Jesaja 21:5 Commentaar

In this chapter we have a prophecy of sad times coming, and heavy burdens, I. Upon Babylon, here called "the desert of the sea," that it should be destroyed by the Medes and Persians with a terrible destruction, which yet God's people should have advantage by (Isa 21:1-10). II. Upon Dumah, or Idumea (Isa 21:11, Isa 21:12). III. Upon Arabia, or Kedar, the desolation of which country was very near (Isa 21:13-17). These and other nations which the princes and people of Israel had so much to do with the prophets of Israel could not but have something to say to. Foreign affairs must be taken notice of as well as domestic ones, and news from abroad enquired after as well as news at home.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 21 This chapter contains prophecies against Babylon, Idumea, and Arabia. The prophecy against Babylon is called "the burden of the desert of the sea"; whose enemies are described by the fierce manner of their coming, and by the land from whence they came, Isa 21:1 which vision being declared to the prophet, is called a grievous one; what made it so was treachery among themselves; and the Medes and Persians are invited to besiege them, Isa 21:2 their terror and distress upon it are represented by the pains of a woman in travail, whom the prophet personates, Isa 21:3 and by the methods they took to defend themselves, to which they were alarmed, when in the greatest security and jollity, Isa 21:5 all which is illustrated by the vision of the watchman, who saw the Medes and Persians on the march, signified by a chariot and a couple of horsemen, who declares the fall of Babylon, and the destruction of its gods, Isa 21:6 which would issue in the good and comfort of the church and people of God, Isa 21:10 then follows the prophecy against Idumea, which consists of a question put to the watchman, and his answer to it; to which an exhortation is added, Isa 21:11 and the chapter concludes with another prophecy against Arabia: the calamities threatened are lodging in a forest, thirst, famine, and fleeing from the sword Isa 21:13, and the time is fixed when all this should be, by which their glory would fail, and the number of their archers and mighty men be lessened; for the confirmation of which the divine testimony is annexed, Isa 21:16.

Prepare the table,.... Set it, spread it, furnish it with all kind of provisions, as at a feast; and such an one Belshazzar made, the night the city was taken: these words are directed to him by his courtiers or queen, as represented by the prophet, in order to remove his fears; see Dan 5:10, watch in the watchtower; this is said to his servants, his soldiers, or sentinels, that were placed on watchtowers to observe the motions of the enemy, who were ordered on duty, and to be on guard, that he and his nobles might feast the more securely; and all this being done, a table furnished, and a guard set, he, his nobles, and all his guests, are encouraged to "eat" and "drink" liberally and cheerfully, without any fear of the Medes and Persians, who were now besieging the city; when, at the same time, by the Lord it would be said, arise, ye princes; not, ye nobles of Babylon, from your table, quit it, and your feasting and mirth: and anoint the shield; prepare your arms, see that they are in good order, get them in readiness, and defend your king, yourselves, and your city, as some; but the princes of the Medes and Persians, Cyrus and his generals, are bid to take their arms, and enter the city while indulging themselves at their feast: it was usual to anoint shields, and other pieces of armour, partly that they might be smooth and slippery, as Jarchi, that so the darts of the enemy might easily slide off; and partly for the polishing and brightening of them, being of metal, especially of brass; so the Targum, "polish and make the arms bright;'' see Sa2 1:21. Aben Ezra understands the words as an exhortation to the princes, to arise and anoint Darius king, in the room of Belshazzar slain; the word "shield" sometimes signifying a king, for which he mentions Psa 84:9 so Ben Melech; but they are a call of the prophet, or of the Lord, to the princes of the Medes and Persians, to take the opportunity, while the Babylonians were feasting, to fall upon them; and the words may be rendered thus (u), "in or while preparing the table, watching in the watchtower, eating and drinking, arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield;'' which was done by their servants, though they are called upon. (u) "disponendo, mensam, speculando speculam, comedendo, bibendo, surgite principes, ungite clypeum", Montanus; and to the same sense Grotius.

[Daniel 5:30-31] "On that same night Belshazzar, King of the Chaldeans, was slain, and Darius the Mede succeeded to his kingdom at the age of sixty-two." Josephus writes in his tenth book of the Jewish Antiquities that when Babylon had been laid under siege by the Medes and Persians, that is, by Darius and Cyrus, Belshazzar, King of Babylon, fell into such forgetfulness of his own situation as to put on his celebrated banquet and drink from the vessels of the Temple, and even while he was besieged he found leisure for banqueting. From this circumstance the historical account could arise, that he was captured and slaughtered on the same night, while everyone was either terrified by fear of the vision and its interpretation, or else taken up with festivity and drunken banqueting. As for the fact that while Cyrus, King of the Persians, was the victor, and Darius was only King of the Medes, it was Darius who was recorded to have succeeded to the throne of Babylon, this was an arrangement occasioned by factors of age, family relationship, and the territory ruled over. By this I mean that Darius was sixty-two years old, and that, according to what we read, the kingdom of the Medes was more sizable than that of the Persians, and being Cyrus's uncle, he naturally had a prior claim, and ought to have been accounted as successor to the rule of Babylon. Therefore also in a vision of Isaiah which was recited against Babylon, after many other matters too lengthy to mention, an account is given of these things which are to take place: "Behold I Myself will rouse up against them the Medes, a people who do not seek after silver nor desire gold, but who slay the very children with their arrows and have no compassion upon women who suckle their young" (Isaiah 13:17-18). And Jeremiah says: "Sanctify nations against her, even the kings of Media, and the governors thereof and all the magistrates thereof and all the land under the power thereof" (Jeremiah 51:28). Then follow the words: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor during the time of its treading; yet a little while, and the time of its harvesting will come" (Jeremiah 51:33). And in testimony of the fact that Babylon was captured during a banquet, Isaiah clearly exhorts her to battle when he writes: "Babylon, my beloved, has become a strange spectacle unto me: set thou the table and behold in the mirrors those who eat and drink; rise up, ye princes, and snatch up your shields!" (Isaiah 21:4-5).

And in testimony of the fact that Babylon was captured during a banquet, Isaiah clearly exhorts it to battle when he writes, “Babylon, my beloved, has become a strange spectacle to me: set the table and behold in the mirrors those who eat and drink; rise up, you princes, and snatch up your shields!”

(Verse 5.) Set the table, observe those who are eating and drinking: arise, leaders, take up the shield. This place is understood in two ways: o Medes and Elamites, of whom I spoke above: ascend, O Elam, besiege the Medes, take food, prepare yourselves for the coming battle, lest weariness hold you back once the time of conflict has arrived. And when you have eaten and drunk, arise, seize your weapons, wage war against Babylon. And what he says, observe those who are eating and drinking, is read in this sense: look carefully at what is to come. It can also be understood like this: O Babylon, prepare a feast for your son Belshazzar, the grandson of your son Evil-Merodach and the descendant of your grandson Nebuchadnezzar. See what happens after the meal, in which you will drink from the vessels of the Lord with prostitutes and concubines. O princes, who sit with the king, but signify the Medes and Persians, rise up and seize weapons to kill the king. We learn more about this in the book of Daniel (Chapter 5).

(Vers. 4, 5.) I fell down when I heard, I was troubled when I saw: my heart grew faint, darkness overwhelmed me: Babylon, my beloved, has become a wonder to me. Set the table, watch those who eat and drink: rise up, princes, take the shield. LXX: I acted unjustly so that I would not hear, I hastened so that I would not see, my heart went astray: iniquity has flooded over me; my soul is filled with fear. Set the table, watch the watchtower: eat, drink: rise up, princes, prepare the shields. Before hearing and seeing the harshest things that the Prophet foresaw about the desert sea, he says that he fell and was troubled, and with almost blinded eyes and a bewildered mind, he did not know what he was seeing. For that Babylon (about which Aquila and Theodotius interpreted as darkness, to signify this world, which is in the evil (1 John 5), and whose rulers are according to the Apostle Paul (Ephesians 6), the rulers of these darkness), which once was either loved by the Prophets or by God, has become marvelous in its downfall. Where the Prophets are commanded that, partaking of the table of the Lord and being satisfied with His food, they may more diligently contemplate the things that are to come to the world; and through him it is said to all believers that, by partaking of and drinking the body and blood of the Lord, they may become princes of the Church, etc., and listen to the Apostles when they say, “Arise; take up the shield of faith from the armor of the Apostle Paul” (Ephesians 6), in which they can extinguish the fiery darts of the devil. According to the Hebrew, and the interpretation begun on the world. Let us move on to the Septuagint edition, which differs greatly from the previous ones. The Prophet corrects himself, or rather confesses the error of others under his own person, who following the literal letter, despise the life-giving spirit; and he says that he has acted unjustly, so as not to hear the law spiritually: but on the contrary, he hastened not to perceive the sacraments of God, nor did he say with David: Open my eyes, and I will consider the wonders of your law (Ps. 118:18). Therefore, his heart wanders and is filled with Jewish superstition, not remaining in the love of God, but in fear, so that he may have a spirit of slavery in fear, and not the spirit of adoption, in which we cry out, Abba Father (Rom. VIII). Therefore, it is commanded to him to approach the table of spiritual food, and all who follow his example shall eat from it and drink. And with the old error despised, let them rise up in the spirit which lay in the letter, and let them become princes, and let them say with the Prophet: O Lord, you have crowned us with the shield of your goodwill (Ps. V, 15).

512. Fourth, he designates the manner and condition of the destruction, saying: O Babylon, prepare the table, inviting Cyrus and Darius to the banquet, contemplate, that is, see, in the watchtower, that is, in the writing of the hand that writes, Mane, Thecel, Phares (Dan 5:25) in the clear light of the Lord; you princes, namely, O Cyrus, O Darius, that eat and drink, with him, arise, strengthened by the vision, take up the shield and kill him: prepare the shield and buckler (Jer 46:3). 513. Or otherwise, the words of the Lord: O prophet, prepare the table, that is, announce that it is prepared, in the watchtower, that is, in the spirit of prophecy, as above. Or the words of Cyrus: prepare the table, make haste, you Persians, give your horses their ration, that you may be prepared; you, watchman, contemplate, what may happen in the treatise; you, my princes, eat. And this stands even if it is not maintained that Cyrus and Darius were at the banquet, as some say, maintaining that the festival happened in the city, and was given over to pleasure; either they reclined at table because of the festival, or because of a truce, or once they had the victory, or because of the help that they had received, at night they attacked the city. 514. Note on the words, contemplate in the watchtower, that man ought to contemplate in the mirror of the mind first, the sins which he has committed, that he may mourn: set you up a watchtower, make to you bitterness: direct your heart into the right way (Jer 31:21); second, the punishments he has merited, that he may fear: the day of your inspection, your visitation comes (Mic 7:4); third, the benefits which God has conferred on him, that he may give thanks, below: the voice of your watchmen: they have lifted up their voice, they shall praise together: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall convert Zion (Isa 52:8); fourth, the commands God has enjoined, that he may fulfill them: the watchman of Ephraim (Hos 9:8); fifth, the rewards which God has promised, that he may possess them. We were eyewitnesses of his greatness. For he received from God the Father honor and glory (2 Pet 1:16–17).

Nebuchadnezzar being come up against Jerusalem, Zedekiah sends Pashur and Zephaniah to the prophet to request him to intercede with God in behalf of his people, Jer 21:1, Jer 21:2. But he is declared to be against Jerusalem, and the whole land of Judah; and the only mitigation of their punishment must proceed from their surrendering to the king of Babylon, Jer 21:3-10. Prophecy concerning the house of the king of Judah, Jer 21:11, Jer 21:12. Notwithstanding the amazing fortifications round about Jerusalem, in which the people vainly trust, the Lord will most assuredly visit them for their iniquities; the city shall be taken by the Chaldeans, Jer 21:13, Jer 21:14.

Prepare the table "The table is prepared" - In Hebrew the verbs are in the infinitive mood absolute, as in Eze 1:14 : "And the animals ran and returned, רצוא ושוב ratso veshob, like the appearance of the lightning;" just as the Latins say, currere et reverti, for currebant et revertebantur. See Isa 33:11 (note), and the note there. Arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield - Kimchi observes that several of the rabbins understood this of Belshazzar's impious feast and death. The king of a people is termed the shield, because he is their defense. The command, Anoint the shield, is the same with Anoint a new king. Belshazzar being now suddenly slain, while they were all eating and drinking, he advises the princes, whose business it was, to make speed and anoint another in his stead.

REPETITION OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS TO THE JEWS ABOUT TO BE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, THAT THEIR ENEMY SHOULD BE DESTROYED AND THEY BE DELIVERED. (Isa 21:1-10) desert--the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again. of the sea--The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sea" (Jer 51:13, Jer 51:36; so Isa 11:15, the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed these dykes, and so converted the whole country again into a vast desert marsh. whirlwinds in the south-- (Job 37:9; Zac 9:14). The south wind comes upon Babylon from the deserts of Arabia, and its violence is the greater from its course being unbroken along the plain (Job 1:19). desert--the plain between Babylon and Persia. terrible land--Media; to guard against which was the object of Nitocris' great works [HERODOTUS, 1.185]. Compare as to "terrible" applied to a wilderness, as being full of unknown dangers, Deu 1:29.

Prepare the table--namely, the feast in Babylon; during which Cyrus opened the dykes made by Semiramis to confine the Euphrates to one channel and suffered them to overflow the country, so that he could enter Babylon by the channel of the river. Isaiah first represents the king ordering the feast to be got ready. The suddenness of the irruption of the foe is graphically expressed by the rapid turn in the language to an alarm addressed to the Babylonian princes, "Arise," &c. (compare Isa 22:13). MAURER translates, "They prepare the table," &c. But see Isa 8:9. watch in . . . watchtower--rather, "set the watch." This done, they thought they might feast in entire security. Babylon had many watchtowers on its walls. anoint . . . shield--This was done to prevent the leather of the shield becoming hard and liable to crack. "Make ready for defense"; the mention of the "shield" alone implies that it is the Babylonian revellers who are called on to prepare for instant self-defense. HORSLEY translates, "Grip the oiled shield."

On the other hand, what Xenophon so elaborately relates, and what is also in all probability described in Dan 5:30 (compare Jer 51:39, Jer 51:57), is referred to in Isa 21:5 : "They cover the table, watch the watch, eat, drink. Rise up, ye princes! Anoint the shield!" This is not a scene from the hostile camp, where they are strengthening themselves for an attack upon Babylon: for the express allusion to the covering of the table is intended to create the impression of confident and careless good living; and the exclamation "anoint the shield" (cf., Jer 51:11) presupposes that they have first of all to prepare themselves for battle, and therefore that they have been taken by surprise. What the prophet sees, therefore, is a banquet in Babylon. The only thing that does not seem quite to square with this is one of the infinitives with which the picture is so vividly described (Ges. 131, 4, b), namely tzâpōh hatztzâphith. Hitzig's explanation, "they spread carpets" (from tzâphâh, expandere, obducere, compare the Talmudic tziphâh, tziphtâh, a mat, storea), commends itself thoroughly; but it is without any support in biblical usage, so that we prefer to follow the Targum, Peshito, and Vulgate (the Sept. does not give any translation of the words at all), and understand the hap. leg. tzâphith as referring to the watch: "they set the watch." They content themselves with this one precautionary measure, and give themselves up with all the greater recklessness to their night's debauch (cf., Isa 22:13). The prophet mentions this, because (as Meier acknowledges) it is by the watch that the cry, "Rise up, ye princes," etc., is addressed to the feasters. The shield-leather was generally oiled, to make it shine and protect it from wet, and, more than all, to cause the strokes it might receive to glide off (compare the laeves clypeos in Virg. Aen. vii. 626). The infatuated self-confidence of the chief men of Babylon was proved by the fact that they had to be aroused. They fancied that they were hidden behind the walls and waters of the city, and therefore they had not even got their weapons ready for use.