Isaiah 17

Isaiah 13–23 is a collection of oracles addressed to various nations. Here a "burden" is a weighty message that the prophet receives and delivers, that is, an oracle. Following the oracle against Moab in chapters 15–16, chapter 17 addresses Damascus and also places Ephraim (the northern kingdom of Israel), which had allied itself with Damascus, under the same judgment.

Outline

• Verses 1–3 Damascus ceases to be a city and becomes a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken and become places where flocks lie down. The fortress of Ephraim and the remnant of Aram come to an end.
• Verses 4–6 In that day the glory of Jacob is made thin. It is like a field after the harvest, or like the valley of Rephaim after the ears have been gleaned. Yet gleanings remain, just as two or three berries are left at the top of an olive tree and four or five on its outermost branches.
• Verses 7–8 In that day a man looks to his Maker, the Holy One of Israel. He no longer looks to the altars made by his own hands, nor to the Asherah poles (KJV "groves") or the sun images.
• Verses 9–11 The strong cities become desolate, because the people have forgotten the God of their salvation and have not been mindful of the rock of their strength. The pleasant plants and strange slips they carefully planted yield no harvest in the day of grief.
• Verses 12–14 Many nations rage like the roaring of the sea, but when the Lord rebukes them, they are scattered like chaff and dust. Those who brought terror at evening are gone before the morning.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 17:6 "Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it": This reflects the theme in Isaiah that a remnant remains even in the midst of judgment.
• Isaiah 17:7 "His eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel": This depicts a turning away from idols to God.
• Isaiah 17:10 "Thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation": This states the reason for the judgment.

People and Places

• Damascus: The capital of Aram.
• Aroer: A place whose cities are to be forsaken. Interpreters differ on which location is meant.
• Ephraim: A name representing the northern kingdom of Israel, derived from one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
• Valley of Rephaim: A valley near Jerusalem that was used for growing grain.
• Asherah: A Canaanite goddess, or the wooden pole used in her worship.

Considerations for Reading

• Historical background: Many interpreters regard this chapter as an oracle from the period when Rezin king of Aram and Pekah king of the northern kingdom of Israel were allied (see Isaiah 7). On this reading, it is connected with the fall of Damascus to Assyria in 732 BC.
• The connection of verses 12–14: A common interpretation links the "nations" of verses 12–14 with the overnight destruction of the Assyrian army (Isaiah 37).
• The view that the prophecy is not yet fulfilled: Some interpreters in the dispensationalist tradition regard verse 1 as a prophecy awaiting future fulfillment, because Damascus remains an inhabited city to this day. Other interpreters, by contrast, hold that it was already fulfilled in antiquity and that the "heap" is poetic hyperbole.
• The "pleasant plants" of verse 10: Some interpret these as gardens tended in pagan cults. The text itself does not directly identify them.