The interpretation timeline
Isaiah 26:19 Douay-Rheims

Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

A.D. 202 – 1875 15 witnesses 16 excerpts

Patristic

before A.D. 750
202
A.D.
Irenaeus Patristic
c. A.D. 130–202
“Then, too, Isaiah himself has plainly declared that there shall be joy of this nature at the resurrection of the just, when he says: "The dead shall rise again; those, too, who are in the tombs shall arise, and those who are in the earth shall rejoice. For the dew from Thee is health to them."”
220
A.D.
Tertullian Patristic
c. A.D. 150–220
“Unquestionably, if the people were indulging in figurative murmurs that their bones were become dry and that their hope had perished—plaintive at the consequences of their dispersion—then God might fairly enough seem to have consoled their figurative despair with a figurative promise. Since, however, no injury had as yet alighted on the people from their dispersion, although the hope of the resurrection had very frequently failed among them, it is manifest that it was owing to the perishing condition of their bodies that their faith in the resurrection was shaken. God, therefore, was rebuilding the faith that the people were pulling down. But even if it were true that Israel was depressed at some shock in their existing circumstances, we must not on that account suppose that the purpose of revelation could have rested in a parable. Its aim must have been to testify a resurrection, in order to raise the nation's hope to even an eternal salvation and an indispensable restoration and thereby turn off their minds from brooding over their present affairs. This indeed is the aim of other prophets likewise. "You shall go forth," [says Malachi], "from your tombs, as young calves let loose from their bonds, and you shall tread down your enemies." And again [Isaiah says], "Your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall spring up like the grass," because the grass also is renewed by the dissolution and corruption of the seed. In a word, if it is contended that the figure of the rising bones refers properly to the state of Israel, why is the same hope announced to all nations, instead of being limited to Israel only, of reinvesting those bony remains with bodily substance and vital breath and of raising up their dead out of the grave? For the language is universal: "The dead shall arise and come forth from their graves; for the dew which comes from you is medicine to their bones." In another passage it is written: "All flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord." When? When the fashion of this world shall begin to pass away. For he said before, "As the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed remain." Then also shall be fulfilled what is written afterwards: "And they shall go forth" [namely, from their graves] "and shall see the carcasses of those who have transgressed: for their worm shall never die, nor shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh," even to that which, being raised again from the dead and brought out from the grave, shall adore the Lord for his great grace.”
Source
386
A.D.
Cyril of Jerusalem Patristic
A.D. 313–386
“Isaiah the prophet says, "The dead men shall rise again, and those who are in the tombs shall awake." And the prophet Ezekiel, now before us, says most plainly, "Behold, I will open your graves and bring you up out of your graves." And Daniel says, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame."67And there are many Scriptures that testify of the resurrection of the dead. For there are many other sayings on this matter. But now, by way of remembrance only, we will make a passing mention of the raising of Lazarus on the fourth day and just allude, because of the shortness of the time, to the widow's son also who was raised. And merely for the sake of reminding you, let me mention the ruler of the synagogue's daughter, and the rending of the rocks, and how "there arose many bodies of the saints which slept," their graves having been opened. But especially be it remembered that "Christ has been raised from the dead."”
Source
“Do not listen to those who say that this body is not raised up; for raised it is, as Isaiah witnesses, saying, "The dead shall arise, and they in the tombs shall be raised." Or, as Daniel says, "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame." But while rising again is the common lot of all people, the manner of rising again is not alike for all. For while we all receive everlasting bodies, those bodies are not alike for all. That is to say, the righteous receive such bodies as may enable them to join with the band of angels throughout eternity, while sinners received bodies in which to undergo through the ages the torture of their sins.”
Source
407
A.D.
John Chrysostom Patristic
A.D. 347–407
“Isaiah made it clear that Christ will raise up all people when he said, "The dead shall be raised up again; even those in the tombs shall be raised up. For the dew from you is healing for them." That was not all. After his cross, after his slaughter, his glory will shine forth more brightly; after his resurrection, he will advance the message of his gospel still more.”
Source
414
A.D.
c. A.D. 335–414
“To remove all doubt about the resurrection of the body, take a single illustration from the course of nature. The apostle reminds us, "What you yourself sow is not brought to life, unless it dies." Here you have a grain of wheat, dead and dry and sown in the earth. It is softened by the rain from heaven. Only when it decays does it spring to life and begin to grow. I take it that he who raises to life the grain of wheat for the sake of humankind will be able to raise to life the person himself who has been sown in the earth. He both can and wills to do this. What the rains do for the seed, the dew of the Spirit does for the body that is to be raised to life. Thus Isaiah cries to Christ, "Your dew is health for them," true health, since, once the bodies of the saints have been raised to life, they feel no pain, they fear no death. They will live with Christ in heaven, who lived on earth according to the words and ways of Christ. This is the eternal and blessed life in which you believe. This is the fruit of all our faith and holy works. This is the hope on account of which we are born, believe and are reborn. It was on account of this that the prophets, apostles and martyrs sustained such endless toil and accepted death with joy.”
Source
430
A.D.
Augustine of Hippo Patristic
A.D. 354–430
“The first part [of the verse] concerns the resurrection of the just, but the last few words may be taken to mean "the bodies of the wicked will fall into the ruin of damnation." In regard to the resurrection of the just, the attentive reader will notice some distinction. "The dead shall rise" refers to the first resurrection; "those in the graves" refers to the second; and in the following words we may not improperly find a reference to the saints whom the Lord will find alive on earth. As for the word "your dew is their health," we are not wrong in taking "health" to mean "immortality," that most perfect health which needs no daily medicine of ordinary food.”
Source
749
A.D.
John of Damascus Patristic
A.D. 676–749
“Sacred Scripture … testifies to the fact that there will be a resurrection of the body.… Isaiah also [testifies that] "the dead shall rise and those in their graves be awakened." And it is obvious that it is not the souls that are put in the tombs but the bodies.”

Scholastic

c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
Rashi Jewish
1040–1105
“May Your dead live Above (v. 14) he prayed that the wicked should not live, and here he prayed that the righteous should live. I beseech You that those who were slain for Your sake come to life. May a royal edict emanate from You saying, “My corpses shall rise.” The corpses of My people who made themselves corpses for My sake, they shall be raised up. This is the opposite of what is written above (v. 14): “Slackers shall not rise.” These, however, shall rise. awaken and sing All this the Holy One, blessed be He, shall say to them. “Awaken and sing,” is an imperative form. for a dew of lights is Your dew For it is fitting for You to do so, that the dew of Your Torah and Your commandments shall be to them dew of light. and [to the] earth You shall cast the slackers And to the earth and to the dust You shall cast the land of (sic) the slackers who slackened their hands from Your Torah. You shall cast the slackers Since he stated (v. 18) “Neither do the inhabitants of the world fall,” he repeats, “You cast them down, for our merits do not suffice to cast them down.””
Source
1167
A.D.
Ibn Ezra Jewish
1089–1167
“Thy dead men shall live. Only Thy dead men shall live; God is addressed. Generally, it is believed, that this phrase contains some reference to the resurrection of the dead. Some explain it as a contrast to They are dead, they will not live, (ver. 14), they, that is, our masters, are dead, but we, who were considered as dead, are living. My dead body. The first person refers to the prophet, who is one of the Israelites, that are considered as dead. Let Thy dead men live, and let the dead of my people rise, as if they heard the cry: Awake, etc. טל אורות A dew of light. A dew acccompanied by light. Thy dew. God is addressed in these words. According to others, אורות means herbs; comp. 2 Kings 4:39; it signifies a kind of herb, which turns toward the sun and moon. וְהָאָרֶץ = וָאָרֶץ. And the earth Shall cast out the dead, out of itself. תפיל Shall cast out, shall bear; comp. כנפל אשח As the untimely birth of a woman (Psalm 58:9). Others explain, Thou alone hast given life to Thy dead; for it is the nature of the earth to throw the dead into its midst.”
Source
1256
A.D.
Thomas Aquinas Catholic
1225–1274
“In that day. In this part he gives thanks for the justification of the people; and it is divided into two. In the first he foretells the state of the just; in the second he shows the fruit of justice, "the old error." Concerning the first, two things. For first he foretells the confidence of the just, "in that day," after the return from captivity, and the affliction of the Moabites by the Maccabees; or after the coming of Christ. O Sion — "the savior" is Christ, or Judas Maccabeus; "the city of strength" is by Maccabean protection; "wall and outwork will be set" — for them alone, according to the letter, in the time of the Maccabees; or the wall is Christ, the outwork the prophets. Or otherwise, Sion is the city, the savior is God, or Christ, or Judas Maccabeus. Wall, that is, one defending as a wall. Proverbs 18: the name of the Lord is a most strong tower. Zechariah 2: I will be to them, says the Lord, a wall of fire round about. Second, the Lord proclaims their justice, saying to the Angels, "open the gates" — of heaven, or of virtue, closed by sins; or, according to the letter, you need not close the gates on account of unbelievers, because all will be just. Psalm 117: this is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter into it: "the old error." Here he sets down the fruit of justice, namely peace; concerning which, first is set down the people's petition, which contains three things. For the fitness of the petitioners is proposed, "the old error," namely of idolatry: 2 Corinthians 5: the old things have passed away. The benefit of peace is requested, "you will keep peace," of body and soul. Below, 32: my people shall sit in the beauty of peace. The merit of peace is alleged: "because we have hoped in you." Ecclesiasticus 2: who has hoped in the Lord, and has been confounded? Second is set down the prophet's response, who is mediator between the people and God, "you have hoped." And it is divided into three. In the first is set down the promise of peace; in the second, the obtaining of peace, "the path of the just is right"; in the third, the announcement of the peace obtained, "justice." Concerning the first, three things. First he grants the merit: "you have hoped in the Lord" "forever," that is, always. Psalm 27: in him my heart has hoped, and I have been helped. Second he adds counsel, "in the Lord God" — supply, "hope." Matthew 10: he who perseveres to the end, he shall be saved. Third he promises the benefit of peace, in return for the destruction of enemies: "because he will bend down those who dwell." The Jews refer this to the Romans. But it can be referred to any of their enemies whatsoever. Or mystically to the Jews themselves. Above, 25: the fortifications of your high walls shall fall. And he adds the condition of those who destroy it: "the foot of the poor shall trample it" — of the Jews, who has little; "of the needy," who needs to have more. Or if mystically, he sets down the merit of the destruction of the Jews on account of the poor Christ, concerning whom in Psalm 69: but I am needy and poor. And elsewhere, 68: I am poor and sorrowful. "Of the needy" — of the disciples. "The path of the just." Here is set down as it were a debate of the prophet with the Lord, for obtaining the people's petition: and first he induces him to punish the enemies through arguments; second, through experiences, "you have been indulgent." Concerning the first, two things. First he induces him to punish; second, that he keep them detained in punishment, "those dying." Concerning the first, three things. First he induces to justice; second he excludes mercy, "let us have mercy"; third he determines the punishment, "and he shall not see." Now he provokes to justice, proposing three things. First, the rightness of justice, "the path of the just," that is, of justice. Wisdom 10: the Lord leads the just through right ways. Second, the expectation of the afflicted, proposing three things: the expectation itself, "in the path," that is, through the punishment of your judgments, by which you avenge and free us. Psalm 118: I will never forget your justifications, because by them you have given me life. The desire of those who wait, "your name." Jeremiah 23: this is the name that they shall call him, the Lord our just one. The constancy of desire: "because day and night," that is, at all times, or in prosperity and adversity, "my soul." Canticle 3: on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves. Psalm 62: O God, my God, to you I watch from first light. Third he proposes the usefulness of justice, "when you shall have executed judgments." Psalm 9: the Lord shall be known, executing judgments. "Let us have mercy." Here he excludes mercy; and concerning this he does two things. First the Lord proposes mercy by way of question, "let us have mercy." Psalm 32: the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. Second the prophet excludes it, on account of its uselessness, "and he shall not learn." Ecclesiastes 8: because the Lord does not quickly bring forth sentence, the children of men commit evils. Ecclesiasticus 30: an unbroken horse turns out stubborn, and a son left to himself turns out headstrong. And on account of the gravity of the sin, on account of the profanation of the sacred place, "in the land of the saints." Psalm 78: O God, the nations have come into your inheritance, they have polluted your holy temple. Jeremiah 11: what is it that my beloved has done many wicked things in my house? "And he shall not see." Here is set down the debate over determining the punishment: and first the Lord asks, "and he shall not see," as if to say: must I give him this punishment, that he not see? Or in a diminished sense, and this suffices for punishment. Second the prophet answers: "Lord, let it be exalted." Third the Lord determines the punishment, spiritual: "let them see and be confounded": Apocalypse 1: every eye shall see him, in the glory of his humanity, not of his divinity; and corporal: Apocalypse 19: they were sent into the pool of fire. Fourth the prophet, rejoicing together, consents, proposing two goods following from the said punishment: the peace of the people. Therefore, Lord, this being done, you will give peace; and this we hope from you; "for all things." Philippians 2: it is God who works in us to will and to accomplish: "you have worked," "works," that is, the punishments by which you have sufficiently purged us. Below, 40: she has received from the hand of the Lord double. Second, the praise of God: "Lord God, they have possessed"; and therefore we have not been able to devote ourselves to your praise. "Only in you," not having another god to whom alone we might devote ourselves. Lamentations, last chapter: servants have ruled over us. Note on that word, "city of strength," that Christ is the city of our strength, because he confirms us, first, in faith. 1 Corinthians 3: no one can lay another foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. Second, in hope. Hebrews 6: we who have fled for refuge might have the strongest comfort in holding fast the hope set before us. Third, in charity. Ephesians 3: rooted and grounded in charity. Luke 12: I have come to send fire upon the earth. Fourth, in work. Philippians 2: God who works in us to will and to accomplish, for good will. Fifth, in temptation. 1 Corinthians 10: God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able. Sixth, in accusation. 1 John 2: we have an advocate with God, Jesus Christ. Seventh, in reward. Apocalypse 3: I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Again, note on that word, "open," that we ought to open the gates through meditation, first on the misery of hell; below, 38: I shall go to the gates of hell. Second, on the just life. Proverbs, last chapter: let her works praise in the gates. Third, on heavenly glory. Psalm 147: he has strengthened the bolts of your gates. Again, note on that word "peace," that there are three things which make peace in the present life. First, contempt of temporal wealth. Below, 57: but the wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest. Second, the subjugation of carnal concupiscence. Ecclesiasticus 44: making peace in their houses. Third, contemplation of divine wisdom. Psalm 75: his place is made in peace, and his abode in Sion. Again, note on that word, "the path of the just," that it is the right way of justice, first, on account of the shortness of the journey. Wisdom 5: we have walked difficult ways. Second, on account of the evenness of its course: whose midpoint does not diverge. John 13: knowing that he goes to God. Third, on account of its beauty. Jeremiah 31: may the Lord bless you, beauty of justice, holy mountain. Note on that word, "peace," that there are three things which make peace in the life to come. First, the abundance of goods. Psalm 147: he has placed peace in your borders. Second, security from evils. Below, 32: my people shall sit in the tabernacles of confidence. Third, immobility. Psalm 4: in peace, in the very same, I will sleep and I will rest. "Those dying." Here he asks that he not free those punished further from punishment. And first he sets down the petition: "let dying sinners not live" — the life of glory — unless they repent. "Let the giants," glorying in their power, "not rise again" — to glory. Psalm 1: the wicked shall not rise again. Ecclesiasticus 16: the ancient giants did not obtain pardon for their sins. Or he asks that their enemies, cast down, may not rise again further to power. Second he sets down the being heard: "therefore." Psalm 9: let their memory perish with a sound. Jeremiah 8: in the time of their visitation they shall fall. "You have been indulgent." Here he induces God to the work of justice through experience. And first through experience among the gentiles, second among the Jews: "as she who has conceived." Concerning the first, two things. First he proves through experience the uselessness of mercy: both as to the remission of punishments, "you have been indulgent"; and as to the multiplication of goods, "you have extended." Jeremiah 5: they have grown great and rich, and are grown fat and sleek, and have most wickedly passed over my words. Proverbs 1: the prosperity of fools. Second, the usefulness of avenging justice, "Lord, in distress." Hosea 6: in their tribulation they will rise early to me. Jeremiah 2: in the time of affliction. "As she who has conceived." Here he proves the same through experience among the Jews. And first he sets down the scourge of tribulation, "as she who has conceived." John 16: a woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow. Psalm 47: there, pains as of a woman in labor. Second, the fruit of amendment, "from your face." Hebrews 12: now all discipline, indeed, in the present seems not to be of joy but of sorrow; but afterward it yields to those exercised by it the most peaceful fruit of justice. "We have not done justice." Here he announces the peace obtained: and concerning this he does three things. First is shown the reason for the delay, "we have not done justice," so that it alludes to what is said in Deuteronomy 28: the Lord will give your enemies, who rise up against you, falling down before your face. Second is set down the promise of the restoration of the people through resurrection, whether bodily on the last day, or from the misery of captivity. Whence the resurrection is promised. "The dead shall live": the voice of the prophet to the Lord; Ezekiel 37; the giving of thanks is enjoined upon those rising again: "awake." Daniel 12: many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. And the cause, or reason, of the resurrection is assigned: "because the dew," namely divine kindness. Hosea 6: and he shall come, etc. Third is shown the destruction of the enemies (and concerning this he sets down three things. First, the destruction itself): "the land of giants," that is, of the proud and powerful. Above, 17: it shall be like a heap of stones in ruin. Second, the exemption of the people of God, "go, my people." "Chambers" — tombs; or, according to the letter, the fortification in which meanwhile they cautiously keep themselves guarded. Below, 54: in a moment of indignation I hid my face for a little while from you; and with everlasting mercy I have had mercy on you. Apocalypse 7: it was said to them that they should rest yet a little while, until the number of their brethren should be completed. Third he sets down the order of destruction, because it is through judgment: whence he sets down the coming of the judge, "for behold the Lord." Micah 1: behold the Lord will come forth, and the manifestation of crimes: "and he will reveal." Job 16: O earth, cover not my blood, and let not my cry find a hiding place in you.”

Post-Reformation

c. 1650 – 1900
1771
A.D.
John Gill Reformed
1697–1771
“Thy dead men shall live,.... These are the words of Christ to his church and people, promising great and good things to them after their troubles are over, thereby comforting them under all their trials and disappointments; as that such things should come to pass, which would be as life from the dead; as the conversion of the Jews, and of great numbers of the Gentiles, dead in trespasses and sins; and a great reviving of the interest of religion, and of professors of it, grown cold, and dead, and lifeless; and a living again of the witnesses, which had been slain. And, moreover, this may refer to the first resurrection, upon the second coming of Christ, when the church's dead, and Christ's dead, the dead in him, will live again, and rise first, and come forth to the resurrection of life, and live and reign with Christ a thousand years: together with my dead body shall they arise; or, "arise my dead body"; the church, the mystical body of Christ, and every member of it, though they have been dead, shall arise, everyone of them, and make up that body, which is the fulness of him that filleth all in all, and that by virtue of their union to him: there was a pledge and presage of this, when Christ rose from the dead, upon which the graves were opened, and many of the saints arose, Mat 27:51 see Hos 6:2, or, "as my dead body shall they arise" (g); so Kimchi and Ben Melech; as sure as Christ's dead body was raised, so sure shall everyone of his people be raised; Christ's resurrection is the pledge and earnest of theirs; because he lives, they shall live also; he is the first fruits of them that slept: or as in like manner he was raised, so shall they; as he was raised incorruptible, powerful, spiritual, and glorious, and in the same body, so shall they; their vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body. This is one of the places in Scripture from whence the Jews (h) prove the resurrection of the dead; and which they apply to the times of the Messiah, and to the resurrection in his days. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; this is a periphrasis of the dead, of such as are brought to the dust of death, and sleep there; as death is expressed by sleeping, so the resurrection by awaking out of sleep; which will be brought about by the voice of Christ, which will be so loud and powerful, that the dead will hear it, and come out of their graves; and then will they "sing", and have reason for it, since they will awake in the likeness of Christ, and bear the image of him the heavenly One: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs; the power of Christ will have as great effect upon, and as easily raise the dead, as the dew has upon the herbs, to refresh, raise, and revive them; so that their "bones", as the prophet says, "shall flourish like an herb", Isa 66:14, and the earth shall cast out the dead; deliver up the dead that are in it, at the all powerful voice of Christ; see Rev 20:13. The Targum is, "but the wicked to whom thou hast given power, and they have transgressed thy word, thou wilt deliver into hell;'' see Rev 20:14. (g) "quemadmodum corpus meum resurget", Vatablus. (h) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 90. 2, & Cetubot, fol. 111. 1. Midrash Kohelet, fol. 62. 3. Targum in loc. Elias Levita in his Tishbi, p. 109. says the word is never used in Scripture but of the carcass of a beast or fowl that is dead; and never of a man that is dead, but of him that dies not a natural death, excepting this place, which speaks of the resurrection of the dead; and, adds he, "I greatly wonder at it, how he (the prophet) should call the bodies of the pure righteous ones a carcass; no doubt there is a reason for it, known to the wise men and cabalists, which I am ignorant of.'' But the words are spoken of one who did not die a natural, but a violent death, even the Messiah Jesus; and so just according to the Rabbin's own observation.”
Source
1849
A.D.
1774–1849
“Dead: a civil death, shall regain their liberty; and those who have left this world in a state of virtue, shall be happy. — Ruin. Cyrus liberated the Jews, having conquered Babylon.”
1863
A.D.
1796–1863
“H. P. " The dew of herbs" which gives them new strength and vigor. The Hebrew term for light is similar. "The dew of the Lord, according to the fables of the poets, surpassing all medicinal herbs, shall bring to life the bodies of the dead." 8t. Jerome.”
1871
A.D.
1871
“In antithesis to Isa 26:14, "They (Israel's foes) shall not live"; "Thy (Jehovah's) dead men (the Jews) shall live," that is, primarily, be restored, spiritually (Isa 54:1-3), civilly and nationally (Isa 26:15); whereas Thy foes shall not; ultimately, and in the fullest scope of the prophecy, restored to life literally (Eze 37:1-14; Dan 12:2). together with my dead body--rather, "my dead body," or "bodies" (the Jewish nation personified, which had been spiritually and civilly dead; or the nation, as a parent, speaking of the bodies of her children individually, see on Isa 26:9, "I," "My"): Jehovah's "dead" and "my dead" are one and the same [HORSLEY]. However, as Jesus is the antitype to Israel (Mat 2:15), English Version gives a true sense, and one ultimately contemplated in the prophecy: Christ's dead body being raised again is the source of Jehovah's people (all, and especially believers, the spiritual Israelites) also being raised (Co1 15:20-22). Awake-- (Eph 5:14), spiritually. in dust--prostate and dead, spiritually and nationally; also literally (Isa 25:12; Isa 47:1). dew--which falls copiously in the East and supplies somewhat the lack of rain (Hos 14:5). cast out . . . dead--that is, shall bring them forth to life again.”
Source
1875
A.D.
Keil & Delitzsch Lutheran
1861–1875
“But now all this had taken place. Instead of singing what has occurred, the tephillah places itself in the midst of the occurrence itself. "Thy dead will live, my corpses rise again. Awake and rejoice, ye that lie in the dust! For thy dew is dew of the lights, and the earth will bring shades to the day." The prophet speaks thus out of the heart of the church of the last times. In consequence of the long-continued sufferings and chastisements, it has been melted down to a very small remnant; and many of those whom it could once truly reckon as its own, are now lying as corpses in the dust of the grave. The church, filled with hope which will not be put to shame, now calls to itself, "Thy dead will live" (מתיך יחיוּ, reviviscent, as in המּתים תּסהיּת, the resurrection of the dead), and consoles itself with the working of divine grace ad power, which is even now setting itself in motion: "my corpses will rise again" (יקמוּן נבלתי, nebēlah: a word without a plural, but frequently used in a plural sense, as in Isa 5:25, and therefore connected with יקמוּן, equivalent to תקמנה: here before a light suffix, with the ê retained, which is lost in other cases). It also cries out, in full assurance of the purpose of God, the believing word of command over the burial-ground of the dead, "Wake up and rejoice, ye that sleep in the dust," and then justifies to itself this believing word of command by looking up to Jehovah, and confessing, "Thy dew is dew born out of (supernatural) lights," as the dew of nature is born out of the womb of the morning dawn (Psa 110:3). Others render it "dew upon herbs," taking אורות as equivalent to ירקות, as in Kg2 4:39. We take it as from אורה (Psa 139:12), in the sense of החיּים אור. The plural implies that there is a perfect fulness of the lights of life in God ("the Father of lights," Jam 1:17). Out of these there is born the gentle dew, which gives new life to the bones that have been sown in the ground (Psa 141:7) - a figure full of mystery, which is quite needlessly wiped away by Hofmann's explanation, viz., that it is equivalent to tal hōrōth, "dew of thorough saturating." Luther, who renders it, "Thy dew is a dew of the green field," stands alone among the earlier translators. The Targum, Syriac, Vulgate, and Saad. all render it, "Thy dew is light dew;" and with the uniform connection in which the Scriptures place 'or (light) and chayyı̄m (life), this rendering is natural enough. We now translate still further, "and the earth (vâ'âretz, as in Isa 65:17; Pro 25:3, whereas וארץ is almost always in the construct state) will bring shades to the day" (hippil, as a causative of nâphal, Isa 26:18), i.e., bring forth again the dead that have sunken into it (like Luther's rendering, "and the land will cast out the dead" - the rendering of our English version also: Tr.). The dew from the glory of God falls like a heavenly seed into the bosom of the earth; and in consequence of this, the earth gives out from itself the shades which have hitherto been held fast beneath the ground, so that they appear alive again on the surface of the earth. Those who understand Isa 26:18 as relating to the earnestly descried overthrow of the lords of the world, interpret this passage accordingly, as meaning either, "and thou castest down shades to the earth" (ארץ, acc. loci, = עד־ארץ, Isa 26:5, לארץ, Isa 25:12), or, "and the earth causeth shades to fall," i.e., to fall into itself. This is Rosenmller's explanation (terra per prosopopaeiam, ut supra Isa 24:20, inducta, deturbare in orcum sistitur impios, eo ipso manes eos reddens). But although rephaim, when so interpreted, agrees with Isa 26:14, where this name is given to the oppressors of the people of God, it would be out of place here, where it would necessarily mean, "those who are just becoming shades." But, what is of greater importance still, if this concluding clause is understood as applying to the overthrow of the oppressors, it does not give any natural sequence to the words, "dew of the lights is thy dew;" whereas, according to our interpretation, it seals the faith, hope, and prayer of the church for what is to follow. When compared with the New Testament Apocalypse, it is "the first resurrection" which is here predicted by Isaiah. The confessors of Jehovah are awakened in their graves to form one glorious church with those who are still in the body. In the case of Ezekiel also (Ez. Eze 37:1-14), the resurrection of the dead which he beholds is something more than a figurative representation of the people that were buried in captivity. The church of the period of glory on this side is a church of those who have been miraculously saved and wakened up from the dead. Their persecutors lie at their feet beneath the ground.”
Source
Modern · 1953 →

The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.