Thou hast increased the nation— Vitringa renders the last clause of this verse, Thou hast far enlarged all the boundaries of the land. The meaning is, that God had treated his people so kindly, as to increase, adorn, and amplify them with various benefits of his grace and benediction, thus conciliating great glory to his own name; and had extended the boundaries of the land of Judaea much more than under the most flourishing kings. There requires nothing more to shew the completion of this part of the prophesy than the following words of Josephus: "Now at this time [the time of Alexander Jannaeus] the Jews were in possession of the following cities, which had belonged to the Syrians, Idumaeans, and Phoenicians. At the sea-side, Strato's Tower, Apollonia, Joppa, Jamnia, Ashdod, Gaza, Anthedon, Raphia, and Rhinocolura: In the middle of the country, near to Idumea, Adora and Marissa; near the country of Samaria, Mount Carmel and Mount Tabor, Scythopolis and Gadara; of the country of Gaulonitis, Seleucia and Gabala; in the country of Moab, Heshbon and Medaba, Lemba and Oronas, Gelithon, Zara, the valley of the Cilices, and Pella; which last they utterly destroyed, because its inhabitants could not bear to change their religious rites for those peculiar to the Jews. The Jews also possessed others of the principal cities of Syria, which had been destroyed." Antiq. lib. 13: cap. 15 sect. 4. See Obad. Isaiah 26:18, &c. and Zechariah 9:1; Zechariah 9:17.
Related Commentaries of Isaiah 26:15
Isaiah 26:15
15 Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.