Notes on the Old and New Testaments

§ V. Analysis of this prophecy.

"The prophecy," says Prof. Stuart (Bib. Repository, 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 Aloab are destroyed suddenly in one night, ch. xv. 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 XV. 2 — 4.

III. Some of the fugitives flee to Zoar for protection, and others to Luhith and Horonaim — has tening to countries beyond their own borders, because every thing in their own land was withered ana dried up, xv. 5—7.

IV. Consternation and desolation are spread throughout the land, and even the streams are full of blood, and wild beasts are seen coining up upon the land, ch. xv. 8, 9.

V. The prophet pities them; weeps with them (ch. xv. 5, xvi. i. 11), and advises them to seek tlie favour of Judah by sending to them the customary tribute which was due, and which had been for a long time withheld, xvi. 1.

VI. Some of the fugitives are seen at the fords of Arnon endeavouring to escape to Jiidea, and making supplication for reception, and imploring lilessings on the land, xvi. 2—6. But see the Notes on ch. xvi. 2—'*, for another view of the design of this passage. Tiie view here given is that suggested bv 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, xvi. 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 hia heart, and so great as to move his most tender compassion, xvi. 8 — 12.

IX. Then follows a limitation of the time when all this would take place. Vi^ithin three years all this would be fuUilled, xvi. 13. 14.

1 The "burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab

1. The burden of Moab. See Note cb. xiii. 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." IT Betause in the night. The fact that this Was to be done in the night denotes the suddenness with which the calamitywould come upon them. Thus the ex-

is laid waste, and brought' to silence; because in the night

pression is used in Job to denote the suddenness and surprise with which calamities come.

Terrors take hold on him as waters, A tempest steale'h hira away in the night Job XX vii. 20.

So a thief is represented as coming in the night— in a sudden and unexpected manner. Job xxiv. 14.

See also Matth. xxiv. 43. 1 Thess. v. 2. 2 Pet. iii. 10. Rev. iii. 3, xvi. 15. IT Ar of Moah. This was the capital of Moab. It was situated on the south of the river Anion. It was sometimea called Rahhath Moah. Isaiah (ch. xvi. 7-11) calls it the city " with walls of burnt brick." Under the name of Areopolis it occurs in Eusebius and Stephen of Byzantium, and in the acts of many Synods of the fifth and si.xth centuries, when it was the seat of a bishop. Relandi Palaestina, pp. 577, 578. /-bulfeda says that in his time it was a small town. Jerome says that the c y was destroyed by an earthquakf when he was young, probably abou' i. D. 315. Burckhardt found a plac*" jailed Rabba about twenty miles sou'y jf the river Anion which he suppoij't. to be the ancient Ar. Seetzen fojuid there ruins of considerable compiL—3; especially the ruins of an old palace or temple, of which portions of th « wall and some pillars are still standing. Legli says, " There are no traces of fortifications to be seen, but upon an eminence were a dilapidated Roman temple and some tanks." ^ Is laid waste. That is, is about to be laid waste. This passed before the mind of Isaiah in a vision, and he represents it as it appeared to him, as already a Bcene of desolation. IF And brought to silence. Marg. Cut off. The word may mean either. Th« sense is, that the city was to be destjroyed, for so the word fl^'l ddmA often means. Hos. iv. 5. Jer. vi. 2. Hos. x. 15. Zeph. i. 11. Hos. iv. 6, X. 7. Jer. xlvii. 5. IT Kir of Moah. f j^obably this city was the modern Kef^k or Karak. The Chaldee renders it hy the name fi^^'^l? Kerdkka, or fortre* r, hence the name Kerek or Karak. / ccording to Burckhardt, it lies about hree hours, and according to AbuK jda twelve Arabic miles, south of A Moab, upon a very high and stee,» » cky hill, from which tne prospect ads even to Jerusa-

2 He is gone up to Bajith and to Dibon, the high places, tc

lem, and which, formed by nature for a fortress, overlooks the whole surrounding country. In the wars of the Maccabees (2 Mace. xii. 17) it is mentioned under the name of KapaKa. Ko' raka, and it is now knovm by the name of Kerek or Karak. In the time of the Crusades, a heathen prince built there under king Fulco (in the yea\ 1131) a very important castle which was very serviceable to the Franks, and in 1183 it held out successfully against u formidable siege of a month by Saladin. Abulfeda speaks of it as. so strong a fortress that one must abandon even the wish to take it. It has been visited in modern times by Seetzen, Burckhardt, and the company of English travellers, referred to above. The place has still a castle, into which the whole surrounding country brings its grain for safe keeping. The small and poor town is built upon the remains of once important edifices, and is inhabited by Moslems and Christians. It is the seat of a Bishop, though the Bishop resides at Jerusalem. See Gesenius' Comm. in loc.

2. He ie gone up. That is, the inhabitants of Moab in consternation have fled from their ruined cities, and have gone up to other places to weep. IT To Bajith, and to Dibon. Lowth supposes that these two words should be joined together, and that one place is denoted. The Chaldee renders it, " Ascend into the houses of Dibon." Kimchi supposes that the word f^"^? denotes a temple. It usually means house, and hence may mean a temple of the gods; that is, the principal house in the land. This interpretation is adopted by Gesenius and Noyes. Vitringa supposes it to mean Beth-Meon (Jer. xlviii. 24), or Beth-Baal-Meon (Josh. xiii. 17), north of the Arngn, now Macin. I have adopted the translation proposed by Kimchi as bettei expressing the sense in my view than that which makes it a proper name. Dibon — ^perhaps the same place aa

weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all

Dimon in ver. 9 — was a city given by Moses to Gad, and afterwards yielded to Reuben. Num. xxxii. 3, 33, 34. Josh. xiii. 9. It was again occupied by the Moabites. Jer. xlviii. 18, 22. Eusebius says it was a large town on the north of the river Anion. Seetzen found there ruins under the name of Diban in a magnificent plain. Hence Dibon is here appropriately described as going up from a plain to weep; and the passage may be rendered, " Dibon is weeping upon the high places." IT To weep. Over the sudden desolation which has come upon the principal cities. IT Moab shall howl over Nebo. Nebo was one of the mountains on the east of the Jordan. It was so high that from it an extended view could be taken of the land of Canaan opposite. It v/as distinguished as being the place where Moses died. Deut. xxii. 49, xxxiv. I. The meaning of this is, that on Mount Nebo, Moab should lift up the voice of wailing. Jerome says that the idol Chamos, the principal idol of Moab, was on Mount Nebo, and that this was the place of its worship. This mountain was near the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. Mount Nebo was completely barren when Burckhardt passed over it, and the site of the ancient city had not been ascertained. Travels in Syria, p. 370. On its summit, says Burckhardt, was a heap of stones overshadowed by a very large wild pistachio tree. At a short distance below to the southwest is the ruined place called Kereyat. IT And over Medeba. This was a city east of the Jordan in the southern part of the territory allotted to Reuben. It was taken from the Reubenites by the Moabites. Burckhardt describes the ruins of this town, which still bears the same name. He says of it, it is " built upon a round hill; but there is no river near it. It is at least half an hour in circumference. I observed many remains of private houses, constructed with blocks of Bilex; but not a single edifice is stand-

; ing. There is a large Birket [tank, oi { cistern], which as there is no spring a, Medeba might be still of use to the Bedouins were the surrounding ground cleared of the rubbish to allow the water to flow into it; but such an undertaking is far beyond the views of the wandering Arab. On the west side of the town are the foundations of a temple built with large stones and apparently of great antiquity. A part of its eastern wall remains, constructed in the same style as the castle wall at Ammon. At the entrance to one of the courts stand two columns oi ^he Doric order. In the centre of one of the courts is a large well." Travels in Syria, pp. 3G6, 367. IT On all their heads shall be baldness, &c. To cut off the hair of the head and the beard was expressive of great grief. It if* well known that the Orientals regard the beard with great sacredness and veneration, and that they usually dress it with great care. Great grief was usually expressed by striking external acts. Hence they lifted up the voice in wailing; they hired persons to howl over the dead; they rent their garments; and for the same reason, in times of great calamity or grief, they cut off the hair, and even the beard. Herodotus, II. 36, speaks of it as a custom among all nations except the Egyptians to cut off the hair as a token of mourning. So also Homer says that on the death of Patroclus they cut off the hair as expressive of grief. Iliad xxiii. 46,47.

Next these a melancholy band tppear, Amidst lay dead Patroclus on a liier; O'er all the course their scattered locks they threw. Pope.

See also Odyss. iv. 197. This was also the custom with the Romana (Ovid, Amor. 3, 5, 12); the Egyptians (Diod. i. 84); the Scythians (Herod. 4, 71); and the modern Cretans. The principle on which tMs is done is, that thereby they are dtprived of what is esteemed the most beautiful ornameni! of the body;-T-an idea which lies at

3 In theii streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one shall

the foundation of mourning in all countries and ages. The loss of the beard also was the highest calamity and would be expressive of the deepest grief " It is," says D'Arvieux, who has devoted a chapter to the exposition of the sentiments of the Arabs in regard to the heard, " a greater mark of infamy in Arabia to cut a man's beard cff, than it is with us to whip a fellow at the cart's tail, or to burn him in the kand. Many people in that country vould far rather die than incur that punishment. I saw an Arab who had received a musket shot in the jaw, and who was determined rather to perish than to alJow the surgeon to cut his beard off to dress his wound. His resolution was at length overcome; but not until the wound was beginning to gangrene. He never allowed himself to be seen while his beard was off; and when at last he got abroad, he went always with his face covered with a black veil, that he might not be seen without a beard; and this he did till his beard had grown again to a considerable length." Pic. Bib. vol. ii. ]09. Burckhardt also remarks that the Arabs who have from any cause had the misfortune to lose their beards invariably conceal themselves from view until their beards are grown again. Comp. Isa. iii. 24, xxii. 12. Jer. xli. 5. Micah i. 16, The idea is, that the Moabites would be greatly afflicted. Jeremiah has stated the same thing of Moab, ch. xlviii. 37.

For every head shall be bald, and every beard be

dipt; And upon all hands shall be cuttings, And upon the loins sackcloth.

3. In their streets. Publicly. Every where there shall be lamentation, and grief Some shall go into the streets, end some on the tops of the houses. They shall gird themselves with sacktCoth. The common token of mourn- ^g; and also worn usually in times of

4 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh; their voice shall be

humiliation and fasting. It was one of the outward acts by which they expressed deep sorrow. Gen. xxxvii. 34. 2 Sam. iii. 31. 1 Kings xxi. 27. 2 Kings xix. 1. Job xvi. 15. Note ch. iii. 24. IT On the tops of the houses. The roofa of the houses in the East were, and still are, made flat, and were places of resort for prayer, for promenade, &c. The prophet here says, that all the usual placea of resort would be filled with weeping and mourning. In the streets, and on the roofs of the houses, they would utter the voice of lamentation. ^ Shall howl. It is known that in times of calamity in the East it is common to raise an unnatural and forced howl, or long continued shriek. Persons are often hired for this purpose. Jer. ix. 17. IT Weeping abundantly. Heb. Z>eecending into weeping; i. e. going as we would say deep into it, or weeping much; immersed as it were in tears. Comp. Jer. xiii. 17, xiv. 17.

4. And Heshbon shall cry. This was a celebrated city of the Amorites, twenty miles east of the Jordan. Josh, xiii. 17. It was formerly conquered from the Moabites by Sihon, and became his capital, and was taken by the Israelites a little before the death of Moses. Num. xxi. 25. After the carrying away of the ten tribes it was recovered by the Moabites. Jeremiah (xlviii. 2) calls it " the pride of Moab." The town still subsists under the same name, and is described by Burckhardt. He says, it is situated on a hill, southwest from El Aal [Elealeh]. "Here are the niins of an ancient town, together with the remains of some edifices built with small stones; a few broken shafts of columns are still standing, a number of deep wells cut in the rock, and a large reservoir of water for the summer supply of the inhabitants." Travels in Syria, p. 365. IT And Elea^ leh. This was a town of Reuben about a mile from Heshbon. Num. xxxii. 37

heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.

Burckhardt visited this place. Its present name is El Aal. '* It stands on the summit of a hill, and takes its name from its situation — Aal meaning ' the high.' It commands the whole plain, and the view from the top of the hill is very extensive, comprehending the whole of the southern Belka. El Aal was surrounded by a well-built wall, of which some parts yet remain. Among the ruins are a number of large cisterns, fragments of walls, and the foundations of houses, but nothing worthy of notice. The plain around it is alternately chalk and flint." Travels in Syria, p. 365. ^ Even unto Jahaz. This was a city east of Jordan, near to which Moses defeated Sihon It was given to Reuben (Deut. ii. 32), and was situated a short distance north of Ar the capital of Moab. IF The armed soldiers of Moab. The consternation shall reach the very army. They shall lose their courage, and instead of defending the nation, they shall join in the general weeping and lamentation. IT His life shall he grievous. As we say of a person who is overwhelmed with calamities that his life is wearisome, so says the prophet shall it be with the whole nation of Moab.

5. My heart shall cry out for Moab. This is expressive of deep compassion; and is proof that in the view of the prophet the calamities which were coming upon it were exceedingly heavy. The same sentiment is expressed more fully in ch. xvi. 11. See also Jer. xlviii. 36: " My heart shall sound for Moab like pipes." The phrase denotes great mward pain and anguish in view of the calamities of others; and is an expression of the fact that we feel ourselves oppressed and borne down by sympathy on account of their sufferings. See ch. xxi. 3. It is worthy of remark, that the LXX re^d this as if it were " his heart" — referring to the Moabites, " the tieart of Moab shall cry out," So the

5 My ^heart shall cry out for Moab;' his fugitives shall jiei unto Zoar, an heifer of three

Chaldee; and so Lowth, Michaehs and others read it. But there is no authority for this change in the Hebrew text; nor is it needful. In the parallel place in Jer. xlviii. 36, there is no doubt that the heart of the prophet is intended; and here, the phrase is designed to denote the deep compassion which a holy man of God would have even when predicting the ills that should come upon others. How much compassion; how much deep and tender feeling, should ministers of the gospel havi when they are describing the final ruin — the unutterable woes of impenitent sinners under the awful wrath of God in the world of wo! '^ His fugitives. Marg. Or, to the borders thereof as an heifer.

•^*'n'^*''3. Jerome and the Vulgate render this " her bars," and it has been explained as meaning that the voice of the prophet, lamenting the calamity of Moab, could be heard as far as the bars or gates of Zoar; or that the word bars means princes, i. e. protectors, a figure similar to shields of the land, Ps. xlvii. 10. Hos. iv. 18. The LXX render it, tv avTi] — " the voice of Moab in her is heard to Zoar." But the more correct rendering is undoubtedly that of our translation, referring to the fugitives who should attempt to make their escape from Moab when the calamities should come upon her. IT Unto Zoar. Zoar was a small town in the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, to which Lot fled when Sodom was overthrown. Gen. xix. 23. Abulfeda writes the name Zoghar, and speaks of it as existing in his day. The city of Zoar waa near to Sodomj so as to be exposed to the danger of being overthrown in the same manner that Sodom was, Zoar being exempted from destruction by the angel at the solicitation of Lot. Gen. xix. 21. That the town lay on the east side of the Dead Sea, is apparent from several considerations. Lot as* cended from it ♦o the mountain where years old: for by the mounting up of Luliith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of his daughters bore each of them a son, who became the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites. But these nations both dwelt on the east side of the Dead Sea. Farther, Josephus, speaking of this place, calls it " Zoar of Arabia." 'Loapwv Tfji 'ApuPtag, B. J. iv. 8. 4. But the Arabia of Josephus was on the east of the Dead Sea. So the crusaders, in the expedition of king Baldwin, A. D. 1100, after marching from Hebron, proceeded around the south end of the lake, and came at length to a place called Segor, doubtless the Zoghar of Abulfeda. The probability, therefore, is, that it was near the southern end of the sea, but on the eastern side. The exact place is now unknown. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome it is described as having many inhabitants, and a Roman garrison. In the time of the crusaders it is mentioned as a place pleasantly situated, with many palm-trees. But the palm-trees have disappeared, and the site of the city can be only a matter of conjecture. See Robinson's Bibli. Research, ii. 648-651. IT An heifer of three years old. That is, their fugitives flying unto Zoar shall lift up the voice like an heifer, for so Jeremiah in the parallel place explains it. Jer. xlviii. 34, Many interpreters have referred this,howev*'^, ''o Zoar as an appellation of that city denoting its flourishing condition. Bochart refers it to Isaiah, and supposes that he designed to say that he lifted his voice as an heifer. But the more obvious interpretation is that given above, and is that which occurs in Jeremiah. The expression, however, is a very obscure one. See the various senses which it may bear, examined in RosenmUUer and Gesenius in loc. Gesenius renders it, '•' to Eglath fhe third;" and supposes, in accordance with many interpreters, that it denotes t place called Eglath, called the third In distinction from two other places of

6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate:* for the hay

the same name; though he suggests that the common explanation that it refers to a heifer of the age of three years may be defended. In the third year, says he, the heifer was most vigorous, and hence was used for an ofi'ering. Gen. xv. 9. Until that age she was accustomed to go unbroken, and bore no yoke. Pliny, 8, 4, 5. If this refers to Moab, therefore, it may mean that hitherto it was vigorous, unsubdued, and active; but that now, like the heifer, it was to be broken and brought under the yoke by chastisement. The expression is a very difficult one, and it is impossible perhaps to determine what is the true sense. IT By the mounting up of Luhith. The ascent of Luhith. It is evident from Jer. xlviii. 5, that it was a mountain, but where is not clearly ascertained. Eusebius supposes it was a place between Areopolis and Zoar. See Reland Palaest. pp. 577-579. The whole region there is mountainous. IT In the way of Horonaim. This was, doubtless, a town of Moab, but where it was situated is uncertain. The word means two holes. The region abounds to this day with caves which are used for dwellings. Seetzen. The place lay probably on a declivity from which one descended from Luhith. IT A a-y of destruction. Heb. Breaking. A cry appropriate to the great calamity ihat should come upon Moab.

6. For the waters of Nimrim. It ia supposed by some that the prophet here states the cause why the Moabites would flee to the cities of the south, to wit, that the waters of the northern cities would fail, and the country become desolate, and that they would seek support in the south. Bui it is more probable that he is simply continuing the description of the desolation that would come upon Moab. Nimrah, or Beth Nimra, meaningr a house of limpid waters, was a city ojf

is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.

7 Therefore the abundance

hey have gotten, and that which ihey have laid up, shall they carry away to the ^ brook of the willows.

ReuVn east of the Dead Sea. Num. xxxii. 3. Comp. Jer. xlviii. 34. It was doubtless a city celebrated for its pure fountains and springs of water. Here Seetzen's chart shows a brook flowing into the Jordan called Nahr Nimrim, or Wady Shoaib. " On the east of the Jordan over against Jericho there Is now a stream called Nimlim — doubtless the ancient Nimrim. This flows into the Jordan, and as it flows along gives fertility to that part of the country of Moab." Bev. Eli Smith. It is possible that the waters failed by a common practice in times of war, when an enemy destroyed the fountains of a country by diverting their waters, or by casting into them stones, trees, &c. This destructive measure of war occurs with reference to Moab in 2 Kings iii. 25, when the Israelites, during an incursion into Moab, felled the fruit-trees, cast stones intr the ploughed grounds, and closed the fountains, or wells. IT For the hay is withered away. The waters are dried up, and the land yields nothing to support life.

7. Therefore the abundance they have gotten. Their wealth they shall remove from a place that is utterly burnt up with drought, where the waters and the grass fail, to anothc ^lace where they may find water. IT To the brook of willows. Marg. " The valley of the Arabians." The LXX render it, " I will lead them to the valley of the Arabians, and they shall take it." So Saadias. It might perhaps be called the valley of the Arabians because it was the boundary line between them and Arabia on the south. Lowth renders it " to Babylon." The probability Is, that the prophet refers to some valley or brook, that was called the brook of the willowsj from the fact that many

8 For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab, the howling thereof unto Eglaim, and the howling thereof unto Beer-elim.

willows grew upon its bank. Perliapi it was the small stream which flowa into the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and which forms the boundary of Arabia Petrea of the province of Jebal. They withdrew towards the south, where towards Pctra or feela they had their property in herds (ch. xvi. 1); for probably the invader came from the north and drove them in this direction. Lowth, and most commentators suppose that " they" in this verse refers to the enemies of Moab, and that it means that they would carry away the property of Moab to some distant place. But the more probable meaning is, that when the waters of the Nimrim should fail, they would remove to a place better watered; that is, they would leave their former abode, and wander away. It is an image of the desolation that was coming upon the

8. For the cry is gone round ahouty &LC. The cry of distress and calamity has encompassed the whole land of Moab. There is no part of the land which is not filled with lamentation and distress. IT The howling. Th» voice of wailing on account of the distress. IT Unto Eglaim. This was a city of Moab east of the Dead Sea, which, Eusebius says, was eight miles south of Ar, and hence, says Rosenmuller, it was not far from the south border of Moab. It is mentioned by Josephus (Ant. B. xiv. ch. 1,) as one of the twelve cities in that region which was overthrown by Alexander the Great. IT Unto Beer-elim. Literally the well of the princes. Perhapi the same as that mentioned in Num, xxi. 14-18, as being in the land erf Mcab, and near to Ar:

Tlie princes digged the well, The nobles of the people difse<2 li.

9 For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood: for I will *more upon Dimon, lionsS"

9. For the waters of Dimon. Probably the same as Dibon, ver. 2. Eusebius says it was a large town on the northern bank of the river Anion. Jerome says that the letters m and b are often interchanged in oriental dialects. See Note on ver. 2. IT Shall be full of blood. That is, the number of the slain of Moab shall be so great that the blood shall colour the waters of the river — a very common occurrence in times of great slaughter. Perhaps by the waters of Dimon the prophet does not mean the river Arnon, but the small rivulets or streams that might flow into it near to the city of Dibon. Probably there were winter brooks there which do not run at all seasons. The Chaldee renders it, " The waters of Dimon ehall be full of blood, because I will place upon Dimon an assembly of armies." IT For I will bring more upon Dimon. Heb. " I will bring additions;" — that is, I will bring upon \ additional calamities. Jerome says ' iiat by those additional calamities le prophet refers to the lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the which are immediately after mentioned. IT Lions upon him that escapeth of Moab. Wild beasts upon those who escaped from the slaughter, and who took refuge in the wilderness, or on the mountains. The Chaldee renders it, " a king shall ascend with an army, and shall destroy the remainder of their land." Aben Ezra interprets it of the king of Assyria; and Jarchi of Nebuchadnezzar who is called a lion in Jer. iv. 7. Vitringa also supposes that Nebuchadnezzar is meant. But it is more probable that the prophet refers to wild beasts, which are often referred to in the Scriptures as objects of dread, and as bringing calamities upon nations. See Lev. xxvi. 22. Jer. v. 6, XV. 3. 2 Kings xviii. 25. IT Upon the remnant of the land. Upon all those who escaped the desolation of the war. The LXX and the Arabic render this ** upon the remnant ofAdama" — understanding the word rendered land '^^'7^ ddhdma, as the name of a city. But it more probably means the

This chapter Is a continuance of the former, and the scope of it is, to give advice io the Moabites, and to threaten thenn with punishment in case, as the prophet foresavk^, they s^hould neglect or refuse to follow it. The advice was (ver. I — 5), to send the customary tribute to the king of Judah; to seek his protection, and to submit themselves to him. But the prophet foresaw that through the prids of Moab (ver. 6), they would refuse to recognize their subjection to Judah, and that as a conseauence Way would be doomed to severe punishment (ver. 7—11) and to a certain overthrow within a specified time, ver. 12—14. See the Analysis pretixed to cha^ xv.

1 Send ve the lamb* to the ruler of the land from ^Sela to

1. Send ye the loinh. Lowih renders thisj " I will send forth the son the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion.

Syrian invasion even the young prince of Moab would be obliged to flee for nis lile through the desert that he might escape to Judea: and that thus God 5ays that he would send him. The only authority for this however is, that;he LXX read the word send in the future ten?e (ajroorcXw) instead of the imperative; and that the Syriac reads *i3 bar instead of "^3 kdr — a lamb. But assuredly this is too slight an aut»\ority 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 LXX read this, " I will send reptiles {ipiTZTli) upon the land. Is not the mountain of the daughter of Zion a desolate rock V' 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 — "il? hdr — 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 t'lo tribute of the nations subject to thei \ 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. IT To the ruler of the land. To the king of Judah. This '» proved by the addition at the close / the verse, " unto the mount of the daughter of Zion." It is evident frotn 2 Sam. viii. 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:^ render to the Jews as a token of their subjection, is clearly proved in 2 Kings iii. 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. 2 Kings iv. 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 shoulu be rendered to them, and not to the kings of Israel, and this is the ci-aim v^^hich Isaiah enforces in the passage before us. The command of the prophet is to regain the lost favour of Israel by the payment of the tribute that was due. — The territory of Moab waa in eai'iy 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 v/erc often demanded in tribute. The Persians received fifty thousand sheep as a tribute annually from the Cappadocians, and one hundred thousand from the Medes. Straboii. p. 362. 'J From Sela in the wilderness. The word Sela ^\p. 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 Petre.t. 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 part of your land;' or it may be, that the region around that city was particularly favourable to pasturage, and for keeping flocks. Ta this place they had fled »> th their flocks on the invasion from the north. See Note ch. XV. 7. Vitringa says that that desert around Petra was regarded as a vast common, on which the Moatites and Arabians promiscuously fed their flocks. The situation of the city of Sela, or ircTpa 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 half 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 (2 Kings xix. 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." Hist. Nat. 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 it appears as the metropolitan see of the Third Palestine. See the article Fetra in Reland's Palestine. From that time, Petra disappeared from the pages of history, and the metropolitan see was transferred to Kabbah. In what way Petra was destroyed is unknown. Whether it was by the Mohammedan conquerors, or whether by the incursions of the hordes of the desert, it is impossible now Lo iscertain. All Arabian writers of i'-it period are silent as to Petra.

The name became cnanged to that which it bears at present, Wady Mua.i, 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 IMadurah.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 Bibli. Research, ii 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 Gcrrka on the gulf of Persia, from Hadramont on the occean, and some even from Sabea in Yemen, appear to have pointed to Petra as a common centre; 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. Strabo 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 neighbom-ing deserts. One great road, of which traces still remain, went from Petra to Darnuscus; another went off from this road west of the Dead Sea to Jerusalem, Askclon, ind other parts of the Mediterranean. Laborde, p. 213. Burckhardt, 374, 419. A.t a period subsequent to the Christian (jra 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 1611 made an attempt to reach Petra under the pretext that he had made a vow to sacrifice a goat in honour 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 ihat 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, Travels in Syria, pp. 428, 4.19.

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 GeberJ, is a brook called Wady?»Iousa, 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 traveller has ever explored. In the red sand-stone 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 q 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 il9 apartments, portico, peristylum, &c. 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 amphitheatre hewn out of the solid rock, and the remains of a palace and many temples."

Mr. Bankes, in company of Mr Legh, and captains I.rby and Mangles, have the merit of being the first per sons who, as Europeans, succeeded to any extent in making researches in Petra. Captains Irby and Mangles spent two days amongst 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 in 1836 To this interesting account the readei must be referred. It can only be remarked here, that Petra, or Sela, wa? a city entirely encompassed with lofty rocks, except in a single place, where was a deep ravine between the rock? which constituted the principal entrance. On the east and west it wa? 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 Jiilla. 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 ap proaches it from the east, and is abou a mile in length. In the narroweg part it is twelve fe^t in width, and th«5

2 For it Siiall be, thai as a wandering bird cast ®out of the

rocks are on each side about three hun- &:ec feet in height. On the northern fide thei t are tombs excavated in the rocks ncii-rly the entire distance. The Btream wnich watered Petra runs along in lie bottom of the ravine, going tkroL-gh the city, and descending through a ravine to the west. See Robinson's Bibli. Research, vol. ii. pp. 514, 538. Of this magnificent en- ■irance, the following cut will furnish an illustration. The city is wholly uninhabited, except when the wandering Arab makes use of jan excavated tomb or palace in which to pass the night, or a caravan pauses there. The rock which encompasses it is a soft free Btone. The tombs, with which almost the entire city was encompassed, are tut in the solid rock, and are adorned \n 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. Lond. Ed. One of the temples of Petra is exhibited in the engraving on the following page.

That this is the Sela referred to here here 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 travellers contribute to throw light on the geography of the Scriptures, or otherwise illustrate them. For a description of this city, see Stephens's Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, and the Holy Land, vol. ii. ch. iv. p. 65, seq.; the '*'ork of Laborde referred to above j

nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of^Arnon,

and Robinson's Biblical Researches, vol. ii. 573-580, 653-G59. H To the mount of the daughter of Zion. To Mount Zion; i. e. to Jerusalem. Note ch. i. 8. '^I'he 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.'

2. For it shall be. It shall happen in the thne of the calamity that shall come upon Moab. IT As a wandering bird. See ch. x. 14. The same idea is presented in Prov. xxvii. 8:

As a bird that wanders from her nest,

So is a man that wandereth from his place.

The idea here is that of a bird driven away from her nest, where the nest is destroyed, and the young fly about without any home or place of rest. So would Moab be when the inhabitants were driven from their dwellings. The reason why this is introduced seems to be, to enforce what the prophet had said in the previous verse — thf^ duty of paying the usual tribute to the Jews and seeking their protection. The time is coming, says the prophet, when the Moabites shall be driven from theii homes, and when they will need that protection which they can obtain by paying the usual tribute to the Jews. IT The daughters of Moab. The females shall be driven from their homes, and shall wander about, and endeavour to flee from the invasion which has come upon the land. By the apprehension, therefore, that their wives and daughters would be exposed. to this danger, the prophet calls upon the Moabites to secure the protection of the king of Judah. "if At the fords of Arnon. Arnon was the northern bound£.ry of the land of Moab. They would endeavour to cross that rivei and thus flee from the land, and escapt and rocky vale of the same name (Num. xxi. 15. Deut. ii. 24, iii. 9), in

3 Take* counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the

the boundary between the provinces of Belka and Karrak. Seetzen. Bridges Wevs n3t common in the times here rel'^rrcd to; and indeed permanent cridges among the ancients were things nhnost unknown. Hence they selected the places where the streams were most shallow and gentle as the usual places of crossing.

3. Take counsel. Heb. Bring coun-.sel; or cause it to come — '•,^'2Tl, or as;. is in the keri, '^Jt"'Sn ' The Vulgate renders this in the singular number, and so is the keri, and so many MSS. J. D. Michaelis, Lowth, Eichhorn, Gesenius, and Noycs regard verses 3-5 as a supplicatory address of the fugitive Moabites to the Jews to take them under their protection, and as imploring a blessing on the Jewish people if they would do it; and ver. 6 as the negative answer of the Jews, or as a refusal to protect them on account of their pride But most commentators regard it as addressed to the Moabites by the prophet, or by the Jews, calling upon the Moabites to afford such protection to the Jews who might be driven from their homes as to secure their favour, and confirm the alliance between them; and ver. 6 as an intimation of the prophet, that the pride of Moab is such that there is no reason to suppose the advice will be followed. It makes no difference in the sense here whether the verb " give counsel" be in the singular or the plural number. If singular, it may be understood as addressed to Moab itself; if plural, to the inhabitants of Moab. Vitringa supposes that this is an additional advice given to the Moabites by the prophet, or by a choras of the Jews, to exercise the offices of kindness and humanity towards the Jews, that thus they might avoid the calamities which were impending. The first counsel was (ver. 1), to pay the proper tribute to the lewish nation; this is (ver. 3-5) to ihow to those Jews who might be

night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts, oewray not him that wandereth.

driven from their land kindness and protection, and thus preserve the friendship of the Jewish nation. This is, probably, the correct interpretation, as if he had said, ' take counsel; seek advice in your circumstances; be not hasty, rash, impetuous, unwise; do not cast off the friendship of the Jews; do not deal unkindly with those who may seek a refuge in your land, and thus provoke the nation to enmity; but let your land be an asylum, and thus conciliate and secure the friendship of the Jewish nation, and thus mercy shall be reciprocated and shown to you by him who shall occupy the throne of David. Ver. 5. The design is, to induce the Moabites to show kindness to the fugitive Jews who might seek a refuge there, that thus in turn the Jews might show them kindness. But the prophet foresaw (ver. 6) that Moab was so proud that he would neither pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews, nor afford them protection; and theiefore the judgment is threatened against them which is finally to overthrow them. IF Execute judgment. That is, do that which is equitable and right; which you would desire to be done in like circumstances. IT Make thy shad' ow. A shadow or shade is often in the Scriptures an emblem of protection from the burning heat of the sun, and thence of those burnmg, consuming judgments, which are represented by the intense heat of the sun. Note Isa. iv. 6. Comp. Isa. xxv. 4, xxxii 2. Lam. iv. 20. IT As the night. That is, a deep, dense shade, such as the night is, compared with the intense heat of noon. This idea was one that was very striking in the East. Nothing, to travellers crossing the burning deserts, could be more refreshing thai the shade of a far-projecting rock, or of a grove, or of the night. Thus Isaiah counsels the Moabites to be to the Jews — to furnish protection to them which may be like the grateful shad«

4 Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab: be thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: for the 'extortioner is at an end, the spoiler ceaseth, the '^oppressors are consumed out of the

furnished to the traveller by the rock in the desert. The figure here used is common in the East. Thus it is said in praise of a nobleman: " Like the Bun, he warmed in the cold; and when Sirius shone then was he coolness and shade." Jn the Sunna it is said: " Seven classes of men will the Lord overshadow with his shade, when no shade will be like his; the upright Imam, the youth," &c. f Hide the outcasts. The outcasts of Judah — those of the Jews who may be driven away from their own homes, and who may seek protectior in your land. Moab is often represent ed as a place of refuge to the outcast Hebrews. See the Analysis to ch. xv. IT Bewray not him that wandereth. Reveal not — "^^5^1 — do not show them to their pursuer; i. e. give them concealment and protection. 4. Let mine outcasts. This may be understood as the language of Judea, or of God. ^' Mine outcasts" may mean the exiles of Judea, or God may call them his. The sense is essentially the same. It denotes those who were fugitives, wanderers, exiles from the land of Judea, and who took refuge in the land of Moab; and God claims for them protection. IT Dwell with thee. Not dwell permanently, but sojourn — ^"^^y^ — let them remain with you as exiles; or let them find a refuge in your land. IT Be thou a covert to them,. A refuge; a hiding-place; a place of fecrecy — "ir?:^ sether. IT From the face of the spoiler. That is, the conqueror from whose desolating career they would seek a refuge in the land of Moab. Who this spoiler would be, is not known. It would seem to be some;nvader who was tarrying desolation vhrougli the land a< Judea. It may be

5 And in mercy shall the throne be ^established; and ''^he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, "judging and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

observed however that Lowth, by setting the points aside, supposes that this should be read, " Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn with thee, O Zion." So Noyes. But this seems to me not to suit the connection and the design; which is, to persuade the Moabites to conciliate the favour of the Jews by affording a hiding-place to their fugitives. If For the extortioner is at an end. Literally, * there is an end, or there will be an end of the oppressor; or he will be wanting.' The Chaldee renders it, " The enemy is at an end." The idea here seems to be, that the oppressor in the land of Judea would not continue there always; the exiles of the Jews might soon return; and Judea be able then to return kindness to Moab. Judea did not ask that her exiles should permanently abide in Moab, but asked only a temporary refuge, with the certainty that she would be soon delivered from her oppressions, and would then be able to furnish aid to Moab in return. IF The oppressors are consumed. Or, * the treader down,' he that has trodden down the nations shall soon be removed, and then in turn Judea will be able to repay the kindness which is no-wi asked at the hand of Moab in permitting her exiles to remain in their land. 5. And in mercy. In benignity; kindness; benevolence. IT Shall the throne he established. The throne of thv king of Judah. That is, he that shall sit upon the throne of David shall be disposed to repay the kindness which is now sought at the hand of Moab; and shall be able to do it. IT And he shall sit upon it. The king of Israel. IT In truth. In faithfulness; that is, shall be true and faithful. His character shall be such that he will do justice.

6 We have heard of the pride pride, and his wralh: lut h'.s h'e.

and will furnish protection anfl aid to the Moabites, if they now receive the fugitives of Israel, ir In the tabernacle of David. In the dwelling place; the palace of David; for so the word tabernacle or tent, ^^jM okel, seems to be used here. It means temple in Ezek. xli. 1. It denotes a habitation, or dwelling place in general, in Prov. xiv. 11. Ps. lii. 7, xci. 10. The palace, court, or citadel of David was on Mount Zion; and the sense here is, that the king to whom Israel refers would be a worthy successor of David • — -just, true, faithful, benignant, and disposed to repay the favours now sought at the hand of Moab. IT Seeking jvdgment. Anxious to do right; and seeking an opportunity to recompense those who had shown any favour to the people of the Jews. Moab, therefore, if she would now afford protection to the Jews, might be certain t)f a recompense. II And hasting righteousness. Not tardy and slow in doing what should be done — anxious to do justice to all. It is implied here also, that a king who would be so just, and £o anxious to do right to all, would not only be ready to show kindness to the Moabites if they protected the fugitives of Judea,but would also be disposed to do right if they refused that protection — that is, would be disposed to inflict •punishment on them. Alike, therefore, by the hope of the protection and fa- 'vour of the king of the.lev/s, and by the dread of punishment, the prophet endeavours to persuade Moab now to Bccure their favour by granting protection to their exiles.

6. IVe have heard of the pride of Moab. We Jews; we have all heard of it; that is, we know that he is proud. The evident design of the prophet here is, to say that Moab was so proud, and was well known to be so haughty, that he would reject this counsel. He would neither send the usual tribute to the iQnd of Judea (ver. 1), thus acknow-

7 Therefore shall Moab howi

ledglng his dependence on them; nor would he give protection to the exiled.Tews as they should wander through his land, and thus endeavour to conciliate their favour, and secure their friendship. As a consequence of this, the prophet proceeds to state that heavy judgments would come upon Moab as a nation. IT He is very proud. The same thing is stated in the parallel place in Jer. xlviii. 29. Comp. ver. 11. Moab was at ease; he was confiden, in his security; he feared nothing; he sought no means therefore of securing the friendship of the Jews. IF And his wrath. As the result of pride and haughtiness. Wrath or indignation is excited in a proud man when he is opposed, and when the interests of others are not made to give way to his. IT But his lies shall not be so. The

Hebrew phrase "i?"*?^-' "not so" here seems to be used in the sense of ' not right;' ' not firm, or established;' that is, his vain boasting, his false pretensions, his lies shall not be confirmed or established; or they shall be vain and impotent. In the parallel place in Jeremiah it is " But it shall not be so; his lies shall not effect it."

The word rendered his lies here, "'"^^S, means his boasting, or vain and confident speaking. In Isa. xliv. 25 it is connected with the vain and confident responses of diviners and soothsayers. Here it means that Moab boasted of his strength, and security, and did net feel his need of the friendship of the Jews; but that his security was false, and that it should not result according to his expectations. That Moab was proud is also stated in ch. xxv. 8; and that he was disposed to give vent to his pride by reproaching the people of God is apparent from Zech. ii. 8:

I have heard the reproach of Moab, And the revilings ot the chi.'dreii of Ammon, Whereby they have reproached my people, And boasted themselves upon their bord»?r.

for Moab; every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth'' sliall ye ^mourn; surely they are stricken.

inouni for another; they shall howl or lament in alternate responses. Jerome renders it, " the people (shall howl) to the city; the city to the provinces." The general idea is, that there would be an universal lamentation throughout the land. This would be the punishment which would result from their pride in neglecting to send the tribute and seeking the favour of the Jews; or they would lament because the expectation of finding a refuge among the Israelites was taken away. IT For the foundations. On account of the foundations of Kir-hareseth, for they shall be overthrown; that is, that city shall be destroyed. The word here rendered foundations, '^^?'^^^., occurs nowhere else but in this place and in Hos. iii. 1. The LXX render it, " the inhabitants." The Chaldee, " men." Jeremiah, in the parallel place, renders it also, "men." Jer. xlviii. 31. In Hos. iii. I, it is rendered " flagons of wine " — and it has been supposed by many that it has this sense here, as this would agree with what is immediately added of the fields of Heshbon, and the vine of Sibmah. Rosenmtiller renders it by " strong men, or heroes;" and supposes that it means that the strong men of Kir-hareseth would be destroyed, and that they would mourn on that account. The probable sense is, that that on which the city rested, or was based, was to be destroyed. So Kimchi, Jarchi, and the Syriac understand it. IT Kir-hareseth. Literally, wall of potsherds, or of bricks. Aquila renders it, Toi^(j duTTpaKivto; Symmachus, TEi-)(£i odTpaKiua). This was a city of Moab, but where it was situated is unknown. Vitringa supposes that it was the same ns Kir Moab (ch. xv. 1), which, Gesenius says, is not improbable, for it is now mentioned as in ruirs, and as one of the chief cities.

8 For the llelds of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the heathen have broken down the principal

Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah.

IT And the vine of Sibmah. Sibmah, or Shibmah, was a city of Reuben. Num. xxxii. 38. Josh. xiii. 19. Jeremiah in the parallel place (xlviii. 32) speaks of the vine of Sibmah also. He also says that the enemies of Moab had taken Sibmah, and that the vine and wine had been destroyed. Jer. xlviii. 33. There was no more certain mode of producing desolation in a land where grapes were extensively cultivated than to cut down the vines. The Turks constantly practise that in regard to their enemies, and the result is, that wide desolation comes upon the countries which they invade. At this time it is probable that Sibmah belonged to the Moabites. It is mentioned here as being distinguished for the luxuriant production of the grape. Seetzen still found the vine cultivated in that region. Jerome says, that between Sibmah and Heshbon there was scarcely a distance of five hundred paces, half a Roman mile. IT The lords of the heathen. The princes of the heathen nations that had come to invade Moab. The words " have broken down," "l^f ^ > may be taken in either of two senses, either to beat, strike, or break down — as in our version; or to be beaten, or smitten with v/ine — i. e. to become intoxicated— like the Greek oivottX};^ — smitten with wine. The former is doubtless the sense here. IT The principal plants thereof. The choice vinei

plants thereof, they are come even unto Jazer, they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are ^stretched out, they are gone over the sea:

9 Therefore *I will bewail

extended themselves even to Jazer — indicating their great luxuriance and fertility. Jazer was a city at the foot of the mountains of Gilead which was given to Gad, and afterwards to the Levites. Josh. xxi. 39. Jerome says it was about fifteen miles from Heshbon. Seetzen found the ruins of a city called Szar, and another place called Szir, from which a small stream (Nahar Szir) flows into the Jordan. Gesenius. That the shoots of the vine of Sibmah reached unto Jazer and the desert, is a beautiful poetic expression for the extensive spread and luxuriance of the vine in that region. IF They wandered. The vines wandered in the desert. They found no twig or tree to which they could atiach themselves, and they spread around in wild luxuriancy. "ff Through the wilderness. The wilderness or desert of Arabia which encompassed Moab. IF Her branches are stretched out. Are extended far, or are very luxuriant. IT They are gone over the sea. Called in the parallel place in Jer. xlviii. 32, " the sea of Jazer," — probably some lake that had that name near the city of Jazer. It may possibly mean the Dead Sea, but that name is not elsewhere given to the Dead Sea in the Scriptures. It has been objected by some to this statement that modern travellers have not found any such place as the " Sea of Jazer;" n any lake in the vicinity of Jazer. But we may observe (1) that Seetzen found a stream flowing into the Jordan near Jazer; and (2) that it is possible chat a pond or lake may have once;here existed which may have been *ince, in the course of ages, filled with Band. It is known, for example, that m the vicinity of Suez the ancient narrow gulf there, and the large inland sea Snade by the Bitter lakes, have been with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will water thee with my tears, O Heshboh, and Elealeh; for 'the shouting for thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.

choked up by the sand of the desert. Seetzen also says that he saw some pools near the source of the stream called Nahar Szir (river Szir). Prof. Stuart, Bibl. Repos. vii. 158. The whole description of the vines of Sibmah is poetic; designed, not to be literally understood, but to denote their remarkable luxuriance and fertility. A similar description of a vine — though there used to denote the Jewish people — occurs in Ps. Ixxx. 8-11:

Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt;

Thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it;

And didst cause it to take deep root,

And the boughs thereof were like the goodly

cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, And her branches unto the river.

9. Therefore I will bewail. So great is the desolation that I, the prophet will lament it, though it belongs to another nation than mine own. The expression indicates that the calamity will be great. See Note ch. xv. 5. IT With the weeping of Jazer. That is, I will pour out the same lamentation for the vine of Sibmah which I do for Jazer; implying that it would be deep and bitter sorrow. See Jer. xlviii. 32. IF / will water thee with my tears. Indicating the grievous calamities that were coming upon those places, on account of the pride of the nation. They were to Isaiah foreign nations, but he had a heart that could feel for their calamities. IF For the shouting for thy summer fruits. The shouting attending the ingathering of the harvest. Note ch. ix. 3. The word used here, "TT^n, denotes properly a joyful acclamation, a shout of joy or rejoicing such as was manifested by the vintager and presser of grapes, Jer. xxv. 30, xlviii 33; or such as was male by the war*

10 And "gladness is taken a'vay, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine

rior. Jar. li. 14. Here it means, that in the time when they would expect the nsual sliou-t of the harvest, it should not)e heard, but instead thereof there should be the triumph of the warrior. Literally, "upon thy summer fruits, and upon thy harvests has the shouting fallen;" that is, the shout of the warrior has fallen upon that harvest instead of the rejoicing of the husbandman. So Jeremiah evidently understands it, xlviii. 32: " The spoiler is fallen upon thy summer-fruits, and upon thy vintage." Lowth proposes here a correction of the Hebrew text, but without necessity or authority.

10. And gladness, &c. The gladness and joy that was commonly felt in the field producing a rich and luxuriant harvest. IF Out of the plentiful field. Heb. " from Carmcl;" but Carmel means a fruitful field as well as the mountain of that name. See Note ch. X. 18 ^ I have made their vintageshouting to cease. That is, by the desolation that has come upon the land. The vineyards are destroyed; and of course the shout of joy in the vintage is no more heard.

11. Wherefore my bowels. This is also an expression of the deep grief of the prophet in view of the calamities which were coming upon Moab. The bowels in the Scriptures are everywhere represented as the seat of compassion, pity, commiseration, and tender mercy. Gen. xiii. 30: " His bowels did yearn jpon his brother" — he deeply felt for him, he greatly pitied him. 1 Kings iii. 26. Ps. XXV. 6. Prov. xii. 10. Cant. V. 4. Isa. Ixiii. 15. Jer. iv. 19, xxxi. 20. Phil. i. 8, ii. 1. In classic writers the word " bcwels " denotes the vpper viscera of victims — the heart, the lungs, the liver, which were eaten during or after the sacrifice. Robinson Lex. on in their presses; I have made their vintage-shoutmg to cease.

11 Wherefore my bowels** shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh,

the word cnMvxi'ov. In the Scriptures it denotes the inward parts — evidently also the upper viscera, regarded is the seat of the emotions and passions. The word as we use it — denoting the lower viscera — by no means expresses the sense of the word in the Scriptures, and it is this change in the signification which renders the use ol the very language of the Bible unpl^- sant or inappropriate. We express the idea by the use of the word heart — the seat of the aflfections. IT Shall sound like an harp. The bowels are represented in the Scriptures as affected in various modes in the exercise of pity or compassion. Thus in Lam. i. 20. Jeremiah says, " my bowels are trou— bled." See Lam. ii. 1. Jer. xxxi. 20. Job (ch. XXX. 27,) says, " My bowela boiled, and rested not;" — there wa" great agitation; deep feeling. Thus Jer. iv. 19:

very heart. My heart maketh a noise in me.

So Isa. Ixiii. 15: " Where is the sounding of thy bowels and mercies ]" The word " sound " here means to make a tumultuous noise; and the whole expression here denotes that his heart was affected with the calamities of Moab as the strings of the harp vibrate when beaten with the plectrum or the hand. His heart was deeply pained and affected by the calamities of Moab, and responded to those calamities, as the strings of the harp did to the blow of the plectrum. IT Mine inward parts. The expressions here used are somewhat analogous to ours of the beating of the heart, to denote deep emotion Forster says of the savages of the South Sea that they call compassion a barking of the bowels. IT For Kir hiresh. Ver. 7.

when it is seen that Moab is wearyy on the high place, that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but *he shall not prevail.

12. When it is seer. When it occurs; that is, when Moab actually becomes weary. "iT Is weary on the high place. The high place denotes the place of idolatrous worship, and here means the same as the temple of Chemosh or his sanctuary. Temples and altars were usually constructed on such places, and especially the temples of tffe heathen gods. Moab is represented here as looking to her gods for protection. Weary, exhausted, worn dov/n with calamities, she is represented as fleeing from the desolate towns and cities, and taking refuge at the altar, and seeking assistance there. This, says Jerome, is the final misery. She is now forsaken of those aids to which she had always trusted, and on which she had relied. Her men slain; her towns destroyed; her strong places broken down; her once fertile fields languishing and desolate, she flees to the shrine of her god, and finds even her god unable to aid and defend her. ^ Shall come to his sanctnary. To his principal sanctuary; or to the temple of the principal god which they worshipped — the god Chemosh. 1 Kings xi. 7. This does not mean the temple at Jerusalem, though Kimchi so understands it; but the temple of the chief divinity of Moab. Jerome says that this temple was on Mount Nebo. T Shall not prevail. That is, her prayer shall not be heard.

13. This is the word. This is the substance of the former predictions reepecting Moab. This has been the general course or sense of the propl^e,- cies respecting Moab, during all its history. ir Since that time. Formerly; from former Ijmes. There had been a course of predictions declaring in gene-

13 This is the word tnat the Lord hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.

14 But now the Lord hath spoken, saying. Within three years, as <^the years of an hire-

the prophet says here that he had expressed their general sense; or that his predictions accorded with them all — for they all predicted the complete overthrow of Moab. He now says (ver. 14) that these general prophecies respecting Moab which had been of so long standing were now to be speedily accomplished. The prophecies respecting Moab, foretelling its futm-e ruin, may be seen in Ex. xv. 15. Num. xxi. 29, xxiv. 17. Ps. Ix. 8, cviii. 9. Amos ii. 2. Zeph. ii. 9. It 7nay however be intended here that the former portion of this prophecy had been uttered by Isaiah himself during the early part of his prophetic life. He is supposed to have prophesied some sixty or more years; (see the Introduction § 3;) and it may be that the prophecy in the fifteenth and the previous part of the sixteenth chapter had been uttered during the early part of his life without specifying the time when it would be fulfilled; but now he says, that it would be accomplished in three years. Or it may be that some other prophet had uttered the prediction which he now repeats with additions at the close. The fact that Isaiah had done this on some occasions, seems probable from the beginning of ch. ii., which appears to be a quotation from Mic. iv. 1-3. See the Analysis to ch. xv., and Notes on ch. ii. 2.

14. But now the Lord hath spoken. This refers to the particular and specific prophecy of Isaiah that destruction should come upon them in three years Instead of a general but indefinite predicuion of calamity to the Moabites, such as had been uttered by the formei prophets, ior by Isaiah himself before, it was now specific and definite in re. gard to the time when it should be fui- filled. ^ Within three years. We have no means of ascertaining the exact fulfilment of this prediction, nor do we certainly know by whom it was accomi)lished. IT As the years of an hireling. A man that is hired has a certain time specified during which he is to labour; the years, the months, the days for which he is engaged are agreed on, nor will he suffer any addition to be m.ade to it. So the prophet says that the very time is fixed. It shall not be varied. It will be adhered to by God — as the time is adhered to between a man who employs another and him who is hired. And it means that exactly at the time which is here epecified the predicted destruction should come upon Moab. IF The glory of Moab. That in which it glories, or boasts — Its wealth, its armies, its cities, towns. &c. ^ Shall be contemned. Shall be esteemed of no value; shall be destroyed. IF And the remnant. There shall be few cities, few men, and very little wealth that shall escape the desolation. Comp. ch. x. 25, xxiv. 6. Jerome says that " this prophecy was aelivered after the death of Ahaz, and in the reign of Hezekiah, during whose reign the ten tribes were led by Sennacherib, king of the Assyrians, into captivity. And therefore after three years the Assyrians came and destroyed Moab, and very few were left in the land wno could inhabit the deserted cities, cr cultivate the desolate fields." Bat it is not certainly known to what particular time the prophecy refers. — In regard to the present state of Moab, and the complete fulfilment of the prophecies respecting it, the following works may be consulted: Newton on the Prophecies; Keith on the Prophecies; Burckhardt's Travels in Syria; and Captains Irby and Mangles' Travels. In regard to the fulfilment of these predictions respecting the destruction of Moab, it may be su5icient to refer to the remarks which I have -iiade on the particular places which are mentioned in these two chapters and to the writers mentioned above All travellers concur in the general de solation of that country which was once so thickly studded with towns, and that abounded so richly in flocks, and produced so luxuriantly the grape. It is now strewed with ruins. All the cities of Moab have disappeared. Their place is characterized in the map of Volney's Travels, by the ruins of towns. Burckhardt, who encountered many difficulties in so desolate and dangerous a land, thus records the brief history of a few of them: " The ruins of Eleale, Heshbon, Meon, Medaba, Dibon, Arver, all situated on the north side of the Arnon, siill subsist to illustrate the history of the Beni Israel." Life and Travels, prefixed to the Travels in Nubia, pp. 48, 49. " And it might be added," says Keith, "that they still subsist to confirm the inspiration of the Jewish Scriptures, for the desolation of each of these cities wai? the theme of a distinct prediction." Prophecies, p. 129. Within the boun daries of Moab, Burckhardt enumerates about fifty ruined cities, man, of them extensive. In general the;, are a broken down and undistinguishable mass of ruins. But in some instances, there are remains of temples, sepulchral monuments, traces of hanging gardens, entire columns lying en the ground, and dilapidated walls made of stones of large dimensions. See Travels in Syria, pp. 311-456.

In view of these two chapters, constituting one prophecy, and the facts in regard to the present state of the country of Moab, we may observe that we have here clear and unanswerable evi* dence of the genuineness and truth of the sacred records. That evidence ia found in the particularity with which places are mentioned; and in the fact that impostors would not specify places, any farther than was unavoidable. Mistakes, we all know, are liable to be made by those who attempt to iescriba the geography of places which they" have not seen. Yet here is a description of a land and its numerous towns, niade nearly three thousand years ago, and in its particulars it is sustained by all the travellers in 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. An impostor would never have attempted such a description as this; nor could he have made it so accurate and true. In the language of Prof. Stuart (Bib. Repos. vol. vii. pp. 108, 109,) we may say, " How obviously every thing of this kind serves to give confirmation to the authority and credibility of the sacred records! Do skeptics undertake to scoff at the Bible, and aver that it is the work of impostors who lived in later ages 1 Besides asking them what object impostors could have in forging a book of such high and lofty principles, we may ask — and ask with an assurance that need not fear the danger of being put to the blush — whether impostors of later ages could possibly have so managed, as to preserve all the localities in complete order which the Scriptures present % Rare impostors they must indeed have been — men possessed of more knowledge of antiquity than we can well imagine could ever be possessed by such as would condescend to an imposition of such a character. In fact the thing appears to be morally impossible, if one considers it in the light of antiquity, when so little knowledge of a geographical kind v/as in existence, and when mistakes respecting countries and place.3 witii which one was not personally familiar were almost, if not altogether, una voidable.

" How happens it, now, that the authors of the Old Testament Scrip tures should have possessed such a wonderful tact in geography, as it would seem they did, unless they lived at the time and in the countries of which they have spoken? This happens not elsewhere. It is but yesterday since one of the first scientific writers on geology in Great Britain published to the world the declaration that our Mississippi and Missouri rivers belong to the tropics. Respectable writers, even in Germany, the land of classical attainments, have sometimes placed Goelo-Syria on the east of the Anti-Libanus ridge, or even seemed to transfer Damascus over the mountains and place it between the two Lebanon ridges in the valley." No such mistakes occur in the sacred writers. They write as men who were familiar with the geography of places named; they mention places with the utmost familiarity; — and after a lapse of almost three thousand years, evry successive traveller who visits Moab, Idumea, or Palestine, does something to confirn 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 wass jnder the inspiration of God.

The prophecy wliich comprises vs. 1—11 of this chapter professes by its title to be against Damascus only. But it relates to the kingdom of Samaria no les.s than to Damascus. The reason is, that t'ne kingdoms of Israel and Damascus were confederated against the kingdom of Judah. The design of the prophecy nay have been to warn the kingdom of Israel of the approaching destruction of the city of Damascus and by this means to keep them from forming an alliance with them againsl Judah. When it was delivered is unknown. Lowth supposes that it was immediately after tho

Erophecies in the viith and viiith chapters, in the reign of Ahaz, and this supposition is not improhale, tliough it is not quite certain. He also supposes that it was fulfilled v.hen Damascus was taken captive by Tiglath-Pileser, and its inhabitants carried to Kir (2 Kings xvi. 9), and when he overran also a great part of the kingdom of Israel and carried its inhabitants captive to Assyria.

In regard to the tivne when it was uttered, there can be little doubt that it was when the alliance existed between Damascus and the kingdom of Ephraim or Samaria, for on no other supposition can it be accounted for that the two kingdoms were united in the prophecy. See ver. 3. The scope or design of the prophecy is indicated in the close (ver. 14): " This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us;" and one design at least was to give an assurance to the kingdom of Judah, that the alliance between Damascus and Samaria was not to be dreaded, but that the kingdom of Judah would be safe. No alliance formed against them would be successful; no purpose to destroy them should be an object of dread.

The prophecy may be regarded as consisting of three parts. (I.) The prediction of the divine judgment against Damascus, vs. 1,2. (II.) The prediction respecting Ephraim, the ally of Damascus, and its fulfilment, vs. U— II. (III.) A prediction respecting the Assyrians, and the calamities that sliould come upon them as a nation, vs 12—14.

The kingdom of Syria or Damascus was overthrown in the fourth year of the reign of Ahaz. It is clear, therefore, that the prophecy was delivered before that time. And if so, its proper place in the collection of the prophec^ies of Isaiah would have been immediately after the ixth chapter. The vason why it is placpd liere, Liglitfoot supposes to be, that in the viitli and viiith ciiapters, the special design was to denounce judgment on the two kingdoms of Damascus and Ephraim; but that ■,he design here was to connect the prediction of those judgments with the surrounding kingdoms, ind to show how they would be afl^ected by it. The prophecy ij therefore placed amid.st those rt'hich relate to foreign nations; or to kingdoms out of the land of Canaan.

Damascus was a celebrated city of Syria, and was long the capita! of the kingdom of Damascus. It was a city in the time of Abraham, for the steward in his house, Eiiezer, was.said to be of Da- Kiascus. Gen. xv 2. (t is situated in a very fertile i)|ain at the foot of Mount Anti-Libaiius, and is surroaiided by hills *t is watered by a river wh-ch the ancients called Chrysorrhoas, as if it flowed witli gold. This rive- was divided into se\«enil canals, which were conducted to various parts of tlie city. It rose \ii the mountains of Anti-Libaniis, and it is probable that the branches of that river were anciently called Abana and Phiirpar. 2 Kings v. 12. This river is now called the Barraday, and the peculiar bo Mty and fertility of Damascus \i owing wholly to it. It rises in the adjacent mountains of Anti-Libanus, and by numerous natural and artificial channels is made to spread ovei ihe plain on which the city stands. It waters the whole extent of the gardens— an extent of country about nine miles in diameter, in the midst of which the city is situated— and when tliis is done, lh« water that is left flows of!" to the south-east through the plain, where amiil the arid sands it is soon absorbed or evaporated, and the river disappears. The gardens are planted with all kinds of trees, mostly such as produce fruit, among which the apricot holds the ascendency. Pomegranate, orange, lemon, and fig trees abound, aad rising above these are other trees of huge proportions, intermingled with the poplar, and sometimes the willow. Into every garden of the city water is carried, and this river thus divided gives to Damascus the beauty for which it has been so celebrated. The I'ersian geographers say that the plain of Damascus is one of the four paradises of the East, and it u now said that there is not in all Syria a more delightful place.

From the time of Abraham until David, the Scripture say.s nothing of Damascus. In his time i? was subdued, and brought under his authority. Towards the end of the reign of Solomon the authority of the Jews was cast off by Rezin, and Damascus became again independent- Jeroboam, king of Israel, again conquered Damascus and brought Syria into subjection (2 Kings xiv. 25); but after his death the Syrians again established their independence. Rezin became king of Damascus, and entered into an alliance with Pekah, king of Israel, iind unitedly they invaded JuJab, and made great havoc in its territories. See Notes ch. vii. (Jorap. 2 Kings xvi. 5. Tiglath-Pileser, however, king of Assyria, came to the assistance of the king of Judah and took Damascus, and destroyed it, and killed Rezin, and carried the Syrians into captivity beyond the Euphrates. To this event; orobabiy, Isaiah refers in the prophecy before us. He, however, did not foretell its utter and perpetual ruin as he did that of Babylon. Damascus again recovered from its calamities. Hololernes again took it. Judith ii. 27. It is spoken of as flourishing in the time of Ezekiel, xxvii. 2. The Romans took it in the time, and by the agency, of Pompey tjie Great, about sixty years before Christ. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Arabians. It was taken by the Ottomans A. D. 1517 • and has since been in the possession of the Turks. At present it has a population of about 100,000. The name l^y which it is now known is El i^ham. It ip a part of the Paschalic of Damascus, which extends to the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. Mohammed Ali of Egypt obtained possession of it without resistance m June 1832, and since that time it has been under the jurisdiction of his son Ibrahim. It is regarded by Musselmen as a place of peculiar sanctity. According to ihem, Mecca has the first place, Jerusalem the next, and Damascus the third.

The prophecy respecting Damascus occupies vs. 1— 11 of the chapter. The general sense is, that Damascus and its allies would be greatly enfeebled and almost destroyed. Its fulfilment is to be referred to the invasion of Damascus by Tiglath-Pileser and the Assyrians. The remainder of the clmpter (vs. 12—14) is a distinct prophecy. See Notes on ver. 12.

1 The ''burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus^ is taken away from heing a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

1. The burden of Damascvs. The oracle indicating calamity or destruction to Damascus. See Note ch. xiii.

1, *[\ Damascus is taken away. That is, it shall be destroyed. It was represented to the prophet in vision as destroyed. Note ch. i. 1. IF And it shall he a ruinous heap. See ch. xxxv.

2. This took place under the kings of Assyria, and particularly under Tiglath-Pileser. This was in the fourth year of Ahaz. 2 Kings xvi. 9.

2. The cities of Aroer. By Aroer here seems to be meant a tract or region of country pertaining to Damascus, in which were situated several cities. Grotius supposes that it was a tract of country in Syria which is called by Ptolemy A ueira, Aveipa. Vitringa supposes that one part of Damascus is meant by this, as Damascus was divided by the river in the same manner.hat Babylon was. There were several cities of the name of Aroer. One was

2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks which shall lie down, and none* shall make them afraid.

on the river Anion in the land of Moab. Deut. ii. 36, iii. 12. Josh. xii. 3. Burckhardt found this city under the name of A raayr. There was another city of this name further north over against Kabbath-Ammon. Josh. xiii. 25. There was a third city of this name in the tribe of Judah. 1 Sam. xxx. 28. Of the city of Araayr which Burckhardt visited, nothing is now remarkable but its entire desolation. Gesenius supposes (jComm. in loc.) that the phrase

* the cities of Aroer ' means the cities round about Aroer, and that were connected with it, similar to the phrase

* daughters of a city.' This city he supposes was near the river Arnon, within the limits of Moab, and that the prediction here was fulfilled by Tiglath-Pileser, when he carried away the inhabitants of Galilee, Gilead, and other places mentioned in 2 Kings xv. 29. There can be no doubt that it was under the jurisdiction of Damascus. "iT Are for-

S The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and

saken. Are desolate, and the inhabitants have fled. ^ They shall be for fmcks, &c. See Note ch. v. 17.

3. The fortress. The strong place of defence; the fortified place. 'S Shall cease. Shall come to an end; shall cease to be, for so the word '^^^ shcibdth is often used. Gen. viii. 22. Isa. xxiv. 8. Lam. v. 15. IT From Ephraim. The name given to the kingdom of Israel, or to the ten tribes, because Ephraim was the largest of the ten, and was a leading tribe in their counsels. Note ch. vii. 2. Ephraim, or the kingdom of Samaria, is here mentioned in connection with Damascus or Syria, because they were confederated together, and would be involved in the same overthrov/. IT And the remnant of Syria. That which is left of the kingdom of Syria after the capital Damascus shall be destroyed. IT They shall be as the glory of the children of Israel. That is, as the defences, or the strongly fortified towns and fastnesses of the kingdom of Israel shall pass away or be destroyed, so shall it be with the kingdom of Damascus. As they are allied with each other, they shall fare alike. The Chaldee reads this, " And the dominion shall cease from Ephra:.m, and the kingdom from Damascus/'

4. The glory of Jacob. Jacob is here used to denote the kingdom of Israel, or Samaria. The word glory here denotes dignity, power; — that on which they relit'd, and of which they boasted. 'y Shall be made thin. Shall be diminisncd, as a body wastes away by disease, and becomes feeble. The prophet gets forth the calamities of Ephraim by

•^the fatness of his flesh shal! wax lean.

5 And '^it shall be as when the harvest-man gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ear? in the valley of Rephaim.

iwo figures; the first is that of a body that becomes emaciated by sickness, the other that of the harvest when all the fruits are gathered except a few in the upper branches. Vs. 5, 6. IT And the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean. He shall become feeble, as a man doea by wasting sickness. Chaldee, " The riches of his glory shall be removed."

5. And it shall be, &c. This is the other figure by which the prophet sets forth the calamities that were comi«g upon Ephraim — an image designed to denote the fact that the inhabitants and wealth of the land would be collected and removed, as the husbandman gathers his harvest, and leaves only that which is inaccessible in the upper boughs of the tree, or the gleanings in the field. ^ As when the harvest-man gathereth the corn. The wheat, the barley, &c.; for so the word corn — now applied by us almost exclusively to maize — means in the Scriptures. The sense in this passage is plain. As the farmer cuts down and collect;? his grain and removes it from the harvest field, so the enemies of Ephraim would come and remove the people and their wealth to a distant land. This received a complete fulfilment when the ten tribes were removed by the Assyrians to a distant land. This was done by Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings XV. 29), and by Shalmaneser (2 Kings xvii. 6). TT And reapeth the ears with his arm. As he collects the standing grain with one arm so that he can cut it with the sickle in the other hand. The word rendered " reapeth"

'^Si^, means here to collect together ar a reaper does the standing grain in hi*

C Yet gleaning-grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, foui or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the Lord God of Israel.

arm. The word rendered ears, ^"^^^'^ shibholim, means here rather the spires or stalks of standing grain. IF In the valley of Eephaim. The valley of Rephaini is mentioned in 2 Sam. v. 18, 22, xxiii. 13. 1 Chron. xi. 15. xiv. 9. The name means * the Giants;' but why it was given to it is now unknown. In passing from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, it lies on the left, and descends gradually to the southwest, until it contracts in that direction into a deeper and narrower valley, called Wady el- Werd, which unites further on with Wady Ahmed, and finds its way to the Mediterranean. The plain extends nearly to Jerusalem, and is terminated by a slight rocky ridge forming the br<»w of the valley of Hinnom. See Josephus Ant. vii. 4. 1. viii. 12. 4. A Iso Robinson's Bibl. Research, i. 323, 324. It seems to have been distinguished for its fertility, and is here used to denote a fertile region in general.

6. Yet gleaning-grapes, &c. They shall not all be removed, or destroyed. A few shall be left, as a man who is gathering grapes or olives will leave a few that are inaccessible on the topmost boughs, or the farthest branches. Those would be usually the poorest, and so it may be implied that those left in Israel would be among the poorer inhabitants of the land. IT Two or three. A very few — such as would be left in gathering grapes, or in endeavouring to shake olives from a tree. IT Four or five. A verj few that would remain on the farthest branches, and that could not oe shaken off or reached.

^. At that day shall a man look to his Maker. Instead of confiding in iheir strongly fortified places and armies, they shall look for aid and pro-

7 At that day shall a man look^ to his Maker, and his eyea shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.

8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands,

tection to the God that made them, and who alone can help them. National afflictions and judgments often have the effect to turn the eyes of even a wicked and rebellious people to God. They feel their danger; they are convinced of their guilt; they see that no one but God can protect them; and for a time they are willing, even by humiliation and fasting, to seek the divine protection. ir His eyes shall have respect, &c. He shall look up to, or regard. ^ The Holy One of Israel. The God of Israel; the true God. As the Syrians were allied with the kingdom of Samaria or Ephraim, they were, of course, acquainted with the true God, and in some sense acknowledged him. In these times of impending calamity they would be led to seek him, and implore his aid and protection. There is no reason to believe, however, that they would turn permanently to him, or become his true worshippers.

8. And he shall not look to the altars. That is, the altars of the goda which the Syrians worshipped, and the altars of the false gods which had been erected in the land of Israel or Samaria by its wicked kings, and particularly by Ahaz. Ahaz fancied an altar which he saw at Damascus when on a visit to Tiglath-Pileser, and ordered Urijah the priest to construct one like it in Samaria, on which he subsequently offered sacrifice. 2 Kings xvi. 1U-I3. It is well known, also, that the kings of Israel and Judah often reared altars to false gods in the high places and the groves of the land. See 2 Kings xxi. 3, 4, 5. The Ephraimites were particularly guilty in this respect. Hos. viii. 2: " Because Ephraim has made many altars to sin, altars shall be unt«

neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves or the ^imaijes.

9 In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough,

him to sin." IT Which his fingers liave made. Perhaps indicating that the iiiols which they worshipped had been constructed with special art and skill. 'See ch. ii. 8. IT Either the groves. The altars of idols were usually erected in groves, and idols were worshipped there before temples were raised. See Ex. xxxiv. 13. Deut. vii. 5, xii. 3. Judges iii. 7. 1 Kings xiv. 23, xviii. 19. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 3. Comp. Notes ch. i. 29. ^ Or the images. Marg. Sun images. ^"^r^H hhdmmdnim. This word is used to denote idols in general in Lev. xxvi. 30. 2 Chron. xxiv. 4. But it is supposed to denote properly images erected to the sun, and to be derived from "^^^ hhdmmd, the sun. Thus the word is used in Job xxx. 28. Isa. xxiv. 23, xxx. 26. Cant. vi. 10. The word, according to Gesenius, is of Per- Bian origin. Comm. in loc. The sun was undoubtedly worshipped by the ancieo; idolater^ and altars or images would oe erected to it. See Notes on Job xxxi. 26.

9. His strong cities. The cities of the united kingdoms of Damascus and Samaria. If Be as a forsaken hough. There has been much difficulty in the interpretation of this passage. Lowth Bays, " No one has ever been able to make any tolerable sense of these words;" and proposes himself the translation.

following in this the translation of the LXX, but doing violence to the Hebrew text. RosenmQller translates it, " as the remnant of a grove when the thicket is cut down, and when few trees are left." The word rendered " bough," ttJ"!*! hhoresh, means properly a thicket, or thick foliage, a wood that is entan- and an uppernfiost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there snail b« desolation.

gled, or intricate (1 Sam. xxiii. 15, 16, 18. 2 Chron. xxvii. 4); and probably this is the idea here. The phrase may be rendered, * as the leavings or residue of a grove, copse, or entangled wood;' and the idea is, that as a few trees might be left when the axeman cuts down the grov&, so a few inferior and smaller towns should be left in the desolation that would come upon Damascus. IT And an uppermost branch. Ver. 6. As a few berries are left in the topmost branch of the olive, or the vine, so shall a few cities or people be left in the general desolation. IT Which they left. Which are left, or which the invaders would leave. IT Because of the children of Israel. Literally, * from the face,' i. e. before the children of Israel. Lowth supposes that it refers to the Amorites, who left their land before the Israelites, or gave up their land for them. Vitringa renders it, " on account of the children of Israel;" and supposes that it means that a few cities were spared by the purpose of God in the invasion by Tiglath-Pileser, to be a residence of the Israelites that should remain; or that, for some reason which is not known, the Assyrian;? chose to spare a few towns, and no* wholly to destroy the country. The general idea is plain, that a few towns would be left, and that it would be before the children of Israel, or in their presence, or in order that they might continue to dwell in them. Jerome interprets the whole as referring to the time when the land of Judea was forsaken on the invasion of tlie Romans. IF And there shall be desolation. The land shall be desolated, except the few cities and towns that shall be left, like the gleaning of the olive-tree.

10. Because thou, &,c. Because the kingdom of Israel or Samaria had done 't. ^ The God of thy salvation. The ten the God of thy salvation, and nast not heen mindful of the Rock of thy strength; therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with slips:

Grod in whom alone was salvation; or who alone could protect thee. Comp. Micah vii. 7. Hos. ii. 15. IT The Rock of thy strength. God. A rock of strength is a strongly fortified place; or a rock which* an enemy could not successfully assail. High rocks were selected as a place of refuge from an invading foe. See Notes on ch. i. 10, 21. In allusion to this, God is often called a Rock, and a strong tower. Deut. xxxii. 4, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37. 1 Sam. ii. 2. 2 Sam. xxii. 2, 3, 32. Ps. xviii. 31, 46, xix. 14, xxviii. 1, xxs. 1, 2. ^ Shalt thou plant pleasant plants. Plants that are fitted to produce pleasure or delight; that is, you shall cultivate your fields, and set them out with choice vines and plants in hope of a future harvest, but you shall be disappointed. IT And shall set i' with strange slips. The word slips means the cuttings of the vine that are set in the ground to grow; or the shoot or sucker that is taken off" and set out, or put in the earth to take root and grow, as is often done by farmers and gardeners. The word ' strange ' here means foreign, those which are procured from a distance, and which are therefore esteemed valuable; plants selected with care. This does not mean, as Lowth supposes, strange and idolatrous worship and the vicious practices connected with it; but it means that, though they should be at great pains and expense hi cultivating their land, yet the enemy would come iii and make it desolate.

11. In the day, &c. Thou shalt cultivate it assiduously and constantly. Thou shalt be at special pains that it may be watered and pruned in order ihit it may produce abundantly. IF And,"n the morning. With early care and

11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish; hut the harvest shall be ^n heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

attention — denoting the pains th»i would be bestowed on the young plan;,, IT The harvest shall be a heap. The margin reads this, " the harvest shall be removed in the day of inheritance,"

rendering it as if the word ^^-J nedh-^ usually meaning a heap — were derived from ^^2 nudh to shake, move, wander — or as if it were to be removed. Probably the translation in the text is correct; and the sense is, ' When from the plant which was so beautiful and valuable, and which you cherished with so much care, you expected to obtain a rich harvest, you had only sorrow and inexpressible disappointment.' The figure used here is supposed by RosenmliUer to be that of hendiadys — 'if 6ia ^volv — by which the phrases " shall be an heap," and " desperate sorrow," are to be taken together, meaning " the heap of the harvest shall be inexpressible sorrow." H In the day of grief. The word rendered grief here

•^^'!!^ means properly inheritance, heirship, possession, and should have been so rendered here. It means that in the day when they hoped to possess the result of their planting, or in the time of the usual harvest, they would obtain only grief and disappointment "iT And desperate sorrow. The word rendered " desperate," tJ'llli^ dniish, denotes that which is weak, mortal, incurable. Job xxxiv. 6. Jer. xxx. 12, 15, xvii. 16. The sense here is, that there would be grievous disappointment, and that there would be no remedy for it; and the idea of the whole is, that calamities were coming upon the nation which would blast all their hopes, and destroy all their prospects. The prophecy was fulfilled in the invasion by Tiglath- Pileser, and the army of the Assyriaiik