SUMMARY
These verses look forward to a time when the remnant of Israel, scattered across the ancient world, are summoned back to their homeland.
ANALYSIS
The Book of IsaiahIsaiah, son of Amoz, who prophesied in Jerusalem, is included among the prophets of the eighth century BCE (along with Amos, Hosea, and Micah)--preachers who boldly proclaimed God's word of judgment against the economic, social, and religious disorders of their time. More often utilizes the themes of exile and return. The theme of return is especially prominent in Isaiah 40-66, but it also shows up in earlier chapters such as this one. In these verses, the nations of the earth will respond to the “root of Jesse” (a reference to a messianic royal figure), and the remnant will be recovered from the far reaches of the ancient world (vv. 11-12).
But the return of the remnant is also accompanied by a vision of dominance over the neighboring nations (vv. 14-15). Specific attention is paid to Egypt (v. 15) and Assyria (v. 16), two of the great river-based civilizations in the first millennium BCE. Echoing themes from the Book of Exodus, liberation is a messy business and doesn’t happen apart from the bloody, human realities of conquest and defeat.
