Isaiah 21:7

When he sees chariots with teams of horsemen, riders on donkeys, riders on camels, he must be alert, fully alert.”

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord commands the prophet to station a lookout on a tower to report any approaching forces. The lookout is positioned to observe and announce what he sees from his post.

The words — The Hebrew verb רָאָה (ra'ah) means "he will see," establishing the lookout's primary duty of observation. The noun רֶכֶב (rechev) denotes a "rider" or "chariot," specifying the military equipment being tracked.

The thread — This watchman motif appears in Isaiah 21:9, where riders announce Babylon's fall, and echoes the military imagery of Isaiah 37:24. The New Testament applies the same posture of sustained attention to spiritual vigilance in Hebrews 2:1.

Why it lands — The text demands immediate, undivided attention to incoming forces before drawing conclusions about their destination. A reader must recognize that sustained vigilance is required to accurately process and report what is observed.

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

וְרָ֣אָהve./Ra.'ahand/ he will see רֶ֗כֶבRe.kheva rider צֶ֚מֶדTze.meda pair of פָּֽרָשִׁ֔יםpa.ra.Shimhorses רֶ֥כֶבRe.kheva rider of חֲמ֖וֹרcha.Mora donkey רֶ֣כֶבRe.kheva rider of גָּמָ֑לga.Mala camel וְהִקְשִׁ֥יבve./hik.Shivand/ he will pay attention קֶ֖שֶׁבKe.shevattentiveness רַב־rav-greatness of קָֽשֶׁב׃Ka.shevattentiveness

King James Version

And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed:

Cross-references

Isaiah 21:9 Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
Isaiah 37:24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.
Hebrews 2:1 We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.