Bible Study Lesson/Notes for Isaiah 21:1-10: Babylon Falls to the Medes and the Persians

(When I taught my two year long Bible study on Isaiah, I used The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah edited by H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell to give me a starting point and rough outline of the material covered in the chapters. In this article, when you read the phrase "my commentary", I am referring to this volume.)

This chapter continues the theme of country specific prophecies. This chapter focuses on three countries coming under judgment:

Babylon (verses 1-10)
Edom (verses 11-12)
Arabia (verses 13-17)

As we have already done an overview of Babylon's history some months ago, lets jump right into studying our verses. This prophecy against Babylon is believed to be referring to when Babylon falls to the Medes and Persians, as ruled by Cyrus the Great.

Read Isaiah 21:1 The phrase "the Desert by the Sea" is used only here, by Isaiah, and no where else in scripture. This is what scholars use to identify this prophecy as being regarding Babylon. "The Sea" mentioned here is believed to actually refer to "the River" or the Euphrates. { Show Babylon and Euphrates on map} Where the Euphrates and Tigris meet makes a flood plain, which could resemble a sea. Another possibility is that it is referring to the Persian Gulf, from which the Euphrates and Tigris flows.

We have the image of "whirlwinds sweeping through the southland." Isaiah is referring to the lands south of Judea, not of Babylon. He is describing an image that the Israelites would have related to. This area was known for its storms and whirlwinds. When you think of a whirlwind you think of something unpredictable, uncontrollable, and unstoppable. It would have been a frightening sight.

"an invader" '" this tells us the prophecy is in regards to invasion, as opposed to famine or some other "natural" disaster.

Read Isaiah 21:2 "A dire vision" The images that Isaiah is seeing in his vision would have been very hard to bear; very violent, grievous, and astonishing. One does not visualize the complete destruction of an empire every day.

The next phrase "the traitor betrays, the looter takes loot" is somewhat difficult to understand. It is believed to be referring to Cyrus, but it is not "traitorous" for him to be attacking Babylon, since he does not have an alliance with this country. Other versions I have looked at us "the plunderer plunders, and the destroyer destroys", which makes more sense in regards to an attacking outside army, since that's what invading armies do. Only someone who has given an oath and broken it can be a traitor or act treacherously.

"Elam, attack! Media, lay siege!" This is why we believe this is referring to the attacking Medes and Persians. At the time of Isaiah's prophecy, Persia was not known to the Hebrews, though Elam was. Elam was next to Persia and was subjugated to Cyrus at the time of the attack, as was Media. (Cyrus had conquered Media 11 years before attacking Babylon.) { Show Elam and Media on map from "Story of the Bible World" page 92 } Isaiah probably chose these two countries because they would have been important regions of Cyrus' empire and would have contributed a large number of fighting men to the attacking army.

"I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused." This is referring to Babylon and how she had conquered and subjugated many people, causing them to "groan." (Other versions use "sighing.") The Babylonians also refused to allow their captives to return home after conquering them. Read Isaiah 14:16-17

Read Isaiah 21:3-4. Isaiah is shattered at seeing this vision of an entire empire being destroyed. He undoubtedly understands that the Babylonians have earned this judgement, but that does not change that the prophet is a compassionate person and in his vision undoubtedly saw people slaughtered, homes burned, children taken into captivity. It would not be a pleasant thing to see nor to contemplate. It would have also been an incredible, dumbfounding thing to witness the destruction of an entire empire: especially one as powerful of Babylon. We see a similar kind of terror and grief being exhibited by the merchants and sea captains when the Babylon of Revelation is destroyed. Read Revelation 18:15-19

Of course their grief will be in part because they are losing customers and therefore a source of wealth, as opposed to Isaiah's grief over lives and souls lost.

The last phrase "the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me" is somewhat confusing. I think Isaiah is saying that he looks forward to twilight, when he can rest, but this vision is so disturbing that he can not sleep. Perhaps the vision even comes at night, which disturbs his sleep even more.

Read Isaiah 21:5 Reading the first part of this verse, one can't help but think of Belshazzar's feast, as described in Daniel, and how the Babylonians were in the midst of partying, totally unaware, when they were attacked. Let's review the beginning of this story one more time. Read Daniel 5:1-4

The Greek Historian Herodotus supports the Bible is stating that the Babylonians were too busy partying to notice the attacking army:

"[1.191] Cyrus was now reduced to great perplexity, as time went on and he made no progress against the place. In this distress either some one made the suggestion to him, or he bethought himself of a plan, which he proceeded to put in execution. He placed a portion of his army at the point where the river enters the city, and another body at the back of the place where it issues forth, with orders to march into the town by the bed of the stream, as soon as the water became shallow enough: he then himself drew off with the unwarlike portion of his host, and made for the place where Nitocris dug the basin for the river, where he did exactly what she had done formerly: he turned the Euphrates by a canal into the basin, which was then a marsh, on which the river sank to such an extent that the natural bed of the stream became fordable. Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the purpose at Babylon by the, river-side, entered the stream, which had now sunk so as to reach about midway up a man's thigh, and thus got into the town. Had the Babylonians been apprised of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city, but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the street-gates which gave upon the river, and mounting upon the walls along both sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy, as it were, in a trap. But, as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and so took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants of the central parts (as the residents at Babylon declare) long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and revelling until they learnt the capture but too certainly. Such, then, were the circumstances of the first taking of Babylon. "

Back to Isaiah 21:5: "Get up, you officers, oil the shields!" When one was preparing for battle, you would oil or anoint your shield with grease, as it was believed that an enemy's weapons would slide off more easily from an oiled surface. So instead of sitting around getting drunk, Isaiah is telling the Babylonians, get up & get ready for war!

Read Isaiah 21:6-8 God tells Isaiah to post a watchman, that Isaiah himself is not to watch for the fulfillment of this prophecy. Verse 8 tells us that it is going to be a long time before the fall of Babylon comes about; Isaiah himself will not see it, but he is to warn others to watch for it. Part of what he is to look for are riders on donkeys and camels. The Persians were known to use both donkeys (or asses) and camels. Again, we can look to Herodotus to support this:

[4.129] There was one very strange thing which greatly advantaged the Persians, and was of equal disservice to the Scyths, in these assaults on the Persian camp. This was the braying of the asses and the appearance of the mules. For, as I observed before, the land of the Scythians produces neither ass nor mule, and contains no single specimen of either animal, by reason of the cold. So, when the asses brayed, they frightened the Scythian cavalry; and often, in the middle of a charge, the horses, hearing the noise made by the asses, would take fright and wheel round, pricking up their ears, and showing astonishment. This was owing to their having never heard the noise, or seen the form, of the animal before: and it was not without some little influence on the progress of the war.

[1.80] When Cyrus beheld the Lydians arranging themselves in order of battle on this plain, fearful of the strength of their cavalry, he adopted a device which Harpagus, one of the Medes, suggested to him. He collected together all the camels that had come in the train of his army to carry the provisions and the baggage, and taking off their loads, he mounted riders upon them accoutred as horsemen. These he commanded to advance in front of his other troops against the Lydian horse; behind them were to follow the foot soldiers, and last of all the cavalry. When his arrangements were complete, he gave his troops orders to slay all the other Lydians who came in their way without mercy, but to spare Croesus and not kill him, even if he should be seized and offer resistance. The reason why Cyrus opposed his camels to the enemy's horse was because the horse has a natural dread of the camel, and cannot abide either the sight or the smell of that animal. By this stratagem he hoped to make Croesus's horse useless to him, the horse being what he chiefly depended on for victory. The two armies then joined battle, and immediately the Lydian war-horses, seeing and smelling the camels, turned round and galloped off; and so it came to pass that all Croesus's hopes withered away. The Lydians, however, behaved manfully. As soon as they understood what was happening, they leaped off their horses, and engaged with the Persians on foot. The combat was long; but at last, after a great slaughter on both sides, the Lydians turned and fled. They were driven within their walls and the Persians laid siege to Sardis.

Read Isaiah 21:9 In time a messenger will come announcing Babylon's downfall. Notice what Isaiah focuses on, that Babylon's idols will be destroyed. They are nothing by images which can be broken; obviously they are not true gods, at all, and do not provide Babylon any sort of true protection. This seems very appropriate considering what the Babylonians did to the Israelite's center of worship, the temple, plundering it and burning it to the ground. Read 2 Kings 25:8-9, 13-15.

Read Isaiah 21:10 In this next verse, Isaiah is actually speaking to his people, the Israelites. The phrase "crushed on the threshing floor" is very descriptive. It is confirming how the Israelites are going through a winnowing process, the wheat being separated from the chaff. It is not a pleasant experience for the wheat, but necessary. John the Baptist uses a similar image when describing the coming Messiah, Jesus. Read Matthew 3:11-12

This ends the prophecy regarding Babylon.

Blessings!

Sources
H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell (editors). The Pulpit Commentary Volume 10: Isaiah
Herodotus