Isaiah 14:23

Isa 14:23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

Ver. 23. I will also make it a possession for the bittern.] Which is a kind of water fowl that maketh a hideous noise.

And I will sweep it with the besom of destruction.] Scopa vastatrice verram eam, Vatab. I will not brush them for ornament, but sweep them, or rather scrub them to their ruin by my Persian Praedones, whom I will set upon them. And here the Jewish Rabbis acknowledge that they came to understand this text by hearing an Arabian woman mention a broom or a besom in her language, to her maid. {a} Apollos, a learned teacher, may yet learn of a tent maker.

{a} Scopis non purgatoriis sed perditoriis. - R. David in Radic. שׁא שׁא. - Mercer. in Pagnin. Thesaur.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, tortoise.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

bittern--rather, "the hedgehog" [MAURER and GESENIUS]. STRABO (16:1) states that enormous hedgehogs were found in the islands of the Euphrates.

pools--owing to Cyrus turning the waters of the Euphrates over the country.

besom--sweep-net [MAURER], (Kg1 14:10; Kg2 21:13).

This would comfort the Jews when captives in Babylon, being a pledge that God, who had by that time fulfilled the promise concerning Sennacherib (though now still future), would also fulfil His promise as to destroying Babylon, Judah's enemy.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 23. I will sweep it with the besom of destruction - "I will plunge it in the miry gulf of destruction"] I have here very nearly followed the Version of the Septuagint; the reasons for which see in the last note on De Poesi Hebr. Praelect, xxviii.

The besom of destruction, as our Version renders it. במטאטא bematate. This, says Kimchi, is a Chaldee word: and it is worthy of remark that the prophet, writing to the Chaldeans, uses several words peculiar to their own language to point out the nature of the Divine judgments, and the causes of them. See Clarke on Jer 10:11. Sixteen of Kennicott's MSS., and seventeen of De Rossi's, and one ancient of my own, have the word במטאטי bematatey, in the plural. "I will sweep her with the besoms of destruction."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(23) I will also make it a possession for the bittern . . .—Naturalists are not agreed as to the meaning of the noun. In the LXX. and Vulgate it appears as “hedgehog,” or “porcupine,” and the “tortoise,” “beaver,” “otter,” and “owl” have all been suggested by scholars. Its conjunction with “pelican in Isa_34:11 and Zep_2:14, and with” pools of water “here, is in favour of some kind of water-fowl. The “hedgehog” frequents dry places, and not marshes, and does not roost, as in Zep_2:14, on the capitals of ruined columns. On the whole, therefore, “bittern” (Botaurus stellaris) may as well stand.

Pools of water.—These were the natural result of the breaking up of the canals, sluices, reservoirs, which had kept the overflow of the Euphrates within bounds (Diod. Sic., ii. 7).

I will sweep it with the besom of destruction . . .—The phrase has its parallel in the “sieve of vanity,” in Isa_30:28. (Comp. Isa_34:11) The force of the image must not be lost sight of Babylon is to be swept away as men sweep away some foul rubbish from their house. The world is cleaner for its destruction. The solemn doom closes the “burden” of Babylon.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. the bittern] (ch. Isa_34:11; Zep_2:14). Usually rendered “hedgehog” (R.V. porcupine) in accordance with the LXX. and Vulg. and the analogy of Arabic. The bittern certainly suits the scene best, and it is said to have the hedgehog’s trick of rolling itself up into an unrecognisable mass. (Tristram, Natural History of the Bible, p. 243.)

pools of water] marshes, caused by the overflow of the Euphrates when the dykes and canals were no longer kept in repair.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will also make it a possession for the bittern,.... Instead of being possessed by any of the family of the king of Babylon. The "bittern" is a kind of water fowl, which, by putting its bill into mire, or a broken reed, is said to make a most horrible noise. Some think the "owl" is meant, which dwells in desolate and ruinous places; and others take it to be the "ospray", a sort of eagle that preys upon fish and ducks; according to Kimchi, the "tortoise" is meant; some will have it that the "beaver" or castor is intended; Jarchi understands it of the porcupine or "hedgehog"; and in the Arabic language this creature is called "kunphud", which is pretty near the Hebrew word "kippod", here used; to which Bochartus agrees; but, whatever creature is meant, the design is to show that Babylon should not be inhabited by men, but by birds or beasts of prey, or noxious animals; and so mystical Babylon is said to be a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, Rev 18:2,

and pools of water; Babylon being situated in a marshy ground, and by the river Euphrates; and when that river was turned by Cyrus (i), and afterwards its banks neglected, in course of time the water overflowed the place where the city was, and all about it, and so easily came to be what is here predicted it should; see Rev 18:21,

and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts; and so clear it at once of all its inhabitants, wealth, and riches, and entirely remove its large walls and stately buildings, no more to be seen, just as a house is swept clean of all its dust; intimating, that this superb city, and all belonging to it, should be reduced to dust, and be as easily swept away as dust is with a besom. The word for "sweep", and a "besom", is only used in this place, and has this signification in the Arabic language; it is said in the Talmud (k), that the Rabbins knew not the meaning of this word, till they heard an Arabian girl say to her fellow servant,

"take this besom, and sweep the house.''

expressing the word here used.

(i) Xenophon. Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 23. (k) Roshhashana, fol. 26. 2. Megilla, fol. 18. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I will also make it a possession for the bittern - The word ‘bittern,’ in English, means a bird with long legs and neck, that stalks among reeds and sedge, feeding upon fish. The Hebrew word (קפד qı̂ppod), occurs but five times Isa 34:11; Zep 2:14. According to Bochart and Gesenius, it means the hedgehog. It has been variously rendered. Some have supposed it to be a land animal; some an aquatic animal; and most have regarded it as a fowl. Bochart has proved that the hedgehog or porcupine is found on the shores of the Euphrates. He translates this place, ‘I will place Babylon for an habitation of the porcupine, even the pools of water;’ that is, the pools that are round about Babylon shall become so dry that porcupines may dwell there (see Bochart, “Hieroz.” iii. 36. pp. 1036-1042).

And pools of water - Bochart supposes this means, even the pools of water shall become dry. But the common interpretation is to be preferred, that Babylon itself should become filled with pools of water. This was done by Cyrus’ directing the waters of the Euphrates from their channel when the city was taken, and by the fact that the waters never returned again to their natural bed, so that the region was overflowed with water (see the notes at Isa. 13.)

And I will sweep it with the besom of destruction - A besom is a broom; and the sense here is, that God would entirely destroy Babylon, and render it wholly uninbabitable.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Besom. Reducing it to a heap of rubbish, (chap. xiii. 21.; Calmet) as the event shewed. (Watson)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The bittern; a great water fowl, which thrusting its bill into some broken reed, or hollow thing, makes a great noise; which also delights in solitary places, as also in waterish grounds, such as those were about Babylon. Others render the word hedge-hog, or porcupine; but this being not considerable in itself, nor at all necessary for the clearing of the text, I shall not trouble the English reader with any discourse about it; and the learned may consult my Latin Synopsis.

Pools of water: the ground about Babylon was of itself very moist and waterish, because of the great river Euphrates running by it, which was kept from overflowing the country with charge and labour; which being neglected, as it must needs be when the city was destroyed and dispeopled, it was easily turned into pools of water.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

A possession for the bittern. Some water-bird or other is probably intended, since the word used is joined in Isa_36:11 with the names of three other birds, and is also certainly a bird"s name in Zep_2:14; but the identification with the "bittern" is a mere guess, and rests on no authority. And pools of water. The swampy character of the country about the ruins of Babylon is generally noticed by travelers. It arises from neglect of the dams along the course of the Euphrates. Ker Porter says that "large deposits of the Euphrates water are left stagnant in the hollows between the ruins" ("Travels," vol. 2. p. 389).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Bittern - A great water fowl, which delights in solitary places, as also in watery grounds. Such as those were about Babylon. Pools - The ground about Babylon was of itself very moist, because of the great river Euphrates, running by it, which was kept from overflowing the country with charge and labour; this being neglected, when the city was destroyed, it was easily turned into pools of water.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“And I will render it (literally, place it for) a possession (or inheritance) of the porcupine, and pools of water, and will sweep it with the broom (or besom) of destruction.” The porcupine is here mentioned only as a solitary animal frequenting marshy grounds. The construction is not, I will make the pools of water a possession, etc. by drying them up, nor, I will make it a possession for pools of water, but, I will make it a possession for the porcupine and (will convert it into) pools of water. The exposure of the level plains of Babylonia to continual inundation without great preventive care, and the actual promotion of its desolation by this very cause, are facts distinctly stated by the ancient writers. Some suppose this evil to have had its origin in the diversion of the waters of the Euphrates by Cyrus.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Prophecies Against Assyria and Philistia

v. 24. The Lord of hosts, the Commander of all the forces of heaven, hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, as He had disposed or planned, so shall it come to pass, this prophecy preceding that against Babylon in point of human time; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand, this prophecy being practically a continuation of 10:34;

v. 25. that I will break the Assyrian in My land, overthrowing his power within the boundaries of Judah, and upon My mountains tread him under foot, for the turning-point in the Assyrian fortunes came at Libnah, in the foothills of the Judean mountains, with the destruction of Sennacherib’s forces, 2 Kings 19. Then shall his yoke depart from off them, namely, the inhabitants of Judah, and his burden depart from off their shoulders, so that the design of the invader could not be accomplished.

v. 26. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth, in the counsel of the Lord, in whose hand is the government of the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations, and every decree of the Lord has significance for all men.

v. 27. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? No power of the world can prevent its execution. And his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? No man can turn Him aside from the acts which He has determined upon.

v. 28. In the year that King Ahaz died, about 727 B. C. was this burden, this sentence of judgment upon the Philistines, who just at this time prepared to regain their ancient power:

v. 29. Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, that is, Philistia, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken, the Philistines being of the opinion that the alliance of Syria and the Northern Kingdom, as a consequence of which Ahaz and Judah had become vassals of Assyria, 2Ki 16:5-9, had resulted in breaking the power of Judah, which had only just before that been asserted by Uzziah, 2Ch 26:6; for out of the serpent’s root shall come forth a cockatrice, that is, an adder, a still more poisonous serpent, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent, the reference probably being to Hezekiah, who promptly smote the Philistines and definitely brought about their destruction, 2Ki 18:8.

v. 30. And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety, that is, the inhabitants of Judah would enjoy peace and safety under the reign of Hezekiah, over against Philistia; and I will kill thy root with famine, thus eradicating the Philistines as a people, and he, Hezekiah, shall slay thy remnant, thereby carrying out God’s punishment upon the ancient enemies of Judah.

v. 31. Howl, O gate! the strong fortifications of the Philistine cities being meant. Cry, O city! Ashdod and Gaza having retained much of their ancient glory. Thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved, melting away to nothing; for there shall come from the North a smoke, namely, the Assyrian hordes with their ruthless devastations, and none shall be alone in his appointed times, literally, "and none is by himself in his armies," the Assyrian soldiers knowing neither weariness nor insubordination, but all filled with that one idea—the lust of conquest.

v. 32. What shall one, then, answer the messengers of the nation? What answer do the messengers of the nation bring? What report did the ambassadors of various heathen nations make when they returned to their own countries after viewing the results of God’s punishment of Philistia and His protection of Judah? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it, the troubled refugees being safe within its walls. In this way the Lord protects those who believe in Him against all enemies, He Himself being their Refuge and Strength.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

hedgehog Heb. קִפֹּד [hricon or hericon in O.F.] [In Modern French it is spelled herisson.]

and I will sweep Heb. וְטִאטֵאתִיהָ, an expression of sweeping [eskober in O.F.], as our Rabbis stated: The Rabbis did not know the meaning of וְטִאטֵאתִיהָ בְּמַטְאֲטֵא הַשְׁמֵד, until they heard [Rabbi’s (R. Judah Hanasi’s) maidservant say to her friend, “Take a broom (מַטְאֲטֵא) and sweep (וְטַאְטְאִי) the house.”]

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

קפוד Hedgehog. A well known animal. According to some קפוד is derived from קפד to roll—comp. קפדתי I rolled (xxxviii 12)—on account of its power of rolling itself together.

מטאטא Besom. All agree that this word is hap. leg.; it signifies an instrument wherewith refuse is removed.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.