An Oracle Concerning Moab
Isa 15:1 A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!
Isa 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.
Isa 15:3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.
Isa 15:4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.
Isa 15:5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.
Isa 15:6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.
Isa 15:7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
Isa 15:8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.
Isa 15:9 The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon— a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.
The lamentable state of Moab.
An Oracle Concerning Moab
Isa 15:1 A prophecy against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night!
In chs. 15 and 16 Isaiah delivers a prophecy against Judah’s eastern neighbour, Moab. Little is known of the political geography and history of Moab, and therefore much in this prophecy is not clear. Israel and Moab were frequently at war with each other.
The famous Moabite Stone, found in the ruins of Dibon in 1868, tells of the subjection of Moab by Omri and Ahab and of its successful revolt under its own king, Mesha (see 2 Kings 3:4–7).
Such cities as Dibon, Nebo, Medeba, Jahaz (Yahaṣ), and Horonaim (Hauronen) mentioned in this prophecy (Isa. 15:2, 4, 5) are also named on the Moabite Stone. A similar judgment upon Moab, couched in much the same language, is recorded in Jer. 48.
Isa 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved and every beard cut off.
Here the Moabite Stone (see on v. 1) was found. This city is (19 km. east of the Dead Sea and 5.2 km. north of the Arnon. Nebo and Medeba are situated near the northern end of the Dead Sea.
On the famous Moabite Stone, King Mesha boasts of having been commanded by Chemosh to take Nebo from Israel, and of having seized the city and slain there 7,000 men, women, and children, whom he devoted to his god. Medeba is mentioned by Mesha as having been taken by Omri and occupied by him and his son Ahab for many years.
Heads and beards were shaven in token of profound sorrow. This custom may have had idolatrous significance, since the Israelites were forbidden to practice it (Lev. 19:27; 21:5; Deut. 14:1; cf. Jer. 7:29; 16:6; Eze. 7:18; Micah 1:16).
Isa 15:3 In the streets they wear sackcloth; on the roofs and in the public squares they all wail, prostrate with weeping.
Isa 15:4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.
The sound of wailing would be heard still farther to the north. Heshbon (Tell Hesbân) is about 9.6 km. north of Medeba and 24.5 km. east-northeast of the mouth of the Jordan. Elealeh was on a hilltop 1.7 mi. (2.7 km.) northeast of Heshbon. When the Israelites first arrived the area fell to Reuben (Num 32:3, 37), but later it was taken over by Moab (see Isa. 16:9; Jer. 48:34).
The location of Jahaz is not certain, but it may have been near Medeba. The Israelites defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, at this place (Num. 21:23, 24; Deut. 2:32, 33; Judges 11:20, 21), and it was assigned to Reuben (Joshua 13:15, 18). According to the Moabite Stone, Jahaz was the headquarters of the Israelites in their struggle against Mesha, but it was captured by Mesha and added to the district of Dibon.
Armed men of Moab. So terrible is the scourge that comes upon Moab that even the soldiers are stricken with panic and cry out in terror. Those who should help are powerless to do so, those who should be foremost in courage have been filled with terror.
Isa 15:4 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, their voices are heard all the way to Jahaz. Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out, and their hearts are faint.
So terrible is the scene pictured to the prophet that his own heart is touched with pity and he cries out in sympathy for the stricken people.
Isa 15:5 My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath Shelishiyah. They go up the hill to Luhith, weeping as they go; on the road to Horonaim they lament their destruction.
Zoar. This city was probably near the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It was temporarily spared at the time of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, later destroyed, and then, apparently, rebuilt (see on Gen. 19:22–24, 30).
Horonaim. This is mentioned by Mesha on the Moabite Stone (see on v. 1) as a city captured by him upon the directions of Chemosh. It is mentioned again in Jer. 48:3, 5, 34.
Isa 15:6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone and nothing green is left.
The waters of Nimrim. Also mentioned in Jer. 48:34, and possibly the site of a reservoir used for purposes of irrigation. It is believed to have been in a wadi emptying into the Dead Sea on its southeastern shore. When the reservoir was ruined, desolation spread throughout the area.
Isa 15:7 So the wealth they have acquired and stored up they carry away over the Ravine of the Poplars.
The desperate situation in Moab caused the inhabitants to flee the country and take up their abode at a place known as the Brook of the Willows. Where this brook may have been located is uncertain.
Isa 15:8 Their outcry echoes along the border of Moab; their wailing reaches as far as Eglaim, their lamentation as far as Beer Elim.
Eglaim. Neither place mentioned in v. 8 has been identified with certainty.
Isa 15:9 The waters of Dimon are full of blood, but I will bring still more upon Dimon— a lion upon the fugitives of Moab and upon those who remain in the land.
The waters of Dimon. This place has not been identified. It is possibly the same as Dibon (v. 2), in which case “the waters” would refer to the Arnon. Some take it as a stream near Madmen. I will bring still. Great as was the judgment of blood, other judgments were to follow. The lion is possibly a symbol for later invaders (see Jer. 4:7; 5:6).