Isaiah 15:1

1 This is a message about Moab. ¹ The cities of Ar and Kir are destroyed in a single night, and silence covers the land of Moab.

Isaiah 15:1 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 15:1

The burden of Moab
A heavy, grievous prophecy, concerning the destruction of Moab. The Targum is,

``the burden of the cup of cursing, to give Moab to drink.''

This seems to respect the destruction of it by Nebuchadnezzar, which is prophesied of in ( Jeremiah 48:1-22 ) for that which was to be within three years, ( Isaiah 16:14 ) looks like another and distinct prophecy from this; though some think this was accomplished before the times of Nebuchadnezzar, either by Shalmaneser king of Assyria, some time before the captivity of the ten tribes, as Vitringa and others; or by Sennacherib, after the invasion of Judea, so Jarchi. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, [and] brought to
silence;
this was a chief city in Moab, perhaps the metropolis of it; see ( Numbers 21:28 ) ( Deuteronomy 2:9 Deuteronomy 2:18 ) . Kimchi conjectures it to be the same with Aroer, which was by the brink of the river Arnon, ( Deuteronomy 2:36 ) ( Deuteronomy 3:12 ) and is mentioned with Dibon, as this, in ( Numbers 32:34 ) of which notice is taken, and not of Ar, in ( Jeremiah 48:19 Jeremiah 48:20 ) . Some versions take Ar to signify a "city", and render it, "the city of Moab", without naming what city it was; and the Targum calls it by another name, Lahajath; but, be it what city it will, it was destroyed in the night; in such a night, as Kimchi interprets it; in the space of a night, very suddenly, when the inhabitants of it were asleep and secure, and had no notice of danger; and so the Targum adds,

``and they were asleep.''

Some have thought this circumstance is mentioned with a view to the night work, that work of darkness of Lot and his daughter, which gave rise to Moab; however, in a night this city became desolate, being taken and plundered, and its inhabitants put to the sword, and so reduced to silence; though the last word may as well be rendered "cut off" ^F14, utterly destroyed, being burnt or pulled down; two words are made use of, to denote the utter destruction of it: because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, [and] brought to
silence;
either in the same night, or rather in another. Kir, another city of Moab, met with the same fate as Ar. This is called Kirhareseth, and Kirharesh, in ( Isaiah 16:7 Isaiah 16:11 ) and so Kirheres in ( Jeremiah 48:31 Jeremiah 48:36 ) called Kir of Moab, to distinguish it from Kir in Assyria, ( Amos 1:5 ) ( 2 Kings 16:9 ) and Kir in Media, ( Isaiah 22:6 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F14 (hmdn) "succisus", Pagninus, Montanus; "excisa", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. So Ben Melech interprets it by (trkn) .

Isaiah 15:1 In-Context

1 This is a message about Moab. The cities of Ar and Kir are destroyed in a single night, and silence covers the land of Moab.

2 The people of Dibon climb the hill to weep at the shrine. The people of Moab wail in grief over the cities of Nebo and Medeba; they have shaved their heads and their beards in grief.

3 The people in the streets are dressed in sackcloth; in the city squares and on the rooftops people mourn and cry.

4 The people of Heshbon and Elealeh cry out, and their cry can be heard as far away as Jahaz. Even the soldiers tremble; their courage is gone.

5 My heart cries out for Moab! The people have fled to the town of Zoar, and to Eglath Shelishiyah. Some climb the road to Luhith, weeping as they go; some escape to Horonaim, grieving loudly.

Cross References

• 1. 15.1--16.14Isaiah 25.10-12;Jeremiah 48.1-47;Ezekiel 25.8-11;Amos 2.1-3;Zephaniah 2.8-11.