Isaiah 15:5
Ver. 5. 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 to, when he came out of Sodom, to which it is thought the allusion is, see Ge 19:20 the meaning seems to be, that those that escaped out of the above cities, when taken and destroyed, should flee hither for safety: the words may be supplied thus, "his fugitives" shall cry out "unto Zoar"; that is, those that flee from other places shall cry so loud as they go along, that their cry shall be heard unto Zoar, Jer 48:34:
an heifer of three years old; which is not to be understood of Zoar in particular, or of the country of Moab in general, comparable to such an heifer for fatness, strength, beauty, and lasciviousness; but of the cry of the fugitives, that should be very loud and clamorous, like the lowing of an ox, or an heifer in its full strength, which is heard a great way; see 1Sa 6:9. Dr. Lightfoot {c} conjectures that "Eglath Shelishiah", translated an heifer of three years old, is the proper name of a place; and observes, that there was another place in this country called Eneglaim, Eze 47:10 which being of the dual number, shows that there were two Egels, in reference to which this may be called the "third" Eglath; and so the words may be rendered, "his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, unto the third Eglath"; and he further conjectures, that this may be the Necla of Ptolemy {d}, mentioned by him in Arabia Petraea, along with Zoara; and also to be the Agella of Josephus {e}, reckoned with Zoara and Oronai, and other cities of Moab: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; which seems to have been a very high place, and the ascent to it very great; and as the Moabites went up it, whither they might go for safety, they should weep greatly, thinking of their houses and riches they had left to the plunder of the enemy, and the danger of their lives they were still in. This place is thought by some to be the same with the Lysa of Ptolemy {f}; Josephus {g} calls it Lyssa; Jerom {h} says in his time it was a village between Areopolis and Zoara, and went by the name of Luitha; it is mentioned in Jer 48:5:for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction; of Moab, and the several cities of it; or "of breaking", of breaking down of walls and of houses. The Targum is,"the cry of the broken (or conquered) in battle;''whose bones are broken, or however their strength, so that they are obliged to surrender; or a "broken cry", such as is made when there is a multitude of people together, and in great distress. The word Horonaim is of the dual number, and signifies two Horons, the upper and the lower, as say Kimchi and Ben Melech; which is true of Bethhoron, if that was the same place with this, Jos 16:3. By Josephus {i} it is called Oronas and Oronae; it is taken by some to be the Avara of Ptolemy {k}; it seems, by the Targum, that as Luhith was a very high place, this lay low, since it renders it,"in the descent of Horonaim;''to which its name agrees, which signifies caverns; and mention is made of Bethhoron in the valley, along with Bethnimrah {l}.{c} See his Works, vol. 2. p. 502. {d} Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. {e} Antiqu. l. 1. c. 1. sect. 4. {f} Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. p. 137. {g} Antiqu. l. 14. c. 1. sect. 4. {h} De locis Hebraicis, fol. 93. A. {i} Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. & l. 14. c. 1. sect. 4. {k} Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. p. 137. {l} T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. Isaiah 15:6Ver. 6. For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate,.... Or dried up, through a great drought that should come upon the land at this time; or being defiled with the blood of the slain, as Jarchi: it may denote the well watered pastures about Nimrim, that should become the forage of the enemy, and be trodden under foot by its army, or be forsaken by the proprietors of them. Josephus {m} speaks of fountains of hot water springing up in the country of Peraea, where Nimrim was, of a different taste, some bitter, and others sweet; which, Dr. Lightfoot {n} suggests, might be these waters of Nimrim; and, according to the Jerusalem Talmud {o}, Bethnimrah was in that part of the country which was called the valley, and so was very fruitful with springs of water. The word is in the plural number, and may design more places of the same name; and we read of Nimrah and Bethnimrah, Nu 32:3. Jerom {p} calls it Nemra, and says it was a large village in his time; it seems to have its name from panthers or leopards, of which there might be many in these parts:for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing; by which it seems that the desolation spoken of was not merely through the forage and trampling of the enemy's army, but by a drought.{m} De Bello Jud. l. 7. c. 6. sect. 3. Ed. Hudson. {n} Ut supra (See his Works, vol. 2.) p. 50. {o} T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. {p} De locis Hebraicis, fol. 93. I. Isaiah 15:7Ver. 7. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up,.... The great substance which the Moabites had got, and hoarded up:shall they carry away to the brook of the willows; either the Moabites should carry their substance to some brook, it may be near Nimrim, where many willows grew, and cast it into the brook, or lay it by the brook side, in some private place, or under and among the willows, to preserve it from the enemy; or else the meaning is, that their enemies should take what they had with a great deal of labour got, and with a great deal of care had laid up, and carry it to the brook of the willows, some place without the city, and there divide it; or to the valley of the Arabians {q}, as some render it, some part of Arabia lying between Moab and Babylon, whither they might carry it, in order to the conveyance of it into their own country at a proper time: it may be observed, that the country of Moab came after this into the hands of the Arabians; and, according to Jerom, the valley of Arabia lay in the way from Moab to Assyria; but it may be rendered "the valley of the willows", and design the land of Babylon, or Babylon itself, which was built in a plain, or on a flat by the river Euphrates, out of which many canals and rivulets were cut and derived, near to which willows in great abundance grew; as they usually do in marshy and watery places; hence the Jews in Babylon are said to hang their harps upon the willows which were by its rivers; so Jarchi thinks the land of Babylon is meant, and compares it with Ps 137:1 which sense is approved of by Bochart and Vitringa. The Septuagint version is,"I will bring upon the valley the Arabians, and they shall take it;''and the Targum is,"their border, which is by the western sea, shall be taken from them.''{q} Mybreh lxn le "in vallem Arabum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. Isaiah 15:8Ver. 8. For the cry is gone found about the borders of Moab,.... The cry of destruction and howling because of it; the places mentioned, as is observed by some, being upon the borders of the land. Heshbon was on the north east, Elealeh on the north west, Jahaz on the south west, Horonaim further west, Zoar the utmost west, and the places following seem to be upon the borders likewise:the howling thereof unto Eglaim; which word signifies a border, and so the Arabic word Agalon; some take it to be the same with the brooks of Arnon, Nu 21:13 said so be the border of Moab:and the howling thereof unto Beerelim; the same with Beer, Nu 21:16 called Beerelim, or "the well of the mighty ones", being dug by the princes of Israel, Nu 21:18. Isaiah 15:9Ver. 9. For the waters of Dimon shall be full of blood,.... Of the slain, as the Targum adds. This was a river in the land of Moab, as say Jarchi and Kimchi; it had its name from the blood of the slain, Some take it to be the name of a city, and the same with Dibon, Isa 15:2 but, because of the abundance of blood shed in it, got this new name; and the Vulgate Latin version here calls it Dibon; and the Syriac version Ribon; and the Arabic version Remmon:for I will bring more upon Dimon; or "additions" {r}, not merely add blood to the waters of the river, as Jarchi and Kimchi; but bring additional evils and plagues, as Aben Ezra. The Targum interprets it,"the congregation of an army;''but what these additions were are explained in the next clause:lions upon him that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land; or a "lion" {s}; the meaning is, that such who escaped the sword should be destroyed by lions, or other beasts of prey, which was one of the Lord's four judgments, Eze 14:21. The Targum is,"a king shall ascend with his army, and so spoil the remainder of their land;''and Aben Ezra interprets it of the king of Assyria; and Jarchi of Nebuchadnezzar, who is called a lion, Jer 4:7 and the sense is thought to be this, that whom Sennacherib king of Assyria should leave, Nebuchadnezzar should destroy. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render the last clause, "the remnant of Adama", a city of Moab; so Cocceius.{r} twpown "addita", Pagninus, Montanus; "additiones", Vatablus; "additamenta", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. {s} hyra "leonem", Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.