SEND LAMBS AS TRIBUTE...: An exhortation to Moab to
resume the payment of tribute to God's people -- not to Israel as formerly (2Ki
3:4), but now to the Temple at Jerusalem.
FROM SELA: "The mention of Sela (in Edom) and the
wilderness suggests that because of invasion from the north, the tribute is to
be sent via the southern circuit of the Dead Sea" (WIsa 216).
Isa 16:2
The women of Moab in flight // Isa 15:5n.
Isa 16:3
MAKE YOUR SHADOW LIKE NIGHT... HIDE THE FUGITIVES: Cp
Isa 32:2, where the godly king in Jerusalem is like "the shadow of a great rock
in a weary land" (cp also Isa 14:32). So the fugitives from Moab (Isa 16:4) can
hope for rest and security under the "shadow" of Hezekiah!
Isa 16:4
LET THE MOABITE FUGITIVES STAY WITH YOU: The KJV has:
"Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab" -- but the NIV rendering has strong
support of the LXX (and other versions: NET, RSV, RV mg), and suits the context
much better: Isa 15;16 is all about Moab being overrun by Assyria.
Isa 16:5
"An assurance of the saving power of godly Hezekiah -- note
the words 'mercy... truth... judgment... righteousness' -- with the strong
implication that, sharing the faith of this wonderful man, these distressed
Moabites can share also the safety and recovery which comes through him" (WIsa
216,217).
THE HOUSE OF DAVID: The "tabernacle" of David: (1) the
sanctuary in Zion, and (2) the man of God, descended from David. Cp Amo
9:11.
Isa 16:6
Vv 6-12: The appeal of v 4 is apparently rejected, so these vv
picture the agony of Moab as judgment overtakes them.
MOAB'S PRIDE: // Jer 48:26,29,30,42; Amo 2:1; Oba
1:3,4; Zep 2:9,10.
INSOLENCE: Moab refused passage through land to Moses,
and hired Balaam against Israel (Deu 23:3-6).
Isa 16:7
THE MOABITES WAIL, THEY WAIL TOGETHER FOR MOAB: The
survivors lamenting the many who have perished.
FOR THE MEN OF KIR HARESETH: "The Heb text has: 'for
the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.'
The
'raisin cakes' could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1),
but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the
raisin
cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are
no longer available (see 2Sa 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been
destroyed by the invader (see v 8). Some prefer to take 'raisin cakes of' as
'men of' (see HAL 95; cf
NIV)" (NET notes).
Isa 16:8
THE RULERS OF THE NATIONS: The "lords" prob = the pagan
priests of the high places (cp Num 21:28).
AND WENT AS FAR AS THE SEA:
Isa 16:9
I WEEP... I DRENCH YOU WITH TEARS: Spoken in
irony?
Isa 16:13
HAS ALREADY SPOKEN: Suggests that most of Isa 15;16
form a prophecy spoken in earlier days by some other prophet (Jonah?). But now
Isaiah declares that, since apparently Moab refuses to trust in the God of
Israel, the worst features of this judgment will be fulfilled.
Isa 16:14
WITHIN THREE YEARS: This prophecy was spoken less than
3 years before the cataclysmic coming of Sennacherib, which would precipitate
the fall of Moab.
AS A SERVANT BOUND BY CONTRACT WOULD COUNT THEM: The
last 3 years will pass very slowly, with increasing anxiety on the part of the
Moabites -- as they await fearfully the final horrors.