Isaiah 15:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 15:5
My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
the heart · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
out
יִזְעָ֔קyiz.'Ak
H2199
to shriek (from anguish or danger) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Moab
לְמוֹאָ֣בle.mo.'Av
H4124
Moab · preposition + proper noun, a place name
fugitives
בְּרִיחַbᵉrîyach
H1280
a bolt
Zoar
צֹ֖עַרTzo.'ar
H6820
Tsoar · proper noun, a place name
heifer
עֶגְלַ֣ת'eg.Lat
H5697
a (female) calf · proper noun, a place name
old
שְׁלִשִׁיָּ֑הshe.li.shi.Yah
H7992
third · proper noun, a place name
up
מַעֲלֵ֣הma.'a.Leh
H4608
an elevation · noun, common masculine singular construct
Luhith
הַלּוּחִ֗יתha.lu.Chit
H3872
Luchith · definite article + proper noun, a place name
weeping
בִּבְכִי֙biv.Khi
H1065
a weeping · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
יַֽעֲלֶהya.'a.leh-
H5927
to ascend · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
way
דֶּ֣רֶךְDe.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct
Horonaim
חוֹרֹנַ֔יִםcho.ro.Na.yim
H2773
Choronajim · proper noun, a place name
up
יְעֹעֵֽרוּye.'o.'E.ru
H5782
to wake (literally or figuratively) · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
cry
זַעֲקַתza.'a.kat-
H2201
a shriek or outcry · noun, common feminine singular construct
destruction
שֶׁ֖בֶרShe.ver
H7667
a fracture · noun, common masculine singular absolute
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 48:5 For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
Jeremiah 4:20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
Jeremiah 48:31-36 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres.
Luke 19:41-44 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Go…
Genesis 14:2 That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the k…
Genesis 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
2 Samuel 15:23 And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the…
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…
My--The prophet himself is moved with pity for Moab. Ministers, in denouncing the wrath of God against sinners, should do it with tender sorrow, not with exultation.
fugitives--fleeing from Moab, wander as far as to Zoar, on the extreme boundary south of the Dead Sea. HORSLEY translates, "her nobility," or "rulers" (Hos 4:18).
heifer, &c.--that is, raising their voices "like a heifer" (compare Jer 48:34, Jer 48:36). The expression "three years old," implies one at its full vigor (Gen 15:9), as yet not brought under the yoke; as Moab heretofore unsubdued, but now about to be broken. So Jer 31:18; Hos 4:13. MAURER translates, "Eglath" (in English Version, "a heifer") Shelishijah (that is,…
My heart shall cry out for Moab,.... These seem to be the words of the prophet, pitying them as they were fellow creatures, though enemies; which shows humanity in him, and signifies that their calamities were very great, that a stranger should be concerned for them, and such to whom they had been troublesome; so Jarchi understands it, who observes the difference between the true and false prophet, particularly between Isaiah and Balaam; but others, as Kimchi, interpret it of the Moabites themselves, everyone expressing their concern for the desolation of their country; and so the Targum,
"the Moabites shall say in their hearts:''
his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar; a city where Lot fled t…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 5) Where the Prophet speaks with compassionate affection to those whose souls cried out to him, and says: My heart will cry out to Moab, that I may provoke them to repentance. But their beams and all the foundations, which seemed to have support in their heresies, will reach as far as Segor, that is, to the little one: and it will be shown that they are not strong, but fragile. And this Segor, that is, the small repentance, if it perseveres, will lead them to perfect salvation: which is signified by the three-year-old heifer, as we read in Genesis, where Abraham is commanded to offer a calf, a ram, and a three-year-old goat, a perfect sacrifice, that he may deservedly be the heir of the Lord (Genesis 15). And when they have repented, through tears of sorrow, that is, the tears of their cheeks, they will ascend to higher things. And through this as if through a hole and entrance of sorrow, they will raise the cry of contrition to the Lord, so that they may say: Sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: a contrite and humble heart God will not despise (Ps. 50:19).
(Verse 5) My heart will cry out to Moab. The prophet speaks with a lamenting affection, either because even the enemies are creatures of God, on whom so many evils come upon, or because they are to be overwhelmed with such calamities that even their enemies will become pitiable. Jeremiah also says the same: Therefore my heart will resound like a flute to Moab. They extend their borders from Segor to a calf in labor. And Jeremiah: From Segor, he says, to Oronaim, a calf in labor. We have spoken about this in the books of Hebrew Questions, and now we briefly note that it is the fifth city after Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which were preserved for the sake of Lot's prayers. It is called Bala, that is, swallowed up, according to the Hebrews, because it was overthrown by the third earthquake. It is called Zoora (also Zora) in the Syriac language and Segor in Hebrew, both meaning 'little'. We can consider her to be a perfect age calf. Just as the thirtieth year is the strongest in humans, so is the third year in cattle and horses. The boundaries are also indicated by stakes, and by strength we mean that Segor is situated in the borders of the Moabites, separating their land from the Philistines. For Luith will ascend weeping by way of ascent. And Jeremiah: Luith will ascend weeping by way of ascent, into mourning. However, we understand the ascent to be the path that leads to the Assyrians, and by this, captivity is signified. And on the way to Oronaim, they will relieve the cry of contrition. Again Jeremiah: The voice of the cry of Oronaim, devastation, and great contrition. It would be long if I wanted to speak about each one, since it is clear that there are either the names of cities in Moab or the names of places that the transmigrants have abandoned.
Dictionary and topics
Fugitive — Gen. 4:12, 14, a rover or wanderer (Heb. n’a); Judg. 12:4, a refugee, one who has escaped (Heb. palit); 2 Kings 25:11, a deserter, one who has fallen away to the enemy (Heb. nophel); Ezek. 17:21, one…
Heifer — Heb. ‘eglah, (Deut. 21:4, 6; Jer. 46:20). Untrained to the yoke (Hos. 10:11); giving milk (Isa. 7:21); ploughing (Judg. 14:18); treading out grain (Jer. 50:11); unsubdued to the yoke an emblem of…
Horonaim — Two caverns, a city of Moab to the south of the Arnon, built, apparently, upon an eminence, and a place of some importance (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:3, 5, 34).
Luhith — Made of boards, a Moabitish place between Zoar and Horonaim (Isa. 15:5; Jer. 48:5).
Zoar — Small, a town on the east or south-east of the Dead Sea, to which Lot and his daughters fled from Sodom (Gen. 19:22, 23). It was originally called Bela (14:2, 8). It is referred to by the prophets…
Grass · Failure of, a great calamity — Failure of, a great calamity
Horonaim · A town of Moab — A town of Moab
Luhith · A city of Moab — A city of Moab
Moabites · Prophesies respecting: Desolation and grief — Prophesies respecting: Desolation and grief
Ox, The · Heifer illustrative: (Of three years old,) of Moab in affliction — Heifer illustrative: (Of three years old,) of Moab in affliction
Zoar · Territory of — Territory of
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).
My heart shall cry out for Moab. At length he assumes the character of a mourner. But it may be thought to be strange and inconsistent in him to bewail the calamity of the Moabites; for he ought rather to have lamented the destruction of the Church, and to have rejoiced at the ruin of her enemies. It is customary with the prophets, however, to assume in this manner the character of those whose calamities they foretell, and thus to exhibit their condition, as it were, on a stage; by which means they produce a stronger impression than if they delivered their instruction in a direct form. Yet there can be no doubt that the prophets shuddered at the judgments of God, even against the wicked; tho…
The difficult words in which the prophet expresses this sympathy we render as follows: "My heart, towards Moab it crieth out; its bolts reached to Zoar, the three-year-old heifer." The Lamed in l'Moab is the same both here and in Isa 16:11 as in Isa 14:8-9, viz., "turned toward Moab." Moab, which was masculine in Isa 15:4, is feminine here. We may infer from this that עד־צער בריחה is a statement which concerns Moab as a land. Now, berichim signifies the bolts in every other passage in which it occurs; and it is possible to speak of the bolts of a land with just as much propriety as in Lam 2:9 and Jer 51:30 (cf., Jon 2:7) of the bolts of a city. And the statement that the bolts of this land w…
My heart weeps for Moab: The prophet joined in the lament to express the greatness of Moab’s pain. • Zoar was in the southeastern area of the Dead Sea (Gen 14:2; 19:23).
Rashi on Isaiah 15:5
My heart shall cry out for Moab The Jewish prophets are not like the gentile prophets. Balaam sought to uproot Israel for no reason, whereas the prophets of Israel bewail the calamity that befalls the nations.
its bars as far as Zoar Heb. בְּרִיחֶיהָ, bars. For the entire strength of Moab shall my heart cry, as far as Zoar, which is a third born heifer; it is their main strength, like a heifer born third to its mother. Alternatively, שְׁלִשִׁיָּה means a strong heifer. Jonathan, however, renders בְּרִיחֶיהָ like בּוֹרְחֶיהָ, those of her who flee. Those who flee shall flee from them to escape to Zoar, as Lot, their forebear, fled to Zoar.
the ascent of Haluhith A place on the ascents of th…
