Isaiah 21:16 Коментар

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.

For thus hath the Lord said unto me,.... The prophet; which confirms what is before said, as well as assures the accomplishment of what follows: within a year, according to the years of an hireling; that is, exactly and precisely, as soon as ever the year is come to an end; for the hireling, when his year is up, instantly demands dismissal from his service, or his wages, or both. The time is to be reckoned from the delivery of this prophecy; and so the calamity predicted was brought upon them by the Assyrians, perhaps under Sennacherib, when he invaded the cities of Judah, and might take Arabia in his way; less time is allowed than was the Moabites, who suffered by the same hand; see Isa 16:14, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail; these were another sort of Arabians, as the Targum calls them: they descended from Kedar, a son of Ishmael, Gen 25:13 their "glory" were their multitude, their riches and substance, and which chiefly lay in their flocks; for the sake of which they moved from place to place for pasture, and dwelled in tents, which they carried with them, and pitched where it was most convenient for them; hence they were called Scenites; see Psa 120:5.

(Verse 16, 17.) For thus saith the Lord to me: Within one year, as the years of a hireling, all the glory of Cedar shall be taken away, and the residue of the number of archers of the mighty men of the children of Cedar shall be diminished: for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. Therefore I said to you: Run ye to meet with water, and with bread, them that flee from the face of the battle. For thus saith the Lord: The whole glory of Cedar shall be taken away, and there shall be nothing left of the number of the very strong bowmen of the children of Cedar. For the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every glory of Cedar shall be brought to nothing, and the bow long shall be made weaker. And the number of them that bow themselves down shall be diminished, and they that remain shall be diminished: because the Lord hath spoken it. And the men that shall be left in it, shall be as the biting of a flesh eating moth: and they shall be as a spark among the trees, and as dry stubble: And they that were shall be as a burning in lime: they shall be burnt and devoured together, and there shall be none that shall deliver them. Expect therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth: patiently bearing till he receive the early and latter rain. Be you therefore also patient, and strengthen your hearts: for the coming of the Lord is at hand. For the Lord of all has spoken these things, and specifically the God of Israel, that is, the God who is perceived by those who have understanding.

(Verse 13 onwards) Burden in Arabia. In the evening you will sleep in the thicket, in the paths of Dodanim. Bring water to the thirsty ones you encounter: you who live in the land of the South, offer bread to the ones fleeing. Because they have fled from the swords, from the menacing sword, from the drawn bow, from the severity of battle. For this is what the Lord says to me: In yet one year, like the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end, and the remaining number of archers, the mighty men of the sons of Kedar, will be few. For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken. To me, who was searching and pondering for a long time about what Arabia was, to which the prophetic speech is directed, whether it should be understood as the Moabites, or the Ammonites, and the Edomites, and all the other regions which are now called Arabia, an opportunity is given in this Vision that follows: All the glory of Cedar will be taken away, and the remaining number of mighty archers from the sons of Cedar will be diminished (Isaiah 21:16, 17), to be understood as the Ishmaelites. The book of Genesis teaches that Ishmael, Cedar, and the Hagarites, who are called Saracens by a perverse name, were born. They inhabit the whole wilderness, about whom I think even the poet says: 'And the wandering Barcaeans far and wide' (Virg. Aeneid. IV); and the aforementioned volume, 'He shall dwell against the face of all his brothers' (Gen. XVI, 12): because the very wide desert stretches from India to Mauritania, and the Atlantic Ocean, which I believe sounds the title of Jeremiah: 'Against Cedar and against the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck' (Jer. XLIX, 28); and immediately follows: 'Thus says the Lord, Arise, and ascend to Cedar, and devastate the sons of the East: their tents, and their flocks shall they take, their skins and all their vessels, and they shall take camels for themselves' (Ibid., 29); and again: 'For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has thought a thought against you, and has deliberated against you.' Arise and go up to a quiet and confidently dwelling nation, says the Lord: there are no gates, no bars for them: they dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil. And I will scatter them to every wind, them that are clipped on the sides: and I will bring destruction upon them from all their borders, says the Lord: and Achor shall be a habitation of dragons, desolate for ever: there shall no man abide there, nor son of man inhabit it. I have placed the entire prophecy and testimony of Jeremiah so that you may understand clearly what Cedar is. And consider how he specifically describes the people of the Ishmaelites, that they dwell in tents: they occupy the dwellings that night brings, they possess herds and flocks of camels: they do not have doors or bolts: for they do not live in cities, but dwell in the wilderness. And so, they were destroyed by the Babylonians, because they completely destroyed the city of Hazor, which was the metropolis of their people, even down to the ground: and yet, their herds of camels and flocks of sheep were captured, and their skins and tents were divided by lot: not all of their people were annihilated, for dromedary camels, numbering over a hundred thousand, are accustomed to flee through the vast wilderness in a single day. The glory of Cedar will be taken away, it says, and with the number of archers diminished, as they excel greatly in the art of war: the rest who have fled will remain. Because we have understood what Cedar is, and what Arabia is, and what Asor is, let us see what the prophet Isaiah says: 'You will sleep in the forest, at evening, on the paths of Dodanim.' The word Arab (), as we have often said, is used for evening, and Arabia, and raven, and plain, and the West. And because we translated it according to the LXX, 'you will sleep,' it can be interpreted as 'you will stay' or 'you will dwell,' which is called αὐλιθήσεσθε in Greek, and in Hebrew it is said 'Thalinu'. Moreover, he also turns to his close relatives and kinsmen. Thus, it is prophesied that now to the Jews, who were able to escape the siege of Babylon, they will cross over to the neighboring wilderness and settle in the solitude of Arabia on the journey that leads to their brothers. And again the conversation turns to the Ishmaelites, and he exhorts them to mercy: run, and bring water to your tired and endangered brothers, for they are thirsty with great fervor of the sun, and unless you help them, they will perish in the wilderness. And not only water, but also bring bread to the fugitives, so that your kindness may relieve those whom the siege has exhausted. At the same time, he explains the reason why he is giving these orders, saying: the Babylonians have fled, the bows of the Elamites have fled, a fierce battle has fled. Do not despise the unfortunate: your captivity will come quickly. For just as the year of a hired worker is swift and considers all labor to be short until he receives the desired wage, so all the glory of the sons of Cedar will be taken from you, and your arrows will be worn out, and only a small number of warriors will remain. Some people want to be taken from what is said, that even in one year, and every glory of Cedar will be taken away, not Babylonian captivity being proclaimed, about which Jeremiah also speaks, but of the Assyrians, who after one year of the devastation of Judah, have widely persecuted the Saracens. Moreover, that place which we have transferred: You who inhabit the land of the South, meet the fugitive with bread: and as if we read in the imperative mode on behalf of the Lord, they affirm that in Hebrew it can be read like this: You who inhabit the land of the South, met the fugitive with bread; just as when God said to them, when they met the thirsty, bring water, they would take away the bread with a hostile mind without water, in order to increase their thirst with food.

525. Second, because they refuse to do this, he threatens punishment: for thus says the Lord. And first, by the Assyrians, from whom was authority of destruction of the Jews, and the destruction itself: within a year, according to the years of a hireling, which seems brief to him, in his hope for pay.

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.

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.

years of . . . hireling--(See on Isa 16:14). Kedar--a wandering tribe (Psa 120:5). North of Arabia-PetrÃ&brvbra, and south of Arabia-Deserta; put for Arabia in general.

Thus does the approaching fate of Arabia present itself in picture before the prophet's eye, whilst it is more distinctly revealed in Isa 21:16, Isa 21:17 : "For thus hath the Lord spoken to me, Within a year, as the years of a hired labourer, it is over with all the glory of Kedar. And the remnant of the number of bows of heroes of the Kedarenes will be small: for Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath spoken." The name Kedar is here the collective name of the Arabic tribes generally. In the stricter sense, Kedar, like Nebaioth, which is associated with it, as a nomadic tribe of Ishmaelites, which wandered as far as the Elanitic Gulf. Within the space of a year, measured as exactly as is generally the case where employers and labourers are concerned, Kedar's freedom, military strength, numbers, and wealth (all these together constituting its glory), would all have disappeared. Nothing but a small remnant would be left of the heroic sons of Kedar and their bows. They are numbered here by their bows (in distinction from the numbering by heads), showing that the righting men are referred to - a mode of numbering which is customary among the Indian tribes of America, for example. (Note: See the work of V. Martius on the Indians of Brazil, i. 395, 411, etc.) The noun she'âr (remnant) is followed by five genitives here (just as peri is by four in Isa 10:12); and the predicate ימעטוּ is in the plural because of the copiousness of the subject. The period of the fulfilment of the prophecy keeps us still within the Assyrian era. In Herodotus (2, 141), Sennacherib is actually called "king of Arabians and Assyrians" (compare Josephus, Ant. x. 1, 4); and both Sargon and Sennacherib, in their annalistic inscriptions, take credit to themselves for the subjugation of Arabian tribes. But in the Chaldean era Jeremiah predicted the same things against Kedar (chapter 49) as against Edom; and Jer 49:30-31 was evidently written with a retrospective allusion to this oracle of Isaiah. When the period fixed by Isaiah for the fulfilment arrived, a second period grew out of it, and one still more remote, inasmuch as a second empire, viz., the Chaldean, grew out of the Assyrian, and inaugurated a second period of judgment for the nations. After a short glimmer of morning, the night set in a second time upon Edom, and a second time upon Arabia.