surrounding Mount Zion extended on the east side to the place
which was called _Ophel_, and ended at the eastern porch of the temple
(_de Bell. Jud._ vi. 6).

The view which we have taken, not only of _Ophel_, but of this whole
passage, receives an important confirmation by Is. xxxii. 13, 14: "Upon
the land of My people come up thorns and briars, for they shoot up in
all the houses of joy, in the joyous city. For palaces are forsaken,
tumult of the city is [Pg 462] forsaken, _hill_ and _tower_ are around
caves (_i.e._, it is only this which they have to protect) for ever, a
joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks." In this threatening of
punishment, _hill_, [Hebrew: epl], and _tower_, [Hebrew: bHN] (properly
"a watch-tower," corresponding to [Hebrew: mgdl]), are joined, just as
in Micah's promise; and this is a certain proof of the unsoundness of
all those explanations which would sever the two in Micah. Perhaps
there is, in that passage of Isaiah, the addition of a third object,
standing in the middle between the two, viz., the castle of the king
which was situated on Zion, and of which the highest and strongest part
was formed by the tower. There seems, at least, to be better ground for
understanding this by [Hebrew: armvN] than the temple, as is done by
_Vitringa_. It will, nevertheless, be better to understand the palace
collectively, and to view it as being parallel to the houses of joy in
ver. 13. So much is, at all events, evident, that here also, _Ophel_
cannot be understood of the lowest part of Mount Zion, inasmuch as it
had nothing distinguished about it that could account for its being
mentioned in this context; and to this, the circumstance of its being
connected with the tower, must, moreover, be added. _Faber_, l.c., has
convincingly proved, that _Ophel_, in the stricter sense, neither had,
nor could have, any fortifications.

[Hebrew: ediK], "unto thee," seems here to have that emphasis which
originally belongs to [Hebrew: ed]. It indicates that the object in
motion really reaches its goal, while [Hebrew: al] originally expresses
only its direction towards the goal. It points to all the obstacles
which seem to render it impossible for the dominion to reach its goal,
and represents them as such as shall be overcome by divine omnipotence.
This is quite in accordance with the scope of the whole representation,
which _Calvin_ thus appositely points out: "The prophet endeavours to
confirm the faith and hope o