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

The prophecy which commences this chapter occupies the first ten verses. That it relates to Babylon is apparent from Isaiah 21:2, Isaiah 21:9. The object is to foretell the destruction of that city by the Medes and Persians, and the design is the same as in the more extended and minute description of the same event in Isaiah 13; Isaiah 14:Whether it was delivered at the same, or at another time, cannot be determined from the prophecy. The purpose, however, of the prophecy is the same as there - to give consolation to the Jews who should be carried captive to that city; to assure them that Babylon would be destroyed, and that they would be delivered from their long and severe bondage. This is indicated in a brief and graphic manner in Isaiah 21:10.

This oracle, or ode, is one of singular beauty. It is distinguished for its brevity, energy, and force, for the variety and the rapidity of the action, and for the vivid manner in which the events are made to pass before the mind. It is the language of strong excitement and of alarm; language that expresses rapid and important movements; and language appropriate to great vigor of conception and sublimity in description. In the oracle the prophet supposes himself in Babylon, and the events which are described are made to pass rapidly in vision (see the Introduction, Section 7, 4) before him. He first sees Isaiah 21:1 the dreadful storm coming at a distance (the hostile armies), approaching like a whirlwind and threatening destruction to everything in its way. He then Isaiah 21:2 hears God's direction to the invading armies; represents himself as made acquainted with the design of the vision, and hears the command of God to Elam (Persia) and Media to go up and commence the siege.

Regarding himself as among the exiles in the midst of Babylon, he Isaiah 21:3-4 describes himself as deeply affected in view of this sudden invasion, and of the calamities that were coming upon Babylon. In Isaiah 21:5, he describes the state of the Babylonians. They are represented, first as preparing the table, making ready for feasting and revelry, setting the watch on the watch-tower, and giving themselves up to dissipation; and secondly, as suddenly alarmed, and summoned to prepare for war. He then (Isaiah 21:6-9 declares the way in which the princes of Babylon would be roused from their revelry. But it is described in a very remarkable manner. He does not "narrate" the events, but he represents himself as directed to appoint a watchman Isaiah 21:6 to announce what he should see. That watchman Isaiah 21:7 sees two chariots - representing two nations coming rapidly onward to execute the orders of God. So rapid is their approach, so terrible their march, that the watchman cries out Isaiah 21:9 that Babylon is fallen, and will be inevitably destroyed. The prophecy is then closed Isaiah 21:10 by an address to the afflicted Jews whom God had 'threshed,' or punished by sending them captive to Babylon, and with the declaration that this was intended by the Lord of hosts to be declared unto them. The whole design of the prophecy, therefore, is to console them, and to repeat the assurance given in Isaiah 13; 14, that Babylon would be destroyed, and that they would be delivered from bondage.

Prediction of the taking of Babylon by the Medes and Persians at the time of a great festival, Isaiah 21:1-9. Short application of the prophecy to the Jews, partly in the person of God, and partly in his own, Isaiah 21:10. Obscure prophecy respecting Dumah, Isaiah 21:11, Isaiah 21:12. Prophecy concerning the Arabians to be fulfilled in a very short time after its delivery, Isaiah 21:13-17.

The first ten verses of this chapter contain a prediction of the taking of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. It is a passage singular in its kind for its brevity and force, for the variety and rapidity of the movements, and for the strength and energy of coloring with which the action and event are painted. It opens with the prophet's seeing at a distance the dreadful storm that is gathering and ready to burst upon Babylon. The event is intimated in general terms, and God's orders are issued to the Persians and Medes to set forth upon the expedition which he has given them in charge. Upon this the prophet enters into the midst of the action; and in the person of Babylon expresses, in the strongest terms, the astonishment and horror that seizes her on the sudden surprise of the city at the very season dedicated to pleasure and festivity, Isaiah 21:3, Isaiah 21:4. Then, in his own person, describes the situation of things there, the security of the Babylonians, and in the midst of their feasting the sudden alarm of war, Isaiah 21:5. The event is then declared in a very singular manner. God orders the prophet to set a watchman to look out, and to report what he sees; he sees two companies marching onward, representing by their appearance the two nations that were to execute God's orders, who declare that Babylon is fallen, Isaiah 21:6-9.

But what is this to the prophet, and to the Jews, the object of his ministry? The application, the end, and design of the prophecy are admirably given in a short, expressive address to the Jews, partly in the person of God, partly in that of the prophet: "O my threshing" "O my people, whom for your punishment I shall make subject to the Babylonians, to try and to prove you, and to separate the chaff from the corn, the bad from the good, among you; hear this for your consolation: your punishment, your slavery, and oppression will have an end in the destruction of your oppressors." - L.

INTRODUCTION TO Isaiah 21

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

Ch. 21. Oracles on Babylon, Edom and Arabia

These three short and difficult oracles form together one of the most singular passages in prophecy. Common to all three are (a) the obscure oracular utterance, in striking contrast to the terse lucidity of Isaiah’s style, (b) the strongly-marked visionary element in the writer’s experience, and (c) a certain readiness of sympathy with the foreign nations concerned in the predictions. These features indicate, if not identity of authorship, at least a peculiar type of prophetic inspiration, to which no complete parallel is found in the acknowledged writings of Isaiah. It is true that expressions characteristic of Isaiah occur in Isaiah 21:1-10, but they are hardly sufficient to remove the impression that the individuality of the writer is distinct from that of Isaiah. In the rest of the chapter the linguistic evidence is decidedly adverse to Isaiah’s authorship.

The oracle on Babel. Isaiah 21:1-10

Like whirlwinds in the desert, the prophet has seen in a “hard vision” the stormy and impetuous advance of the Persian hosts against Babylon, Isaiah 21:1-2.

Unnerved and appalled by what he has seen, his mind is filled with gloom and foreboding; the immediate prospect of carnage and destruction obscures for the moment the brighter hopes beyond, of deliverance for Israel, Isaiah 21:3-4.

Another scene is briefly depicted; a Babylonian carousal within the walls, suddenly interrupted by the call to arms, Isaiah 21:5.

The prophet then describes the mysterious inward process by which the truth had been communicated to him. In spirit he had stationed “the watchman” (his prophetic consciousness) to scan the horizon for some indication of the coming catastrophe. After long waiting “the watchman” descries the appointed sign—a train of riders—and forthwith proclaims its purport, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” &c., Isaiah 21:6-9.

The oracle closes with an apostrophe to the writer’s own people announcing that what he has seen is the sure word of Jehovah, Isaiah 21:10.

The question of authorship has to be settled mainly on historical grounds, and we have to consider in the first place, what conquest of Babylon is here referred to? (1) According to an attractive theory propounded by George Smith (the Assyriologist) and elaborated by Kleinert, the reference is to one of the sieges of Babylon which took place in Isaiah’s lifetime, most probably that by Sargon in 710. The king of Babylon at that time was Merodach-baladan (see General Introd., p. xvi, and below on ch. 39), whose friendly intercourse with Hezekiah is thought to account for Isaiah’s interest in the struggle, as well as for the aversion with which he seems to contemplate the triumph of Assyria (Isaiah 21:3-5). (2) The majority of critics hold that the prophecy belongs to the last decade of the exile and relates to the capture of Babylon by Cyrus in 538 (see on ch. 13 f.). This is certainly the more obvious theory, and the exegetical difficulties which have been urged against it seem all to be capable of a satisfactory solution. The “tone of depression” manifested in Isaiah 21:3-4 belongs to the subjectivity of the writer, and merely proves that he is distinct from the author of ch. 13 f.; it has no parallel in Isaiah’s descriptions of the fate of Judah’s allies. The mention of “Elam” and “Media” (Isaiah 21:2) as the conquering foe is not incompatible with Isaiah’s authorship (see Isaiah 22:6), but is most naturally explained of the army of Cyrus. The impression that the author lived at a distance from Babylon is possibly correct (see on Isaiah 21:1); but there may have been inspired seers in Palestine during the time of the Exile. On the other hand, Isaiah 21:10 and the latter part of Isaiah 21:2 seem clearly to imply that Babylon herself, and not her conqueror, is the cruel tyrant under whom the Jews and other nations are languishing.

Isa 21:1-10.

REPETITION OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH CHAPTERS TO THE JEWS ABOUT TO BE CAPTIVES IN BABYLON, THAT THEIR ENEMY SHOULD BE DESTROYED AND THEY BE DELIVERED.

He does not narrate the event, but graphically supposes himself a watchman in Babylon, beholding the events as they pass.

1. desert--the champaign between Babylon and Persia; it was once a desert, and it was to become so again.

of the sea--The plain was covered with the water of the Euphrates like a "sea"

(Jer 51:13, 36; so

Isa 11:15,

the Nile), until Semiramis raised great dams against it. Cyrus removed these dykes, and so converted the whole country again into a vast desert marsh.

whirlwinds in the south--

(Job 37:9; Zec 9:14).

The south wind comes upon Babylon from the deserts of Arabia, and its violence is the greater from its course being unbroken along the plain

(Job 1:19).

desert--the plain between Babylon and Persia.

terrible land--Media; to guard against which was the object of Nitocris' great works [HERODOTUS, 1.185]. Compare as to "terrible" applied to a wilderness, as being full of unknown dangers,

De 1:29.

The burden - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1).

Of the desert - There have been almost as many interpretations of this expression, as there have been interpreters. That it means Babylon, or the country about Babylon, there can be no doubt; but the question why this phrase was applied, has given rise to a great diversity of opinions. The term 'desert' (מדבר midbâr) is usually applied to a wilderness, or to a comparatively barren and uncultivated country - a place for flocks and herds (Psalm 65:13; Jeremiah 9:9 ff); to an actual waste, sandy desert Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 35:1; and particularly to the deserts of Arabia Genesis 14:6; Genesis 16:7; Deuteronomy 11:24. It may here be applied to Babylon either historically, as having been "once" an unreclaimed desert: or by "anticipation," as descriptive of what it "would be" after it should be destroyed by Cyrus, or possibly both these ideas may have been combined. That it was "once" a desert before it was reclaimed by Semiramis is the testimony of all history; that it is "now" a vast waste is the united testimony of all travelers. There is every reason to think that a large part of the country about Babylon was formerly overflowed with water "before" it was reclaimed by dykes; and as it was naturally a waste, when the artificial dykes and dams should be removed, it would again be a desert.

Of the sea - (ים yâm). There has been also much difference of opinion in regard to this word. But there can be no doubt that it refers to the Euphrates, and to the extensive region of marsh that was covered by its waters. The name 'sea' (ים yâm) is not unfrequently given to a large river, to the Nile, and to the Euphrates (see the note at Isaiah 11:15; compare Isaiah 19:5). Herodotus (i. 184), says, that 'Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by raisin great dams against it; for before, it overflowed the whole country like a sea.' And Abydenus, in Eusebius, ("Prepara. Evang.," ix. 457) says, respecting the building of Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, that 'it is reported that all this was covered with water, and was called a sea - λέγεται δὲ πάντα μεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὕδωρ εἶναι, θαλασσων καλουμένην legetai de panta men ech archēs hudōr einai, thalassōn kaloumenēn (Compare Strabo, "Geog." xvi. 9, 10; and Arrianus, "De Expedit. Alexandri," vii. 21). Cyrus removed these dykes, reopened the canals, and the waters were suffered to remain, and again converted the whole country into a vast marsh (see the notes at Isaiah 13; 14)

As whirlwinds - That is, the army comes with the rapidity of a whirlwind. In Isaiah 8:8 (compare Habakkuk 1:11), an army is compared to an overflowing and rapid river.

In the south - Whirlwinds or tempests are often in the Scriptures represented as coming from the south, Zechariah 9:14; Job 37:9 :

Out of the south cometh the whirlwind,

And cold out of the north.

So Virgil:

• creberque procellis

Africus -

AEneid, i.85.

The deserts of Arabia were situated to the south of Babylon, and the south winds are described as the winds of the desert. Those winds are represented as being so violent as to tear away the tents occupied by a caravan (Pietro della Valle, "Travels," vol. iv. pp. 183, 191). In Job 1:19, the whirlwind is represented as coming 'from the wilderness; that is, from the "desert" of Arabia (compare Jeremiah 13:24; Hosea 13:15).

So it cometh from the desert - (see Isaiah 13:4, and the note on that place). God is there represented as collecting the army for the destruction of Babylon 'on the mountains,' and by mountains are probably denoted the same as is here denoted by the desert. The country of the "Medes" is doubtless intended, which, in the view of civilized and refined Babylon, was an uncultivated region, or a vast waste or wilderness.

From a terrible land - A country rough and uncultivated, abounding in forests or wastes.

The desert of the sea - This plainly means Babylon, which is the subject of the prophecy. The country about Babylon, and especially below it towards the sea, was a great flat morass, overflowed by the Euphrates and Tigris. It became habitable by being drained by the many canals that were made in it.

Herodotus, lib. 1:184, says that "Semiramis confined the Euphrates within its channel by raising great dams against it; for before it overflowed the whole country like a sea." And Abydenus, (quoting Megasthenes, apud Euseb. Praep. Evang. 9:41), speaking of the building of Babylon by Nebuchadonosor, says, "it is reported that all this part was covered with water and was called the sea; and that Belus drew off the waters, conveying them into proper receptacles, and surrounded Babylon with a wall." When the Euphrates was turned out of its channel by Cyrus, it was suffered still to drown the neighboring country; and, the Persian government, which did not favor the place, taking no care to remedy this inconvenience, it became in time a great barren morassy desert, which event the title of the prophecy may perhaps intimate. Such it was originally; such it became after the taking of the city by Cyrus; and such it continues to this day.

As whirlwinds in the south "Like the southern tempests" - The most vehement storms to which Judea was subject came from the desert country to the south of it. "Out of the south cometh the whirlwind," Job 37:9. "And there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house," Job 1:19. For the situation of Idumea, the country (as I suppose) of Job, see Lamentations 4:21 compared with Job 1:1, was the same in this respect with that of Judea: -

"And Jehovah shall appear over them,

And his arrow shall go forth as the lightning;

And the Lord Jehovah shall sound the trumpet;

And shall march in the whirlwinds of the south."