Isaiah 21:14
in Isaiah 21Bring water for the thirsty, O dwellers of Tema; meet the refugees with food.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Unto him that was thirsty they brought water; the inhabitants of the land of Tema did meet the fugitives with their bread.
KJV
The inhabitants of the land of Tema brought water to him that was thirsty, they prevented with their bread him that fled.
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 21
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe inhabitants of the land of Tema,.... This country had its name from Tema, one of the sons of Ishmael, Gen 25:15. The Targum calls it the land of the south, as if it was Teman.
This site's exposition
In the thickets of Arabia you must lodge
on Isaiah 21:13-15
The burden against Arabia sends the "caravans of Dedanites" to lodge "In the thickets of Arabia". Verse 14 tells the "dwellers of Tema" to "meet the refugees", which Gill reads against the custom that owed a fleeing man bread and water. Verse 15 names what they flee: "the sword".
This site's exposition
Bring water for the thirsty
Tema descends from a son of Ishmael named at Genesis 25:15, and Dedan from Abraham through Keturah at Genesis 25:1 to 3. The refugees and their hosts were distant kin. Job 6:19 pictures the caravans of Tema looking for water.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 14, 15.) Bring water to the thirsty, O inhabitants of the land of the South; meet the one fleeing with bread. For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the severity of battle.
(Verse 13 onwards) Burden in Arabia. In the evening you will sleep in the thicket, in the paths of Dodanim. Bring water to the thirsty ones you encounter: you who live in the land of the South, offer bread to the ones fleeing. Because they have fled from the swords, from the menacing sword, from the drawn bow, from the severity of battle.
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book 23.49 · Written before 604.
proposed
Again, by bread is set forth the instruction of heavenly doctrine, as is said by the prophet, "You who dwell in the land of the south, meet with bread him that is flying away." For they dwell in the land of the south who, placed within [the] holy church, are breathed upon by the love of the Spirit from on high. But he is flying who is wishing to escape from the evils of this world. He then who dwells in the land of the south should meet with bread him that is flying; that is, he who is already full of the Holy Spirit within the church should console with words of instruction the one who is endeavoring to escape from his evil ways.
He exhorts them to mercy: meeting, you Arabs; the land of the south, that is, of the noon, below: deal your bread to the hungry (Isa 58:7).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
2 A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 3 Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Fled - Whereby he implies, that those other Arabians, against whom this prophecy is principally directed, should be reduced to great scarcity, and forced to flee for their lives, from a bloody enemy.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The land of Tema “The southern country” - Θαιμαν, Sept.; Austri, Vulg. They read תימן teiman, which seems to be right; for probably the inhabitants of Tema might be involved in the same calamity with their brethren and neighbors of Kedar, and not in a condition to give them assistance, and to relieve them, in their flight before the enemy, with bread and water.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Of the land of Tema - Tema was one of the sons of Ishmael Gen 25:15, and is supposed to have populated the city of Thema in Arabia Deserta. The word denotes hero one of the tribes of Ishmael, or of the Arabians. Job speaks Job 6:19 of ‘the troops of Tema,’ and Jeremiah Jer 25:23 connects Tema and Dedan together. Jerome and Eusebius say that the village of Theman (Θαιμάν Thaiman) existed in their time. It was, according to Jerome, five, and according to Eusebius, fifteen miles from Petra, and was then occupied as a Roman garrison (Onomas Urb. et Locor). Ptolemy speaks of a city called Themme (Θαιμάν Themmē) in Arabia Deserta. This city lies, according to D’Anville, in longitude 57 degrees East, and in latitude 27 degrees North. According to Seetsen, it is on the road usually pursued by caravans from Mecca to Damascus. Lowth renders it ‘The southern country,’ but without authority. The Septuagint renders it, Θαιμάν Thaiman - ‘Thaiman.’ Brought water - Margin, ‘Bring ye.’ This might be rendered in the imperative, but the connection seems rather to require that it be read as a declaration that they did so. To bring water to the thirsty was an act of hospitality, and especially in eastern countries, where water was so scarce, and where it was of so much consequence to the traveler in the burning sands and deserts. The idea is, that the inhabitants of the land would be oppressed and pursued by an enemy; and that the Arabians, referred to by the prophet Isa 21:13, would be driven from their homes; and be dependent on others; that they would wander through the vast deserts, deprived of the necessaries of life; and that they would be dependent on the charity of the people of Tema for the supply of their needs. The following illustration of this passage has been kindly furnished me by the Rev. […]
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לִקְרַ֥את | likrat | to meet | H7122 → | 139 times |
| צָמֵ֖א | tzame' | [the] thirsty | H6771 → | 9 times |
| הֵתָ֣יוּ | hetayu | bring | H857 → | 21 times |
| מָ֑יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵי֙ | yoshevei | O inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תֵּימָ֔א | teima' | Tema | H8485 → | |
| בְּלַחְמ֖וֹ | belachmo | with bread his | H3899 → | 298 times |
| קִדְּמ֥וּ | kidemu | they met | H6923 → | |
| נֹדֵֽד׃ | noded | fugitive[s] | H5074 → | 28 times |
לִקְרַ֥אתto meet
likratH7122 →139 times
צָמֵ֖א[the] thirsty
tzame'H6771 →9 times
הֵתָ֣יוּbring
hetayuH857 →21 times
מָ֑יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
יֹשְׁבֵי֙O inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
תֵּימָ֔אTema
teima'H8485 →
בְּלַחְמ֖וֹwith bread his
belachmoH3899 →298 times
קִדְּמ֥וּthey met
kidemuH6923 →
נֹדֵֽד׃fugitive[s]
nodedH5074 →28 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 12:20On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
it leads to
- Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 25:21–22
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
- Exodus 23:4–5
If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 6:27
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- 2 Kings 6:22
“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return…
- Matthew 5:44
Through
Proverbs 25:21If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
it leads to
- Romans 12:20–21
On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
- Proverbs 24:17
Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
- Romans 12:20–21
Through
1 Peter 4:9Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
- Hebrews 13:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 23.49; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.