Isaiah 21:7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

We had one burden of Babylon before (Isa. 13:1-22); here we have another prediction of its fall. God saw fit thus to possess his people with the belief of this event by line upon line, because Babylon sometimes pretended to be a friend to them (as Isa. 39:1), and God would hereby warn them not to trust to that friendship, and sometimes was really an enemy to them, and God would hereby warn them not to be afraid of that enmity. Babylon is marked for ruin; and all that believe God's prophets... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 21:7

And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen ,.... The drivers of it, or the riders in it; perhaps meaning Cyrus and Darius: a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels ; by the former may be meant the Persians, who very much used mules or asses; and the Medes by the latter, who abounded in camels: the words are in the singular number, and may be rendered, "a rider of an ass, and a rider of a camel" F23 רכב חמור רכב גמל αναβατην ονου, και αναβατην καμηλου , Sept.;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 21:7

And he saw a chariot, etc. "And he saw a chariot with two riders; a rider on an ass, a rider on a camel" - This passage is extremely obscure from the ambiguity of the term רכב recheb , which is used three times, and which signifies a chariot, or any other vehicle, or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse, or any other animal; or a company of chariots, or riders. The prophet may possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders; riders on asses or mules, and riders on... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-9

The effect of God's judgments on the good and on the guilty. We gather, preliminarily: 1. That God uses not only elemental forces but human agents for the accomplishment of his righteous purposes. The winds and the waves are his ministers; but sometimes, as here, the whirlwinds he invokes are not the airs of heaven but the passions and agitations of human minds. 2. That the greatest human power is nothing in his mighty hand. Babylon was a "great power" indeed in human estimation at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

THE BURDEN OF THE DESERT OF THE SEA . This is a short and somewhat vague, but highly poetic, "burden of Babylon" It is probably an earlier prophecy than Isaiah 13:1-22 . and 14; and perhaps the first revelation made to Isaiah with respect to the fall of the great Chaldean capital. It exhibits no consciousness of the fact that Babylon is Judah's predestined destroyer, and is expressive rather of sympathy (verses 3, 4) than of triumph. Among recent critics, some suppose it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

Fall of Babylon. It is thought, by some recent commentators, that the description refers to the siege of Babylon in B.C. 710 by Sargon the Assyrian. The King of Babylon at that time was Merodach-Baladan, who sent letters and a present to Hezekiah when he was sick ( Isaiah 39:1 ; 2 Kings 20:12 ). The prophet may well grieve over the fall of Babylon, as likely to drag down with it weaker kingdoms. I. THE SOUND OF THE TEMPEST . What sublime poesy have the prophets found in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 21:7

And he saw … he hearkened ; rather, he shall see … he shall hearken (Kay). He is to wait and watch until he sees a certain sight; then he is to listen attentively, and he will hear the crash of the falling city. A chariot with a couple of horsemen ; rather, a troop of horsemen riding two and two . This is exactly how a cavalry force was ordinarily represented by the Assyrians. Chariots are not intended either here or in Isaiah 21:9 . They were not employed by the Persians until a... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 21:7

And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen - This passage is very obscure from the ambiguity of the word רכב rekeb - ‘chariot.’ Gesenius contends that it should be rendered ‘cavalry,’ and that it refers to cavalry two abreast hastening to the destruction of the city. The word רכב rekeb denotes properly a chariot or wagon Judges 5:28; a collection of wagons 2Ch 1:14; 2 Chronicles 8:6; 2 Chronicles 9:25; and sometimes refers to the “horses or men” attached to a chariot. ‘David houghed all the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 21:7

Isaiah 21:7. And he saw a chariot with two riders, &c. “This passage,” says Bishop Lowth, “is extremely obscure from the ambiguity of the term רכב ,” (here rendered chariot,) “which is used three times; and which signifies a chariot, or any other vehicle, or the rider in it; or a rider on a horse, or any other animal; or a company of chariots or riders. The prophet may possibly mean a cavalry in two parts, with two sorts of riders; riders on asses, or mules, and riders on camels: or led... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 21:1-10

Vision of the fall of Babylon (21:1-10)The next message of judgment concerns ‘the wilderness of the sea’ (RSV), which we soon learn is another name for mighty Babylon. The prophet has a vision of its destruction, which occurred in 539 BC when the combined forces of Persia (Elam) and Media conquered the city (21:1-2). (Daniel 5:1-31 records the story of Babylon’s capture while the king was feasting with his mighty men.)Although the prophet always longed for the destruction of Judah’s oppressors,... read more

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