Isaiah 16:8

“For the fields of Heshbon languish, &c.] Through drought; or because of the forage of the enemy, and their treading upon them; or because there were no men left to till and manure them. Of Heshbon (see Gill on “<231504>Isaiah 15:4”). It seems to have been a place famous for fields and pastures, and to have been a very fruitful and well watered place; hence we read of the fish pools in Heshbon, (<220704>Song of Solomon 7:4) though Aben Ezra and Kimchi think the word signifies vines, as they suppose it does in (<053232>Deuteronomy 32:32): [and] the vine of Sibmah; called Shebam and Shibmah, in (<043203>Numbers 32:3,38) thought to be the Seba of Ptolemyf323; and seems to have been famous for…”

“fields--vine-fields (Deu 32:32). vine of Sibmah--near Heshbon: namely, languishes. lords of . . . heathen--The heathen princes, the Assyrians, &c., who invaded Moab, destroyed his vines. So Jeremiah in the parallel place (Jer 48:32-33). MAURER thinks the following words require rather the rendering, "Its (the vine of Sibmah) shoots (the wines got from them) overpowered (by its generous flavor and potency) the lords of the nations" (Gen 49:11-12, Gen 49:22). come . . . Jazer--They (the vine shoots) reached even to Jazer, fifteen miles from Heshbon. wandered--They overran in wild luxuriance the wilderness of Arabia, encompassing Moab. the sea--the Dead Sea; or else some lake near Jazer now…”

“For the fields of Heshbon - (See the note at Isaiah 15:4.) Languish - They are parched up with drought. The ‘fields’ here evidently mean “vineyards,” for so the parallelism demands. So in Deuteronomy 32:32 : Their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah. And the vine of Sibmah - Sibmah, or Shibmah, was a city of Reuben Numbers 32:38; Joshua 13:19. Jeremiah, in the parallel place Jeremiah 48:32 speaks of the vine of Sibmah also. He also says that the enemies of Moab had taken Sibmah, and that the vine and wine had been destroyed Jeremiah 48:33. There was no more certain mode of producing desolation in a land where grapes were extensively cultivated than to cut down the…”

“The lords - The Assyrians or Chaldeans, the great rulers of the eastern nations. Plants - The choicest vines. Under which one particular he seems to understand, not only all other fruits and goods, but even their choicest people. They - The lords of the heathen are come as far as Jazer, which is the utmost border of Moab. Wandered - The Moabites fled for their lives, and wandered hither and thither in the wilderness of Moab. Branches - Her people, called plants before. Stretched - Driven from their own homes, and dispersed into several countries. The sea - Over the Dead - sea, which was the border of Moab. They were forced to flee out of their own country to save their lives. Isaiah 16:9”

“16:8 The vineyards at Sibmah were located by the Moabite city of Heshbon. • Moab was like a luxuriant vine that extends far and wide, but Israel’s beautiful vine reached to the ends of the earth (27:6). • The location of Jazer is unknown.”

“the fields: Isa 15:4, Isa 24:7; Sa2 1:21 the vine: Isa 16:9; Num 32:38 Sibmah: Jos 13:19 the lords: Isa 10:7; Jer 27:6, Jer 27:7 Jazer: Num 32:3; Jos 13:25 stretched out: or, plucked up Isaiah 16:9”