Isaiah 17:6

"It will be like when the harvester gathers the wheat, and his arm reaps the grain. Yes, it will be like when one gleans grain in the valley of Rephaim."

Key Reflection

In Isaiah 17:6, the prophet employs vivid imagery to describe the impending destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The harvest imagery signifies that just as a harvester reaps wheat and grain in an orderly fashion, so too would God’s judgment sweep through the land, leaving only what could not be easily accessed or gathered, much like gleanings left behind in the valley of Rephaim. This metaphor conveys the thoroughness and finality of divine judgment, ensuring that Israel’s prosperity and security would be decisively cut off.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Yet gleaning-grapes ... -They shall not all be removed, or destroyed. A “few” shall be left, as a man who is gathering grapes or olives will leave a few that are inaccessible on the topmost boughs, or the furthest branches. Those would be usually the poorest, and so it may be implied that those left in Israel would be among the poorer inhabitants of the land. Two or three -A very few - such as would be left in gathering grapes, or in endeavoring to shake olives from a tree. Four or five -A very few that would remain on the furthest branches, and that could not be shaken off or reached.

More from Isaiah 17

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