Isa 17:5-6 | JFB | STEP | 5. harvestman, &c.—The inhabitants and wealth of Israel shall be swept away, and but few left behind just as the husbandman gathers the corn and the fruit, and leaves only a few gleaning ears and grapes ( ). with his arm —He collects the standing grain with one arm, so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand. Rephaim —a fertile plain at the southwest of Jerusalem toward Beth-lehem and the country of the Philistines ( ).

Isaiah 17:5-6

5. harvestman, &c.—The inhabitants and wealth of Israel shall be swept away, and but few left behind just as the husbandman gathers the corn and the fruit, and leaves only a few gleaning ears and grapes (2Ki 18:9-11).

with his arm—He collects the standing grain with one arm, so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand.

Rephaim—a fertile plain at the southwest of Jerusalem toward Beth-lehem and the country of the Philistines (2Sa 5:18-22).

6. in it—that is, in the land of Israel.

two or three . . . in the top—A few poor inhabitants shall be left in Israel, like the two or three olive berries left on the topmost boughs, which it is not worth while taking the trouble to try to reach.