Ch. 61. The Proclamation of Glad Tidings to Zion

i. Isaiah 61:1-3. The speaker (see below) introduces himself as the herald of the coming salvation. Anointed with the spirit of the Lord, he is commissioned to cheer and comfort the distressed people of God by the announcement of a day of spiritual emancipation and privilege which issues in eternal splendour.

ii. Isaiah 61:4-9. In the end of Isaiah 61:3 the soliloquy has passed insensibly into objective description of the glorious future of Israel; and this is the subject of the remainder of the prophecy. The old waste places shall be rebuilt (Isaiah 61:4); Israel shall be recognised as the priestly people among the nations, while strangers feed its flocks and till its fields (Isaiah 61:5-6); the people shall receive double compensation for their past sufferings, and the blessing of Jehovah shall visibly rest on them (Isaiah 61:7-9).

iii. Isaiah 61:10-11. The prophet, speaking as it would appear in the name of the community, exults in the glorious prospect thus disclosed of a spiritual spring-time when Jehovah shall cause righteousness and praise to sprout before all the nations.

It will be seen that in substance the passage deals with the same theme as ch. 60, the future blessedness of Zion. The important difference is the prominence given in the opening monologue (Isaiah 61:1-3) to the personality and mission of the speaker. The question necessarily arises, Who is this speaker? Whilst the Targum and perhaps a majority of well-known commentators assign the speech to the prophet himself, a number of the best authorities regard it as a self-delineation of the ideal Servant of Jehovah such as we have found in ch. Isaiah 49:1-6 and Isaiah 50:4-9. The question is one of much difficulty, and the chief points involved are the following: (1) The name “Servant of the Lord” does not here occur. But this really counts for nothing, since the same is true of ch. Isaiah 50:4-9, where it cannot be doubted that it is the Servant who speaks. (2) It is said that the prophet invariably keeps his own personality in the background and that where any other than Jehovah speaks of Himself at length, it is always the Servant. This is true of the author of ch. 40–55, but is much less obvious if the present passage has to be assigned to a later writer. The prophet’s consciousness of his own mission is strongly expressed in ch. Isaiah 58:1, probably also in ch. Isaiah 62:1, and it is unsafe to assert that he might not have expanded it in such terms as are here used. Another exception to the rule is found in the earlier part of the book in ch. Isaiah 48:16 (which may however be an interpolation. see on the verse). (3) There are undoubtedly affinities between the conception here and the portrait of the Servant; e.g. the gift of the spirit (Isaiah 42:1), the helpful and consoling ministry (Isaiah 50:4, Isaiah 42:3), the message of emancipation (Isaiah 42:7, Isaiah 49:9). On the other hand the function claimed by the speaker cannot be said to transcend that of a prophet, and seems to fall below the level of the Servant’s great work. He is only the herald of salvation, whereas the Servant is its mediator; there is nothing here to suggest the profound moral influence which is the characteristic of the Servant’s ministry to Israel, for it does not appear that the mission of consolation here described consists in anything else than the proclamation of the coming glory. We miss also the element of universalism which is so conspicuous in the Servant’s work; and the allusion to a “day of vengeance” strikes a note which is never found in the undoubted utterances of the Servant. (4) Although it is a begging of the question to assert that the personification of the Servant ceases with ch. 53, it is certainly difficult to find a place for this portrait in the cycle of Servant-passages. These passages shew a well-marked progression and connexion of thought, and one must hesitate to believe that after the climax in ch. 53 the same personage should again appear in what must be considered a subordinate character. On the whole the objections to taking the words as those of the prophet appear less cogent than those against attributing them to the Servant, but it is probable that the writer was familiar with the earlier portraits of the Servant and that his conception of his prophetic office was influenced by them. That our Lord quotes the passage as descriptive of Himself and His message (Luke 4:18 f.) does not decide the question, for the ideal prophet is as truly a type of Christ as the Servant himself.

1. The Spirit … upon me] Cf. Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah 48:16 (Isaiah 59:21).

because the Lord hath anointed me] The abiding possession of the spirit is the consequence of this consecrating act of Jehovah. “Anoint” is used, as often, in a metaphorical sense. The idea that prophets were actually anointed with oil is supported only by 1 Kings 19:16, and even there the sense may be metaphorical since (as Cheyne observes) we do not read that the act was performed.

to preach good tidings] The verb is bassçr (εὐαγγελίσασθαι), on which see the notes to Isaiah 40:9 and Isaiah 52:7. It is to be remarked that in ch. 40–55 the mĕbassçr (or mebasséreth) is an ideal personage or company, whose function is quite distinct from that of the prophet or the Servant.

to bind up (i.e. heal) the broken-hearted] Cf. Psalm 147:3; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 51:17.

The terms “meek” and “broken-hearted” denote the religious qualities which characterise the recipients of the prophet’s Evangel. How far the following designations, “captives,” “bound,” “mourners,” are to be understood in a spiritual sense is doubtful. It is not unlikely that the immediate reference is to the social evils whose redress is already demanded in ch. Isaiah 58:6; Isaiah 58:9.

to proclaim liberty] a suggestive expression, shewing that the idea of the year of salvation is based on the institution of the Jubilee; see Leviticus 25:10; and cf. Jeremiah 34:8; Jeremiah 34:15; Jeremiah 34:17, Ezekiel 46:17. These, indeed, are the only occurrences of the word for “liberty,” which is thus seen to denote always a universal emancipation by public decree.

the opening of the prison] The rendering “opening of the eyes” (R.V. marg.) does not suit the context, though it is true that the word is generally used of the opening of eyes (once of ears). [In the Heb. read pĕqaḥqôaḥ as a single word, = “opening.”]

1–3. The prophet as Evangelist.

2. the acceptable year of the Lord] Rather, a year of Jehovah’s favour (ch. Isaiah 49:8); and so in the next line, a day of our God’s vengeance (cf. Isaiah 63:4, ch. Isaiah 34:8). vengeance] i.e. on the oppressors of Israel, perhaps also on the sinful members of the nation (Isaiah 59:16 ff.).

to comfort all that mourn] Cf. ch. Isaiah 57:18. The clause belongs properly to the next verse.

3. them that mourn in Zion] Lit. “the mourners of Zion,” which may mean either “those that mourn for Zion” (as Isaiah 66:10) or those who mourn in her.

beauty for ashes] R.V. a garland (but it. “a turban”) for ashes. Ashes sprinkled on the head were a sign of mourning (2 Samuel 13:19); these shall be replaced by the headdress which betokened dignity or festivity (see on Isaiah 61:10). There is a paronomasia in the Hebrew which cannot be imitated in English; Germans render “Putz statt Schmutz.”

oil of joy for mourning] (Omit the art.) As anointing with oil was a mark of joy or honour (Psalm 45:7; Psalm 23:5; Luke 7:46) so its omission was one of the tokens of mourning (2 Samuel 14:2).

the spirit of heaviness] a failing spirit; the same word as “dimly burning” in ch. Isaiah 42:3.

that they might be called] Strictly: and they shall be called.

trees of righteousness] lit. “oaks” or “terebinths.” The evergreen tree is a favourite emblem of the life of the righteous: Jeremiah 17:8; Psalm 1:3; Psalm 92:14.

the planting … glorified] see ch. Isaiah 60:21.

4. Comp. ch. Isaiah 49:8, Isaiah 58:12, Isaiah 60:10.

5. the sons of the alien] Render with R.V. aliens (as ch. Isaiah 56:3).

5, 6. Israel’s priesthood among the nations, and the services rendered to it by the latter. The meaning of course is not that all Israelites shall minister in the Temple or that a separate sacerdotal order shall not exist (see on the contrary ch. Isaiah 66:21) but simply that in relation to the Gentiles, Israel shall enjoy a position of privilege analogous to the relation between priests and laymen. The fundamental idea of priesthood in the O.T. being the right of approach to God, this idea is conceived as realised in a system which may be likened to a series of concentric circles,—priests, Levites, ordinary Israelites, Gentiles,—each grade standing nearer to God than the next. It was Israel’s calling to be a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6), and in the latter days this destiny will be fulfilled in their mediatorial relation to the outer world. Although prophecy in general accords a position of supremacy to Israelites in the future kingdom of God, the distinction is perhaps nowhere so definitely formulated as here.

6. the riches of the Gentiles] the wealth of nations, as ch. Isaiah 60:5; Isaiah 60:11.

in their glory shall you boast yourselves] So the chief Ancient Versions. Another rendering is to their glory shall ye succeed (R.V. marg.); the exact idea being that Israel and the heathen shall “exchange places,” the glory that now belongs to the latter being transferred to the former.

7. The first half of the verse is harsh in construction; and the text as it stands is corrupt. The general sense, however, is sufficiently established by the second half: the prosperity of the future shall be a twofold recompense for the miseries of the past and the present.

the double] in the same sense (mutatis mutandis) as ch. Isaiah 40:2.

everlasting joy] ch. Isaiah 35:10 (= Isaiah 51:11).

8. Jehovah’s righteousness demands this reversal of the present relations of Israel and the heathen.

I hate robbery &c.] Render with R.V. I hate robbery with iniquity, and I will give them their recompense in truth (i.e. faithfully). Instead of שׂלָה (= burnt-offering) we must point עו̇לָה (= iniquity). The translation of the A.V. would shut us up to a wrong interpretation of the prophet’s thought. The robbery to which he refers is not that practised by Israelites on God (Malachi 3:8-9), but the iniquitous treatment of Israel by its foes.

an everlasting covenant] Cf. ch. Isaiah 55:3.

9. In virtue of this everlasting covenant the blessing of Jehovah descends on their offspring (cf. ch. Isaiah 65:23), compelling the admiration of the world.

For Gentiles … people render with R.V., nations … peoples.

10. According to the Targum and some critics the speaker here is the Zion of the future; while Delitzsch and others, who assign the preceding words to the Servant of Jehovah, suppose that he is still the speaker. If the prophet is the speaker he transports himself to a future standpoint, and there is no reason why he should not at the same time become the mouthpiece of the redeemed community. Duhm and Cheyne agree in thinking that the verse stands out of its proper position and interrupts the connexion of Isaiah 61:9 with Isaiah 61:11.

garments of salvation &c.] Cf. ch. Isaiah 59:17; Psalm 132:9; Psalm 132:16.

salvation and righteousness are, as often, synonymous.

as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments] R.V. “with a garland” (as Isaiah 61:3). The last word denotes a headdress worn by priests (Exodus 39:28; Ezekiel 24:17; Ezekiel 44:18), by fashionable ladies (ch. Isaiah 3:20), and (according to this passage) by a bridegroom. The verb for “decketh himself” means to officiate as a priest (Hosea 4:6, &c.), and its use here, (“maketh his headdress priestly,”) is so peculiar as to be-suspicious.

and as a bride &c.] Better, and like a bride that putteth on her jewels (as Genesis 24:53) or her attire (as Deuteronomy 22:5).

11. as the earth &c.] i.e. as surely as the seed germinates in the earth, so surely will Jehovah bring to pass the great redemption here promised through the self-fulfilling power of His word. Cf. ch. Isaiah 55:10, Isaiah 42:9, Isaiah 43:19, Isaiah 58:8.