The Meaning of Isaiah 60:8 Explained

Isaiah 60:8

KJV: Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

YLT: Who are these -- as a thick cloud they fly, And as doves unto their windows?

Darby: Who are these that come flying as a cloud, and as doves to their dove-cotes?

ASV: Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Who [are] these [that] fly  as a cloud,  and as the doves  to their windows? 

What does Isaiah 60:8 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet further saw people coming from the west as thick as clouds into the Promised Land. They reminded him of doves flying to their dovecotes. Who are these, he asked?

Context Summary

Isaiah 60:1-14 - The Lord Glorifies His People
From this chapter and onward, the prophet predicts the glories of the restored Hebrew people. In a secondary sense, they are also true of the Church, for we are blessed with faithful Abraham. See Galatians 3:8-9.
The summons to arise is addressed to Jerusalem. The seer beholds the flush of dawn on the eastern sky and bids the Holy City catch the earliest beams, Isaiah 60:1-2. While darkness veils the lowlands, the dweller on the plains looks up to the heights of Zion, Isaiah 60:3-4, and finds them bathed in the splendor of dawn. See 2 Corinthians 3:18.
There is a marvelous attractiveness in real religion. Where that is present, men need no driving. From the Far East come the camels, laden with priceless treasures, and from the distant West the ships laden with costly merchandise. The wastes of many years are rebuilt by the labor of strangers, while kings vie with each other in ministering to the beauty of the chosen city. When you are right with God, He will raise up help from unexpected quarters and even from former foes, Isaiah 60:14. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 60

1  The glory of the church in the abundant access of the Gentiles
15  And the great blessings after a short affliction

What do the individual words in Isaiah 60:8 mean?

Who [are] these like a cloud [who] fly and like doves to their roosts
מִי־ אֵ֖לֶּה כָּעָ֣ב תְּעוּפֶ֑ינָה וְכַיּוֹנִ֖ים אֶל־ ؟ אֲרֻבֹּתֵיהֶֽם

מִי־  Who  [are] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
אֵ֖לֶּה  these 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
כָּעָ֣ב  like  a  cloud 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: עָב 
Sense: darkness, cloud, thicket.
תְּעוּפֶ֑ינָה  [who]  fly 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine plural
Root: עוּף 
Sense: to fly, fly about, fly away.
וְכַיּוֹנִ֖ים  and  like  doves 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: יׄונָה  
Sense: dove, pigeon.
؟ אֲרֻבֹּתֵיהֶֽם  their  roosts 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֲרֻבָּה  
Sense: lattice, window, sluice.