Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 35:1

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." — Isaiah 35:1 (ASV)

The wilderness and the solitary place - This is evidently figurative language, such as is often employed by the prophets. The word translated ‘solitary place’ (ציה tsı̂yâh), properly denotes a dry place, a place without springs and streams of water; and since such places produce no greenery and nothing to sustain life, the word comes to mean a desert. Such expressions are often used in the Scriptures to express moral or spiritual desolation, and the phrase is evidently used in this sense here. It does not refer to the desolations of Judea but to all places that might properly be called a moral wilderness or a spiritual desert. Thus, it aptly expresses the condition of the world that was to be benefited by the blessings foretold in this chapter.

The parallel expressions in Isaiah 41:17-19 and Isaiah 44:3-4 show that this is the sense in which the phrase is used here. The meaning is that every situation which might appropriately be called a moral wilderness—that is, the whole pagan world—would ultimately be made glad. The sense is that such great and happy changes would take place in these desolations as if the wilderness were to become a vast field producing the lily and the rose, or as if (Isaiah 35:2) the glory of Lebanon and the beauty of Sharon and Carmel were to be imparted to such places.

Shall be glad for them - This is evidently a personification, a beautiful poetic figure by which the wilderness is represented as expressing joy. The sense is that the desolate moral world would be filled with joy on account of the blessings predicted here. The phrase ‘for them,’ expressed in Hebrew by the affix מ (m), doubtless means on account of the blessings foretold in this prophecy. Lowth supposes, however, that the letter has been added to the word ‘shall be glad’ (ישׂשׂוּ y^es'us'û) by mistake, because the following word (מדבר midbâr) begins with a מ (m).

The reading of the present Hebrew text is followed by none of the ancient versions, but it is nevertheless probably the correct reading, and there is no authority for changing it. The sense is expressed above by the phrase ‘shall rejoice on account of the things contained in this prophecy,’ namely, the destruction of all God’s foes and the universal establishment of His kingdom. Those who wish to see a more critical examination of the words used here may find it in Rosenmüller and Gesenius.

And blossom as the rose - The word translated ‘rose’ (חבצלת chăbı̂tsâleth) occurs only here and in Song of Solomon 2:1, where it is also translated ‘rose.’ The Septuagint translates it Κρίνον (Krinon), ‘Lily.’ The Vulgate also translates it Lilium—the lily. The Syriac also translates it by a word that signifies the lily or narcissus, or, according to the Syriac lexicographers, ‘the meadow-saffron,’ an autumnal flower springing from poisonous bulbous roots, and of a white and violet color. The sense, however, is not materially affected whatever the meaning of the word. Either the rose, the lily, or the saffron would convey the idea of beauty compared with the solitude and desolation of the desert. The word ‘rose’ with us, being a better-known flower, conveys a more striking image of beauty, and there is no impropriety in retaining it.