Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 15:4

"And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh; their voice is heard even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembleth within him." — Isaiah 15:4 (ASV)

And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh ...

Of the places so named:

1. Heshbon (now Heshan) was twenty miles east of the Jordan, on a line from the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. It is first mentioned as in the power of Sihon, king of the Amorites (Numbers 21:26). On his overthrow, it was assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Numbers 32:37) and became a city of the Levites (Joshua 21:39). It had probably fallen into the hands of the Moabites, to whom it had originally belonged (Numbers 21:26). Its ruins exhibit architecture of various periods: Jewish, Roman, and Saracenic.

2. Elealeh, obviously near Heshbon, had shared its fate (Numbers 32:3 and Numbers 32:37). The ancient name still attaches to its ruins in the form El-A’al.

3. Jahaz was the scene of the battle between Sihon and the Israelites (Numbers 21:23; Deuteronomy 2:32; Judges 11:20) and was also within the region assigned to Reuben (Joshua 13:10), north of the Arnon. The language of Isaiah implies that it was at some distance from the other two cities; their cry was to be heard even there. In the Moabite inscription, it appears as annexed to Dibon (Records of the Past, xi. 167). Eusebius (in his Onomasticon) names it as between Medeba and Debus, the latter name probably being identical with Dibon.

The panic is intensified by the fact that even the “armed soldiers” of Moab are powerless to help and can only join in the ineffectual wailing.