Bible Strands
Isaiah 10:30
Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and Anathoth as Assyrian forces advance through the territory of Benjamin. This proclamation follows the flight of Ramah and Gibeah of Saul and immediately precedes the flight of Madmenah and Gebim.
The words — The imperative צַהֲלִ֥י (tza.ha.Li) literally means "cry aloud" or "shout," while the descriptor עֲנִיָּ֥ה ('a.ni.Yah) translates directly to "afflicted" or "wretched." These terms frame the call for urgent attention and the description of impending distress.
The thread — Gallim appears in 1 Samuel 25:44 as the hometown of Palti, and Anathoth is identified in Jeremiah 1:1 and Joshua 21:18 as a Levitical city and Jeremiah’s hometown. The repeated naming of these Benjaminite towns ties this judgment to their historical and geographical location.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of imminent military collapse without offering comfort or explanation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that geographic proximity to a threatened capital guarantees shared ruin.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 25:44 But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
- Jeremiah 1:1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.
- Joshua 21:18 Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Judges 18:7 So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
- Judges 18:29 They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.
- 1 Kings 2:26 Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried the ark of the Lord GOD before my father David, and you suffered through all that my father suffered.”
- Jeremiah 32:8 Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.