Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 34:6
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
6. The sword of the Lord is filled ] Render: A sword hath Jehovah which is filled, &c.
made fat with fatness ] Or, “greased with fat” (different words in the original). The Edomites are compared to sacrificial animals; cf. Zep 1:7; Jer 46:10; Jer 51:40; Eze 39:17 ff. (See also 2Sa 1:22.)
Bozrah (ch. Isa 63:1; Gen 36:33; Amo 1:12; Jer 49:13; Jer 49:22) was a chief city of Edom, certainly not a place of that name in the Hauran; more probably El-Bueira, south of the Dead Sea; but Wetzstein identifies it with Petra.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood – The idea here is taken from the notion of sacrifice, and is, that God would devote to sacrifice, or to destruction, the inhabitants of Idumea. With reference to that, he says, that his sword, the instrument of slaughter, would be satiated with blood. It is made fat with fatness. The allusion here is to the sacrifices which were made for sin, in which the blood. and the fat were devoted to God as an offering (see Lev. 7)
With the blood of lambs and goats – These were the animals which were usually offered in sacrifice to God among the Jews. and to speak of a sacrifice was the same as to speak of the offering of rams, lambs, bullocks, etc. Yet it is evident that they denote here the people of Idumea, and that these terms are used to keep up the image of a sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice was always connected with that of slaughter, as the animals were slaughtered before they were offered. So here, the idea is, that there would be a great slaughter in Idumea; that it would be so far of the nature of a sacrifice that they would be devoted to God and to his cause. It is not probable that any particular classes of people are denoted by the different animals mentioned here, as the animals here mentioned include all, or nearly all those usually offered in sacrifice, the expressions denote simply that all classes of people in Idumea would be devoted to the slaughter. Grotius, however, supposes that the following classes are intended by the animals specified, to wit, by the lambs, the people in general; by the goats, the priests; by the rams, the opulent inhabitants.
For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah – Bozrah is mentioned here as one of the chief cities of Idumea. It was a city of great antiquity, and was known among the Greeks and Romans by the name of Bostra. It is generally mentioned in the Scriptunes as a city of the Edomites Isa 63:1; Jer 49:13, Jer 49:22; Amo 1:12; but once it is mentioned as a city of Moab Jer 48:24. It probably belonged at different periods to both nations, as in their wars the possession of cities often passed into different hands. Bozrah lay southeast of Edrei, one of the capitals of Bashan, and was thus not properly within the limits of the Edomites, but was north of the Ammonites, or in the region of Auranitis, or in what is now called tho Houran. It is evident, therefore, that in the time of Isaiah, the Edomites had extended their conquests to that region.
According to Burckhardt, who visited the Houran, and who went to Bozrah, it is at this day one of the most important cities there. It is situated, says he, in the open plain, and is at present the last inhabited place in the southeast extremity of the Houran; it was formerly the capital of the Arabia Provincia, and is now, including its ruins, the largest town in the Houran. It is of an oval shape, its greatest length being from east to west; its circumference is three quarters of an hour. It was anciently encompassed with a thick wall, which gave it the reputation of great strength Many parts of this wall, especially on the west side, remain; it was constructed of stones of moderate size, strongly cemented together. The south, and southeast quarters are covered with ruins of private dwellings, the walls Of many of which are still standing, but the roofs are fallen in. The style of building seems to have been similar to that observed in all the other ancient towns of the Houran. On the west side are springs of fresh water, of which I counted five beyond the precincts of the town, and six within the walls; their waters unite with a rivulet whose source is on the northwest side, within the town, and which loses itself in the southern plain at several hours distance; it is called by the Arabs, El Djeheir. The principal ruins of Bozrah are the following: A square building which within is circular, and has many arches and niches in the wall.
The diameter of the arounda is four paces; its roof has fallen in, but the walls are entire. It appears to have been a Greek church. An oblong square building, called by the natives Deir Boheiry, or the Monastery of the priest Boheiry. The gate of an ancient house com municating with the ruins of an edifice, the only remains of which is a large semicircular vault. The great mosque of Bozrah, which is certainly coeval with the first era of Mahometanism, and is commonly ascribed to Omar el Khattah. The walls of the mosque are covered with a fine coat of plaster, upon which are many Curie inscriptions in bas-relief, running all round the wall The remains of a temple, situated on the side of a long street which runs across the whole town, and terminates at the western gate, etc. Of these, and other magnificent ruins of temples, theaters, and palaces, all attesting its former importance, Burckhardt has given a copious description in his Travels in Syria, pp. 226-235, Quarto Ed. LoRd. 1822.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. The Lord hath a sacrifice – “For JEHOVAH celebrateth a sacrifice”] Ezekiel, Eze 39:16-17, has manifestly imitated this place of Isaiah. He hath set forth the great leaders and princes of the adverse powers under the same emblems of goats, bulls, rams, fatlings, c., and has added to the boldness of the imagery, by introducing God as summoning all the fowls of the air, and all the beasts of the field, and bidding them to the feast which he has prepared for them by the slaughter of the enemies of his people: –
“And thou, son of man,
Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH,
Say to the bird of every wing,
And to every beast of the field:
Assemble yourselves, and come
Gather together from every side,
To the sacrifice which I make for you,
A great slaughter on the mountains of Israel.
And ye shall eat flesh and drink blood:
The flesh of the mighty shall ye eat,
And the blood of the lofty of the earth shall ye drink;
Of rams, of lambs, and of goats,
Of bullocks, all of them the fat ones of Bashan;
And ye shall eat fat, till ye are cloyed,
And drink blood, till ye are drunken;
Of my slaughter, which I have slain for you.”
The sublime author of the Revelation, Re 19:17-18, has taken this image from Ezekiel, rather than from Isaiah.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is filled with blood; shall drink its fill of blood. The metaphor is here taken from a great glutton or drunkard, who is almost insatiable with meat and drink.
With the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: by, lambs, and goats, and rams, he means people of all ranks and conditions, high and low, rich and poor. A sacrifice; so he calleth this bloody work, because it was done by Gods command, and for his honour; and therefore was a service acceptable to him.
Bozrah; a chief city of Edom, Isa 63:1; Jer 49:13, and a type of those cities which should be most opposite and mischievous to Gods people.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. filledglutted. The imageof a sacrifice is continued.
blood . . . fattheparts especially devoted to God in a sacrifice (2Sa1:22).
lambs . . . goatssacrificialanimals: the Idumeans, of all classes, doomed to slaughter, are meant(Zep 1:7).
Bozrahcalled Bostraby the Romans, c., assigned in Jer48:24 to Moab, so that it seems to have been at one time in thedominion of Edom, and at another in that of Moab (Isa 63:1Jer 49:13; Jer 49:20;Jer 49:22); it was strictly notin Edom, but the capital of Auranitis (the Houran). Edom seemsto have extended its dominion so as to include it (compare La4:21).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,…. Multitudes being slain by it; the “Lord” here is that divine Person that is described as a warrior, as a General of an army, with a sharp sword, by whom many are slain, such a number as that it is filled with the blood of them, Re 19:11:
it is made fat with fatness: not only filled with the blood, but fattened by it; the allusion is to ravenous creatures gorged and sated with the blood of others, and thereby made fat; perhaps this may refer to Christian princes, the sword in the hand of the Lord, who shall be enriched with the plunder and spoil of the antichristian states:
[and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. The Targum is,
“with the blood of kings and governors, with the fat of the kidneys princes;”
and Jarchi interprets them, of princes and rulers; but rather the common people are designed, or the common soldiers in the army, or however the inferior officers of it; kings, princes, and generals, being intended in the following verse Isa 34:7. It denotes the great carnage of all sorts and ranks of men made at this time, and which is described in Re 19:18:
for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea: there seems to be two Bozrahs the Scripture speaks of, the one in Moab, Jer 48:24 and another in Edom,
Isa 63:1 which is here meant, and was a chief city of the Edomites, and signifies a fortress, being no doubt a place well fortified; this is the Bostra of Ptolemy k, and which he places in Arabia Petraea. Aben Ezra says that some interpret it of Constantinople, the metropolis of the Ottoman empire; but it is best to understand it of Rome, as Menasseh ben Israel l does, and Idumea of the whole Roman jurisdiction; Rome being the chief city of the antichristian states, that great city, which John in his Revelation describes as reigning over the kings of the earth; here and in all the antichristian kingdoms will be a great “slaughter” of men, called a “sacrifice” of the Lord, because by his order and direction, and for the honour of his justice, and being acceptable to him; and perhaps there may be an allusion to the blood sacrifices being the Lord’s; this slaughter and sacrifice is called the supper of the great God,
Re 19:17.
k Geograph. l. 5. c. 17. l Spes Israelis, sect. 30. p. 91.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood. He follows out the same statement, but by a different description, which places the matter in a much stronger light, in order to shake off the drowsiness of wicked men, who are wont to laugh and scoff at all doctrine, as we have formerly remarked. It is therefore necessary that the judgments of God should be set forth as in a lively picture:, that it may not only make a deep impression on their dull minds, but may encourage believers by holy confidence, when they learn that the pride and rebellion of their enemies cannot at all hinder them from being dragged like cattle to the slaughter, whenever it shall be the will of God.
He compares it to sacrifices, for animals are slain in sacririce for the worship and honor of God, and in like manner the destruction of this people will also tend to the glory of God. And here he confirms what was formerly said about judgment, for when God executes his judgments, he shews forth his glow; so that the destruction of wicked men is justly compared to “sacrifices,” which belonged to his worship. “Sacrifices,” indeed, were undoubtedly not very pleasant and agreeable to behold, for the revolting act of taking away life, the reeking blood, and the stencil of the smoke, might have a repulsive effect; and yet in these things the honor of God shone brightly. Thus, also, this slaughter was hideous to behold, and little fitted to obtain regard; but believers, in order that they may hallow the name of God in this respect, are commanded to lift up their eyes to heaven; because, in executing such punishment, God erects altars to himself for slaying sacrifices. Because they unjustly oppressed the Church of God, and, forgetful of all humane feelings, treated the children of God with cruelty, Isaiah declares that in their blood is offered a sacrifice of sweet savor, and highly acceptable to God, because he executes his judgment.
With the blood of lambs and of goats. Under this appellation he describes metaphorically the people that were to be slain, and, alluding to the various kinds of victims, includes not only all men of ordinary rank, but all the nobles, in order to intimate that the Lord will punish his enemies in such a manner that no man of any class whatever shall be exempted he mentions Bozrah, the chief city and metropolls, as it were, of the nation, where the greatest slaughter shall take place; and next, he adds, the country of Edom, through the whole of which this calamity shall take its course. (18)
(18) “ Au travers de la quelle ceste desconfiture passera sans espargner endroit quelconque.” “Across which this overthrow shall pass without sparing any place whatever.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah . . .Two cities of this name appear in history; one in the Haurn, more or less conspicuous in ecclesiastical history, and the other, of which Isaiah now speaks, in Edom. It was a strongly fortified city, and is named again and again. (Comp. Isa. 63:1; Amo. 1:12; Jer. 49:13; Jer. 49:22.) The image both of the sword and the sacrifice appears in Jer. 46:10.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 34:6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Ver. 6. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, &c. ] That is, It maketh clean work, as the blood and fat were in sacrifices consumed, Lev 1:16-17 and this execution was no less pleasing to God than some solemn sacrifice.
For the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
filled: Isa 63:3, Jer 49:13, Eze 21:4, Eze 21:5, Eze 21:10
the fat: Deu 32:14
the Lord hath: Isa 34:5, Isa 63:1, Jer 50:27, Jer 51:40, Eze 39:17-20, Zep 1:7, Rev 19:17, Rev 19:18
Reciprocal: Gen 36:33 – Bozrah Exo 29:13 – all the fat Lev 26:25 – will bring Deu 20:17 – thou shalt Deu 32:41 – whet Deu 32:42 – make mine Deu 33:29 – the sword Jos 6:17 – accursed 1Sa 15:33 – hewed 2Sa 1:22 – the bow 2Ki 23:20 – he slew 1Ch 1:44 – Bozrah Isa 11:14 – them of the east Isa 27:1 – with his Isa 29:2 – and it shall Jer 12:12 – the sword Jer 46:10 – the day Jer 46:14 – the sword Eze 21:9 – sharpened Eze 35:15 – Idumea Amo 1:12 – Bozrah Mic 2:12 – Bozrah
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
34:6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of {f} lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in {g} Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
(f) That is, both of young and old, poor and rich of his enemies.
(g) That famous city will be consumed as a sacrifice burnt to ashes.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Using sacrificial imagery, the Lord will seek what is peculiarly His in judgment. He will take what He alone has a right to take. Sin is a matter of life and death. All sin must be atoned for with sacrificial blood (cf. Lev 4:1-12; Isaiah 53). Those who repudiate the sacrifice of Christ for their sins will forfeit their own lives as sacrifices to God. A sacrifice is necessary, therefore, third, if the demands of divine holiness are to be met. No rebel would be spared. Bozrah ("impenetrable," modern Buseirah), the capital of Edom, stood about 25 miles south southeast of the Dead Sea.
"The sacrifice announced here is enormous. Not only lambs, goats, bull calves, and bulls are to be sacrificed, but also wild oxen . . . which are otherwise never mentioned for sacrifice. . . . Wildberger (1343) understands the passage to picture a sacrifice greater than any that has ever been offered." [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p. 11. His reference is to H. Wildberger’s three-volume German commentary on Isaiah 1-39.]
"He who really takes offense at what is here related has no true conception of the heinous character of sinful rebellion against the Holy One of Israel." [Note: Young, 2:435.]