Isaiah 21:7

7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care.

Isaiah 21:7 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 21:7

And he saw a chariot [with] a couple of horsemen
The drivers of it, or the riders in it; perhaps meaning Cyrus and Darius: a chariot of asses, [and] a chariot of camels;
by the former may be meant the Persians, who very much used mules or asses; and the Medes by the latter, who abounded in camels: the words are in the singular number, and may be rendered, "a rider of an ass, and a rider of a camel" F23; and so may describe the couple of riders along with the chariot, which may signify the whole army of the Medes and Persians, chariots being much used in war; and the rider of the ass or mule may design Cyrus, who was called a mule, because of his mixed descent, being a Persian by his father, and a Mede by his mother's side; so the oracle of Apollo told the Babylonians, that their city should stand, until a mule was king of the Medes; and the rider of the camel may point at Darius: and he hearkened diligently with much heed;
the watchman that was set to watch used the utmost attention to what he saw, and listened diligently to the noise of this chariot and horsemen, as they came nearer.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 (lmg bkr rwmx bkr) (anabathn onou, kai anabathn kamhlou) , Sept.; "ascensorem asini, et ascensorem cameli", V. L. "unum equitantium in asinis, alterum equitantium in camelis", Piscator.

Isaiah 21:7 In-Context

5 Prepare the table, Set a watchman in the tower, Eat and drink. Arise, you princes, Anoint the shield!
6 For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees."
7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care.
8 Then he cried, "A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.
9 And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!" Then he answered and said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen! And all the carved images of her gods He has broken to the ground."
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.