Книга пророка Исаии, Глава 19, стих 7. Толкования стиха

For such things are also prophesied in the text at hand, which says: But the river will fail and every gathering of water will be dried up, and the passage discussed above said: “It is a nation without hope and trampled down, where the rivers plundered the land.” The word is not about the physical rivers which 128 we have described in the Onomasticon. It seems to me that when the prophecy says that the river will fail and be dried up and again, after the first one, other rivers and canals and every gathering of water will fail, the prophecy foreshadows the dissolution of the kingdom of the Egyptians and of the former system of district administration. But since there were certain enemy powers among them, he prophesies that the synagogues among them and their kingdoms would cease at the indicated time.
And he prophesies that the rivers would be calmed and stilled, thus that the kingdom of the Egyptians would be demolished, when he adds next: “And then I will settle their waters and cause their rivers to run like oil.” Next he says that all that used to grow there would disappear, the reed around the river, and certainly also the papyrus and the green marsh grass, and even what sprouts in the river itself. All such things are found around the river of the Egyptians. And I would say that these things signify the absolute drying up of the waters, so that there will not be even a trace of any water either in the river or in the marsh, neither on the banks of the river nor in the middle, neither will there even be any stagnant water in the canals. Therefore, in these statements the prophecy leads us to believe that even the people too will disappear and that there will be nothing left for anyone to seek. And so it follows that all the water from so great a river will fail, and every animal will die, since they will be deprived of the river.
But now, after the failure of so many water sources, he mentions the people who will be in Egypt then. And he says that there will be an altar in Egypt, and the Egyptians will sacrifice to the Lord, and he will send a man to them who will save them, and the Lord will be known to the Egyptians. Who would not be wise to investigate how they could live through the failing of all the water, since the land will not even have any green marsh grass? But the Word forces us to adopt a figurative interpretation, so that even if we do not want to we have no other choice but to understand the rivers and Egyptian waters either as the plenitude of Egyptian power or as their kingdom which once was flooded with water. From the perspective of another interpretation, we could also conclude that it is philosophy, which once had a golden age among the Egyptians, concerning which it has been said: “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” For as their philosophy was great, so their rushing river was great, the word of venerable wisdom among them. But this mighty river eventually was reduced to many canals and to many rivers, each school of philosophy having its own disciples. And from it grew up neither grapevines nor olive trees nor any necessary and fruit-bearing trees, but papyrus and a reed and green marsh grass.

Естественно, что когда по гневу Божию наступит плен, то за негодованием его последуют бедствия и на оскорбивших Бога возстанут вместе все стихии. Поэтому у другаго пророка (Иер. 12) написано, что не будет и птиц в воздухе и рыб в воде, чтобы лишить людей всего необходимаго. Говорим это, если захотим принимать слова пророка в смысле пересыхания реки Нила и его рукавов. Если же захотим понимать в переносном смысле, то под рекою разумеем царство, под рукавами начальников его, а под зеленью, тростником и папирусом все естественныя богатства Египта, что этими предметами изображаются произведения Египта, коими Египет весьма богат. Будем читать Иезекииля, где царь Фараон изображается великим драконом живущим в реках и говорит: «моя река и я создал себя», и слышит: «но Я положу узду в челюсти твои и прилеплю рыб рек твоих к чешуе твоей, и вытащу тебя из рек твоих, и все рыбы твои прилипнут к чешуе твоей, и брошу тебя в пустыне» (Иез. 29:3-4). Относительно же пришествия Христова все это должно понимать иносказательно, сообразно с тем, что мы читали выше: «пустынею сделает Господь море Египетское»; и еще: «пошлет Господь руку Свою на реку Египетскую сильную и разобьет ее на семь долин, так что всякий перейдет ее в обуви»,—что т.е. всякое заблуждение вод Египетских и бесовския чарования, коими они обольщали подчиненные народы, будут изсушены пришествием Христовым. Слова же: высохнет вода в море можем понимать и исторически, — что они обозначают не море великое, а озеро Мареотидское, так как Писание все собрания вод называет морями. Слова эти могут быть понимаемы и в смысле гиперболы. Дальнейшия же слова: обнажится русло реки от источника своего изображают, что высохнет вместе и река и источник.