Isaiah 22:6
And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.
And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen,.... Or the Elamites, as the Targum and Septuagint, that is, the Persians, who were at this time subject to the Assyrians, and served in Sennacherib's army, which consisted of many nations; see
Isaiah 29:7 these bore the quiver, a case for arrows, being expert in the use of the bow, which was the chief of their might, Jeremiah 49:35 and so Strabo {o} reports, that the Elamites had many archers among them; and along with them went
chariots of men, full of men, of military men; these were chariots for war, and brought men to fight against Jerusalem;
and horsemen also, these were the cavalry, as those that carried bows and arrows seem to be the foot soldiers. The Targum is,
"and the Elamites bore arms in the chariot of a man, and with it a couple of horsemen;''
as in the vision or prophecy concerning Babylon, Isaiah 21:7:
and Kir uncovered the shield; this was a city in Media, and signifies the Medes, who were in subjection to the Assyrians, and fought under them; see 2 Kings 16:9 though Ben Melech says it was a city belonging to the king of Assyria; these prepared for battle, uncased their shields, which before were covered to keep them clean, and preserve them from rust and dirt; or they polished them, made them bright, as the word in the Ethiopic language signifies, as De Dieu has observed; see Isaiah 21:5 these might be most expert in the use of the shield and sword, as the others were at the bow and arrow. Some render "Kir" a "wall": so the Targum,
"and to the wall the shields stuck;''
and the Vulgate Latin version, "the shield made bare the wall": but it is best to understand it as the proper name of a place.
{o} Geograph. l. 16. p. 512.