Bible Strands
Isaiah 21:13
This is the burden against Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia you must lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers an oracle against Arabia, commanding the caravans of Dedanites to camp in the region's thickets. This declaration follows the watchman's report of both morning and night in Isaiah 21:12 and immediately precedes the command for Tema's inhabitants to supply refugees in Isaiah 21:14.
The words — The Hebrew מַשָּׂא (maśśāʾ) functions as a technical term for a prophetic oracle or burden, while תָּלִינוּ (tālinû) literally means "you will lodge" or encamp. The phrase אֹרְחֹת דְּדָנִים ('ōrḥōt dəḏānîm) directly identifies the travelers as "caravans of Dedanites."
The thread — Genesis 25:3 and 1 Chronicles 1:32 trace Dedan to Abraham's son Jokshan, establishing the group's genealogical origin. Jeremiah 25:23 later groups Dedan with Tema and Buz among the distant nations summoned to face divine judgment.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states that foreign merchant groups will be stripped of their routes and forced into temporary, exposed encampments in Arabia. It requires the reader to recognize that commercial movements and geopolitical alliances are subject to prophetic warning rather than autonomous control.
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
The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall ye lodge, O ye travelling companies of Dedanim.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 25:23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
- Genesis 25:3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.
- 1 Chronicles 1:32 The sons born to Keturah, Abraham’s concubine: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. The sons of Jokshan: Sheba and Dedan.
- Ezekiel 27:15 The men of Dedan were your clients; many coastlands were your market; they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.
- 1 Kings 10:15 not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
- 1 Chronicles 1:9 The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
- Isaiah 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
- Isaiah 13:20 She will never be inhabited or settled from generation to generation; no nomad will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flock there.
- Jeremiah 49:28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!
- Ezekiel 27:20 Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding.