Isaiah 21 is the twenty-first chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

, and is one of the

Books of the Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

. This chapter contains prophecies against Babylon,

Edom Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...

Text

The original text was written in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 17 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century),

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

(3rd century BC or later): * 1QIsa^a: complete * 4QIsa^a (4Q55): extant: verses 1‑2, 4‑16 * 4QIsa^b (4Q56): extant: verses 11‑14 There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the

version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Parashot

The '' parashah'' sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 21 is a part of the ''Prophecies about the Nations (

Isaiah 13 Isaiah 13 is the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. In the New ...

–23)''. : open ''parashah''; : closed ''parashah''. : 21:1-5 21:6-10 21:11-12 21:13-15 21:16-17

Proclamation against Babylon (21:1–10)

This part of prophecy or oracle refers clearly to Babylon, although it is not indicated by name, as understood, among others, by Coggins and

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

.Yeshayahu - Isaiah - Chapter 21 with Rashi's Commentary
- Chabad.org

Verse 1

:''The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea'' ::''As whirlwinds in the South pass through,'' ::''So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land.'' The

does not include the words "of the Sea":Isaiah 21:1 - Septuagint
/ref> :''As though a whirlwind should pass through the desert, coming from a desert, even from such a land, so a fearful and a grievous vision was declared to me''. The

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges is a biblical commentary set published in parts by Cambridge University Press from 1882 onwards. Anglican bishop John Perowne was the general editor. The first section published was written by theologi ...

notes the sub-heading in this verse as one (and the first) of "a series of 'enigmatic' headings", along with Isaiah 21:11, 13, and Isaiah 22:1 (cf. ).Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Isaiah 21, accessed 5 April 2018 Rabbi Jonathan is quoted by Rashi to render this verse: "A harsh prophecy concerning the armies that come from the desert, as numerous as the waters of the sea." * "Burden" (Hebrew: מַשָּׂ֖א ): the keyword in the superscriptions for a total of nine similar oracles; the others being: Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; Isaiah 21:11, 13; 22:1; 23:1.

Verse 9

::''"And look, here comes a chariot of men with a pair of horsemen!"'' :''Then he answered and said,'' ::''"Babylon is fallen, is fallen!'' ::''And all the carved images of her gods'' ::''He has broken to the ground."'' Cross reference: ; * "Babylon is fallen, is fallen": the event is prophesied in a vision.The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 1006-1007 Hebrew Bible.

Proclamation against Edom (21:11–12)

:''The burden against Dumah.'' ::''He calls to me out of

Seir Seir or SEIR may refer to: *Mount Seir, a mountainous region stretching between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba *Seir the Horite, chief of the Horites, a people mentioned in the Torah *Sa'ir, also Seir, a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governor ...

,'' :::''"Watchman, what of the night?'' :::''Watchman, what of the night?"'' ::''The watchman said,'' :::''"The morning comes, and also the night.'' :::''If you will inquire, inquire;'' :::''Return! Come back!"'' The Masoretic Text refers to '' Dumah'', whereas the

refers to

, as do the NASB and NLT. * "Burden" (Hebrew: ): "oracle, prophecy"; the keyword in the superscriptions for a total of nine similar oracles; the others being: Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; Isaiah 21:1, 13; 22:1; 23:1.

Proclamation against Arabia (21:13–17)

The phrase "the desert plain" may not point to an identifiable place, although the geographical area named is usually considered in

. The oasis city Tema (verse 14) is located south of Elath and east of the Red Sea, known to be a caravan center. The Dedanites (verse 13) and Kedar (verse 16) were Arabian tribes. It is recorded that Kedar paid tribute in 738 BCE to the Assyrians and in 715 BCE Sargon II battled the tribes between Tema and the

Gulf of Aqaba The Gulf of Aqaba ( ar, خَلِيجُ ٱلْعَقَبَةِ, Khalīj al-ʿAqabah) or Gulf of Eilat ( he, מפרץ אילת, Mifrátz Eilát) is a large gulf at the northern tip of the Red Sea, east of the Sinai Peninsula and west of the Arabian ...

(the eastern arm of the Red Sea), then in 703 BCE

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...

subdued the Arabian tribes joining the rebellion of Merodach-Baladan (king of Babylon). Therefore, there is no need to consider a later date for this part of prophecy. This passage is closely linked to the Book of Jeremiah (cf. Jeremiah 49:8).

Verse 13

:''The burden against Arabia.'' ::''In the forest in Arabia you will lodge,'' ::''O you traveling companies of Dedanites.'' * "Burden" (Hebrew: ): "oracle, prophecy";Note on Isaiah 19:1 in NKJV the keyword in the superscriptions for a total of nine similar oracles; the others being: Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; Isaiah 21:1, 11; 22:1; 23:1.

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Jewish

Isaiah 21 Hebrew with Parallel English

Christian

Isaiah 21 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaiah, Book Of 21