Isaiah 29:1 - Exposition

Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt ! "Ariel' is clearly a mystic name for Jerusalem, parallel to "Sheshach" as a name for Babylon ( Jeremiah 25:26 ) and "'Ir-ha-heres" as a name for Heliopolis ( Isaiah 19:18 ). It is generally explained as equivalent to Art-El, "lion of God;" but Delitzsch suggests the meaning of "hearth of God," or "altar of God," a signification which "Ariel" seems to have in Ezekiel 43:15 , Ezekiel 43:16 . But there is no evidence that "Ariel" was ever employed in this sense before the time of Ezekiel. Etymologically, "Ariel" can only mean "lion of God," and the name would in this sense be sufficiently descriptive of the Jewish capital, which had always hitherto been a sort of champion of Jehovah—a warrior fighting his battles with a lion's courage and fierceness. Dwelt ; literally, pitched his tent—an expression recalling the old tent-life of the Hebrews. And ye year to year ; rather, a year to a year ; i.e. the coming year to the present one. The intention is to date the commencement of the siege. It will fall within the year next ensuing. Let them kill sacrifices . The best modern authorities translate, " Let the feasts run their round " (Kay, Cheyne, Delitzsch); i.e. let there be one more round of the annual festival-times, and then let the enemy march in and commence the siege.