Isaiah 15:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 15:1
The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
a burden · noun, common masculine singular construct
Moab
מוֹאָ֑בmo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
night
בְּלֵ֞ילbe.Leil
H3915
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Ar
עָ֤ר'ar
H6144
Ar · proper noun, a place name
Moab
מוֹאָב֙mo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
waste
שֻׁדַּ֨דshu.Dad
H7703
properly · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
silence
נִדְמָ֔הnid.Mah
H1820
to be dumb or silent · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
night
בְּלֵ֛ילbe.Leil
H3915
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Kir
קִירkir-
H7024
Kir · proper noun, a place name
Moab
מוֹאָ֖בmo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
waste
שֻׁדַּ֥דshu.Dad
H7703
properly · verb, pual perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
silence
נִדְמָֽהnid.Mah
H1820
to be dumb or silent · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Amos 2:1-3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bone…
Jeremiah 48:1-47 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab i…
Numbers 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Ar…
Isaiah 11:14 But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their h…
Ezekiel 25:8-11 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;
Isaiah 14:28 In the year that king Ahaz died was this burden.
Isaiah 16:7 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall howl: for the foundations of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.
Isaiah 16:11 Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-haresh.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 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), which was accomplished by Nebuchadnezzar. This prophecy here was to be fulfilled within three years (Isa 16:14), and therefore was fulfilled in the devastations made of that country by the army of the Assyrians, which for many years ravaged those parts, enriching themselves with spoil and plunder. It was done either by the army of S…
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 Assyria, some time before the captivity of the ten tribes, as Vitringa and others; or by Sennacherib, after the invasion of Judea, so Jarchi.
Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; th…
The burden of Moab. Here the Prophet prophesies against the Moabites, who were neighbors to the Jews and related to them by blood; for we know that the Moabites were descended from Lot, who was Abraham's nephew. (Genesis 11:31, Genesis 19:37.) Those nations being so closely related, humanity at least demanded that they should maintain some friendly intercourse with each other. But no relationship prevented the Moabites from cherishing hostility towards the Jews, or even from harassing them whenever it was in their power; which is an evidence of a savage and barbarous disposition. To them also, on account of their cruelty towards the people of God, to whom they ought to have conducted themsel…
The Church Fathers
In a certain way, there is a circumcision that is both carnal and spiritual. Concerning the spiritual circumcision, it is said by the apostle Paul, "For we are of the true circumcision, who worship God in spirit, and glory in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh." And further, for the sake of distinguishing the spiritual Israel, it is said of the carnal, "You see Israel according to the flesh," and "You are Gentiles according to the flesh." Thus Moab is to be taken here in a spiritual sense, which is interpreted as "from the father," that is, "the paternal waters," conceived by incest and drunkenness, because he was brought forth when the father was in a certain sense absent, that is, unawares. In many places of Scripture we read concerning Moab, especially in the book of Numbers, where Balak, the king of the Moabites, invited Balaam the soothsayer for the purpose of cursing. Balaam prophesied mystically, among other things, against Moab: "A star will arise from Jacob, and a man will rise up out of Israel, and he will strike the leaders of Moab."
(Chapter 15, Verse 1) The burden of Moab. LXX: A word against Moab. Symmachus and Theodotion: The assumption of Moab. How circumcision is both physical and spiritual and is spoken of in a spiritual sense by the Apostle: For we are the circumcision, who serve by the Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3); and again, to distinguish the spiritual Israelites, it is said of the physical: See Israel according to the flesh (1 Corinthians 10:18); and, You Gentiles in the flesh (Ephesians 2:11); thus Moab is to be understood spiritually, which is interpreted as from the father, or paternal water, conceived from incest and drunkenness, in such a way that he seemed to be generated in the absence or even ignorance of his father. In many places in the Scriptures we read about Moab, especially in the book of Numbers, when Balak, the king of the Moabites, invited the magician Balaam to curse them. Among other things, Balaam also prophesied against Moab, saying: 'A star shall rise out of Jacob, and a man shall come forth from Israel, and he shall strike down the princes of Moab' (Num. XXIV, 17).
(Verse 1) Because at night Ar was devastated, Moab was silent; because at night the wall was devastated, Moab was silent. LXX: Moab perished at night, for the wall of Moab. Regarding Ar (), which Theodotion alone has placed in this way, as is read in Hebrew, Aquila and Symmachus have translated as 'city', not considering that between Ain and Res the Hebrew elements do not have the letter Yod, which if it were present, would correctly be called a city. Secular wisdom, of which the Lord speaks through the Prophet: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart (Obadiah 8; 1 Corinthians 1:19). For it has the author of its existence, being generated from the condition of God. It seems to be born from the father, which is interpreted as Moab; but because it is illegitimate and an adversary of the people of God, it is generated from incest and the den and the night. Therefore, it perishes in eternal darkness, namely in error. And the Egyptians in the Red Sea in the morning watch, which indicates the night time, were overwhelmed by the waves (Exodus 14). And Lot, when the people of Sodom perished in the night, came to Zoar, and the sun rose for him (Genesis 19). And understanding this, the blessed Apostle writes about the holy and perfect (I Thessalonians 5:6-7): We are not of the night, nor of darkness, but we are sons of the day. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But we, who are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us; that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with him. For therefore Christ died and rose again; that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But thou, why judgest thou thy brother? Or thou, why dost thou despise thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Therefore every one of us shall render account to God for himself. Let us not therefore judge one another any more. But judge this rather, that you put not a stumblingblock or a scandal in your brother's way. Furthermore, Ar, which is interpreted as…
Dictionary and topics
Ai — Ruins. (1.) One of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh. 10:1; Gen. 12:8; 13:3). It was the scene of Joshua’s defeat, and afterwards of his victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by…
Ar — (a city), or Ar of Moab, one of the chief places of Moab. (Numbers 21:28; Isaiah 15:1) In later times the place known as Areopolis and Rabbath-Moab. The site still called Rabba . It lies about…
Kir of Moab — Isa. 15:1. The two strongholds of Moab were Ar and Kir, which latter is probably the Kir-haraseth (16:7) following.
Ar · General references — General references
Burden · .Of the prophetic message — .Of the prophetic message
Kir-Haraseth · General references — General references
Moabites · Possessed many and great cities — Possessed many and great cities
Night · Used figuratively — Used figuratively
Prophets · Were sent to: Predict the downfall of nations — Were sent to: Predict the downfall of nations
Strategy · In war — In war
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
There is no other prophecy in the book of Isaiah in which the heart of the prophet is so painfully affected by what his mind sees, and his mouth is obliged to prophesy. All that he predicts evokes his deepest sympathy, just as if he himself belonged to the unfortunate nation to which he is called to be a messenger of woe. He commences with an utterance of amazement. "Oracle concerning Moab! for in a night 'Ar-Moab is laid waste, destroyed; for in a night Kir-Moab is laid waste, destroyed." The ci (for) is explanatory in both instances, and not simply affirmative, or, as Knobel maintains, recitative, and therefore unmeaning. The prophet justifies the peculiar heading to his prophecy from the…
This message of judgment and lament concerned Moab’s fall. The extensive references to Moabite place names indicate that Isaiah was thoroughly familiar with Moab.
15:1 Moab was Judah’s enemy, situated on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. • In one night: Destruction would be sudden and decisive.
Rashi on Isaiah 15:1
The harsh prophecy concerning Moab Isaiah prophesied that Sennacherib would come upon Moab and exile them, as it is said (infra 16:14): “In three years, like the years of a hireling, shall the glory of Moab be debased.”
for on the night that Ar of Moab was pillaged, it was as though they were sleeping silently Moab was silent as though they were sleeping silently and were unable to wage war, and on another night when Kir of Moab was pillaged, it was as though they were sleeping silently. Jonathan renders: And they were sleeping. Ar and Kir were two provinces of Moab.
