The Meaning of Isaiah 21:11 Explained

Isaiah 21:11

KJV: The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

YLT: The burden of Dumah. Unto me is one calling from Seir 'Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?'

Darby: The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

ASV: The burden of Dumah. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?

Discover Isaiah 21:11

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 21:11?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 21:11 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 21:11 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 21:11?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The burden  of Dumah.  He calleth  to me out of Seir,  Watchman,  what of the night?  Watchman,  what of the night? 

What does Isaiah 21:11 Mean?

Study Notes

burden
Babylon
The city, Babylon is not in view here, as the immediate context shows. It is important to note the significance of the name when used symbolically. "Babylon" is the Greek form: invariably in the O.T. Hebrew the word is simply Babel, the meaning of which is confusion, and in this sense the word is used symbolically.
(1) In the prophets, when the actual city is not meant, the reference is to the "confusion" into which the whole social order of the world has fallen under Gentile world-domination. (See "Times of the Gentiles," Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 ; Isaiah 13:4 gives the divine view of the welter of warring Gentile powers. The divine order is given in Isaiah 11. Israel in her own land, the centre of the divine government of the world and channel of the divine blessing; and the Gentiles blessed in association with Israel. Anything else is, politically, mere "babel."
(2) In Revelation 14:8-11 ; Revelation 16:19 the Gentile world-system is in view in connection with Armageddon; Revelation 16:14 ; Revelation 19:21 while in Revelation 17. the reference is to apostate Christianity, destroyed by the nations Revelation 17:16 headed up under the Beast; Daniel 7:8 ; Revelation 19:20 and false prophet. In Isaiah the political Babylon is in view, literally as to the then existing city, and symbolically as to the times of the Gentiles. In the Revelation both the symbolical- political and symbolical-religious Babylon are in view, for there both are alike under the tyranny of the Beast. Religious Babylon is destroyed by political Babylon Revelation 17:16 political Babylon by the appearing of the Lord Revelation 19:19-21 . That Babylon the city is not to be rebuilt is clear from; Isaiah 13:19-22 ; Jeremiah 51:24-26 ; Jeremiah 51:62-64 . By political Babylon is meant the Gentile world-system. (See "World,"; John 7:7 ; Revelation 13:8 ) It may be added that, in Scripture symbolism, Egypt stands for the world as such; Babylon for the world of corrupt power and corrupted religion; Nineveh for the pride, the haughty glory of the world.
A "burden," Heb. massa= a heavy, weighty thing, is a message, or oracle concerning Babylon, Assyria, Jerusalem, etc. It is "heavy" because the wrath of God is in it, and grievous for the prophet to declare.
Babylon
The city, Babylon is not in view here, as the immediate context shows. It is important to note the significance of the name when used symbolically. "Babylon" is the Greek form: invariably in the O.T. Hebrew the word is simply Babel, the meaning of which is confusion, and in this sense the word is used symbolically.
(1) In the prophets, when the actual city is not meant, the reference is to the "confusion" into which the whole social order of the world has fallen under Gentile world-domination. (See "Times of the Gentiles," Luke 21:24 ; Revelation 16:14 ; Isaiah 13:4 gives the divine view of the welter of warring Gentile powers. The divine order is given in Isaiah 11. Israel in her own land, the centre of the divine government of the world and channel of the divine blessing; and the Gentiles blessed in association with Israel. Anything else is, politically, mere "babel."
(2) In Revelation 14:8-11 ; Revelation 16:19 the Gentile world-system is in view in connection with Armageddon; Revelation 16:14 ; Revelation 19:21 while in Revelation 17. the reference is to apostate Christianity, destroyed by the nations Revelation 17:16 headed up under the Beast; Daniel 7:8 ; Revelation 19:20 and false prophet. In Isaiah the political Babylon is in view, literally as to the then existing city, and symbolically as to the times of the Gentiles. In the Revelation both the symbolical- political and symbolical-religious Babylon are in view, for there both are alike under the tyranny of the Beast. Religious Babylon is destroyed by political Babylon Revelation 17:16 political Babylon by the appearing of the Lord Revelation 19:19-21 . That Babylon the city is not to be rebuilt is clear from; Isaiah 13:19-22 ; Jeremiah 51:24-26 ; Jeremiah 51:62-64 . By political Babylon is meant the Gentile world-system. (See "World,"; John 7:7 ; Revelation 13:8 ) It may be added that, in Scripture symbolism, Egypt stands for the world as such; Babylon for the world of corrupt power and corrupted religion; Nineveh for the pride, the haughty glory of the world.

Verse Meaning

An Edomite kept asking Isaiah , the watchman who saw by prophetic revelation how things would go (cf. Isaiah 21:6-9), how long the night of oppression on his nation would last. "Edom" is "Dumah" in the Hebrew text, a word play. Dumah also may have been the name of a place in Edom or the Akkadian designation for Edom (Udumu). The Dumah in Genesis 25:14 was one of Ishmael"s rather than Esau"s descendants. Dumah means "silence," which is appropriate here since this oracle is silent (Heb. dumah) concerning Edom"s (Heb. "edom) ultimate fate.
"As a sick person lying awake through the long, agonizing hours of night cries out to know what the time is and how much of the night has passed, so Edom, feeling the oppression of Assyria, will call out to the prophet to ask him how much longer the oppression must endure." [1]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 21

1  The prophet, bewailing the captivity of his people,
6  sees in a vision the fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians
11  Edom, scorning the prophet, is moved to repentance
13  The set time of Arabia's calamity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 21:11 mean?

The burden against Dumah To me He calls out of Seir Watchman what of the night Watchman of the night
מַשָּׂ֖א דּוּמָ֑ה אֵלַי֙ קֹרֵ֣א מִשֵּׂעִ֔יר שֹׁמֵר֙ מַה־ ؟ מִלַּ֔יְלָה שֹׁמֵ֖ר ؟ מִלֵּֽיל

מַשָּׂ֖א  The  burden  against 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מַשָּׂא 
Sense: load, bearing, tribute, burden, lifting.
דּוּמָ֑ה  Dumah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: דּוּמָה 
Sense: son of Ishmael and most probably the founder of the Ishmaelite tribe of Arabia.
אֵלַי֙  To  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
קֹרֵ֣א  He  calls 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
מִשֵּׂעִ֔יר  out  of  Seir 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֵׂעִיר 
Sense: patriarch of the Horites, the inhabitants of Edom before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites.
שֹׁמֵר֙  Watchman 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
؟ מִלַּ֔יְלָה  of  the  night 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
שֹׁמֵ֖ר  Watchman 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: שָׁמַר  
Sense: to keep, guard, observe, give heed.
؟ מִלֵּֽיל  of  the  night 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 21:11?

Loading Information...

Similar Scriptures for Isaiah 21:11

Genesis 25:14 [5]
Obadiah 1:1-16 [3]
1 Chronicles 1:30 [3]
Jeremiah 37:17 [2]
Jeremiah 49:7-22 [2]
Amos 1:11-12 [2]
Isaiah 63:1-6 [2]
Isaiah 21:6 [2]
Psalms 137:7 [2]
Joel 3:19 [2]
Amos 1:6 [2]
read more (6)
Deuteronomy 2:5 [2]
Genesis 32:3 [2]
Malachi 1:2-4 [2]
Ezekiel 35:1-15 [2]
Isaiah 34:1-17 [2]
Numbers 24:18 [2]
read less