Sargon.¹ Either Sennacherib or another Assyrian king.

footnotes: ¹ According to Niebuhr (Geschichte Assurs und Babels, p. 160 ff.) Sargon is the name of a king between Tiglath Pileser and Sennacherib, and identical with Shalmaneser.

Ashdod. A place belonging to the Philistines.

And loose the sackcloth, etc. This shows that the prophet wore sackcloth. It would be a strange thing that the prophet should have gone naked, as a sign for Egypt. I shall explain this circumstance, with the help of the Lord, at the beginning of the minor prophets (Hos. 1:1).²

footnotes: ² I. E. explains this as a vision. Isaiah saw in a vision that he was going naked, as a symbol for Egypt; as Hosea saw in a vision himself marrying a harlot, and having children by her, to whom be gave symbolical names as allusions to the fate of his people.

ומופת And an example.³³ Comp. And Ezekiel shall be unto you an example (Ez. 24:24).

footnotes: ³ A. V., Wonder, sign. ³ A. V., Wonder, sign.

שלש שנים וגו׳ Either in three years from that day,⁴ or three years, shall Egypt be in misfortune.

footnotes: ⁴ בעוד שלש שנים═שלש שנים.

Ethiopia, that came to help them.

וַחְַשׁוּפַי And my naked people.⁵ The first person refers either to the prophet, the people whose nakedness he indicated by going naked, or to God; the people whom God hath made bare.⁶

footnotes: ⁵ A. V., And uncovered ⁶ I. E. considers the ending –ַי in וחשופַי as a pronominal suffix of the first person. It is generally believed to be equivalent to וחשופֵי, the construct state of the plural חשופים.

שת The back. Comp. 2 Sam. 10:14.

ערות מצרים Either, To the shame of Egypt; or join וחשופי, mentioned before, also to ערות, so that ערות מצרים is in apposition to .⁷שת

footnotes: ⁷ According to the first explanation ערות מצרים refers to the whole sentence. All the preceding will be to the disgrace of Egypt; according to the second, it is the complement to וחשופי uncovered with regard to their nakedness.

And they shall be afraid. The Israelites, that flee to Egypt, will fear.

Their expectation. The country to which their eyes are directed for help.

Their glory. Of whom—that is, of whose alliance—they were proud.

The inhabitant of this isle. The Israelites, who live in these islands near Egypt, will say,

This has happened to those to whom we fled, etc.⁸

footnotes: ⁸ The last two verses are generally referred to Ashdod, which, being situated on the sea, and commanding the islands, is called אי island.