Isaiah 7:2

“And it was told the house of David, &c.] Ahaz, and his family, the princes of the blood, his court and counsellors; who had intelligence of the designs and preparations of the Syrians and Israelites against them: saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim; the ten tribes; or the kingdom and king of Israel. Some render it, “Syria led”; that is, its army “unto Ephraim”f120; marched it into the land of Israel, and there joined the king of Israel’s army; others, as the Vulgate Latin version, “Syria rests upon Ephraim”f121; depends upon, trusts in, takes heart and encouragement from Ephraim, or the ten tribes, being his ally. The Septuagint version is, “Syria hath agreed with Ephraim”; entered…”

“is confederate with--rather, is encamped upon the territory of Ephraim [MAURER], or better, as Rezin was encamped against Jerusalem, "is supported by" [LOWTH] Ephraim, whose land lay between Syria and Judah. The mention of "David" alludes, in sad contrast with the present, to the time when David made Syria subject to him (Sa2 8:6). Ephraim--the ten tribes. as . . . trees of . . . wood--a simultaneous agitation.”

“And it was told the house of David - That is, the royal family; or the king and princes; the government. Ahaz was the descendant and successor of David. Syria is confederate with Ephraim - Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel, and the kingdom of Israel was often called “Ephraim,” or the kingdom of Ephraim; in the same way as the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were called the kingdom of Judah. The phrase, ‘is confederate with,’ is in Hebrew ‘resteth on;’ see the margin. The meaning is, that Syria was “supported by” Ephraim, or was allied with Ephraim. The kingdom of Israel, or Ephraim, was situated “between” Syria and Jerusalem. Of course, the latter could not be attacked without marching…”

“David - Ahaz, and his relations. He calls them the house of David, to intimate that the following comfortable message was sent to Ahaz, not for his own sake, but for the sake of his worthy progenitor David. Ephraim - The kingdom of the ten tribes, commonly called Ephraim, because that was the most numerous of all. Moved - With fear, arising from a consciousness of their own guilt, and their enemies strength. Isaiah 7:3”

“7:2 hearts . . . trembled with fear: In contrast, Ahaz’s son King Hezekiah faced the Assyrians some thirty years later with great faith (701 BC; see 37:6-7, 14-20).”

“the house: Isa 7:13, Isa 6:13, Isa 37:35; Sa2 7:16; Kg1 11:32, Kg1 12:16, Kg1 13:2; Jer 21:12 is confederate with: Heb. resteth on, Isa 7:17, Isa 11:13; Ch2 25:10, Ch2 28:12; Eze 37:16-19; Hos 12:1 And his heart: Isa 8:12, Isa 37:27; Lev 26:36, Lev 26:37; Num 14:1-3; Deu 28:65, Deu 28:66; Kg2 7:6, Kg2 7:7; Psa 11:1, Psa 27:1, Psa 27:2, Psa 112:7, Psa 112:8; Pro 28:1; Mat 2:3 Isaiah 7:3”

“It is this which is referred to in Isa 7:2 : "And it was told the house of David, Aram has settled down upon Ephraim: then his heart shook, and the heart of his people, as trees of the wood shake before the wind." The expression nuach ‛al (settled down upon) is explained in Sa2 17:12 (cf., Jdg 7:12) by the figurative simile, "as the dew falleth upon the ground:" there it denotes a hostile invasion, here the arrival of one army to the support of another. Ephraim (feminine, like the names of countries, and of the people that are regarded as included in their respective countries: see, on the other hand, Isa 3:8) is used as the name of the leading tribe of Israel, to signify the whole kingdom;…”