Isaiah 21:14

14 {When you happen to meet} [the] thirsty, bring water. Inhabitants of the land of Tema came to meet [the] fugitive with his bread.

Isaiah 21:14 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 21:14

The inhabitants of the land of Tema
This country had its name from Tema, one of the sons of Ishmael, ( Genesis 25:15 ) . The Targum calls it the land of the south, as if it was Teman. These people were Arabians, and are here said to assist their countrymen, the Dedanites, in distress: brought water to him that was thirsty;
as travellers are wont to be, especially in a desert land, and when fleeing from an enemy; in which circumstances the travelling companies of Dedanim now were: they prevented with their bread him that fled;
gave it to him, being hungry and necessitous, without asking for it. Now all this seems to show what calamities should come upon the inhabitants of some parts of Arabia; that they should lodge in a forest, be hungry and thirsty, and flee before their enemy, as follows.

Isaiah 21:14 In-Context

12 [The] watchman says, "Morning comes, and also [the] night. If you will inquire, inquire; {come back again}."

13 An oracle {concerning} Arabia: You will spend the night in the thicket in a desert-plateau, caravans of Dedanites.

14 {When you happen to meet} [the] thirsty, bring water. Inhabitants of the land of Tema came to meet [the] fugitive with his bread.

15 For they have fled from [the] swords, from [the] drawn sword and [the] bent bow, and from [the] heaviness of [the] battle.

16 For the Lord said this to me: "{In one more year}, like [the] years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "Toward encountering"