Isaiah 43:27

“Thy first father hath sinned, &c.] Either Adam, as Kimchi, in whom all have sinned, and from whom all derive a sinful and corrupt nature; or Abraham, as Jarchi, the father of the Jewish nation, of whom they boasted, and in whom they trusted, as being of his seed, and through whose merits and worthiness they expected great things; yet he was but a sinful man, though a good man, and a great believer; of whose infirmity and frailty many instances are on record. Some have thought Terah the father of Abraham is designed, who was an idolater; others think some particular king is meant, the father of his people; Aben Ezra supposes Jeroboam to be intended, the first king of the ten tribes who made…”

“first father--collectively for "most ancient ancestors," as the parallelism ("teachers") proves [MAURER]. Or, thy chief religious ministers or priests [GESENIUS]. Adam, the common father of all nations, can hardly be meant here, as it would have been irrelevant to mention his sin in an address to the Jews specially. Abraham is equally out of place here, as he is everywhere cited as an example of faithfulness, not of "sin." However, taking the passage in its ultimate application to the Church at large, Adam may be meant. teachers--literally, "interpreters" between God and man, the priests (Job 33:23; Mal 2:7).”

“Thy first father hath sinned - This is the argument on the side of God, to show that they were neither unjustly punished, nor punished with undue severity. The argument is, that their rulers and teachers had been guilty of crime, and that therefore it was right to bring all this vengeance upon the nation. Various interpretations have been given of the phrase ‘thy first father.’ A slight notice of them will lead to the correct exposition. 1. Many have supposed that Adam is referred to here. Thus Piscator, Calovius, and most of the fathers, understand it; and, among the Jews, Kimchi. But the objections to this are plain: (a) Adam was not peculiarly the first father or ancestor of the Jews, but…”

“Thy father - This may be put for their forefathers; and so he tells them, that as they were sinners, so also were their progenitors, yea even the best of them. Teachers - Thy priests and prophets; who were their intercessors with God: and if these were transgressors, the people had no reason to fancy themselves innocent. Isaiah 43:28”

“43:27 leaders: God held Israel’s and Judah’s kings especially responsible for leading the nation into sin (see 2 Kgs 21).”

“first father: Num 32:14; Psa 78:8, Psa 106:6, Psa 106:7; Jer 3:25; Eze 16:3; Zac 1:4-6; Mal 3:7; Act 7:51; Rom 5:12 and thy: Isa 3:12, Isa 28:7, Isa 56:10-12; Jer 5:31, Jer 23:11-15; Lam 4:13, Lam 4:14; Eze 22:25-28; Hos 4:6; Mic 3:11; Mal 2:4-8; Mat 15:14, Mat 27:1, Mat 27:41; Joh 11:49-53; Act 5:17, Act 5:18 teachers: Heb. interpreters Isaiah 43:28”

“But Israel has no such works; on the contrary, its history has been a string of sins from the very first. "Thy first forefather sinned, and thy mediators have fallen away from me." By the first forefather, Hitzig, Umbreit, and Knobel understand Adam; but Adam was the forefather of the human race, not of Israel; and the debt of Adam was the debt of mankind, and not of Israel. The reference is to Abraham, as the first of the three from whom the origin and election of Israel were dated; Abraham, whom Israel from the very first had called with pride "our father" ( Mat 3:9). Even the history of Abraham was stained with sin, and did not shine in the light of meritorious works, but in that of…”