Discovery BoxIsaiah 11:15-16
Context11:15 The Lord will divide 1 the gulf 2 of the Egyptian Sea; 3
he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River 4 and send a strong wind, 5
he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, 6
and enable them to walk across in their sandals.
11:16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria
for the remnant of his people, 7
just as there was for Israel,
when 8 they went up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 42:15
Context42:15 I will make the trees on the mountains and hills wither up; 9
I will dry up all their vegetation.
I will turn streams into islands, 10
and dry up pools of water. 11
Isaiah 43:16
Context43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
Isaiah 51:15
Context51:15 I am the Lord your God,
who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.
The Lord who commands armies is his name!
Psalms 74:15
Context74:15 You broke open the spring and the stream; 12
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers. 13
Jeremiah 50:38
Context50:38 A drought will come upon her land;
her rivers and canals will be dried up. 14
All of this will happen because her land is filled with idols. 15
Her people act like madmen because of 16 those idols they fear. 17
Jeremiah 51:32
Context51:32 They will report that the fords have been captured,
the reed marshes have been burned,
the soldiers are terrified. 18
Jeremiah 51:36
Context51:36 Therefore the Lord says,
“I will stand up for your cause.
I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. 19
I will dry up their sea.
I will make their springs run dry. 20
Revelation 16:12
Context16:12 Then 21 the sixth angel 22 poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and dried up its water 23 to prepare the way 24 for the kings from the east. 25
[11:15] 1 tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”
[11:15] 2 tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
[11:15] 3 sn That is, the Red Sea.
[11:15] 4 tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.
[11:15] 5 tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.
[11:15] 6 tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.
[11:16] 7 tn Heb “and there will be a highway for the remnant of his people who remain, from Assyria.”
[11:16] 8 tn Heb “in the day” (so KJV).
[42:15] 9 tn Heb “I will dry up the mountains and hills.” The “mountains and hills” stand by synecdoche for the trees that grow on them. Some prefer to derive the verb from a homonymic root and translate, “I will lay waste.”
[42:15] 10 tc The Hebrew text reads, “I will turn streams into coastlands [or “islands”].” Scholars who believe that this reading makes little sense have proposed an emendation of אִיִּים (’iyyim, “islands”) to צִיּוֹת (tsiyyot, “dry places”; cf. NCV, NLT, TEV). However, since all the versions support the MT reading, there is insufficient grounds for an emendation here. Although the imagery of changing rivers into islands is somewhat strange, J. N. Oswalt describes this imagery against the backdrop of rivers of the Near East. The receding of these rivers at times occasioned the appearance of previously submerged islands (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:126).
[42:15] 11 sn The imagery of this verse, which depicts the Lord bringing a curse of infertility to the earth, metaphorically describes how the Lord will destroy his enemies.
[74:15] 12 sn You broke open the spring and the stream. Perhaps this alludes to the way in which God provided water for the Israelites as they traveled in the wilderness following the exodus (see Ps 78:15-16, 20; 105:41).
[74:15] 13 sn Perpetually flowing rivers are rivers that contain water year round, unlike the seasonal streams that flow only during the rainy season. Perhaps the psalmist here alludes to the drying up of the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the land of Canaan under Joshua (see Josh 3-4).
[50:38] 14 tc Heb “a drought against her waters and they will dry up.” Several of the commentaries and modern English versions accept the emendation proposed by BHS and read here “sword” (חֶרֶב [kherev] in place of חֹרֶב [khorev], the change of only one vowel) in keeping with the rest of the context. According to BHS this reading is supported by the Lucianic and Hexaplaric recensions of the LXX (the Greek version) and the Syriac version. In this case the drying up of the waters (of the canals) is attributed to neglect brought about by war conditions. However, it is just as likely that these versions are influenced by the repetition of the word “sword” as the Hebrew and the other versions are influenced by the concept of “drying up” of the waters to read “drought.” Hence the present translation, along with the majority of modern English versions, retains the Hebrew “drought.”
[50:38] 15 tn Heb “for it is a land of idols.” The “for,” however, goes back to the whole context not just to the preceding prediction (cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 1.c and compare usage in Isa 21:6 listed there).
[50:38] 16 tc Or “Her people boast in.” This translation is based on the reading of the majority of Hebrew
[50:38] 17 tn Heb “by the terrors.” However, as HALOT 40 s.v. אֵימָה indicates these are “images that cause terror” (a substitution of the effect for the cause). The translation of this line follows the interpretation of the majority of modern English versions and all the commentaries consulted. NIV, NCV, and God’s Word reflect a different syntax, understanding the subject to be the idols just mentioned rather than “her people” which is supplied here for the sake of clarity (the Hebrew text merely says “they.”) Following that lead, one could render “but those idols will go mad with terror.” This makes excellent sense in the context which often refers to effects (vv. 36b, d, 37c, 38b) of the war that is coming. However, that interpretation does not fit as well with the following “therefore/so,” which basically introduces a judgment or consequence after an accusation of sin.
[51:32] 18 tn The words “They will report that” have been supplied in the translation to show the linkage between this verse and the previous one. This is still a part of the report of the messengers. The meaning of the word translated “reed marshes” has seemed inappropriate to some commentators because it elsewhere refers to “pools.” However, all the commentaries consulted agree that the word here refers to the reedy marshes that surrounded Babylon. (For a fuller discussion regarding the meaning of this word and attempts to connect it with a word meaning “fortress” see W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 2:427.)
[51:36] 19 tn Heb “I will avenge your vengeance [= I will take vengeance for you; the phrase involves a verb and a cognate accusative].” The meaning of the phrase has been spelled out in more readily understandable terms.
[51:36] 20 tn Heb “I will dry up her [Babylon’s] sea and make her fountain dry.” “Their” has been substituted for “her” because “Babylonians” has been inserted in the previous clause and is easier to understand than the personification of Babylon = “her.”
[16:12] 21 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
[16:12] 22 tn Grk “the sixth”; the referent (the sixth angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[16:12] 23 tn Grk “and its water was dried up.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.
[16:12] 24 tn Grk “in order that the way might be prepared.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one.
[16:12] 25 tn Grk “from the rising of the sun.” BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατολή 2.a takes this as a geographical direction: “ἀπὸ ἀ. ἡλίου…from the east Rv 7:2; 16:12; simply ἀπὸ ἀ. …21:13.”
