Isaiah 11:3
Read Isaiah 11:3 Using Other Translations
What does Isaiah 11:3 mean?
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear
of
the Lord
Or "cause him to smell the fear of the Lord" F23; that
is, to discern in whom it was: this is one effect of the Spirit's
resting upon him, and particularly as the spirit of
understanding, and of the fear of the Lord, whereby he has a
quick and sharp discerning of it; not merely of the grace of
fear, so as to know what that is, and what the exercise of it; or
so as to make it the rule of his actions, though all this is
true; but so as to discern where and in whom it was, and was not;
he could distinguish between him that feared God and him that
feared him not; he knew Nathanael to be an Israelite indeed, in
whom there was no guile, ( John 1:47 ) and the
Scribes and Pharisees to be hypocrites, ( Matthew
22:18 ) . As the Jews F24 understand this passage of
the Messiah, and of his quick smell, as the word used signifies,
or of his discerning of good and bad men, they make this to be a
rule of judging the Messiah by; and accordingly made use of it
with one that set up himself for the Messiah, and took the name
of Barcochab, the son of a star, referring to ( Numbers
24:17 ) and tried him whether he could discern a good man
from a bad man; and because he could not, they rejected him as a
false Messiah, and called him Barcoziba, the son of a lie
F25: compare with this ( Luke 7:39 ) where it may
be seen the same notion obtained among the Jews in Christ's time:
and, he shall not judge after the sight of his
eyes;
or according to the outward appearance, the external guise of
sanctity and religion men might put on; as the Scribes and
Pharisees were outwardly righteous before men, but not to Christ,
who knew their hearts; they seemed to be somewhat to others, but
nothing to him, because he judged not by appearances to the eyes:
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears;
he needed no testimony of men, for he knew what was in men; nor
did he regard the words of men, the boastings of a Pharisee, any
more than his outward actions; nor would he reprove or condemn,
nor will he, upon a human testimony.
F23 (hwhy taryb wxyrhw) "et faciet odorari eum timorem Jehovae", Munster, Vatablus; "et odorabitur timorem Jehovae", Cocceius.
F24 Zohar in Exod. fol. 31. 3. & 86. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 62. 3.
F25 T. Bab. Sanhedrin. fol. 93. 2.
