Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
Parallel Translations
-
Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
-
Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
-
Behold, these shall come from far; and, lo, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Isaiah 49:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 43:5-6 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
- Psalms 22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
- Psalms 72:10-11 The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.
- Psalms 72:17 His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed.
- Isaiah 2:2-3 It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law shall go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 11:10-11 It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious. It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 60:9-14 Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. For that nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; yes, those nations shall be utterly wasted. “The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, the cypress tree, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 66:19-20 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into Yahweh’s house.
- Micah 4:2 Many nations will go and say, “Come! Let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;
- Zechariah 2:11 Many nations shall join themselves to Yahweh in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell among you, and you shall know that Yahweh of Armies has sent me to you.
- Zechariah 8:20-23 Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, ‘Let’s go speedily to entreat the favor of Yahweh, and to seek Yahweh of Armies. I will go also.’ Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh of Armies in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.” Yahweh of Armies says: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”
- Matthew 8:11 I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,
- Luke 13:29 They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.
- Revelation 7:9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
- Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, the South country, so that Christ shall deliver…
Meaning, the South country, so that Christ shall deliver his from all the parts of the world.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 49:12 Behold, these shall come from far: and,…
Isa 49:12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Ver. 12. Behold, these shall come from far.] The Jews from all parts, whither they have been dispersed, the elect from all quarters of the earth. {Mat 8:11} {See Trapp on "Mat 8:11"}
Read full note →
And these from the land of Sinim.] Or, Of the Sinites - that is, of the Chinese, saith Junius and others, whom the Greek geographers call Sinois, a very populous nation. Botterus saith that there are reckoned seventy millions of men, which are more than are to be found in all Europe; and who knows but many of those of the ten tribes of Israel are there? {a}
{a} Arias Mont., Osorius, A Lapide, Mr Cotton.
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 These shall come from far; my people shall be…
These shall come from far; my people shall be called and gathered even from the most remote parts of the earth. He speaks here, and in many other places, of the conversion of the Gentiles, with allusion to that work of gathering and bringing back the Jews from all parts where they were dispersed into their own land.
From the north and from the west; from the several parts of the world; which are here synecdochically expressed, as they are in many other places.
Read full note →
From the land of Sinim; either of the Sinites, as they are called, Gen 10:17, who dwelt about the wilderness of Sin, which was southward from Judea; or of Sin, a famous city of Egypt, called the strength of Egypt, which may be synecdochically put for all Egypt, and that for all southern parts. And so he here mentions the several quarters of the world, where the generality of the Jews were dispersed; the north, which is every where named as the chief place of their banishment and dispersion, as Jer 16:15; 31:8, and elsewhere; the west, the western countries and islands; and the south.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Behold, these shall come from far,.... This is a…
Behold, these shall come from far,.... This is a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews, or of the Gentiles, or of both, in the latter day, in the several parts of the world; who shall come to Christ, and to his churches, and join in fellowship with them: the allusion is to the return of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, and from all other parts at that time; some are said to come "from far", from the east, as it is generally interpreted, from the several eastern nations, as Persia, Judea lying west from them, on the western or Mediterranean sea:
and, lo, these from the north; from Media, as some; or rather from Babylon, which lay north of Judea:
Read full note →
and from the west; or "from the sea"; the Mediterranean sea, and the countries beyond it, which lie west of Judea:
and these from the land of Sinim. The Targum and Vulgate Latin version render it, from the land of the south, with which Jarchi and Kimchi agree, where dwelt the Sinites, which were of the children of Canaan, Gen 10:17, as the latter observes; and where were the wilderness of Sin, and mountain of Sinai, according to the observation of Jerom. Aben Ezra thinks Egypt is meant, which lay south of Judea, and conjectures that Sinai, a place in it, is designed; perhaps Sin, as others are of opinion, called "the strength of Egypt", Eze 30:15, the same city the Greeks called Pelusium; and R. Saadiah, in Kimchi, supposes it is here intended, which is most likely; the Pelusiotae are meant. Manasseh ben Israel (g) will have it that the Chinese are intended: China is indeed called, by Ptolemy (h), the country of the Sinites; and if this is designed, which is not probable, it cannot be so called from the family of Cina, as Martinius (i) thinks, since that family was not in being till two or three hundred years after this prophecy; and, if it concerns them, it will have its accomplishment, when the kingdoms of this world shall become Christ's, Rev 11:15 compare with this Mat 8:12 yea, they are said to have received the Gospel, in the first times of it, by the means of the apostles, Thomas, or Bartholomew (k). The Septuagint version renders it, "from the land of the Persians"; and the Arabic version, "from the land of Persia"; and the Syriac version, "from the sea of Senjam".
(g) Spes Israelis, p. 48. (h) Geograph. l. 7. c. 3. (i) Hist. Sinic. p. 195. (k) Vid Fabricii Lux Evangelii, p. 652, 653.
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 These - My people shall be gathered from the…
These - My people shall be gathered from the most remote parts of the earth. He speaks here, and in many other places, of the conversion of the Gentiles, with allusion to that work of gathering, and bringing back the Jews from all parts where they were dispersed, into their own land. Sinim - Either of the Sinites as they are called, Gen. x, 17, who dwelt about the wilderness. Or of Sin, a famous city of Egypt, which may be put for all Egypt, and that for all southern parts.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Behold, these shall come from far] "Babylon…
Verse 12. Behold, these shall come from far] "Babylon was far and east, ממזרח mimmizrach, (non sic Vett.,) Sinim, Pelusians, to the south."-SECKER.
The land of Sinim.] Prof. Doederlein thought of Syene, the southern limit of Egypt, but does not abide by it. Michaelis thinks it is right, and promises to give his reasons for so thinking in the second part of his Spicilegium Geographiae Hebraeorum Exterae. See Biblioth. Oriental. Part xi. p. 176.
Read full note →
סין sin signifies a bush, and סינים sinim, bushes, woods, &c. Probably this means that the land where several of the lost Jews dwell is a woodland. The ten tribes are gone, no one knows whither. On the slave coast in Africa, some Jewish rites appear among the people, and all the males are circumcised. The whole of this land, as it appears from the coast, may be emphatically called ארץ שינים erets sinim, the land of bushes, as it is all covered with woods as far as the eye can reach. Many of the Indians in North America, which is also a woodland, have a great profusion of rites, apparently in their basis Jewish. Is it not possible that the descendants of the ten lost tribes are among those in America, or among those in Africa, whom European nations think they have a right to enslave? It is of those lost tribes that the twenty-first verse speaks: "And these, where had they been?"
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 49:12-13. Behold, these shall come from far —…
Isa 49:12-13. Behold, these shall come from far — My people shall be gathered from the most remote parts of the earth. He speaks here, and in many other places, of the conversion of the Gentiles, with allusion to that work of gathering and bringing back the Jews from all parts where they were dispersed, into their own land. And these from the land of Sinim — Either of the Sinites, as they are called, Gen 10:17, who dwelt about the wilderness; or of Sin, a famous city of Egypt, which may be put for all Egypt, and that for all southern parts. And so he here mentions the several quarters of the world where the generality of the Jews were dispersed; the north, which is everywhere named as the chief place of their banishment and dispersion, as Jer 16:15; and Jer 31:8, and elsewhere; the west, the western countries and islands; and the south. Sing, O heavens, &c. — See note on Isa 44:23. For the Lord hath comforted his people — God hath now sent the long-desired consolation of Israel.
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 Behold, these shall come from far - That is,…
Behold, these shall come from far - That is, one part shall come from a distant land, and another from the north and west. This is a statement of the fulfillment of the promise made to him Isa 49:6-7, that he should be for a light to the Gentiles, and that kings and princes should rise up and honor him. The words ‘from far,’ denote a distant land, without specifying the particular direction from which they would come. The most distant nations should embrace his religion, and submit to him. Lowth and Seeker understand it of Babylon; Grotius of the East, that is, Persia, and the other countries east of Judea. But it more properly denotes any distant country; and the sense is, that converts should be made from the most distant lands.
And lo, these - Another portion.
Read full note →
From the north - The regions north of Palestine.
And from the west - Hebrew, ‘From the sea;’ that is, the Mediterranean. This word is commonly used to denote the west. The western countries known to the Hebrews were some of the islands of that sea, and a few of the maritime regions. The idea here in general is, that those regions would furnish many who would embrace the true religion. If it be understood as referring to the Messiah, and the accession to his kingdom among the Gentiles, it is needless to say that the prediction has been already strikingly fulfilled. Christianity soon spread to the west of Palestine, and the countries in Europe have been thus far the principal seat of its influence and power. It has since spread still further to the west; and, from a western world unknown to Isaiah, million have come and acknowledged the Messiah as their Redeemer.
And these - Another portion, carrying out the idea that they were to come from every part of the world.
From the land of Sinim - There have been many different opinions in regard to the ‘land of Sinim.’ The name ‘Sinim’ (סינים siyniym) occurs nowhere else in the Bible, and of course it is not easy to determine what country is meant. It is evident that it is some remote country, and it is remarkable that it is the only land specified here by name. Some, it is said, should come from far, some from the north, others from the west, and another portion from the country here specifically mentioned. Jerome understands it of the south in general - Isti de terra Australi. The Septuagint understands it as denoting Persia - Ἄλλοι δὲ ἐκ γῆς Περσῶν alloi di ek gēs Persōn. The Chaldee also interprets it as Jerome has done, of the south. The Syriac has not translated it, but retained the name Sinim. The Arabic coincides with the Septuagint, and renders it, ‘From the land of Persia.’ Grotius supposes that it means the region of Sinim to the south of Palestine, and Vitringa also coincides with this opinion.
Bochart supposes that it means the same as Sin or Syene, that is, Pelusium, a city of Egypt; and that it is used to denote Egypt, as Pelusium was a principal city in Egypt. In Eze 30:15, Sin or Pelusium (margin) is mentioned as ‘the strength of Egypt.’ Gesenius supposes that it refers to the Chinese, and that the country here referred to is Sina or China. ‘This very ancient and celebrated people,’ says he, ‘was known to the Arabians and Syrians by the name Sin, Tein, Tshini; and a Hebrew writer might well have heard of them, especially if sojourning in Babylon, the metropolis as it were of all Asia. This name appears to have been given to the Chinese by the other Asiatics; for the Chinese themselves do not employ it, and seem indeed to be destitute of any ancient domestic name, either adopting the names of the reigning dynasties, or ostentatiously assuming high-sounding titles, as “people of the empire in the center of the world.” ‘The Rev. Peter Parker, M. D., missionary to China, remarked in an address delivered in Philadelphia, that ‘the Chinese have been known from time immemorial by the name Tschin. Tschin means a Chinaman.’ When they first received this appellation, cannot be determined, nor is the reason of its being given to them now known.
As there is remarkable permanency in the names as well as in the customs of the East, it is possible that they may have had it from the commencement of their history. If so, there is no improbability in supposing that the name was known to the Jews in the time of Isaiah. Solomon had opened a considerable commerce with the East. For this he had built Palmyra, or Tadmor, and caravans passed constantly toward Palestine and Tyre, conveying the rich productions of India. The country of Tschin or Sinim may be easily supposed to have been often referred to by the foreign merchants as a land of great extent and riches, and it is not impossible that even at that early day a part of the merchandise conveyed to the west might have come from that land. It is not necessary to suppose that the Hebrews in the time of Isaiah had any very extensive or clear views of that country; but all that is necessary to be supposed is that they conceived of the nation as lying far in the east, and as abounding in wealth, sufficiently so to entitle it to the pre-eminency which it now has in the enumeration of the nations that would be blessed by the gospel.
If this be the correct interpretation - and I have on a re-examination come to this opinion, though a different view was given in the first edition of these Notes - then the passage furnishes an interesting prediction respecting the future conversion of the largest kingdom of the world. It may be added, that this is the only place where that country is referred to in the Bible, and there may be some plausibility in the supposition that while so many other nations, far inferior in numbers and importance, are mentioned by name, one so vast as this would not wholly be omitted by the Spirit of Inspiration.
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 South. Hebrew Sinim; (Haydock) China, (St. Jerome) or rather…
South. Hebrew Sinim; (Haydock) China, (St. Jerome) or rather Sin, or Pelusium, and Sinai, in Egypt and Arabia. Septuagint, "Persians." (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Sinim--The Arabians and other Asiatics called China Sin, or…
Sinim--The Arabians and other Asiatics called China Sin, or Tchin; the Chinese had no special name for themselves, but either adopted that of the reigning dynasty or some high-sounding titles. This view of "Sinim" suits the context which requires a people to be meant "from far," and distinct from those "from the north and from the west" [GESENIUS].
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 12. From far — He brings them from every…
12. From far — He brings them from every quarter on their way to the heavenly Jerusalem. With fair reason these words are supposed to mean, from the South — symbolized in the queen of Sheba; from the north and west — Asia Minor and Europe, the chief nursery, for long ages, of the Christian Church.
And these from the land of Sinim — Was this the name of any country east? Very difficult to answer. The Septuagint renders it Persia — γη περσιων — a good authority against the Vulgate, which renders it “south.” This is scarcely probable, unless by the “south” is meant the southern parts of the great eastern regions. Without detailing the argument by Gesenius that China us intended in the word סינימ, Sinim, a conclusion adopted by Alexander also after a thorough sifting of the subject, also by other distinguished scholars — Ewald excepted — we may likewise here rest (?) till other more learned philology shall differently determine the case. “Sinim,” hence, is China; at least its westernmost borders, or a name given to the eastern-most parts of the world known to Semitic people in Isaiah’s times, perhaps as far back as 800 B.C.
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 12. The return of exiles from the most distant…
12. The return of exiles from the most distant parts of the earth.
these from the land of Sinim (the Sinites)] The last word is a hopeless enigma. As the only proper name in the verse the writer must have had some special reason for mentioning it; and the only reason that can be plausibly imagined is that Sinim lay on the utmost limit of his geographical horizon. This would exclude two suggested identifications: (1) the Canaanite Sinites of Gen_10:17, and (2) Sin (Pelusium) on the nearest border of Egypt. Again, from the fact that “north” and “west” have been already mentioned we may reasonably infer that the Sinim must be looked for either in the far East or the far South. The former is the view of most commentators, who find in Sinim the name China (properly “the Chinese”). If the prophecy had been written four or five centuries later this hypothesis would be more plausible than it is. The word might be the same as the Arabic and Syriac name for China (צין), although there is a difference in the first consonant which would excite misgivings. But it is generally considered that this name is derived from that of the Tsin-dynasty, which dates from 255 b.c.; it could not therefore have reached the West in the time of the Exile. The numerous attempts to find an older Chinese origin of the word are merely wasted ingenuity. Moreover, it is inconceivable that Jewish captives had been transported to China at so early a period; and speculations about the possibility of intercourse between the Chinese and Western Asia hardly touch the question. The Sinim are located in the South by the Targ. and Vulg., which render “a Southern land”; also by Cheyne, who, in his latest work, revives a suggestion of J. D. Michaelis that Syene is meant (reading סְוֵנִים for סינים).
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 (12) From the west.—Literally, from the sea, which commonly…
(12) From the west.—Literally, from the sea, which commonly has this meaning. In Psa_107:3, however, it clearly stands for the south, and is probably used in that sense here. In this case “from far” stands for the south, probably for the distant Ethiopia, where Jewish exiles had already found their way (Zep_3:10).
From the land of Sinim.—The region thus named is clearly the ultima Thule of the prophet’s horizon, and this excludes the “Sinites” of Canaan (Gen_10:17), and the Sin (Pelusium) of Egypt. Modern scholars are almost unanimous in making it refer to the Chinese. Phœnician or Babylonian commerce may have made that people known, at least by name, to the prophet. Recent Chinese researches have brought to light traditions that in B.C. 2353 (and again in B.C. 1110) a people came from a strange western land, bringing with them a tortoise, on the shell of which was a history of the world, in strange characters “like tadpoles.” It is inferred that this was a cuneiform inscription, and the theory has been recently maintained that this was the origin of the present Chinese mode of writing. (See Cheyne’s “Excursus,” 2 p. 20, and an elaborate article on “China and Assyria” in the Quarterly Review for October, 1882.) Porcelain with Chinese characters has been found, it may be added, in the ruins of the Egyptian Thebes (Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, 1st ser., iii. 106-109). All recent discoveries tend to the conclusion that the commerce of the great ancient monarchies was wider than scholars of the sixteenth century imagined. The actual immigration of Jews into China is believed to have taken place about B.C. 200 (Delitzsch in loc).
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 These shall come from far. The nations shall flow…
These shall come from far. The nations shall flow in from all sides to the Redeemer"s kingdom. (Isa_2:2 Isa_11:10 Isa_60:1-5, etc.) They shall come from the north and from the west; literally, from the north and from the sea, which generally means "the west," but which, in one enumeration of the points of the compass, (Psa_107:3) is certainly "the south." They shall also come from the land of Sinim by which most recent interpreters understand China. But it is highly improbable that an ethnic name which was not known to the Greeks till the time of Ptolemy (A.D. 120) should have recoiled Palestine by B.C. 700. And if "the sea" means "the south" in the preceding clause, the Sinim may be these of Phoenicia, (Gen_10:17) who were among the furthest inhabitants of Asia towards the west. In any case, the reference is, not to the dispersed Jews, but to the remote Gentiles, who would pass from all quarters lute the kingdom of the Redeemer.
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 Behold, these shall come from far
Isa_49:12
Behold, these shall come from far
Read full note →
Gathered from afar
Whatever bearing this prophecy may have had upon the time of Isaiah, or the time immediately after him, it has an important bearing on the time of the Messiah, and the course of His kingdom.
The sentiment is that the redeemed Church of Christ shall come from every part of the earth. This sentiment is in accordance with--
I. THE GENIUS OF THE GOSPEL.
II. THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY.
III. THE COURSE OF EVENTS. Conclusion--
1. This subject recognises the brotherhood of man.
2. It imposes a stupendous obligation on the Church. (J. Rawlinson.)
The land of Sinim
The land of Sinim
As coming after the reference to the west, it is naturally looked for in the far east, and so has very generally been understood of the Chinese. The common designation of China among nations of South Asia outside of China is Tsin, and in the form of Sin this name had been introduced among the Arabians and Syrians. It is also observed that the Chinese dynasty of Tsin began to reign about B.C. 255. For ten centuries before Christ the Chinese had commercial relations with the west. (J. Macpherson, M. A.)
The land of Sinim
(the Sinites):--The last word is a hopeless enigma As the only proper name in the verse the writer must have had some special reason for mentioning it; and the only reason that can be plausibly imagined is that Sinim lay on the utmost limit of his geographical horizon. This would exclude two suggested identifications:
(1) the Canaanite Sinites of Gen_10:17, and
(2) Sin (Pelusium), on the nearest border of Egypt. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
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 (Missionary Sermon.)
GATHERED FROM AFAR
(Missionary Sermon.)
Read full note →
Isa_49:12. Behold there shall come from far, &c.
Whatever bearing this prophecy may have had upon the time of Isaiah, or the time immediately after him, it has an important bearing on the time of the Messiah and the course of His kingdom. The prophet sees multitudes coming into that kingdom from every quarter of the globe. Taking his position in Palestine, he mentions the north and west by name; the far country may be regarded as the south, beginning with Egypt, and running down to Southern Africa; while the east runs through Persia and India to China, which many expositors consider identical with Sinim.
The sentiment of the text is that the redeemed Church of Christ shall come from every part of the earth.
I. This sentiment is in accordance with the genius of the gospel
The gospel is in the world. It exerts an immense influence over the best portions of the human race; whose excellence, indeed, is directly owing to its influence. What is its nature? It is the manifestation of God’s love to man. It is not a mere declaration of the Divine existence and character, nor a mere exposition of human nature and its obligations. It. is a revelation of the Divine character in its relations to man. It unfolds the way in which God deals with human sinfulness. Instead of sweeping it away by sweeping man away, He provides salvation from sin and its doom. That provision consists in the incarnation of the Son of God’ who has obeyed the law and endured its curse for man. The good news is the proclamation of God’s forgiving mercy to as many as believe in Him, repenting of their sins; and the further proclamation that all needful influences and help will be supplied by the Holy Spirit for their complete regeneration and purification.
Now this is not a story likely to be concealed in the hearts of those who happen to know it. It is of such a nature that those who know it and have acted upon it instinctively desire to communicate it to others. Why?
1. Because it is true.
2. Because it redounds to the honour of its chief Personage, whom they have learned to love with supreme devotedness.
3. Because it is closely connected with the interests and destinies of the human race. Their participation of its blessing, their falling under its influence, has brought them into sympathy with the love of God to man, which, like a spark from the central fire of love, has fallen on their susceptibility and set it aflame. Men need the gospel, in life and in death; and the gospel inspires its recipients with the benevolence which cannot rest until the blessing has been universally received. Nor is it conceivable that He who provided the gospel should not desire men to avail themselves of its provisions; having prepared a home for the wanderers, He desires them to come into it.
II. This sentiment is in accordance with the spirit of prophecy
There is a marked difference between the Christian and Jewish dispensations. The Jews, with a narrow strip of territory, were separated from the nations. Their religion was intimately associated with their national life and being. It was given to them; adapted to them. No wonder that they became possessed of the idea that God never meant to bring other nations into His Church; that therefore they never sought the conversion of the heathen, nor welcomed the idea when it was propounded.
Yet in their own Scriptures there was abundant evidence that the time would come when God would both welcome and seek the heathen. Intimations in the earlier Scriptures. Isaiah prolific of passages. He dwells on the idea, delights in it as if he had already caught the spirit of that Gospel time whose advent he was inspired to predict. Our Lord distinctly enunciates the idea in terms almost similar to those of the text (Mat_8:11; Mat_24:14). Paul anticipates the coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles. His labours were conducted with that view. The assumption is everywhere that in the great future the gospel shall be universally prevalent.
III. This sentiment is in accordance with the course of events
Has the genius of the Gospel vindicated itself? Have the predictions of its attracting the heathen been verified? Take the history of the Church from the earliest time to the present. Its course has been one of steady advancement towards the point at which the predictions of its extension will be fully accomplished. During the apostolic age, although to a less extent than subsequently, the Gospel travelled north and south and east and west of Palestine. Beginning with a very small handful of Jews under persecution, before three hundred years were over it had made itself so felt that the Emperor of Rome found it his advantage to adopt it publicly. Through the centuries since, it has gradually covered a larger area. And the text is now in course of fulfilment. With a map in your hand, survey the parts of the earth in which the Gospel has been preached. You will find that it has planted its foot in every quarter, and that its converts are gathered from almost every land. China must not be overlooked. It is probably specially mentioned here. Christian missionaries of various names are attracting numbers of that multitudinous and remarkable people. As the completed fulfilment of the prophecy, there will be in heaven “a multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, who will stand before the throne and before the Lamb.”
Two points may be mentioned as suggested by this subject:—
1. It recognises the brotherhood of man. For the purposes of this prophecy, every man must be regarded as belonging to one great family, equally capable of and needing redemption. God has put the highest honour on human nature by giving His dearest and best. Let not the most degraded be supposed beyond our reach. 2. It imposes a stupendous obligation on the Church. God works by means. Are we doing all in our power to help those who are labouring among the heathen?—J. Rawlinson.
CHINA FOR CHRIST
Isa_49:12. Behold these shall come from … the land of Sinim.
Most commentators are agreed that this refers to China. “The Arabians and other Asiatics called China Sin or Tchin; the Chinese had no special name for themselves, but either adopted that of the reigning dynasty or some high-sounding titles. This view of ‘Sinim’ suits the context which requires a people to be meant ‘from far,’ and distinct from those ‘from the north and from the west’ ” (Gesenius).
In these words we have a promise of the conversion of China, the spiritual needs and claims of which the Churches of Christendom will do well to consider most prayerfully. Observe—
1. The population, extent, and religion of China, &c. Next to the Russian Empire, the Chinese Empire, including Mantchuria, Mon golia, and Thibet, is in extent of territory the largest in the world. China itself is one-third the size of Europe, seven times the size of France, and is equal to eleven of Great Britain and Ireland. The population is estimated at 400,000,000—twenty-two times the population of England; or more than one hundred and thirty times that of Scot land. Were all the subjects of the court of Pekin to march past a spectator at the rate of thirty miles a day, they would move on and on, day after day, week after week, month after month; and more than twenty-three and a half years would elapse before the last individual had passed by.
The number is inconceivable—the view is appalling. The daily mortality of China is 33,000! Think of it—a mortality which in less than three months exceeds the whole population of London;—which in a year and a half exceeds the total number of the inhabitants of England. The thought is overwhelming.
The State Religion is founded on the ethical and political maxims of the sage Confucius. His writings ignore the existence of a God and a future state, consisting mainly in the advocacy of what is expedient and useful and proper, &c. Various species of idolatry prevail—Taouism, Buddhism, ancestral worship, &c.
2. We cannot say that the amazing population of China has been altogether neglected by the Christian people of Europe and America. For some years the London Missionary Society, hoping against hope, and exhibiting a perseverance worthy of all imitation, sustained the only Mission in China, begun by the honoured Morrison in 1807. China can never again be isolated as heretofore. We have long prayed that China might be “open” to evangelical effort. Prayer has been answered; “the fields are white to the harvest,” but as yet “the labourers are few,” and bear no proportion to the magnitude even of the initiatory work which remains to be accomplished.
3. Among the obstacles which oppose themselves to Christian missions in China, may be mentioned—
(1.) The theocratic assumption of the imperial government.
(2.) The ignorance, immorality, conceit, and superstitiousness of the population.
(3.) The system of ancestral worship—a plausible custom, but one which is a most unequivocal form of idolatry, &c.
(4.) Sundry superstitions.
(5.) The opium traffic, which has created a most power [n] prejudice against us among the best men in the country. A Wesleyan missionary, writing home (in 1884) said, “It would interest the supporters of our society if they could hear the various objections the Chinese make on the one hand against abandoning old customs, and on the other, against becoming Christians. To give just one specimen of each kind. At the close of a service held some weeks ago at Fatshan, and when the congregation were requested to ask any questions they might wish on the address just delivered, or on the new religion generally, one man maintained very strongly that it would be wrong in him not to worship idols, for his parents had worshipped them before him. He must do as they did, or be unfilial. This reasoning (if such it may be called) was easily disposed of, but not to his satisfaction, for he still held to his point. Another man seemed, however, annoyed that nothing stronger could be urged against the Gospel, and, leaning forward, he touched the man—who was so afraid of being unfilial—on the shoulder, and said, ‘You will do no good arguing that way. I tell you what to do, you just ask the foreigner, Where does the opium come from?’ And with that he ran out of the chapel, and we saw him no more. Whether he thought he had really vanguished us, or he was afraid of being vanquished, I don’t know. I suppose his reasoning was something like this: ‘opium is from abroad, and is injurious; the Gospel is from abroad, and it is, ergo, injurious.’ Or, ‘The Gospel is not much good, or it would keep foreigners from hurting China; and if it has not made them good, why do they bring it here?’ Opium, the impure lives of foreigners, and brandy, are the staple objections against the Gospel, when none can be found against its doctrines and morals. If opium could be got rid of, and the lives of Europeans and Americans were at all in accordance with the Bible, I am persuaded that our work would make greater progress. But as it is, opium (grown in British territory) is eating out the very life of the nation, physically and morally, among both high and low, and the ungodly lives of foreigners cause the adorable name of Jesus to be every day blasphemed among the heathen.”
4. There are some advantages on the other hand. The press is a powerful instrument; and the circulation of the Scriptures and other books is furthered by the cheapness of printing and paper, so that the entire Bible can be sold for less than a shilling, and the New Testament for fourpence. One cheering sign of the times is the organised opposition to missionary teaching which has recently appeared; a proof that the new opinions are beginning to move the apparently inert masses of the Chinese population.
5. The ultimate conversion of China’s teeming millions to Christ. Unprecedented opportunities now offer for Christian enterprise. Success has attended the labours of the past—upwards of 20,000 Chinese are now in Christian communion in Protestant Churches. A vast preparatory work has been done in a much wider circle, opening the way for the missionary reaper. Many fields are white already unto harvest. Let the Churches of Christendom obey the imperative command of their Lord. “Go ye,” &c., and the stupendous work shall be accomplished in due time, for “Thus saith the Lord, behold, these shall come from the land of Sinim.” Blessed be God, they are coming and shall come, until the word of promise is completely fulfilled.
“Faith, mighty faith. the promise sees,
And looks to that alone;
Laughs at impossibilities,
And cries. It shall be done!”
—Alfred Tucker.
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.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain The word is supposed to refer to a people…
Sinim
The word is supposed to refer to a people of the far East, perhaps the Chinese.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 the land of Sinim
the land of Sinim
The location of this place is uncertain, but it may refer to a region in the southern part of Egypt. (See: How to Translate Names)
Read full note →
Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth; break into singing, you mountains!
Isaiah turns his attention from the people of Israel and speaks to the heavens, earth, and mountains as if they were people. (See: Apostrophe and Personification)
translationWords
heaven
joy
earth
Yahweh
comfort
people of God
compassion
afflicted
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 49:12 The remnant would come from the north (i.e.,…
49:12 The remnant would come from the north (i.e., from Babylon and Persia), from the west by sea, and from as far south as Egypt.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.