The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

12So it will come about when Moab presents himself,When he wearies himself upon his high placeAnd comes to his sanctuary to pray,That he will not prevail.16:6 This begins a new strophe. Verses 1-5 are what YHWH hoped would happen, but v. 6 describeswhy it could not (compare Jer. 48:29).1. the pride of Moab2. excessive pride3. arrogance4. pride5. fury (BDB 720, “insolence”)6. false, idle boasts (BDB 95 III, empty, imaginary pretensions, cf. Job 11:3; Jer. 48:30)The Hebrew term “pride” (BDB 144) is repeated in different ways four times. Moab, like her idols,claims much, talks much, but cannot do anything!16:7-10 “Therefore” Here are the consequences.1. Moab shall wail because of her Ba’al worship (i.e., “raisin cakes”), vv. 7,12 (it is possible thisis another idiom for agricultural failure)2. fields wither and no harvest, vv. 8-10 (cf. 15:6)It is also possible that “raisin cakes” in this context refers to a luxurious lifestyle.16:10 “wine” See Special Topic at 1:22.} “I have made the shouting to cease” This refers to YHWH-sent invaders who disrupted the harvestand its annual festivals.The concept of the removal of “joy” is recurrent in this verse.1. gladness taken away, BDB 62, KB 74, Niphal PERFECT2. joy taken away (assuming same VERB as #1)3. no cries (or songs) of joy, BDB 943, KB 1247, Pual IMPERFECT4. no jubilant shouting, BDB 929, KB 1206, Pola IMPERFECT5. shouting to cease, BDB 991, KB 1407, Hiphil PERFECT16:11 The question is who is speaking.1. God (%3/, BDB 588, i.e., 63:15; Jer. 31:20)2. the prophet3. Moab personifiedBecause of v. 12, Moab (#3) cannot be right. Because of v. 13 it could be #2, the prophet Isaiah, butbecause of 15:5,9, as well as the Messianic implications of v. 5, I think it is God who grieves over the“what-could-have-been.” God loves humans made in His image, made for fellowship, yet they turn tofalse gods, false hopes!}NASB, REB “Kir-hareseth”NKJV, NRSV,TEV, NJB “Kir Heres”The MT is reflected in NKJV, but it is a shortened form of NASB (cf. v. 7; the city was simplyreferred to as “Kir” in 15:1).181