Chapter Thirteen

1–5. The Lord gathers armies for the execution of His judgment upon the earth. 6–13. The day of the Lord. 14–18. The taking of Babylon by the Medes. 19–22. The desolation of Babylon.

Preliminary remark. From chapter 13 to chapter 23 in Isaiah there are speeches proclaiming the future destiny of certain foreign nations known at that time to the Hebrews (excepting chapter 22, which is devoted to depicting the fate of Jerusalem). In these prophetic speeches, the prophet chiefly depicts the calamities that, by the will of the Almighty, will fall upon the states hostile to the chosen people. But in places the prophet also reveals the joyful future that awaits the heathen after they have experienced the righteous judgment of God upon themselves. One asks: why did the prophet, living in Judea, so carefully depict the future fate of those peoples who, by reason of distance, could not even know of his prophecies? The answer to this may be found in the following considerations: a) those foreign peoples whose future fate Isaiah depicts stood in various relations to the Hebrew people, and what happened in importance in the Judean state must have reached their ears. Meanwhile, the speeches of the inspired prophets represented an astonishing phenomenon even for the heathen, who could not at all fail to recognize the significance of the Lord who sent these prophets. Consequently, speeches concerning the fate of heathen states, pronounced by such a great prophet as Isaiah, could reach the ears of the heathen and inspire them with humbler concepts of their own strength and importance in the world; b) it was extraordinarily important for the Jews themselves to know the fate that awaited the heathen states, because the Hebrews looked upon these states either as their enemies or as their friends. The prophet Isaiah shows in his speeches concerning the fate of the heathen peoples that their power and strength are not permanent, and that the Hebrews, on one hand, should not grieve greatly at the thought that these peoples will subdue Israel, and that, on the other hand, Israel has no need to seek support from these unreliable states.

Isa 13:1-5. The prophet, now speaking from his own perspective, now depicting the Lord Himself as speaking, describes the gathering of armies coming from distant lands in order, in fulfillment of the will of the Most High, to strike down Babylon.

Isaiah 13:1. A prophecy concerning Babylon, which Isaiah, son of Amoz, proclaimed. “Prophecy”—in Hebrew, massa (from the verb nassa, to carry) has the meaning: elevated, exalted (voice) or solemn speech. But here and in other prophecies concerning foreign nations this word is used in the sense: “judicial verdict, burden” (compare Jer 23:33). “Which Isaiah proclaimed.” These words indicate that here begins a new section of the book, wholly independent. “Proclaimed”—in Hebrew, chazah, saw (compare Isa 1:1).

Isaiah 13:2. Raise a banner on a bare hill, lift up a voice to them; signal with your hand so they may enter the gates of the nobles. It is unclear to whom the prophet is addressing himself here. Some see here a hint of the Angels, servants of the Almighty, who point out to peoples the ends toward which they ought to strive (Zech 1:8). “Raise a banner”—evidently for the calling together of the forces that must know to which point to gather. “On a bare hill,” that is, on a treeless one, so that the banner might be seen from everywhere. “Lift up a voice”—call with a loud voice. “Them”—to the troops coming from afar. “The gates of the nobles”—this is the destination toward which the approaching forces are directed. So were called the main gates of the city—the capital, serving for the entry of rulers—gates broad and beautifully constructed. (According to the Slavonic text, here there is an address (princes—vocative case) to the Babylonian rulers.)

Isaiah 13:3. I have given command to My chosen ones and have called forth My mighty ones, those who exult in My majesty, to accomplish My wrath. “I have given command.” This means that the preceding command also belongs to the Lord. “Chosen ones.” In the Hebrew text a stronger expression is used: consecrated. Pagan troops are thus named because they serve in this case as instruments of God’s righteous wrath (compare Joel 3:9; Jer 22:7; Jer 51 and following). “Those who exult,” that is, who joyfully accomplish God’s will.

Isaiah 13:4. A great tumult on the mountains, as if from a numerous people, a tumultuous noise of kingdoms and peoples gathered together: the Lord of hosts is reviewing His battle array. “Tumult on the mountains.” Since the prophet has in mind the invasion of enemy forces against Babylon, he probably means the mountains of the Zagros range and the northern branches of the Pusht range, which separated Babylon from Media and Persia. “Kingdoms and peoples.” It is known that the Median kingdom (verse 17) and the Persian kingdom (compare Isa 21:2), as well as the Armenians, united in an alliance in order to crush the Babylonian kingdom. Certainly, in the Medo-Persian army there were many other nationalities subject to these allied kings.

Isaiah 13:5. They come from a distant land, from the ends of heaven, the Lord and the instruments of His wrath, to destroy the whole earth. “From the ends of heaven.” Media and Persia were indeed hardly less than the most remote lands known to the Hebrews. The whole earth. Some commentators view this expression as truly designating the whole inhabited earth. But it is more correct to think that the prophet designates by these words the Babylonian monarchy, which, at the height of its power, could be called universal. Isa 13:6-13. The day of the Lord is now at hand, and therefore the Babylonians have fallen into despair. This day for Babylon will be terrible as the day of universal judgment of God upon the world, when the heavenly lights will be extinguished and the earth will be shaken.

Isaiah 13:6. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it comes like destruction from the Almighty. “Wail”—an address to the Babylonians.

Isaiah 2:12. “The day of the Lord”—see Isaiah 2:12. “From the Almighty.” The destruction will therefore be complete, final.

Isaiah 13:7. Therefore all hands will grow feeble, and every man’s heart will melt. Isaiah 13:8. They will be dismayed; pangs and sorrows will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor; they will look in amazement at one another; their faces will be flushed with shame. The Babylonians realize that all resistance is futile. “Heart will melt”—will become like water, cease to be strong and firm (Deut 20:8; Isa 19:1). “Their faces will be flushed.” Blood, from terror, rushes to the head, and the face may become very red as a result.

Isaiah 13:9. Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel with wrath and burning fury, to make the earth desolate and destroy the sinners in it. Isaiah 13:10. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not give forth their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. The dreadful day of the Lord the prophet depicts in the image of a terrible storm that destroys everything in its path and darkens the very sky with thick clouds, so that darkness settles upon the earth. “The stars of heaven”—(kochvej) a general designation of the heavenly lights.

Job 9:9. “And their constellations”—in Hebrew (chesilehem) literally: their images. The singular of this word is found in Job 9:9; Job 38:31 and in Amos 5:8 and is translated by the proper name Kesil (in Job) and Orion (in Amos). This constellation—Orion—is distinguished by the brightness of its constituent stars, and therefore Isaiah mentions it to say that even the brightest lights will be extinguished. (However, blessed Jerome understands this darkening of the brightest stars as a phenomenon of purely subjective perception by the Babylonians, to whom it will seem that the stars have lost their light.) Isaiah 13:11. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquities; I will end the pride of the haughty, and I will abase the arrogance of the cruel. Isaiah 13:12. I will make mortals more rare than fine gold, and mankind more scarce than the gold of Ophir. Here the Lord Himself speaks.

Isaiah 24:4. “The world”—in Hebrew, tevel, properly the terrestrial globe, but here, evidently, the Babylonian universal monarchy (compare Isaiah 24:4; Isa 26:9, where under “the earth”—haarez—is understood the land of Israel). “I will make mortals more rare,” that is, out of the Babylonians a small number will remain alive. Concerning Ophir, see the Commentary Bible, vol. 1. Of four conjectured countries (South Arabia, East Africa, India, and the southern regions in general), it is most likely that Ophir should be identified with Africa, whose very name (Afer among the ancients) reminds us of the name Ophir.

Isaiah 13:13. For this reason I will shake the heavens, and the earth will be removed from its place by the fury of the Lord of hosts, in the day of His burning wrath. Political upheavals are frequently depicted by the prophets as upheavals occurring in nature (compare Isa 24:19; Isa 34:4; Jer 4:23; Joel 3:15). Isa 13:14-18. The prophet depicts the flight from Babylon of foreigners living there and the sad fate of those who remain, and names by name the people who will crush the might of Babylon. In Babylon, without doubt, there dwelt a considerable number of foreigners who maintained commercial relations with this great city (compare Jer 2:16; Jer 51:11).

Isaiah 13:14. Then each will turn, like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. Isaiah 13:15. Whoever is found will be pierced, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword. Isaiah 13:16. Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered, and their wives will be ravished. The slaughter of infants depicted by the prophet is wholly in accord with the reports of ancient writers concerning the cruelties that attended the capture of enemy cities in antiquity when they had long resisted.

Isaiah 13:17. Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not value silver and have no desire for gold. Isaiah 13:18. Their bows will strike down the young men, and they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not spare the children. “The Medes.” This name (compare Gen 10:2; 2 Sam 17:6; 2 Sam 18:11) may encompass not only the inhabitants of ancient Media, but all the Aryan inhabitants of Iran. In the time of Isaiah the Medes caused much harm to the Assyrian state. Tiglath-Pileser and Sargon of Assyria subdued this troublesome people, and the latter even relocated a considerable number of Medes to Hamath and Kelesyria (712 B.C.). But as the might of Assyria weakened, the importance of Media grew. And Babylon, in turn, had to reckon with this people. The prophet does not mention the Persians as allies of the Medes because the Persians were still unknown to the Hebrews in the time of Isaiah (the Elamites, mentioned by Isaiah (Isa 21:2), have nothing in common with the Persians). “Do not value silver.” The Medes will attack Babylon not from a mere desire to plunder this wealthy city. Isaiah wishes to say that they will be the unconscious instruments of God’s will concerning Babylon (compare Jer 51:11). “Bows” were the chief weapon among northern peoples (Herodotus VII, 61; Xenophon II, 1. 1), and this weapon in the hands of the Medes will be deadly for the young men of Babylon, who the Medes will shoot down without pity, for young, strong men would naturally seem dangerous to them. “Will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb.” In antiquity, when taking enemy cities, victors sometimes ripped open the wombs of pregnant women in order to exterminate the enemy race down to the last germ (2 Sam 8 and others). “Eyes”—an expression taken in place of the term “heart.” Isa 13:19-22. Babylon, after its destruction by the Medes, will become completely desolate. No one will wish to settle in the places that this vast city once occupied, and only wild animals and birds will find shelter in the ruins of the Babylonian palaces.

Isaiah 13:19. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God, like Sodom and Gomorrah. “Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor of the Chaldeans.” The importance of the Babylonian kingdom was extraordinarily great. Modern scholarship accepts as fact that Babylon was the original cradle of universal culture. The mathematical and astronomical sciences have their root in ancient Chaldea: our division of time is of Babylonian origin; our alphabet has its source in the primitive forms of ancient Babylonian cuneiform writing (Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia, vol. 3, pp. 11–14). The original inhabitants of Babylonia were descendants of Ham—the Cushites, known to the Hebrews as the Kasdim, and in native inscriptions called the Kaldai (hence the Chaldeans). They were divided into two tribes—the Sumerians and the Akkadians. Subsequently, Semitic tribes settled in Babylonia, but they availed themselves of the already developed Chaldean culture, merged with the aborigines in all things except language, and from this fusion there developed the mighty Semitic-Cushite type that created the famous monarchies—Babylon and Assyria (ibid., p. 16). During the height of its flourishing, the Babylonian monarchy (under Nebuchadnezzar) possessed all the sources of wealth that sustained the cultured lands of the ancient world, and Babylon, the capital of the kingdom, became the largest and most luxurious city of the ancient world.

Isaiah 13:20. It will never be inhabited, and generations after generations will find no dweller in it; no Bedouin will pitch his tent there, and shepherds with their flocks will not rest there. “It will never be inhabited.” After Cyrus, his successors Darius and Xerxes completely destroyed Babylon. Gradually its inhabitants left, and with time even the precise location of its site was forgotten. The prophet evidently has in mind not merely the moment of its destruction under Cyrus, but the entire subsequent history of its gradual desolation.

Isaiah 13:21. But wild beasts of the desert will dwell in it, and the houses will be filled with owls; ostriches will settle there, and shaggy creatures will leap about there. “Beasts of the desert”—in Hebrew, zijim, from zijah—dry land, desert. Thus zijim means inhabitants of the desert. “Owls”—in Hebrew, ochim; the word derives from the exclamation oh! or ah!, which resembles the cry of owls or screech owls. (The LXX translated this expression as ηχος (sound), which was perhaps chosen by them as close to the cry emitted by owls.) “Ostriches”—in Hebrew, benot jaanah, literally “daughters of crying.” This is how the female ostriches were called, emitting special cries. (The LXX understood the word jaanah as meaning: to sing in response to someone (Exod 15:21) and instead of “ostriches” placed here the word σειρηνες—sirens.) “Wild demons”—in Hebrew, seirim, literally “hairy.” These are, in all probability, wild goats (the LXX saw here a reference to demons). 17

Isaiah 13:22. Jackals will howl in their palaces, and wolves in the temples of pleasure. “Jackals”—in Hebrew, ijim, literally: those who howl (beasts). “Wolves”—in Hebrew, tannim. These animals emit an extremely unpleasant howl. (Instead of jackals, the LXX placed the expression ονοκενταυροι (ass-beings). This was a designation among the Greeks of some extraordinary animal whose appearance is difficult to imagine (I. Korsunskii, Translation of the LXX, 1898, p. 246). Instead of wolves, the LXX placed the word hedgehogs.) “In the temples of pleasure,” that is, there where sounds of harps and the singing of beautiful singers once resounded. Special remarks. Chapter 13 represents a complete poem, which can be divided into the following stanzas (according to Condamin). Stanza 1, verses 2–5—(2, 2; 3, 2) Stanza 2, verses 9–13—(2, 2; 3, 2) Stanza 3, verses 6–8—(2, 2) Stanza 1, verses 14–18—(2, 2,3) Stanza 2, verses 19–22—(3, 2,2) The authenticity of chapter 13 will be discussed after the explanation of chapter 14. * * * Notes “And the beasts will rest there, and the houses will be filled with noise, and there will rest the sirens, and demons will dance there.” Editor’s note.