What Does Isaiah 28:16 Mean?

(16) **Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation . . .**—We have first to deal with the imagery, then with the interpretation. The former connects itself with the importance which attached, in ancient as in modern architecture, to the foundation stone of a building (1Kings 5:17). So in Zion the foundation stone was laid, as witnessed in the Arabic name of the Mosque of Omar (*Kubhet-es-Sakhra*)*,*(*i.e., *“dome of the rock”), on the solid rock. In the stone which was made “the head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22) we have a like thought. From the prophet’s stand-point this was identical with the manifestation of Jehovah’s righteousness in and through the Temple in its higher spiritual aspect. Christian interpreters have rightly found the true fulfilment of the words in the person of the Christ (Ephesians 2:20; 1Peter 2:6-7). The “corner stone,” the *lapis angularis *of the Vulg. is that upon which two walls at right angles to each other rest and are bonded together. The “tried stone” (literally, *stone of proof*) may be one (1) which stands every test, or (2) one which tries those who come in contact with it, becoming an asylum, or a “stone of stumbling,” according to their character. (Comp. Luke 2:34-35; Luke 20:18.) **He that believeth shall not make haste.**—The LXX. and some other versions give “shall not be ashamed,” which is a paraphrase rather than a translation. The English Version, following the Vulgate, represents the meaning of the Hebrew, haste and hurry being regarded in their contrast to the calm temper of a steadfast faith. (Comp. Isaiah 5:19.)