Isa 60:6, 9, Zec 14:20 | JFB | STEP | 6. camels —laden with merchandise; the camel is "the ship of the desert" (compare ). cover thee —so many of them shall there be. dromedaries —They have one hunch on the back, whereas the camel has two: distinguished for swiftness ( ). Midian —east of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, and stretching northward along Mount Seir. Associated with the Ishmaelites in traffic ( ). Ephah —part of Midian, east of the Dead Sea. It abounded in camels ( ). Sheba —in Arabia-Felix, famed for frankincense and gold ( ), which they traded in ( ).

Isaiah 60:6

6. camels—laden with merchandise; the camel is "the ship of the desert" (compare Isa 30:6).

cover thee—so many of them shall there be.

dromedaries—They have one hunch on the back, whereas the camel has two: distinguished for swiftness (Jer 2:23).

Midian—east of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, and stretching northward along Mount Seir. Associated with the Ishmaelites in traffic (Ge 37:25, 28).

Ephah—part of Midian, east of the Dead Sea. It abounded in camels (Jud 6:5).

Sheba—in Arabia-Felix, famed for frankincense and gold (Ps 72:15; Jer 6:20), which they traded in (Isa 45:14; Job 6:19; Eze 27:22).

Isaiah 60:9

9. (see on Isa 42:4).

Tarshish first—The ships of Tartessus (see on Isa 2:16; Isa 23:1, that is, vessels that trade to the most distant regions) will be among the foremost to bring back the scattered Israelites (Isa 66:20).

their silver—The nations among whom the Jews have been scattered shall help them with their money in returning (Isa 60:5-7, 11, 16), as was the case at the return from Babylon (Ezr 1:4; compare Ps 68:30, 31).

unto the name . . . to the Holy One—rather, because of the name—because of the Holy One (compare Isa 55:5) [LOWTH].

Zechariah 14:20

20. shall there be upon the bells—namely, this inscription, "Holiness to the Lord," the same as was on the miter of the high priest (Ex 28:36). This implies that all things, even the most common, shall be sacred to Jehovah, and not merely the things which under the law had peculiar sanctity attached to them. The "bells" were metal plates hanging from the necks of horses and camels as ornaments, which tinkled (as the Hebrew root means) by striking against each other. Bells attached to horses are found represented on the walls of Sennacherib's palace at Koyunjik.

pots . . . like . . . bowls—the vessels used for boiling, for receiving ashes, &c., shall be as holy as the bowls used for catching the blood of the sacrificial victims (see on Zec 9:15; 1Sa 2:14). The priesthood of Christ will be explained more fully both by the Mosaic types and by the New Testament in that temple of which Ezekiel speaks. Then the Song of Solomon, now obscure, will be understood, for the marriage feast of the Lamb will be celebrated in heaven (Re 19:1-21), and on earth it will be a Solomonic period, peaceful, glorious, and nuptial. There will be no king but a prince; the sabbatic period of the judges will return, but not with the Old Testament, but New Testament glory (Isa 1:26; Eze 45:1-25) [ROOS].