Calling a ravenous bird from the east
Or "a flying fowl", or "swift winged bird" F21; for
the word used does not so much denote rapaciousness as swiftness;
which well agrees with Cyrus, who is here meant, and not Abraham,
as Jarchi, nor Nebuchadnezzar, as others; and who was always
swift in all his expeditions, and always recommended celerity and
dispatch of business to his soldiers and others, as Xenophon
F23 often observes; and very remarkable
is that speech of Tigranes to him, in which he tells him
F24, that he so far exceeded the king
of Armenia in swiftness, that he came upon him with a great army,
from a far country, before he could get his army together, which
was just by him. And very observable are the words of Cyrus
himself, who was desirous of being a thorough horseman, that he
might seem to be (anyrwpov
pthnov) , "a winged" or "flying man" F25 So the
Targum here renders it, a swift bird. Aben Ezra, who interprets
it of Cyrus, says he is so called, as if he flew to do the will
of God; and Kimchi observes of Cyrus, that he has this name
because he came swiftly, and in haste, as a bird that flies: and
it is no unusual thing for a mighty monarch, or a general,
marching with his army, to be compared to a flying bird,
particularly an eagle, ( Jeremiah
48:40 ) ( 49:22 ) (
Ezekiel
17:3 Ezekiel 17:7
) ( Hosea 8:1
) and may be the bird intended here, which well suits with Cyrus,
who had, as Plutarch F26 reports, an aquiline nose; hence
men that have such noses, among the Persians, are highly
esteemed: and Xenophon F1 says, that the standard of Cyrus was
a golden eagle upon the top of a high spear, and which is
retained by the kings of Persia. Cyrus is said to be called from
the east, because, as Kimchi observes, his country lay to the
east of Babylon: the man that executeth my counsel from
afar country;
as Persia was from Babylon, Assyria and other provinces lying
between; but though he lived in a far country, and knew nothing
of the affairs of the people of God in Babylon, or what work he
was to do, yet God called him, and brought him to do his will,
which he was ignorant of: so God sometimes puts into the hearts
of men to fulfil his will, which they are strangers to, (
Revelation 17:17 ) .
It is in the Hebrew text, "the man of my counsel" F2; not
with whom the Lord consulted, for none are of his counsel in this
sense; but whom in his counsels, decrees, and purposes, he
appointed to such service, and whom he made use of as an
instrument to do his pleasure; see ( Isaiah 44:8 )
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass: I have
purposed, I
will also do it;
the counsel of the Lord, concerning the deliverance of his people
from Babylon, by the hand of Cyrus; this he had purposed in his
own breast, had spoken of in prophecy, and would certainly
perform. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets this verse of the Messiah,
and so does Jerom, of whom, no doubt, Cyrus was a type; and what
is here said agrees with him: he may be compared to a flying bird
for his swiftness in coming at the appointed time; he came from
the east, as the rising sun of righteousness; he was the man of
God's counsel in the highest sense, and came, being called, to
execute it; the work of redemption was according to the eternal
purpose of God, and spoke of by all the holy prophets, and now
accomplished; and his righteousness and salvation are made
mention of in the following verses.
F21 (jye) "avem, a velocitate", Munster; so Vatablus; ab (jwe) "in volando celeriter et cum impetu", Forerius; so Ben Melech says, Cyrus is surnamed a fowl, because of his great swiftness and haste to come to Babylon; though he observes that some say, that a ravenous fowl is called (jye) ; the singular may be put for the plural; so Cocceius renders it, "volucres", birds, and may design the whole army of Cyrus.
F23 Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 17. and l. 3. c. 6. and l. 6. c. 17.
F24 Cyropaedia, l. 3. c. 2.
F25 Ib. l. 4. c. 17.
F26 In Apothegm.
F1 Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 1.
F2 (ytue vya) "virum mei consilii", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus; so according to the Keri: but the Cetib is (wtue vya) , "the man of his counsel".