Isaiah 40:22

“It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, &c.] Or, “the globef776” of it; for the earth is spherical or globular: not a flat plain, but round, hung as a ball in the air; here Jehovah sits as the Lord and Sovereign; being the Maker of it, he is above it, orders and directs its motion, and governs all things in it: Kimchi rightly observes, that the heavens are the circle of the earth, which is the centre of them, and around which they are; and so it signifies, that the Lord sits or dwells in the heavens, from whence he beholds the children of men: and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; or “locustsf777”; as one upon a very great eminence looking down beholds creatures as…”

“It is he--rather, connected with last verse, "Have ye not known?"--have ye not understood Him that sitteth . . .? (Isa 40:26) [MAURER]. circle--applicable to the globular form of the earth, above which, and the vault of sky around it, He sits. For "upon" translate "above." as grasshoppers--or locusts in His sight (Num 13:33), as He looks down from on high (Psa 33:13-14; Psa 113:4-6). curtain--referring to the awning which the Orientals draw over the open court in the center of their houses as a shelter in rain or hot weather.”

“It is he that sitteth - Margin, ‘Him that sitteth,’ that is, have you not known him? The Hebrew literally means ‘the sitter, or he sitting on the circle of the each;’ and it may be connected either with Isaiah 40:21, ‘Have ye not known him sitting on the circle of the earth?’ or with Isaiah 40:18, ‘What likeness will ye compare to him that sitteth on the circle of the earth?’ In either case the phrase is designed to show the majesty and glory of God. The word ‘sitteth’ refers to God as a sovereign or monarch, making the circle of the earth his throne. The circle of the earth - Or rather, “above” (על ‛al) the circle of the earth. The word rendered ‘circle’ (חוּג chûg) denotes “a circle,…”

“Sitteth - Far above this round earth, even in the highest heavens; from whence he looketh down upon the earth, where men appear to him like grasshoppers. As here we have the circle of the earth, so elsewhere we read of the circle of heaven, Job 22:14, and of the circle of the deep, or sea, Pro 8:27, because the form of the heaven, and earth and sea is circular. Spreadeth - For the benefit of the earth and of mankind, that all parts might partake of its comfortable influences. Isaiah 40:24”

“40:22 God sits enthroned as King over all the earth (see 6:1; Pss 2:4; 80:1; 99:1; 102:12; 113:5). God is so immense and awesome that humans are like grasshoppers in comparison. • Belief in God as creator of the heavens and earth contradicts the popular Babylonian and Egyptian belief that the sun, moon, and stars represent gods. • like a curtain . . . his tent: See also Ps 104:2.”

“It is he that sitteth: or, Him that sitteth, etc. Isa 19:1, Isa 66:1; Psa 2:4, Psa 29:10, Psa 68:33 the inhabitants: Isa 40:15, Isa 40:17; Num 13:33 stretcheth: Isa 42:5, Isa 44:24, Isa 51:13; Job 9:8, Job 37:18, Job 38:4-9; Psa 102:25, Psa 102:26, Psa 104:2; Jer 10:12; Zac 12:1; Heb 1:10-12 as a curtain: Or, "as a thin veil," as Bp. Lowth renders; which he illustrates by the following passage from Dr. Shaw. "It is usual in the summer season, and upon all occasions when a large company is to be received, to have the court sheltered from heat, or inclemency of the weather by a velum umbrella, or veil, as I shall call it; which, being expanded on ropes from one end of the parapet to the other,…”

“The prophet now proceeds to describe the God whom both His works and word proclaim. The participles which follow are predicates of the subject, which filled the consciousness of the prophet as well as that of every believer. "He who is enthroned above the vault of the earth, and its inhabitants resemble grasshoppers; who has spread out the heavens like gauze, and stretched them out like a tent-roof to dwell in." He, the manifested and yet unknown, is He who has for His throne the circle of the heavens (chūg shâmayim, Job 22:14), which arches over the earth, and to whom from His inaccessible height men appear as diminutive as grasshoppers ( Num 13:33); He who has spread out the blue sky…”