Isaiah 22:8
in Isaiah 22He has uncovered the defenses of Judah. On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took away the covering of Judah; and thou didst look in that day to the armor in the house of the forest.
KJV
And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
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This verse in Isaiah 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verses 7-9.) And he took Elam, the quiver, the chariot of a man, and the shield uncovered the wall. And your chosen valleys will be full of chariots, and horsemen will set their seats at the gate. And the covering of Judah will be revealed, and on that day you will see the arsenal of the house of the forest. And you will see the breaches of the city of David, for they are multiplied. LXX: But the Elamites took quivers, climbers, men upon horses, and a gathering of fighters.
This site's exposition
a day of tumult and trampling and confusion
on Isaiah 22:5-8
This is "a day of tumult", which Barnes and Delitzsch set in the siege of Sennacherib. "Elam takes up a quiver" and "Kir uncovers the shield", troops they take as auxiliaries of Assyria. The people look "to the weapons in the House of the Forest", the armory of Solomon.
This site's exposition
He has uncovered the defenses of Judah
Wesley takes the defenses of Judah as its fortified cities, now lost. 1 Kings 7:2 names the House of the Forest of Lebanon for its rows of cedar pillars. 1 Kings 10:17 places the gold shields of Solomon in that house.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 7-9.) And your chosen valleys will be full of chariots, and the horsemen will set their seats at the gate. And the covering of Judah will be revealed, and on that day you will see the arsenal of the house of the forest, and the breaches of the city of David, for they have multiplied. It clearly describes the captivity that occurred in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, of which Jeremiah also speaks: Behold, I will summon all the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord, and they will come and each one will set their throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all its surrounding walls (Jeremiah 1:15). So that what was predicted in word and not fulfilled in deed, Jeremiah also says the same: In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was opened, and all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the middle gate (Jer. 39:2). Therefore, in the surrounding area of the city of Jerusalem, an innumerable army was spread out, and the Holy of Holies and the armory, which had been planted with groves, were opened due to hostile plundering, and the enemy entered through all parts of the city, divided by walls.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, as to the profanation of holy things: and the covering, that is, the holy things formerly hidden, which no one but the priest was allowed to see, of Judah shall be discovered, that is, laid bare: the gentiles have seen your shame (Lam 1:8). …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Covering - He took those fenced cities, which were a covering or safe-guard both to the people of Judah, and to Jerusalem. The armour - Thy trust was placed in the arm of flesh. The forest - More fully called the house of the forest of Lebanon, 1 Kings vii, 2, not because it was built in Lebanon, for it was in Jerusalem; but because it was built of the trees of Lebanon.
And he discovered the covering of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The armor “The arsenal” - Built by Solomon within the city, and called the house of the forest of Lebanon; probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in the building. See 1Ki 7:2, 1Ki 7:3.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And he discovered - Hebrew, ויגל vayegal - ‘He made naked, or bare.’ The expression, ‘He discovered,’ means simply that it “was” uncovered, without designating the agent. The covering of Judah - The word used here (מסך mâsak) denotes properly “a covering,” and is applied to the “curtain” or veil that was before the tabernacle Exo 26:36; Exo 39:38; and to the curtain that was before the gate of the court Exo 35:17; Exo 39:40. The Septuagint understands it of the “gates” of Judah, ‘They revealed the gates (τὰς πύλας tas pulas) of Judah.’ Many have understood it of the defenses, ramparts, or fortifications of Judah, meaning that they were laid open to public view, that is, were demolished. But the more probable meaning, perhaps, is, that the invading army exposed Judah to every kind of reproach; stripped off everything that was designed to be ornamental in the land; and thus, by the figure of exposing one to reproach and shame by stripping off all his clothes, exposed Judah in every part to reproach. Sennacherib actually came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them and dismantled them 2Ki 18:13; Isa 36:1. The land was thus laid bare, and unprotected. And thou didst look - Thou Judah; or the king of Judah. Thou didst cast thine eyes to that armory as the last resort, and as the only hope of defense. To the armor - Or rather, perhaps, the “armory, the arsenal” (נשׁק nesheq). The Septuagint renders it, ‘To the choice houses of the city’ (compare Neh 3:19). Of the house of the forest - This was built within the city, and was called the house of the forest of Lebanon, probably from the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon which was employed in building it 1Ki 7:2-8. […]
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְגַ֕ל | vaygal | and he uncovered | H1540 → | 186 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָסַ֣ךְ | masakh | [the] covering of | H4539 → | |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַתַּבֵּט֙ | vatabet | and you looked | H5027 → | 69 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נֶ֖שֶׁק | neshek | [the] weaponry of | H5402 → | |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] House of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַיָּֽעַר׃ | haiyaar | the Forest | H3293 → | 59 times |
וַיְגַ֕לand he uncovered
vaygalH1540 →186 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
מָסַ֣ךְ[the] covering of
masakhH4539 →
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַתַּבֵּט֙and you looked
vatabetH5027 →69 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
נֶ֖שֶׁק[the] weaponry of
neshekH5402 →
בֵּ֥ית[the] House of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הַיָּֽעַר׃the Forest
haiyaarH3293 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Song of Solomon 4:4Your neck is like the tower of David, built with rows of stones; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 7:4
Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ephesians 4:15–16
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.
- Ezekiel 27:10–11
Men of Persia, Lydia, and Put served as warriors in your army. They hung their shields and helmets on your walls; they gave you splendor.
- 1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Nehemiah 3:19
And next to him, Ezer son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the Ascent to the Armory, near the angle in the wall.
- Song of Solomon 7:4
Through
1 Kings 10:17He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 7:2
He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.
- 1 Kings 7:2
Through
1 Kings 7:2He built the House of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high, with four rows of cedar pillars supporting the cedar beams.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:17
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
- 2 Chronicles 9:16
He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
- 1 Kings 10:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.