Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
Who—else but God? The fact that God "raiseth up" Cyrus and qualifies him for becoming the conqueror of the nations and deliverer of God's people, is a strong argument why they should trust in Him. The future is here prophetically represented as present or past.
the righteous man—Cyrus; as Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1-4, Isaiah 45:13; Isaiah 46:11, "from the East," prove. Called "righteous," not so much on account of his own equity [HERODOTUS, 3.89], as because he fulfilled God's righteous will in restoring the Jews from their unjust captivity. Raised him up in righteousness. The Septuagint takes the Hebrew as a noun "righteousness." MAURER translates, "Who raised up him whom salvation (national and temporal, the gift of God's 'righteousness' to the good, Isaiah 32:17; compare Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 51:5) meets at his foot" (that is, wherever he goes). Cyrus is said to come from the East, because Persia is east of Babylon; but in Isaiah 41:25, from the north, in reference to Media. At the same time the full sense of righteousness, or righteous, and of the whole passage, is realized only in Messiah, Cyrus' antitype (Cyrus knew not God, Isaiah 45:4). He goes forth as the Universal Conqueror of the "nations," in righteousness making war (Psalms 2:8-9; Revelation 19:11-15; Revelation 6:2; Revelation 2:26-27). "The idols He shall utterly abolish" (compare Isaiah 7:23, with Isaiah 2:18). Righteousness was always raised up from the East. Paradise was east of Eden. The cherubim were at the east of the garden. Abraham was called from the East. Judea, the birthplace of Messiah, was in the East.
called . . . to . . . foot—called him to attend His (God's) steps, that is, follow His guidance. In Ezra 1:2, Cyrus acknowledges Jehovah as the Giver of his victories. He subdued the nations from the Euxine to the Red Sea, and even Egypt (says XENOPHON).
dust— (Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 29:5; Psalms 18:42). Persia, Cyrus' country, was famed for the use of the "bow" (Isaiah 22:6). "Before him" means "gave them into his power" (Joshua 10:12). MAURER translates, "Gave his (the enemy's) sword to be dust, and his (the enemy's) bow to be as stubble" (Job 41:26, Job 41:29).
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Isaiah 41:2:
Isaiah 41:25
Isaiah 42:6
Isaiah 45:13
Isaiah 46:11
Revelation 16:12
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