Isaiah 15:2

2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Med'eba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn;

Isaiah 15:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 15:2

He is gone up to Bajith
That is, Moab; the king or people of Moab, particularly the inhabitants of the above cities. Bajith signifies house; and here a house of idolatry, as Kimchi interprets it; it was an idol's temple, very likely the temple of their god Chemosh, the same which is called Bethbaalmeon, ( Joshua 13:17 ) "the house of Baal's habitation", and is mentioned with Dibon and Bamoth, as here; hither the Moabites went in their distress, to lament their case, ask advice, make supplication, and offer sacrifice: and to Dibon, the high places, to weep;
Dibon was another city of Moab, ( Numbers 21:30 ) where probably were high places for idolatrous worship, and from whence it might have the name of Dibonhabbamoth, as it may be here called; or since there was such a place in Moab as Bamoth, here rendered "high places", it may be taken for a proper name of a place, ( Numbers 21:20 ) and the rather, since mention is made of Bamothbaal along with Dibon, and as distinct from it, ( Joshua 13:17 ) and Jarchi interprets the words thus,

``and the men of Dibon went up to Bamoth to weep.''

Kimchi takes all three to be places of idolatrous worship, and which is not unlikely. Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba;
two cities in the land of Moab, now taken, plundered, and destroyed; the former of these, Nebo, had its name either from the Hebrew word (abn) , "naba", to prophesy, because of the prophecies or oracles which is thought were delivered here from the Heathen priests, as from their deities; and among the Chaldeans there was a god of this name, ( Isaiah 46:1 ) or from the Arabic word "naba" ^F15, to be eminent, and so had its name from its height; near to it was a mountain of the same name, where Moses had a view of the land of Canaan, and died, ( Deuteronomy 32:49 Deuteronomy 32:50 ) ( 34:1 ) of this city see ( Numbers 32:3 Numbers 32:38 ) ( Jeremiah 48:1 Jeremiah 48:22 ) . Jerom says ^F16, that in his time a desert place called Naba was showed, eight miles distant from the city Esbus (Heshbon, ( Isaiah 15:4 ) ) to the south. The latter of these, Medeba, is mentioned in ( Numbers 21:30 ) ( Joshua 13:16 ) this city is by Ptolemy

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 called Medava. Josephus ^F18 speaks of it as a city of Moab, in the times of Alexander and Hyrcanus; so that if it was now destroyed, it was built again: and Jerom ^F19 says of it, that in his days it was a city of Arabia, retaining its ancient name, near Esebon, or Heshbon. On all their heads [shall be] baldness;
that is, on the heads of the Moabites, especially the inhabitants of these cities that survived the destruction, who through sorrow and distress, and as a token of mourning, tore off the hair of their heads, which caused baldness, or else shaved it: [and] every beard cut off;
with a razor, which makes it probable that the hair of the head was tore off; both these used to be done as signs of mourning and lamentation, even shaving of the head and beard, ( Job 1:20 ) ( Jeremiah 7:29 ) ( Ezekiel 7:18 ) ( Leviticus 21:5 ) .
F15 <arabic> "editus, elatus fuit", Golius, col. 2287. Castel. col. 2182.
F16 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 93. H.
F17 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. P. 137.
F18 Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. & l. 14. c. 1. sect. 4.
F19 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 93. D.

Isaiah 15:2 In-Context

1 An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone; because Kir is laid waste in a night Moab is undone.

2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Med'eba Moab wails. On every head is baldness, every beard is shorn;

3 in the streets they gird on sackcloth; on the housetops and in the squares every one wails and melts in tears.

4 Heshbon and Ele-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles.

5 My heart cries out for Moab; his fugitives flee to Zo'ar, to Eg'lath-shelish'iyah. For at the ascent of Luhith they go up weeping; on the road to Horona'im they raise a cry of destruction;