Isaiah 15:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 15:1-5

The country of Moab was of small extent, but very fruitful. It bordered upon the lot of Reuben on the other side Jordan and upon the Dead Sea. Naomi went to sojourn there when there was a famine in Canaan. This is the country which (it is here foretold) should be wasted and grievously harassed, not quite ruined, for we find another prophecy of its ruin (Jer. 48:1-47), which was accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar. This prophecy here was to be fulfilled within three years (Isa. 16:14), and therefore... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 15:1

The burden of Moab ,.... A heavy, grievous prophecy, concerning the destruction of Moab. The Targum is, "the burden of the cup of cursing, to give Moab to drink.' This seems to respect the destruction of it by Nebuchadnezzar, which is prophesied of in Jeremiah 48:1 for that which was to be within three years, Isaiah 16:14 looks like another and distinct prophecy from this; though some think this was accomplished before the times of Nebuchadnezzar, either by Shalmaneser king of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 15:1

Because in the night - בליל beleil . That both these cities should be taken in the night is a circumstance somewhat unusual; but not so material as to deserve to be so strongly insisted upon. Vitringa, by his remark on this word, shows that he was dissatisfied with it in its plain and obvious meaning, and is forced to have recourse to a very hard metaphorical interpretation of it. Noctu vel nocturno impetu; vel metaphorice, repente, subito, inexpectata destructione: placet posterius .... 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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 15:1

The burden of Moab - (see the note at Isaiah 13:1). This is the title of the prophecy. The Chaldee renders this, ‘The burden of the cup of malediction which is to come upon Moab.’Because in the night - The fact that this was to be done in the night denotes the suddenness with which the calamity would come upon them. Thus the expression is used in Job to denote the suddenness and surprise with which calamities come:Terrors take hold on him as waters,A tempest stealeth him away in the night.Job... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 15:1

Isaiah 15:1. The burden of Moab A prophecy of the destruction of the Moabites, the inveterate and implacable enemies of the Jews, begun by the Assyrian, and finished by the Babylonian monarchs. This prophecy, which occupies this and the next chapter, very improperly separated from each other, makes the third discourse of this second part. The time of the delivery, and consequently of the completion of it, (which was to be in three years after,) is uncertain, neither of them being marked in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 15:1-9

Devastation in Moab (15:1-16:14)The place names mentioned in these two chapters indicate that the attack on Moab comes from the north, most likely from Assyria. The attack is swift and ruthless, and towns fall in a night. Wherever a person looks, there is mourning (15:1-4). Even Isaiah weeps as he sees the people fleeing pitifully, rushing along the streets, across the streams and over the fields that have been damaged by the invading armies. They take with them whatever precious possessions... read more

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