Isaiah 22:16

16 "What are you doing here? and who has you here, that you have hewed out a tomb here? Cutting him out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!"

Isaiah 22:16 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 22:16

What hast thou here?
&c.] In the king's house, or in Jerusalem; what business hast thou here? thou art unworthy of such an office, nor shalt thou long continue in it; what inheritance hast thou here? thou art an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and hast no estate or possession in the land: and whom hast thou here?
of thy family and kindred; what ancestors hast thou? where did they live or die, and were buried? what children hast thou to succeed thee in honour and estate? or what relations to be interred, when deceased, in thy grave, that thou hast made such a provision as follows? and it may be observed, that wherever he is spoken of, the name of his father is never mentioned. Aben Ezra's gloss is, who hast thou here of thy family that can help thee? his fall and ruin being at hand: that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here;
in the city of Jerusalem, or near it; the Jews say F24, among the sepulchres of the kings of the house of David; as if he thought to live and die here, and so had provided a sepulchre for himself and family, to lie in great pomp and splendour, like the kings and princes of the earth: [as] he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, [and] that graveth
an habitation for himself in a rock;
where sepulchres, as well as palaces, used to be built; see ( Matthew 27:60 ) and great men, especially the Egyptians, used to build sepulchres like to palaces; though it may be observed, that the word "as" is not in the text; and the words may be understood of Shebna's hewing out a sepulchre in some high place near Jerusalem, and building a fine house upon a rock there; and which may design either one and the same thing, a grave or sepulchre being called a house, ( Job 30:23 Job 30:24 ) or two different things, a sepulchre to be buried in when dead, and a palace to dwell in while living; and so the words may be rendered thus F25, "O he that heweth himself"; "O he that graveth an habitation"; so the Syriac version, "O thou that hewest thy sepulchre on high"


FOOTNOTES:

F24 T. Bab. Sanhedrin fol. 26. 2.
F25 "O caedens O statuens", &c. Junius & Tremellius.

Isaiah 22:16 In-Context

14 Yahweh of Hosts revealed himself in my ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
15 Thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, [and say],
16 "What are you doing here? and who has you here, that you have hewed out a tomb here? Cutting him out a tomb on high, chiseling a habitation for himself in the rock!"
17 Behold, Yahweh, like a [strong] man, will hurl you away violently; yes, he will wrap you up closely.
18 He will surely wind you round and round, [and toss you] like a ball into a large country; there shall you die, and there shall be the chariots of your glory, you shame of your lord's house.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.