Summary of Is 60:1-22. — The glory of the Lord dawns upon Jerusalem, so that nations and kings hasten to come to her splendor. With immense joy Jerusalem beholds the nations hurrying to her from every part of the earth, bringing riches and treasures (Is 60:1–9). All shall serve Jerusalem; woe to those who refuse her—servitude awaits them. Whatever in nature and in human treasuries is precious, God will give to Jerusalem in place of her former disgrace, and those who once attacked her now humbly venerate her (Is 60:10–17). Therefore, having cast aside all fear, she will enjoy everlasting salvation together with the praises of God; the Lord himself will be her everlasting light and glory, and the people will excel in holiness, peace, blessing, and strength (Is 60:18–22).
This discourse flows directly from the final part of the preceding one. For here it is described what kind of work the Lord as warrior will accomplish, what sort of redemption he will bring to Zion, and what he will effect through his Spirit and his word. Hence this discourse is nothing other than a continuation of the former. The prophet most splendidly delineates the glory of the restoration of the theocracy, in order that those whom he had previously chastised by rebuking their crimes he might now, by displaying the glory of salvation, most powerfully stir up and impel to the removal of the obstacles to salvation. As a consolation for the pious he sets forth a glorious goal to which one must come through various tribulations and judgments, so that those who greatly lament their present condition (Is 39:11) may raise themselves up by a noble hope, as we have already often observed. In this discourse the seer comes very close to the proper argument of this section: she has received double from the hand of the Lord, and he more fully develops the promises previously indicated (Is 58:8ff.; Is 59:20–21).
To the glory of the Lord in Zion the nations hasten (Is 60:1–9).
Just as God once appeared as redeemer to his people from Egyptian servitude in a shining pillar of fire (Exod. 13:21, 29), so again he will appear in splendor and glory to Zion and will render her glorious by his own glory, so that from the glory of the Lord poured out upon Zion the whole earth may finally be filled with the glory of God, as already in the inaugural vision this ultimate goal of the divine works was shown (Is 6:3). With this in mind, the prophet, rejoicing, addresses the holy city in v. 4: “Arise, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” — “Jerusalem” is not present in the Hebrew text, nor in the Syriac, Aquila, or Symmachus (as Procopius already notes), nor is it read in the version of St. Jerome; yet for the full sense the word is rightly supplied by the LXX, the Vulgate, and the Chaldee. — She is commanded to arise; for salvation will arise out of humiliation and abasement, as is the constant pattern from chapter 1, and the city is depicted as sitting cast down upon the ground and mourning so long as she is conceived as enduring the just punishment of God (cf. Is 3:26; Is 51:23–52:3; Is 54:6, 11). Therefore, while she groans, “The Lord has forsaken me” (Is 49:14), a message full of consolation is brought to her: arise from abasement and mourning! Arise to a new glory that will never depart; arise, that you may seize and forever hold that height upon the summit of the mountains (Is 2:2), like a banner lifted up among the nations (Is 11:10), and clothe yourself with light (Hebrew), light, and in the new theocracy pour out this light like the sun over the whole world. The prophet announces, as it were, a new “let there be light” in the name of God, by which not the visible world is illuminated, but the kingdom of God, consisting in grace and beatitude, is brought in. The reason why she is to shine is added: because your light has come, which is immediately explained—“and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you”; the glory of the Lord itself becomes the light by which Jerusalem shines. Just as once the shining cloud rested upon the tabernacle of the covenant, so now the glory of the Lord shining over the city illumines her with its light (cf. Is 4:5) and raises her to participation in its splendor. For God is light; therefore wherever God is present in a special way by his presence, grace, and favor, there light is conceived to be present. But if God promises that he will come as redeemer and savior, he pledges in an eminent way the light of his countenance; hence that supreme favor is rightly called the glory of the Lord. Thus the glory of the Lord is most fittingly spoken of with reference to the shining cloud (shekinah), to the extraordinary divine favor, and to the highest beatitude and glorification, to which redemption at last brings the human being and in its own way even creation itself. This glory rises over Jerusalem; the sense is the same as that which we find in “the God of Jacob, to whom the nations hasten” (Is 2:3). God manifests himself in a certain family and there lays up his blessings. Here therefore he designates the seat and center of the theocracy, to which all must at last give allegiance if they wish to be participants in the glory of the Lord.
Just as the mountain of the temple, raised upon the summit of the mountains, is made visible to all, so the seat and center of the theocracy shines with such a light amid the darkness of the world that it cannot but thrust itself upon the eyes of all by its splendor, Is 60:2: “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples; but upon you the Lord will arise, and his glory will be seen upon you.” — With the whole world wrapped in darkness, the Lord rises like a sun over Jerusalem and his glory is seen upon the city; thus it is excellently described how by its splendor it draws all eyes to itself. The same prophet had already proposed this in Is 9:2: “To those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death a light has arisen.” Darkness, since the Lord is here represented as light and splendor, signifies the condition of the peoples insofar as they are without God, without salvation, or “without Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers (ξένοι) to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God (ἄθεοι) in this world” (Eph. 2:12); thus it denotes a condition of extreme misery, in which the works of darkness (Rom. 13:12) prevailed. When the world is buried in such darkness, the light by which it is to be dispelled rises over Jerusalem. Therefore illumination will spread from Zion; cf. Is 2:3: “From Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” When gloom and darkness occupy all things, the discourse clearly returns to the beginning of the theocracy by which all peoples are to be embraced. For darkness of itself denotes that state alienated from God and unhappy, and it denotes it here all the more strongly because God is set in opposition to it as light and glory. Hence it is evident that the prophet is not speaking of the final period of messianic times, but is contemplating its very beginning, when indeed gloom covered the nations, while Christ, the light of the world, delivered the light of doctrine and the salvation of his redemption to the Church in Zion, so that by that light the world might be illumined. The Lord therefore will shine over Zion; in its own way this was already present in the old theocracy; but the other element was lacking: “his glory will be seen,” that is, this splendor will be recognized throughout the whole world, and all will run to the Lord’s light, the source of all goods. “Behold,” he says, “the whole land of the nations was covered with darkness and the gloom of ignorance and error; but over you the Lord will appear; for he first shone upon them, and his glory was seen in the extraordinary greatness of works and signs” (St. Cyril); for he came to Zion as “the sun of justice, the light which all the prophets promised” (St. Jerome). They note that something similar happened in Egypt, where dreadful darkness prevailed, but wherever the children of Israel dwelt there was light (Exod. 10:22–23; Wis. 18:1; Orosius, Mar.).
When the splendor and glory of the Lord rise over the city, the city itself, illumined by this divine light, becomes radiant and, by its own brightness, illuminates the world. Thus v. 8: “And the nations shall walk in your light, and kings in the brightness of your rising.” — The Hebrew has: and the nations shall walk to your light, to the brightness that rises for you (cf. Sa, For., Sanct., Mar., Vat., Malv., and more recent authors), that is, “to that light which will shine forth in you the nations will hasten from every side, like sailors tossed on the sea to a lighthouse shining in a harbor, and to the sun that rises within your borders even kings and princes will come” (Sanct., similarly Lap., Tir., Men.).
The Latin text emphasizes more strongly what follows from approaching the light: those who until now wandered in darkness and had nothing certain or secure to follow, once illumined by this heavenly light, will now walk without any danger or error (Sanct.), or “they will set all their actions within the splendor of this light” (Osor.). St. Jerome says that those walk in splendor who submit their necks to the faith of Christ. The LXX translate: καὶ πορευθήσονται βασιλεῖς τῷ φωτί σου (“and kings shall walk by your light”), that is, “after they themselves have been illumined by the light given to you, they too will walk along the straight and royal road, striking against no obstacle lying in their way, but, as though in clear light and day, although they were children of night and darkness, they will pass by all hindrances” (St. Cyril). Concerning the fulfillment of the oracle, Theodoret remarks: “Let the Jews tell which kings embraced the legal worship or what nations were brought by them to the God of all; they cannot show this, but among us the event of the prophecy is evident. For the light of the Church of God has shone upon the nations and has led kings to the truth.” Moreover, see Is 2:3; Is 14:10; Is 49:6; Is 44:8; Is 9:2; Is 54:13.
Just as the face of Moses became radiant from communion with God, and as the apostles, according to St. Paul, pour forth upon others the brightness of Christ conceived in their minds (2 Cor 3:18; Eph 5:14), so Zion, shining with the light received from God, diffuses this splendor in every direction. Salvation is present in her, and it is universal—a universality by which the messianic period is marked. This universality, as the proper character of the new covenant and something foreign to the old theocracy, is further declared in v. 4: “Lift up your eyes round about and see: all these are gathered together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried at the side.” — Cf. 49:18.
Zion, however, had been sad, barren, poor (Is 49:14; Is 54:1, 11), standing with eyes cast down to the earth; but now she is commanded, with great joy of heart, to lift up her eyes, that with immense exultation she may behold sons and daughters flowing to her in great numbers from every direction. The old theocracy was confined within the limits of a single people, and even that fell into a wretched condition because of wickedness; but from this humiliation, by the almighty word of God, a new theocracy of salvation and glory will arise. Therefore an effective divine command is given: “Lift up,” etc. And since the reality surpasses all expectation—so sudden an elevation from ruin to such abundance and glory—it is said with emphasis: “See, they have come to you.” A great and universal stirring of the nations is announced to Zion, while she appears pressed by miseries and forsaken by God (cf. Is 49:21; Is 51:17; Is 52:1; Is 54:1; Is 66:8).
Along with the nations and the kings of the peoples (“all these,” cf. v. 3)—but after them—there also come those who in a more proper sense are called the children of Zion, namely Israelites by birth, scattered throughout the world; cf. Is 11:12; Is 14:2; Is 49:22. The Hebrew reads: and your daughters shall be carried at the side, properly “upon the side,” that is, as nurses in the East are accustomed to carry little children, leaning against the hip of the one who carries them (cf. Del.); cf. Is 66:12; Is 40:11. Thus those who are weaker will be cherished with greater care. In this service of the nations one may recognize what St. Paul affirms of the Gentiles: “they are debtors to them” (the Jews; Rom 15:27; 1 Cor 9:11).
The current Vulgate text has surgent (“they shall arise”), which fits the parallelism, provided de latere (“from the side”) is understood, as in Is 14:13; Ps 48:3, of the farthest parts of the earth. But St. Jerome translates and explains sugent (“they shall suck”): “this signifies that souls suckling in Christ … shall suck the milk of the apostles” (St. Jerome). Hence Sa rightly notes: “It is likely that there is an error and that sugent should be read instead of surgent; for Jerome has this in his text and interprets it so in his commentary”; and Sanct. adds: “In some manuscripts there is de latere sugent, as Marianus Victorius observes in his notes on Jerome, where he enumerates several codices in which sugent is read, to which you may add the Complutensian.” Likewise For. judges that sugent must altogether be read and that it was so written by the translator. The LXX have: “your daughters shall be carried upon shoulders”; similarly the Chaldee. — The Hebrew verb אָמַן (’āman, “to support, to foster”) gives rise to אֹמֵן (’ōmēn, “foster-father”) and אֹמֶנֶת (’ōmenet, “foster-mother”); hence Aquila has θηλασθήσονται (“they shall be nursed”), the Syriac “they shall be nourished,” and St. Jerome “they shall suck,” which Osorius follows: “they shall be nourished at the breasts of choice women.” From these words the derivative interpretation arises.
With what joy Zion sees all the nations flowing to her is described in v. 8: “Then you shall see and shine, and your heart shall tremble and be enlarged, when the abundance of the sea is turned to you, the wealth of the nations comes to you.” — The Hebrew has: then you shall see and be radiant, that is, with joy and exultation; and you shall tremble, not with fear, but with admiration and astonishment at so great and most happy a change of affairs. There is therefore a kind of sacred trembling at a wondrous event, joined with joy; and “your heart shall be enlarged,” that is, “the spirit once contracted and straitened by sorrow will be widened by so joyful a reversal of circumstances” (Sanct.). Just as sadness contracts the soul and makes it, as it were, small, so joy seems to expand it and make it great. The reason for such great joy is that “the abundance of the sea,” that is, the wealth of maritime and island regions, will be turned to you; thus חֵיל (ḥēl) in Ps 31:16 and Eccl 5:9 denotes riches, as already noted by Malv. and For. and as the LXX explain (πλοῦτος θαλάσσης, “the wealth of the sea”), likewise the Syriac and Chaldee. St. Jerome also seems to have understood it as multitude and wealth when he writes in his commentary: “Is it not a joy to see the riches and multitude of the sea transferred and converted to oneself, and the strength of the nations come to oneself, so that whatever is in the age and in the world becomes one’s own?” Osorius, Sa., and many moderns follow him; or those who do not explain riches by multitude usually judge that they are designated by “the strength of the nations” (cf. St. Thomas, Sanct., Mar., Malv., Calm., Rohl., Troch., Sein., Del., Naeg.). Moreover, For. already aptly notes that חֵיל can be taken either for army and power or for riches: “and if by riches—gold and silver and the other things which are soon mentioned—you understand strength, ingenuity, industry, arts, sciences, and the like, which are truer riches than those others, no one is ignorant that all these too have flowed over to the Church of Christ” (For.). Nor does it matter much whether you explain it of power or of number and excellence of the nations, or of their treasures (which is a frequent meaning of חֵיל); for it is always clear that the nations are understood together with their riches. In the following verses, Is 60:6–7 the riches of the nations are mentioned, and in Is 60:8–9 their multitude from afar together with their wealth. One should note here the manner of speaking כֹּל־הַגּוֹיִם (“all the nations”), a phrase which in sense and almost in words is also expressed by the prophet Haggai (see on Hag 2:7; commentary on the Minor Prophets II, p. 192). Of the fulfillment Theodoret writes: “Nor does this apply to the Jews; for what nations and peoples, I ask, brought their riches to them? But the Church of God receives those things which were once offered to demons, and the sea of the nations, once bitter, made sweet by the wood of the cross, offers gifts to the Church of God.”
Now these riches and the multitude of peoples are set forth more precisely in detail in Is 60:6: “A multitude of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.” And Is 60:7: “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall be offered upon my altar with acceptance, and I will glorify the house of my majesty.” — Nations engaged in commerce and those living a pastoral life are enumerated; thus it is declared that both those who use a more cultivated mode of life and those who live more simply and rudely are alike called to the theocracy. Those devoted to trade bring gifts in great number, so that the region of Zion seems, as it were, covered by a flood of camels. The Midianites, to whom the tribe of Ephah also belonged (cf. Gen 25:2, 4), had their dwellings on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Elath; from Sheba, that is, Arabia Felix (cf. 1 Kgs 10:2; Jer 6:20; Job 6:19), they bring gold and frankincense, not to make profit, but proclaiming the praises of God. To these are joined those who lead a pastoral life: the Kedarites (cf. Is 21:11; Is 49:11) pastured flocks in the desert lying between Syria and Babylonia, and the Nebaioth (whom most consider identical with the Nabataeans), descendants of Ishmael (Gen 25:13), inhabited roughly the same region. These present their flocks to the Lord, and the Lord accepts their offerings with good pleasure. “They shall minister to you,” to Zion, to the theocracy: even those shepherds, with their goods and wealth, give themselves to the cause of God. “They shall go up with acceptance upon my altar” (Hebrew), that is, God holds their sacrifices valid and pleasing, as in 56:7. Worship and the cult of God, as often, are expressed according to the pattern of the old theocracy. “The house of my splendor I will adorn” (Hebrew); for when nations hasten with such zeal together with their riches, the house of God will be adorned with a glory and magnificence far surpassing the glory of the ancient temple (cf. Hag 2:8–9).
Just as Jerusalem here is understood as the center and seat of the theocracy, and just as Mount Zion (2:2), to which all nations flow, is not that hill of the royal city as such, so here too one must not think of the Jerusalem temple, but of the temple which the Messiah, as a new Solomon, is to build (cf. 2 Sam 7:13), which the prophet Zechariah also mentions (Zech 6:12–13), and which after Ezekiel (Ezek 43:12-13) Daniel as well (Dan 9:24) seems to designate as the ultimate goal of the messianic works. In such a sanctuary, consecrated by the Messiah, the glory and magnificence of the Lord will most fully be present (cf. Is 4:5–6).
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