Bibelkommentare

This chapter, and that which follows it, are the burden of Moab—a prophecy of some great desolation that was coming upon that country, which bordered upon this land of Israel, and had often been injurious and vexatious to it, though the Moabites were descended from Lot, Abraham's kinsman and companion, and though the Israelites, by the appointment of God, had spared them when they might both easily and justly have cut them off with their neighbours. In this chapter we have, I. Great lamentation made by the Moabites, and by the prophet himself for them, Isa 15:1-5. II. The great calamities which should occasion that lamentation and justify it, Isa 15:6-9.

Analysis of Isaiah 15:1-9 and Isaiah 16:1-14

Section I-- The Time of the Prophecy

This and the following chapter make one entire prophecy, and should not have been divided. At what time it was delivered is unknown. The only period which is designated is, that it was to be fulfilled in three years from the time when it was uttered Isaiah 16:14. Lowth supposes that it was delivered soon after the former, in the first years of the reign of Hezekiah, and that it was fulfilled in the fourth year of his reign, when Shalmanezer invaded the kingdom of Israel. He supposes that he might have marched through Moab, and secured its strong places on his way to Judea. Gesenius supposes that it was uttered by some contemporary of Isaiah, or by some earlier prophet, without the epilogue Isaiah 16:14, as a general denunciation against Moab; and that it was adopted by Isaiah and applied to the Moabites during his own time. This he argues because of the repetition of geographical names; the play upon those names; the roughness and harshness of the expressions; and many favorite phrases which, he, says, are foreign to 'the genuine Isaiah.' He supposes that it had its origin in the national animosity which subsisted between the Jews and the Moabites; and that it might have been composed on account of the tribute which had been witcheld, 896 b.c.; or on account of the corruption of the Moabites, 949 b.c.; or on the taking possession of the territory by Reuben and Gad. But this is evidently conjectural.

It is fair to presume that it is a production of Isaiah himself, unless it can be proved that he did not write it; and the argument from the style, to prove that it was written by some other person than Isaiah, does not seem to be sufficient. It may have been written by Isaiah at an early period of his life, and subsequently incorporated into his prophecies, and adapted by himself to a state of things existing in an advanced period of his prophetic life (see the note at Isaiah 16:14). Compare, however, the arguments of Gesenius in his Commentary, and in the "Bib. Rep.," vol. vii. pp. 120, 121. It is certain that it was composed when the tribute was witcheld from Judah which was due from the Moabites (see Isaiah 16:1).

Section II-- History of Moab

The land of Moab, so called from Moab the son of Lot, by his oldest daughter Genesis 19:31-37, was situated on the east side of the river Jordan, and adjacent to the Dead Sea, and on both sides of the river Arnon, although, strictly and properly speaking, the river Arnon was regarded as its northern boundary. Its capital city was on the river Arnon. The first residence of Lot, after fleeing from Sodom, was "Zoar" Genesis 19:30, on the southeast of the Dead Sea; from thence he removed into the mountainous region where his two sons were born Genesis 19:30. The country was originally occupied by race of giants called "Emim" Deuteronomy 2:10, whom the Moabites conquered and expelled. A considerable part of this country was subsequently conquered by Sihon, king of the Amorites, who made the Arnon the boundary of the land of Moab, and Heshbon his capital (Numbers 21:26; compare Numbers 21:13; Judges 11:18).

The Israelites passed by theft land in journeying to Canaan, without distressing or embarrassing them; because God had said that he had given 'Ar to the children of Lot for a possession' Deuteronomy 2:9. But the adjacent region in the possession of the Amorites, the Israelites took, after a signal victory, and gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad Numbers 21:31-35. Thus the territory of the Jews, being bounded by the river Arnon, was adjacent to that of Moab. It is evident, however, though the Arnon was the proper boundary of Moab, yet that a considerable portion of country on the north of that river was usually regarded as lying in the land of Moab, though strictly within the limits of the territory formerly of the Amorites, and subsequently of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Thus mount Nebo is said to be in the land of Moab Deuteronomy 32:49; Deuteronomy 34:1, though it was properly within the limits of the Amorites. And thus many of the places in the prophecy before us were on the north of that river, though specified as in the country of Moab. It is probable that the boundary was never regarded as permanently fixed, though the river Arnon was its natural and usual limit.

There was always a great antipathy between the Jews and the Moabites, and they were the natural and constant enemies of the Jewish nation. The foundation of the enmity was laid far back in their history. Balaam seduced the Israelites to sin by means of the daughters of Moab Numbers 25:1-2; and God ordered that this people should not enter into the congregation of his people, or be capable of office, to the tenth generation, because they had the inhumanity to refuse the children of Israel a passage through their land in their journey to Canaan Deuteronomy 23:3.

Eglon, king of the Moabites, was the first who oppressed Israel after the death of Joshua. Ehud killed him and subdued the Moabites Judges 3:21. Toward the end of this period, however, peace and friendship were restored, mutual honors were reciprocated, as the history of Ruth shows, and Moab appears to have been a place of refuge for outcasts and emigrant Hebrews Rut 1:1; 1 Samuel 22:3; Jeremiah 40:11; Isaiah 16:3. David subdued Moab and Ammon, and made them tributary 2 Samuel 8:2-12; 2 Samuel 23:20. The right to levy this tribute seems to have been transferred to Israel after the division of the kingdom, for after the death of Ahab, they refused to pay the customary tribute of 100,000 lambs and as many rams 2 Kings 1:1; 2 Kings 3:4; Isaiah 16:1. Soon after the death of Ahab they began to revolt 2 Kings 3:4-5. They were subsequently engaged in wars with the Jews. Amos (Amos 1:13 ff) denounced great calamities on them, which they probably suffered under Uzziah and Jotham, kings of Judah 2 Chronicles 26:7-8; 2 Chronicles 27:5. Calmet supposes that they were carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar beyond the Euphrates, as the prophets had threatened Jeremiah 9:26; Jeremiah 12:14-15; Jeremiah 25:11-12; Jeremiah 48:47; Jeremiah 49:3, Jeremiah 49:6, Jeremiah 49:39; Jeremiah 50:16; and that they were restored by Cyrus to their land, as many other captive nations were. It is probable that, in the latter times, they were subject to the Asmonean kings, and finally to Herod the Great. (Robinson; Calmet.) It is remarkable that Jeremiah has introduced much of this chapter into his prophecy in his 48th chapter.

Section III-- Comparison of Isaiah With Jeremiah

In order to see the resemblance between the two prophecies, I insert here a comparison of the corresponding parts, following the order of Isaiah.

Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 48:37. "every head bald ..."

Isaiah 15:3; Jeremiah 48:38. "everyone shall howl ..."

Isaiah 15:4; Jeremiah 48:34. "Heshbon shall cry ..."

Isaiah 15:5; Jeremiah 48:34; Jeremiah 48:3, Jeremiah 48:5. "from Zoar to Horonaim ..."

Isaiah 15:6; Jeremiah 48:34. "Nimrim shall be desolate."

Isaiah 15:7; Jeremiah 48:36. "the riches ... is perished."

(Isaiah 15:8-9; Isaiah 16:1-5, are missing in Jeremiah.)

Isaiah 16:6; Jeremiah 48:29-30. "the pride of Moab ..."

Isaiah 16:7; Jeremiah 48:31. "shall howl ... and mourn ..."

Isaiah 16:8-9; Jeremiah 48:32. "the weeping of Sibnah ..."

Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 48:33. "gladness is taken away ..."

Isaiah 16:11; Jeremiah 48:36. "my bowels shall sound ..."

Section IV - Moab After the Exile

After the exile, intimate connections took place between the Jews and the Moabites by marriages (Ezra 9:1 ff; Nehemiah 13:1). These marriages, however, were dissolved by Ezra as being, in his view, contrary to the law of Moses. In the time of the Maccabees little mention is made of them (compare Daniel 11:41); but Josephus mentions them in the history of Alexander Jannaeus. Heshbon and Nadaba, Lemba and Oronas, Gelithon and Zara, cities of Moab, are there mentioned as being at that time in the possession of the Jews (Jos. "Ant." xiii. 15. 4). After that, their name is lost under that of the Arabians, as was also the case with Edom and Ammon. At the time of Abulfeda, Moab proper, south of the river Arnon, bore the name of Karrak, from the city of that name (compare the note at Isaiah 15:1); the territory north of the Arnon, the name of Belka, which includes also the country of the Amorites. Since that time the accounts of the country are exceedingly meagre, and it is only until quite recently that the state of Moab has attracted the attention of travelers.

It has been ranged and ravaged by the predatory tribes of Arabs, and, through fear of them, few travelers have ventured to visit it. In February and March, 1806, however, Mr. Seetsen, not without danger of losing his life, undertook a tour from Damascus down to the south of the Jordan and the Dead Sea, and thence to Jerusalem; and, in his journey, threw much unexpected light on the prophecy before us, especially in regard to the places mentioned here. He found a multitude of places, or the ruins of places, still bearing the old names, and thus has set bounds to the perfectly arbitrary designations of the old maps. In September 1812, that distinguished German traveler, I. L. Burckhardt, made the same tour from Damascus down to Karrak, from where he pursued his journey over Wady Mousa, or Petra, and thence to Cairo in Egypt. In 1818, a company of intelligent English travelers (Bankes, Irby, Mangles, and Legh), made a journey from Karrak to the land of the Edomites, particularly to Petra, and thence back, on the other side of the Jordan, to Tiberius. In some respects they confirmed, and, in others, extended the accounts of Seetsen (see Gesenius' "Commentary"). In the notes at these chapters, I have endeavored to embody the principal information found in these writers on the topography of Moab.

Section V - Analysis of This Prophecy

'The prophecy,' says Prof. Stuart ("Bib. Rep." vii. 110), 'is a piece replete with vivid description, with animated and impassioned thought, with poetic diction, and with scenes which are adapted to make a deep impression on the mind of the reader.' The prophecy in the two chapters contains the following parts:

I. The capitals of Moab are destroyed suddenly in one night Isaiah 15:1.

II. In the midst of the consternation, the people hasten to the high places, and to the altars and temples of the gods, to implore protection. They are seen in the streets with sackcloth, and on the tops of the houses, crying out with loud lamentations, and every expression of sorrow and despair Isaiah 15:2-4.

III. Some of the fugitives flee to Zoar for protection, and others to Luhith and Horonaim, hastening to countries beyond their own borders, because everything in their own land was withered and dried up Isaiah 15:5-7.

IV. Consternation and desolation are spread throughout the land, and even the streams are full of blood, and wild beasts are seen coming up upon the land Isaiah 15:8-9.

V. The prophet pities them, weeps with them Isaiah 15:5; Isaiah 16:1 :11, and advises them to seek the favor of Judah by sending to them the customary tribute which was due, and which had been for a long time witcheld Isaiah 16:1.

VI. Some of the fugitives are seen at the fords of Arnon endeavoring to escape to Judea, and making supplication for reception, and imploring blessings on the land Isaiah 16:2-6. But see the notes at Isaiah 16:2-7, for another view of the design of this passage. The view here given is that suggested by Gesenius and Prof, Stuart.

VII. They are repulsed, and the answer to their supplication is given in such a tone as to show the deep sense of the injury received from Moab which the Jewish people entertained Isaiah 16:7.

VIII. The prophet then proceeds in his description of the utter wasting of the country of Moab - desolation which excited the deepest feelings in his heart, and so great as to move his most tender compassion Isaiah 16:8-12.

IX. Then follows a limitation of the time when all this would take place. Within three years all this would be fulfilled Isaiah 16:13-14.

Prediction of very heavy calamities about to fall upon the Moabites, Isaiah 15:1-9.

This and the following chapter, taken together, make one entire prophecy, very improperly divided into two parts. The time of its delivery, and consequently of its accomplishment, which was to be in three years from that time, is uncertain; the former not being marked in the prophecy itself, nor the latter recorded in history. But the most probable account is, that it was delivered soon after the foregoing, in the first year of Hezekiah; and that it was accomplished in his fourth year, when Shalmaneser invaded the kingdom of Israel. He might probably march through Moab; and to secure every thing behind him, possess himself of the whole country, by taking their principal strong places Ar and Kirhares. - L. The authorized Version which we have followed in the margin, places the prophecy in this chapter fourteen years earlier than that contained in the two preceding.

Jeremiah has happily introduced much of this prophecy of Isaiah into his own larger prophecy against the same people in his forty-eighth chapter, denouncing God's judgment on Moab, subsequent to the calamity here foretold, and to be executed by Nebuchadnezzar; by which means several mistakes of transcribers in the present text of both prophets may be rectified.

INTRODUCTION TO Isaiah 15

This chapter is a prophecy of the destruction of the Moabites; two of their principal cities are mentioned as made desolate, Isaiah 15:1 the inhabitants in divers places are represented as weeping and mourning, and showing various signs of it, Isaiah 15:2 yea, not only the common people, but the armed soldiers also, Isaiah 15:4 nay, even the prophet himself, Isaiah 15:5 the reasons of which were the great drought, so that there were no grass, nor green thing, Isaiah 15:6 the carrying away of their good things, either by themselves or others, Isaiah 15:7 the flight and cry of the people to the very borders of the land, Isaiah 15:8 and the great effusion of blood, Isaiah 15:9.

CHAPTER 15

Ch. 15–16. An Oracle on Moab

These chapters describe a terrible disaster which has overtaken, or is about to overtake, the proud and hitherto prosperous nation of Moab. Ch. Isaiah 16:13 f. is a postscript, which states unambiguously that an earlier prophecy is here taken up and reaffirmed in its substance, the time of its fulfilment being fixed within a term of three years. The language leaves it uncertain whether the original composition was strictly a prophecy or a poetic lament over a visitation which the writer had actually witnessed. The element of prediction appears in Isaiah 15:9 and Isaiah 16:12; but the rest of the passage reads like a description of current events, and certainly exhibits a most minute and accurate knowledge of the geography of the trans-Jordanic region. The writer betrays a certain sympathy with the misfortunes of Moab, although he expresses the conviction that the notorious arrogance of that people demanded a retribution such as it has experienced.

The question of date and authorship is complicated by the peculiar form in which the oracle is presented. It is obvious that the Epilogue (Isaiah 16:13 f.) belongs to a later date than the body of the prophecy, and there is nothing whatever to suggest that both are from the same author. The internal evidence, indeed, is strongly opposed to such an hypothesis. While the Epilogue bears every mark of Isaiah’s rapid and pregnant style that could be expected in so short a piece, the original oracle (Isaiah 15:1 to Isaiah 16:12) presents a singular contrast to the prophecies of Isaiah. The pathetic, elegiac strain of this passage, its outflow of purely human sympathy towards the victims of the calamity, its poverty in religious ideas, and its diffuse and laboured style, combine to stamp it with a character foreign to his genius. And this general impression is confirmed by an examination of the vocabulary, which differs widely from that of Isaiah. On these and other grounds the majority of critics since Gesenius have been led to the conclusion that we have here the work of some unknown prophet, which was republished by Isaiah with an appendix from his own hand.

With regard to the date of the original prophecy the chief indications are these: (1) Although the assailants of Moab are nowhere named, we may at least infer from the fact that the fugitives took refuge in Edom (Isaiah 16:1), that their country had been invaded from the north. (2) It also appears from Isaiah 16:1-6 that at this time a strong monarch sat on the throne of Judah and held the Edomites in subjection (see the notes below). This last circumstance would seem to take us back at least to the days of Uzziah, the suzerainty of Edom having been lost in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:6) and never recovered during the lifetime of Isaiah. Perhaps the most plausible conjecture that has been offered is that of Hitzig (adopted by a number of subsequent commentators), that the prophecy refers to the subjugation of Moab by the North Israelites under Jeroboam II., the contemporary of Uzziah. It is true that there is no particular mention of this campaign in the Old Testament, but we know that Jeroboam extended the boundaries of his kingdom to the “sea of the Arabah” (2 Kings 14:25; Amos 6:14), and it is reasonable to suppose that this involved an invasion of Moab. In every respect the circumstances of the time are in harmony with the allusions of the prophecy. Hitzig’s further suggestion, however, that the author was Jonah the son of Amittai (2 Kings 14:25), though ingenious, rests on no solid foundation. There are two earlier wars of North Israel against Moab which might conceivably be thought of in this connexion. One is the conquest of the country by Omri in the 9th century, known to us from the famous Moabite Stone, which commemorates the war of revenge waged by Mesha against Ahab. The other is the campaign of Jehoram, Ahab’s son, in alliance with Jehoshaphat king of Judah (2 Kings 3). This can hardly be the occasion of the prophecy, since at that time Judah took part in the subjugation of Moab, and would not be likely to be appealed to by the fugitives for succour (Isaiah 16:1 ff.). Nevertheless the Biblical account of that campaign throws a valuable light on some features of the passage, and illustrates the barbarity with which these frontier wars were conducted. We read that the allies “beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees: until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof” (2 Kings 3:25). We can readily suppose that Jeroboam’s invasion was carried out with equal thoroughness.

The date of the Epilogue (assuming it to be Isaiah’s) is comparatively unimportant. There is no doubt that Isaiah has the Assyrians in view as the agents of the Divine sentence against Moab. Perhaps the most likely time for such a prediction would be about 711, when the Moabites were in revolt against Sargon. At the time of Sennacherib’s great expedition they appear to have held aloof from the conspiracy and maintained their allegiance to Assyria.

The passage falls into three sections:

1. Ch. 15. The distress of Moab. In one night her two chief cities have been ruined (Isaiah 15:1); the sanctuaries are crowded with despairing suppliants, and a cry of agony ascends from all her public places (2–4). The fugitives are then seen making their way through the desolate country, and collecting their possessions at the brook of the Arabah, in order to carry them over into Edom (5–7). For the war-cry has circled round the whole land so that no refuge can be found within it (8), and yet worse things are in store for the survivors (9, Isaiah 16:2).

2. Ch. Isaiah 16:1-6. Moab vainly seeks protection from Jerusalem. From Edom the fugitives are represented as sending a present (Isaiah 15:1) to Jerusalem, along with a piteous and flattering appeal to the Jewish monarchy (3, 4; Isaiah 15:2 appears to break the connexion) whose glories are extolled in terms almost worthy of a Messianic prophecy (5). But the petition is rejected because of the well-known pride and faithlessness of the Moabitish nationality (6).

3Isaiah 16:7-12. There thus remains no hope for Moab, and the poet once more strikes up a lamentation over the ruined vineyards of the once fertile country where the vintage song is now stilled for ever (7–10). The personal sympathy of the writer finds clearer expression here than in the earlier part of the poem (9, 11); although his last word must be a religious application of the calamity of Moab as proving the impotence of its national deities (12).

4. Then follows the Epilogue (Isaiah 16:13-14), really a new prophecy announcing the fall of Moab within a very brief space of time.

The parallel prophecy on Moab in Jeremiah 48 is a greatly amplified variation of this ancient oracle. With the exception of Isaiah 15:1, Isaiah 15:8 to Isaiah 16:5 and Isaiah 16:12 ff. nearly every verse in these two chapters occurs in a more or less altered form in Jeremiah (the references are given in the notes below). A comparison of the two passages affords an instructive illustration of the freedom used by prophetic writers in handling the remains of ancient literature.

Isa 15:1-9.

THE FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CHAPTERS FORM ONE PROPHECY ON MOAB.

LOWTH thinks it was delivered in the first years of Hezekiah's reign and fulfilled in the fourth when Shalmaneser, on his way to invade Israel, may have seized on the strongholds of Moab. Moab probably had made common cause with Israel and Syria in a league against Assyria. Hence it incurred the vengeance of Assyria. Jeremiah has introduced much of this prophecy into his

forty-eighth chapter.

1. Because--rather, "Surely"; literally, "(I affirm) that" [MAURER].

night--the time best suited for a hostile incursion

(Isa 21:4; Jer 39:4).

Ar--meaning in Hebrew, "the city"; the metropolis of Moab, on the south of the river Arnon.

Kir--literally, "a citadel"; not far from Ar, towards the south.

He--Moab personified.

Bajith--rather, "to the temple" [MAURER]; answering to the "sanctuary"

(Isa 16:12),

in a similar context.

to Dibon--Rather, as Dibon was in a plain north of the Arnon, "Dibon (is gone up) to the high places," the usual places of sacrifice in the East. Same town as Dimon

(Isa 15:9).

to weep--at the sudden calamity.

over Nebo--rather "in Nebo"; not "on account of" Nebo (compare

Isa 15:3)

[MAURER]. The town Nebo was adjacent to the mountain, not far from the northern shore of the Dead Sea. There it was that Chemosh, the idol of Moab, was worshipped (compare

De 34:1).

Medeba--south of Heshbon, on a hill east of Jordan.

baldness . . . beard cut off--The Orientals regarded the beard with peculiar veneration. To cut one's beard off is the greatest mark of sorrow and mortification (compare

Jer 48:37).

The burden of Moab - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). This is the title of the prophecy. The Chaldee renders this, 'The burden of the cup of malediction which is to come upon Moab.'

Because in the night - The fact that this was to be done in the night denotes the suddenness with which the calamity would come upon them. Thus the expression is used in Job to denote the suddenness and surprise with which calamities come:

Terrors take hold on him as waters,

A tempest stealeth him away in the night.

Because in the night - בליל beleil. That both these cities should be taken in the night is a circumstance somewhat unusual; but not so material as to deserve to be so strongly insisted upon. Vitringa, by his remark on this word, shows that he was dissatisfied with it in its plain and obvious meaning, and is forced to have recourse to a very hard metaphorical interpretation of it. Noctu vel nocturno impetu; vel metaphorice, repente, subito, inexpectata destructione: placet posterius. Calmet conjectures, and I think it probable, that the true reading is כליל keleil, as the night. There are many mistakes in the Hebrew text arising from the very great similitude of the letters ב beth, and כ caph, which in many MSS., and some printed editions, are hardly distinguishable.

Admitting this reading, the translation will be, -

"Because Ar is utterly destroyed, Moab is undone!

Because Kir is utterly destroyed, Moab is undone!"