Isaiah 15:2

He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. HE - Moab personified. IS GONE UP TO BAJITH - rather, 'to the temple' (Maurer): answering to the "sanctuary" (Isaiah 16:12) in a similar context. TO DIBON - rather, as Dibon was in a plain north of the Arnon, 'Dibon (is gone up) to the high places,' the usual places of sacrifice in the East. Same town as Dimon, Isaiah 15:9. Bajith and Dimon were perhaps to Moab what Dan and Bethel were to Israel. TO WEEP - at the sudden calamity; MOAB SHALL HOWL OVER NEBO - `in,' or 'at Nebo;' not on ac...

2._He shall go up into the house. _(236) So far as relates to the words, some pass by the Hebrew noun בית, (_baith_;) but as it signifies _a house _and _a temple_, it is probable that it was the word commonly used for _a temple_, as in many other passages _the house of God _means _the temple _(237) (Exodus 23:19.) By representing the Moabites as bowing down before their idols, he at the same time condemns their superstition in worshipping their idol Chemosh, as may easily be inferred from 1 Kings 11:7, Jeremiah 48:7. “The Moabites,” says Isaiah, “shall betake themselves to their god when matters are so desperate, but to no purpose;

Verse Isaiah 15:2. _HE IS GONE TO BAJITH, AND TO DIBON_] עלה הבית _alah_ _habbayith_, should be rendered, _he is gone to the HOUSE_, i.e., to their chief temple, where they practiced idolatry. Dibon was the name of a tower where also was an idolatrous temple; thither they went to weep and pray before their idols, that they might interpose and save them from their calamities. So _R. D. Kimchi_. _He_ _is gone to Bajith and to Dibon_: but Bishop _Lowth_ reads _Beth Dibon;_ this is the name of _one_ place; and the two words are to be joined together, without the ו _vau_ intervening. So the _Chaldee_ and _Syriac_. This reading is not supported by any MS. or Version: but some MSS., instead of ער _ar_, have עיר _ir, a city_, others have עד _ad, unto_, and some editions have על _al, upon_. But all these help little, t...

HE IS GONE UP - That is, the inhabitants of Moab in consternation have fled from their ruined cities, and have gone up to other places to weep. TO BAJITH, AND TO DIBON - Lowth supposes that these two words should be joined together, and that one place is denoted. The Chaldee renders it, ‘Ascend into the houses of Dibon.’ Kimchi supposes that the word (בית _bayith_) denotes a temple. It usually means “house,” and hence, may mean a temple of the gods; that is, the principal “house” in the land. This interpretation is adopted by Gesenius and Noyes. Vitringa supposes it to mean Beth-Meon Jeremiah 48:24, or Beth-Baal-Meon Joshua 13:17, north of the Arnon, now “Macin.” I have adopted the translation prop

EXPOSITION ISAIAH 15:1 THE BURDEN OF MOAB. The present chapter and the next are very closely connected, and may be regarded as together constituting "the burden of Moab." It has been argued on critical grounds that the bulk of the prophecy is quoted by Isaiah from an earlier writer, and that he has merely modified the wording and added a few touches here and there (so Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Hitzig, Maurer, Ewald, Knobel, and Cheyne). Jeremiah is thought to have also based his "judgment of Moab" (Jeremiah 48:1.) on the same early writing. But speculations of this kind are in the highest degree uncertain, and moreover lead to no results of the slightest importance. It is best, therefore, to regard Is

HE IS GONE UP TO BAJITH,.... That is, Moab; the king or people of Moab, particularly the inhabitants of the above cities. Bajith signifies house; and here a house of idolatry, as Kimchi interprets it; it was an idol's temple, very likely the temple of their god Chemosh, the same which is called Bethbaalmeon, Joshua 13:17 "the house of Baal's habitation", and is mentioned with Dibon and Bamoth, as here; hither the Moabites went in their distress, to lament their case, ask advice, make supplication, and offer sacrifice: AND TO DIBON, THE HIGH PLACES, TO WEEP; Dibon was another city of Moab, Numbers 21:30 where probably were high places for idolatrous worship, and from whence it might have the name of Dibonhabbamoth, as it may be here called; or since there was such a place in Moab as Bamot

CHAPTER 15 The Burden of Moab _ The Destruction Announced (Isaiah 15:1)_...

THE OVERTHROW OF MOAB. A sudden catastrophe has overwhelmed Ar (Numbers 21:15 *) and Kir in one night. The daughter (read _bath_ for Bayith; _cf_. Jeremiah 48:18) of Dibon (Numbers 21:30 *) has gone up to the high places to lament; everywhere are signs of mourning. The cry of distress is heard from Heshbon (Numbers 21:25 *) and Elealeh (Numbers 32:37 *) in Jahaz (Numbers 21:23 *). The fugitives (_mg._) flee to Zoar ...

HE: i.e. Moab. DIBON. Now _Dhiban._ Numbers 21:30; Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:34; Numbers 33:46; Numbers 33:46; Joshua 13:9; Joshua 13:17. NEBO. Now _Jebel Neba_ in Moab, overlooking the Jordan Valley. MEDEBA. Same name to-day. Compare Numbers 21:30;...

(Cf. Jeremiah 48:37) _He is gone up … to weep_ The sense of the clause is uncertain. If _Bayith_be a proper name the best rendering would be that of R.V. marg. BAYITH AND DIBON ARE GONE UP TO THE HIGH-PLACES TO WEEP. But _Bayith_enters so frequently into compound place-names in this region (_Beth-Diblathaim, Beth-Baal-meon, Beth-Bamoth_) that it is hardly likely to have been used alone of a particular town. Some accordingly take it in its ordinary sense of "house" (here "temple") and translate, "He is gone up to the temple, and Dibon to the high places …," a very harsh construction. The most satisfactory solution of the difficulty is that proposed by Duhm, who changes _bayith_into _bath_and reads THE DAUGHTER OF DIBON (Jeremiah 48:18) is gone up to the high pl