491. Attention Called

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Isaiah 5:2626And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: (Isaiah 5:26). He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.
Some commentators have supposed an allusion here, and in Isaiah 7:1818And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. (Isaiah 7:18), to the custom of calling bees from their hives to the fields and back again by means of a hiss or whistle. Others, however, deny that any such custom existed, and claim that the allusion is to another custom prevalent in the East: that of calling the attention of any one in the street by a significant hiss. In the prophecy of Zechariah the Lord says concerning the children of Ephraim, “I will hiss for them, and gather them” (Zech. 10:88I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. (Zechariah 10:8)). Here there is doubtless a reference to the same custom of calling attention by a hiss.