Isaiah 60, Light Dawns on Jerusalem

Isaiah has been describing a future Jerusalem.

Isaiah 60:1-3, YHWH rises as a sun

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,

    and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth

    and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the LORD rises upon you

    and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

The light of YHWH, like the sun, rises to push back darkness and bring glory to Jerusalem.

Isaiah 60:4-7, Radiant, with daughters on your hip

“Lift up your eyes and look about you:

    All assemble and come to you;

your sons come from afar,

    and your daughters are carried on the hip.

Then you will look and be radiant,

    your heart will throb and swell with joy;

the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,

    to you the riches of the nations will come.

Herds of camels will cover your land,

    young camels of Midian and Ephah.

And all from Sheba will come,

    bearing gold and incense

    and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.

All Kedar’s flocks will be gathered to you,

    the rams of Nebaioth will serve you;

they will be accepted as offerings on my altar,

    and I will adorn my glorious temple.

Prosperity will return to Judah. Joyful mothers, carrying their daughter on their hips, will see the riches of the land. (The riches, as described for the people of the ANE, include herds of camels.) As previously, the people come "from afar", whether Jewish refugees or Gentile converts.

Midian was an ANE region along the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea. Midian and Ephah were descendants of Abraham, according to Genesis 25:1-4. Sheba was another ancient kingdom in that region. Kedar/Qedar was a son of Ishmael and the region of Kedar is mentioned in Song of Songs 1:5. Nebaioth was another son of Ishmael.

Isaiah 60:8-9, Ships from afar

“Who are these that fly along like clouds,

    like doves to their nests?

Surely the islands look to me;

    in the lead are the ships of Tarshish,

bringing your children from afar,

    with their silver and gold,

to the honor of the LORD your God,

    the Holy One of Israel,

    for he has endowed you with splendor.

Everyone (even the islands of the sea) will look to Israel. People will come from far away. To the people of the ANE the "islands" (of the Mediterranean) and the "ships of Tarshish" represent the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 60:10-12, Foreigner serve

“Foreigners will rebuild your walls,

    and their kings will serve you.

Though in anger I struck you,

    in favor I will show you compassion.

Your gates will always stand open,

they will never be shut, day or night,

so that people may bring you the wealth of the nations—

    their kings led in triumphal procession.

For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish;

    it will be utterly ruined.

Notice the emphasis on foreigners. They will rebuild the walls; their kings will serve Jerusalem. The gates will be perpetually open, the city full of wealth.

There is no historical event that matches this, so presumably a Christian reader might view this as describing a future prophetic time such as the Millennium (eg. Revelation 20:1-6.)

Isaiah 60:13-16a, Oppressors bow down

“The glory of Lebanon will come to you,

    the juniper, the fir and the cypress together,

to adorn my sanctuary;

    and I will glorify the place for my feet.

The children of your oppressors will come bowing before you;

    all who despise you will bow down at your feet

and will call you the City of the LORD,

    Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

“Although you have been forsaken and hated,

    with no one traveling through,

I will make you the everlasting pride

    and the joy of all generations.

You will drink the milk of nations

    and be nursed at royal breasts.

Jerusalem will be the Holy City, and her citizens will be a source of everlasting pride. The joy of all nations will focus on Zion. Psalm 87 gives an image of the excitement of coming back to Zion. It includes recognition that Gentiles will be attracted to Jerusalem.

The last part of this passage has Zion treated as a princely baby, nursing at the royal breasts of nations!

Isaiah 60:16b-17, Ruled by peace and well-being

Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior,

    your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold,

    and silver in place of iron.

Instead of wood I will bring you bronze,

    and iron in place of stones.

I will make peace your governor

    and well-being your ruler.

The final glory of Jerusalem will be proof that God is their Savior.

Isaiah 60:18-20, No more violence

No longer will violence be heard in your land,

    nor ruin or destruction within your borders,

but you will call your walls Salvation

    and your gates Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day,

    nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the LORD will be your everlasting light,

    and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again,

    and your moon will wane no more;

the LORD will be your everlasting light,

    and your days of sorrow will end.

YHWH will be the light of the city. See Revelation 22:5. There will no longer be violence or destruction.

Isaiah 60:21-22, Possessing the land forever

Then all your people will be righteous

    and they will possess the land forever.

They are the shoot I have planted,

    the work of my hands,

    for the display of my splendor.

The least of you will become a thousand,

    the smallest a mighty nation.

I am the LORD;

    in its time I will do this swiftly.”

The future Jerusalem, the "shoot" that God has planted, will grow into a permanent mighty nation. This event will happen swiftly.

Some Random Thoughts

What time is portrayed in these last seven chapters of Isaiah? Of course some seems (to the Christian) to partly represent the time of Jesus. But some of this clearly has not happened and some of these scenes are repeated in the book of Revelation.