Isa 16:7-13 | Clarke | STEP | Verse 7 For the foundations of Kir-hareseth "For the men of Kirhares" - A palpable mistake in this place is happily corrected by the parallel text of , where, instead of אשישי ashishey, foundations or flagons, we read אנשי anshey, men. In the same place of Jeremiah, and in , and here in , the name of the city is Kirhares, not Kirhareseth.

Isaiah 16:7-13

Verse 7

For the foundations of Kir-hareseth "For the men of Kirhares" - A palpable mistake in this place is happily corrected by the parallel text of Jer 48:31, where, instead of אשישי ashishey, foundations or flagons, we read אנשי anshey, men. In the same place of Jeremiah, and in Jer 48:36, and here in Isa 16:11, the name of the city is Kirhares, not Kirhareseth. Verse 8

Languish "Are put to shame" - Here the text of Jeremiah leaves us much at a loss, in a place that seems to be greatly corrupted. The Septuagint join the two last words of this verse with the beginning of the following. Their rendering is: και ουκ εντραπησῃ, τα πεδια Εσεβων. For אך ach they must have read אל al; otherwise, how came they by the negative, which seems not to belong to this place? Neither is it easy to make sense of the rest without a small alteration, by reading, instead of εντραπησῃ τα, εντραπησεται. In a word, the Arabic version taken from the Septuagint, plainly authorizes this reading of the Septuagint, and without the negative; and it is fully confirmed by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II., which have both of them εντραπησεται πεδια Εσεβων, without the negative; which makes an excellent sense, and, I think, gives us the true reading of the Hebrew text; אך נכלמו שדמות חשבון ak nichlemu shadmoth cheshbon. They frequently render the verb נכלם nichlam by εντρεπομαι. And נכלמו nichlemu answers perfectly well to אמלל umlal, the parallel word in the next line. The MSS. vary in expressing the word נכאים nechaim, which gives no tolerable sense in this place; one reads נוכאים nochaim; two others בכאים bechaim; in another the כ caph is upon a rasure of two letters; and the Vulgate instead of it reads מכותם mecotham, plagas suas. - L.

For the men of Kirhares ye shall make a moan. For the fields of Heshbon are put to shame. This is Bp. Lowth's sense of the passage.

Her branches are stretched out "Her branches extended themselves" - For נטשו nitteshu, a MS. has נגשו niggeshu; which may perhaps be right. Compare Jer 48:32, which has in this part of the sentence the synonymous word נגעו nagau.

The meaning of this verse is, that the wines of Sibmah and Heshbon were greatly celebrated, and in high repute with all the great men and princes of that and the neighboring countries; who indulged themselves even to intemperance in the use of them. So that their vines were so much in request as not only to be propagated all over the country of Moab to the sea of Sodom, but to have scions of them sent even beyond the sea into foreign countries. הלמו halemu, knocked down, demolished; that is overpowered, intoxicated. The drunkards of Ephraim are called by the prophet, Isa 28:1, הלומי יין halumey yayin, drinkers of wine. See Schultens on Pro 23:25. Gratius, speaking of the Mareotic wine, says of it,

Pharios quae fregit noxia reges. Cyneg. 312. Verse 9

With the weeping "As with the weeping" - For בבכי bibechi, a MS. reads בכי bechi. In Jer 48:32, it is מבכי mibbechi. The Septuagint read כבכי kibeki, as with weeping, which I follow.

For thy summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen "And upon thy vintage the destroyer hath fallen" - ועל קצירך הידד נפל veal ketsirech heidad naphal. In these few words there are two great mistakes, which the text of Jer 48:32 rectifies. For קצירך ketsirech, it has בצירך betsirech; and for הידד heidad, שדד shoded; both which corrections the Chaldee in this place confirms. As to the first, "Hesebon and Eleale, and

The flowery dale of Sibmah, clad with vines," were never celebrated for their harvests; it was the vintage that suffered by the irruption of the enemy; and so read the Septuagint and Syriac. הידד heidad is the noisy acclamation of the treaders of the grapes. And see what sense this makes in the literal rendering of the Vulgate: super messem tuam vox calcantium irruit, "upon thy harvest the voice of the treaders rushes." The reading in Jer 48:32 is certainly right, שדד נפל shoded naphal, "the destroyer hath fallen." The shout of the treaders does not come in till the next verse; in which the text of Isaiah in its turn mends that of Jer 48:33, where instead of the first הידד heidad, "the shout," we ought undoubtedly to read, as here, הדרך haddorech, "the treader." Verse 10

Neither shall there be shouting "An end is put to the shouting" - The Septuagint read השבת hishbeth, passive, and in the third person; rightly, for God is not the speaker in this place. The rendering of the Septuagint is πεπαυται γαρ κελευσμα, "the cry ceaseth;" which last word, necessary to the rendering of the Hebrew and to the sense, is supplied by MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. II., having been lost out of the other copies. Verse 12

When it is seen that Moab, etc. "When Moab shall see," etc. - For נראה nirah, a MS. reads ראה raah, and so the Syriac and Chaldee. "Perhaps כי נראה ki nirah is only a various reading of כי נלאה ki nilah." Secker. A very probable conjecture.