Isaiah 38:12

“Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent, &c.] Or, my habitationf738; meaning the earthly house of his tabernacle, his body; this was just going, in his apprehension, to be unpinned, and removed like a shepherd’s tent, that is easily taken down, and removed from place to place. Some understand it of the men of his age or generation; so the Targum, “from the children of my generation my days are taken away; they are cut off, and removed from me; they are rolled up as a shepherd’s tent;” which being made of skins, as tents frequently were, such as the Arabian shepherds used, were soon taken down, and easily rolled and folded up and carried elsewhere: I have cut off…”

“age--rather, as the parallel "shepherd's tent" requires habitation, so the Arabic [GESENIUS]. departed--is broken up, or shifted, as a tent to a different locality. The same image occurs (Co2 5:1; Pe2 1:12-13). He plainly expects to exist, and not cease to be in another state; as the shepherd still lives, after he has struck his tent and removed elsewhere. I have cut off--He attributes to himself that which is God's will with respect to him; because he declares that will. So Jeremiah is said to "root out" kingdoms, because he declares God's purpose of doing so (Jer 1:10). The weaver cuts off his web from the loom when completed. Job 7:6 has a like image. The Greeks represented the Fates as…”

“Mine age - The word which is used here (דור dôr) means properly the revolving period or circle of human life. The parallelism seems to demand, however, that it should be used in the sense of dwelling or habitation, so as to correspond with the ‘shepherd’s tent.’ Accordingly, Lowth and Noyes render it, ‘Habitation.’ So also do Gesenius and Rosenmuller. The Arabic word has this signification; and the Hebrew verb דור dûr also means “to dwell, to remain,” as in the Chaldee. Here the word means a dwelling, or habitation; that is, a tent, as the habitations of the Orientals were mostly tents. Is departed - (נסע nı̂ssa‛). The idea here is, that his dwelling was to be transferred from one place to…”

“38:12 These images depicted the brevity of life (cp. 2 Cor 5:1).”

“is removed: Job 7:7; Psa 89:45-47, Psa 102:11, Psa 102:23, Psa 102:24 as a: Isa 1:8, Isa 13:20 have cut: Job 7:6, Job 9:25, Job 9:26, Job 14:2; Jam 4:14 he will cut: Job 7:3-5, Job 17:1; Psa 31:22, Psa 119:23 with pining sickness: or, from the thrum Isaiah 38:13”