Christology of the Old Testament: And a Commentary on the Messianic Predictions. Vol. 2

by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg

Ver. 18. "In that day shall be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak the language of Canaan and swear to the Lord of hosts; city of destruction the one shall be called."

Five, as usual, here comes into consideration as the half of ten, which number represents the whole; "five cities," therefore, is equivalent to: a goodly number of cities. On the words: "Who speak the language of Canaan," Gesenius remarks: "With the spreading of a certain religion resting on certain documents of revelation, as e.g. the Jewish religion, the knowledge of their language, too, must be connected." We must not, of course, limit the thought to this, that Hebrew was learned wherever the religion of Jehovah spread. When viewed more deeply, the language of Canaan is spoken by all those who are converted to the true God. Upon the Greek language, e.g. the character of the language of Canaan has been impressed in the New Testament. That language which, from primeval times, has been developed in the service of the Spirit, imparts its character to the languages of the world, and changes their character in their deepest foundation.--"To swear to the Lord" is to do Him homage; Michaelis: Juramento se Domino obstringent; comp. chap. xlv. 23: "Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." In the words: "City of destruction,"

הרס, one shall be called, there is contained an allusion to קיר הרס, "city of the Sun" (Heliopolis) which was peculiar to one of the chief seats of Egyptian idolatry. It is the celebrated On or Bethshemish of which Jeremiah prophesies in chap. xliii. 13: "And he (Nebuchadnezzar) breaketh the pillars in Beth-shemish, that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt he burneth with fire." This allusion was perceived as early as by Jonathan, who thus paraphrases: "Urbs domus solis quae destruetur." By this allusion it is intimated that salvation cannot be bestowed upon the Gentile world in the state in which it is; that punitive justice must prepare the way for salvation: that everywhere the destructive activity of God must precede that which builds up; that the way to the Kingdom of God passes through the fire of tribulation which must consume every thing that is opposed to God; compare that which Micah, even in reference to the covenant-people, says regarding the necessity of taking, before giving can have place, vol. i., p. 517.

Ver. 19. "In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord."

That the altar is to be considered as a "monument" only is a supposition altogether far-fetched, and which can the less find any support in the isolated case, Josh. xxii., that that account clearly enough intimates how decidedly the existence of an altar furnishes a foundation for the supposition that sacrifices are to be offered up there, a supposition intimated by the very name in Hebrew. If it was meant to serve some other purpose, it would have been necessary expressly to state it, or, at least, some other place of sacrifice ought to have been assigned for the sacrifices mentioned in ver. 21. But as it stands, there cannot be any doubt that the altar here and the sacrifices there belong to one another. This passage under consideration is of no little consequence, inasmuch as it shows that, in other passages where a going up of the Gentiles to Jerusalem in the Messianic time is spoken of, as, e.g., chap. lxvi. 23, we must distinguish between the thought and the embodiment. The pillar at the border bears an inscription by which the land is designated as the property of the Lord, just as it was the custom of the old eastern conquerors, and especially of the Egyptians, to erect such pillars in the conquered territories.

Ver. 20. "And it is for a sign and for a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt: When they cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, He shall send them a Saviour and a Deliverer; and he shall deliver them."

Altar and pillar, as a sign and witness of the confession to the Lord, are, at the same time, a guarantee of the deliverance to be granted by Him. According to Gesenius, the Prophet speaks "without a definite historical reference, of a saving or protecting angel." But we cannot think of an angel on account of the plain reference to the common formula in the Book of Judges, by which it is intimated that, as far as redemption is concerned, Egypt has been made a partaker of the privileges of the covenant-people. It is just this reference which has given rise to the general expression; but it is Christ who is meant; for the prophets, and especially Isaiah, are not cognizant of any other Saviour for the Gentile world than of Him; and it is He who is suggested by the Messianic character of the whole description.

Ver. 21. "And the Lord is known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians know the Lord in that day, and offer sacrifice and oblation, and vow vows unto the Lord, and perform them."

Ver. 22. "And the Lord smiteth the Egyptians so that He healeth them, and they are converted to the Lord, and He shall be entreated by them, and shall heal them."

We have here simply a recapitulation. The prophet describes anew the transition from the state of wrath to that of grace--not, as Drechsler thinks, what they experience in the latter. Upon Egypt is fulfilled what, in Deut. xxxii. 39, has been said in reference to Israel.