Isaiah 6:2

6:2 Seraphs ¹  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ²  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Isaiah 21:11

Bad News for Seir

21:11 Here is a message about Dumah: ³ 

Someone calls to me from Seir, ⁴ 

“Watchman, what is left of the night?

Watchman, what is left of the night?” ⁵ 

Isaiah 40:3

40:3 A voice cries out,

“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;

construct in the desert a road for our God.

[6:2]  ¹ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ² sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[21:11]  ³ tn The noun דּוּמָה (dumah) means “silence,” but here it is a proper name, probably referring to a site in northern Arabia or to the nation of Edom. See BDB 189 s.v. II דּוּמָה. If Dumah was an area in northern Arabia, it would be of interest to the Edomites because of its strategic position on trade routes which they used. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:398.

[21:11]  ⁴ sn Seir is another name for Edom. See BDB 973 s.v. שֵׂעִיר.

[21:11]  ⁵ sn The “night” probably here symbolizes distress and difficult times. See BDB 539 s.v. לַיְלָה.