Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 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].
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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
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 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 naam, to pronounce, to declare, is the solemn word appropriated to the delivering of prophecies: “Behold, I am against the prophets, saith ( naam, pronounceth) JEHOVAH, who use their tongues, 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
17. residue . . . diminishedTheremnant of Arab warriors, famous in the bow, left after the invasion,shall be small.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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,
Ge 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17. And the residue of the archers. He threatens that this slaughter will not be the end of their evils, because if there be any residue in Arabia, they will gradually decrease; as if he had said, “The Lord will not merely impoverish the Arabians by a single battle, but will pursue to the very utmost, till all hope of relief is taken away, and they are utterly exterminated.” Such is the vengeance which he executes against the ungodly, while he moderates the punishment which he inflicts on the godly, that they may not be entirely destroyed.
Of the mighty men. He means warlike men and those who were fit to carry arms, and says, that although they escaped that slaughter, still they will be cut off at their own time. He formerly threatened similar chastisements against the Jews, but always accompanied by a promise which was fitted to alleviate their grief or at least to guard them against despair. It frequently happens that the children of God are afflicted as severely as the reprobate, or even with greater severity; but the hope of favor which is held out distinguishes them from the whole world. Again, when we learn that God visits on the wicked deadly vengeance, this is no reason why we should be immoderately grieved even at the heaviest punishments; but, on the contrary, we ought to draw from it this consolation, that he chastises them gently, and “does not give them over to death.” (Psa 118:18.)
The God of Israel hath spoken it. The Prophet shews, as we have frequently remarked on former occasions, that we ought not only to acknowledge that these things happened by divine appointment, but that they were appointed by that God whom Israel adores. All men are sometimes constrained to rise to the acknowledgment of God, though they are disposed to believe in chance, because the thought that there is a God in heaven comes into their minds, whether they will or not, and that both in prosperity and in adversity; but then they imagine a Deity according to their own fancy, either in heaven or on earth. Since therefore irreligious men idly and foolishly imagine a God according to their own pleasure, the Prophet directs the Jews to that God whom they adore, that they may know the distinguished privilege which they enjoy in being placed under his guardianship and protection. Nor is it enough that we adore some God as governor of the world, but we must acknowledge the true God, who revealed himself to the fathers, and hath manifested himself to us in Christ. And this ought to be earnestly maintained, in opposition to the profane thoughts of many persons who contrive some strange and confused notion of a Deity, because they dare not openly deny God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(17) And the residue . . .The Hebrew word is the same as the characteristic remnant of Isaiahs 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.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
MY soul! while reading the burdens of others, do not overlook thine own: but if Jesus, that almighty burden bearer, hath removed the guilt and dominion of sin from thee; while thou art praising his name for the unspeakable and unmerited deliverance, thou wilt still remember the wormwood and the gall!
Oh! how galling was the load of sin, and how full of horrors the apprehension of the awful consequences of it, before Jesus was revealed, as taking away sin by the sacrifice of himself! And now, Lord, how blessed is it to see that thou hast borne our sins in thine own body on the tree, when thou didst die, the just for the unjust, to bring sinners unto God! Hence, blessed Jesus, I would now bring thee all my sins, and all my sorrows; for thou hast said, Cast thy burden on the Lord, and he shall sustain thee! I know, Lord, that thou wilt kindly and graciously support me, and bear me up under all; and know, Lord, that through thy grace helping me, I shall be more than conqueror in and through all. Jesus will bear me up, and carry me on, and bring me through all that yet belongs to my pilgrimage here below, until he takes me home to his everlasting kingdom, to bear me in the arms of his love forever.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
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.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mighty men. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.
children = sons.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
archers: Heb. bows
the mighty: Isa 10:18, Isa 10:19, Isa 17:4, Isa 17:5, Psa 107:39
for: Isa 1:20, Num 23:19, Jer 44:29, Zec 1:6, Mat 24:35
Reciprocal: Gen 25:13 – Kedar 1Ch 1:29 – Kedar Isa 24:3 – the Lord Jer 49:28 – Kedar Eze 28:26 – when I
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
21:17 And the remainder of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of {x} Kedar, shall be diminished: for the LORD God of Israel hath spoken [it].
(x) Which was the name of a people of Arabia: and by the horrible destruction of all these nations, he teaches 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.