John Gill Commentary


John Gill Commentary
"and when he seeth a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed." — Isaiah 21:7 (ASV)
And he saw a chariot [with] a couple of horsemen
The drivers of it, or the riders in it; perhaps meaning Cyrus and Darius: a chariot of asses, [and] a chariot of camels;
by the former may be meant the Persians, who very much used mules or asses; and the Medes by the latter, who abounded in camels: the words are in the singular number, and may be rendered, "a rider of an ass, and a rider of a camel" F23; and so may describe the couple of riders along with the chariot, which may signify the whole army of the Medes and Persians, chariots being much used in war; and the rider of the ass or mule may design Cyrus, who was called a mule, because of his mixed descent; he was a Persian by his father and a Mede by his mother's side; so the oracle of Apollo told the Babylonians, that their city should stand, until a mule was king of the Medes; and the rider of the camel may point at Darius:
and he listened diligently with much attention;
the watchman that was set to watch paid the utmost attention to what he saw, and listened diligently to the noise of this chariot and horsemen, as they came nearer.