The prophecy which commences this chapter occupies the first ten verses. That it relates to Babylon is apparent from Isaiah 21:2, Isaiah 21:9. The object is to foretell the destruction of that city by the Medes and Persians, and the design is the same as in the more extended and minute description o... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BURDEN - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). OF THE DESERT - There have been almost as many interpretations of this expression, as there have been interpreters. That it means Babylon, or the country about Babylon, there can be no doubt; but the question why this phrase was applied, has given rise to... [ Continue Reading ]
A GRIEVOUS VISION - Margin, as in Hebrew ‘Hard.’ On the word ‘vision,’ see the note at Isaiah 1:1. The sense here is, that the vision which the prophet saw was one that indicated great calamity Isaiah 21:3. IS DECLARED UNTO ME - That is, is caused to pass before me, and its meaning is made known to... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE - In this verse, and the following, the prophet represents himself as “in” Babylon, and as a witness of the calamities which would come upon the city. He describes the sympathy which he feels in her sorrows, and represents himself as deeply affected by her calamities. A similar description... [ Continue Reading ]
MY HEART PANTED - Margin, ‘My mind wandered.’ The Hebrew word rendered ‘panted’ (תעה _tâ‛âh_) means to wander about; to stagger; to be giddy; and is applied often to one that staggers by being intoxicated. Applied to the heart, it means that it is disquieted or troubled. The Hebrew word “heart” he... [ Continue Reading ]
PREPARE THE TABLE - This verse is one of the most striking and remarkable that occurs in this prophecy, or indeed in any part of Isaiah. It is language supposed to be spoken in Babylon. The first direction - perhaps supposed to be that of the king - is to prepare the table for the feast. Then follow... [ Continue Reading ]
GO, SET A WATCHMAN - This was said to Isaiah in the vision. He represents himself as in Babylon, and as hearing God command him to set a watchman on the watch-tower who would announce what was to come to pass. All this is designed merely to bring the manner of the destruction of the city more vividl... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SAW A CHARIOT WITH A COUPLE OF HORSEMEN - This passage is very obscure from the ambiguity of the word רכב _rekeb_ - ‘chariot.’ Gesenius contends that it should be rendered ‘cavalry,’ and that it refers to cavalry two abreast hastening to the destruction of the city. The word רכב _rekeb_ denot... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE CRIED, A LION - Margin, ‘As a lion.’ This is the correct rendering. The particle כ (_k_) - ‘as,’ is not unfrequently omitted (see Isaiah 62:5; Psalms 11:1). That is, ‘I see them approach with the fierceness, rapidity, and terror of a lion (compare Revelation 10:3). MY LORD, I STAND CONTINUALL... [ Continue Reading ]
AND, BEHOLD ... A CHARIOT OF MEN - This place shows that the word ‘chariot’ (רכב _rekeb_) may denote something else than a wagon or carriage, as a chariot drawn by men cannot be intended. The sense can be expressed, perhaps, by the word “riding,” ‘I see a riding of men approach;’ that is, I see “cav... [ Continue Reading ]
O MY THRESHING - The words ‘to thresh,’ ‘to tread down,’ etc., are often used in the Scriptures to denote punishments inflicted on the enemies of God. An expression likes this occurs in Jeremiah 51:33, in describing the destruction of Babylon: ‘The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor; it i... [ Continue Reading ]
ANALYSIS OF Isaiah 21:11, Isaiah 21:12. - VISION 17. DUMAH, OR IDUMEA. This prophecy is very obscure. It comprises but two verses. When it was delivered, or on what occasion, or what was its design, it is not easy to determine. Its brevity has contributed much to its obscurity; nor, amidst the varie... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WATCHMAN SAID - Or rather “saith;” indicating that this is the answer which the prophet returned to the inquiry from Idumea. THE MORNING COMETH - There are signs of approaching day. The ‘morning’ here is an emblem of prosperity; as the light of the morning succeeds to the darkness of the night.... [ Continue Reading ]
ANALYSIS OF Isaiah 21:13. - VISION 18. “ARABIA.” The remainder of this chapter is occupied with a single prophecy respecting Arabia. It was “probably” delivered about the time that the former was uttered - during the reign of Hezekiah, and before the invasion of Sennacherib. It had reference, I supp... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THE LAND OF TEMA - Tema was one of the sons of Ishmael Genesis 25:15, and is supposed to have populated the city of Thema in Arabia Deserta. The word denotes hero one of the tribes of Ishmael, or of the Arabians. Job speaks Job 6:19 of ‘the troops of Tema,’ and Jeremiah Jeremiah 25:23 connects Te... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THEY FLED - The inhabitants of one part of the land. THE GRIEVOUSNESS OF WAR - Hebrew, כבד _kobed_ - “the weight, the heaviness, the oppression” of war; probably from the calamities that would result from the march of the Assyrian through their land, either on his way to Judea or to Egypt.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITHIN A YEAR - What has been said before was figurative. Here the prophet speaks without a metaphor, and fixes the time when this should be accomplished. It is not usual for the prophets to designate the exact “time” of the fulfillment of their prophecies in this manner. ACCORDING TO THE YEARS OF... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE RESIDUE OF THE NUMBER - That is, those who shall be left in the invasion. Or perhaps it may be read, ‘There shall be a renmant of the number of bowmen; the mighty people of Kedar shall be diminished.’ OF ARCHERS - Hebrew, ‘Of the bow;’ that is, of those who use bows in war. The bow was the... [ Continue Reading ]