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Isaiah 34:1-17 open_in_new
4. Cp. 1 Isaiah 3:10.
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Isaiah 34:5 open_in_new
Shall be bathed] RV 'hath drunk its fill.' Idumea] RV 'Edom.'
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Isaiah 34:6 open_in_new
Bozrah] a strongly fortified city of Edom (Isaiah 63:1; Amos 1:12; Jeremiah 49:13). See the same imagery Jeremiah 46:10. The men slain by divine vengeance are compared to beasts offered in sacrifice.
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Isaiah 34:7 open_in_new
Unicorns] RV 'wild-oxen.' Come down] i.e. to the shambles.
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Isaiah 34:8 open_in_new
Controversy] 'quarrel.' The calamity of Edom is a punishment from Jehovah for its hostility to Zion.
9, 10. Imagery suggested by the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jeremiah 49:18), and by the volcanic character of the land of Edom.
11-15. A graphic picture of a desolate land haunted by wild and uncanny creatures.
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Isaiah 34:11 open_in_new
Cormorant.. bittern] RV 'pelican.. porcupine.' Stones] RV 'plummet,' implying that the work of destruction will be as thorough as that of building generally is. Confusion.. emptiness] The words are those of Genesis 1:2, and suggest a return to primeval chaos.
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Isaiah 34:13 open_in_new
Dragons.. owls] RV 'jackals.. ostriches': cp. Isaiah 13:21; Isaiah 13:22.;
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Isaiah 34:14 open_in_new
wild.. islands] RV 'wolves' (Isaiah 13:22). Satyr] see on Isaiah 13:21. Screech owl] Heb. Lilith, the name of a night-demon or vampire RV'night-monster.'
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Isaiah 34:15 open_in_new
Great owl] RV 'arrowsnake.'
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Isaiah 34:16 open_in_new
Seek, etc.] An invitation to future generations to compare the event with the prediction, and note its precise fulfilment. Fail] RV 'be missing.'
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Isaiah 34:17 open_in_new
God, who assigns to nations their territories (Acts 17:26), has allotted Edom to the desert creatures for ever.
Sentence on the Nations. Blessings in Store for God's People
These Chapter s are now generally considered non-Isaianic and referred to the period of the exile, on two grounds: (a) the literary style is unlike Isaiah's. (b) The strong feeling against Edom points to a date subsequent to the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, when the Edomites exulted in the city's fall and sided against the Jews, conduct which provoked bitter resentment (Obadiah 1:10-16; Lamentations 4:21-22; Psalms 137:7).
1-4. The judgment upon the nations,
5-17. and upon Edom in particular.
Isaiah 35. The blessings in store for God's redeemed people.