Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

כר The dromedary. A species of camel, that runs swiftly; comp. הכרי the swift messenger (2 Kings 11:19). According to some, הכר the dromedary, is called מושל ארץ the ruler of the earth, because its strides over the ground are the greatest; but it is more correct to say that כר is in the construct state: the animal is found only in the possession of monarchs.

והיה And he shall be. The Moabite shall be. The daughters of Moab. The villages. Comp. Num. 21:32

Take counsel, etc. The prophet says to Moab, Before this misfortune befalls thee, take counsel for thyself. פלילה Judgment. The form of the word is like that of אכילה eating (1 Kings 21:32); comp. פלילים judges (Deut. 32:21). Thy shadow. To hide the Israelites, when they take refuge with thee. נדחים Outcasts. People that are banished from their home. נודד Him that wandereth, without being banished. Bewray not, when he cometh unto thee.

Mine outcasts. The outcasts, who are the brethren of the prophet, or who are the people of the Lord. It is certainly flattering attribute assigned to the Israelites. The spoiler, who had conquered Samaria, viz., the king of Assyria. For the extortioner, etc. For there shall yet be a time, when this tyrant will perish and oppression cease. המץ The extortioner. A transitive adjective; root מצץ to suck, or to press; comp. תמצו You press out (66:11). They are gone. The armies of the oppressor, the king of Assyria, are gone.

בחסד For the piety (of Hezekiah). The throne of royalty. In the tabernacle of David. In Jerusalem. A judge. Hezekiah. מהיר Quick. Root מהר to be quick; comp. מהרה quickly.

We have heard. The prophet represents now the Israelites or the other nations as speaking. נא Proud. The omission of the ה is irregular. לא כן בדיו His branches will not be so. Comp. בדים branches (Ez. 17:6). Others render בדיו his thoughtsand כן right; comp. Num. 27:7. As to בדיו his thoughtscomp. בדיך thy words (Job 11:3)

לאשישי קיר חרשת תהגו אך נכאים Some explain, For the foundations of Kir Haresheth shall you mourn, Surely they are stricken; that is, they will think of the present ruins of Kir Haresheth, when people will speak of their former grandeur. As to אשישי foundations, comp. the Chaldæan אֻשַׁיָא the foundations (Ezra 4:12). I, however, prefer to connect לאשישי with אשישי flagons (Hos. 3:1), since the vine of Sibma is mentioned immediately afterwards, and to explain the passage thus—When you will remember the joyful days of the past, which are a contrast to the distress now prevailing, you will lament that you are stricken.

שדמות Vine trees. Comp. Deut. 32:32. אמלל Languisheth. Each of them languisheth. בעלי גוים The chief of nations. Comp. אדני יוסף the master of Joseph (Gen. 39:20). לבעליו to his owner (Ex. 21:34). The king of Assyria is meant by בעלי הגוים the chief of nations. הלמו Have broken down. Root הלם to smite; comp. והלמה And she smote (Judg. 5:26). They are come even unto Jazer. They are so long. They wandered into the wilderness. They extended beyond the boundaries of the inhabited land. שלוחתיה Her trees. Comp. שלחיך פרדס דמונים thy plants an orchard of pomegranates (Song 4:13). נטשו They spread. Comp. נטושים spread (2 Sam. 30:16)

I will bewail. These are the words which every Moabite will speak. Sibma. Name of a place; supply על for. אריוך I will water thee. An irregular form; י is instead of ו, and ו instead of ה; the pronominal suffix of the second person refers to Heshbon, the largest province of Moab. קיצך Thy summer fruit. Thy fruit of the summer (קַיִץ). הידד Hedad. A word used by those that stamp and trample about, causing damage to the fruits and the com while they are still fresh.

The gladness is gathered, to be taken away from them and given to others; it will leave them. The Karmel. A part of which belonged to Moab. ירועע He will shout. Comp. תרועה blowing the trumpet (Lev. 23:24); ירועע is Polel of a verb הידד. ע״ו Hedad. The hedad is pleasant, when it is heard at the wine press, at the time when the wine is produced; but its effect is of an opposite character, when it is heard in the midst of the fresh fruits and corn.

Wherefore my heart, etc. These are not the words of the prophet, but of the Moabites, whom the prophet represents as speaking.

Moab is weary, etc. He is tired of going up to the high place for the worship of idols; or it is to be taken in the same sense as ולא יוכל And he shall not prevail. The second explanation is preferable.

Hath spoken. His word is His decree. The expression hath spoken, is a figure taken from the custom of a king, who gives the orders to his servants. The figure is used in order to bring the idea of the divine decree nearer to our understanding.

But now the Lord hath spoken, etc. God hath now revealed this prediction, namely, that three years are left till the fulfilment of the above prophecy. As the years of a hireling, who daily counts when the end will come; so the prophet is satisfied, when he sees that the time of the calamity of Moab approaches. And the glory of Moab. His great armies. ונקלה וגו׳ Shall be diminished, and but very few will remain. לא כביר Not great, quantitative; comp. כבירים many (Job 34:24), or Not great, qualitative; the meaning of the phrase is there will not be left of them any great man; comp. כביר great (Job 36:5)