圣经注释书

本章及随后一章，乃是论摩押的默示——一段关乎那个邻近以色列之地、且屡次侵害搅扰以色列的国家即将临到的巨大荒凉的预言——虽然摩押人乃是亚伯拉罕的亲属与同伴罗得的后裔，虽然以色列人照神的吩咐、在他们本可轻易而公义地与四围邻国一同将之剪除之时，却饶恕了他们。在本章中，我们有： I. 摩押人，以及先知自己为他们所发的极大哀号，赛15:1-5。 II. 那些足以引发这哀号、且证明这哀号合乎情理的重大灾祸，赛15:6-9。

Isaiah 15:1-9 与 Isaiah 16:1-14 的分析

第一节——预言的时间

本章与下一章构成一篇完整的预言，本不该被分开。它发表于何时，无从知晓。唯一被指明的时段是：这预言要在发表之后三年内应验（Isaiah 16:14）。洛思（Lowth）认为它发表于前一段预言之后不久，即希西家作王之初年，并认为它应验于希西家作王第四年，即撒缦以色入侵以色列国之时。他揣测撒缦以色可能在前往犹太的途中经过摩押，夺取了它的坚固据点。格泽尼乌斯（Gesenius）认为它是由以赛亚的某位同时代人、或某位更早的先知所说的——不包括附于末后的跋（Isaiah 16:14）——作为对摩押的一般性谴责；后来被以赛亚采用，应用于他自己时代的摩押人。他的论据是：地理名称的重复、对这些名称的双关运用、措辞的粗粝生硬，以及许多他说「不属于真正以赛亚」的惯用短语。他揣测它源于犹太人与摩押人之间长期存在的民族敌意；其写成可能是因为公元前 896 年被扣留的贡物，或因为公元前 949 年摩押人的败坏，或因为流便和迦得支派占据那片领土。但这显然出于揣测。

除非能证明以赛亚没有写它，否则合理的推定是：它乃是以赛亚本人的作品；而以文体论证它出自以赛亚以外之人的说法，似乎并不充分。它可能是以赛亚早年所写，后来被并入他的预言，并由他本人加以调整，以切合他先知生涯后期所存在的局面（参见 Isaiah 16:14 的注释）。不过，可试参格泽尼乌斯在其《注释》以及《圣经文库》（Bib. Rep.）第七卷第120、121页中的论证。可以确定的是，它写于摩押人当向犹大缴纳的贡物被扣留之时（参见 Isaiah 16:1）。

第二节——摩押的历史

摩押地因罗得与其长女所生之子摩押而得名（Genesis 19:31-37），位于约旦河东、死海之滨，亚嫩河两岸；不过严格而论，亚嫩河被视为它的北界。它的首都在亚嫩河上。罗得逃离所多玛后的第一个住处是琐珥（Genesis 19:30），在死海东南；从那里他迁入山区，他的两个儿子就是在那里出生的（Genesis 19:30）。这地起初住着一族巨人，称为「以米人」（Deuteronomy 2:10），摩押人征服并赶出了他们。这地后来有相当一部分被亚摩利王西宏征服；他以亚嫩河为摩押地的边界，以希实本为首都（Numbers 21:26；试参 Numbers 21:13；Judges 11:18）。

以色列人在前往迦南的途中经过他们的地，没有搅扰或难为他们；因为神曾说祂已将「亚珥赐给罗得的子孙为业」（Deuteronomy 2:9）。但亚摩利人所占的邻近地区，以色列人在一场大胜之后夺取了，分给流便和迦得两个支派（Numbers 21:31-35）。这样，犹太人的疆土以亚嫩河为界，与摩押相邻。然而，显而易见的是，尽管亚嫩河是摩押的正式边界，该河以北相当大的一片乡野通常仍被视为在摩押地之内，尽管严格说来它在从前亚摩利人、后来流便迦得两支派境界的范围内。例如，尼波山被说是在摩押地（Deuteronomy 32:49；Deuteronomy 34:1），尽管按正当的疆界它是在亚摩利人的境内。同样，我们面前这段预言中提到的许多地方都在该河以北，却被指为在摩押境内。很可能这边界从未被视为永久固定，尽管亚嫩河是它天然而惯常的界限。

犹太人与摩押人之间素来存在着强烈的敌意，他们是犹太民族天然的、恒久的仇敌。这仇意的根子远植于他们的历史之中。巴兰曾借摩押的女子引诱以色列人犯罪（Numbers 25:1-2）；神又下令，这民不可入耶和华的会，十代之久也不可——因他们在以色列人前往迦南的旅途中，忍心拒绝他们从自己的地经过（Deuteronomy 23:3）。

摩押王伊矶伦是约书亚死后第一个欺压以色列的人。以笏杀了他，制伏了摩押人（Judges 3:21）。然而，到这时期将近结束时，和平与友谊得以恢复，彼此互致敬意，路得的历史表明了这一点；摩押似乎曾是流亡和迁居之希伯来人的避难之地（Rut 1:1；1 Samuel 22:3；Jeremiah 40:11；Isaiah 16:3）。大卫制伏了摩押和亚扪，使他们进贡（2 Samuel 8:2-12；2 Samuel 23:20）。征收这贡物的权利，在王国分裂之后似乎转归以色列，因为亚哈死后，他们拒绝照例缴纳十万人羊羔和同等数目公绵羊的贡物（2 Kings 1:1；2 Kings 3:4；Isaiah 16:1）。亚哈死后不久，他们开始反叛（2 Kings 3:4-5）。他们后来与犹太人屡次交战。阿摩司（Amos 1:13 及以下）宣告大灾必临到他们；这些灾祸他们很可能在犹大王乌西雅和约坦手下受了（2 Chronicles 26:7-8；2 Chronicles 27:5）。加尔梅（Calmet）认为，他们被尼布甲尼撒掳到幼发拉底河以外，正如众先知所警告的（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）；后来他们像许多别的被掳民族一样，被居鲁士归回本地。到了后期，他们很可能臣服于哈斯摩尼诸王，最终臣服于大希律。（罗宾逊 Robinson；加尔梅 Calmet。）值得注意的是，耶利米把本章的大部分内容引入了他预言的第四十八章。

第三节——以赛亚与耶利米的比较

为看出两段预言的相似之处，我在此按以赛亚的顺序插入对应部分的比较。

Isaiah 15:2；Jeremiah 48:37：「各人头上光秃……」

Isaiah 15:3；Jeremiah 48:38：「人人都要哀号……」

Isaiah 15:4；Jeremiah 48:34：「希实本要哀叫……」

Isaiah 15:5；Jeremiah 48:34；Jeremiah 48:3、Jeremiah 48:5：「从琐珥到何罗念……」

Isaiah 15:6；Jeremiah 48:34：「宁林必荒凉。」

Isaiah 15:7；Jeremiah 48:36：「……的财物……都消灭了。」

（Isaiah 15:8-9 与 Isaiah 16:1-5 在耶利米书中没有出现。）

Isaiah 16:6；Jeremiah 48:29-30：「摩押的狂傲……」

Isaiah 16:7；Jeremiah 48:31：「必哀号……哀哭……」

Isaiah 16:8-9；Jeremiah 48:32：「为西比玛哀哭……」

Isaiah 16:10；Jeremiah 48:33：「欢欣已被夺去……」

Isaiah 16:11；Jeremiah 48:36：「我的心肠必……鸣响……」

第四节——被掳之后的摩押

被掳归回之后，犹太人与摩押人因通婚而有了亲密的往来（Ezra 9:1 及以下；Nehemiah 13:1）。然而，以斯拉认为这些婚姻违背摩西的律法，便将它们解除了。马加比时代很少提到他们（试参 Daniel 11:41）；但约瑟夫在亚历山大·詹尼阿斯的历史中提到了他们。摩押的诸城——希实本与拿大巴、伦巴与俄罗那斯、格里逊与撒拉——在那里被提到当时已在犹太人手中（约瑟夫《犹太古史》第十三卷15章4节）。此后，他们的名字便消失在阿拉伯人之名下，以东和亚扪也是如此。在阿布勒斐达的时代，亚嫩河以南的摩押本部名叫卡拉克，得名于同名的城（试参 Isaiah 15:1 的注释）；亚嫩河以北的地带则名叫贝尔卡，其中包括亚摩利人的乡野。自那以后，关于这地区的记载极其贫乏；直到相当晚近，摩押的境况才引起旅行者的注意。

这地区一直被阿拉伯的劫掠部落蹂躏搜刮；由于惧怕他们，少有旅行者敢于前往。然而，1806 年二、三月间，西岑先生（Seetsen）冒着丧命的危险作了一次旅行，从大马士革南下到约旦河与死海之南，再到耶路撒冷；他在旅途中对我们面前的这段预言投下了许多意想不到的光亮，特别是关于这里所提到的诸地。他发现许多地方，或地方的废墟，仍带着古时的名字，从而给旧地图上全然武断的标注划定了界限。1812 年 9 月，那位著名的德国旅行家布尔克哈特（I. L. Burckhardt）作了同样的旅程，从大马士革南下到卡拉克，再从那里经瓦迪穆萨（即彼特拉）前行，前往埃及的开罗。1818 年，一批有见识的英国旅行者（班克斯 Bankes、厄尔比 Irby、曼格斯 Mangles、莱格 Legh）从卡拉克前往以东人之地，特别是彼特拉，再从约旦河另一侧返回提比哩亚。他们的记述在某些方面证实、在另一些方面扩展了西岑的记载（参见格泽尼乌斯的《注释》）。在这几章的注释中，我已设法把这几位作者关于摩押地形的主要资料收纳进来。

第五节——本预言的分析

「这段预言，」斯图尔特教授说（《圣经文库》第七卷第110页），「是一篇充满生动描述、活泼炽烈之情思、诗歌辞藻与深刻场景的作品，适于在读者心中留下深邃的印象。」这两章的预言包含以下几个部分：

一、摩押的诸城在一夜之间突然毁灭（Isaiah 15:1）。

二、在惊惶之中，百姓急忙奔向高处，奔向诸神的坛和庙，恳求保护。人们出现在街市上身穿麻衣，在房顶上大声哀号，各样忧伤绝望的表情尽显（Isaiah 15:2-4）。

三、一些逃亡者逃往琐珥求庇护，另一些逃往路希和何罗念，急急忙忙逃往境外之地，因为他们本地的一切都枯干衰残了（Isaiah 15:5-7）。

四、惊惶与荒凉遍布全地，连河流都满了血，野兽上到境内（Isaiah 15:8-9）。

五、先知怜悯他们，与他们一同哭泣（Isaiah 15:5；Isaiah 16:1、11），并建议他们把当纳而长久扣留的惯例贡物送给犹大，以寻求犹大的恩惠（Isaiah 16:1）。

六、一些逃亡者出现在亚嫩河渡口，力图逃往犹太，恳求收留，并为那地求福（Isaiah 16:2-6）。但关于本段的目的，另有一种看法，参见 Isaiah 16:2-7 的注释。这里所持的看法是格泽尼乌斯和斯图尔特教授所提出的。

七、他们被拒绝；对他们恳求的答复所用的语气，显出犹太民众因摩押所加的伤害而怀有的深切感受（Isaiah 16:7）。

八、先知接着描述摩押全地的彻底荒废——这荒凉在他心中激起至深的情感，大得令他动了最温柔的怜悯（Isaiah 16:8-12）。

九、随后是这一切将要发生之时限的限定。三年之内，这一切都必应验（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.

赛 15:1-9。

第十五与十六章合成一篇论摩押的预言。

LOWTH 认为此预言传于希西家王朝之初，应验于第四年，当时撒缦以色在前往攻打以色列的途中，可能攻取了摩押的坚固城。摩押大概曾与以色列和叙利亚结盟共同对抗亚述。因此它招致亚述的报复。耶利米将本预言的大部分内容引入了他的第四十八章。

1. 因为——更准确地说，应为"必定"；字面作"（我断言）……"[MAURER]。

夜——最适宜发动敌袭的时刻

（赛 21:4； 耶 39:4）。

亚珥——希伯来文意为"城"；摩押的京城，在亚嫩河之南。

基珥——字面作"堡垒"；离亚珥不远，偏南。

他——拟人化的摩押。

巴益——更准确地说，应为"往庙宇去"[MAURER]；与类似上下文中的"圣所"

（赛 16:12）

相对应。

往底本——更准确地说，由于底本在亚嫩河之北的平原上，应作"底本（上）到高处去"，即东方通常献祭之处。与底们

（赛 15:9）

是同一城。

哭泣——为突如其来的灾祸而哭。

尼波——更准确地说应为"在尼波"；不是"因"尼波（比较

赛 15:3）

[MAURER]。尼波城邻近尼波山，离死海北岸不远。摩押的偶像基抹就在那里受敬拜（比较

申 34:1）。

米底巴——在希实本之南，约旦河东的一座山上。

光秃……胡须剃净——东方人对胡须格外尊崇。剃去胡须是忧愁与屈辱最大的标记（比较

耶 48:37）。

“论摩押的默示”——（参见Isaiah 13:1的注释）。这是这段预言的标题。迦勒底译本把它译作“将要临到摩押的咒诅之杯的默示”。

“因为一夜之间”——这事要在夜间成就，表明灾祸临到他们是何等突然。约伯记中就用这说法表明灾祸临到的突然与意外：

惊恐如波涛将他追上；

暴风在夜间将他刮去。

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!"