Глава 16

1–5. Moab seeks help from the king of Judah. 6–12. The fate of Moab. 13–14. Determining the time of the death of Moab. Isa.16:1. Send lambs to the owner of the land from Selah in the wilderness to the mountain of the daughter of Zion; Isa.16:2. for a wandering bird thrown out of its nest will be like the daughter of Moab at the fords of Arnon. The Moabites, in fear of the invasion of enemies (Assyrians), will turn to the king of Judah for help. They will humbly ask him to give them shelter, since they will have to leave their country for a while. "Send". This is the prophet giving his advice to the Moabites. Even under King Mesha, the Moabites annually sent 100 tons of sheep and 100 tons of unshorn rams to the king of Israel (2 Kings 3:4). Now the prophet advises sending this tribute to the owner of the land, that is, to the king of Judah who retained his power over his land (according to Condamin, here we are talking about sending the daughter (bath, not bar lamb) of the prince of Moab to Zion, where she can find refuge from insults from the victors). “Sela” is the main city of Edom, otherwise called Petra (the Greek word corresponding to the Hebrew word sela - rock). But since it was not this city, but Tzoar that served as the extreme point where the Moabites sought (Ps. 41:7), it is better to understand the word Selah as a common noun in its usual meaning: stone, cliff, rock (cf. Jer. 48:28) and mean here the mountain plains of the Moabite country, where the Moabites fled from their enemies along with their herds. “Mountain of the daughter of Zion”, i.e. the mountain where the population of Zion or Jerusalem lives. “Daughters of Moab,” that is, the cities of Moab (Jer. 48:4), where, of course, after the men left for war, almost only women remained, which is why the prophet mentions only daughters, without naming the sons of Moab. The prophet’s thought is this: the population of the Moabite cities will wander like a bird whose nest is destroyed. Isa.16:3. “Make a council, make a decision; cover us in the middle of the day, as at night, with your shadow, cover the exiled, do not hand over those who wander. Isa.16:4. Let my exiled Moabites live with you; be their protection from the robber: for the oppressor will be no more, the robbery will cease, those who trample will disappear from the earth. Isa.16:5. And the throne will be established by mercy, and a judge will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, seeking righteousness and striving for justice.” Here the Moabite ambassadors who came to the king of Judah are shown speaking. “Make a council” - consult with your ministers. “Autumn them” - let them rest with you, under your protection, just as a traveler exhausted by the heat rests somewhere under a large branchy tree. “My” - it comes on behalf of the Moabite king. “There will be no oppressor,” that is, the enemies will go home or, perhaps, will be exterminated in some way. “And it will be established,” that is, your power, your importance, the king of Judah, will rise even more thanks to your noble attitude towards us, the Moabites. The “Judge” is probably the Messiah expected by the Jews (Is. 2:2), about whom, of course, the Moabites could have heard from the Jews, into whose mouths the prophet therefore had reason to put such a speech. Isaiah 16:6–12. The advisers of the king of Judah, according to the prophet, would find it impossible to satisfy the request of this treacherous Moabite people. The Moabites, under the pressure of difficult circumstances, ask for an alliance with them, but then, after the danger has passed, they can easily change their promises. Moab, left without help, will then be completely weakened by its enemies. The prophet sees the devastation of the most fertile areas of the Moabite country and his soul suffers from this, although the Moabites are longtime enemies of the Jews. Isa.16:6. “We have heard about the pride of Moab, excessive pride, about his arrogance and arrogance and his fury: his speech is insincere.” Isaiah’s review of the Moabites as an arrogant people is confirmed by the prophet Jeremiah, who says that “From his youth...Moab was at peace, sat on his lees and was not poured from vessel to vessel and did not go into captivity; therefore its taste remained in it and its smell did not change” (Jer. 48:11). With these words, the prophet points to the comparative security in which Moab was compared to the Jews, due to which he now hopes for a successful exit from the difficulties in which he found himself. Therefore, probably, although the Moabites were looking for an alliance with the king of Judah, they did not attach particularly serious importance to this matter and did not think at all about the obligations that they had to assume upon themselves from the time of the conclusion of such an alliance. Isa.16:7. Therefore Moab will weep for Moab, and everyone will weep; lament over the strongholds of Kircharesheth: they are completely destroyed. Isa.16:8. The fields of Heshbon became impoverished, and also the vineyard of Heshbon; the rulers of the nations destroyed its best vines, which reached as far as Jazer and were spread across the desert; their shoots expanded and crossed the sea. "That's why" . What the prophet means here is that help will be denied to Moab and it will be left to its own fate. “Moab about Moab,” that is, one Moabite city about the fate of another, neighboring one. “Kircharesheth” is the same as Kir-Moab (see Is. 15:1). Instead of the word “strongholds”, Condamin puts the word “grape pies” (no-Heb. aschischim cp. Hos. 3:1), which probably constituted the most remarkable article of trade in Kirchareshet. The “Fields of Heshbon” were distinguished by their fertility. One English traveler brought ears of grain from there, each containing 84 grains. "Sevamsky Vineyard". Sevam or Sibma (Numbers 32:3, 38) is a city in the tribe of Reuben (Joshua 13:19), not far from Heshbon. "Rulers of Nations". Here Orelli sees not the nominative case, but the accusative and translates the whole phrase in this way: “whom the best vines overthrew (this is the power and dignity of wine) the rulers of the nations” (cf. Is. 28:1). "They reached Jazer". Jazer is a city north of Sevam. "Through the Desert". In ancient times, the strip of vineyards in the east of Palestine extended very far, to the extreme limits of the land of Moab, adjoining the Arabian steppe. “Beyond the sea” is the Dead Sea, which formed the western border of the Moabite country. Just beyond this sea was the Engeddi valley, famous for its vineyards (Song.1:13). Isa.16:9. Therefore I also will weep for the vine of Sebom with the lament of Jazer, I will water you with my tears, Heshbon and Eleala; for in the time of thy grapes and in thy harvest there is no more loud joy. Isa.16:10. Joy and rejoicing have disappeared from the fruitful land, and there is no singing or rejoicing in the vineyards; the vinedresser does not trample grapes in the winepress: I have stopped rejoicing. The Prophet, in a feeling of compassion for the destruction of such beautiful vineyards and fields, mixes his tears with the tears of Jazer. "For". this subordinate clause, more precisely from the Hebrew, should be rendered as “for over your fruits and under your harvest the cry of the grape crusher was heard” (Condamin). The enemy of Moab is like a crusher who eagerly tramples grapes placed in a stone trough. “In the vineyards they do not sing, they do not rejoice.” The grape-gathering time in Palestine is as cheerful and joyful as the harvest time. Cheerful songs are heard from all sides. In general, during fruit harvesting in the East, workers approve of each other by shouting. The sharpeners were usually made quite large; so that several pressers could work in them at the same time. "I stopped." With these words, God seems to restrain the prophet in his expression of compassion towards the Moabite country. Isa.16:11. That is why my insides groan for Moab like a harp, and my heart for Kircharesheth. The Prophet, hearing that this is a matter of God’s righteous wrath against the Moabites, feels even more sorry for them, because he realizes how difficult it is to fall under the wrath of the Almighty. “The inside... groans” - the prophet’s crying seems to be born inside, coming out of the depths of the heart. This is true grief (cf. Job 30:27). Isa.16:12. Although Moab will appear, and will labor on the high places until he is tired, and will come to his sanctuary to pray, nothing will help. “He will appear,” that is, he will appear before the altar (cf. Is. 1:12). “It will be until weary” - to beg for help from your gods (cf. 1 Kings 18 et seq. Is. 15:2). Isa.16:13. This is the word that the Lord spoke about Moab long ago. Isa.16:14. Now this is what the Lord says: in three years, counting the years of mercenaries, the greatness of Moab will be humiliated with all the great multitude, and the remnant will be very small and insignificant. This fate of Moab has generally been known for a long time. With these words, the prophet wants to indicate either that the very prophecy about Moab (15 and 16, to the 12th verse) was made public by him long ago, or that what was said in his prophecy is only a repetition of the main idea expressed by Moses (Num. 21:28-30) and the ancient prophet Amos (Amos 2:1-3). "In three years". The Lord indicates exactly the time when all the above disasters will fall on Moab. It is most likely to assume that this indicates the period until the moment when the pride of Moab will be put to shame for the first time. Moab will experience other humiliation in the future. That Isaiah did not indicate here the complete fulfillment of his terrible predictions about Moab, this is evident from the fact that Jeremiah, a hundred years later than Isaiah, again prophesies about the judgment that will befall Moab (chap. 48). “The Mercenary Years” is the most accurate and definitive account of time. The mercenary, of course, would never have stayed to serve his master beyond the agreed period, and the owner would never have released the mercenary before the same period. Consequently, the prophet counts exactly three years - no more, no less than that - until the time when the thunderstorm of God's wrath first breaks over Moab. It is difficult to determine when and under what circumstances this prediction was fulfilled, but the Assyrian king Sennacherib, a contemporary of Isaiah, mentions the Moabite king Kamosnadov among those rulers who kissed his feet. The 15th and 16th chapters contain a complete poem in five stanzas of the usual construction; two stanzas are symmetrical at the beginning and two at the end, and one stanza is middle - with its own special size. (Is.15 – preface and Is.16:13–14 – conclusion). Stanza 1 – Chapter 15 Art. 2–5a) – (2, 2, 3) Stanza 2 – Chapter 15 Art. 5b)-9 – (2, 2, 3) Stanza 3 – Chapter 16 Art. 1–5 – (3, 3, 2, 2) Stanza 4 – Chapter 16 Art. 6–8 – (2, 2, 3) Stanza 5th – 16th chapter. Art. 9–12 – (2, 2, 3) Most modern critics have expressed great doubt regarding the authenticity of this prophecy. The pathos with which the prophet speaks, the elegiac tone of the poem, purely human sympathy in relation to the suffering Moabites, the poverty of religious ideas, the style is drawn out and pretentious - this is what opponents of the authenticity of this poem point out. In addition, they point out certain expressions that do not correspond to the terminology usual for the speeches of Isaiah. That is why they say that we have before us the work of an unknown prophet, which Isaiah promulgated, adding to it verses 13-14 of chapter 16, which undoubtedly belong to Isaiah. But the general impression produced by this poem is not at all such as to give grounds for denying its authenticity. Indeed, why couldn’t Isaiah express his compassion for the suffering Moabites in a purely human way? Could the fact that the prophet had to announce God's judgment to Moab deprive him of the ability of compassion, which was all the more natural in the Jewish prophet, since the Moabites were still related to the Jews? As for the language of this poem, its high antiquity, as pointed out, for example, by Ewald, is very doubtful. On the contrary, the poem contains expressions that are used in the undoubtedly authentic speeches of Isaiah (cf. Is. 15 and Is. 21:11; Is. 15 and Is. 19:7; Is. 16 and Is. 5:19; Is. 16 and Is. 1:17), Thoughts and images of the poem are also found in other speeches of Isaiah (for example, Is. 15: 1-2, 4-5, 10; Is.9:28–32; Is.16:9, 11 and Is.22:4; Is.16 and Is.14:32). Thus, there are no sufficient grounds to deny the authenticity of this poem (see Yungerova. The authenticity of Isaiah’s prophecy about the Moabites. Legal Sob. 1886, 4). You might be interested in: