Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 35:7
And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, [shall be] grass with reeds and rushes.
7. the parched ground ] The Hebr. word ( shrb, only again in Isa 49:10) is generally thought to be identical with Serb, the Arabic name for the mirage (so R.V. marg.). Allusions to this remarkable optical phenomenon, by which even experienced travellers are often deceived, are, as might be expected, common in Arabic literature. Cf. Koran ( Sura 24:39):
“The works of the unbelievers are like the mirage in the desert;
The thirsty takes it for water, till he comes up to it and finds that it is nothing.”
(Quoted by Gesenius.) The idea in the text, therefore, would be that the illusion which mocks the thirsty caravan shall become a reality; water shall be as common in the desert as the mirage now is. The rendering “parched ground,” however, corresponds with Jewish usage and the ancient versions; and the sense “mirage” is unsuitable in ch. Isa 49:10.
in the habitation rushes ] A literal rendering of the Hebr. would be: “in the habitation of jackals, its lair, a court (the word rendered habitation’ in E.V. of ch. Isa 34:13) for reeds and rushes.” This yields no sense. The text appears to have suffered extensive mutilation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the parched ground shall become a pool – The idea is the same here as in the previous verse, that under the Messiah there would be blessings as great as if the parched ground should become a lake of pure and refreshing water. The words parched ground, however, probably do not convey the sense which Isaiah intended. The image which he had in his eye is much more beautiful than that which is denoted by the parched ground. Lowth translates it, The glowing sand. The Septuagint, Anudros – The dry place, The Hebrew word ( sharab), properly denotes the heat of the sun Isa 49:10; and then the phenomenon which is produced by the refraction of the rays of the sun on the glowing sands of a desert and which gives the appearance of a sea or lake of water, This phenomenon is witnessed in the deserts of Arabia and Egypt, and has been also seen occasionally in the south of France and in Russia. We have no word in English to express it. The French word by which it is commonly designated is mirage. It is caused by the refraction of the rays of the sun, an explanation of which may be found in the Edin. Encyclopaedia, vol. xiv. pp. 753-755. It is often described by travelers, and is referred to in the Koran, chapter xxiv. 39:
The works of unbelievers are like the serab in a plain,
Which the thirsty man takes to be water;
Until he comes to it, and finds that it is not.
Mr. Sales note on this place in the Koran is, The Arabic word serab signifies that false appearance which in the eastern countries is often seen in sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverberation of the sunbeams, by the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of vapors and exhalations which are extracted by the powerful influence of the sun (Shaws Travels, p. 378). It sometimes tempts thirsty travelers out of their way, but deceives them when they come near, either going forward (for it always appears at the same distance), or quite vanishes. Q. Curtius (vii. 5) also has mentioned it, in the description of the march of Alexander the Great across the Oxus to Sogdiana: The vapor of the summer sun inflamed the sands, which when they began to be inflamed all things seemed to burn. A dense cloud, produced by the unusual heat of the earth, covered the light, and the appearance of the plains was like a vast and deep sea. The Arabians often refer to this in their writings, and draw images from it. Like the serab of the plain, which the thirsty take to be water. He runs for the spoil of the serab; a proverb. Deceitful as the appearance of water; also a proverb. Be not deceived by the glimmer of the scrub; another proverb. This appearance has been often described by modern travelers, (see Shaws Travels, p. 375; Clarkes Travels, vol ii. p. 295; Belzonis Travels and Operations in Egypt and Nubia, p. 196).
The same appearance has been observed in India, and in various parts of Africa. During the French expedition to Egypt, the phenomena of unusual refractions were often seen. The uniformity of the extensive sandy plains of Lower Egypt is interrupted only by small eminences, on which the villages are situated, in order to escape the inundations of the Nile. In the morning and the evening, as many have remarked, objects appear in their natural position; but when the surface of the sandy ground is heated by the sun, the land seems at a certain distance terminated by a general inundation. The villages which are beyond it appear like so many islands situated in the middle of a great lake; and under each village is an inverted image of it. As the observer approaches the limits of the apparent inundation, the imaginary lake which seemed to encircle the village withdraws itself, and the same illusion is reproduced by another village more remote. (Edin. Encyclopaedia, vol. xiv. p. 754.) In the desert, says Prof. Robinson, we had frequent instances of the mirage presenting the appearance of lakes of water and islands; and as we began to descend toward Suez, it was difficult to distinguish between these appearances and the distant real waters of the Red Sea. (Travels in Palestine and the adjacent regions, in 1838, Bib. Repos. April, 1839, p. 402.) Major Skinner, in his recently published Journey Overland to India, describes the appearance of the scrub in that very desert, between Palestine and the Euphrates, which probably supplied the images which the prophet employs: About noon the most perfect deception that can be conceived exhilarated our spirits, and promised an early restingplace.
We had observed a slight mirage two or three times before, but this day it surpassed all I have ever fancied. Although aware that these appearances have often led people astray, I could not bring myself to believe that this was unreal. The Arabs were doubtful, and said that, as we had found water yesterday, it was not improbable that we should find some today. The seeming lake was broken in several parts by little islands of sand that gave strength to the delusion. The dromedaries of the Sheikhs at length reached its borders, and appeared to us to have commenced to ford as they advanced, and became more surrounded by the vapor. I thought they had got into deep water, and moved with greater caution. In passing over the sand banks their figures were reflected in the water. So convinced was Mr. Calmun of its reality, that he dismounted and walked toward the deepest part of it, which was on the right hand. He followed the deceitful lake for a long time, and to our sight was strolling on the bank, his shadow stretching to a great length beyond. There was not a breath of wind; it was a sultry day, and such an one as would have added dreadfully to our disappointment if we had been at any time without water.
Southey has beautifully described this appearance and its effects on the traveler:
Still the same burning sun! no cloud in heaven!
The hot air quivers, and the sultry mist
Floats oer the desert, with a show
Of distant waters mocking their distress.
The idea of the prophet, if he refers to this phenomenon, is exceedingly beautiful. It is that the mirage, which has the appearance Only of a sheet of water, and which often deceives the traveler, shall become a real lake; that there shall be hereafter no deception, no illusion; that man, like a traveler on pathless sands, weary and thirsty, shall no more be deceived by false appearances and unreal hopes. The hopes and promises which this world can furnish are as delusive as is the mirage to the exhausted and thirsty traveler. Man approaches them, and, like that delusive appearance, they recede or vanish. If they are still seen, they are always at I a distance, and he follows the false and deceptive vision until he comes to the end of life. But the promises of God through the Messiah, are like real lakes of water and running streams to the thirsty traveler. They never deceive, never recede, never vanish, never are unsatisfactory. Man may approach them, knowing that there is no illusion; he may satisfy his needs, and still the supply is unexhausted and inexhaustible. Others also may approach the same fountain of pure joy, with as much freedom as travelers may approach the running stream in the desert.
In the habitation of dragons – (see the note at Isa 13:22). The sense of this is, that the blessings which are promised shall be as great as if in such dry and desolate places there should be verdure and beauty.
Where each lay – In every place which the wild beast had occupied.
Shall be grass – Margin, A court for. The Hebrew word ( chatsyr) may mean either grass, or a court, or habitation. The latter is undoubtedly the meaning of the word here, and thus it responds in the parallelism to the habitation of dragons.
In the habitation where each lay,
Shall be a court for reeds and rushes.
Reeds and rushes – These usually grew by ponds and marshes. The image which the prophet had been employing was that era desert of sands and arid plains. He here says, that there would be verdure. In those pathless wastes there would spring up that which was nourished by water. The sense is, that those portions of the earth which are covered with moral desolation, like the pathless wastes of the desert, shall put on the appearance of moral cultivation and verdure.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 35:7
And the parched ground shall become a pool
The mirage of the desert
We must understand these words as they would be understood in the East.
The parched ground is rich in what is known as mirage–the image of water, a sheen that cheats the eye, and so successfully cheats it that the thirsty traveller says, I see rivers! It is the mirage–(from mirari, to wonder at)–a beautiful thing: water on every hand: presently we shall drink and be glad. The traveller moves, the mirage recedes; the traveller would seize the blessing, but the blessing was only in clouds: an optical delusion; the eye has deceived the appetite. In the reign of Jesus Christ the parched ground shall become a pool of real water, and the thirsty land springs, fountains: the period of mirage has vanished, the period of reality has set in. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The mirage and the pool
The mirage–what is that! In place of an enticing lake, the traveller finds only ground dry as a bone, as my Arab guide expressed it. So the mirage stands as the emblem of the sham, the pretence. And the pool–what is that? It is the patch of real water found in the desert; an oasis, around which may be found palms, shade, and refreshment. The pool is the real thing; it offers refreshment and contentment. To an Oriental the mirage becoming a pool meant a transformation from illusion to reality. The entire picture is a permanent mirror of human life.
I. Let us look at THE MIRAGE. It appeals to a need of our nature. To the thirsty traveller the mirage offers water and fruit. Our nature is full of needs. We are not self-contained; we must continually receive help from without. Our senses, our minds, and our hearts cry out for their food, and their cry is natural In reply to their cry, both the real food of our nature and the mirage present themselves. The real and the sham are before us, and we have to choose between them. Alas! too many follow the mirage. In vain old travellers warn the younger ones.
II. Let us look at THE POOL. No one would go after the mirage if they knew it was the mirage. Men want reality, and they think they seek it until a humiliation reveals the fact that they have been chasing an illusion all the time. Now, the message of the Gospel is a message of reality. The Gospel offers to transform our illusions into realities, by offering to transform us. Bring God into life, and the traveller sees reality everywhere. The reality touches every part of his nature.
1. His senses. He is neither ascetic nor libertine, but remembers ever that his body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Because Gods temple he will seek, by proper exercise, to preserve its beauty. The senses, being the transitory and lower part of our nature, will never be allowed to occupy the dominant place in life.
2. His mind. He to whom God is the supreme reality will take care that he never allows a partial knowledge of any subject to interpose itself as a thick veil between his soul and God.
3. His heart. When a man finds God he finds Him who is love, and when he rests in that love he experiences no shock of disappointment. And the other loves that are permitted to us, when exercised within the circle of the larger love, are harmonious with it, and so bring us peace and joy without ahoy. (F. C.Spurr.)
The mirage a reality
The real translation of these words is not The parched ground shall become a pool, but The mirage shall become, a pool. The thing that you believed, would be the satisfaction of your life, the sight of which had brought new vigour to your limbs and strengthened your mind for the onward journey of the pilgrimage, that, says the prophet, shall become true. The mirage, the illusion of your life, shall become a reality. What has been the mirage that humanity has seen in its journey? The prophet enters into certain details that we might glance at for our profit. The first thing that such men would want would be the slaking of their thirst, the satisfaction of some desire. Might we not go back to the beginning of the history of man, and see that it has been a series of efforts succeeded by failure to gain satisfaction? We have all of us, as humanity at large, been struggling from the beginning to be satisfied. And the soul has said to itself, If I can once lay hold upon that particular thing, then I shall be satisfied. It may be wealth, it may be honour, it may be physical strength, it may be popularity. And we have reached it, but we were not satisfied. We found that the same want began all over again; year after year, men have seen a mirage, and said to themselves, If I could reach that, my soul would be satisfied. Many a man, grown old and weary with repeated failure, has said to his soul, in the secret communion of his own heart, What is it that thou dost desire, O my soul? I have made a home. I have gathered about me those I love. I have increased knowledge. I have widened the circle of my friendships. But I am not satisfied. Still there is something that does not slake the thirst of my soul. And while these men so long ago thought as we do now, one man stood up in the midst of them all, and shouted aloud, as if it were a great discovery, My soul is athirst for God. That is the trouble with humanity. It is athirst for God, and it has supposed that it could satisfy its longings with the things that are touched and seen. And the prophet, knowing the long struggle and the repeated failure, looked in the faces of these men, and said, The mirage shall become a pool, your satisfaction shall be met. But such a prophecy as that called mens minds away from themselves to the thought of others. Individual salvation, if it could be brought to any one of us here to-day, would not be enough. The woman who knows that she stands in the light of the love of God, but that her husband is in the outer darkness, the man who knows that he has led an upright and true life, but that his son is turning away to wickedness, cannot be satisfied. We are bound one to another. Hear the word of the prophet: And a highway shall be there, and a way, and the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err therein. There shall come, says the prophet, a day when in the desert a highway shall be built, and men shall know that they are not wandering in this trackless waste, with no knowledge of the home from which they have come, and no understanding of the end and object of the pilgrimage. But their feet shall stand on the way that others have travelled before them, and they shall hear the voice of the past saying to them, This is the way, walk ye in it. And walking in that path, united with the great company of pilgrims who have been through the same experiences, known the same sorrows, been beckoned on by the same mirage, they shall have strength and hope and comfort in the consciousness of this great companionship of the redeemed who walk on the highway of their God. Again, we look back over the long history of the race, and we find that something else is needed. If we could see to-day the camp in which the earliest forms of civilisation were gathered, before cities were built, or roads were laid, or empires dreamed of, we should find that the camp encircled itself at night with fire, while without were the beasts roaring for their prey, causing the little children to nestle close to the father who could protect them, causing the women to shudder, and even strong men to ask themselves, May the fiery barrier be broken down, and the beasts that are outside the camp invade us and destroy what we love? Oh the illusion, the mirage, as it must have seemed to them, of stately cities and strong walls, and beasts for ever banished from the land! But the prophet said, No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. The day will come when the people shall know that they are protected, when fear shall be taken away from them. The fear of what? Of beasts? Not that alone, for when the beasts were banished from the land, there was man to be afraid of. And the children said, Who will protect us from the enemy? And the father said, I will. And then the father came to die. And he rolled despairing eyes and cried, Ay, but who will protect me now? I must go into the unseen land, and face the shadows that I now behold. Who will protect me now? Who will protect me,–not from the beast, not from men, not from the spirits that may haunt me, not from hell, but from sin? Who will keep me from the corruption of sin,–worse than any evil that the world has ever seen or dreamed of? The prophet said, The mirage shall become a pool. That which seems impossible shall surely come to pass. Once more. On the journey much was lost, much was suffered, much endured. And the pilgrim who stepped out so blithely at the beginning of the march was found at the end to be an old man with the hope deferred that maketh the heart sick, the disappointment and weariness and sorrow, the hatred of those whom he had tried to help along the journey, the fear in his own heart that it was all an illusion. So at the last there was something more needed for these weary men. Was all that had been dropped on the journey to be gathered up again? Was all that had been suffered to have its reward? The prophet said, The mirage shall become a pool. What you have dreamed of joy and peace and glory shall be your portion. For the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. The mirage, the illusion, shall become a reality. These words were spoken thousands of years ago. What I would like to ask you is, How shall we read them to-day? Is it true that the thirsty soul has been satisfied? Is it true that there is a highway in the desert, and that the wayfaring man need not err therein? Is it true that no lion is there, nor any ravenous beast, but that in the consciousness of safety men are making their journey? Is it true that the redeemed do return and come to Zion with everlasting joy upon their heads,, and that sorrow, and sighing flee away? Are these things true? Why, look into your own experiences, and think for a moment, not of your sorrows nor trials nor temptations, not of the weariness and disappointment of life, but of its glory, and see if what the prophet said be not true. See if it is not true that things that in that day seemed an illusion are to-day the realities of life. Why, multitudes of men and women know what it is to have the satisfaction of the soul, God with us; the knowledge that our sins have been pardoned, that they shall never rise up in judgment to meet us; the assurance of Gods undying love; the knowledge of the sympathy of Him who was crucified for us; the consciousness that God is about us and by us and in us,–is the pool at which our thirsty souls do drink. And the way. Have we not that way? There are men and women who are lost, men and women who are wandering through this world, not knowing where they came from nor whither they are going. But is it true of those who have been drawn to the company of Jesus Christ? Are their feet not upon the way that leads to eternal life? Who would give it up? Those who do not know it think that it is a mirage. You know that your feet are on the highway, and though you may be a fool in many things, yet you shall not err from the way of salvation. It is the way that comes from God and leads to God, the way of Jesus Christ the Saviour. And protection. It is hard for us to picture to ourselves what it must have been for the camp to hear the roar of the beasts. We are not afraid of death, for Jesus died. We are not afraid of hell, for He descended into hell. We are not afraid of God nor of Gods judgment, for it is the judgment of a father. We are not afraid of anything but sin, and says the apostle, Sin shall not have dominion over you. You are not under the law; you are under grace. Christ is personally helping every one of us. Nothing shall separate us from His love. We have no cause for fear. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast, but the redeemed shall walk there. The promise and prophecy of joy,–have we not known it? It is not true that sorrow and sighing have left the world, but has not the sorrow and has not the sighing fled away from you, as you have entered into the communion of your God? Have you not come to Zion with everlasting joy upon your head, as you have remembered, not the special things for which you ought to be thankful, but as it has been borne in upon you that you belong to God and God to you, and that the glory and beauty of life is not in doing Gods will as a hard law, but in doing Gods will because you have come to love Gods will? The prophecy is not to come true; the prophecy has come true. What the prophet said was that these things should come,–the satisfaction of human want, the consciousness that the feet were on the everlasting way, the protection from all evil, and the everlasting joy of Zion in the days of the Messiah. And now if you ask me whether this prophecy rests upon any principle, and whether its fulfilment has got anything back of it but the individual hope that may be true, I answer you, Yes, it has. It has the revelation of God in the incarnation of Jesus Christ that man and God are one. And because man and God are one, therefore the mirage that humanity has beheld is the reflection of the refracted rays of the will of God passing through the medium of human life. And every man who has purified himself is, in his own day and according to his capacity, some sort of revelation, not of his own will, but of Gods will revealed through him. The mirage shall become a pool. The satisfaction of your soul you shall know, because you are Gods and God is yours. Is not that what St. John meant, when he wrote, in that wonderful fifth chapter of his First Epistle, And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him? Because your will, your prayer, purified from selfishness, is no longer your will or your prayer. The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The prophecy has come true, and yet it is as nothing compared with that which shall be in the day when we know Him more than we know Him now. What should be our attitude? One of unbounded thankfulness that He has seen fit to reveal Himself to us as our Father, and ourselves as His sons. One of unflinching courage, one of undying hope; for every glorious vision that humanity has had upon its pilgrimage of personal joy, of larger truth, of nobler civilisation, of human glory, shall, in Gods good time, be fulfilled, because it is not the will of man, it is the will of God. (Leighton Parks.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. The parched ground – “The glowing sand”] sharab; this word is Arabic, [Arabic] as well as Hebrew, expressing in both languages the same thing, the glowing sandy plain, which in the hot countries at a distance has the appearance of water. It occurs in the Koran, chap. xxiv.: “But as to the unbelievers, their works are like a vapour in a plain, which the thirsty traveller thinketh to be water, until, when he cometh thereto, he findeth it to be nothing.” Mr. Sale’s note on this place is, “The Arabic word serab signifies that false appearance which in the eastern countries is often seen on sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverberation of the sun beams: ‘by the quivering undulating motion of that quick succession of vapours and exhalations which are extracted by the powerful influence of the sun.’ – Shaw, Trav. p. 378. It sometimes tempts thirsty travellers out of their way; but deceives them when they come near, either going forward, (for it always appears at the Same distance,) or quite vanishing.” Q. Curtius has mentioned it: “Arenas vapor aestivi solis accendit; camporumque non alia, quam vasti et profundi aequoris species est.” – Lib. vii., c. 5. Dr. Hyde gives us the precise meaning and derivation of the word. “Dictum nomen Barca habberakah, splendorem, seu splendentem regionem notat; cum ea regio radiis solaribus tam copiose collustretur, ut reflexum ab arenis lumen adeo intense fulgens, a longinquo spectantibus, ad instar corporis solaris, aquarum speciem referat; et hinc arenarum splendor et radiatio, (et lingua Persica petito nomine,) dicitur [Arabic] serab, i.e., aquae superficies seu superficialis aquarum species.” Annot. in Peritsol., cap. ii.
“Shall spring forth”] The he in rebitseh seems to have been at first mem in MS. Bodl., whence Dr. Kennicott concludes it should be rebitsim. But instead of this word the Syriac, Vulgate, and Chaldee read some word signifying to grow, spring up, or abound. Perhaps paretsah, or paretsu, or parats hachatsir, as Houbigant reads. – L.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Those dry and parched deserts, in which dragons have their abode, shall yield abundance of grass, and reeds, and rushes, which grow only in moist grounds, Job 8:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. parched groundrather, “themirage (Hebrew, Sharab, ‘the sun’s heat’) shall become a(real) lake.” The sun’s rays refracted on the glowing sands atmidday give the appearance of a lake of water and often deceive thethirsty traveller (compare Jer 2:13;Isa 41:18).
dragonsrather,”jackals.”
eachnamely, jackal.
grassrather, “adwelling or receptacle (answering to the previoushabitation) for reeds,” &c. (which only grow where there iswater, Job 8:11). Where oncethere was no water, water shall abound.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water,…. Such persons who have been like the parched earth, barren and unfruitful, or like the earth scorched with the sun, filled with a sense of divine wrath, and thirsting, like the dry earth, after the grace of God, Christ, and his righteousness, shall be comforted and refreshed, and filled with the grace of God: or such who have been scorched and parched with the heat of persecution, from the antichristian party, and have been thirsting after deliverance from it, shall now enjoy peace and prosperity:
in the habitation of dragons, where each lay; in kingdoms, cities, and towns, inhabited by men, comparable to dragons for their poison and cruelty; where the great red dragon Satan had his seat; and the Pagan emperors, and Papal powers, who have exercised the authority, power, and cruelty of the dragon, dwell; see Re 12:3:
[shall be] grass, with reeds and rushes; persons shall spring up, partakers of the grace of God, who, for their number and flourishing estate, shall be like the green grass; and others, still more eminent for their gifts and usefulness, like reeds, or canes and rushes; see
Isa 44:3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. The dry place shall be changed into a pool. He confirms the former statement, that Christ will come in order to enrich his people with all abundance of blessings; for waters shall flow out of “dry places.” (27) We must keep in remembrance what we mentioned a little before, that the Prophet delineates to us what may be called a picture of a happy life; for although this change was not openly visible at the coming of Christ, yet with good reason does the Prophet affirm that, during his reign, the whole earth shall be fruitful; for he had formerly said that without Christ all things are cursed to us.
In the habitation of dragons. The whole world, therefore, shall resemble a parched wilderness, in which lions, “dragons,” and other wild beasts prowl, till the kingdom of Christ shall be set up; and, on the other hand, when he is established on his throne, the godly shall lack nothing. An instance of this was given, when the Lord delivered his people and brought them out of Babylon; but the accomplishment of this prophecy must be looked for in Christ, through whom their ruinous condition is amended and restored; for that deliverance was but a feeble representation of it. And yet the full accomplishment of this promise ought not to be expected in the present life; for as it is through hope that we are blessed, (Rom 8:24,) so our happiness, which is now in some respects concealed, must be an object of hope till the last day; and it is enough that some taste of it be enjoyed in this world, that we may more ardently long for that perfect happiness.
(27) “Instead of the general meaning put upon שרב (sharab,) by the older writers following the Septuagint ( ἄνυδρος) and the Vulgate ( quoe erat arida ) it is now agreed that the word denotes the illusive appearance caused by the unequal refraction in the lower strata of the atmosphere, and often witnessed both at sea and land, called in English, looming, in Italian, (lang. it) fata morgana , and in French, mirage In the deserts of Arabia and Africa, the appearance presented is precisely that of an extensive sheet of water, tending not only to mislead the traveler, but to aggravate his thirst by disappointment. The phenomenon is well described by Quintus Curtius, in his Life of Alexander the Great.” — Alexander. The same view is given by Vitringa, who speaks of it as held by other learned men, and illustrates it very happily. It is also maintained by Rosenmuller, who supports it by curious and instructive extracts from Arabic scholiasts, and from the Koran, and by a host of other authorities. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) The parched ground . . .The Hebrew word is essentially what we know as the mirage, or fata morgana, the silvery sheen which looks like a sparkling lake, and turns out to be barren sand. Instead of that delusive show, there shall be in the renewed earth the lake itself.
In the habitation of dragons . . .Better, as elsewhere, jackals, which had their lair in the sandy desert.
Shall be grass with reeds and rushes.Better, grass shall grow as (or unto) reeds and rushes, the well-watered soil giving even to common herbage an intensified fertility.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. And the parched ground This means the mirage, which shall really become a pool, or lake of water, as to the traveller over the desert it appears. From ten to twelve o’clock every sunshiny day the present writer witnessed, in the month of February, 1870, the phenomenon of the mirage in the desert et-Tih, between Sinai and Palestine. It seemed a pool or lake receding with each advancing step of the camels which our party were riding. Wherever it was not level, the hummocks and elevations seemed as islands. The figure of the sharab that is, the mirage is most true to nature.
Grass reeds rushes That is, all kinds of verdure suitable to such spots, shall exist where now all is blank desolation. Amid miracles like this, by which all nature shall be glorified, the people of Jehovah shall be redeemed.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
See how the blessings of redemption, in the gifts of the Holy Ghost, are beautifully set forth, under the similitude of rivers and streams of water. And when that Holy Spirit came down, agreeably to our Lord’s own blessed promise, on the day of Pentecost; and ever since, when he comes down on the souls of his people, is not the Spirit poured out from on high, which makes every plant in the garden of Jesus to flourish? What is that river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, but God in his threefold character of persons; Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; from whom, as from an ocean, all the streams of spiritual life, grace, comfort, and consolation flow? I pray the Reader to consult some of the numberless scriptures where these truths abound; Psa 46:4 ; Joh 7:37-39 ; Isa 55:1 ; Joh 4:10-14 ; Rev 22:1-2 . Reader! do not fail to remark, how full a blessings this chapter is, in promises to the redeemed. The close of the chapter forms indeed a short, but comprehensive description of the safety and felicity of the Church, until grace is consummated in glory. There shall be a way for the redeemed to come; and this shall be an highway; a way not to be mistaken: in which there shall be no lion nor ravenous beast. Every redeemed soul shall travel it; the unclean shall not pass it; but the wayfaring man shall not err in finding it, however weak in other things his understanding may be. And the whole ransomed shall pass it, and sing the song of redemption, with everlasting joy, when sorrow and sighing is done away forever. And who doth not see in all this, the whole outlines of redemption plainly marked? Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life. And as none cometh to the Father but by him; so all and everyone that doth come, he will in no wise east out, Joh 14:6 and Joh 6:37 . And Jesus is the highway, and the way of holiness; for the holiness of his redeemed is in him, and by him. And what is an highway, but a way open to travelers? Every poor traveler to Zion can go no other way; neither will the king of it, even Jesus, suffer such as are asking the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, to err in the way. Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? They shall hear a voice behind them, saying, This is the way, walk ye it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left. Neither shall that roving lion, the devil, overcome, nor even exercise the travelers in this way unnecessarily. Jesus hath conquered him for them; and will finally conquer him in them. One perpetual song belongs to the redeemed; and, saith this scripture, they shall sing it in their coming and return. Reader, by way of confirmation, turn to those scriptures, Jer 50:4-5 ; Son 3:3 ; Isa 30:21 ; 1Co 10:13 ; Rev 7:9 to the end.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 35:7 And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, [shall be] grass with reeds and rushes.
Ver. 7. And the parched ground, &c. ] See on Isa 35:6 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the parched: Isa 29:17, Isa 44:3, Isa 44:4, Mat 21:43, Luk 13:29, Joh 4:14, Joh 7:38, 1Co 6:9-11
in the: Isa 34:13, Hos 1:10, Hos 1:11, Act 26:18, 1Jo 5:19, 1Jo 5:20, Rev 12:9-12, Rev 18:2, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3
grass with reeds: or, a court for reeds, etc. Isa 19:6
Reciprocal: Gen 24:17 – water of Deu 8:15 – who brought Jdg 6:38 – a bowl Jdg 6:39 – dry 2Ki 3:20 – filled Job 40:21 – the reed Psa 44:19 – in the Psa 63:1 – General Psa 66:12 – wealthy Psa 104:10 – He sendeth Psa 107:35 – turneth Psa 143:6 – my soul Isa 13:22 – desolate houses Isa 27:3 – water Isa 30:25 – upon every high Isa 32:2 – rivers Isa 32:15 – wilderness Isa 41:18 – General Isa 48:21 – they thirsted Isa 51:3 – make Eze 47:8 – and go down Zec 14:8 – in summer Mal 1:3 – the Mat 12:43 – dry Luk 11:24 – dry Rev 7:17 – shall lead