Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 21

Verses 1-5

Isa 21:1-5

Isaiah 21:1

THE BURDEN OF BABYLON;

THE BURDEN OF EDOM;

THE BURDEN OF ARABIA

Three "burdens" are delivered by the prophet in this chapter: that of Babylon (Isaiah 21:1-10), that of Edom (Isaiah 21:11-12), and that of Arabia (Isaiah 21:13-17).

THE BURDEN OF BABYLON (Isaiah 21:1-10)

The critical community as a whole have decided that this prophecy applies to the fall of Babylon to Cyrus and Darius, which occurred long after Isaiah’s lifetime; and, of course, in keeping with their crazy rule that there is no such thing as predictive prophecy they imagine that it had to have been written "after the exile," in 539 B.C. It is true that there are expressions in these ten verses which seem to point squarely to that drunken feast of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon to the Medo-Persians; but our confident conviction remains the same. Even if this passage does apply to that overthrow, Isaiah must still be accepted as the author of the chapter, because, as Cheyne said, "Both the ideas of the passage and the phraseology are in harmony with the authorship of Isaiah.” As a matter of fact, it is altogether possible that the prophecy, looking forward to the distant future, has a double application, as we shall see. In a similar manner, the prophecy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 applies: (1) to the destruction of Jerusalem, an event that occurred within forty years, and (2) to the final advent of Christ, an event that has not occurred yet.

That the "burden" here is a reference, primarily, to an event much earlier than the exile was affirmed by Dummelow thus:

"This siege can scarcely be the one at the close of the exile. Assyrian researchers have revealed three earlier sieges: (1) in 710 B.C. by Sargon; (2) in 703 B.C., and (3) in 696 B.C. by Sennacherib. Accordingly, the prophecy may be dated after 710 or 703 B.C. (but prior to conquest and fall of the city in 696 B.C.).”

Thus, Dummelow joined Cheyne and other discerning scholars in rejecting the post-exilic date and in the acceptance of a date consistent both with Isaiah’s authorship and the predictive nature of the prophecy. We shall cite some of the reasons why this understanding is absolutely required by the passage itself.

(1) The facts presented, the style and spirit of the author, the phraseology used, and the correspondence with the other writings of Isaiah all point squarely at the great eighth century prophet as the author. (2) Note the grief and depression of Isaiah upon reporting this revelation from God. The notion of some that Isaiah was simply overcome emotionally at the fall of Babylon makes no sense at all. Why should he have been grieved at the overthrow and destruction of that wicked power that had defeated Judah, carried them into captivity, etc.? On the other hand, if this is a prophecy of the fall of Babylon to Sennacherib in 696, which we believe it is, then it is clear why the prophecy was bad news to Isaiah. It meant that Judah’s last hope of some earthly power to intervene against Assyria had failed, and that Judah would have to face the full terror of Assyrian assault, which, of course they did, only a few years after this prophecy was given. (3) The author of this prophecy (humanly speaking) was not in Babylon but in Jerusalem when it was written. "Isaiah 21:6-9 imply a distance from Babylon.” (4) The conclusive argument against the event of 539 B.C. as being the primary focus here lies in the character of the conqueror prophesied. Note that, "All of the graven images of her gods are broken down to the ground" (Isaiah 21:9). By no stretch of imagination is this a view of the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.; but it was definitely a picture of what happened under Sennacherib in 696. It is a known fact that, "Cyrus was not an iconoclast; he did not break into pieces, nor in any way destroy or insult the Babylonian idols. On the contrary, he retained them in their several shrines, or restored them where they had been replaced.”

The fact thus cited, namely, that the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C., did not provide the "broken images" required by the prophecy’s fulfillment lies behind statements like that of Hailey: "This (the prophecy) does not necessarily indicate that the conqueror has destroyed the images, but that Jehovah’s power has triumphed over the powerless gods of the heathen.” Barnes, in a similar statement, said that it means, "In spite of its idols, the whole city would be mined.” These comments are not untrue as regards what they say, but they have no reference whatever to this prophecy or its fulfillment; but one writer even wrote that the fulfillment was "spiritual," admitting that no images were broken! Such an interpretation is incorrect. There could not possibly have been anything "spiritual" about a conquest of Babylon, either by the Assyrians or the Medo-Persians.

There are further evidences which we shall note in the comments below; but these are sufficient to demonstrate that the 539 B.C. fall of Babylon cannot possibly be the primary focus of these verses.

Isaiah 21:1

"The burden of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, it cometh from the wilderness, a terrible land."

This is a surprising title of Babylon; "But it plainly means Babylon,” ^] as clearly stated in Isaiah 21:9 below. Why, then, should it have been called "wilderness of the desert"? Lowth believed it was because the whole area of Babylon was indeed once a desert, and that it was recovered by an intricate system of irrigation, using the waters of the Euphrates. There could also be an overtone here of the ultimate fate of Babylon, which included its return to desert status. "This title probably includes the whole tract of waste land west of the Euphrates.”

The reference to the Euphrates as "a sea" is not uncommon in the Bible. Barnes says this probably came about due to a fact mentioned by Herodotus, that before the system of irrigation was developed, "The river often overflowed the whole area like a sea." For the very same reason, the Nile also was called "a sea."

Isaiah 21:2

"A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous man dealeth treacherously, and the destroyer destroyeth. Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease."

The true meaning here is that the vision brought great pain and sorrow to the heart of the prophet, a statement that cannot possibly be reconciled with the destruction of the oppressor of God’s people in 539 B.C.

Note also that Elam is the principal force mentioned here in the overthrow of Babylon, not the Persians. Could any sixth century writer have been guilty of such an error? The only answer is that it cannot refer to that particular fall of Babylon.

"The treacherous man ... the destroyer ..." "These," according to Dummelow, "Are references to the Assyrians.”

Isaiah 21:3-4

"Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am pained so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that I cannot see. My heart fluttereth, horror hath affrighted me; the twilight that I desired hath been turned into trembling unto me."

It is simply impossible that the news of Babylon’s fall in 539 B.C. could have been the occasion of the reaction on Isaiah’s part, as described in these two verses. He was so upset, dismayed, astounded, and pained that he could not hear, could not see, and could not rest. Even twilight, when ordinarily he would have rested became a time of trembling. This verse makes it mandatory to see the object of this prophecy in a prior fall of Babylon in 696 B.C., long before the captivity, in the ruin of the city by Sennacherib.

Isaiah 21:5

"They prepare the table, they set the watch, they eat, they drink: rise up ye princes, anoint the shield."

This is the verse which some say points inevitably to the drunken feast of Belshazzar on the night of the Medo-Persian capture of Babylon. It surely does suggest it; but there are some problems with thus accepting it. "Spread the table," as used here is a "far from certain rendition.” Furthermore, "Anointing the shield" suggests a preparation for battle that was not evident at all on the night when Belshazzar was slain and Darius took the kingdom. Thus, upon closer examination, the "certain" reference to that feast appears to be very questionable.

Isaiah 21:1-5 VISION: That this is Babylon is evident from Isaiah 21:9. Babylon was situated in the Mesopotamian lowlands, in the Euphrates River valley. In fact, the Euphrates River cut through the center of the great city. Hundreds of canals branched off the River into all the areas of the city making it literally a “wilderness of seas.” It is not unusual for a river to be called a “sea” (Cf. Isaiah 19:5). A cyclonic force of humanity from a “terrible land” is to swoop down upon Babylon at some future time. If Isaiah made this prediction of Babylon’s fall near 706–705 B.C. it would anticipate the actual historical event by approximately 170 years! Babylon did not win domination of the world until about 612 B.C. (at the battle of Carcemish). The Jewish captivity of Babylon began about 606 B.C. The conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians took place about 538 B.C. (See our comments on Daniel, chapter 5, for details on the conquest of Babylon by Medo-Persia). Why Isaiah deals with an empire yet to be born so many years in advance of its birth we shall speak of later. In Isaiah 21:2 the prophet characterizes his feelings and the personality of the Babylonian empire. The vision grieves the prophet. The Babylonians will be deceitful and devious and a people who will despoil and exploit the whole world. It is nothing short of amazing that Isaiah should know 170 years in advance the very people, by name, who would conquer this unborn Babylonian empire! It can only be explained by supernatural revelation. The Elamites and the Medes (later to become the Medo-Persian amalgamation) were the very ones history records as Babylon’s conquerors. This territory now belongs to Iran.

Isaiah was overwhelmed with grief at this vision. He writhed in anguish like a woman giving birth to a child. He could concentrate on nothing else. Its horror consumed him. Its awesomeness made his mind reel and his heart palpitate. He could not sleep at night. Why was he so gripped with its horribleness? Edward J. Young writes, “From this it appears that the prophet experienced deep emotion not merely over his own people, but even over the enemy. He was a man of tender compassion, and the news that stark events were to overcome the world brings upon him painful anguish. Perhaps if we knew today of the future catastrophic and cataclysmic upheavels in national and international structures we would be overwhelmed with grief and anguish. Any man of God grieves over the tribulation and oppression of others any time it occurs. Most Americans who can remember the atomic holocaust over Hiroshima, Japan, and its consequences, even though Japan was at the time America’s enemy, remembers his horror and compassion for those Japanese who suffered in it. Perhaps the stupidity and gross sensuality of the Babylonians visualized by Isaiah even as their enemies marched toward their city, also caused the prophet to be upset. Again, amazingly, Isaiah predicts the exact situation among the Babylonians upon the night of their downfall (Cf. our comments in Daniel, chapter 5). Belshazzar was eating and drinking with his noblemen when the handwriting appeared on the wall and Cyrus and the Medes appeared inside the city. The Medes were upon them so suddenly the Babylonians hardly had time to prepare (“anoint with oil from their pagan altars”) their shields for war. This “anointing” was probably some superstition seeking the aid of their gods in battle.

Verses 6-10

Isa 21:6-10

Isaiah 21:6-7

"For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he seeth: and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed."

All are agreed that Isaiah himself was the "watchman" set to announce the coming destruction. Hailey believes this to be indicated by the expression, "O Lord" in Isaiah 21:8.

The mention of asses and camels as participating in the overthrow has been used to bolster the false theory that we have a prophetic reference to 539 B.C. They quote Herodotus to show that some of the Persians in that overthrow rode on asses and camels; but it would have been no distinctive mark at that time. After the siege of Babylon in 710 B.C., "Asses and camels are expressly mentioned as having been left on the field of battle by Merodach-Baladan, and we may assume that the Assyrians also employed them in the Assyrian army.”

Isaiah 21:8-9

"And he cried as a lion: O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and am set in my ward whole nights; and, behold, here cometh a troop of men, horsemen in pairs. And he answered and said, Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground."

Here is the same language employed by the Lord through the apostle John in describing the fall of the Great Harlot of the times of the Apostasy (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:5). It is this fact, more than any other, which supports the view that there could be a great deal more in this passage than a prophecy of one of the several falls of ancient Babylon. Babylon became, in time, a symbol of all wickedness and unrighteousness, giving her name to the Great Apostasy itself.

Isaiah 21:10

"O thou my threshing, and the grain of my floor! that which I have heard from Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you."

This verse is in the form of a lament by Isaiah over the fate of God’s people as it looms in this prophecy. There will be no help from Babylon. Assyria will completely subdue it and rule over it; and now there is absolutely nothing left in the whole world to protect God’s people (from the earthly viewpoint) from the terrifying cruelty and oppression of Assyria. Grieved as Isaiah assuredly was at this tragic news, he reminds the Lord’s people here that he has surely spoken unto them the true Word of God, that the "threshing" they are sure to receive will only expose the true grain as distinguished from the chaff.

Isaiah 21:6-10. VERIFICATION: Who is this watchman? It is our opinion that God was instructing Isaiah to appeal to those who believed his prophecy to pass along this prophecy to future generations who would “watch” diligently as historic events fullfilled and verified Isaiah’s predictions. These future generations of a “faithful remnant” would then read and remind all who would hear that Isaiah’s prophecies were sure and certain. God would chasten His people, but He would also deliver them. Joel bids those who witnessed the locust plague to pass on the information from one generation to another in order to interpret God’s actions of chastening in the world. Jeremiah predicted the death of Hananiah. Hananiah’s death verified Jeremiah’s authenticity as a prophet (Cf. Jeremiah 28:5-17). The Elamites used asses and the Medes used camels as animals of warfare. When the Judeans of the future should see this great mass of mounted warriors approaching Babylon they should know their deliverance from Babylon’s captivity was near. All their songs and sighings of oppression in captivity would cease. The Persians in two short years would begin (536) the restoration of the Jews to their land. The word “lion” is not in the best, most ancient, Hebrew texts. It is not in the Isaiah manuscript of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The cry of those with faith to take Isaiah at his word and “watch” is: Fallen, fallen, is Babylon! Babylon’s gods are impotent and they are ground into the dust of destruction.

Fallen Babylon proclaimed the defeat of the great enemy of God’s people and their deliverance. In a certain sense, this is the basic theme of the entire book of Isaiah. It is the prelude to the triumphant messages of conquest and joy found in chapters 40-66. It is the same message John the apostle sees in a vision concerning the Roman empire in Revelation 18, which is symbolic of God’s final defeat of His enemies and the deliverance of His people. Babylon was symbolic of all the forces opposed to God and His redemptive work in the earth. Especially did she symbolize the forces of sensuality and worldliness as they oppose God and His kingdom in luring humanity to commit “adultery” with the gods of carnality. That is why Babylon is called a “mistress” and a “whore.” The overthrow of Babylon in the book of Revelation is a prelude to the joyous conquest of Revelation 21-22.

Isaiah’s heart goes out to God’s people, so long threshed by their oppressors. They have been ground into the earth as. grain on a threshing floor, but the precious grain is God’s. He will separate the wheat from the chaff by the Babylon captivity. And when the Medes have delivered Judah from Babylon, the wheat-seed will produce a harvest in the Messiah. What the aged prophet had heard from Jehovah, he tenderly but forth-rightly declared to all who would listen and believe.

Verses 11-12

Isa 21:11-12

Verse 11-12

THE BURDEN OF EDOM (Isaiah 21:11-12)

"The Burden of Dumah. One called unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye; turn ye, come."

Dumah is usually understood as some kind of a name for Edom, due to the mention of Seir in the passage, which city was the capital of Edom. No one knows exactly how this designation came about. Dumah was one of the twelve sons of Ishmael who settled in Arabia, but he may have moved into Edom (Genesis 25:14). The Septuagint (LXX) rendered Isaiah 21:14 as the "burden of Thaeman" another great Edomite city.

It is not known if there was actually an appeal to Isaiah from Seir in this passage, or if it is prophetically projected and honored with the reply here given.

What is the reply? Yes, the morning cometh, but the night also! There will be morning and an end of the long night for Judah, but for Edom there will continue to be night and darkness. If Seir would really have relief, let them turn to the Lord; let them repent and return to the God of their fathers.

Isaiah 21:11-12 DEATH: Dumah is probably the Hebrew word A-dom (Edom—“red”) which the prophet has used as a pun by removing the a sound from the beginning of the word and placing it at the end—dutn-A. Dumah means “stillness” like the silence of death. Edom is the subject of some of the severest judgments of the Old Testament, (Cf. Isaiah 34:5 ff; Jeremiah 49:7 ff; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah 1:1-21, for examples). Edom is the only neighbor of the Israelites who was not given any promise of mercy from God. She was a nation descended from Esau, brother of Jacob, and thus the Edomites were brothers of the Jews. Esau was a “profane” person who irreverently sold his birthright for pottage. But Edom was haughty, insolent, irreverent, insensitive and implacable. She not only applauded every tribulation that came upon the Jews, she exploited their misfortunes to her own gain. God pronounced Edom’s obliteration. They disappeared as a nation in about 70 A.D. So “silence of death” fell upon the region of Mt. Seir, Edom’s ancient stronghold.

“Watchman, what part of the night is it?” would be a more literal translation of that phrase. The idea is like that of an ill person suffering through a long night of affliction, repeatedly asking, “How long until morning?” The question is, “Will the night of judgment you pronounce upon us ever break with the dawning of a morning of relief?” The watchman (Isaiah) answers, “Yes, morning will come—relief comes, but so does the night.” In other words, relief comes to those who “turn” and seek the Lord, but night continues to come to those who do not, That this is the answer is apparent from the phrase, “if ye will inquire . . .” That is, “If you are really inquiring, Edom, then make your inquiry in the form of a penitent turning unto the Lord, and the morning will come to you. If you do not, then the night comes.”

Verses 13-17

Isa 21:13-17

Isaiah 21:13-17

THE BURDEN OF ARABIA (Isaiah 21:13-17)

"The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye judge, O ye caravans of Dedanites. Unto him that was thirsty they brought water; the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread. For they fled away from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war. For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail; and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be few, the God of Israel hath spoken it."

This is the prophecy of the distress that shall come to the neighboring peoples of Judah when the long-expected assault from Assyria will finally occur in circa 702 B.C. As any marauding army would have done, the invading force here is foreseen as overrunning and destroying such neighbors of Judah as the Edomites and the Arabians. As Lowth said, "The distress of those peoples noted here is the subject of this prophecy."

"Kedar ..." This word is the name of one of the twelve sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13); but the name was also used as a collective term to describe the desert-dwellers, the Bedouin generally.

Along with Lowth, we identify the fulfillment of this prophecy with the last year prior to Sennacherib’s attempt to sack Jerusalem; and this means that the prophecy was uttered only a year before that. See the line, "As the year of a hireling." This was a common way of saying "exactly one year." The hireling would see to it that it was no more than a year; and the master who hired him would see to it that it was no less! If this prophecy was given about 715 B.C., as Payne thought, then the destruction and warfare foreseen took place about a year later in one of the many incursions of Assyria into this part of the Mid-East. In that case, "Sargon’s recorded invasion in 715" would have been the occasion of fulfillment.

The destruction of the majority of the military men of Kedar is merely an example of what happened to all of the countries destroyed by the ruthless Assyrians, "the Breakers," as they were called throughout the world.

What about the Dedanites mentioned at the head of this paragraph? Norman noted that there is some obscurity about the people called by this name. One such place is the modern Alula, seventy miles south of Taima. "It was once a flourishing caravan city, as now known from cuneiform inscriptions."

Isaiah 21:13-17 DESTRUCTION: The Arabians were descendants of Ishmael, half brother of Isaac. Esau married Ishmael’s daughter so the Edomites and Arabians were related. Kedar was one of the 12 sons of Ishmael. Arabia was therefore closely related to the Jews. Ishmael began mocking the Jews when he was 16 (Genesis 21:9). Their hatred for the Jews was, like Edom’s, born of envy, and nurtured over many centuries. Jeremiah tells us something of their desert, nomadic existence (Jeremiah 49:28-33). Their territory was (Kedar) in the northern part of the Arabian desert. The prophet Isaiah describes their coming judgment. Their land will be so thoroughly overrun and occupied by enemy troops that caravans will be unable to travel in safety. They will have to hide in the forests. They will be fugitives in their own country. They will be fed and given water secretly. They will be outlaws in their own land. They will be out numbered and “out-gunned.” Those mighty archers and horsemen of Arabia, those fierce fighting nomads of the steppes will have to flee from the superior forces of an enemy occupying their lands. Their number will be reduced to “few.” It is not difficult to see the fulfillment of this. There has long been a darkness over this land with the false religion of Islam. They have been a weak, nomadic, disunited people warring against one another for centuries. This has been due to their irreverence for the deity and exclusiveness of God’s True Prophet, Jesus Christ. “Morning” can never come to these two brothers of Israel until they “turn” to God’s Messiah. The Edomites had the audacity to put forth Herod, the Idumean as “king of the Jews.” The Herod family, in its insolence toward Jehovah, contributed to the crucifixion of Christ. The Arabians had the audacity to declare that Mohammed was a Prophet equal to Jesus. Whoever does not “kiss the son” will die (Psalms 2:11). The insolence and irreverence of these two peoples is the cause of their judgment. Haughtiness toward God’s covenant people is haughtiness toward God Himself, God’s faithful servants are “the apple of His eye.” Love God, love His children. Those today who haughtily despise the church of Christ will reap God’s judgment.