Isaiah 19

13. Noph--called also Moph; Greek, Memphis ( Hosea 9:6 ); on the western bank of the Nile, capital of Lower Egypt, second only to Thebes in all Egypt: residence of the kings, until the Ptolemies removed to Alexandria; the word means the "port of the good" [PLUTARCH]. The military caste probably ruled in it: "they also are deceived," in fancying their country secure from Assyrian invasion.
stay of . . . tribes--rather, "corner-stone of her castes" [MAURER], that is, the princes, the two ruling castes, the priests and the warriors: image from a building which rests mainly on its corner-stones Isaiah 28:16 , Psalms 118:22 , Numbers 24:17 , Margin; Judges 20:2 , 1 Samuel 14:28 , Margin; Zechariah 10:4 ).

14. err in every work thereof--referring to the anarchy arising from their internal feuds. HORSLEY translates, "with respect to all His (God's) work"; they misinterpreted God's dealings at every step. "Mingled" contains the same image as "drunken"; as one mixes spices with wine to make it intoxicating ( Isaiah 5:22 , Proverbs 9:2 Proverbs 9:5 ), so Jehovah has poured among them a spirit of giddiness, so that they are as helpless as a "drunken man."

15. work for Egypt--nothing which Egypt can do to extricate itself from the difficulty.
head or tail--high or low ( Isaiah 19:11-15 , and Isaiah 19:8-10 ).
branch or rush--the lofty palm branch or the humble reed ( Isaiah 9:14 Isaiah 9:15 , Isaiah 10:33 Isaiah 10:34 ).

16. like . . . women--timid and helpless ( Jeremiah 51:30 , Nahum 3:13 ).
shaking of . . . hand--His judgments by means of the invaders ( Isaiah 10:5 Isaiah 10:32 , 11:15 ).

17. Judah . . . terror unto Egypt--not by itself: but at this time Hezekiah was the active subordinate ally of Assyria in its invasion of Egypt under Sargon. Similarly to the alliance of Judah with Assyria here is 2 Kings 23:29 , where Josiah takes the field against Pharaoh-nechoh of Egypt, probably as ally of Assyria against Egypt [G. V. SMITH]. VITRINGA explains it that Egypt in its calamities would remember that prophets of Judah had foretold them, and so Judah would be "a terror unto Egypt."
thereof--of Judah.
it--Egypt.

18-22. In that day, &c.--Suffering shall lead to repentance. Struck with "terror" and "afraid" ( Isaiah 19:17 ) because of Jehovah's judgments, Egypt shall be converted to Him: nay, even Assyria shall join in serving Him; so that Israel, Assyria, and Egypt, once mutual foes, shall be bound together by the tie of a common faith as one people. So a similar issue from other prophecies ( Isaiah 18:7 , 23:18 ).
five cities--that is, several cities, as in Isaiah 17:6 , 30:17 , Genesis 43:34 , Leviticus 26:8 . Rather, five definite cities of Lower Egypt ( Isaiah 19:11 Isaiah 19:13 , Isaiah 30:4 ), which had close intercourse with the neighboring Jewish cities [MAURER]; some say, Heliopolis, Leontopolis (else Diospolis), Migdol, Daphne (Tahpanes), and Memphis.
language of Canaan--that is, of the Hebrews in Canaan, the language of revelation; figuratively for, They shall embrace the Jewish religion: so "a pure language" and conversion to God are connected in Zephaniah 3:9 ; as also the first confounding and multiplication of languages was the punishment of the making of gods at Babel, other than the One God. Pentecost ( Acts 2:4 ) was the counterpart of Babel: the separation of nations is not to hinder the unity of faith; the full realization of this is yet future ( Zechariah 14:9 , John 17:21 ). The next clause, "swear to the Lord of Hosts," agrees with this view; that is, bind themselves to Him by solemn covenant ( Isaiah 45:23 , 65:16 , Deuteronomy 6:13 ).
city of destruction--Onias; "city of the sun," that is, On, or Heliopolis; he persuaded Ptolemy Philometer (149 B.C). to let him build a temple in the prefecture (nome) of Heliopolis, on the ground that it would induce Jews to reside there, and that the very site was foretold by Isaiah six hundred years before. The reading of the Hebrew text is, however, better supported, "city of destruction"; referring to Leontopolis, the site of Onias' temple: which casts a reproach on that city because it was about to contain a temple rivalling the only sanctioned temple, that at Jerusalem. MAURER, with some manuscripts, reads "city of defense" or "deliverance"; namely, Memphis, or some such city, to which God was about to send "a saviour" ( Isaiah 19:20 ), to "deliver them."

19. altar--not for sacrifice, but as the "pillar" for memorial and worship ( Joshua 22:22-26 ). Isaiah does not contemplate a temple in Egypt: for the only legal temple wat at Jerusalem; but, like the patriarchs, they shall have altars in various places.
pillar--such as Jacob reared ( Genesis 28:18 , 35:14 ); it was a common practice in Egypt to raise obelisks commemorating divine and great events.
at the border--of Egypt and Judah, to proclaim to both countries the common faith. This passage shows how the Holy Spirit raised Isaiah above a narrow-minded nationality to a charity anticipatory of gospel catholicity.

20. it--the altar and pillar.
a sign--(of the fulfilment of prophecy) to their contemporaries.
a witness--to their descendants.
unto the Lord--no longer, to their idols, but to Jehovah.
for they shall cry--or, "a sign . . . that they cried, . . . and He sent to them a saviour"; probably, Alexander the Great (so "a great one"), whom the Egyptians welcomed as a deliverer (Greek, Soter, a title of the Ptolemies) out of the hands of the Persians, who under Cambyses had been their "oppressors." At Alexandria, called from him, the Old Testament was translated into Greek for the Greek-speaking Jews, who in large numbers dwelt in Egypt under the Ptolemies, his successors. Messiah is the antitype ultimately intended (compare Acts 2:10 , "Egypt").

21. oblation--unbloody.

22. return--for heathen sin and idolatry are an apostasy from primitive truth.
heal--as described ( Isaiah 19:18-20 ).

23. highway--free communication, resting on the highest basis, the common faith of both ( Isaiah 19:18 , Isaiah 11:16 ). Assyria and Egypt were joined under Alexander as parts of his empire: Jews and proselytes from both met at the feasts of Jerusalem. A type of gospel times to come.
serve with--serve Jehovah with the Assyrians. So "serve" is used absolutely ( Job 36:11 ).

24. third--The three shall be joined as one nation.
blessing--the source of blessings to other nations, and the object of their benedictions.
in the midst of the land--rather, "earth" ( Micah 5:7 ). Judah is designed to be the grand center of the whole earth ( Jeremiah 3:17 ).

25. Whom--rather, "Which," namely, "the land," or "earth," that is, the people of it [MAURER].
my people--the peculiar designation of Israel, the elect people, here applied to Egypt to express its entire admission to religious privileges ( Romans 9:24-26 , 1 Peter 2:9 1 Peter 2:10 ).
work of my hands--spiritually ( Hosea 2:23 , Ephesians 2:10 ).