Isaiah 14:28,29 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

In the year Ahaz died was this burden This is the second sermon of this second part of Isaiah's prophecies, (see the general argument, and the contents of chap. 13.,) in which the prophet denounces judgment against the Philistines, exulting in the prosperous state of their affairs, under the reign of Ahaz, and conceiving on the death of that king, when this prophecy was delivered, still greater hopes of increasing prosperity. Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina Hebrew, Palestina, כלךְ, all of thee, that is, all thy tribes, or clans. For they were still, as formerly, it seems, under the government of five lords or heads, 1 Samuel 6:16; because the rod of him that smote thee is broken Because Ahaz, the son of Uzziah, thy deadly enemy, is cut off; or, because the power of the kings of Judah, who were wont to be a great scourge to thee, is now much impaired. Uzziah had smitten and subdued the Philistines, 2 Chronicles 26:6-7; but, taking advantage of the weak reign of Ahaz, they had since then not only recovered their former power, but had gained much more, had even invaded Judea, and taken and held in possession divers cities and villages in the southern part of that kingdom, 2 Chronicles 28:18. But the prophet here foretels the grievous calamities which they should suffer as well from Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, as from the Assyrians; thus humbling their pride and boasting, and encouraging the pious and afflicted Jews with the hope of better times. For out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice Or basilisk, as Bishop Lowth translates צפע, a serpent of the most poisonous kind, termed שׂר Š מעופ Š, a fiery flying serpent, in the next clause. As if he had said, As much as a basilisk, or fiery flying serpent, is more to be dreaded than a common viper; so much more reason have you to fear Hezekiah than his grandfather Uzziah, because the grandson will gain greater victories over you. This Hezekiah did, for he smote the Philistines even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, 2 Kings 18:8. “A flying serpent,” says Lowth, “is what the Latins call serpens jaculus, which darts itself against any creature it meets; and they are called fiery, because they cause an inflammation where they sting.”