Isaiah 13:17

The Medes. In the time of Isaiah, Assyria was the chief enemy of Babylon. In the year 689, for instance, the armies of Sennacherib utterly demolished that city (see Vol. II, p. 65). But the Median kingdom was then a relatively insignificant power. Here, prophecy forecasts a time when Media would play a prominent part in the downfall of Babylon. When Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus in 539, the Medes cooperated with the Persians in bringing about its downfall. In the final struggle Darius the Mede played a very important part (Dan. 5:31). Isaiah also predicted the part that Cyrus was to play in the struggle against Babylon (Isa. 44:27, 28; Isa 45:1-3). However, the final ruin of Babylon came centuries later (see on v. 19).

Silver. The Medes are here pictured as a people whose chief concern was not booty. They sought Babylon itself, and were not primarily interested in its wealth. They sought power. They came, not to pillage, but to conquer.