The Meaning of Isaiah 29:7 Explained

Isaiah 29:7

KJV: And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

YLT: And as a dream, a vision of night, hath been The multitude of all the nations Who are warring against Ariel, And all its warriors, and its bulwark, Even of those distressing her.

Darby: And the multitude of all the nations that war against Ariel, even all that war against her and her fortifications, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

ASV: And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the multitude  of all the nations  that fight  against Ariel,  even all that fight  against her and her munition,  and that distress  her, shall be as a dream  of a night  vision. 

What does Isaiah 29:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

However, eventually "all" the enemies of Israel would vanish, just as the subject of a nightmare disappears when one wakes up (cf. Isaiah 37:36-37). This points beyond the Assyrian invasion and includes all similar attempts to destroy Jerusalem in the future. The events of701 B.C. were a partial fulfillment, but the ultimate fulfillment is still future (cf. Revelation 20:8-9). The Exodus was a similar earlier deliverance.
"Sennacherib"s forces lifted the siege to fight the Egyptians at Eltekeh. It was on their return from that victorious engagement that the devastating stroke of God here predicted fell upon them." [1]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 29

1  God's heavy judgment upon Jerusalem
7  The insatiableness of her enemies
9  The senselessness
13  And deep hypocrisy of the people
17  A promise of sanctification to the godly

What do the individual words in Isaiah 29:7 mean?

And shall be as a dream of a vision Night the multitude of all the nations who fight against Ariel and Even all who fight against her and her fortress and distress her
וְהָיָ֗ה כַּֽחֲלוֹם֙ חֲז֣וֹן לַ֔יְלָה הֲמוֹן֙ כָּל־ הַגּוֹיִ֔ם הַצֹּבְאִ֖ים עַל־ אֲרִיאֵ֑ל וְכָל־ צֹבֶ֙יהָ֙ וּמְצֹ֣דָתָ֔הּ וְהַמְּצִיקִ֖ים לָֽהּ

וְהָיָ֗ה  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כַּֽחֲלוֹם֙  as  a  dream 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֲלֹום  
Sense: dream.
חֲז֣וֹן  of  a  vision 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָזׄון  
Sense: vision.
לַ֔יְלָה  Night 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
הֲמוֹן֙  the  multitude 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הָמֹון 
Sense: (Qal) murmur, roar, crowd, abundance, tumult, sound.
כָּל־  of  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַגּוֹיִ֔ם  the  nations 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
הַצֹּבְאִ֖ים  who  fight 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: צָבָא  
Sense: to go forth, wage war, fight, serve.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֲרִיאֵ֑ל  Ariel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֲרִיאֵל 
Sense: a name applied to Jerusalem.
וְכָל־  and  Even  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
צֹבֶ֙יהָ֙  who  fight  against  her 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: צָבָא  
Sense: to go forth, wage war, fight, serve.
וּמְצֹ֣דָתָ֔הּ  and  her  fortress 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מָצֹוד 
Sense: siege-works, bulwark.
וְהַמְּצִיקִ֖ים  and  distress 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine plural
Root: צוּק  
Sense: (Hiphil) to constrain, press, bring into straits, straiten, oppress.
לָֽהּ  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular