Send the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. For it will be that as wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so will the daughters of Moab be at the fords of the Arnon. Give counsel! Execute justice! Make your shade like the night in the middle of the noonday! Hide the outcasts! Don’t betray the fugitive! Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. For the extortionist is brought to nothing. Destruction ceases. The oppressors are consumed out of the land. A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.
We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing. Therefore Moab will wail for Moab. Everyone will wail. You will mourn for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth, utterly stricken. For the fields of Heshbon languish with the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations have broken down its choice branches, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness. Its shoots were spread abroad. They passed over the sea. Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah. I will water you with my tears, Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the battle shout has fallen. Gladness is taken away, and joy out of the fruitful field; and in the vineyards there will be no singing, neither joyful noise. Nobody will tread out wine in the presses. I have made the shouting stop. Therefore my heart sounds like a harp for Moab, and my inward parts for Kir Heres. It will happen that when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, and comes to his sanctuary to pray, that he will not prevail.
This is the word that Yahweh spoke concerning Moab in time past. But now Yahweh has spoken, saying, “Within three years, as a worker bound by contract would count them, the glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his great multitude; and the remnant will be very small and feeble.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14 That is, offer a sacrifice, whereby he derideth their…
That is, offer a sacrifice, whereby he derideth their long delay, which would not repent when the Lord called them, showing them that it is now too late, seeing the vengeance of God is upon them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–14 Isa 16:1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler…
Isa 16:1 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
Ver. 1. Send ye the lamb.] For prevention of those lions, {Isa 15:9} submit to Hezekiah, your right liege lord, a lamb, i.e., your appointed number of tribute lambs, in token of homage. {2Sa 8:2 2Ki 3:4} But especially make your peace with God, the Ruler of the whole world, {1Ch 29:12} by paying him homage and fealty, that there may be a lengthening of your tranquillity.
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From Selo in the wilderness.] Otherwise called Petra (because beset with rocks), whence the country it stood in was called Arabia Petraea. {a} Some make it the head city of Moab, others of Edom, a place, it seemeth, that was full of cattle, and by king Amaziah, who took it, called Jokteel. {2Ki 14:7}
{a} Strabo, lib. xvi.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–14 The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab in this…
The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab in this chapter, and here turneth his speech to them, and gives them counsel what to do, to prevent, if possible, the threatened desolation. In these first words he adviseth them to the practice either,
1. Of justice; Pay that tribute of lambs and goats which you obliged yourselves to pay unto David, and to his posterity, 2Sa 8:2, and pay it not unto Israel, as you have done, 2Ki 3:4, but unto the king of Judah, who is the rightful heir of David, and king of the land. Or,
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2. Of piety; Send a lamb, for a sacrifice, unto God, who is
Ruler of the land, to wit, of your land, no less than of ours; or, of the earth, as the word is commonly rendered, who is the God of the whole earth, as he is called, Isa 54:5, the God of all the kingdoms of the earth, Isa 37:16. Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him, and to his people. These words may be understood ironically, and the design of them may be to represent their miserable and desperate condition; as if he had said, You have tried all other ways, and sought to your idols, Isa 16:2, and all in vain; now seek to the God of Israel, who alone can help you. But, alas! he is highly incensed against you, and coming to destroy you. But this seems rather to be a serious advice, by comparing these words with Isa 16:3,4. Sela; an eminent city of Moab, seated upon a rock, which is here named, either because the king and his court at this time resided there, or for some other reason then evident, though now unknown.
To the wilderness; to the wilderness of Moab, of which we read Num 21:11; Dent. ii. 8, and so onward to Zion, as it follows. Or this may be added as a description of the place called Sela. Hence some render the words, Sela of the wilderness; and others, Sela which lieth or looketh towards the wilderness. And this limitation might be the more necessary, to distinguish this from other places of Moab called by the same name, which, signifying a rock, might be common to several places in that rocky country.
Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion; unto the temple upon Mount Zion.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 6 God has made it to appear that he delights…
God has made it to appear that he delights not in the ruin of sinners by telling them what they may do to prevent the ruin; so he does here to Moab.
I. He advises them to be just to the house of David, and to pay the tribute they had formerly covenanted to pay to the kings of his line (Isa 16:1): Send you the lamb to the ruler of the land. David made the Moabites tributaries to him, Sa2 8:2. They became his servants, and brought gifts. Afterwards they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel (Kg2 3:4), and paid it in lambs. Now the prophet requires them to pay it to Hezekiah. Let it be raised and levied from all parts of the country, from Selah, a frontier city of Moab on the one side, to the wilderness, a boundary of the kingdom on the other side: and let it be sent, where it should be sent, to the mount of the daughter of Zion, the city of David. Some take it as an advice to send a lamb for a sacrifice to God, the ruler of the earth (so it may be read), the Lord of the whole earth, ruler of all lands, the land of Moab as well as the land of Israel, "Send it to the temple built on Mount Zion." And some think it is in this sense spoken ironically, upbraiding the Moabites with their folly in delaying to repent and make their peace with God. "Now you would be glad to send a lamb to Mount Zion, to make the God of Israel your friend; but it is too late: the decree has gone forth, the consumption is determined, and the daughters of Moab shall be cast out as a wandering bird," Isa 16:2. I rather take it as good advice seriously given, like that of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar when he was reading him his doom, Dan 4:27. Break off thy sins by righteousness, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. And it is applicable to the great gospel duty of submission to Christ, as the ruler of the land, and our ruler: "Send him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice. When you come to God, the great ruler, come in the name of the Lamb, the Lamb of God. For else it shall be" (so we may read it) "that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be. If you will not pay your quit-rent, your just tribute to the king of Judah, you shall be turned out of your houses: The daughters of Moab (the country villages, or the women of your country) shall flutter about the fords of Arnon, attempting that way to make their escape to some other land, like a wandering bird thrown out of the nest half-fledged." Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered under the shadow of his wings, shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest, that shall either be snatched up by the next bird of prey or shall wander endlessly in continual frights. Those that will not yield to the fear of God shall be made to yield to the fear of every thing else.
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II. He advises them to be kind to the seed of Israel (Isa 16:3): "Take counsel, call a convention, and consult among yourselves what is fit to be done in the present critical juncture; and you will find it your best way to execute judgment, to reverse all the unrighteous decrees you have made, by which you have put hardships upon the people of God, and, in token of your repentance for them, study now how to oblige them, and this shall be accepted of God more than all burnt-offering and sacrifice."
1. The prophet foresaw some storm coming upon the people of God, perhaps the good people of the ten tribes, or of the two and a half on the other side Jordan, whose country joined to that of Moab, and who, by the merciful providence of God, escaped the fury of the Assyrian army, had their lives given them for a prey, and were reserved for better times, but were put to the utmost extremity to shift for their own safety. The danger and trouble they were in were like the scorching heat at noon; the face of the spoiler was very fierce upon them and the oppressor and extortioner were ready to swallow them up after stripping them of what they had.
2. He bespeaks a shelter for them in the land of Moab, when their own land was made too hot for them. This judgment they must execute; thus wisely must they do for themselves, and thus kindly must they deal with the people of God. If they would themselves continue in their habitations, let them now open their doors to the distressed dispersed members of God's church, and be to them like a cool shade to those that bear the burden and heat of the day. Let them not discover those that absconded among them, nor deliver them up to the pursuers that made search for them: "Betray not him that wandereth, nor deliver him up" (as the Edomites did, Oba 1:13, Oba 1:14), "but hide the outcasts." This was that good work by which Rahab's faith was justified, and proved to be sincere, Heb 11:31. "Nay, do not only hide them for a time, but, if there be occasion, let them be naturalized: Let my outcasts dwell with thee, Moab (Isa 16:4); find a lodging for them and be thou a covert to them. Let them be taken under the protection of the government, though they are but poor, and likely to be a charge to thee." Note, (1.) It is often the lot even of those who are Israelites indeed to be outcasts, driven out of house and harbour by persecution or war, Heb 11:37. (2.) God owns them when men reject and disown them. They are outcasts, but they are my outcasts. The Lord knows those that are his wherever he finds them, even where no one else knows them. (3.) God will find a rest and shelter for his outcasts; for, though they are persecuted, they are not forsaken. He will himself be their dwelling-place if they have no other, and in him they shall be at home. (4.) God can, when he pleases, raise up friends for his people even among Moabites, when they can find none in all the land of Israel that can and dare shelter them. The earth often helps the woman, Rev 12:16. (5.) Those that expect to find favour when they are in trouble themselves must show favour to those that are in trouble; and what service is done to God's outcasts shall no doubt be recompensed one way or other.
3. He assures them of the mercy God had in store for his people. (1.) That they should not long need their kindness, or be troublesome to them: For the extortioner is almost at an end already, and the spoiler ceases. God's people shall not be long outcasts; they shall have tribulation ten days (Rev 2:10), and that is all. The spoiler would never cease spoiling if he might have his will; but God has him in a chain. Hitherto he shall go, but no further. (2.) That they should, ere long, be in a capacity to return their kindness (Isa 16:5): "Though the throne of the ten tribes be sunk and overturned, yet the throne of David shall be established in mercy, by the mercy they receive from God and the mercy they show to others; and by the same methods may your throne be established if you please." It would engage great men to be kind to the people of God if they would but observe, as they easily might, how often such conduct brings the blessing of God upon kingdoms and families. "Make Hezekiah your friend, for you will find it your interest to do so upon the account both of the grace of God in him and the presence of God with him. He shall sit upon the throne in truth, and then he does indeed sit in honour and sit firmly. Then he shall sit judging, and will then be a protector to those that have been a shelter to the people of God." And see in him the character of a good magistrate. [1.] He shall seek judgment; that is, he shall seek occasions of doing right to those that are wronged, and shall punish the injurious even before they are complained of: or he shall diligently search into every cause brought before him, that he may find where the right lies. [2.] He shall hasten righteousness, and not delay to do justice, nor keep those long waiting that make application to him for the redress of their grievances. Though he seeks judgment, and deliberates upon it, yet he does not, under pretence of deliberation, stay the progress of the streams of justice. Let the Moabites take example by this, and then assure themselves that their state shall be established.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–14 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the…
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land,.... Or tribute, as the Targum rightly interprets it. The Moabites, being conquered by David, paid tribute to him, Sa2 8:2 and when the kingdom was divided in Rehoboam's time, the tribute was paid to the kings of Israel, which continued till the times of Ahab, when the Moabites rebelled, and refused to pay it, Kg2 3:4 and this tribute, as appears from the passage now referred to, was paid in lambs and rams; which now they are bid to pay to the king of Judah, David's lawful heir and successor in his kingdom; who is supposed to be meant by the ruler of the land, that is, of the land of Judah, whose reigning king at this time was Hezekiah; but rather by "the ruler of the land" is meant the king of Moab, for the words may be rendered, more agreeably to the language and the accents, "send ye the lamb" (or lambs, the singular for the plural), "O ruler of the land" (t); though others, "send ye the lamb of the ruler of the land" (u); that is either, O king of Moab send the tribute that is due; or ye people of the land send the tribute which your ruler owes to the king of Judah; so Jarchi understands it of the king of Moab: some indeed expound the ruler of the land of God himself, who is the Governor of the world; and take the sense to be, that the Moabites are bid to send a lamb, or lambs, for sacrifice, to the God of the whole earth, in order to appease him, and atone for their sins; which is said either seriously, as some think, this being to answer a good purpose, or ironically, as other's, it being now too late; but the sense given is the best: in the Talmud (w) it is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the land, who came to the mount of the daughter of Zion, by the way of rocks and mountains. The Targum applies it to the Messiah, paraphrasing it thus,
"they shall be bringing tributes to the Christ of Israel, who is strong over them.''
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Jerom interprets it of Christ, the Lamb of God, the ruler of the world, or who was to be sacrificed to the ruler of the world; who descended from Ruth, the Moabitess, who he supposes is meant by the rock of the wilderness, as he renders the next clause:
from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount the daughter of Zion: according to Kimchi, and others, Sela was the chief city of the kingdom of Moab. The word signifies a rock; it is the same with Petra (x), the chief city of Arabia, and from whence Arabia Petraea had its name. Some take it to be Selah, the chief city of Edom, afterwards called Joktheel, Kg2 14:7 it was a frontier city, and lay upon the borders of Moab and Edom to the south; as the wilderness of Jordan was on the border of Moab to the north, and is thought to be here meant; or, according to Vitringa, the plains of Jericho, the same with the wilderness of Judea, where John the Baptist came preaching; which lay in the way from Sela or Petra, the chief city in Moab, unto Jerusalem. Strabo (y) says of Petra, the metropolis of the Nabataeans, that it lies in a plain, surrounded with rocks and precipices, and within it fountains and gardens, and without it a large country, for the most part desert, especially towards Judea, and from hence it is a journey of three or four days to Jericho; and so the sense is, send the lambs, or the tribute, from Sela or Petra, the chief city of Moab; send them, I say, to the wilderness of Judea, or by the way of that, even to Mount Zion or Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, and the seat of the king of it.
(t) "mittite agnum, dominator terrae", Montanus; so Luther; which is approved by Reinbeck de Accent. Heb. p. 395. (u) "Mittite agnum dominatoris terrae", Pagninus, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. (w) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 96. 2. & Gloss. in ib. (x) Joseph. Antiqu. l. 4. c. 4. sect. 7. Ptolem. Geogr. l. 5. c. 17. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 28. (y) Geograph. l. 16. p. 536. Ed. Casaub.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–14 The Moabites exhorted to entertain kindly the banished Jews,…
The Moabites exhorted to entertain kindly the banished Jews, ver. 1-5. They are threatened for their pride and arrogance, ver. 6- 8. The prophet bewaileth them, ver. 9-11. Their judgment, ver. 12-14.
Send - The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab, and gives them counsel what to do, to prevent, if possible, the desolation. Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him, and to his people. Sela - An eminent city of Moab, seated upon a rock. Unto the mount - Unto the temple upon mount Zion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14 The distress of Moab pathetically described by the son…
CHAPTER XVI
The distress of Moab pathetically described by the son of the
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prince, or ruler of the land, being forced to flee for his
life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea; and the
young women, like young birds scared from their nest, wade
helpless through the fords of Arnon, the boundary of their
country, to seek protection in some foreign land, 1, 2.
The prophet addresses Sion, exhorting her to show mercy to her
enemies in their distress, that her throne may be established
in righteousness, 3-5.
Exceeding great pride of Moab, 6.
The terrible calamities about to fall upon Moab farther
described by the languishing of the vine, the ceasing of the
vintage, the sound of the prophet's bowels quivering like a
harp, c., 7-13.
Awful nearness of the full accomplishment of the prophecy, 14.
NOTES ON CHAP. XVI
Verse 1. Send ye the lamb, c. - "I will send forth the son, &c."] Both the reading and meaning of this verse are still more doubtful than those of the preceding. The Septuagint and Syriac read אשלח eshlach, I will send, in the first person singular, future tense: the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read שלח shelach, send, singular imperative: some read שלחו shilchu, send ye forth, or shalechu, they send forth. The Syriac, for כר car, a lamb, reads בר bar, a son, which is confirmed by five MSS. of Kennicott and De Rossi. The two first verses describe the distress of Moab on the Assyrian invasion in which even the son of the prince of the country is represented as forced to flee for his life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea and the young women are driven forth like young birds cast out of the nest, and endeavouring to wade through the fords of the river Arnon. Perhaps there is not so much difficulty in this verse as appears at first view. "Send the lamb to the ruler of the land," may receive light from 2Kg 3:4-5: "And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs with their wool, and one hundred thousand rams: but when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against Israel." Now the prophet exhorts them to begin paying the tribute as formerly, that their punishment might be averted or mitigated.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13 Isa 16:1-2. Send ye the lamb, &c. — The…
Isa 16:1-2. Send ye the lamb, &c. — The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab, and gives them counsel what to do to prevent, if possible, or at least to mitigate, the threatened judgment. First he advises them to be just to the house of David, and to pay the tribute they had formerly covenanted to pay to the kings of his line. David, it must be recollected, had subdued the Moabites, and made them tributaries to him, 2Sa 8:2. Afterward they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel, 2Ki 3:4; which, it appears, was not less than 100,000 lambs annually. This it is likely had been discontinued, and neither paid to the kings of Israel nor those of Judah. Now it is thought the prophet here requires them to pay this tribute, or, at least, what they had covenanted with David to pay, to the king of Judah, who was now Hezekiah, that thereby they might at once do an act of neglected justice, and make him and the Jews their friends, which would be of great use to them in their calamity. These verses therefore are thus paraphrased by Vitringa: “Ye Moabites, who, subdued by David, and made tributary to his house and kingdom, have, with pride and arrogance, shaken off his yoke: placate in time, and render propitious to you, the Jews, and their king, by sending those lambs, which you owe to them as a tribute. Send them from Sela, or Petra, (which was most celebrated for its flocks, 2Ki 14:7,) toward the desert, the desert near Jericho, a medium place between Sela and mount Zion, Jos 5:10.” Or, as the words may be rendered, from Sela, of, or, in the wilderness. “Pay this tribute, for it shall most certainly come to pass, that the daughters of the Moabites, like a wandering bird from a deserted nest, driven from their seats, must somewhere seek a place of safety in the great calamity which shall befall their nation. It is therefore now time to solicit the friendship of the Jews, and to remember the duty owing to them, but so long omitted; that when expelled from your own habitations, you may be received kindly by them, and dwell hospitably in their land, and under the shadow of their kings.” Some, however, understand the prophet as advising them to send a lamb for a sacrifice unto God, the ruler of the land of the Moabites, as well as of that of the Jews; or the ruler of the earth, as ארצ is commonly rendered: to him who is the God of the whole earth, as he is called, Isa 54:5. Of all the kingdoms of the earth, Isa 37:16. As if he had said, Make your peace with God, by sacrifice, for all your injuries done to him and to his people. The fords of Arnon was the border of the land of Moab, where their daughters are supposed to be with a design to flee out of their own land, though they knew not whither.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–14 Send ye the lamb - Lowth renders this, ‘I…
Send ye the lamb - Lowth renders this, ‘I will send forth the son from the ruler of the land;’ meaning, as he supposes, that under the Assyrian invasion, even the young prince of Moab would be obliged to flee for his life through the desert, that he might escape to Judea; and “that” thus God says that “he” would send him. The only authority for this, however, is, that the Septuagint reads the word ‘send’ in the future tense (ἀποστελῶ apostelō) instead of the imperative; and that the Syraic reads בר bar instead of כר kar, “a lamb.” But assuredly this is too slight an authority for making an alteration in the Hebrew text. This is one of the many instances in which Lowth has ventured to suggest a change in the text of Isaiah without sufficient authority. The Septuagint reads this: ‘I will send reptiles (ἐρπετὰ herpeta) upon the land. Is not the mountain of the daughter of Zion a desolate rock?’ The Chaldee renders it, ‘Bear ye tribute to the Messiah, the anointed of Israel, who is powerful over you who were in the desert, to Mount Zion.’ And this, understanding by the Messiah the anointed king of Israel, is probably the true rendering.
The word ‘lamb’ (כר kar) denotes, properly, a pasture lamb, a fat lamb, and is usually applied to the lamb which was slain in sacrifice. Here it probably means a lamb, or “lambs” collectively, as a tribute, or acknowledgment of subjection to Judah. Lambs were used in the daily sacrifice in the temple, and in the other sacrifices of the Jews. Large numbers of them would, therefore, be needed, and it is not improbable that the “tribute” of the nations subject to them was often required to be paid in animals for burnt-offering. Perhaps there might have been this additional reason for that - that the sending of such animals would be a sort of incidental acknowledgment of the truth of the Jewish religion, and an offering to the God of the Hebrews. At all events, the word here seems to be one that designates “tribute;” and the counsel of the prophet is, that they should send their “tribute” to the Jews.
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To the ruler of the land - To the king of Judah. This is proved by the addition at the close of the verse, ‘unto the mount of the daughter o Zion.’ It is evident from 2Sa 8:2, that David subdued the Moabites, and laid them under tribute, so that the ‘Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.’ That “lambs” were the specific kind of tribute which the Moabites were to render to the Jews as a token of their subjection, is clearly proved in 2Ki 3:4 : ‘And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.’ This was in the time of Ahab. But the Moabites after his death revolted from them, and rebelled 2Ki 4:5. It is probable that as this tribute was laid by “David” before the separation of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and as the kings of Judah claimed to be the true successors of David and Solomon, they demanded that the tribute should be rendered to “them,” and not to the kings of Israel, and this is the claim which Isaiah enforces in the passage before us. The command of the prophet is to regain the lost favor of Israel by the payment of the tribute that was due. The territory of Moab was in early times, and is still, rich in flocks of sheep. Seetzen made his journey with some inhabitants of Hebron and Jerusalem who had purchased sheep in that region. Lambs and sheep were often demanded in tribute. The Persians received fifty thousand sheep as a tribute annually from the Cappadocians, and one hundred thousand from the Medes (Strabo, ii. 362).
From Sela in the wilderness - The word ‘Sela’ (סלע sela') means “a rock;” and by it here there can be no doubt that there is intended the city of that name which was the capital of “Arabia Petrea.” The city was situated within the bounds of Arabia or Idumea, but was probably at this time in the possession of the Moabites. It was, therefore, the remotest part of their territory, and the sense may be, ‘Send tribute even from the remotest pat of your land;’ or it may be, that the region around that city was particularly favorable to pasturage, and for keeping flocks. To this place they had fled with their flocks on the invasion from the north (see the note at Isa 15:7). Vitringa says that that desert around Petra was regarded as a vast common, on which the Moabites and Arabians promiscuously fed their flocks. The situation of the city of Sela, or (πέτρα petra) Petra, meaning the same as Sela, a rock, was for a long time unknown, but it has lately been discovered.
It lies about a journey of a day and a ball southeast of the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It derived its name from the fact that it was situated in a vast hollow in a rocky mountain, and consisted almost entirely of dwellings hewn out of the rock. It was the capital of the Edomites 2Ki 19:7; but might have been at this time in the possession of the Moabites. Strabo describes it as the capital of the Nabatheans, and as situated in a vale well watered, but encompassed by insurmountable rocks (xvi. 4), at a distance of three or four days’ journey from Jericho. Diodorus (19, 55) mentions it as a place of trade, with caves for dwellings, and strongly fortified by nature. Pliny, in the first century, says, ‘The Nabatheans inhabit the city called Petra, in a valley less than two (Roman) miles in amplitude, surrounded by inaccessible mountains, with a stream flowing through it’ (“Nat. Hist.” vi. 28).
Adrian, the successor of Trajan, granted important privileges to that city, which led the inhabitants to give his name to it upon coins. Several of these are still extant. In the fourth century, Petra is several times mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, and in the fifth and sixth centuries appears as the metropolitan see of the Third Palestine (see the article “Petra” in Reland’s “Palestine”). From that time, Petra disappeared from the pages of history, and the metropolitan see was transferred to Rabbah. In what way Petra was destroyed is unknown. Whether it was by the Mahometan conquerors, or whether by the incursions of the hordes of the desert, it is impossible now to ascertain. All Arabian writers of that period are silent as to Petra. The name became changed to that which it bears at present - Wady Musa, and it was not until the travels of Seetzen, in 1807, that it attracted the attention of the world. During his excursion from Hebron to the hill Madurah, his Arab guide described the place, exclaiming, ‘Ah! how I weep when I behold the ruins of Wady Musa.’ Seetzen did not visit it, but Burckhardt passed a short time there, and described it. Since his time it has been repeatedly visited (see Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. ii. pp. 573-580).
This city was formerly celebrated as a place of great commercial importance, from its central position and its being so securely defended. Dr. Vincent (in his “Commerce of the Ancients,” vol. xi. p. 263, quoted in Laborde’s “Journey to Arabia Petrea,” p. 17) describes Petra as the capital of Edom or Sin, the Idumea or Arabia Petrea of the Greeks, the Nabatea considered both by geographers, historians, and poets, as the source of all the precious commodities of the East. The caravans in all ages, from Minea in the interior of Arabia, and from Gerka on the gulf of Persia, from Hadramont on the ocean, and some even from Sabea in Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common center; and from Petra the trade seems to have branched out into every direction - to Egypt, Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem, Damascus, and a variety of intermediate roads that all terminated on the Mediterranean. Strabo relates, that the merchandise of India and Arabia was transported on camels from Leuke Kome to Petra, and thence, to Rhinocolura and other places (xvi. 4, 18, 23, 24).
Under the Romans the trade was still more prosperous. The country was rendered more accessible, and the passage of merchants facilitated by military ways, and by the establishment of military posts to keep in check the predatory hordes of the neighboring deserts. One great road, of which traces still remain, went from Petra to Damascus; another went off from this road west of the Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Askelon, and other parts of the Mediterranean (Laborde, p. 213; Burckhardt, 374, 419). At a period subsequent to the Christian era there always reigned at Petra, according to Strabo, a king of the royal lineage, with whom a prince was associated in the government (Strabo, p. 779). The very situation of this city, once so celebrated, as has been remarked above, was long unknown. Burckhardt, under the assumed name of Sheikh Ibrahim, in the year 1811, made an attempt to reach Petra under the pretext that he had made a vow to sacrifice a goat in honor of Aaron on the summit of Mount Hor near to Petra. He was permitted to enter the city, and to remain there a short time, and to “look” upon the wonders of that remarkable place, but was permitted to make no notes or drawings on the spot.
His object was supposed to be to obtain treasures, which the Arabs believe to have been deposited there in great abundance, as all who visit the ruins of ancient cities and towns in that region are regarded as having come there solely for that purpose. If assured that they have no such design, and if the Arabs are reminded that they have no means to remove them, it is replied ‘that, although they may not remove them in their presence, yet when they return to their own land, they will have the power of “commanding” the treasures to be conveyed to them, and it will be done by magic.’ (Burckhardt’s “Travels in Syria,” pp. 428, 429.)
Burckhardt’s description of this city, as it is brief, may be here given “verbatim:” ‘Two long days’ journey northeast from Akaba (a town at the extremity of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, near the site of the ancient Ezion-geber), is a brook called Wady Musa, and a valley of the same name. This place is very remarkable for its antiquities, and the remains of an ancient city, which I take to be Petra, the capital of Arabia Petrea, a place which, so far as I know, no European traveler has ever explored. In the red sandstone of which the vale consists, there are found more than two hundred and fifty sepulchres, which are entirely hewn out of the rock, generally with architectural ornaments in the Grecian style. There is found there a mausoleum in the form of a temple (obviously the same which Legh and Laborde call the temple of victory) on a colossal scale, which is likewise hewn out of the rock, with all its apartments, portico, peristylum, etc. It is an extremely fine monument of Grecian architecture, and in a fine state of preservation. In the same place there are yet other mausoleums with obelisks, apparently in the Egyptian style; a whole amphitheater hewn out of the solid rock, and the remains of a palace and many temples.’
Mr. Bankes, in company of Mr. Legh, and Captains Irby and Mangles, have the merit of being the first persons who, as Europeans, succeeded to any extent in making researches in Petra. Captains Irby and Mangles spent two days among its temples, tombs, and ruins, and have furnished a description of what they saw. But the most full and satisfactory investigation which has been made of these ruins, was made by M. de Laborde, who visited the city in 1829, and was permitted to remain there eight days, and to examine it at leisure. An account of his journey, with splendid plates, was published in Paris in 1830, and a translation in London 1836. To this interesting account the reader must be referred. It can only be remarked here, that Petra, or Sela, was a city entirely encompassed with lofty rocks, except in a single place, where was a deep ravine between the rocks which constituted the principal entrance.
On the east and west it was enclosed with lofty rocks, of from three to five hundred feet in height; on the north and south the ascent was gradual from the city to the adjacent hills. The ordinary entrance was through a deep ravine, which has been, until lately, supposed to have been the only way of access to the city. This ravine approaches it from the east, and is about a mile in length. In the narrowest part it is twelve feet in width, and the rocks are on each side about three hundred feet in height. On the northern side, there are tombs excavated in the rocks nearly the entire distance. The stream which watered Petra runs along in the bottom of the ravine, going through the city, and descending through a ravine to the west (see Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. ii. 514, 538.) The city is wholly uninhabited, except when the wandering Arab makes use of an excavated tomb or palace in which to pass the night, or a caravan pauses there.
The rock which encompasses it is a soft freestone. The tombs, with which almost the entire city was encompassed, are cut in the solid rock, and are adorned in the various modes of Grecian and Egyptian architecture. The surface of the solid rock was first made smooth, and then a plan of the tomb or temple was drawn on the smoothed surface, and the workmen began at the top and cut the various pillars, entablatures, and capitals. The tomb was then excavated from the rock, and was usually entered by a single door. Burckhardt counted two hundred and fifty of these tombs, and Laborde has described minutely a large number of them. For a description of these splendid monuments, the reader must be referred to the work of Laborde, pp. 152-193. Lend. Ed.
That this is the Sela referred to here there can be no doubt; and the discovery of this place is only one of the instances out of many, in which the researches of oriental travelers contribute to throw light on the geography of the Scriptures, or otherwise illustrate them. For a description of this city, see Stephen’s “Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, and the Holy land,” vol. ii. ch. iv. p. 65ff; the work of Laborde referred to above; and Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. ii. pp. 573-580, 653-659.
To the mount of the daughter of Zion - To Mount Zion; that is, to Jerusalem (note, Isa 1:8). The meaning of this verse, therefore, is, ‘Pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews. Continue to seek their protection, and acknowledge your subjection to them, and you shall be safe. They will yield you protection, and these threatened judgments will not come upon you. But refuse, or withhold this, and you will be overthrown.’
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Petra. Hebrew selah, "the rock." (Haydock) --- Our Saviour…
Petra. Hebrew selah, "the rock." (Haydock) --- Our Saviour spring from Ruth, the Moabitess. (Menochius) --- The original may insinuate, that the king of the country had neglected to pay the usual tribute to Juda, 4 Kings iii. 4. (Calmet) --- "Send the lamb to the ruler," &c. (Tournemine.) Amid scenes of distress, the prophet perceives that the Saviour will proceed from one of this nation. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 1 Send ye 1the lamb to the ruler of…
β) THE CONDITIONS OF DELIVERANCE
Isa_16:1-5
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1 Send ye 1the lamb to the ruler of the land
From2 3Sela to the wilderness,
Unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.
2 For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird
4Cast out of the nest,
So the daughters of Moab shall be
At 5the fords of Arnon.
3 6Take counsel, execute judgment;
Make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noon day;
Hide the outcasts;
Bewray not him that wandereth.
4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab;
Be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler;
For the 7extortioner is at an end,
8The spoiler ceaseth,
9The oppressors are consumed out of the land.
5 And in mercy shall bthe throne be 10established:
And 11he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David,
Judging, and seeking judgment, and 12hasting righteousness.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa_16:1. כָּר is “the fat lamb.” It never occurs in the stat. absol. sing.; it is found only here in the stat. constr. sing.; and occurs again in Isaiah in the plural only Isa_34:6. Comp. Deu_32:14.—The expression הַר בַּת צ׳ occurs again only Isa_10:32 K’ri.
Isa_16:2. On עוף־נודד comp. Isa_10:14; Pro_27:8.—מְשֻׁלָּח comp. Isa_27:10.—מעברות, wherever the word occurs (Jos_2:7; 1Sa_14:4; Jdg_3:28; Jdg_12:5 sq.; Jer_51:32) are “the fords.” The word stands here as the accus. localis. Moreover, according to rule the expression means “fords of the Arnon,” not, the “fords of the Arnon.”
Isa_16:3-4 a. The expression הביא עצה occurs only here. It reminds one of הָבוּ עֵצָה 2Sa_16:20. The alteration of הביאו and עשׂו to הביאי and עשׂי which the K’ri offers for the sake of conformity with the following verbal forms, is unnecessary. פְלִילָה, judicium, occurs only here: פְּלִילִיָה Isa_28:7.—נִדָּחִים (Isa_27:13), נוֹדֵד (Isa_10:14; Isa_21:14), גוּר (Isa_11:6; Isa_23:7; Isa_33:14), שׁוֹדֵד (Isa_21:2; Isa_33:1), סֵתֶר (Isa_28:17; Isa_32:2) are Isaianic expressions.—מואב, Isa_16:4 a, ought, according to the accents, to be connected with what follows. And nothing stands in the way of this. Delitzsch, who construes Isa_16:3 sq. as the language of Moab to Israel must take מואב Isa_16:4 as casus absolutus, which is harsh. The form הֱוִי (comp. הֲיִי Gen_24:60) occurs only here. It, too, is perhaps Moabitic. But the inscription of Mesa offers no analogy for it.—מֵן “the presser” (from מוּץ like זִדִ ,לֵץ ,מֵת; comp. מִיץ Pro_30:33, “the pressing out”) is ἅπ. λεγ. אָפֵם is an Isaianic word, as the entire thought is also Isaianic. comp. Isa_29:20 :—שֹׁד comp. on Isa_13:6.—רֹמֵם only here; but other forms of the verb are frequent in Isa_1:12; Isa_26:6; Isa_28:3; Isa_41:25; Isa_63:3.
Isa_16:5. הֵכִין “to make firm,” stabihre, 1Sa_13:13; 2Sa_5:12; Isa_30:33.—חֶסֶד is not “grace,” which is not the opposite of שֹׁד ,מִיץ and מִרְמָם (Isa_10:6) but “gentleness,” clementia. Comp. מַלְכֵי חֶסֶד 1Ki_20:31, and Pro_20:28.—אהל דוד, comp. סֻכַּת דויד Amo_9:11, and as contrast אֹהֶל יוֹסֵף Psa_78:67.—It is an expression of modesty, comp. the contrast between בַּיִת and אֹהֶל 2Sa_7:6.—The expression דרשׁ משׁפט is wholly Isaianic. It occurs only Isa_1:17 and here. מהיר צדק (comp. Psa_45:2; Pro_22:29) occurs only here.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. These words connect closely with what precedes, in that they assume that the fugitives of Moab that fled over the border (Isa_15:7) have arrived in Sela, the chief city of Edom (“from Sela,” Isa_16:1). The chief thought is that Moab is counselled to seek help and protection from Judah (Isa_16:1-2), and therefore eventually itself to afford protection and help to Judah (Isa_16:3-4 a). When then the time comes wherein all unrighteousness on earth shall have an end (Isa_16:4 b), and the righteous ruler shall sit on the throne of David (Isa_16:5), then—this is the necessary consequence—Moab, too, shall share this salvation.
2. Send ye——Arnon.
Isa_16:1-2. No one but the Prophet can speak these words, as well as all that follows, because he only was able to give the prophecy contained in Isa_16:4 b, 5. In the summons to send lambs to Jerusalem there is evidently an allusion to the fact that the Moabite king Mesa, according to 2Ki_3:4, was obliged to send the wool of 100,000 lambs (כָּרִים) and of 100,000 rams (אֵילִים) as tribute to the king of Israel. “The lambs of the ruler” is evidently the tribute of lambs that belongs to the ruler of the land. But the king of Judah is called מושׁל ארץ “ruler of the land,” in distinction from the מלך מואב, “the king of Moab,” who was tributary to the former. They are to send the tribute to Jerusalem from Sela, the capital city of Edom (called Petra by the Romans; its ruins were discovered by Burkhardt in Wadi Musa, comp. Isa_42:11). We account for this by representing to ourselves that according to Isa_15:7 the Moabites have arrived in Sela as fugitives. Unto the wilderness—which is more exactly defined by “unto the mount of the daughter of Zion”—corresponds exactly to the description that Strabo gives of the region of Petra. He says: χώρα ἔρημος ἡ πλείστη καὶ μάλιστα ἡ πρὸς Ἰουδαίαν (Knobel). On the subject matter comp. Isa_18:7. But the fugitives are not in Sela only. According to Isa_15:8, they dispersed on every side. Therefore fleeing crowds appear also at Arnon, the northern border river of Moab. These are called “daughters of Moab.” Does not the feminine stamp the timid fugitives as those that have turned into women and lost all masculine courage? Comp. e.g. Isa_3:1.
3. Take counsel——the spoiler.
Isa_16:3-4 a. These are not the words of the Moabites, but of the Prophet, who directs this petition to the Moabites in the name of his people. They are not only to put themselves in subjection to Judah, and purchase protection for themselves by tribute, but they are also on their part to afford protection. By the likeness of their contents, Isa_16:3-4 a belong together. The Prophet hereby assumes that there shall come upon Judah also such a visitation as 15, 16. he proclaims to Moab. This was fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar, and in Jer_40:11 Moab is expressly named among the lands into which scattered Judah (נִדְּחוּ, Jer_40:12) had fled.—The Prophet cannot mean that the Moabites shall bring about justice between the Israelites and their oppressors, for they lack power and force to do this. But they are to do what is right in that they receive to their protection those oppressed and driven out. This demand for protecting shelter is expressed by means of an admirable figure of speech. Moab shall make its shadow at clear midday dark as at midnight, so that he who is concealed in this shadow shall be hid as completely as if the darkness of night enclosed him.
4. For the extortioner——righteousness.
Isa_16:4 b, 5. The Prophet now gives the reasons why Moab should seek shelter from Judah and likewise afford shelter to the fugitives of Judea. This reason is one eminently prophetic. That is to say, Isaiah sees in spirit the end of the world-power, therefore the cessation of all violent oppression and the dominion of the kingdom of God under a great one of the line of David. Would Moab share in this glory of the people of God, then it must now display such conduct as the Prophet imputes to it, Isa_16:1-4 a. This is the same thought, the correlative of which is expressed Isa_60:12 (comp. Zec_14:16 sqq.) in the words: “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.”—הארץ, “the land,” according to the context, signifies the whole earth. For the world-power that is characterized in the preceding words dominates not a single land, but the whole earth. In contrast with the violent, unjust world-power another throne shall be set up by mildness (חסד, see Text and Gram.). On this throne, which stands in the tabernacle of David (an expression of modesty, see Text and Gram.), shall one sit in truth, i.e., one who is truthful and reliable, and he will do nothing arbitrarily; but he will keep to the forms of law (שֹׁפֵט). But not only this—he will also interest himself to find out the (substantial) right (דּרֵשׁ מִשְׁפָט)—and when he has found it, he will promptly execute it (מְהִיר צֶדֶק). That the Prophet has in mind here the great Son of David, whose friendliness and righteousness he had already celebrated, Isa_9:5 sq.; Isa_11:1 sq., cannot be doubted. Where ceasing from violence and injustice and a kingdom of righteousness and of loving mildness are spoken of, the Messianic kingdom is meant.
Footnotes:
[1]tribute lamb.
[2]Or, Petra.
[3]Heb. a rock.
[4]Or, a nest forsaken.
[5]omit the.
[6]Heb. Bring.
[7]Heb. wringer.
[8]Oppression.
[9]Heb. the treaders down.
[10]Or, prepared.
[11]one sits.
[12]prompt in equity.
γ) MOAB’S PRIDE AND RUIN
Isa_16:6-12
6 We have heard of the pride of Moab; 13he is very proud:
14Even of his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath;
15But his lies shall not be so.
7 Therefore shall Moab howl 16for Moab,
Every one shall howl;
For the 17foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye 1819mourn;
20Surely they are stricken.
8 For the fields of Heshbon 21languish,
And the vine of Sibmah: 22the lords of the heathen have broken down the 23principal plants thereof,
They 24are come even unto Jazer, they wandered 25through the wilderness:
Her branches are 26stretched out, they are gone over the sea.
9 Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah:
I will 27water thee with my tears, O, Heshbon, and Elealeh:
For 28the 29shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
10 And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field;
And in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting:
The treaders 30shall tread out no wine in their presses;
I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab,
And mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.
12 And it shall come to pass, when 31it is seen
That Moab is weary on the high place,
That he shall come to his sanctuary to pray;
32But he shall not prevail.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa_16:6. The plural שׁמענו intimates that this haughtiness of Moab is generally known.—גֵא, contracted from גֵאֶה (Isa_2:12) occurs only here; (comp. Ew. § 155 e). Regarding the construction, it belongs to גאון and not to מואב, for the Prophet had not experienced that the very proud Moab is proud, but that the pride of Moab is very intense, or that his pride mounts up very high.—גָאוֹן (comp. Isa_2:10; Isa_4:2; Isa_13:11; Isa_13:19; and often) and גַֽאֲוָה (Isa_9:8; Isa_13:3; Isa_13:11; Isa_25:11) are Isaianic words. עֶבְדָה is “excess,” and in this sense is more frequently used of wrath, but is used also of overweening pride (comp. עֶבְדַת זָדוֹן Pro_21:24). In Isaiah the word occurs in the latter sense only here; in the former he uses it often: Isa_9:18; Isa_10:6; Isa_13:9; Isa_13:13; Isa_14:6—In the expression לא־כן = “the not right, incorrect, wrong,” the two elements are fused into a unity of notion (comp. לֹא־עֵץ Isa_10:15). It is used adverbially (2Sa_18:14) as well as substantively (2Ki_7:9; 2Ki_17:9; Pro_15:7; Jer_8:6; Jer_23:10; Jer_48:30, bis).—בַּדִּים from בָּדָא = בָּדַד (comp. בָּטָא and בָּטָה “inconsiderate speaking,” Lev_5:4; Num_30:7; Num_30:9) “to invent, think out” = commenticia, ficticia, “conceited, vain babbling” (Job_11:3; Jer_48:30); personally “a braggart, fop” (Isa_44:25; Jer_50:36).
Isa_16:7. אֲשִׁישָׁה, “cakes,” 2Sa_6:19; 1Ch_16:3; plural אשׁ שׁות Son_2:5, and אשׁישׁים Hos_3:1, where it speaks of אשׁישׁי עֲנָבִים—אךְ־נכאים is in apposition with the subject of תהגו—אַךְ = “only;” “who is only troubled, nothing but troubled.”—נָכָא is ἅπ. λεγ.; comp. נָכֶה Isa_66:2 and נָכֵא Pro_15:13.
Isa_16:8. שְׁדֵמָה Isa_37:27, plural שְׁדֵמוֹת Hab_3:17, st. constr., שַׁדֵמוֹת Deu_32:32; 2Ki_23:4.—Isaiah uses not unfrequently forms of אֻמְלַל, Isa_19:8; Isa_24:4; Isa_24:7; Isa_33:9.—הָלַם is tundere, percutere, “to smite.” It occurs again Isa_28:1, where, to be sure, it speaks of הֲלוּמֵי יַיִן.—The plural of שָׂרֹק, meaning the same as שׂרֵק, Isa_5:2, occurs only here.—נִטַּשׁ Niph. Isa_33:23, “spread themselves.”—שׁלחות ἅπ. λεγ., “the sprouts” of the vine.
Isa_16:9. אריוך Piel of רָוָה, with the second and third radicals transposed, Isa_34:5; Isa_34:7.—הֵידָד is the shout with which the torcularii cheered their labor, and probably beat time, Isa_16:10; Jer_25:30; Jer_51:14; הֵידָד לֹא הֵידָד Jer_48:33.—It is certain that the Prophet for the sake of similarity in sound wrote קצירך instead of בצירך, the latter means the grape harvest. But קָצִיר must not be taken as = בָּצִיר. For why should not the grain harvest also have suffered under the trampling feet of the warrior wine treaders?
Isa_16:10. שׂמהה וגיל from Joe_1:16.—כרמל a very frequent word with Isa_10:18; Isa_29:17; Isa_32:15 sq.; Isa_35:2; Isa_37:24. Here, too, כרמל and כרמים are distinguished, a proof that we may take קָצִיר in its proper sense.—רנן and רעע are also associated on account of the similarity of sound. The former occurs, beside passages like Isa_24:14; Isa_26:19; Isa_35:2; Isa_42:11, etc., also in Isa_12:6; the latter Isa_15:4. Neither occurs again in the Passive conjugation used here.
Isa_16:11. Mark the assonance in קִרְבִּי and קִיר חָֽרֶשׂ. Likely it is purely out of regard for such assonance that the name of this single city is here repeated. This passage generally, especially from Isa_16:6 on, is extraordinarily rich in such assonances.
Isa_16:12. On הבמה comp. on הַבַּיִת Isa_15:2, and מַֽעֲלֵה בָמָה Jer_48:35.—נִלְאָה Isa_1:14; Isa_47:13.—התפלל occurs not seldom in Isa_37:15; Isa_37:21; Isa_38:2; Isa_44:17; Isa_45:14; Isa_45:20.—יָכל without expressed object, with the meaning “to put through, accomplish,” occurs only here in Isaiah. Of another sort are the instances Isa_1:13; Isa_7:1; Isa_29:11, and often. On the contrary this usage is frequent in Jer_3:5; Jer_5:22; Jer_20:7. Comp. 1Ki_22:22.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. By the words Isa_16:1-5 the Prophet had indicated to Moab the way by which it might escape destruction. Unhappily he must verify that Moab has no mind to follow this way of deliverance. It is much too proud for that: its old haughtiness is exhibited in a ruinous manner (Isa_16:6). Therefore the judgments run their course: lamentation fills the whole land. But three localities become especially prominent in the general chorus of those that lament, which hitherto had been just the places of most joyous pleasure: Kir-hareseth with its grape confections (Isa_16:7), Heshbon with its fruitful meadows, Sib-ma with its vine culture (Isa_16:8). The misery is so great that the Prophet, as feeling the contagion, must not only outwardly join in the lament of the places named (Isa_16:9-10), but also feels himself moved in his inmost by the universal distress (Isa_16:11). And though now Moab turns to his idols with fervent entreaty, yet, of course, that is of no avail (Isa_16:12).
2. We have heard—not be so.
Isa_16:6. What the Prophet urged Isa_16:1-5, is made nugatory by the pride of Moab. Jer_48:11 compares Moab to wine not drawn off from vessel to vessel, but ever settled on its lees. That means: Moab has always remained in his land: never gone into exile. Thereby has been developed in him a strong sense of strength and security (comp. Isa_25:11; Jer_48:14; Jer_48:17-18; Jer_48:25-26; Jer_48:29; Zep_2:8; Zep_2:10).
3. Therefore—the sea.
Isa_16:7-8. The Prophet now describes the consequences of this haughtiness. Moab must then howl for it. Moab howls to Moab, i.e. as the Prophet (Isa_15:3, “all of it shall howl,”) himself declares every thing howls, and thus the cry of lament from one locality meets that of the next. For not for its neighbor does each locality lament, but for itself; but this howling is heard from one place to the other. [“It is better to adhere to the common interpretation of למואב as denoting the subject or occasion of the lamentation:—the simplest supposition is that Moab for Moab means Moab for itself.—J. A. A.].
In what follows, several localities present themselves to the view of the Prophet elevated above the general level of universal lament, and these are such localities that hitherto had produced the most precious gifts of field or vineyard, and thus had been the places of most joyous pleasures. Kir-hareseth, (comp. Isa_16:11, Jer_48:11; Jer_48:31; Jer_48:36; 2Ki_3:25), since Vitringa, has been recognized as identical with Kir-Moab Isa_16:1, and perhaps so named on account of its brick walls. It sighs for its grape cakes; and as a further reason for the mourning it is said that the meadows of Heshbon (Isa_15:4) are withered and dry. The Essebonitis (Josephus Antiq. xii, 4, 11) was very fruitful. Thence came the celebrated grain of Minnith, Eze_27:17. “The traveller Legh brought so-called Heshbon wheat to England with stalks 5´ 1´´ long and having 84 grains in the ear, which weighed four times as much as an English ear of wheat (Leyrer in Herz. R. Encycl. VI., p. 21).—Sibmah (Num_32:3 שְׂבָם, comp. Num_16:38; Jos_13:19) according to Jerome on Jer_48:32, say only 500 paces from Heshbon. The vines of Sibmah are cut down by the lords of the nations, i.e. the leaders of the heathen host. If these words were understood to mean that the vines by the power of their wine overcame the lords of the nations, then nothing would be said of the calamity that overtook the vines themselves. [Of the exposition here objected to, J. A. A. says: “This ingenious exposition (scil. of Cocceius) is adopted by Vitringa, Lowth, Hitzig, Maurer, Hendewerk, De Wette, Knobel, on the ground of its agreement with the subsequent praises of the vine of Sibmah. Gesenius objects that there is then no mention of the wasting of the vineyards by the enemy unless this can be supposed to be included in אמלל “languish.” Besides Gesenius, Rosenmueller, Ewald, Umbreit, and most of the older writers make שׂרוקיה the object of the verb הלם instead of its subject.” See Text. and Gram.]. In order to make a due impression of the damage done by cutting down the vines of Sibmah, the Prophet presents a picture of the extent of their culture. It reached to Jazer northward, and eastward to the desert they wandered, i.e. the vines extended in wild growth. Jazer (Num_32:1; Num_32:3; Num_32:35; Jos_13:25, and often) now a cluster of ruins of Siev, according to the Onomasticon, lay 15 Roman miles north of Heshbon. The vigorous growth of the vine is, even in our colder climate, something extraordinary. It is quite possible that in that warm and fruitful land the vine, by root-sprouts, spread itself, extending beyond the limits of cultivation, till it was stopped by the sand of the desert. But to the sea also it spread. What sea is this? Jer. (Jer_48:32) understands thereby “the sea of Jazer.” That can be nothing but a pool or basin (comp. “the sea,” in the temple, 1Ki_7:23 sqq.). But our context demands that we look rather for a sea lying to the south or west; for the extension of the vines northward and eastward has already been mentioned. If it is to be described as an extension on every side, there is only wanting the southern and western direction, or, as combining both, the south-western. Southwest of Sibmah lay the Dead Sea. This the Prophet means (comp. 2Ch_20:2). But I would not, with Delitzsch, take עָֽבְרוּ, “they passed over,” as a hyperbolical expression for “extended close to it.” We may without ado understand the expression in its full and proper sense. Did not Engedi, celebrated for its vine culture (Son_1:14), lie on the west shore of the Dead Sea in a corner, splendidly watered by a spring? And there, only a few hours further westward, lay Hebron, also renowned for its wine (Num_13:24, Herz. R. Encycl. XVII., p. 611). It is only a bold poetic view when the Prophet treats the vines that grow on the western shore of the Dead Sea as runners from those that grow so gloriously on the east shore in Moab.
4. Therefore I will——shouting to cease.
Isa_16:9-10. The Prophet cannot restrain himself from joining in the heart-rending lament that he hears proceeding from Moab. One may know by that how fearful it must be. For if even the enemy feels compassion the misery must have reached the acme. [“The emphasis does not lie merely in the Prophet’s feeling for a foreign nation, but in his feeling for a guilty race, on whom he was inspired to denounce the wrath of God.”—J. A. A.]. בִּבְכִי is not = כִּבְבִי; and therefore the Prophet does not say that he weeps “as bitterly as Jazer,” but that among the voices of the people of Jazer, his too is to be heard. He mingles with those who are most troubled about the ruin of the vines of Sibmah because they are most particularly affected by it. For neither the desert, whither the vines “wander,” nor the region west of the Dead Sea can be so concerned about the destruction of the grape culture in the central point Sibmah, as the neighboring Jazer. The Prophet will moisten with his tears the fields of Heshbon and Elealeh (Isa_15:4). These withered fields (Isa_16:8) may well stand in need of such moistening, for on the fruit and grain harvests there has fallen the shout (see Text and Gram.) of the harvesters or rather of the wine-treaders, an expression that can only be chosen in bitter irony. For it is the devastating feet of the enemy that have so trampled the fruitful meadows and pressed the sap out of every living plant, so that they now lie there withered. In consequence of this wine treading, joy and jubilee are (thus and together) wrested away from the cultivated fields.
5. Wherefore——not prevail.
Isa_16:11-12. The “therefore” of Isa_16:11, stands parallel with the “therefore” of Isa_16:9. Moab’s misery described Isa_16:7-8, has a double effect on the Prophet: first it constrains him to outward expression of sympathy, to weep along with them: he feels, so to speak, the contagion of the universal weeping: second, he feels himself really moved inwardly. He feels this emotion in his bowels, for the motions of the affection find their echo in the noble organs of the body. The expression הָמָה “to sound,” is often used of the bowels; indeed in relation to God Himself: Isa_63:15; Jer_31:20; comp. Lam_1:20; Lam_2:11; Jer_4:19. But the greatest misfortune of all in the whole affair is that Moab does not know the true source of all consolation. Would it only know that, then would its sorrow and the sorrow on account of Moab not be so great. But Moab appears on the high place consecrated to his god Chemosh, and torments himself to weariness. Examples of such self-tormenting, and sore sacrifices for the sake of obtaining what is prayed for, are presented by every sort of false religion, comp. 1Ki_18:28, and by Moabite history itself in the offering of his own son by Mesa (Mesha) 2Ki_3:27.—But all that shall be of no avail.
Footnotes:
[13]as very proud.
[14]omit even of.
[15]the vanity of his pretension.
[16]to.
[17]grape cakes.
[18]Or, mutter.
[19]sigh.
[20]wholly stricken.
[21]are withered.
[22]Omit the.
[23]choice.
[24]reached.
[25]to.
[26]Or, plucked up.
[27]vintage shout is fallen on, etc.
[28]Or, the alarm is fallen upon, etc.
[29]moisten.
[30]shall not tread wine.
[31]when Moab appears, when it afflicts itself on, etc., when it come to, etc:
[32]so he shall not.
b) The later prophecy: more exact determination of the period of its fulfilment
Isa_16:13-14
13 This is the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab 33since that time.
14 34But now the Lord hath spoken, saying,
Within three years, as the years of an hireling,
And the glory of Moab shall be contemned,
With all that great multitude;
And the remnant shall be very small and 35feeble.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa_16:14. בְּ before כל המון הרב is construed by some as designative of the part in which Moab suffers diminution, by others as the בְּ of association. The former construction does not answer because it restricts the diminution of Moab to a falling off of the dense population solely. Therefore I prefer with Delitzsch the second explanation according to which it is affirmed that Moab’s glory, i.e., power and riches together with the crowded population shall be destroyed.—הָמוֹן, comp. Isa_13:4; Isa_17:12; Isa_29:5, and often.—מעט מזער stand together as in Isa_10:25. The expression כַּבִּיר occurs only in Job and Isaiah, comp. Isa_10:13; Isa_17:12; Isa_28:2. It seems as if in this place the Prophet has in mind Job_36:5, where it reads: הֶן־אֵל כַּבִּיר וְלֹא יִמְאַם.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
1. Isaiah felt himself moved to repeat a prophecy against Moab, which was imparted to him at an earlier period, and to fix accurately the term of its fulfilment. For in precisely three years it will be all over with the glory of Moab, and only an inferior remnant of it will be left.
2. This is the word——feeble.
Isa_16:13-14. There are instances elsewhere of a Prophet, receiving command not to publish a prophecy at once, but to treasure it up with a view to later publication (comp. Jer_8:1 sqq., Jer_30:8; Jer_51:60 sqq.) Here we have the reverse of this procedure. Isa., receives command now to publish a revelation that was imparted to him at an earlier date, with more particular designation of the term of its fulfilment that was before left undetermined. If the prophecy was not imparted to him but to another, why should he not name this other? Would Isaiah deck himself in the plumage of another? No one needed this less than he. Nor was it unnecessary to mention the name. For a nameless prophecy lacks all authority. At most it could be said Isaiah recognized the word as genuine word of prophecy, and published it under the seal of his name and authority, like Isa_2:2-4, he takes a prophecy of Micah for a foundation. But against this is the fact that this passage bears on the face of it too undeniably the stamp of the spirit, and language of Isaiah. Therefore, מאז, “aforetime,” must only mean that some time before he had received this revelation. By מֵאָז is not indicated a definite measure of time. It is also elsewhere found opposed to the עַתָּה, “now,” Isa_48:7.——Why the Prophet chose just that season for publishing designated by “now,” and what season this might be, we have not the means of knowing. In no case was the prophecy fulfilled in one act. Here too, as so often, the fulfilment is dispersed through many stages, which the Prophet himself does not distinguish. The end of the three years needed only to coincide with a fact which bore with it in principle the fall of Moab, to assure the relative fulfilment of the prophecy, for to the absolute fulfilment belongs of course the entire time following. It is quite possible that the Prophet received the prompting to the first prophecy against Moab (Isa_15:1 to Isa_16:12) from the event of the Moabites occupying the east Jordan territory of Gad and Reuben which was depopulated by Pul and Tiglath-Pileser (1Ch_5:6; 1Ch_5:26; 2Ki_15:29), although in our chapters there occurs no express reference to such an act of enmity against Israel (comp. VaihingerinHerz.R. Encycl. IX. p. 662). Isaiah published this prophecy later when the first act of the judgment was in prospect, that was to make a definitive end of the state of Moab. But we are not able to say wherein this first act consisted. Yet that it was only a first act, appears from the fact that more than a hundred years later, Jeremiah once again prophesied the judgment of destruction against Moab (Jeremiah 48).—In three years, that should be reckoned like the years of an hireling, i.e., close, without abbreviation to his advantage, and without extension to his hurt (the expression occurs again Isa_21:16), in three years, therefore, Moab’s glory was to be made insignificant (Isa_3:5).
Footnotes:
[33]at one time.
[34]Ana.
[35]Or, not many.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_15:1. “Although the Prophets belonged to the Jewish people, and were sent especially for the sake of the Jewish people, yet as God would that all men should come to repentance and the knowledge of the truth, therefore at times also the Prophets were called on to go out of these limits, and preach to other nations for a sign against them, that they might have nothing whereby to excuse themselves.”—Cramer.
2. On Isa_15:2 sqq. “Against the wrath of God, neither much money and land, nor a well equipped nation, nor great and strong cities, nor flight from one place to another avail anything, but true repentance (Psa_33:16 sq.). Whoever forsakes God in good days, He will forsake again in misfortune, and then they can find nowhere rest or refuge (Pro_1:24 sqq.).—Starke.
3. On Isa_15:7. “What a man unjustly makes, that another unjustly takes.”—Starke.
4. On Isa_15:8 sq. “God is wont, in His judgments, to proceed by degrees, to begin with lesser punishments, and proceed to the sorer (Lev_26:18; Lev_26:21; Lev_26:24; Lev_26:28). Although the godless escape one misfortune yet they soon fall into another.”—Starke.
5. On Isa_16:1 sqq. “God can quickly bring it about that the people that once gave us sheltering entertainment must in turn, look to us for entertainment and a lurking place. For in the famine, Naomi and her husband and sons were pilgrims in the land of Moab (Rth_1:1). David procured a refuge for his parents among the Moabites (1Sa_22:3). Now their affairs are in so bad a case that they, who were able to afford shelter to others, must themselves go wandering among others; for human fortune is unstable.”—Cramer.
6. On Isa_16:4. “God therefore threatens the Moabites, at the same time winning them to repentance, for He seeks not the death of the sinner (Eze_18:32). Thus it was still a season for repentance. For had the Moabites once again used hospitality, then again had mercy been extended to them.”—Cramer.
7. On Isa_16:5. “Light arises to the pious in the darkness from the Gracious, Merciful and Just One. His heart is of good courage and fears not, till he sees his desire on his enemies (Psa_112:4; Psa_112:8). And as it went well with Jerusalem, while it went ill with the Moabites, thus shall Christ’s kingdom stand, and the enemies go down. For it is an everlasting kingdom, and the set up tabernacle of David shall surely remain (Amo_9:11)”—Cramer.
8. On Isa_16:6 sqq. “Moab was a haughty nation, for it was rich and had everything abundant. For it commonly goes thus, that where one is full, there the heart is lifted up, and the legs must be strong that can bear good days.”—Cramer.
9. On Isa_16:9 sqq. “Such must be the disposition of teachers and preachers, that for the sake of their office, they should and must castigate injustice for God’s sake, but with those that suffer the punishment they must be pitiful in heart. And therefore they must be the sin’s enemy, and the persons’ friend. Example: Micah announces the punishment to Jerusalem yet howls over it, testifies also his innermost condolence by change of clothing (Mic_1:8). Samuel announces destruction to Saul and has sorrow for him (1Sa_15:26; 1Sa_16:1). Likewise Christ announces every sort of evil to the Jews, and yet weeps bitterly (Luk_19:41). Paul preaches the frightful rejection of the Jews, and yet wishes it were possible to purchase their salvation by His eternal hurt (Rom_9:3).”—Cramer.
10. On Isa_16:14. “Exceeding, and very great is the grace and friendliness of God, that in the midst of the punishments that He directs against the Moabites, He yet thinks on His mercy. For the Lord is good unto all and has compulsion on all His works (Psa_145:9).”—Cramer.
11. On Isa_16:12. Hypocritae, ubi, etc. “Hypocrites, whose souls are filled with impious notions of God, are much more vehement in their exercises than the truly pious in the true worship of God. And this is the first retribution of the impious, that they are wasted by their own labor which they undertake of their own accord. Another is that those exercises are vain in time of need and profit nothing. Therefore their evils are born with the greatest uneasiness, nor do they see any hope of aid. On the contrary true piety, because it knows that it is the servant of Christ, suffers indeed externally, yet conquers the cross by the confidence which it has in Christ.”—Luther.
12. On Isaiah 16. Genuineness. [Barnes in loc. forcibly presents the argument for the gennineness of these prophecies afforded by the numerous mention of localities and the prediction of the desolations that would overtake them. In doing so he quotes also the language of Prof. Shedd. (Bib. Repos. Vol. VII., pp. 108 sq.). Barnes says: “That evidence is found in the particularity with which places are mentioned; and in the fact that impostors would not specify places, any further than was unavoidable. Mistakes, we all know, are liable to be made by those who attempt to describe the geography of places which they have not seen. Yet here is a description of a land and its numerous towns, made nearly three thousand years ago, and in its particulars it is sustained by all the travellers of modern times. The ruins of the same towns are still seen; their places in general can be designated; and there is a moral certainty, therefore, that this prophecy was made by one who knew the locality of those places, and that, therefore, the prophecy is ancient and genuine.”—”Every successive traveller who visits Moab, Idumea or Palestine, does something to confirm the accuracy of Isaiah. Towns bearing the same name, or the ruins of towns, are located in the same relative position in which he said they were and the ruins of once splendid cities, broken columns, dilapidated walls, trodden down vineyards, and half demolished temples proclaim to the world that those cities are what he said they would be, and that he was under the inspiration of God.” See Keith on Prophecy, whose whole book is but the amplification of this argument. The modern traveller, who explores those regions with Isaiah in one hand and Robinson’s Researches or Murray’s Guide in the other, has a demonstration that Isaiah was as surely written with the accurate knowledge of those regions in their day of prosperity and populous cities, as that the accounts of Robinson, Tristram or Murray’s Guide were written by those who only had a knowledge of their ruins and desolations.—Tr.].
HOMILETICAL HINTS
1. On Isa_16:5. This text can be used on the Reformation Feast, at Synods, Missionary Anniversaries and similar occasions. The Throne of the Lord Jesus Christ. I. Its Foundation: Grace. II. The Substance of which it is made: Truth. III. The Place where it stands: The Tabernacle of David. IV. The Object, for whose attainment it is set up: Justice and Righteousness.
2. On Isa_16:6-14. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is the people’s destruction (Pro_14:34). Therefore the salvation of a people, rests on their knowing and serving the Lord. The example of Moab proves this. We learn from it: What a People must shun and do that salvation may be its portion. I. It must shun, a) pride (Isa_16:6); b) false and external worship (Isa_16:12). II. It must serve the Lord, who is a) a true, b) an almighty, c) a holy and just God.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–14 cast out of . . . nest--rather, "as a…
cast out of . . . nest--rather, "as a brood cast out" (in apposition with "a wandering bird," or rather, wandering birds), namely, a brood just fledged and expelled from the nest in which they were hatched [HORSLEY]. Compare Isa 10:14; Deu 32:11.
daughters of Moab--that is, the inhabitants of Moab. So Kg2 19:21; Psa 48:11; Jer 46:11; Lam 4:22 [MAURER].
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at the fords--trying to cross the boundary river of Moab, in order to escape out of the land. EWALD and MAURER make "fords" a poetical expression for "the dwellers on Arnon," answering to the parallel clause of the same sense, "daughters of Moab."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 1. Send ye the lamb — Collective for lambs,…
1. Send ye the lamb — Collective for lambs, the traditional yearly tribute due to Judah. It appears from 2 Kings 3:41, that when Moab was tributary to Jehoram, king of Israel, this tribute amounted to “a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool.”
From Sela to the wilderness — That is, from along all the foraging region for Moab’s flocks. Sela means rock, a city built into an amphitheatre of rocky hills. It was the capital of Edom, and was afterward, under Roman rule, named Petra. It lies about a journey of a day and a half southeast from the southern end of the Dead Sea. The ruins of the city are frequently visited, and its dwellings, tombs, and temples are found to be cut out of the soft red sandstone. Its ingress and egress is by a two-mile valley, very narrow, called Wady Mousa. This Petra seems to have been in the hands of Moab at the time of this prophecy by Isaiah. Underneath the outward expression in the text is doubtless a reference to true relief and salvation through offerings of the sacrificial lambs. Jehovah is the speaker through his prophet, who here appears to sympathize and mourn with Moab.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–14 1. Send ye the lamb] R.V. the lambs. The…
1. Send ye the lamb] R.V. the lambs. The imper. expresses dramatically the result of the deliberations of the Moabites. The word “lamb” is to be taken collectively; it denotes the tribute in kind which the Moabites had been accustomed to pay to the kings of Israel (2Ki_3:4), but which they now propose to send to the king of Judah, the “ruler of the land” (of Edom).
from Sela to the wilderness] R.V. less appropriately “which is toward the wilderness.” The wilderness is the desert tract between Sela and Jerusalem which would have to be traversed by the messengers of Moab. Sela (“rock”), a city of Edom (2Ki_14:7), is commonly supposed from the identity of the designations to be the later Petra. There is, however, no positive evidence in support of the identification; and Jdg_1:36 seems to point to a locality near the southern end of the Dead Sea (See Moore, Commentary on Judges, pp. 56 f.).
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the mount … Zion] ch. Isa_10:32.
1–6. Arrived in Edom, the Moabitish refugees are within the sphere of Judah’s political influence (see Introd. Note). Their first anxiety, therefore, is to secure protection and the right of asylum by sending an embassy to Jerusalem.
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–14 (1) Send ye the lamb to the ruler of…
XVI.
(1) Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land.—In the days of Ahab, Mesha, the then king of Moab, had paid a tribute of sheep and lambs to the king of Israel (2Ki_3:4). On his revolt (as recorded in the Moabite Inscription) that tribute had ceased. The prophet now calls on the Moabites to renew it, not to the northern kingdom, which was on the point of extinction, but to the king of Judah as the true “ruler of the land.” The name Sela (“a rock”) may refer either to the city so-called (better known by its Greek name of Petra), 2Ki_14:7, or to the rock-district of Edom and the confines of Moab generally. In either case the special direction implies that the presence of the invaders described in Isaiah 15 would make it impossible to send the tribute across the fords of the Jordan, and that it must accordingly be sent by the southern route, which passed through Sela and the desert country to the south of the Dead Sea (Cheyne). Possibly the words are a summons to Edom, which had attacked Judah in the reign of Ahaz (2Ch_28:17), to join in a like submission.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–14 Vers. 1-14. THE BURDEN OF MOAB (CONTINUED). This portion…
Vers. 1-14. THE BURDEN OF MOAB (CONTINUED). This portion of the "burden" is divided into three sections. In section 1 (from ver. 1 to the end of ver. 5) an offer of mercy is made to Moab on certain conditions, viz. that she return to her allegiance to the house of David, and show kindness to fugitive Israelites. In section 2 (vers. 6-12) she is supposed to have rejected this offer, and is threatened (as in Isa 15) with severe punishment. In section 3 (which consists of vers. 13 and 14) the time is fixed for the main visitation to fall upon her.
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land; rather, the lamb of the ruler of the land the lamb (or lambs, kar being used collectively) due to the ruler as a mark of subjection. In the time of Ahab Mesha had paid a tribute to Israel of a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams annually. (2Ki_3:4) The prophet recommends that this, or some similar, tribute should now be paid to the King of Judah instead. Israel having been absorbed into Assyria. From Sela. Either Moab is regarded as having taken refuge in Edom, and is therefore bidden to send her tribute from the Edomite capital, Sela (equivalent to "Petra"), or "Sela," here is not a proper name, but a collective used to designate the rocky parts of Moab, to which she had betaken herself. (as in Jer_48:28) The latter supposition is, on the whole, the more probable. To the wilderness; literally, wildernesswards; i.e. by the way of the wilderness. The enemy being regarded as in possession of the northern end of the Dead Sea, Moab is recommended to send her tribute round the southern end, and so by way of "the wilderness of Judah," to Jerusalem.
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Vers. 1-5. God"s offer of mercy to the sinner.
Scarcely ever does God punish sin by a sudden unannounced visitation, or without previous warning to the sinner of what is coming upon him. And this warning is almost always accompanied by an offer of mercy. God has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth"; (Eze_18:32) he would not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance". (2Pe_3:9) And therefore he warns men. He warned even the ungodly world before the Flood by the preaching of Noah; he warned the Ninevites by Jonah; he now warned the Moabites by Isaiah; he warned the Jews of later times by John the Baptist, by his Son, by the apostles. And all equally in vain. How often do we not see in cases of this kind
I THE OFFER MADE. Sometimes by an inward awakening of the conscience, more often by preaching or teaching from without, the sinner is startled, alarmed, made to see his sin and feel his danger. Mercy is offered to him, if he will repent and amend; a course of conduct is placed before him by which he may recover himself. But the course is unpleasing; it involves pain and trouble. Pride has to be humbled in the dust, confession and restitution have to be made, pet sins have to be surrendered, self-denial has to be attempted, often the whole course of the life hitherto lived has to be altered, and a new departure made from a new beginning. To the natural man this seems hard, as to Moab the resumption of a tributary position; it seems intolerable, impossible, not to be thought of. And, after a longer or a shorter struggle, the second stage is reached
II THE OFFER SPURNED. The sinner desires mercy and forgiveness, but he will not consent to pay the price. Immediate suffering, though not of any great severity, seems harder to beat" than the prospect of future intense suffering. Or perhaps he flatters himself that the future suffering may be escaped. He thinks that he may repent later; or he doubts whether God will punish so severely as he has threatened; or he even doubts whether there is any God at all. On one ground or another he spurns the offer made him puts it aside, ceases to think of it, practically rejects it. And then comes the final result
III THE SPURNING OF THE OFFER PUNISHED. Punishment may be in this life or in the next. That of nations must be in this life; that of individuals may be in either, or in both. Usually it is in both. Our sin finds us out. Unpleasant physical consequences follow upon most sinful indulgences. Others bring loss of character and of men"s respect. Others, again, lead to poverty and earthly ruin. All are liable to be followed by never-ending regret and remorse, feelings as painful as any known to man. Further, the consciousness of ill desert cannot but arouse a fear of judgment to come a fear which, as death approaches, becomes often a constant agonizing dread. To all this has to be added the punishment that in another world awaits those who have spurned God"s offers in this punishment shadowed out to us in Scripture under the images of the "undying worm," and the "fire that never shall be quenched." It is surely worth while for sinners to ask themselves whether the enjoyment which they derive from their sins is really of sufficient value to them to compensate for all this weight of after suffering. Would they not act more prudently, as welt as more virtuously, if they accepted God"s offer of mercy as soon as it is placed before them, and forsook their sins at once, and repented and turned to God?
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-6. The King in Zion.
"I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion". (Ps 2) The destined Ruler of the world, he shall spread the wing of his mild government and protection over the nations in their harassment and despair, as now over Moab.
THE CALL TO THE FUGITIVES. They have fled into Edom, as far as to Petra, near Mount Hor. It was a region surrounded by rocky cliffs. Sela itself means rock or cliff. Between Petra whose ruins the Arab guide of Seetzen said he must weep over every time he saw them and Jerusalem lies a desert, through which the tribute flocks must pass.
1. Demand of tribute. "Send ye the lambs of the prince of the land from Sela desert-wards to the mount of the daughter of Zion." In former days Mesha, the King of Moab, was said to be a "sheep-master," and he rendered a yearly tribute of a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool, to the King of Israel till the death of Ahab. (2Ki_3:4) What was then sent to Samaria must now be sent to Jerusalem. Under the form of this demand is signified an appeal to the people of Moab to submit to the house of David as their Girly hope of safety. Spiritually, the appeal may be construed as the call to nations and to men to submit to the spiritual rule of the Messiah, as anointed King and Savior of the world.
2. Effect of the summons. The "daughters" of Moab, i.e. its cities and villages, are seen in commotion. They flutter about, like birds driven from their nests, at the fords of the Arnon, Moab"s chief river. The first effect of the "long-drawn trumpet blast" is fear and agitation. The name of Judah is a spell of terror; the hand of Jehovah is felt to be held out and to be shaken in menace over the nations, and they become like women. (cf. Isa_19:16) He demands of their flocks and their merchandise. Will they obey? In obedience only will be their salvation. Will these trembling fugitives, seeking escape on the banks of Arnon, hear the timely voice of counsel? How readily do these historical pictures suggest a spiritual application! The first impression of the Divine voice is that of fear; next there is hesitation; next the critical choice, acceptance of the Divine offers, or recalcitration and refusal. The merciful God, the Savior of men, would gather us fugitives from the world"s troubles to his arms. Shall we run to him as a strong Tower and be safe, or seek by perilous paths another course, only to rush upon fresh woes? "Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
II THE REPLY OF MOAB.
1. They appeal to Zion for counsel and arbitrament. The powerful neighbor and suzerain is asked to intervene between the contending parties as an umpire, so that the unjustly oppressed may be succored. And here is a sublime image of the Judge and Protector. May he be "a shadow like night at high moon." In our cold northern clime our poets chiefly borrow images from the wintry season to represent distress. We speak of the wintry frost of calamity, the cruel wind, the snows of adversity, etc. Not so the Hebrew; to him the hot season is typical of all that is most cruel in physical or mental suffering. Hence, by opposition, the shadow of the great rock, or the shadow deep as night, remind of all that is most grateful in deliverance and repose. Of a great man it is proverbially said, in the East, "Like the sun, he warmed in the cold, and when Sirius shone, then was he coolness and shade." And in the Sunna seven classes of good men are enumerated, whom "the Lord will overshadow with his shade, when no shade will be like his". (cf. Isa_30:2, 3 32:2) So may the outcasts be hidden, the wanderers faithfully protected, and Zion throw her regis over the land of Moab, and guard it from the spoiler.
2. They extol the government of Judah. "Oppression has ceased, the spoiling is at end, the tormentors have vanished from the land." We see what good administration is in the light of the bitter experience of tyranny and its attendant evils. Notice the strong images of harsh rule: pressure, applied so as to press out the marrow from the bones of the people, as it were; preying and spoiling; (cf. Isa_10:6) trampling and treading down of the multitude of the poor. These tyrants exhibit all "the proud man"s scorn, the oppressor"s contumely." Iniquity is their pastime, their game. They "watch for it, they lay snares and gins for good men, as the hunter does for wild beasts. The liberty of speech is denied, and men are made offenders for a word". (Isa_29:20, Isa_29:21) They are faithless to the faithful, they break treaties, they despise cities, they regard no man. (Isa_31:1, Isa_31:8) Nature seems to mourn beneath the infliction, and society and commerce languish. The highways are deserted of the merchant and the traveler. The glories of Lebanon, the loveliness of Sharon, the fruitful glades of Bashan and Carmel, are dishonored, and seen to weep in sympathy with man. Is there a more odious offence on God"s earth than the tyrant than despotism and all its horrible selfishness? "Man"s inhumanity to man makes countless myriads mourn." But these things have passed, are passing, or shall pass away. A new era dawns with the establishment of the throne of David. This throne is symbolic of:
(1) Grace, or graciousness. The word stands for all that is good in principle, benevolent in purpose, benign and healing in administrative effort. No king truly rules except Dei gratis, by the favor of God, nor is kingly unless he illustrates the benignant spirit of the Divine rule.
(2) Faithfulness, or truth. He is the extreme opposite to those treacherous covenant-breakers, who have made tyranny odious and contemptible. His words are kingly because true, and the expression of a truthful character. The character of the liar and the hypocrite sullies the crown more than any blot.
(3) Justice. "A judge both seeking right and expert in justice." A burning zeal in his temper for the right, and the habit of making it prevail. Such are the signs of Messianic times the dawn of God"s kingdom upon earth. The tent of David which had fallen and been ruined is indeed raised up again, and built as in the days of old. (Amo_9:11) And it shelters a king in whom the ideal of Jehovah is realized.
III REBUKE OF MOAB. It seems best to take what follows as the utterance of the prophet, pursuing the thread of meditation. We have heard what Moab might have said, and should have said; but alas! her accustomed pride and haughtiness will be her bane. Her insolence and insincerity are also stigmatized, as in Jer_48:30, Jer_48:31, "I know his wrath, saith the Lord; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not effect it. Therefore I will howl for Moab, and will cry out for all Moab; my heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-Heres." Some take the words as given from the throne in reply. "If Moab continues to show so little penitence, it cannot be assisted; and therefore the prophet, however it grieves him, must leave Moab to her further chastisements" (Ewald). It seems intended that we should look upon Moab"s language here as insincere, and therefore unacceptable. We may remind ourselves of the spiritual lesson, "God draws near to the lowly, but recognizes the proud afar off." It is pride which keeps us aloof from blessings that might be had by stooping; it is pride which makes us blind to opportunity, insensible to the bitter lessons of experience, and lays us open to further chastisements. J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-4. The wisdom of the weaker.
The prophet counsels Moab to "make submission meet" to Judah (ver. 1), and to show her such kindness in the day of her distress (vers. 3, 4) as will be remembered in the day when prosperity and power will be again her portion.
I THE WISDOM OF THE WEAKER COMMUNITY.
1. Submission to the greater power under its lawful claim. "Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land pay the tribute which is due, and which will be accepted as an offering appropriate for the weaker to present and for the stronger to claim. In those days it was generally acknowledged that "might was right, "and that the stronger potentate might properly exact tribute from the weaker, rendering a certain protectorate in return. Even in these days, when there have been happily established some ideas of international righteousness, it is generally acknowledged that a strong nation cannot afford to have a small province in its immediate neighborhood in a condition of absolute independence of it. It considers that it has a right to claim its submission, receiving protection in return. It is undoubtedly the wisdom of the weaker community, in every realm, to submit itself to the stronger, to make terms with it, to give what it demands and accept what it offers.
2. Kindness to the greater power in the day of its trial. (Vers. 3, 4.) A shortsighted policy would advise rebellion, would recommend that the hour of its neighbor"s depression should be used to strike a mortal blow and throw off the yoke; but very often a deeper wisdom and a truer sagacity will perceive that the strong power will bend, but cannot be broken that the day will come (ver. 4) when it will shake off its oppressors and regain its supremacy, and that, therefore, the right course to pursue is to render every possible kindness in its dark and distressing hour, being a shadow from the heat, a refuge for the outcast, a home for the exile. Be quite sure that your rival or your enemy is attacked with a mortal sickness before you defy him, even on the low ground of policy; on the higher ground of rectitude, render aid to the nobler power when it is stricken down, and your magnanimity shall not be forgotten in the day of its revival.
II THE WISDOM OF THE WEAKER MAN. This corresponds closely with that of the community.
1. Meet at once every claim that is honestly preferred. It is, no doubt, right to resist claims that are unjustly made. The judge, the magistrate, is an authority ordained of God, and to his tribunal we may appeal. But if we cannot dispute a claim that is made, we do well to "send the lamb," to pay the tribute at once. Otherwise we open the sluices through which many waters of suffering will flow in upon us. (see Mat_5:25)
2. Gain the favor of the stroker in the day of her distress. A foolish man will rejoice over the great when he fails will say, "He is become one of ourselves," and will treat him with indignity. A wise man will only welcome such a day of discomfiture because it enables him to offer succor to the unfortunate, to open wide the door of his hospitality, to be a shadow from the heat to him on whom the scorching rays are falling; and the time will come when he who is thus helped will be able to offer welcome recompense, and in return for the temporary shelter will "receive to everlasting habitations". (Luk_16:9)
III THE WISDOM OF THE HUMAN SOUL IN ITS RELATION TO CHRIST. This is:
1. To meet his righteous claim; not, indeed, to send a lamb to Zion, as in ancient days, for such offerings he asks not of us. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." Humility of heart; faith in the Son of God, the Divine Redeemer; the presentation of our heart and life to his holy service; the offering of the obedient and submissive spirit; this is the tribute to bring to his feet. And also:
2. To show kindness to his people. Our Lord is urgent with us that we should show kindness to all them that bear his Name, especially to the weak, the poor, and the despised, the downcast and the outcast, the "little ones" of his flock. Any deed of love we may do for any one of them will be accounted as an act of kindness shown direct to the Lord himself. C. (Mat_25:34-40)
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 1. Recovering false steps.
The word "lamb" in this verse should be rendered "lambs." From 2Ki_3:4 we learn that the tribute rendered to the King of Israel by Mesha, King of Moab, was a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, with the wool. At the death of Ahab Mesha refused to pay this tribute, and asserted his independence. In view of the exposure of Moab to attacks from Assyria, this was a false step, and Mesha is here urged to retrace that step, and at once send the tribute as a sign of renewed allegiance. The urgency of the case is shown in the advice to send the tribute round the southern part of the Dead Sea, because the northern end was already blocked by the Assyrians. This introduces the subject of retracing our false steps in undoing the wrongs we have done; stepping back from our willful paths, and beginning once more in the right way.
I THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY WORK. Its necessity may be argued from these points of view:
1. It is due to God that we should prove our sincerity by reparation as a sign of repentance.
2. It is due to those whom we have wronged that when we are brought to a right mind we should remove and undo the wrong.
3. It is due to ourselves that we should clear away from memory and conscience the bad past, as far as its evil consequences can be cleared. It is never enough for a man to "cease to do evil;" he is hound to remove, as far as possible, the issues of his past evil; and the intensest bitterness a good man can ever know arises from the fact that he cannot heal the wounds he has made, or check the evil working of the influences he has exerted, or example he has shown. When pleaded with in respect of his intense religious earnestness, John Newton is said to have replied, "How can the old blasphemer be silent?" He felt that life was not long enough, or powers large enough, for the undoing of the wrong wrought by a godless, vicious youth. And, further, if in life we swerve from the paths of rectitude, we shall find there is no going on round into those paths again; we must do one thing we must go back the bad road we have chosen.
II BUT THIS IS MOST DIFFICULT WORK. In either the larger or smaller senses to which reference has been made. And that because:
1. It involves serious self-humiliations. None of us can easily say, "I was wrong.
2. Because it exposes us to the scorn of the unprincipled, who regard all retracing of steps as a sign of weakness, and cannot understand the heroism of conquering the baser self. In the sense of undoing wrong that has been done it is most difficult, because the issues of our words and deeds go on out of our reach. It is as if we dropped poison into the fountainhead of a river, and then in remorse tried to cleanse that fount. It can be done, but away down the valley the poison has been carried, and none can bring back to life the poor dead fish that are borne on the current out to sea. The Apostle Paul never could undo the wrongs of that time when he so bitterly persecuted the disciples of the Nazarene.
III YET THIS IS ALWAYS HOPEFULLY REMUNERATIVE WORK. It has its special rewards.
1. It satisfies our sense of duty.
2. It rests a conscience which otherwise would ceaselessly reproach.
3. It makes us clean-handed to appear before God.
4. It enables us to receive the assurance of Divine acceptance.
5. It becomes our witness to righteousness. Restitution, reparation, humbly going back the willful way we may have taken, meet gracious Divine response. God surely smiles on the man who is brave enough to set wrongs right, and acknowledge the foolishness of his self-willed way. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 12 Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the…
Isa_16:1
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
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A message to Moab
The fugitives are supposed to have found a temporary home in Edom.
The verse may be spoken by the prophet, or (as Prof. Cheyne suggests) it may proceed from the Moabite chiefs themselves, exhorting one another to take this step. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
Tribute demanded of Moab
A very terrible humiliation had already been inflicted on Moab in the reign of Jehoram, King of Israel (2Ki_3:4; 2Ki_3:25). During Ahabs reign, Moab had been compelled to pay a very heavy annual tribute, even 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams. Refusal to pay led to war from time to time; war resulting, however, invariably in the defeat of the Moabites. In such circumstances the prophet urges upon Moab the wisdom of paying this tribute without trouble or demur. (Buchanan Blake, B. D.)
Gospel submission
It is applicable to the great Gospel duty of submission to Christ, as the Ruler of the land and our Ruler.
1. Send Him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living sacrifice.
2. When you come to God, the great Ruler, come in the name of the Lamb, the Lamb of God.
3. Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered unto the shadow of His wings, shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest (Isa_16:2), that shall either be snatched up by the next bird of prey, or shall wander endlessly in continual frights. Those that will not yield to the fear of God shall be made to yield to the fear of everything else. (M. Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv4, 12 Isa_16:4. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab.
GOD’S OUTCASTS
Isa_16:4. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab.
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I. In the most deserted condition of His people, God acknowledges them as His own. “Mine outcasts.” Sennacherib thought them his; but though forsaken by all the world, God claims them as His own, and avows His interest in them. Men pursue an opposite course; when individuals sink in the social scale, the kindly warmth of friendship is chilled, and the bond of intercourse broken (H. E. I., 23, 24, 2152–2157; P. D., 1422). But God is the friend who sticketh closer than any brother [1033] True, they sometimes esteem themselves outcasts even from Him (Psa_42:2), and still more frequently are thought to be so by the ungodly (Psa_42:3); but in this the ungodly make a mistake which in their case is natural, and God’s people should never wrong Him by suspecting Him of fickleness (chap. Isa_49:15).
[1033] Philip Henry says, “God’s people may be an outcast people—cast out from men’s love, their synagogue, their country; but God will own His people when men cast them out. They are outcasts, but they are His; and somehow or other He will provide a dwelling for them.” He adds, that though many of the ejected ministers were brought very low, had many children, were greatly harassed by persecutors, and their friends were unable to support them, yet in all his acquaintance he never knew, nor had heard of, any Nonconformist minister being in prison for debt.
II. God provides a refuge for His people when and where it might be least expected. “With thee, Moab.” Moab was not a neutral, but a hostile state, one of Israel’s most inveterate foes, always on the outlook for opportunities to display its hostility. Strange, therefore, that Moab should be selected as a protector for Jehovah’s outcasts; strange, but not unexampled. God often raises up friends for His people in unexpected quarters, supplies their needs by unexpected means, or turns their foes into friends (Pro_16:7). Esau’s heart was suddenly changed; Joseph found favour in the eyes of the keeper of the prison; Elijah was fed by ravens; the hungry lions forbore to touch Daniel, &c.
III. God would have His people to be only sojourners in Moab. His outcasts were merely to dwell there; they were not to be incorporated with the Moabitish nation; they were not to adopt either the social customs or the religious beliefs of that people. In like manner He would have His people remember always that in this world they are only sojourners (1Pe_2:11; H. E. I., 5026–5065).
IV. God is preparing to bring His outcast and scattered people home. He hath prepared for them a city, and He will bring them to the city He hath prepared for them (Joh_14:1). Let them recognise, rejoice in, and live in harmony with this gracious purpose (Php_3:17-21).—Samuel Thodey. [1036]
[1036] “I have long looked for you,” said a persecuting magistrate to a poor woman, “and now I commit you to prison; and then what will you do?” “If it please my Heavenly Father,” she replied, “I shall be fed at your table;” and so she was, for his own wife, who sat by, sent her daily food (Psa_84:11-12).
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 1. RV 'Send ye the lambs for the ruler…
1. RV 'Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land from Sela which is toward the wilderness,' etc. Mesha, king of Moab, had rendered to Israel tribute of lambs and rams (2Ki_3:4). The prophet here bids the Moabites send tribute to Judah and thus secure protection by renewing their allegiance to God's people; or perhaps in this v. the Moabite chiefs are pictured as exhorting one another to this step. From Sela] in Edom, where the fugitive Moabites have taken refuge.
2. Timid and not knowing which way to take, the people are gathered at the Arnon preparatory to migrating.
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3. An appeal from the Moabites to Zion that she will interpose and shelter the fugitives. Take counsel] 'bringcounsel,'i.e. give us advice. Execute judgment] 'make a decision,' by interposing between us and our oppressors.
4. The appeal to Zion continued. Read, 'Let mine outcasts dwell with thee (Zion); as for Moab, be thou (Judah) a covert,' etc. The reason follows why safety may be sought at Zion—because of the peace to be enjoyed there under the rule of the Messianic king (Isa_16:5), the establishment of whose kingdom is, in the prophet's view, to follow upon the destruction of the Assyrians.
5. Hasting righteousness] RV 'swift to do righteousness': cp. Isa_11:4, Isa_11:5.
6. The pride] which prevented Moab from accepting conditions: the same national failing is alluded to Isa_25:11 (cp. Zep_2:8). But his lies, etc.] RV 'his boastings are nought.'
7. Foundations] RV 'raisin-cakes': cp. Hos_3:1. The trade in these would cease through the desolation of the vineyards.
Kirhareseth] named in 2Ki_3:25 as a strong fortress.
8. The lords, etc.] RM 'her choice plants did break down the lords of nations,' alluding to the strength of the wine of Sibmah.
Principal] RV 'choice.' Are come.. through.. are stretched out, they are gone over] RV 'reached.. into.. were spread abroad, they passed.' The words describe the area over which the cultivation of the vine extended in Moab, but which is now desolate; or perhaps the language used in this v. may be used figuratively to express the wide extent of Moabite influence: cp. Psa_80:8, etc.
9. With the weeping of Jazer] i.e. with sorrow as genuine as that of the Moabites themselves. For the shouting, etc.] RV 'for upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the battle shout is fallen.'
11. My bowels] regarded as the seat of the emotions (Jer_31:20). The speaker is probably Jehovah, as in Isa_16:10 (Isa_63:15).
12. RV 'And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth himself, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not prevail.' The allusion is to the worship of the national deity, Chemosh.
13. Since that time] RV 'in time past.' The expression may denote a previous time in the speaker's life (2Sa_15:34), or a more distant past (Isa_44:8).
14. The years of an hireling] i.e. definitely reckoned, with no grace allowed. Feeble] RV 'of no account.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv1, 5 Or, Petra: Heb. a rock.
Sela
Or, Petra: Heb. a rock.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 The Burden of Moab Continued
CHAPTER 16
The Burden of Moab Continued
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1. God’s call to Moab to repent (Isa 16:1-5) 2. Moab’s pride and judgment (Isa 16:6-14)The fifteenth and sixteenth chapters form one prophecy. Moab’s land bordered on the land of Israel. The historical facts concerning Moab may be studied and followed through the following passages: 1Sa 14:47; 2Sa 8:2; 2Ki 1:11; 2Ki 3:4;2Ch 20:1-37; 2Ki 8:20;2Ki 24:2. Moab’s sin and judgment are frequently mentioned by the prophet. See Amo 2:1-3. A great past judgment of Moab’s is described in 15:1-9. The call in chapter 16:1 to send a lamb has nothing to do with Him who is “the lamb of God.” The exhortation becomes clear by reading 2Sa 8:2 and 2Ki 3:4-5. Christ, however, is in view in verse 5, chapter 16(Isa 16:5). A remnant of Moab is to be left and in the time of the end we find Moab mentioned again. Read Isa 11:14 and Dan 11:41. The final ruin of Moab is described in Isa 25:10-12.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 6 The Conditions of Deliverance
The Conditions of Deliverance
v. 1. Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion, Moab here, having found refuge in Petra of Idumea, being admonished to send its tribute of lambs to the ruler of the land, to the king reigning at Jerusalem, the road to this capital, whose most important section was Mount Zion, leading through the wilderness south and west of the Dead Sea. To submit to Judah, in both the physical and the spiritual sense, was Moab’s only hope.
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v. 2. For it shall be that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, like birds aimlessly fluttering, like a nest whose occupants have suddenly been turned out, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon; for here, at the boundary of their land, they assemble in huddled bands, looking for help and deliverance. To this appeal the prophet answers:
v. 3. Take counsel, execute judgment, planning deliverance instead of oppression, as heretofore; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday, thereby concealing all those who trust in this shadow as completely as if the darkness of night enclosed them; hide the outcasts, those who are driven from home without cause; bewray not him that wandereth, betraying him into the hands of the enemies.
v. 4. Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler, thus giving shelter to all people who might become fugitives from Judah in the uncertain circumstances obtaining at that time. The reason for this admonition is now given. For the extortioner is at an end, the great world-power which made it a practice to destroy and tread under foot was itself overcome, the spoiler ceaseth, destruction is no longer to be found, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. Jerusalem was delivered from the Assyrian affliction, which represented, at the same time, all the forces of evil arrayed against the Church of God.
v. 5. And in mercy shall the throne, that of Judah, of the Messiah, be established, prepared and confirmed; and He, the Messiah Himself, shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, one in whom the truth of the Lord’s promise is fulfilled, one who Himself is the Truth, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness, for those are the principles of His government. There is only one way for Moab to escape the threatening everlasting Judgment, and that is by throwing itself upon the mercy of this King.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 General Information:
General Information:
This continues the prophecy about the people of Moab. God describes events that will happen in the future as if it is happening in the present. Verse one is probably what God says the rulers of Moab will say to each other. (See: Isaiah 15:1-2)
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Send rams to the ruler of the land
The Moabites will send rams to the king of Judah so that he might protect them from the enemy army. (See: Symbolic Action)
Selah
This is the name of a city. (See: How to Translate Names)
the daughter of Zion
The "daughter" of a city means the people of the city. See how you translated this in Isaiah 1:8. AT: "the people of Zion" or "the people who live in Zion" (See: Idiom)
As wandering birds, as a scattered nest, so the women of Moab are at the fords of the Arnon River
All the people of Moab, which includes the women, are forced to flee from their homes. AT: "Like birds without a home, the women of Moab will flee across the river to another land" (See: Simile)
As wandering birds, as a scattered nest
These two phrases mean basically the same thing. (See: Doublet)
translationWords
send
rule
desert
Zion
Moab
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14 16:1-4 A request for asylum.
16:1-4 A request for asylum.
16:1 Moab was known for its sheep (see 2 Kgs 3:4). The lambs were sent as tribute to Judah in recognition of Judah’s sovereignty over Moab. • Sela (the cliff), an unknown remote site, was apparently where the Moabites escaped through the desert.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.