Isaiah 20:6

“And the inhabitants of this isle shall say, in that day, &c.] Not of Ashdod, (<232001>Isaiah 20:1) or the isle of Caphtor, (<244704>Jeremiah 47:4) but the land of Israel, as both Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; so called, because it bordered on the sea, as such countries are sometimes called isles; (see <242522> Jeremiah 25:22 <262703>Ezekiel 27:3,15). Ben Melech interprets it of Jerusalem, and observes that the word signifies a place or country, whether it has a river or sea encompassing it, or not; besides, the land of Canaan had the Mediterranean sea on one side of it, and the sea of Galilee and Tiberias on the other, and was moreover separated from all other countries by the power,…”

“isle--that is, coast on the Mediterranean--Philistia, perhaps PhÅ“nicia (compare Isa 23:2; Isa 11:11; Isa 13:22; Psa 72:10). we--emphatical; if Egypt, in which we trusted, was overcome, how shall we, a small weak state, escape? He does not narrate the event, but graphically supposes himself a watchman in Babylon, beholding the events as they pass. Next: Isaiah Chapter 21”

“And the inhabitant - The dwellers generally. Of this isle - The word אי 'iy “isle” is used here in the sense of “coast, or maritime” country, and is evidently applied to Palestine, or the land of Canaan, which is a narrow coast lying on the Mediterranean. That the word is often used in this sense, and may be applied to a maritime country, see the notes at Isaiah 13:22; Isaiah 41:1. The connection here requires us to understand it of Palestine. Shall say ... - Shall condemn their own folly in trusting in Egypt, and seeking deliverance there. And how shall we escape? - They shall be alarmed for their own safety, for the very nation on which they had relied had been made captive. And when the…”

“Of the country - Of this land, in which the prophet was, and to whose inhabitants, these words were uttered. Such - So vain is our hope placed upon such a people as are unable to deliver themselves. Next: Isaiah Chapter 21”

“isle: or, country, Job 22:30; Jer 47:4 whither: Isa 28:17, Isa 30:1-7, Isa 30:15, Isa 30:16, Isa 31:1-3; Job 6:20 and how: Mat 23:33; Th1 5:3; Heb 2:3 Next: Isaiah Chapter 21”