Isaiah 21:17

Isa 21:17 And the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken [it].

Ver. 17. And the residue of the number of archers.] Heb., Of the bow, whereby these Kedarens lived much, as had also their ancestor Ishmael. {Gen 21:20}

For the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it.] Who will surely see it done, and yet he loveth mercifulness, but can, less than Mithridates could, endure those who hate virtue forsaken of fortune, as they call it.

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.

21:17 Only a few . . . will survive: Cp. 10:22; 14:30; 16:14; 24:6, 13; 37:32.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which was the name of a people of Arabia: and by the horrible destruction of all these nations, he teacheth the Jews that there is no place for refuge or to escape God’s wrath, but only to remain in his Church, and to live in his fear.

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

residue . . . diminished--The remnant of Arab warriors, famous in the bow, left after the invasion, shall be small.

That by Sennacherib, in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah; Isa 22:8-11, the preparations for defense and securing of water exactly answer to those in Ch2 32:4-5, Ch2 32:30. "Shebna," too (Isa 22:15), was scribe at this time (Isa 36:3) [MAURER]. The language of Isa 22:12-14, as to the infidelity and consequent utter ruin of the Jews, seems rather to foreshadow the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar in Zedekiah's reign, and cannot be restricted to Hezekiah's time [LOWTH].

Next: Isaiah Chapter 22

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 17. The archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar - "The mighty bowmen of the sons of Kedar"] Sagittariorum fortium, Vulg.; transposing the two words, and reading גבורי קשה gibborey kesheth; which seems to be right. The strong men of the bow, the most excellent archers.

For the Lord - hath spoken it - "For JEHOVAH hath spoken it."] The prophetic Carmina of Marcius, foretelling the battle of Cannae, lib. xxv. 12, conclude with the same kind of solemn form: Nam mihi ita Jupiter fatus est; "Thus hath Jupiter spoken to me." Observe that the word נאם naam, to pronounce, to declare, is the solemn word appropriated to the delivering of prophecies: "Behold, I am against the prophets, saith (נאם naam, pronounceth) JEHOVAH, who use their tongues, וינאמו נאם vaiyinamu neum, and solemnly pronounce, He hath pronounced it;" Jer 23:31. What God says shall most assuredly come to pass; he cannot be deceived.

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

(17) And the residue . . .—The Hebrew word is the same as the characteristic “remnant” of Isaiah’s earlier prophecies. The words point primarily to the subjugation of Arabia by Sargon and Sennacherib, who narrate their victories over the Arabian tribes (Records of the Past, vii. 34). In Jer_49:28-29 we have an echo of the prediction, which, in that case, pointed to their conquest by Nebuchadnezzar.

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

17. the number of archers] Lit. “of the bows.” The bow was the chief weapon of the Northern Arabs, as of their progenitor Ishmael, Gen_21:20.

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.

And the residue of the number of archers,.... Or of "bow" (g), for "bows": that is, of men that use the bow, or are expert at it, as the Kedarenes were, both for taking wild beasts, and fighting with men, in which they followed their original ancestor Ishmael, Gen 21:20 the number of these archers it seems had been great, but would be lessened by the calamity threatened; and those that would escape that, and be preserved from it, should be lessened still, as follows:

the mighty men of the children of Kedar shall be diminished; their military men, the most expert at the use of the bow, and the most valiant and courageous; the few of those that were left, and did not fall by the sword of the Assyrians, should gradually diminish, and be fewer and fewer:

for the Lord God of Israel hath spoken it; who cannot lie, nor will repent, and whose word never fails, what he has said he will do, nor will he alter the thing that is gone out of his lips; and he is spoken of as the God of Israel, because it was to the Israelites that this was said, and for their sakes; either because these Arabians some way or other were injurious to them, or they had put some confidence in them. The Targum is,

"because by the word of the Lord God of Israel it is so decreed.''

(g) "numeri arcus", Montanus, Cocceius.

Next: Isaiah Chapter 22

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

And the residue of the number - That is, those who shall be left in the invasion. Or perhaps it may be read, ‘There shall be a renmant of the number of bowmen; the mighty people of Kedar shall be diminished.’

Of archers - Hebrew, ‘Of the bow;’ that is, of those who use bows in war. The bow was the common instrument in hunting and in war among the ancients.

Shall be diminished - Hebrew, ‘Shall be made small;’ they shall be reduced to a very small number. We cannot indeed determine the precise historical event to which this refers, but the whole connection and circumstances seem to make it probable that it referred to the invasion by the Assyrian when he went up against Judah, or when he was on his way to Egypt.

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

Archers; bows and arrows were their: chief weapons, and they were expert in the use of them, both against beasts and men, as occasion required.

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

“And the remnant of the number of bows (or archers), the mighty men (or heroes) of the children of Kedar, shall be few (or become few), for Jehovah God of Israel hath spoken it.” We read elsewhere of the archery of Ishmael (Gen 21:20) and Kedar (Psa 120:4). The last clause intimates that God, as the God of Israel, has a quarrel with Kedar, and at the same time that His power and omniscience will secure the fulfillment of the threatening. It is not impossible that future discoveries may yet throw light upon these brief and obscure prophecies.

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

And the rest the remnant.

the bows of the heroes of the children of Kedar Archers, for they are like their forefather, (Ishmael,) about whom it is stated (Gen. 21:2): “And he was an archer.”

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.

And the residue, etc. This expression indicates that the greater part will perish.

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.