Isaiah 30:4
in Isaiah 30For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For their princes are at Zoan, and their ambassadors are come to Hanes.
KJV
For his princes were at Zoan, and his ambassadors came to Hanes.
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This verse in Isaiah 30
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHanes - Six MSS. of Kennicott’s, and perhaps six others, with four of De Rossi’s, read חנם chinnam, in vain, for הנס Hanes; and so also the Septuagint, who read likewise יגעו yageu, labored, for יגיעו yaggiu, arrived at.
This site's exposition
his princes were at Zoan
on Isaiah 30:4-5
Judah's ambassadors have already reached Egypt, princes at Zoan and envoys as far as Hanes, the embassy pressed forward in spite of the warning already given. The whole delegation returns ashamed of a people that could not profit them, neither help nor profit, but a shame and a reproach. Barnes reads the geography as evidence the alliance was already in motion when Isaiah spoke, the prophecy overtaking an embassy already on the road.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 30, Verse 1 and following) Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who make plans that are not from me, who weave a web without my Spirit, adding sin upon sin. You who walk to go down to Egypt, without consulting me, hoping for help from Pharaoh's strength and relying on the protection of Egypt's shadow. But Pharaoh's strength will be your shame, and the trust in Egypt's shadow will bring you disgrace. For there will be princes in Tanis, and your messengers have reached Hanes.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Hence, as to the end of the way: for your princes went into Taphnis, which is only in the other part of Egypt, as if they feared to remain in the first borders: what have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For his princes were at Zoan,....
A terrible threatening against those who slighted the good advice which God by his prophets gave them for the repose of their minds in that distress, assuring them that whatever became of others the judgment would certainly overtake them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
West of the Nile, in central Egypt: Egyptian Hnes; the Greek Heracleopolis: perhaps the Anysis of HERODOTUS (2.137); according to GROTIUS, Tahpanhes contracted (Jer 43:7-9); the seat of a reigning prince at the time, as was Zoan, hence the Jewish ambassadors go to both.
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
For his princes - The sense of this verse seems to be this. The prophet is stating the fact that the Jews would be ashamed of their attempted alliance with Egypt. In this verse, and the following, he states the manner in which they would be made sensible of their folly in seeking this alliance. He therefore enumerates several circumstances in regard to the manner in which the alliance had been sought, and the disappointment that would follow after all their vain confidence. He therefore states Isa 30:4, that the Jews had employed persons of the highest respectability and honor, even princes, to secure the alliance; that they had gone to Egypt with much difficulty - through a land where lions, and vipers, and fiery serpents abounded; that they had at much hazard taken their treasures down to Egypt in order to secure the alliance Isa 30:5-6, and that after all, the Egyptians could not aid them. The phrase ‘his princes,’ refers to the princes of Judah, the ambassadors that the Jews sent forth, and the idea is, that they regarded the alliance as of so much importance that they had employed their most honorable men - even their princes - to secure it. Were at Zoan - Had come to Zoan, or were there on the business of their embassy. On the situation of Zoan, see the notes at Isa 19:11, Isa 19:13. It was the residence of the kings in Lower Egypt, and would be the place to which the ambassadors would naturally resort to negotiate an alliance. Came to Hanes - Respecting the situation of this place there has been much diversity of opinion among interpreters. The Chaldee renders it by the more full word “Tahpanhes;” and Grotius supposes that the word is contracted from Tahpanhes Jer 43:7-8, and that the name was sometimes abbreviated and written חנס chânēs. Vitringa supposes that it was Anusis, situated in the Delta of the Nile, and the residence of the king of the same name. […]
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָי֥וּ | hayu | they have been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְצֹ֖עַן | vetzoan | in Zoan | H6814 → | 7 times |
| שָׂרָ֑יו | sarav | officials its | H8269 → | 421 times |
| וּמַלְאָכָ֖יו | umalakhav | and messengers its | H4397 → | 213 times |
| חָנֵ֥ס | chanes | Hanes | H2609 → | |
| יַגִּֽיעוּ׃ | yagiu | they have reached | H5060 → | 150 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הָי֥וּthey have been
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בְצֹ֖עַןin Zoan
vetzoanH6814 →7 times
שָׂרָ֑יוofficials its
saravH8269 →421 times
וּמַלְאָכָ֖יוand messengers its
umalakhavH4397 →213 times
חָנֵ֥סHanes
chanesH2609 →
יַגִּֽיעוּ׃they have reached
yagiuH5060 →150 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
Jeremiah 43:7So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:16
The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 44:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews living in the land of Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis—and in the land of Pathros:
- Jeremiah 2:16
Through
Isaiah 19:11The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
it leads to
- Numbers 13:22
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:43
when He performed His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the fields of Zoan.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 7:22
So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
- Numbers 13:22
Through
Ezekiel 30:14I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 29:14
I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
- Jeremiah 46:25
The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.
- Psalms 78:12
He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
- Ezekiel 29:14
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.