Isaiah 15:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 15:4
And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him.
to shriek (from anguish or danger) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Elealeh
וְאֶלְעָלֵ֔הve.'el.'a.Leh
H500
Elale or Elaleh · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
voice
קוֹלָ֑םko.Lam
H6963
a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
heard
נִשְׁמַ֣עnish.Ma'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jahaz
יַ֖הַץYa.hatz
H3096
Jahats or Jahtsah · proper noun, a place name
soldiers
חֲלֻצֵ֤יcha.lu.Tzei
H2502
to pull off · verb, qal passive participle, masculine plural construct
Moab
מוֹאָב֙mo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
out
יָרִ֔יעוּya.Ri.'u
H7321
to mar (especially by breaking) · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
life
נַפְשׁ֖וֹnaf.Sho
H5315
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
grievous
יָ֥רְעָהYa.re.'ah
H3415
properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine 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
Jeremiah 48:34 From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of…
Genesis 27:46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as th…
Numbers 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
Numbers 21:23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into t…
Numbers 32:3-4 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
Deuteronomy 2:32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
Joshua 13:18 And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,
Judges 11:20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against…
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…
Heshbon--an Amorite city, twenty miles east of Jordan; taken by Moab after the carrying away of Israel (compare Jer. 48:1-47).
Elealeh--near Heshbon, in Reuben.
Jahaz--east of Jordan, in Reuben. Near it Moses defeated Sihon.
therefore--because of the sudden overthrow of their cities. Even the armed men, instead of fighting in defense of their land, shall join in the general cry.
life, &c.--rather, "his soul is grieved" (Sa1 1:8) [MAURER].
John Gill on Isaiah 15:4
And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh,.... Two other cities in the land of Moab. The first of these was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who took it from the Moabites, Numbers 21:25 it came into the hands of the Reubenites, Numbers 32:3 and afterwards was again possessed by the Moabites, Jeremiah 48:2. Josephus (t) calls it Essebon, and mentions it among the cities of Moab; it goes by the name of Esbuta in Ptolemy (u); and is called Esbus by Jerom (w), who says it was a famous city of Arabia in his time, in the mountains over against Jericho, twenty miles distant from Jordan; hence we read of the Arabian Esbonites in Pliny (x). Elealeh was another city of Moab, very near to Heshbon and f…
(Verse 4) Then they shall understand all their vain thoughts, which are interpreted as Esbon, and the futile ascent of pride, which sounds like Eleale, so that the voice of their deeds may be heard, and the commandment they thought was from God, condemning themselves by their own confession. Therefore, the bars, that is, those who were strong in Moab and understood their error, shall howl, and they who had hopes will begin to have regrets when their soul howls to itself.
(Verse 4.) Esbon and Eleale will cry out. These are the names of cities in the province of Moab, of which Esbon was once the city of the Amorite king. Concerning this city, Jeremiah also said, 'Fire has come out of Esbon, and a flame from the midst of Seon.' The name Esbon means 'thought' and therefore, Jeremiah, alluding to the name, says against Esbon, 'they have devised evil.' (Jeremiah XLV.) The voice of them was heard even to Jaza. The city of Jaza (also known as Jasa) lies close to the Dead Sea, where the border of the Moabite province is. This indicates that the wailing of the province will resound to the very ends of the land. Hence, Jeremiah also says: From the outcry of Heshbon, even to Eleale and Jaza, they have raised their voice (Jeremiah 48:34). Therefore the Moabites will wail, every one will wail for himself; for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth you shall mourn, utterly stricken. But if, as Aquila wanted, they are understood to be exerting their shoulders, that suggests to us the feeling that everyone has bared their chests to mourn.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Elealeh — God has ascended, a place in the pastoral country east of Jordan, in the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:3, 37). It is not again mentioned till the time of Isaiah (15:4; 16:9) and Jeremiah (48:34). It is…
Heshbon — Intelligence, a city ruled over by Sihon, king of the Amorites (Josh. 3:10; 13:17). It was taken by Moses (Num. 21:23-26), and became afterwards a Levitical city (Josh. 21:39) in the tribe of Reuben…
Jahaz — Trodden down (called also Jahaza, Josh. 13:18; Jahazah, 21:36; Jahzah, 1 Chr. 6:78), a town where Sihon was defeated, in the borders of Moab and in the land of the Ammonites beyond Jordan, and north…
Elealeh · Repossessed by the Moabites — Repossessed by the Moabites
Jahaz · A Leviti — A Leviti
Moabites · Possessed many and great cities — Possessed many and great cities
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).
on Isaiah 15:4
And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh. Here he names other cities; for his design is to bind up, as it were, in a bundle all the cities of that country, that they may be involved in the general destruction; as if he had said, that none at all shall be exempted.
Therefore the light-armed soldiers of Moab shall howl. Though l kn (gnal ken) literally signifies therefore, yet some think that a reason is not here assigned; but that is of little importance. The Prophet shows that there will be none that does not howl; for he declares that the bold and courageous shall mourn. Next he adds, the soul of every one shall howl to him. [241] Every one shall be so engrossed with his own grief, that he will…
But just as horror, when once it begins to reflect, is dissolved in tears, the thunder-claps in Isa 15:1 are followed by universal weeping and lamentation. "They go up to the temple-house and Dibon, up to the heights to weep: upon Nebo and upon Medebah of Moab there is weeping: on all heads baldness, every beard is mutilated. In the markets of Moab they gird themselves with sackcloth; on the roofs of the land, and in its streets, everything wails, melting into tears. Heshbon cries, and 'Elle; even to Jahaz they hear their howling; even the armed men of Moab break out into mourning thereat; its soul trembles within it." The people (the subject to עלה) ascend the mountain with the temple of Ch…
Heshbon was the former capital of Sihon (Num 21:23-26). • Elealeh was located close to Heshbon. • Jahaz was between Heshbon and the Arnon River (see Jer 48:34).
Rashi on Isaiah 15:4
because the armed men of Moab shall cry in alarm Since the armed men of Moab shall cry out towards the battle, and the soul of Moab shall cry out for itself, like one mourning for himself.
