Verse 1. Take thee a great roll—“Take
unto thee a large mirror”] The word גליון gillayon is not regularly formed from גלל galal, to roll, but from גלה galah, as פדיון pidyon from פדה padah, כליון killayon from כלה calah, נקיון nikkayon from נקה nakah, עליון elyon from עלה alah, &c., the י yod supplying the place of the radical ה he. גלה galah signifies to show, to reveal; properly, as Schroederus
says, (De Vestitu Mulier. Hebr. p. 294,) to
render clear and bright by rubbing; to polish. גליון gillayon, therefore, according to this derivation,
is not a roll or volume: but may very well signify a polished tablet of metal, such as was anciently used for a mirror. The Chaldee paraphrast renders it by לוח luach, a tablet, and the same word, though somewhat
differently pointed, the Chaldee paraphrast and the rabbins render a mirror, chap. 3:23. The mirrors of the
Israelitish women were made of brass finely polished, Exod. 38:8, from which
place it likewise appears that what they used were little hand mirrors which
they carried with them even when they assembled at the door of the tabernacle.
I have a metalline mirror found in Herculaneum, which is not above three inches
square. The prophet is commanded to take a mirror, or brazen polished tablet,
not like these little hand mirrors, but a large one; large enough for him to
engrave upon it in deep and lasting characters, בחרט אנוש becheret enosh, with a workman’s graving tool, the
prophecy which he was to deliver. חרט cheret in this place certainly signifies an instrument to write or engrave with: but חריט charit, the same word, only differing a little in the form, means something
belonging to a lady’s dress, chap. 3:22, (where however five MSS. leave out the י yod, whereby only it differs from the word in this place,) either a
crisping-pin, which might be not unlike a graving tool, as some will nave it,
or a purse, as others infer from 2 Kings 5:23. It may therefore be called here חרט אנוש cheret enosh, a workman’s
instrument, to
distinguish it from חרט אשה cheret ishshah, an instrument of the same name, used by the women. In this manner he was to record the prophecy of
the destruction of Damascus and Samaria by the Assyrians; the subject and sum
of which prophecy is here expressed with great brevity in four words, מהר שלל הש בז maher shalal hash baz; i.e., to
hasten the spoil, to take quickly the prey; which are afterwards applied as
the name of the prophet’s son, who was made a sign of the speedy completion of
it; Maher-shalal-hash-baz; Haste-to-the-spoil,
Quick-to-the-prey. And that it might be done with the greater solemnity,
and to preclude all doubt of the real delivery of the prophecy before the
event, he calls witnesses to attest the recording of it. (Adam
Clarke, The Holy Bible with a Commentary
and Critical Notes, 6 vols. [Bellingham, Wash.: Faithlife Corporation,
2014), 4:62)
1. Take thee a great roll.
The word which is here translated ‘roll’ more properly signifies tablet. So the Chaldee renders it. Those
tablets were made of wood, metal, or
stone, for the purpose of writing on; see ch. 30:8; Hab. 2:2. On these tablets,
or smooth plates, writing was performed by cutting the letters with an iron stylus, or small chisel. The process was
slow, but the writing was permanent. They sometimes used the skins of animals,
or the bark of trees, and subsequently the papyrus
of Egypt (comp. Note, ch. 19:7); and it is possible that Isaiah may have used
such a roll or volume on this occasion; comp. ver. 16. (Albert Barnes,
Notes on the Old Testament: Isaiah, 2 vols. [London: Blackie & Sons,
1851], 1:173)
Take for yourself a large
tablet. Evidently God’s
intent here is that anyone should be able to read the oracle (cf. Hab. 2:2,
“Make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it”). A gillāyôn is not a scroll or a stone tablet (lûaḥ), but a flat piece of wood (Ezek. 37:16) or metal (Isa.
3:23), and thus appropriate for posting as a sort of placard. (John
N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39 [The New International
Commentary on the Old Testament; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1986], 221)
גִּלָּיוֹן: גלה,
BL 498c; MHb. open margin of parchment scroll, Syr. gelyānā/yānā (Heb.) revelation: pl. גִּלְיֹנִים (BL 498d); Kuhn BhZNW 26:24ff: —1. Is 3:23 together with → סְדִינִים; Sept. βὺσσινα fine, transparent garments :: Galling
ZDPV 56:2 11f: papyrus garments,
Hönig Bekleidung 118; trad. mirror Tg. Vulg.; —2. Is 8:1 גִּ׳ גָּדוֹל tablet (cf. לוּחַ
30:8), made of metal, wood or leather (→ Comm.) :: Galling (v.s.) papyrus (rd. גִּ׳ גּוֹרָל “all-purpose sheet”). † (Ludwig
Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic
Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 193, Logos
Bible Software edition)
For an
alternative perspective (wooden vs. metal boards in view), see D. J. Wiseman, “Assyrian Writing-Boards,” Iraq
17, no. 1 (Spring 1955): 3-14. However, do note that he makes reference to “boards”
“being made of lapis lazuli, silver and gold” (p. 3), although his focus is wooden
boards, including those where “A pointed gold stylus” was used to inscribe
texts (p. 11).
