Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 15:5

"My heart crieth out for Moab; her nobles [flee] unto Zoar, to Eglath-shelishi-yah: for by the ascent of Luhith with weeping they go up; for in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of destruction." — Isaiah 15:5 (ASV)

My heart shall cry out for Moab - This is expressive of deep compassion and is proof that, in the prophet's view, the calamities that were coming upon it were exceedingly heavy. The same sentiment is expressed more fully in Isaiah 16:11; see also Jeremiah 48:36: My heart shall sound for Moab like pipes. The phrase denotes great inward pain and anguish in view of the calamities of others and is an expression of the fact that we feel ourselves oppressed and borne down by sympathy on account of their sufferings (see the note at Isaiah 21:3). It is worthy of remark that the Septuagint reads this as if it were his heart—referring to the Moabites, the heart of Moab shall cry out. So the Chaldee; and so Lowth, Michaelis, and others read it.

But there is no authority for this change in the Hebrew text, nor is it needful. In the parallel place in Jeremiah 48:36, there is no doubt that the prophet's heart is intended; and here, the phrase is designed to denote the deep compassion that a holy man of God would have, even when predicting the ills that should come upon others. How much compassion, how much deep and tender feeling should ministers of the gospel have when they are describing the final ruin—the unutterable woes of impenitent sinners under the awful wrath of God in the world of woe!

His fugitives - Margin, Or to the borders of it, even as a heifer (בריחיה b e rı̂ychehā). Jerome and the Vulgate render this her bars, and it has been explained as meaning that the prophet's voice, lamenting Moab's calamity, could be heard as far as the bars, or gates, of Zoar; or that the word bars means princes, that is, protectors, a figure similar to shields of the land (Psalms 47:10; Hosea 4:18).

The Septuagint renders it, Ἐν αὐτὴ en autē—The voice of Moab in her is heard to Zoar. But the more correct rendering is undoubtedly that of our translation, referring to the fugitives who would attempt to make their escape from Moab when the calamities would come upon her.

Unto Zoar - Zoar was a small town in the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, to which Lot fled when Sodom was overthrown (Genesis 19:23). Abulfeda writes the name Zoghar and speaks of it as existing in his day. The city of Zoar was near Sodom, so as to be exposed to the danger of being overthrown in the same manner that Sodom was, Zoar being exempted from destruction by the angel at Lot's solicitation (Genesis 19:21).

That the town lay on the east side of the Dead Sea is apparent from several considerations. Lot ascended from it to the mountain where his daughters each bore a son, who became the ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites. But these nations both dwelt on the east side of the Dead Sea.

Furthermore, Josephus, speaking of this place, calls it Ζοάρων τῆς Ἀραβίας Zoarōn tēs Arabias—Zoar of Arabia (Bell. Jud. iv. 8, 4). But the Arabia of Josephus was on the east of the Dead Sea. So the crusaders, in the expedition of King Baldwin in 1100 A.D., after marching from Hebron, proceeded around the lake and eventually came to a place called Segor, doubtless the Zoghar of Abulfeda. The probability, therefore, is that it was near the southern end of the sea, but on the eastern side.

The exact place is now unknown. In the time of Eusebius and Jerome, it is described as having many inhabitants and a Roman garrison. In the time of the crusaders, it is mentioned as a place pleasantly situated, with many palm trees. But the palm trees have disappeared, and the city's site can be only a matter of conjecture (see Robinson’s “Bib. Researches,” vol. ii. pp. 648-651).

A heifer of three years old - That is, their fugitives flying to Zoar shall lift up the voice like a heifer, for so Jeremiah in the parallel place explains it (Jeremiah 48:34). Many interpreters, however, have referred this to Zoar as an appellation of that city, denoting its flourishing condition.

Bochart refers it to Isaiah and supposes that he designed to say that he lifted his voice like a heifer. But the more obvious interpretation is that given above, which is also found in Jeremiah. The expression, however, is very obscure. See the various senses it may bear, examined in Rosenmuller and Gesenius in loc.

Gesenius renders it, To Eglath the third; and supposes, in accordance with many interpreters, that it denotes a place called Eglath, called the third in distinction from two other places of the same name. However, he also suggests that the common explanation—that it refers to a heifer three years old—may be defended.

In the third year, he says, the heifer was most vigorous and, hence, was used for an offering (Genesis 15:9). Until that age, she was accustomed to go unbroken and bore no yoke (Pliny, 8, 4, 5). If this refers to Moab, therefore, it may mean that until now it was vigorous, unsubdued, and active; but that now, like the heifer, it was to be broken and brought under the yoke by chastisement. The expression is very difficult, and it is perhaps impossible to determine the true sense.

By the mounting up of Luhith - The ascent of Luhith. It is evident from Jeremiah 48:5 that it was a mountain, but its location is not clearly ascertained. Eusebius supposes it was a place between Areopolis and Zoar (see Reland’s “Palestine,” pp. 577-579). The whole region there is mountainous.

In the way of Horonaim - This was doubtless a town of Moab, but where it was situated is uncertain. The word means two holes. The region abounds to this day with caves, which are used for dwellings (Seetzen). The place probably lay on a declivity from which one descended from Luhith.

A cry of destruction - Hebrew, Breaking. A cry appropriate to the great calamity that would come upon Moab.