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man saw A RIDING, or persons riding two abreast; that is, cavalry, or men borne on horses, and camels, and asses, and hastening to attack the city. ¶ With a couple of horsemen. The word couple, tzêmědh, means properly a yoke or pair; and it means here that the cavalry was seen in pairs, i. e. two abreast. A chariot of asses. rather, as above, a riding on asses-an approach of men in this manner to battle. Asses were formerly used in war where horses could not be procured. Thus Strabo (xv. 2, § 14) says of the inhabitants of Caramania, Many use asses for war in the want of horses" And Herodotus (iv. 129) says expressly that Darius Hystaspes employed asses in a battle with the Scythians. And a chariot of camels. A riding on camels. Camels also were used in war, perhaps usually to carry the baggage.

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See Diod. ii. 54. iii. 44. Liv. xxxvii. 40. Strabo, xvi. 3. They are used for all purposes of burden in the East, and particularly in Arabia.

8. And he cried, A lion. Margin, as a lion. This is the correct rendering. The particle, as, is not unfrequently omitted. See Isa. lxii. 5. Ps. xi. 1. That is, I see them approach with the fierceness, rapidity, and error of a lion.' Comp. Rev. x. 3. My lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower. This is the speech of the watchman, and is addressed, not to JEHOVAH, but to him that appointed im. It is designed to show the diligence with which he had attended to the object for which he was appointed. He had been unceasing in his observation; and the result was, that now at length he saw the enemy approach

time, and I am set in my ward whole nights;

9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and 'all the graven images

2 or, every night.

p Jer. 51. 8, &c. Rev. 14. E. ↑ Jer. 50. 2.

like a lion, and it was certain that Babylon now must fall. The language here used has a striking resemblance to the opening of the Agamem-on' of Eschylus; being the speech of the watchman, who had been very long upon his tower looking for the signal which should make known that Troy had fallen. It thus commences:

'For ever thus! O keep me not, ye gods,
For ever thus, fixed in the lonely tower
Of Atreus' palace, from whose height I gaze
O'erwatched and weary, ike a night-doz, still
Fixed to my post; meanwhile the rolling year
Moves on, and I my wakeful vigils keep
By the cold star-light sheen of spangled skies.'

Symmons, quoted in the Pictorial Bible.

where one keeps watch. ¶ I am set in my ward. My place It does not mean that he was confined or imprisoned, but that he had kept his watch

,to watch שָׁמַר frorn מִשְׁמֶרֶת) station

Marg, every night. It means that he to keep, to attend to.) Whole nights. had not left his post day or night.

9. And, behold-a chariot of men. This place shows that the word chariot,

7, may denote something else than a wagon or carriage, as a chariot drawn by men cannot be intended. The sense can be expressed, perhaps, by the word riding, 'I see a RIDING of men approach; that is, I see cavalry drawing near, or men riding and hastening to the battle. ¶ With a couple of horsemen. The word with is not in the Hebrew. The meaning is, I see a riding of men, or cavalry; and they come in pairs, or two abreast.' A part of the sentence is to be supplied from ver. 7. He saw not only horsemen, but riders on asses and camels. And he answered. That is, the watchman answered. The word answer in the Scriptures means often merely to com

of her gods he hath broken unto | have heard of the LORD of hosts, the ground. the God of Israel, have I declared unto you.

10 O my threshing, and the 3corn of my floor: that which I

mence a discourse after an interval; to begin to speak. Job iii. 2. Acts v. 8. Dan. ii. 26. Babylon is fallen. That is, her ruin is certain. Such a mighty army is drawing near, and they approach so well prepared for battle, that the ruin of Babylon is inevitable. The repetition of this declaration that Babyion is fallen," denotes emphasis and

certainty. Comp. Ps. xcii. 9:

For lo, thine enemies, O Lord,
For lo, thine enemies shall perish.
Ps. xciii. 3:

The floods have lifted up. O Lord; The floods have lifted up their waves. A similar description is given of the fall of Babylon in Jer. 1. 32, li. 8; and John has copied this description in the account of the overthrow of the mystical Babylon, Rev. xviii. 1,2. Babylon was distinguished for its pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. It became, therefore, the emblem of all that is haughty, and as such is used by John in the Apocalypse; and as such it was a most striking emblem of the pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and oppression which have always been evinced by Papal Rome. And all the graven images. Babylon was celebrated for its idolatry, and perhaps was the place where the worship of idols commenced. The principal god worshipped there was Belus, or Bel. See Note on ch. xlvi. 1. Are broken, &c. That is, shall be destroyed; or, in spite of its idols, the whole city would be ruined.

10. O my threshing. The words to thresh, to tread down, &c., are often used in the Scriptures to denote punishments inflicted on the enemies of God. An expression like this occurs in Jer. li. 33, in describing the destruction of Babylon: "The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor; it is time to thresh her." In regard to the mode of threshing among the Hebrews, and the pertinency of this image to the destruction of the enemies of God, see

3 son. 8 Ezek. 3. 17-19. Acts 20. 26, 27. Note on Isa. xxviii. 27. Lowth, togeBabylon, and regards it as an address ther with many others, refers this to of God to Babylon in the midst of her punishment: "O thou, the object on which I shall exercise the severity of my discipline; that shall lie under my afflicting hand like corn spread out

upon the floor to be threshed out and winnowed, to separate the chaff from the wheat." But the expression can be applied with more propriety to the Jews; and may be regarded as the language of tenderness addressed by God through the prophet to his people when they should be oppressed and broken down in Babylon: O thou, my people, who hast been afflicted and crushed; who hast been under my chastening hand, and reduced to these calamities on account of your sins; hear what God has spoken respecting the destruction of Babylon, and your consequent certain deliverance.' Thus it is the language of consolation; and is designed, like the prophecies in chs. xiii. xiv., to comfort the Jews, when they should be in Babylon, with the certainty that they would be delivered. The language of tenderness in which the address is couched, as well as the connection, seems to demand this interpretation. And the corn of my floor. Heb. "the son of my threshing-floor,"-a Hebraism for grain that was on the floor to be threshed. The word son is often used in this peculiar manner among the Hebrews. See Note Matt. i. I. That which I have heard, &c. This shows the scope or design of the whole prophecy-to declare to the Jews the destruction that would come upon Babylon, and their own consequent deliverance. It was important that they should be assured of that deliverance, and hence Isaiah repeats his predictions, and minutely states the manner in which their rescue would be accomplished.

VISION XVII. CHAPTER XXI. 11, 12. Dumah, or Idumea.

ANALYSIS.

This prophecy is very obscure. It comprises but two verses. When it was delivered, or on what occasion, or what was its design, it is not easy to determine Its brevity has contributed much to it obscurity; nor, amidst the variety of interpretations which have been proposed, is it possible to ascer tain with entire certainty the true explanation. Perhaps no portion of the Scriptures, of equal length, has been subjected to a greater variety of exposition. It is not the design of these Notes to go at length into a detail of opinions which have been proposed, but to state as accurately as posible the sense of the prophet. Those who wish to see at length the opinions which have been entertained ou this prophecy, will find them detailed in Vitringa and others.

The prophecy relates evidently to Idumea. It stands in connection with that immediately preceding respecting Babylon, and it is probable that it was delivered at that time. It has the appear ance of being a reply by the prophet to language of insuit or taunting from the Idumeans, and te have been spoken when calamities were coming rapidly on the Jews. But it is not certain that that was the time or the occasion. It is certain only that it is a prediction of calamity succeeding to prosperity-perhaps prosperity coming to the afflicted Hebrews in Babylon, and of calamity to the taunting Idumeaus, who had exulted over their downfall and captivity, and who are represented as sneeringly inquiring of the prophet what was the prospect in regard to the Jews. This is substantially the view given by Vitringa, Rosenmuller, and Gesenius.

According to this interpretation, the scene is laid in the time of the Babylonish captivity. The prophet is represented as having been placed on a watch-tower long and anxiously looking for the issue. It is night; i. e. it is a time of calamity, darkness, and distress. In this state of darkness and obscurity, some one is represented as calling to the prophet from Idumea, and tauntingly mquir ing, what of the night, or what the prospect was. He asks, whether there was any prospect of deliverance; or whether these calamities were to continue, and perhaps whether leamea was also to be involved in them with the suffering Jews. To this the prophet answers, that the morring began to dawn-that there was a prospect of deliverance. But he adds that calamity was also com ing;-calamity probably to the nation that made the inquiry-to the land of Idumea-perhaps canmity that should follow the deliverance of the Hebrew captives who would thus be enabled to inflet vengeance on Edom, and to overwhelm it in punishment. The morning dawns, says the watchman; but there is darkness still beyond. Light is coming-but there is night also: light for us-darkness for you. This interpretation is strengthened by a remarkable concidence in an independent source, and which I have not seen noticed, in the cxxxvith Psalm. The irritated and excited feelings of the captive Jews against Edom; their indignation at the course which Edom pursued when Jerw salem was destroyed; and their desire of vengeance, are all there strongly depicted, and accord with this interpretation, which supposes the prophet to say that the glad morning of the deliverance of the Jeres would be succeeded by a dark night to the taunting Idumean. The feelings of the captured and exiled Jews were expressed in the following language in Babylon (Ps. cxxxvii. 7) :

Remember, O JEHOVAH, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem;
Who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation.

That is, we desire vengeance on Idumea, who joined with our enemies when Jerusalem was de stroyed; and when Jerusalem shall be again rebuilt we pray that they may be remembered, and that punishment may be inflicted on them for exulting over our calamities. The watchman adds that if the Idumean was disposed to inquire farther he could. The result could be easily ascertained It was clear, and the watchman would be disposed to give the information. But he adds, return, e me"-perhaps meaning, repent; then come and receive an answer;'-denoting that if the low means wished a favourable answer, they should repent of their treatment of the Jews in the calamities, and that then a condition of safety and prosperity would be promised them.

As there is considerable variety in the ancient versions of this prophecy, and as it is brief, they may be presented to advantage at a single view. The Vulgate does not differ materally from the Hebrew. The following are some of the other versions:

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It is evident from this variety of translation that the ancient interpreters felt that the prophecy was enigmatical and difficult. It is not easy in a prophecy so brief, and where there is scarcely any sle w to lead us to the historical facts, to give an interpretation that shall be entirely satisfactory and unobjectionable. Perhaps the view given above may be as little hable to objection as any one o. he numerous interpretations which have been proposed.

11 The burden of Dumah.' He calleth to me out of Seir, #1 Chron. 1. 30. Jer. 49. 7. c. Ezek. 35. 2, c. Watchman, what of the night?

Ub. 1, 4-c.

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on which critics have been divided.
Vitringa supposes that it is by a play
upon the word Dumah, because the
word may be derived from
dâmăm, to be silent, to be still; and
that it is used to denote the silence, or
the night, which was about to come
upon Idumea; that is, the calamity of
which this was a prediction. Kocher
supposes that the prophet used the word
denoting silence, 27, by a parano-
masia, and by derision for D, as if
Idumea was soon to be reduced to si-
lence, or to destruction. Idumea, or
the country of Edom, is frequently re-

xlix. 7-10, 12-18. Ezek. xxxv. 1–4, 7,
9, 14, 15. Joel iii. 19. Amos i. 11.
For a
Obad. v. 2-18. Mal. i. 3, 4.
description of Idumea, and of the pro-
phecies respecting it, see Notes on Isa.
xxxiv.

He calleth. One calleth; there is a voice heard by me from Seir. Lowth renders it," a voice crieth unto me." But the sense is, that the prophet hears one crying, or calling (7) to him from the distant mountain. ¶ Unto me. The prophet Isaiah.

11. The burden. See Note ch. xiii. This word burden naturally leads to the supposition that calamity in some form was contemplated in the prophecy. This is also indicated in the prophecy by the word night. ¶ Of Dumah. Dumah--is mentioned in Gen. xxv. 14, 1 Chron. i. 30, as one of the twelve sons of Ishmael. It is known that those sons settled in Arabia, and that the Arabians derive their origin from Ishmael. The name Dumah, therefore, properly denotes one of the wandering tribes of the Ishmaelites. The LXX evidently read this as if it had been Edom or Idumea-ferred to by the prophets. See Jer. 'Icovpaia. Jakut mentions two places in Arabia to which the name Dumah is given, Dumah Irak, and Dumah Felsen. The former of these, which Gesenius supposes is the place here intended, lies upon the borders of the Syrian desert, and is situated in a valley seven days' journey from Damascus, according to Abulfeda, in E. Long. 45 and in N. Lat. 29° 30', and about three and a half days' journey from Medina. Niebuhr mentions Dumah as a station of the Wehabites. See Gesenius' Comm. in loco. There can be little doubt that the place referred to is situated on the confines of the Arabian and Syrian deserts, and that it is the place called by the Arabians Duma the stony, or Syrian Duma. Rob. Calmet. It has a fortress, and is a place of strength. Jerome says," Duma is not the whole province of Idumea, but is a certain region which lies toward the south, and is twenty miles distant from a city of Palestine called Eleutheropolis, near which are the mountains of Seir." It is evident from the prophecy itself that Idumea is particularly referred to, for the prophet immediately adds, that the voice came to him from Mount Seir," which was the principal mountain of Idumea. Why the name Dumah is used to designate that region has been a matter

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Out of Seir. The name Seir was given to a mountainous tract or region of country that stretched along from the southern part of the Dead Sea to the eastern branch of the Red Sea, terminating near Ezion-Geber. Mount Hor formed a part of this range of mountains. Esau and his descendants possessed the mountains of Seir, and hence the whole region obtained the name of Edom, or Idumea. Mount Seir was anciently the residence of the Horites (Gen. xiv. 6), but Esau made war upon them and destroyed them. Comp. Deut. ii. 5, 12. Gen. xxxvi. 8, 9. Here it is put for the country of Idumea, and the sense is, that the whole land, or the inhabitants of the land, are heard by the prophet in a taunting manner asking him what of the night. Watchman. Note ver. 6. The prophet Isaiah is here referred

Watchman, what of the night? 12 The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the

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to. Comp. ch. l. 8, lvi. 10. He is represented as being in the midst of the calamities that had come upon Judea, and as having his station in desolate Jerusalem, and looking for the signs of returning day. The eye is turned towards the east-the source whence light comes, and whence the exiles would return to their own land. Thus anxiously waiting for the indications of mercy to hers desolate country, he hears this taunting voice from Idumea, asking him what was the prospect? What evidence there was of returning prosperity? What of the night? Comp. Hab. ii. 1. How stands the night? What is the prospect? What have you to announce respecting the night? How much of it is passed? And what is the prospect of the dawn?' Night here is the emblem of calamity, affliction, oppression, as it often is in the Scriptures (comp. Job xxxv. 10, Micah iii. 6); and it refers here probably to the calamities which had come upon Judea. The inquiry is, How much of that calamity had passed? What was the prospect? How long was it to continue? How far was it to spread? The inquiry is repeated here to denote intensity or emphasis, manifesting the deep interest which the inquirer had in the result, or designed to give emphasis and point to the cutting

taunt.

night if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.

be understood as referring to a different people from those referred to in the expression which immediately follows, "and also the night." The morning cometh-to the captive Jews;-and also the night-to some other peopleto wit, the Idumeans.' It might mean that the morning was to be succeeded by a time of darknets to the same people; but the connection seems to demand that we understand it of others. ¶ And also the night. A time of calamity and affliction. This is emphatic. It refers to the Idumeans. The morning cometh to the captive Jews;-it shall be closely succeeded by a night-a time of calamity-to the taunting Idumeans'-During the cap. tivity of the Jews in Babylon the Idumeans invaded and took possession of the southern part of Judea. The prophet here refers to the fact, perhaps, that on the return of the Jews to their native land they would revenge this by expelling them, and by inflicting punishment on the land of Edom. For a full proof that calamities came upon the land of Idumea, see Keith on the Prophecies, Art. Idumea, and Notes on Isa. xxxiv. If ye will inquire, inquire. If you choose to ask any thing further in regard to this you can. The sense is probably this: You Idumeans have asked respecting the night in derision and reproach. An answer has been given somewhat agreeably to that inquiry. But if you seriously wish to know any thing further respecting the destiny of your

12. The watchman said. Or rather saith; indicating that this is the answer which the prophet returned to the inquiry from Idumea. The morning cometh. There are signs of approach-land, you can ask me (Isaiah) or any ing day. The morning here is an emblem of prosperity; as the light of the morning succeeds to the darkness of the night. This refers to the deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and is to be supposed as having been spoken near the time when that captivity was at an end-or nearly at break of day after the long night of their bondage. This declaration is to

other prophet, and it will be known. But ask it in seriousness and earnestness, and with a suitable regard for the prophetic character and for God. And especially if you wish a more favourable answer to your inquiries, it is to be obtained only by forsaking sin and turning to God, and then you may come with the hope of a brighter prospect for the future.' The design of this

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