Among the various opinions which have been given on this passage, I have no doubt in giving my assent to that which makes the b beth in wytwmb bemothaiv radical, and renders it excelsa sua. This is mentioned by Aben Ezra as received by some in his time; and has been long since approved by Schindler, Drusius, and many other learned Christian interpreters.

The most simple tombs or monuments of old consisted of hillocks of earth heaped up over the grave; of which we have numerous examples in our own country, generally allowed to be of very high antiquity. The Romans called a monument of this sort very properly tumulus; and the Hebrews as properly twmb bamoth, "high place, "for that is the form of' the noun in the singular number; and sixteen MSS. and the two oldest editions express the word fully in this place, wytwmb bamothaiv. Tumulus et collem et sepulchrum fuisse significat. Potest enim tumulus sine sepulchro interpretatione collis interdum accipi. Nam et terrae congestio super ossa tumulus dicitur. "Tumulus signifies a sepulcher with a hillock of earth raised over it. The word is sometimes restrained to the bank of earth; for the heaping up of the earth over the bones is named the tumulus." - Servius, AEn. iii. 22. And to make the tumulus still more elevated and conspicuous, a pillar or some other ornament was often erected upon it:- tumbon ceuantev, kai epi sthlhn erusantev, phxamen akrotatw tumbw euhrev eretmon. Odyss. sii. 14.

"A rising tomb, the silent dead to grace, Fast by the roarings of the main we place; The rising tomb a lofty column bore, And high above it rose the tapering oar." Pope The tomb therefore might with great propriety be called the high place.

The Hebrews might also call such a tomb twmb bamoth, from the situation, for they generally chose to erect them on eminences. The sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea, in which the body of Christ was laid, was upon a hill, Mount Calvary. See chap. xxii. 16, and the note there.

"It should be observed that the word wytwmb bamothaiv is not formed from twmb bamoth, the plural of hmb bamah, the feminine noun, but from µytwmb bamothim, the plural of a masculine noun, twmb bamoth.

This is noted because these two nouns have been negligently confounded with one another, and absurdly reduced to one by very learned men. So Buxtorf, lex. in voc. hmb bamah, represents ytwmb bamotey, though plainly without any pronoun suffixed, as it governs the word Åra arets following it, as only another form of twmb bamoth; whereas the truth is, that twmb bamoth and µytwmb bamothim are different words, and have through the whole Bible very different significations; hmb bamah, whether occurring in the singular or plural number, always signifying a place or places of worship; and µytwmb bamothim always signifying heights.

Thus in Deut. xxxii. 13; chap. lviii. 14; Amos iv. 13; and Micah i. 3, Åra ytwmb bamothey arets signifies 'the heights of the earth;' chap. xiv. 14, b[ ytwmb bamothey ab, 'the heights of the clouds;' and in Job ix. 8, µy ytwmb bamothey yam, 'the heights of the sea,' i.e., the high waves of the sea, as Virgil calls a wave praeruptus aqua mons, 'a broken mountain of water.' These being all the places where this word occurs without a suffix, the sense of it seems nearly determined by them. It occurs in other instances with a pronoun suffixed, which confirm this signification.

Unluckily, our English Bible has not distinguished the feminine noun hmb bamah from the masculine singular noun twmb bamoth; and has consequently always given the signification of the latter to the former, always rendering it a high place; whereas the true sense of the word appears plainly to be, in the very numerous passages in which it occurs, 'a place of worship,' or 'a sacred court,' or 'a sacred inclosure;' whether appropriated to the worship of idols or to that of the true God, for it is used of both, passive. Now as the Jewish graves are shown, from2 Chronicles xxxii. 33, and chap. xxii. 16, to have been in high situations, to which may be added the custom of another eastern nation from Osbeck's Travels, who says, vol. i. p. 339, 'the Chinese graves are made on the side of hills;' 'his heights' becomes a very easy metaphor to express 'his sepulcher.' "-JUBB.

The exact completion of this prophecy will be fully shown by adding here the several circumstances of the burial of Jesus, collected from the accounts of the evangelists:- "There was a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, a member of the sanhedrin, and of a respectable character, who had not consented to their counsel and act; he went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus: and he laid it in his own new tomb, which had been hewn out of the rock, near to the place where Jesus was crucified; having first wound it in fine linen with spices, as the manner of the Jews was to bury the rich and great." It has been supposed that wrbq kibro, his grave, and wytmb bemothaiv, in his death, may have been transposed, as also the prefix b be originally placed before µy[r reshaim, the wicked. Thus:- wytm ta µy[rb tyw mothaiv eth bireshayim vaiyitten wrbq ry[ taw kibro ashir veeth Yea, his death was appointed among the wicked, And with a rich man, his tomb.

By these alterations it is supposed the text would be freed from all embarrassment. But see the preceding notes of Bishop Lowth, and the various readings of De Rossi, in loc.

Is. 53:1-3 No where in all the Old Testament is it so plainly and full prophesied, that Christ ought to suffer, and then to enter into his glory, as in this chapter. But to this day few discern, or wil acknowledge, that Divine power which goes with the word. The authenti and most important report of salvation for sinners, through the Son of God, is disregarded. The low condition he submitted to, and his appearance in the world, were not agreeable to the ideas the Jews ha formed of the Messiah. It was expected that he should come in pomp instead of that, he grew up as a plant, silently, and insensibly. He had nothing of the glory which one might have thought to meet with him His whole life was not only humble as to outward condition, but als sorrowful. Being made sin for us, he underwent the sentence sin ha exposed us to. Carnal hearts see nothing in the Lord Jesus to desire a interest in him. Alas! by how many is he still despised in his people and rejected as to his doctrine and authority!

Is. 53:4-9 In these verses is an account of the sufferings of Christ also of the design of his sufferings. It was for our sins, and in ou stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned, and have com short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their ow evil way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs an sorrows, even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become liable, by laying our sins on Christ. This atonement wa to be made for our sins. And this is the only way of salvation. Ou sins were the thorns in Christ's head, the nails in his hands and feet the spear in his side. He was delivered to death for our offences. By his sufferings he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We ma well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteem all things but loss for him, and to love him who has first loved us.

Is. 53:10-12 Come, and see how Christ loved us! We could not put him in our stead, but he put himself. Thus he took away the sin of the world by taking it on himself. He made himself subject to death, which to u is the wages of sin. Observe the graces and glories of his state of exaltation. Christ will not commit the care of his family to any other God's purposes shall take effect. And whatever is undertaken accordin to God's pleasure shall prosper. He shall see it accomplished in the conversion and salvation of sinners. There are many whom Chris justifies, even as many as he gave his life a ransom for. By faith we are justified; thus God is most glorified, free grace most advanced self most abased, and our happiness secured. We must know him, an believe in him, as one that bore our sins, and saved us from sinkin under the load, by taking it upon himself. Sin and Satan, death an hell, the world and the flesh, are the strong foes he has vanquished What God designed for the Redeemer he shall certainly possess. When he led captivity captive, he received gifts for men, that he might giv gifts to men. While we survey the sufferings of the Son of God, let u remember our long catalogue of transgressions, and consider him a suffering under the load of our guilt. Here is laid a firm foundatio for the trembling sinner to rest his soul upon. We are the purchase of his blood, and the monuments of his grace; for this he continuall pleads and prevails, destroying the works of the devil __________________________________________________________________

Original Hebrew