon him; they all made their court to him, and his brethren's sheaves bowed to his. Observe, The glory of this world gives a man no intrinsic worth or excellency; it is but hung upon him as an appurtenance, and it will soon drop from him. Eliakim was compared to a nail in a sure place, in pursuance of which comparison all the relations of his family (which, it is likely, were numerous, and that was the glory of it) are said to have a dependence upon him, as in a house the vessels that have handles to them are hung up upon nails and pins. It intimates likewise that he shall generously take care of them all, and bear the weight of that care: All the vessels, not only the flagons, but the cups, the vessels of small quantity, the meanest that belong to his family, shall be provided for by him. See what a burden those bring upon themselves that undertake great trusts; they little think how many and how much will hand upon them if they resolve to be faithful in the discharge of their trust. Our Lord Jesus, having the key of the house of David, is as a nail in a sure place, and all the glory of his father's house hangs upon him, is derived from him, and depends upon him; even the meanest that belong to his church are welcome to him, and he is able to bear the stress of them all. That soul cannot perish, nor that concern fall to the ground, though ever so weighty, that is by faith hung upon Christ.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv15–19 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go,.... These…
Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go,.... These words are spoken to the prophet, bidding him go to Shebna's house; so the Arabic version, "go to the house"; or however, by some means or other, let him know that he should be displaced, and turned out of his office, and another put in his room:
get thee unto this treasurer; or governor, as the Targum; treasurer in the house of King Hezekiah, as Kimchi: the word has the signification of profit; and Jarchi, from the Talmud (s), calls him master of the profits; that is, of the profits and revenues belonging to the king; though, perhaps, he sought more his own profit and advantage than the king's: it has also the signification of danger, and so may be rendered, "this dangerous" man to the king and state. The Jews say (t) he entered into conspiracy with some others in Jerusalem, to deliver up the city and king into the hands of Sennacherib. It is also used for a cherisher or nourisher, Kg1 1:2 and may be understood of him, as a cherisher and encourager of the scoffers before mentioned, and a fomenter of secret conspiracies against the king and the city. Some render it, "this Sochenite", so called from the place of his birth, or from whence he came; and the Jews (u) say he came from Sochen, a place in Egypt; and he seems by what follows to have been a foreigner, and not an inhabitant of Jerusalem; nor is it likely that he should be twice described by his office:
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even unto Shebna, which is over the house; that is, over the king's house, so Kimchi; the steward, that had the ordering of all the affairs civil and domestic in it, which was a very high post; he had the keys of the money, stores, and provisions in it; see Isa 22:22. The Vulgate Latin version calls him the governor of the temple; so Jarchi understands it, that he was over the house of the sanctuary, the temple; some Jewish writers say he was a high priest; and others that he was an "amarcal" (w), which was a name of office in the temple, a governor there, that had the keys of the stores in it:
and say; this is not in the text, but is supplied; the message to him follows.
(s) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 26. 2. (t) Jarchi & Kimchi in loc. & Sanhedrin, ib. col. 1. (u) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 5. fol. 150. 2. (w) Ibid.
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 On vv16–19 What - What right hast thou to this place…
What - What right hast thou to this place and office? Whom - What kindred or relations? For the Jews say, he was a stranger by birth; which is the more probable, because his pedigree is not mentioned in any of those places of scripture where he is named. On high - In an high and eminent place. An habitation - He erected a stately house to live in, and a stately sepulchre to receive him when he died. And these two are fitly joined together, because their sepulchres were commonly built in or near their houses. A rock - A fit place both for strength and state.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 16, 17, 19 Verse 15. Go - unto Shebna] The following prophecy…
Verse 15. Go - unto Shebna] The following prophecy concerning Shebna seems to have very little relation to the foregoing, except that it might have been delivered about the same time; and Shebna might be a principal person among those whose luxury and profaneness is severely reprehended by the prophet in the conclusion of that prophecy, Isa 22:11-14.
Shebna the scribe, mentioned in the history of Hezekiah, Isa 36:11, seems to have been a different person from this Shebna, the treasurer or steward of the household, to whom this prophecy relates. The Eliakim here mentioned was probably the person who, at the time of Sennacherib's invasion, was actually treasurer, the son of Hilkiah. If so, this prophecy was delivered, as the preceding, (which makes the former part of the chapter,) plainly was, some time before the invasion of Sennacherib. As to the rest, history affords us no information.
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"And say unto him"] Here are two words lost out of the text, which are supplied by two of Dr. Kennicott's MSS., one ancient, which read ואמרת אליו veamarta elaiv, and thou shalt say unto him; by the Septuagint, και ειπον αυτῳ, and in the same manner by all the ancient versions. It is to be observed that this passage is merely historical, and does not admit of that sort of ellipsis by which in the poetical parts a person is frequently introduced speaking, without the usual notice, that what follows was delivered by him.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Isa 22:15. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, &c.…
Isa 22:15. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, &c. — This second part of the prophet’s discourse, which contains the judgment upon Shebna, seems to be so connected with the former as to give reason to suppose that this man was the chief among the profane nobles of that time, against whom the prophet declaims in the preceding verses; and that, having the first place in the state and palace after the king, he had, by his example, corrupted many others. We know nothing certain concerning him, further than that he was the treasurer, or steward of the king’s household. He seems to have been a different person from that Shebna, the scribe, mentioned Isa 37:2. Some have thought that he was not a native Jew, but a foreigner, and a man of low birth; which they infer from “the pride of his desire to ennoble himself by a splendid sepulchre:” but of these things there is no evidence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv15–19 Analysis of Isa 22:15-25. - Vision 20.
Analysis of Isa 22:15-25. - Vision 20.
The remainder of this chapter Isa 22:15-25 is occupied with a prediction respecting Shebna, and the promotion of Eliakim in his place. From the prophecy itself it appears that Shebna was prefect of the palace Isa 22:15, or that he was in the highest authority in the time of Hezekiah. That he was an unprincipled ruler is evident from the prophecy, and hence, Isaiah was directed to predict his fall, and the elevation of another in his place. Whether this Shebna is the same that is mentioned in Isa 36:3, is not known. The Shebna there mentioned is called a “scribe” Isa 22:22, and that was “after” the fall of Shebna mentioned here, for it occurred after Eliakim had been placed over the palace. Eliakim was then in office, and was sent on that embassy to Sennacherib Isa 36:2, Isa 36:22; Isa 37:2. The probability is, therefore, that this was some other man of the same name, unless it may have been that “Shebna,” after being degraded from the rank of prefect of the palace or prime minister, became “a scribe,” or had an inferior office under Eliakim. The prophecy contains the following things:
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1. A “command” to Isaiah to go to Shebna, and to reprove him for his self-confidence in his sin Isa 22:15-16.
2. A declaration that he should be carried captive to a foreign land Isa 22:17-18.
3. A declaration that he should be deposed and succeeded by Eliakim Isa 22:20.
4. A description of the character and honors of Eliakim, and his qualifications for the office Isa 22:21-24, and
5. A confirmation of the whole prophecy, or a summing up the whole in a single declaration Isa 22:25.
Isa 22:15
Thus saith the Lord God of hosts - (see the note at Isa 1:9).
Go, get thee - Hebrew, ‘Go, come to.’ This was one of the instances in which the prophets were directed to go personally, and even at the hazard of their life, to those who were high in office, and to denounce on them the divine judgment for their sins.
Unto this treasurer - (הסכן hassokēn). The Vulgate renders this, ‘To him who dwells in the tabernacle.’ The Septuagint renders it, Εἰς τὸ παστοφόrion Eis to pastophorion, denoting properly what is borne into a recess, cell, or chapel, and referring properly to a place where an idol was placed in a temple; and then any recess, or chamber, as a treasury, and referring here to the room which the treasurer of the temple occupied. The Hebrew word שׁכן shâkan means “to dwell with anyone;” then to be an associate or friend, and hence, the participle is applied to one entrusted with the care of anything, a steward, a treasurer. Jerome explains this in his Commentary as meaning, ‘go to him who dwells in the tabernacle, which in Hebrew is called Sochen.’ He understands by this some room, or recess in the temple, where the treasurer or the prefect of the temple dwelt. Our translators have expressed probably the true sense by the word ‘treasurer.’
Which is over the house - That is, either who is over the temple, or over the palace. I understand it of the latter. Shebna was not high priest, and the expression, ‘over the house,’ more properly denotes one who had the rule of the palace, or who was the principal minister of the king. See 1Ki 18:3 : ‘And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house.’ What was the offence or crime of Shebna, it is impossible to say. The Jewish commentators say that he was intending to betray the city to Sennacherib, but although this is possible it has no direct proof.
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 On vv15–18 Temple, in the place of Eliacim. He had been…
Temple, in the place of Eliacim. He had been secretary before, (Calmet) and had intruded himself into some office in the temple, which he abused. (Worthington)
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v15 15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts;
1. AGAINST THE PRIDE OF SHEBNA THE STEWARD OF THE HOUSE
Isa_22:15-25
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15 Thus saith the Lord God of hosts;
Go, get thee unto this 10treasurer,
Even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,
16 What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here,
That thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here,
11As he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high,
And that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?
17 Behold, the Lord [12]will carry thee away with a mighty captivity,
And will surely cover thee.
18 He will surely violently turn,
And toss thee like a ball into a 13large country;
There shalt thou die,
And there the chariots of thy glory
Shall be the shame of thy lord’s house.
19 And I will drive thee from thy station,
And from thy state shall he pull thee down.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day,
That I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah;
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe,
And strengthen him with thy girdle,
And I will commit thy government into his hand;
And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And to the house of Judah.
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,
So he shall open, and none shall shut;
And he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place;
And he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house,
The offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity,
From the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts,
Shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed,
And be cut down, and fall;
And the burden that was upon it shall be cut off;
For the Lord hath spoken it.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa_22:15. לֶךְ־בּא comp. Isa_26:20; Eze_3:4; Eze_3:11; 2Ki_5:5. The change of אֵל and עַל without any perceptible difference of meaning, which is very common in Jeremiah (comp. on Jer_10:3) occurs also in Isaiah not unfrequently (comp. on Isa_10:3).
Isa_22:16. מרום is accusative of the place.
Isa_22:17. Grammar forbids our considering טלטלה (it and Pilp. טלטל only here in Isaiah) as in the construct state. For in all cases where this anomaly appears to occur, the second word is in apposition. To take גבר as a vocative (as after the Syriac version many do, also Cheyne and Diestel), is still harder than to regard it as in apposition to יהוה. For though a tolerable irony might lie in גבר, yet there is no example of the word so standing alone as vocative. The subst. טלטלה stands instead of the customary infinitive absolute. I do not understand why it is said that עטה cannot have the signification “wrap up,” “inwrap,” for it signifies induere in 1Sa_28:14; Psa_104:2; Psa_71:13. Comp. Psa_109:19; Psa_109:29; Isa_59:17; Jer_43:12; and this induere cannot be understood in many of these places as merely covering, but must denote an inwrapping or enveloping one’s self tightly. It might be said that עָטָה then signifies “to inwrap one’s self,” and stands with the accusative of the thing which is put on or in which a person wraps himself, while in the passage before us עטה is joined with the accusative of the person. But it is well known that the Hebrew verbal stems are by no means clearly discriminated in respect to transitive and intransitive use, and besides, Isaiah employs here only rare verbal forms. It appears to me that the Prophet by עטה indicates the laying together of the coverings on the person of Shebna. צנף denotes the rolling together into a ball, טלטל the casting forth. צנף is to wrap round, obvolvere (the verb only here and Lev_16:4). Thence comes צְנֵפָה, what is rolled or wound together (ἅπ. λεγ.). כַּדּוּר is not דּוּר with the prefix, but כּ belongs to the stem. Comp. Isa_29:3 and כִּידוֹר Job_15:24. The signification is pila, sphaera, globus, ball. It is to be construed in apposition to צְנֵפָה. The word קָלוִֹן is found only here in Isaiah. מַצָּב ,הָדַף and מַֽעֲמָד only here in Isaiah; הָרַם is found besides Isa_14:17 and in Piel Isa_49:17.
Isa_22:21. חִזֵּק (with double accusative after the analogy of verbs of clothing) is to make fast, strengthen (Nah_2:2).
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. The prophecy, which chastises the haughty and defiant spirit of the inhabitants of Jerusalem is followed by another which has for its subject the pride of a single person. Shebna, the steward of the palace, and first minister of the king, was a haughty, insolent man. He went so far in his arrogance that he caused a sepulchre to be hewn out for himself in a rock on high (probably on the height of Mount Zion). He was standing beside his new sepulchre, which was yet in course of construction, when Isaiah, by God’s command, came to him and asked him by what right and title he was hewing for himself here a sepulchre in the rock on the height (Isa_22:15-16)? Jehovah will cast him away as a ball into a distant, level country. There shall he die, and the disgrace of the house of David will be there his funeral pomp. But before that, the Lord will remove him from his office (Isa_22:17-19). The Lord will call to his place as steward of the palace Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who will prove a father to Jerusalem and Judah, and the key of authority over the realm shall be put into his hand (Isa_22:20-22). Eliakim will thereby raise his family also to high honors. As one hangs on a nail all vessels of the house, so will he elevate and bear all the descendants of his house; but this procedure will not remain unpunished—for the nail will break, and the vessels hanging on it will fall down and be dashed to pieces (Isa_22:23-25).
2. Thus saith—over the house.
Isa_22:15. סֹכֵן occurs only here. The feminine סֹכֶנֶת is applied as a predicate to the Shunammite Abishag (1Ki_1:2; 1Ki_1:4). A סֹכֶנֶת [Margin of English BibleBHS: a cherisher] is there sought for the king and also found in the person of Abishag. That in this connection the signification: “intimate friend,” amica intima, familiarissima, suits, is obvious. The signification “intimate friend” is favored by the related root, שׁכן, to dwell, with the additional signification, to dwell together (σύγκοιτος. Comp. Pro_8:12; Ges.Thes. p. 1408), and the Arabic sakan, friend, and the Hiphil. הִסְכִּין, to form acquaintance (Job_22:21), cognitum habere (Psa_139:3) consuevisse (Num_22:30). That this was in the East a title of office is well known. (Comp. the Lexicons and Gesenius on this place). I therefore translate סֹכֵן by “privy counsellor.” The pronoun הַזֶּהthis, involves, like the Latin iste, the idea of contempt. The name שֶׁבְנָא (written שֶׁבְנָה, 2Ki_18:18; 2Ki_18:26; comp. ibid. Isa_19:2; Isa_36:3; Isa_36:11; Isa_36:22; Isa_37:2) is in the O. T. applied only to this one individual. From the circumstance that his genealogy is not given, some have been inclined to infer that he was a novus homo, an upstart, perhaps not even an Israelite. Neither conclusion seems to me to be justified. For, that Isaiah does not name the father of Shebna because he was a homo ignobilis, or quite unknown, is so unlikely, that we must rather on the contrary say, if the father of Shebna had been a man of base, or not even of Israelitish origin, or a person quite unknown, Isaiah would have given prominence to this circumstance, because it would serve to set the haughtiness of Shebna in the moreglaring light. It is therefore more probable that Isaiah, contrary to the approved custom of the East, omitted the name of the father, because he would not show this respect to the son. The fact that Shebna is further described as placed “over the house,” indicates that סֹכֵן was only a general title. He belonged, in general, to the friends of the king, but he was, in particular, the highest among them, viz.: major domus, maire du palais. He filled at the same time the first office at court and in the state. Comp. 1Ki_4:6; 1Ki_16:9; 1Ki_18:3; 2Ki_10:5. From 2Ki_15:5 we learn that even the son of the king and subsequently his successor on the throne filled this office.
3. What hast thou——pull thee down.
Isa_22:16-19. The question “What hast thou here?” evidently means: What entities thee to make thy grave here? While the question “Whom hast thou here?” intimates that Shebna will not succeed in burying here even one of his kindred. The thrice-repeated פה, here, intimates that the place was a select one, not standing open to every person. The following words חצבי מרים to the end of the verse, make on one the impression that they are a quotation from some poem unknown to us. For 1) the third person does not suit the connection here; 2) the parallelism, consisting of two members, and the forms חצבי and חקקי indicate a poetic origin. What height is meant appears from the statement in many passages (1Ki_2:10; 1Ki_11:43, etc.;2Ch_16:14, etc.) that the sepulchres of the kings were in the city of David, i. e., on Zion, and according to 2Ch_32:33, on the height of Zion. [Eng. Ver. there runs “in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David;” but “height” should be substituted for “chiefest.”—D. M.]. In this quarter, although not in the proper sepulchres of the kings, those kings also were interred who did not appear worthy of the full honor of a kingly burial (2Ch_24:16). Comp. Herzog,R.- Enc. I., p. 773 sqq. In the neighborhood of the royal sepulchres on the height of Zion, Shebna also seems to have laid out for himself a tomb hewn in a rock. An honor which was voluntarily accorded to such a man as Jehoiada he arrogates to himself. The last member of verse 16 bears evidently the character of poetic parallelism, for it repeats for the sake of rhetorical effect the thought of the preceding clause, though somewhat modified (the grave is described as a habitation for the dead). Comp. Oba_1:3; Hab_2:19. Shebna believes that he is able to secure for himself and his family, even after death, a permanent dwelling for all times. But the Prophet announces to him that the Lord will cast him forth, will whirl him out with a whirl as a man, i. e., with the force of a strong man. Isa_22:18. We have here a pregnant construction. צנף besides meaning to roll together, must have latent in it the idea of rolling forth, as it is connected with אֵל. צְנֵפָה is then not the act of rolling, but that which is rolled together. The expression רחבת ידים, widely extended on both sides, is found further only in Gen_34:21; Jdg_18:10; 1Ch_4:40; Neh_7:4. The Prophet evidently means by this large country Mesopotamia, which then still belonged to the Assyrian empire. It seems to me that there is also an antithesis in this expression. As being cast forth stands in opposition to the peaceful staying at home which Shebna hoped for, so the broad country is in contrast to the elevated rock-hewn sepulchre above the narrow valley. There, consequently, in a place which is the very opposite of the place where Shebna wished to build his grave, there shall he die, and there shall he be buried. But even the burial ceremonies will contrast strangely with those which Shebna had anticipated. Almost all interpreters take קלון ב׳ א׳ as vocative. But then the sentence “and there the chariots, etc.,” would be without a predicate; or we must supply an unmeaning predicate such as crunt, venient, or an arbitrary one such as peribunt. The Vulgate and the Peshito have taken the words ושׁמה to אדניך together as subject and predicate. But when they translate “et ibi erit currus gloriae tuae ignominia domus domini tui” we must not think that they take currus as the subject; for this construction yields no tolerable sense. But ignominia, etc. (קלון ב׳ א׳) is the subject. We have, indeed, so far as I know, no express statements respecting the use of chariots at the funerals of the Hebrews. Only in 2Ki_23:30 we read that the dead body of king Josiah was brought in a chariot (comp. 2Ch_35:24) from Megiddo to Jerusalem. But the thing is in itself probable, and in the passage before us the mention of chariots would be well explained if we durst assume that Isaiah thought of the magnificent funeral with chariots which Shebna might expect. In this supposition I translate “and there will thy state-carriages be—the shame of the house of thy lord;” that is, the shame which the house of thy lord will suffer, and that, too, chiefly through thy fault, this shame will be the escort of thy dead body, it will serve thee instead of the chariots with which they would have furnished thy funeral here, suitably to thy dignity as placed over the palace, it will constitute thy obsequies and accompany thee to the grave. That in the expression “shame of thy lord’s house,” there is an allusion to the house of the king over which Shebna was placed, is self-evident. There is no hysteron proteron when the Prophet announces the deposition of Shebna from his office. For, in fact, this deposition is only the consequence of the judgment which was to come on Shebna on account of his presumption in building himself a vault. How can a man, against whom such a sentence has been published, remain steward of the palace? He displeases the King of kings. How can the earthly king, if he will not draw on himself the wrath of the heavenly King, retain him? He must dismiss the man to whom Jehovah Himself has given notice of dismissal. Isa_22:19. The change of person in the two verbs is best explained, after what has been remarked, in this way: the first person refers to the Lord as the Supreme Ruler; the third person, to the human authority, by means of which the divine will is executed on Shebna. This third person is not mentioned by name, and is to be rendered by “he” or “one.” Shebna’s pride was certainly only one symptom of a spirit displeasing to God. He was assuredly no “servant of the Lord;” he therefore did not employ his power to promote the cause of Jehovah, and he must give way to a better man.
4. And it shall come—hath spoken it.
Isa_22:20-25. On the day when Shebna must quit his post, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah will occupy his place. We know of this Eliakim nothing except what we learn from the present passage and from 36 and 37. He was in all probability of the priestly race. For Hilkiah, as his father was called, was a common name of priests. At all events, all persons called Hilkiah mentioned in the O. T. are, with a single doubtful exception (Jer_29:3) of priestly, or at least of Levitical origin, Jer_1:1; 2Ki_22:4 sqq.; 1 Chron. 5:39; 6:30; 26:11; Ezr_7:1; Neh_8:4; Neh_11:11; Neh_12:7. It seems to follow from Isa_22:21, that the steward of the house had an official dress, with the putting on of which his installation was connected. The כְֹתנֶת, tunic was one of the principal parts of the dress of the priests. (Exo_28:40; Exo_29:5; Exo_29:8, etc.). The girdle (אַבְנֵט) also belonged to the dress of the priests (Exo_28:29; Leviticus 8). מֶמְשֶׁלֶת in the sense of sphere of rule, jurisdiction, in Isaiah besides only Isa_39:2. Where the paternal authority stands so high as among the Jews the expression, “to be a father to one” denotes a right to rule, which has no other limits than those which nature itself imposes on a father in relation to his child (Gen_45:8; Jdg_17:10; Jdg_18:19). The expression “the house of Judah” is found in Isaiah besides only Isa_37:31. It occurs first in Hosea (Hos_1:7; Hos_5:12; Hos_5:14); and is especially frequent in the older parts of Jeremiah (Jer_3:18; Jer_5:11; Jer_11:10; Jer_11:17, etc.), and in Ezekiel (Eze_4:6; Eze_8:17; Eze_9:9, etc.). Respecting the distinction between Judah and Jerusalem comp. on Isa_2:1; Isa_5:3. Isa_22:22. The power over the house is essentially a power of the keys. For the key opens the entrance to the house, to the apartments and to all that is in them. He, therefore, who alone has this key, has alone also the highest power. The expression reminds us on the one hand of Isa_9:5 (“on his shoulder” is a symbolical representation of the office as a burden to be carried), on the other hand of Job_12:14. The Lord Himself is in Rev_3:7 represented after the present passage as He who has “the key of David.” Eliakim is not only to possess the highest authority at court and in the State, he is also to use his position for advancing all his house to high honor. This will not happen without abuse of power and evil consequences. A double image is used to express what Eliakim will be to his house. First, he shall be fastened as a nail (יָתֵד Isa_33:20; Isa_54:2) in a sure place (i. e., in a place where it sticks fast). I do not think that יָתֵד is here to be taken as a tent-peg; for that would not suit Isa_22:25. The figure is intended first of all to convey the idea that Eliakim’s influential position will be firmly established and secure. The word of the Lord has called him to it. In this secure and influential place Eliakim will be for his own family a throne of honor (1Sa_2:8; Jer_14:21; Jer_17:12), i. e., he will bear his whole family, it will honorably rest on him, as upon a throne. We see that the two figures come substantially to the same thing. But the figure of a nail is in itself a less honorable one than that of a throne. For the nail is only a common article serving simply for the hanging up of vessels. It happens then to Eliakim that he is a nail to which all that belongs to the house of Hilkiah attaches itself, in order to attain to honor by him (Isa_22:24 a). They hang on Eliakim the offspring (צאצאים an expression which occurs only Job_5:25; Job_21:8; Job_27:14; Job_31:8 and Isa_34:1; Isa_42:5; Isa_44:3; Isa_48:19; Isa_61:9; Isa_65:23) and the issue; the two expressions, denote the direct and collateral issue. צְפִעוִֹת properly parasite plants, hangers-on. צפיעה, ἅπ. λεγ., is a contemptuous expression, as we can see from צפיע (Eze_4:15). All vessels of small quantity, of smallness (Isa_36:9, comp. Exo_15:16) from the basins (Exo_24:6) to the skin bottles, or vessels like skin bags or bottles. Thus his entire kindred will fasten themselves on him. The proper, literal expressions “the offspring and the issue” are illustrated by the figurative expressions which follow. Isa_22:25. In that day (with significant allusion to Isa_22:20) i. e., at the time when this nepotism will be at its height, and be ripe for judgment, the nail which was fastened in a sure place will give way, break and fall, and the burden hanging on it will be dashed to pieces. Many interpreters take offence at this turn of the prophecy, which unexpectedly betokens disaster, and Hitzig pronounces Isa_22:24 sq. a later addition. But as the prophecy directed against Shebna had the effect that he actually resigned his post in favor of Eliakim, and was content with the lower office of a scribe (Isa_36:3 sqq.), in like manner the unexpected statement, Isa_22:24 sq., can have had the salutary design, and effect of warning Eliakim. If this result followed, then the words were not, in fact, pregnant with disaster, but with profit. If Eliakim did not let himelf be admonished, he deserved what is threatened.
Footnotes:
[10]privy counsellor.
[11]Or, O he.
[12]will whirl thee out with a whirl as a man.
[13]Heb. large of spaces.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_21:2 “God punishes one villain by means of another, and a man is punished by the very sin which he himself commits (Wis_11:17). Thus God punished the Babylonians by the Persians, the Persians by the Greeks, the Greeks by the Romans, the Romans by the Goths, Longobardi, and Saracens.”—Cramer. [The Persians shall pay the Babylonians in their own coin; they that by fraud and violence, cheating and plundering, unrighteous wars and deceitful treaties, have made a prey of their neighbors, shall meet with their match, and by the same methods shall themselves be made a prey of. Henry. D. M.].
2. On Isa_21:3. “The Prophets do not rejoice at the loss suffered by their enemies; but have sympathy for them as for men made in the image of God. We ought not to cast off every humane feeling towards our foes (Mat_5:34).”—Cramer.
3. On Isa_21:5. “Invadunt urbem vino somnoque sepultam.” Virgil. “We see here how people commonly feel the more secure, the more they indulge their fleshly lusts, although they are drawing nearer their punishment. So was it with the antediluvian world, so is it now also in these last times when the coming of Christ is expected, as He says, Mat_24:38.”—Renner. The Prophet Isaiah expounded, etc.—Stuttgart, 1865, p. 73.
4. On Isa_21:6 sqq. “It is a grand, infallible evidence of the prophetic Scriptures, and of their divine inspiration, that they do not speak in general uncertain terms, but describe future things so accurately, and exactly, as if we saw them before our eyes. This serves to establish the authority of the Holy Scriptures.”—Cramer.
5. On Isa_21:10. Only what the Lord said to him, and all that the Lord said to him, the Prophet declares. Therefore he is sure and certain, even when he has incredible things to announce. Therefore is he firm and courageous, though what he has to proclaim does not please the world. He conceals and keeps back nothing; neither does he add anything. He is a faithful declarer of the mind of God, and does not spare even himself. The proof, fulfilment and accomplishment he leaves to Him who spake through him.
6. On Isa_21:11. “He who sets the watch without God, watches in vain (Psa_127:1). And when God Himself is approaching, then no care of the watchmen is of any use, whether it be day or night. For when the day of the Lord begins to burn, even the stars of heaven and his Orion, do not shine brightly. For God covers the heavens, and makes the stars thereof dark, and covers the sun with a cloud (Eze_32:7). For when God the Creator of all things frowns on us, then all creatures also frown on us, and are terrible and offensive to us.”—Cramer. From this place Christian Friedr. Richter, has composed his fine morning hymn:—
Hüter, wird die Nacht der Sünden
Nicht verschwinden?
[Comp. in English Bowring’s well-known hymn:—
Watchman, tell us of the night,
What its signs of promise are.—D. M.]
7. On Isa_21:14. “We ought not to forget to be hospitable towards the needy (Heb_13:1).”—Cramer.
8. On Isa_21:16. “I regard as a true Prophet him who does not declare a matter upon mere imagination and conjecture, but measures the time so exactly that he fixes precisely when a thing shall happen.”—Cramer.
9. On Isa_22:2 sqq. To see the enemy at the gates, and at the same time to regard him merely with curiosity, and to indulge in mirth and jollity, as if all were well, and this too at a time when God’s servants warn men with tears, as Isaiah did Jerusalem (Isa_22:4), this is blind presumption which God will punish. But when the calamity has burst upon them, and all expedients by which they try to avert it are of no avail, for men to despise then the only one who can help them, and to spend the brief remaining time in sensual pleasure, this is open-eyed defiance, and will lead to judicial blindness, and that sin which will not be forgiven (Mat_12:32).
10. On Isa_22:13. This is the language of swine of the herd of Epicurus, comp. Isa_56:12; Wis_2:6 sqq.; 1Co_15:32.
11. On Isa_22:14. It is true, as Augustine says, that “no one should despair of the remission of his sin, seeing that even they who put Christ to death obtained forgiveness,” and “the blood of Jesus Christ was so shed for the forgiveness of all sins that it could wash away the sins of those by whom it was shed”—but that obstinacy, which refuses to see the needed help, excludes itself from grace and forgiveness.
12. On Isa_22:15 sqq. The mission which Isaiah here receives, reminds us strongly of that which Jeremiah had to discharge towards Jehoiakim (Jer_22:1 sqq., esp. Isa_22:19), and also of what he was obliged to say to Pashur (Isa_20:6). A Prophet of the Lord must show no respect of persons. Isaiah indeed seems to have produced the desired effect; for we find 36 and 37. Shebna as Scribe and Eliakim as steward of the house. But Jeremiah received as recompense for the fulfilment of his mission bitter hatred and cruel persecution.
13. On Isa_22:17. The Vulgate translates here: Ecce Dominus asportari te faciet, sicut asportatur gallus gallinaceus. And Jerome in his exposition says: “Hebraeus, qui nos in lectione veteris Testamenti erudivit, gallum gallinaceum transtulit. Sicut inquit gallus gallinaceus humero portatoris de allo loco transfertur ad alium, sic te Dominus de loco tuo leviter asportabit.” The cock which is never mentioned in the Old Testament, and for which we have no genuine Hebrew word, is in fact called גֶּבֶר by the Talmudists. “Conscience, wanting the word of God, is as a ball rolling on the ground, and cannot rest.”—Luther.
14. On Isa_22:19. “Service at court is not in itself to be condemned, and a good ruler and a worthy prime minister are the gift of God (Sir_4:8; Sir_4:11; Ch. 10). Let him therefore who is called to such an office abide, as the Lord has called him (1Co_7:17), and beware of excessive pomp. For God can quickly depose the proud.”—Cramer.
15. On Isa_22:21 sqq. The comparison of a magistrate in high position with a father is very appropriate. The whole extent, and the proper measure of a ruler’s power are involved in this similitude. The authority of a father and that of a ruler have a common root in love. Eliakim in having the keys of the house of David laid on his shoulder that he might open and no one shut, and shut and no one open is (Rev_3:7) viewed as a type of Christ, who is the administrator appointed by God over the house of David in the highest sense, i. e., over the kingdom of God. Christ has this power of the keys in unrestricted measure. The ministers of the Lord exercise the same only in virtue of the commission which they have from Him; and their exercise of it is only then sanctioned by the Lord, when it is in the Spirit which the Lord breathed into the disciples before He committed to them the power of the keys (Joh_20:22 sq.). [“The application of the same terms to Peter (Mat_16:19) and to Christ Himself (Rev_3:7) does not prove that they here refer to either, or that Eliakim was a type of Christ, but merely that the same words admit of different applications.” Alexander. “It is God that clothes rulers with their robes, and, therefore, we must submit ourselves to them for the Lord’s sake and with an eye to Him (1Pe_2:13). And since it is He that commits the government into their hand,—they must administer it according to His will, for His glory. And they may depend on Him to furnish them for what He calls them to; according to the promise here. I will clothe him: and then there follows, I will strengthen him.” After Henry—D. M.]
16. On Isa_22:25. “No one is so exalted or raised to such high dignity as to abide therein. But man’s prosperity, office and honor, and whatever else is esteemed great in the world are, like human life, on account of sin inconstant, vain and liable to pass away. This serves as an admonition against pride and security.” Cramer.
HOMILETICAL HINTS ON 21–22
1. On Isa_21:1-4. God’s judgments are terrible, 1) for him on whom they fall; 2) for him who has to announce them.
2. On Isa_21:6-10. The faithful watchman. 1) He stands upon his watch day and night. 2) He announces only what he has seen and what he has heard from the Lord (Isa_22:9-10). 3) But he announces this as a lion, i. e. aloud and without fear.
3. On Isa_22:11-12. The spiritual night on earth. 1) It is a. a night of tribulation, b. a night of sin. 2) It awakens a longing for its end. 3) It does not entirely cease till the Lord “vouchsafes to us a happy end, and graciously takes us from this valley of weeping to Himself in heaven.”
4. On Isa_21:14 sq. We may fitly employ this text for a charity sermon on any occasion when an appeal is made to the benevolence of the congregation (especially for exiles, as those banished from the Salzburg territory for their Evangelical faith). What we ought to consider when our contributions are asked. 1) Our own situation (we dwell in the land of Tema, a quite fertile oasis). 2) The situation of those who come to us in their distress. 3) What we have to give them.
5. On Isa_22:1-7. Warning against thoughtlessness. Pride precedes a fall. Blind presumption is often changed into its opposite.
6. On Isa_22:8-14. Blind presumption is bad, but open-eyed obstinacy is still worse. The latter is when one clearly perceives the existing distress, and the insufficiency of our own powers and of the means at our command, and yet refuses to look to Him who alone can help, or to consider the fate which awaits those who die without God, and seeks before the impending catastrophe happens to snatch as much as possible of the enjoyments of this world.
7. On Isa_22:15-19. He who will fly high is in danger of falling low. God can easily cast him down. The waxen wings of lcarus. Shebna illustrates, 1Pe_5:5.
8. On Isa_22:20-25. A mirror for those in office. Every one who has an office, ought 1) to be conscious that he has come into the office legally, and according to the will of God; 2) He ought to be a father to those over whom he is set; 3) He ought so to do everything which he does in his office, that its justice is apparent, and that no one can impugn it. 4) He ought not to be like a nail on which all the relations of his family strive to fasten their hope of success; for that is bad for himself and for those who would so abuse his influence.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv15–19 PROPHECY THAT SHEBNA SHOULD BE DEPOSED FROM BEING PREFECT…
PROPHECY THAT SHEBNA SHOULD BE DEPOSED FROM BEING PREFECT OF THE PALACE, AND ELIAKIM PROMOTED TO THE OFFICE. (Isa 22:15-25)
Go, get thee unto--rather, "Go in to" (that is, into the house to).
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treasurer--"him who dwells in the tabernacle" [JEROME]; namely, in a room of the temple set apart for the treasurer. Rather, "the king's friend," or "principal officer of the court" (Kg1 4:5; Kg1 18:3; Ch1 27:33, "the king's counsellor") [MAURER]. "This" is prefixed contemptuously (Exo 32:1).
unto Shebna--The Hebrew for "unto" indicates an accosting of Shebna with an unwelcome message.
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 On vv15, 17 15, 16. The “Burden” now passes from the character…
15, 16. The “Burden” now passes from the character of the people to that of chief individuals, and of their characters in contrast.
Unto Shebna — This is not a person’s name, but an official title; not that of treasurer, for the original means, dear friend, but that of prefect of the palace — over the house. The name appears again in Isa_36:3, thus making this prophecy to apply in part to Hezekiah’s time. What hast thou here… whom, etc. — What right, what claims, for making a family sepulchre in Jerusalem? The tone of the questions implies that this officer was a foreigner as well as a wicked man, using also, quite probably, the public funds for a personal object.
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Sepulchre on high — At a height in a cliff, to be secure from depredation; hence an extravagant and presumptuous use of public funds.
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 On vv15–19 15. this treasurer] Better: this official. The “this” is…
15. this treasurer] Better: this official. The “this” is contemptuous. The word for “official” (sôkçn) is not elsewhere found. It seems to mean either “associate” (like the “king’s friend” of 2Sa_15:37; 2Sa_16:16; 1Ki_4:5; 1Ch_27:33), or “administrator” (the Assyrian šaknu).
which is over the house] (cf. 1Ki_4:6; 1Ki_18:3). This office has been compared to that of “mayor of the palace” under the Merovingian kings.
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Ch. Isa_22:15-25. A Philippic against an influential Politician
Shebna, the minister here addressed, is supposed from his name and from Isaiah’s indignation at his ambitious desire to have a magnificent sepulchre in Jerusalem, to have been a foreigner in the royal service. The office which he holds is the highest in the court, and is of course a measure of his influence with the king. That he was a partisan of the Egyptian alliance may be safely assumed, and it is likely that Isaiah had found in him the most astute and resolute opponent of the policy which he advocated. This opposition, together with hearty contempt for the character of the man, is the occasion of Isaiah’s only invective against an individual. The prophecy is therefore probably contemporaneous with ch. 28–31. Eliakim was probably the leader of the party favourable to Isaiah’s views, and the substitution of the one minister for the other was equivalent to a radical change of policy on the part of Hezekiah. This change seems to have taken place before the crisis of the invasion, for in ch. Isa_36:3, Isa_37:2 we find Eliakim in possession of the dignity which Shebna here holds. But since the latter then occupied the lower office of secretary, we must conclude that some compromise had been arranged, and that Shebna’s power was not altogether broken.
The passage contains three parts:
i. The denunciation of Shebna, and the announcement of his deposition and banishment, Isa_22:15-19.
ii. The installation of Eliakim, and the honour of his family, Isa_22:20-23.
iii. A very perplexing appendix, which seems to warn Eliakim against nepotism, and to anticipate the ruin of his house, Isa_22:24-25.
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 On vv15–19 (15) Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto…
(15) Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna.—The section that follows opens a chapter in the internal politics of the reign of Hezekiah. The word for “treasurer” (literally, companion) implies a position like that of a vizier, identical, probably, with that of the “king’s friend” of Gen_26:26; 2Sa_15:37; 1Ki_4:5. In addition to this office Shebna had the position of being “over the house,” an office, like that of a Lord Chamberlain, of such importance that it was sometimes held by a king’s son (2Ch_26:21). It gave him supreme control over the treasury of the king and the internal affairs of his kingdom, and made him almost like a maire du palais under the Merovingian kings. It is obvious that his influence was exercised to thwart the prophet’s counsels; and the probable sequence of thought connecting the two sections is that he was prominent as the representative of the false security and luxury which the prophet had condemned; probably also of the party which rested their hope on an alliance with Egypt. What follows seems to show that he was a novus homo, with no ancestral dignities in his house, possibly even a foreigner (the name is Aramaean in form), pushing himself forward with an obtrusive ambition. We note the touch of scorn in “this Shebna.”
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 On vv15–19 Vers. 15-24. PROPHECY ON THE DEPOSITION OF SHEBNA AND…
Vers. 15-24. PROPHECY ON THE DEPOSITION OF SHEBNA AND THE ELEVATION OF ELIAKIM. In its first and simplest application, this section predicts the fall of one state official and the advancement of an-other matters, no doubt, of some importance in the court history of the time, but scarcely (with reverence be it said) of such moment as to be worthy either of prophetic announcement or of divinely inspired record. It has, therefore, been generally felt that there must be a secondary application of the passage. According to some, the two officials represent respectively the two cove-hunts, the old and the new; according to others, they stand for the two great parties in the Jewish slate of the time that which put its trust in Jehovah, and that which leant upon heathen alliances.
The Lord God of hosts. This form, Adonay Jehovah Tsabaoth rarely used by Isaiah, but occurring above in vers. 5, 12, and 13 seems to show that this section is in its right place, being intended as a sequel to the description of Sennacherib"s siege. This treasurer. The word this" is contemptuous. That translated "treasurer" is of doubtful import. The key to it is probably to be found in the cognate noun, translated "storehouse" in 2Ch_32:28, and "store" in 1Ki_9:19 2Ch_8:4, 6 16:4 17:12. Translate, this storekeeper. Shebna. (see below, Isa_36:2, Isa_36:11, 22 37:2; and comp. 2Ki_18:18, etc.) The name, which is not found elsewhere, is thought to be Syriac rather than Hebrew, and Shebna himself is conjectured to have been a foreign adventurer, perhaps "a refugee from Damascus" (Cheyne). (See the next verse.) Which is over the house. An office like the imperial praefectus palatio " at Rome, or the Frankish mayor of the palace". (see Gen_41:40 1Ki_4:6 1Ki_18:3) At this time it seems to have been the highest office that a subject could hold. (2Ch_26:21 2Ki_18:18, etc.)
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Vers. 15-24. Shebna and Eliakim: a moral lesson.
It is a remark of Bishop Butler"s, that the moral government of God, though it may be very imperfectly carried out, is at any rate begun, in this world. Many virtues have natural rewards, and many vices natural punishments, attached to them. Again, though undoubtedly the righteous do suffer a large share of affliction, and the ungodly are often seen in great prosperity, yet, on the other hand, very signal instances from time to time manifest themselves, of the punishment of the wicked in this life by a grievous downfall, and the reward of the righteous by an exaltation to worldly greatness and honor. The most signal instance presented to us in Scripture of the double Nemesis is that of Haman and Mordecai in the Book of Esther. In that most striking tale, the whole history of the two men is set before us, and the rise of the one and fall of the other are interconnected in a way that lends peculiar interest to the narrative. Here we have simply a moral contrast, leading to a contrast of result.
I A MORAL CONTRAST.
1. Shebna, selfish, isolated, vain-glorious; noted for his display of chariots, like Absalom; (2Sa_15:1) no father" to the people under his charge; no good adviser of the king his master; chiefly desirous of handing his name down to posterity by a magnificent tomb; perhaps not even a worshipper of Jehovah.
2. Eliakim, God"s servant;" kind and thoughtful for others; regarded as "a father," not only by the people of Jerusalem, but by the entire "house" or tribe of Judah; looked up to by a large body of relations, of whom many were poor and of low rank, and willingly sharing his prosperity with them; an honest and prudent counselor to his king; a faithful worshipper of the One God, whose unity his name proclaimed. No two dwellers at the same court, no two servants of the same king, could well be more different in character, in circumstances, in moral desert.
II A CONTRAST OF RESULT.
1. Shebna, degraded from his office, is forced for a time to serve in one of very inferior dignity. Then he is either further degraded or so dissatisfied with his position that he cannot bear to retain it. He becomes a refugee in a distant land, an exile, an outcast.
2. Eliakim, advanced into Shebna"s place, has the key of the house of David placed upon his shoulder, becomes his king"s most trusty counselor and representative, is a glory and a support to his father"s house, and retains his position, if not till his death, at any rate for a long period. In estimating the extent to which God"s moral government is carried on in this world, such instances as those of Haman and Mordecai, Shebna and Eliakim, should by no means be omitted from our calculation. History contains very many such cases.
Vers. 15-24. Shebna and Eliakim: an allegory.
Shebna, set over the house of the king by the king himself, but unfaithful in his office, worldly, carnal, fond of grandeur and display, typifies the old covenant, and the priesthood to which it was committed a priesthood which looked more to the enrichment of the treasury than to the pure service of God, (Mar_7:11) and which was not above the weakness of raising up grand sepulchers for its members in a conspicuous place. (RAPC 1Ma 13:27-30) This priesthood, found wanting, had to be cast away, and a better priesthood, after a different order, to be instituted. Eliakim typifies this new priesthood a priesthood "made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life". (Heb_7:16) Primarily, he typifies Christ himself, the true "Servant of the Lord", (Isa_42:1-4 Isa_43:10 Isa_49:3, 6 52:13, etc.) the perpetual High Priest of his Church, the eternal Possessor of "the key of David, who openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth", (Rev_3:7) who "hath the keys of hell and of death". (Rev_1:18) Eliakim was "a father" to Judah and Jerusalem; among Christ"s names is that of "Everlasting Father". (Isa_9:6) Eliakim was "as a nail fastened in a sure place;" Christ is gone up where he forever sitteth on the right hand of. (Heb_10:12) Eliakim had a "glorious throne;" Christ"s throne is that "great white" one, which is set in heaven, (Rev_20:11) out of which "come lightnings, and thunderings, and voices". (Rev_4:5) On Eliakim hung all the members of his father"s house; on Christ depends, for pardon, for peace, for life, for glory, every true Christian. Secondarily, Eliakim may be regarded as typifying the faithful minister of Christ, to whom the power of the keys is communicated in a certain modified sense, (Mat_16:19) who, binding and loosing according to Christ"s ordinance, binds and looses effectively, so that none can undo his work, and, as a faithful steward in the household of Christ, dispenses the good things committed to his charge by his King and Master. The faithful minister will not blench before the powers of evil, any more than Eliakim did before Rabshakeh; (Isa_36:11, Isa_36:21) he will be "a father" to the people of God, i.e. a protector, a guide, a friend; and with those who "hang upon him" he will always be ready to share both his material and his spiritual blessings.
Vers. 15-19. Denunciation of Shebna.
I SHEBNA THE HOUSE STEWARD. He was the steward of the household a high office, as we may see from the allusion in Isa_36:3 Isa_37:2. Once it was held by a king"s son. (2Ch_26:21; cf. 1Ki_4:6 1Ki_18:3) This officer stood nearest the king, and had the domestic affairs of the palace under his superintendence. The office of the mayor of the palace under the Merovingian kings of France has been compared with it. It is thought that Shebna was not a native Israelite, as his father"s name is not mentioned. Possibly he was a Syrian from Damascus, and a leader of the Egyptianizing party, whose perverse and crooked policy in collecting the subsidy for Egypt is denounced by the prophet in Isa_30:12.
II HIS PRIDE AND OSTENTATION. He was busy hewing out for himself a family sepulcher in the rock. We realize what is meant when we see figured in works of art the magnificent rock-built tombs of Persia, of Lydia and Phrygia and Lycia, of Phoenicia, and the vast pyramid-tombs of Egypt. There kings desired to "lie in honor, each in his own house". (Isa_14:18) So, too, grandees Eshmunazar King of Sidon, Joseph of Arimathaea, etc. built themselves sepulchers in their lifetime. At Rome we look upon the famous tomb of Hadrian, now called the Castle St. Angelo, and the tomb of Caecilia Metella upon the Appian Way, the pyramid of Cestius. What may we learn from the habit of tomb-building? It expresses mans protest against the doom of mortality. On the tomb of Sardanapalus is said to have been written, "Eat, drink, and love; for the rest is little worth;" and yet the tomb itself is a witness that there hovers before the mind the thought of the future, in which man would still live and still be remembered by his fellows, even though only by means of the lifeless stone. Thus it expresses man"s infinite longings, the cravings of a nature that nothing but eternity can satisfy. There was, then, something great, something even sublime, in this tomb-building instinct. "The power of acting for a distant object, of realizing distant good, and reaching forward to it over an intervening period of labor, has something moral in it." Yet, on the other hand, the motive may be something of a much lower order vanity, self-exaltation. So the prophet views the undertaking of Shebna. He has no right, as a foreigner, thus to appropriate the soil of the sacred city, the slope of one of its hills.
III THE DENUNCIATION. In the vehemence of his indignation, the prophet declares that Jehovah will clutch the offender tightly, will roll him as a ball, and toss him into a broad land; thither he, with the chariots on which he has been rolling about the city, shall go to die! Notice the opposition between the might of Jehovah and the weakness of mere man, however exalted. Shall mortal man attempt to rival the Eternal, proudly seeking to perpetuate his memory on earth? (compare the thoughts in Job_4:17 Job_10:5 Job_22:2) The leading Hebrew teaching recurs the insignificance of ephemeral and frail man in presence of the mighty, just, and ever-living God. "The renown of that sepulcher which Shebna had built is indirectly contrasted with the ignominy which quickly followed it." "That the mask of his high rank might not screen him from the prediction, the prophet expressly states that the office which he holds aggravates his guilt and renders him more detestable. Let princes, therefore, if they do not wish to expose themselves and their houses to reproaches, learn to act with judgment in appointing men to hold office... Infer that God is highly displeased with that ambition by which men seek to obtain undying renown in the world instead of being satisfied with those honors which they enjoy during life. God punishes their haughtiness and presumption, and causes those things which they wished to be the records of their glory to become their disgrace and shame" (Calvin). J.
Vers. 15-25. Human reckoning and Divine interruption.
We have one instance, if not two according to the application we give to the "nail" of the twenty-fifth verse of ill-founded security. It is a lesson very necessary to teach, for it seems to be one very hard to learn.
I HUMAN RECKONING. Shebna had carefully and successfully built up his position in the state, and he made sure that he should keep it; he had not only "feathered his nest," but he had made up his mind that he should "die in his nest." He had arranged beforehand the place of his sepulcher (ver. 16). "The nail was fastened in a sure place" (ver. 25). All his plans were drawn, and he confidently anticipated that they would be justified by the event. In this respect he was but a type and specimen of mankind; we do the same thing in our turn and in our way.
1. It may seem strange that it should be so. A modest view of our own capacities; the instruction we gain by reading what has happened to men in the past; the lessons we gather from our observation of human life; all these might save us from the error, but they do not.
2. The fact is that men do indulge in this illusion: the boy counts on the prizes he will win at school, and the young man on the honors he will gain at college; the tradesman reckons on the profits he will make in business, and the professional man on the mark he will make in his vocation; the minister anticipates the work he will accomplish in his sphere, and the statesman indulges the confident expectation that he will carry the measures on which his heart is set. Others, we know, have failed, but we, we think, shall avoid their errors and escape their discomfiture.
II DIVINE INTERRUPTION. Shebna"s calculations were to be entirely overthrown; instead of living on and dying in Jerusalem, and being buried in the sepulcher he had so elaborately prepared, he should be hurled away like a ball by the strong arm of Jehovah into a distant land, where he should live and die in inglorious exile.
1. It may be that Divine judgment will overtake us, as it evidently overtook and overwhelmed this prefect of the palace. His ostentation (ver. 16), his luxury ("the chariots of thy glory," ver. 18), his tyranny (implied in characterizing Iris successor "a father to the inhabitants," in contrast to his own severities), brought down upon him the Divine displeasure and the prophetic denunciation. Sooner or later our sin will find us out. If we owe our elevation to our iniquity, or if, on the summit of our success, we fear not God, neither regard the claims of man, we may be sure that at some time and in some way defeat and dishonor will await us.
2. Or it must be that disciplinary changes will affect us. Whatever there is in sorrow which is not judgment is discipline. And of this latter, we must all have our share; we shall find that events will not fill up the outlines we draw, that our future wilt be very different from that which we picture it now: boyhood will not prove to be all that childhood imagines; still less will manhood be what youth supposes; friends will forsake us, schemes will be thwarted, hopes will be extinguished, props will be cut in twain, clouds will come up and rains will pour down, as we little think to-day. The hour will come when the nail that now seems so fast will be removed, and all that hangs upon it be brought to the ground (ver. 25). (See Luk_12:16-21 Jam_4:13-16)
III THE GOOD ON WHICH WE MAY RECKON WITHOUT FEAR OF INTERRUPTION.
1. Holy service, either in the form of action or endurance.
2. The favor of God, the friendship of Jesus Christ.
3. Eternal blessedness. Between the faithful soul and these high hopes no power can intervene. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv15, 18
Isa_22:15-19
Shebna
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Shebna
In the councils of Hezekiah there was a strong party favourable to an alliance between Judah and Egypt.
At the head of the party stood Shebna. He occupied a post corresponding to that of our prime minister, and was treasurer, or chief adviser of the king. His tenure of office bode no good to Jerusalem: his pro-Egyptian policy, like the pro-Assyrian policy of Ahaz, was utterly displeasing to Jehovah, and alien to the best traditions of Davids house. Against this policy Isaiah is specially commissioned to raise his voice. In the discharge of this mission he singles out Shebna, a stranger apparently, who had by ambition raised himself to high office, and was devoid of religious principle. He had been securing honour for himself, establishing his family in the land, as he thought, and, as the custom was, hewing out for himself a sepulchre. But from that high office he would soon be disgracefully ousted, when king and people would alike come to see the unworthy Character of an Egyptian alliance. And it is worthy of remark that this prophecy was speedily fulfilled. For when the Rabshakeh is met by Hezekiahs messengers, Shebna does not occupy the first place. (B. Blake, B. D.)
The prophecy concerning Shebna
This prophecy illustrates the influence wielded by Isaiah in the domestic polities of Judah. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
Shebna a foreigner
To judge from the form of his name he was probably a Syrian. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
Shebnas vain expectation
In the rock of [the east slope of Zion] from the top downwards, the tombs of the kings were hewn. So high a position, does Shebna occupy, and so great does he think himself, that he hopes after his death to be laid to rest among kings, and by no means far down. (F. Delitzsch.)
Shebnas tomb
The mention of the height of Shebnas new tomb is supposed to indicate his extreme pretension to pomp and dignity. The ancients, not excepting the Jews, attached much more importance than we do to everything connected with the burial of the dead, because they were so much less able to distinguish the human person from the earthly body, or to apprehend the substantial reality of the former a part from the latter. Our burials symbolise, and express our faith in, immortality and a resurrection; but the Jews shared more or less the common feeling of antiquity that there was some real connection between a mans due obsequies and his state after death. Still their faith, though obscure, was in me main spiritual and elevating, when held as it was by David, Hezekiah, or Job. But the worldly and sense-bound man then, as indeed he does now, contemplated the costly preparations for his burial, and for the preservation of his embalmed and entombed body, as the last possible act of regard for that sensual existence which he alone cared for. It was but the consistent maintenance to the last of his sensual creed, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v18 Isa_22:18. He will surely violently turn and toss thee…
THE IRRESISTIBLENESS OF GOD’S JUDGMENTS
Isa_22:18. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country.
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Such was the prophet’s message to a haughty statesman who prided himself on his power. Learn from it—
1. The ease with which God effects His judgments. There are many things we wish to do which require great preparations and extensive machinery; but to toss a ball from the hand is an easy matter, mere child’s play. He who takes up the isles as a very little thing, performs all His works with an ease which cannot be baffled or disturbed.
2. The utter uselessness of any resistance to the Divine judgments. As surely as a ball must follow the line of projection, so surely must we go whither the judgments of God carry us when His set time to visit us is come (H. E. I., 2269, 4960).
3. The awfulness of falling into the hands of the living God.—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.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v15 Denunciation of Shebna
Denunciation of Shebna
This section contains Isaiah's only invective against an individual. He denounces Shebna, the king's chief minister, who may have been a leader of the party which favoured alliance with Egypt. The prophecy was delivered before Sennacherib's invasion (701 b.c.), because at that time we read that Eliakim held the office Isaiah here promises him, while Shebna occupied a subordinate position (Isa_36:3; Isa_37:2).
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15-25. The deposition of Shebna. The elevation of Eliakim.
15. Over the house] i.e. steward of the royal palace, a very high office sometimes held by a king's son (2Ch_26:21).
16. What hast] RV 'what doest.' Shebna was apparently a foreigner, who ostentatiously presumed to treat Jerusalem as his native place. A sepulchre] Kings and great men in the East used to prepare their tombs in their life-time.
17. Carry, etc.] RV 'hurl thee away violently as a strong man, yea he will wrap thee up closely.'
18. Large country] i.e. a broad land, where it may roll on and on and not return. There the chariots, etc.] RV 'there shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of thy lord's house.' The chariots are another feature of Shebna's ostentation.
19. I will.. shall he] Though the person is changed, the subject is the same (viz. Jehovah) in both clauses. Such changes of person are common in Hebrew (Isa_1:29; Isa_10:12).
22. The key] the symbol of the office. The v. shows the powerful influence exercised by this official. He had the right of admitting to, or excluding from, the king's presence. This is symbolically applied to Christ (Rev_3:7).
24,23. The office of Eliakim is to be firmly established. His family will rest upon him, and all kinds of dependents cluster round him. Eliakim means 'God establishes.'
25. The burden, etc.] i.e. the vessels hanging upon the nail; figuratively put for the dependents upon a great man.
25. Perhaps the prophet may revert in thought to the fall of Shebna, but the continuation of the figure of the nail seems to point to Eliakim, whose fall, if he abused his power, would involve the ruin of his dependents. Neither the promises nor the denunciations of the prophecy need be considered as absolute, but rather conditional. Eliakim did indeed succeed to Shebna's office (see prefatory note), but we do not know that Shebna suffered the penalty of exile (Isa_22:18); this may have been averted by repentance.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v15 Is 22:15-19. A foreigner and court favourite displaced as…
Shebna
Is 22:15-19. A foreigner and court favourite displaced as treasurer by Eliakim.; Isa 36:3; Isa 37:2.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v15 The Oracle Against Shebna
The Oracle Against Shebna
v. 15. Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, beginning another oracle with the mention of His majestic title, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, the privy councilor, or minister of the interior, in the kingdom, 1Ki 4:6; 1Ki 18:3, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, the present incumbent of the office in the king’s palace, and say,
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v. 16. What hast thou here, and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulcher here, up in the City of David, as he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high, namely, on the height of Zion, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock? The prophet should inquire what business Shebna had in taking an honor for himself which was highly coveted and accorded by the people only to a man like Jehoiada, 2Ch 14:15, for unusual services to the nation.
v. 17. Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, literally, "will whirl thee out with a whirl as a man," that is, with the force of a strong man, and will surely cover thee, taking hold of him, wrapping him up, rolling him together tightly.
v. 18. He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball, all wound together like a ball of string, into a large country, into a wide and open prairie; there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord’s house, that is, the shame which the house of his master would suffer through his fault would be the only thing which would accompany him to the grave.
v. 19. And I will drive thee from thy station, depose him from his office, and from thy state, the high position which Shebna now held, shall he, the king who executes the will of the Lord, pull thee down.
v. 20. And it shall come to pass in that day, when Shebna would be deposed, that I will call My servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who may have been the same as Azariah, 1Ch 6:13;
v. 21. and I will clothe him with thy robe and strengthen him with thy girdle, investing him with the official dress, and I will commit thy government, all the authority of his office, into his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah, performing the duties of his office in such a way as to have the welfare of all the people in mind always.
v. 22. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder, as an emblem of his power and authority; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open, his decisions as to admission to the king’s palace ordinarily being final.
v. 23. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, like a peg in the wall where one may hang things, so that they are secure; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house, an ornament to his family, just as a fine chair is for a room.
v. 24. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, he being the bearer of the honor for the whole family, the offspring and the issue, the offshoots of the family, high and low, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons, the humble and lowly in his relationship, as well as the honorable, receiving their share of the honor laid upon him. The prophecy here takes a contemptuous turn, as the Lord considers these hangers-on who want to share the glory of Eliakim.
v. 25. In that day, when the judgment would strike also this house, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place, this same Eliakim, be removed and be cut down and fall; and the burden that was upon it, the entire relationship, shall be cut off, losing rank and all its advantages; for the Lord hath spoken it, in an admonition which was intended to warn Eliakim, lest he permit such conditions to creep in and thus bring disaster upon himself as well as his relatives. The Lord at all times resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 17 This is the name of the manager of the…
Shebna
This is the name of the manager of the king's palace in Jerusalem. (See: How to Translate Names)
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who is over the house
Here "house" represents those in the king's palace. AT: "who is in charge of all those who work in the palace" (See: Metonymy)
What are you doing here and who gave you permission ... in the rock?
Yahweh uses this question to scold Shebna. AT: "You have no right ... in the rock!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
cut out a tomb ... hewing out a grave ... carving out a resting place
These three phrases all refer to making a burial tomb. (See: Parallelism)
on the heights
The most important people in Israel had tombs in the highest places. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
lord
Yahweh of hosts
house
grave
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv15, 16, 18, 19 22:15-25 Shebna and Eliakim were two royal officials in…
22:15-25 Shebna and Eliakim were two royal officials in King Hezekiah’s court (see 2 Kgs 18:18; 19:2). Apparently assuming that death at the hands of the Assyrians was inevitable, Shebna planned for an ostentatious burial place (Isa 22:16). Although the rebuke of Shebna preceded Assyria’s siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC (see 22:19-21; 36:3), it connects well with the admonitions of 22:1-13 regarding the ensuing Babylonian siege.
22:15 The actions of Shebna represent among the populace a lack of confidence in God’s ability to rescue Jerusalem from the Assyrian attack. • A palace administrator held the highest possible position in the royal court (see 22:21-22).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.