Isaiah 15

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 15:9

The waters of Dimon - Some have Dibon, others have Ribon and Rimon. St. Jerome observes that the same town was called both Dibon and Dimon. The reading is therefore indifferent. Upon him that escapeth of Moab, etc. "Upon the escaped of Moab, and Ariel, and the remnant of Admah" - The Septuagint for עריה aryeh , read אריאל ariel . Ar Moab was called also Ariel or Areopolis, Hieron. and Theodoret. See Cellarius. They make אדמה Admah , also a proper name. Michaelis thinks that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:1

Because . An elliptical beginning. Mr. Cheyne supposes some such words as "Lament for Moab," or "Alas for Moab!" to have been in the writer's mind, but to have been omitted through "lyrical excitement." In the night . This is best taken literally. Night attacks, though not common in antiquity, were not unknown. Mesha, King of Moab, boasts that he "went in the night" against Nebo, and assaulted it at early dawn (Moabite Stone, I. 15). Ar of Moab ; or, Ar-Moab . An ancient city,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:1

Moab a national type. Of late years attention has been directed to Moab, through the discovery of what is known as the Moabite Stone, which contains the earliest inscription we have wholly in alphabetical characters. This stone was found at Diban , about three miles north of the central part of the Arnon. Its inscription remarkably confirms the Scripture record. The original territory of Moab seems to have been divided into three portions: 1. What was known as the "land of Moab"-the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:1-9

THE BURDEN OF MOAB . The present chapter and the next are very closely connected, and may be regarded as together constituting "the burden of Moab." It has been argued on critical grounds that the bulk of the prophecy is quoted by Isaiah from an earlier writer, and that he has merely modified the wording and added a few touches here and there (so Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Hitzig, Maurer, Ewald, Knobel, and Cheyne). Jeremiah is thought to have also based his "judgment of Moab" ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:1-9

Oracle concerning Moab. I. HISTORY or Moan. Zoar was the cradle of the race, the house of the tribal father Lot. While the brother-tribe of Ammon wandered to the pastures of the northeast, Moab remained nearer the original seat. They were confined to a narrower district by the invasion of the Amorites ( Numbers 21:26-30 ; Deuteronomy 2:10 , Deuteronomy 2:11 ). Their long feud with the tribe of Benjamin lasted to the time of Saul. But in the Book of Ruth we have a pleasant glimpse... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:2

He is gone to Bajith ; rather, he is gone to the temple . Probably the temple of Baal at Beth-baal-meon is intended. Beth-baal-meon is 'mentioned in close connection with Dibon in Joshua 13:17 . And to Dibon . Diboa is mentioned in Numbers 21:30 ; Numbers 32:3 , Numbers 32:34 ; Joshua 13:9 , Joshua 13:17 ; Jeremiah 48:18 , Jeremiah 48:22 . It was an ancient Moabite town of considerable importance, and has recently been identified with the site called Diban , where the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:3

In their streets ; literally, in his streets ; i.e. the streets of Moab. They shall gird themselves with sackcloth . Another widely spread custom, known to the Assyrians ( Jonah 3:5 ), the Syrians ( 1 Kings 20:31 ), the Persians ( Esther 4:1 , Esther 4:2 ), the Israelites ( Nehemiah 9:1 ), and, as we see here, to the Moabites. The modern wearing of black garments, especially crape, is representative of the old practice. Every one shall howl . "Howling" remains one of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:3

National distress. The particular trouble causing such extreme grief was the destruction of the two chief cities of Moab, Ar and Kit . To destroy the capital of a kingdom is to strike the nation at its very heart. Conquerors can dictate peace when the chief city lies at their mercy. Illustrate from the recent German siege of Paris. This chapter vigorously pictures the distress throughout the land when Ar was taken, the rush of people to the border districts, the alarm of those whose... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:4

Heshbon shall cry . Heshbon, now Hesban , lay about twenty miles east of the Jordan, nearly on the parallel of its embouchure into the Dead Sea. It was the capital city of Sihon ( Numbers 21:21 ), who took it from the Moabites. On the partition of Palestine among the tribes of Israel, it was assigned to Reuben ( Numbers 32:37 ; Joshua 13:17 ); but at a later time we find it reckoned to Gad ( 1 Chronicles 6:81 ). We do not know at what time Moab recovered Heshbon, but may conjecture... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 15:5

My heart shall cry out for Moab (comp. Isaiah 16:9 , Isaiah 16:11 ). The prophet sympathizes with the sufferings of Moab, as a kindred people ( Genesis 19:37 ), and perhaps as having, in the person of Ruth, furnished an ancestress to the Messiah ( Matthew 1:5 ). His fugitives ; literally, her fugitives . The country is here personified, instead of the people , the former being feminine, the latter masculine. Shall flee unto Zoar . Zoar, the "little" town, spared for... read more

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