g _Stier's_
counter-remarks, it is the pointing to such a poor condition alone
which suits the connection, and there is no reason why we should here
already [Pg 278] supply "from a dry ground." A member of the royal
house before its fall resembled, at his very origin, a proud tree, or,
at least, a proud branch of such a tree. The sprout, here, supposes the
stump, [Hebrew: gze]. in chap. xi. 8. [Hebrew: ivnq] elsewhere always
signifies "suckling;" comp. here chap. xi. 8. Of the sprout, elsewhere,
the feminine [Hebrew: ivnqt] is used. According to _Stier_, this
deviation from the common use is here not a matter of accident.
Supposing a double sense, he finds it an indication of the helpless
infancy of the Redeemer, and in this a representation of His lowliness.
The LXX.: [Greek: hos paidion]. The suffix in [Hebrew: lpniv] "before
Him" refers to the immediately preceding [Hebrew: ihvh], not to the
people. _Before Him_, the Lord--known to Him, watched by Him, standing
under His protection, comp. Gen. xvii. 18; Job viii. 16. The lowliness
here, and the contempt of men in ver. 3, form the contrast; He is low,
but He will not remain so; for the eye of the Most High is directed
towards Him. Before the eyes of men who are not able to penetrate to
the substance through the appearance, He is concealed; but God beholds
Him, beholds His concealed glory, beholds His high destination; and
because He beholds, He also takes care, and prepares His transition
from lowliness to glory. But the "before Him" does not by any means
here form the main thought; it only gives a gentle and incidental
hint.--The _root_ denotes here, as in chap. xi. 1, 10, the product of
the root, that whereby it becomes visible, the sprout from the root. In
reference to this parallel passage, _Stier_ strikingly remarks: "It is,
by our modern interpreters, put aside as quietly as possible; for, with
a powerful voice, it proclaims to us two truths: that the same Isaiah
refers to his former prophecy,--and that this Servant of the Lord here
is none other than the Messiah there." A twig which grows up from a dry
place is insignificant and poor. Just as the Messiah is here, in
respect to His state of humiliation, and specially in reference to His
origin from the house of David, sunk into complete obscurity, compared
to a weak, insignificant twig, so He is, in Ezek. xvii. 23, in
reference to His state of glorification, compared to a lofty, splendid
cedar tree, under which a