select · noun, common masculine singular construct
valleys
עֲמָקַ֖יִךְ'a.ma.Ka.yikh
H6010
a vale (i.e. broad depression) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
full
מָ֣לְאוּMal.'u
H4390
to fill or (intransitively) be full of · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
chariots
רָ֑כֶבRa.khev
H7393
a vehicle · noun, common masculine singular absolute
horsemen
וְהַפָּ֣רָשִׁ֔יםve.ha.Pa.ra.Shim
H6571
a steed (as stretched out to a vehicle · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
set
שֹׁ֖תshot
H7896
to place (in a very wide application) · verb, qal infinitive absolute
array
שָׁ֥תוּSha.tu
H7896
to place (in a very wide application) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
gate
הַשָּֽׁעְרָהha.Sha.'e.rah
H8179
an opening · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
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
Isaiah 8:7-8 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory:…
Isaiah 10:28-32 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he hath laid up his carriages:
Jeremiah 39:1-3 In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and…
Isaiah 37:34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the LORD.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 22:1-7
The title of this prophecy is very observable. It is the burden of the valley of vision, of Judah and Jerusalem; so all agree. Fitly enough is Jerusalem called a valley, for the mountains were round about it, and the land of Judah abounded with fruitful valleys; and by the judgments of God, though they had been as a towering mountain, they should be brought low, sunk and depressed, and become dark and dirty, as a valley. But most emphatically is it called a valley of vision because there God was known and his name was great, there the prophets were made acquainted with his mind by visions, and there the people saw the goings of their God and King in his sanctuary. Babylon, being a stranger t…
valleys--east, north, and south of Jerusalem: Hinnom on the south side was the richest valley.
in array at the gate--Rab-shakeh stood at the upper pool close to the city (Isa 36:11-13).
John Gill on Isaiah 22:7
And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys,.... The valleys that were near Jerusalem, that used to be covered with the choicest corn or vines, or with grass and flocks of sheep, and used to be exceeding delightful and pleasant:
shall be full of chariots; where they can be more easily driven than on mountains; these were chariots not for pleasure, but for war; chariots full of soldiers, to fight against and besiege Jerusalem:
and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate: to take them that come out of the city, and to force their way into it; as well as to protect and defend the foot, while they made the assault, and scaled the walls, and to be ready when the gates we…
And the choice of the valleys [84] was full of chariots. I do not find fault with the translation given by some interpreters, "in a chariot of horsemen," but I have chosen rather to translate literally the words of the Prophet; for I think that he means "a military chariot." At that time they made use of two kinds of chariots, one for carrying baggage, and another for the field of battle. Here he means those chariots in which the horsemen rode.
Had it been a threatening, it would have been proper to translate it in the future tense, "And it shall be;" but as the words which immediately follow are in the past tense, and as there is reason to believe that the Prophet is relating events which…
The Church Fathers
(Verses 7-9.) And your chosen valleys will be full of chariots, and the horsemen will set their seats at the gate. And the covering of Judah will be revealed, and on that day you will see the arsenal of the house of the forest, and the breaches of the city of David, for they have multiplied. It clearly describes the captivity that occurred in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, of which Jeremiah also speaks: Behold, I will summon all the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord, and they will come and each one will set their throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all its surrounding walls (Jeremiah 1:15). So that what was predicted in word and not fulfilled in deed, Jeremiah also says the same: In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was opened, and all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the middle gate (Jer. 39:2). Therefore, in the surrounding area of the city of Jerusalem, an innumerable army was spread out, and the Holy of Holies and the armory, which had been planted with groves, were opened due to hostile plundering, and the enemy entered through all parts of the city, divided by walls.
(Verses 7-9.) And he took Elam, the quiver, the chariot of a man, and the shield uncovered the wall. And your chosen valleys will be full of chariots, and horsemen will set their seats at the gate. And the covering of Judah will be revealed, and on that day you will see the arsenal of the house of the forest. And you will see the breaches of the city of David, for they are multiplied. LXX: But the Elamites took quivers, climbers, men upon horses, and a gathering of fighters. And your chosen valleys will be filled with chariots, and horsemen will crowd your gates. And they will reveal the gates of Judah, and on that day they will look upon the chosen houses of the city. And they will reveal the hidden things of the houses of the stronghold of David, and they will see that there are many. Aelam, which is interpreted as their ascent, or the Elamites, as the LXX translated it, whom we turn into despisers, have taken up the quiver, to drive the upright in obscurity, who are the horsemen in the chariot of men, to expose the wall of Zion and the foundations of the Church with their shield and attack. 'But', he says, 'your chosen valleys will be,' and humble teachings, oh valley of Zion, full of chariots, which the Lord submerged with Pharaoh, and their horsemen and climbers will place their thrones at your gates, so that they do not allow the besieged and confined to go out from you. Then Almighty God will reveal the coverings of the Jews through the ecclesiastical men; and all their secrets, who are established in the confession of faith, will be revealed. And then, O Valley of Zion, you will see on that day, and in the clear light of truth, all the armor of the Apostle, and the house of the jump, in which the multitude of the nations stands. Just as it is sung in Psalm 131: Behold, we have heard of it in Ephrata: we have found it in the fields of the forest. But when the veil of the Jews and their secret, which was previously concealed due to mystery, has been revealed, and you see the armor of the Church; then you will understand the divisions of the city of David, which you have multiplied, in order to gather deceived peoples to yourself. These Elamites, according to the edition of the Septuagint, do not have a single quiver, but many; and they are mounted on men who ride on souls; and there is a great multitude preparing for battle against the Church, so that…
Dictionary and topics
Sennacherib — Sin (the god) sends many brothers, son of Sargon, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria (B.C. 705), in the 23rd year of Hezekiah. “Like the Persian Xerxes, he was weak and vainglorious, cowardly…
Gates · Of cities: Chief points of attack in war — Of cities: Chief points of attack in war
Valleys · To be filled with hostile chariots, threatened as a punishment — To be filled with hostile chariots, threatened as a punishment
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).
The advance of the besiegers, which leads to the destruction of the walls, is first described in Isa 22:6, Isa 22:7. "And Elam has taken the quiver, together with chariots with men, horsemen; and Kir has drawn out the shield. And then it comes to pass, that thy choicest valleys are filled with chariots, and the horsemen plant a firm foot towards the gate." Of the nations composing the Assyrian army, the two mentioned are Elam, the Semitic nation of Susiana (Chuzistan), whose original settlements were the row of valleys between the Zagros chain and the chain of advanced mountains bounding the Assyrian plains on the east, and who were greatly dreaded as bowmen (Eze 32:24; Jer 49:35), and Kir,…
The Kidron and Hinnom valleys were located to the east and south of Jerusalem.
Rashi on Isaiah 22:7
laid [siege] to the gate (Lit., laid to the gate.) They laid siege to the gates. There is a similar expression in Kings (II 20:12) in the war with Ben Hadad, “Lay on!” And they laid siege to the city.