Isaiah 42:11

the wilderness and the cities thereof The "cities," like the "villages" of the next line, are those in the oases, occupied by the settled Arabs; the former are probably the great centres of the caravan trade, like Tadmor and Petra. Kedar(see on ch. Isaiah 21:16) is sometimes referred to as a tribe of nomadic, tent-dwelling Arabs (Psalms 120:5; Song of Solomon 1:5; Jeremiah 49:28 f.); here they are villagers, what the modern Arabs call ḥaḍarîya(connected with the word ḥâc̨çr, used here) as opposed to the wabarîyaor nomads (Delitzsch). In Jeremiah 2:10 Kedar stands, as here, in opposition to the Mediterranean countries.

the inhabitants of the rock (i.e. "the rock-dwellers"). R.V. has "the inhabitants of Sela," which would probably be Petra. It is difficult to say which translation is preferable. It should be mentioned that the identification of Sela, in any O.T. passage, with Petra is resisted by many scholars (see on ch. Isaiah 16:1).

sing Rather, exult, a different word at any rate from that used in Isaiah 42:10.