In that dayThis phrase often refers to a future time of divine intervention or fulfillment of prophecy. In the context of Isaiah, it points to a time when God's plans for judgment and redemption will be realized. It suggests a significant shift in the spiritual landscape, particularly concerning Egypt.
five cities in the land of Egypt
The number five may symbolize completeness or a significant portion of Egypt, indicating a widespread change. Egypt, historically a powerful nation and often an adversary of Israel, is depicted here as undergoing a transformation. This prophecy suggests a future where parts of Egypt will turn towards the God of Israel, indicating a shift from their traditional polytheistic beliefs.
will speak the language of Canaan
The language of Canaan refers to Hebrew, the language of the Israelites. This implies a cultural and religious shift, as adopting a language often signifies adopting the associated culture and beliefs. It suggests that these Egyptian cities will embrace the faith and practices of the Israelites, symbolizing a turning away from their own gods.
and swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts
Swearing allegiance indicates a formal commitment or covenant. The LORD of Hosts is a title emphasizing God's sovereignty and power over all armies, both heavenly and earthly. This phrase suggests a profound conversion experience, where these cities recognize and submit to the authority of the God of Israel, forsaking their previous allegiances.
One of them will be called the City of the Sun
The City of the Sun likely refers to Heliopolis, a major center of sun worship in ancient Egypt. The transformation of such a city into one that honors the LORD signifies a dramatic change, as it represents the turning of a place known for idolatry into one that acknowledges the true God. This can be seen as a type of Christ, who is the light of the world, bringing truth and redemption to places of spiritual darkness.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
EgyptA significant nation in biblical history, often representing worldly power and idolatry. In this prophecy, Egypt is depicted as turning towards the worship of the LORD.
2.
Five CitiesSymbolic of a significant portion of Egypt, indicating a widespread transformation and acceptance of the worship of the LORD.
3.
Language of CanaanRefers to the Hebrew language, symbolizing a shift in allegiance and cultural identity towards the God of Israel.
4.
LORD of HostsA title for God emphasizing His sovereignty and command over the heavenly armies, indicating His power and authority.
5.
City of the SunLikely a reference to Heliopolis, a major center of sun worship in Egypt, highlighting the dramatic change from idolatry to worship of the true God.
Teaching Points
Transformation of NationsGod's power can transform even the most unlikely nations and peoples to worship Him. This encourages us to pray for and witness to all nations, trusting in God's ability to change hearts.
Cultural and Spiritual ShiftThe adoption of the "language of Canaan" signifies a deep cultural and spiritual shift. As believers, we are called to adopt the "language" of faith, aligning our lives with God's Word.
God's Sovereignty Over IdolatryThe prophecy of Egypt's cities turning to God demonstrates His sovereignty over all forms of idolatry. We should examine our lives for any idols and submit them to God's authority.
Hope for RedemptionThis passage offers hope that no person or nation is beyond God's redemptive reach. We should hold onto hope for the salvation of those who seem far from God.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Isaiah 19:18?
2.How does Isaiah 19:18 illustrate God's influence on Egypt's language and culture?
3.What significance do "five cities" hold in Isaiah 19:18 for modern believers?
4.How can Isaiah 19:18 inspire Christians to influence their communities today?
5.What parallels exist between Isaiah 19:18 and the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19?
6.How does Isaiah 19:18 encourage unity among diverse cultures under God's sovereignty?
7.What is the significance of Isaiah 19:18 mentioning the "language of Canaan"?
8.How does Isaiah 19:18 relate to the historical context of Egypt?
9.Why does Isaiah 19:18 predict five cities swearing allegiance to the LORD?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 19?
11.Why does God appear silent or absent?
12.In Numbers 14:2, how plausible is it that a whole nation would suddenly wish to return to Egypt after seeing so many miraculous events?
13.Does Isaiah 19:1-4 align with known Egyptian history regarding civil strife and political upheaval?
14.What foods are mentioned in the Bible?What Does Isaiah 19:18 Mean
In that dayIsaiah likes to mark future moments of divine intervention with the phrase “in that day” (Isaiah 2:11; 11:10; 19:16, 19). Here he shifts our eyes beyond his own era to a specific, literal day when God will visibly act inside Egypt’s borders. The context (Isaiah 19:16–25) describes a time of judgment followed by healing, so the phrase signals hope rising after turmoil—much likeZephaniah 3:9–10 pictures nations purified to “call on the name of the LORD.”
Five cities in the land of Egypt• Isaiah pinpoints Egypt, Israel’s historic rival (Exodus 1–12), showing that no nation lies outside God’s redemptive reach (Psalm 22:27–28).
• Mentioning an exact number—five—underscores a concrete, literal fulfillment; God is detailing the future, not offering vague symbolism.
• The surrounding verses broaden restoration to the whole land (Isaiah 19:24), yet these five cities serve as early trophies of grace, reminiscent of the Philistine cities subdued under David (1 Samuel 5:1–12).
Will speak the language of Canaan• “Language of Canaan” points to Hebrew, the tongue of God’s covenant people (Isaiah 19:6). For Egyptians to adopt it means wholehearted identification with Israel’s God, echoingZechariah 8:23 where Gentiles grasp “the hem of a Jew” to seek the LORD.
• It also reverses Babel’s confusion (Genesis 11:1–9). Instead of scattered speech, nations unite in the redeemed tongue that proclaims truth (Isaiah 19:21).
• Practically, it anticipates a shared worship vocabulary in the millennial kingdom (Isaiah 2:2–3).
And swear allegiance to the LORD of Hosts• Swearing allegiance is covenant language (Deuteronomy 10:20;Jeremiah 12:16). These Egyptians pledge faithfulness, shifting loyalty from false gods (Isaiah 19:1, 3) to the LORD of armies.
• The scene mirrors Nineveh’s repentance under Jonah (Jonah 3:5–10) and foreshadows every knee bowing to Jesus (Philippians 2:10–11).
• God’s title “LORD of Hosts” emphasizes His universal sovereignty, ensuring He can claim worshipers even in Egypt (Malachi 1:11).
One of them will be called the City of the Sun• The phrase highlights a standout city, possibly Heliopolis—historically Egypt’s center of sun-god worship. God rebrands a place once devoted to Ra into a beacon for Himself, paralleling the way He transformed Saul into Paul (Acts 9:1–22).
•Revelation 11:15 anticipates this kind of reversal: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”
• The new name promises total renovation—just as Jerusalem will be called “The LORD Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35).
summaryIsaiah 19:18 paints a literal future moment when God’s grace invades Egypt. Five concrete cities—leading with a former stronghold of idolatry—will:
• experience God’s deliverance after judgment,
• adopt the covenant language of Hebrew,
• publicly pledge loyalty to the LORD of Hosts.
The passage assures us that the God who judged Egypt in Exodus will one day welcome Egyptians into His family, previewing the global worship Jesus will receive when He reigns on earth.
(18)
In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan.--The prophecy is, it will be noticed, parallel to that affecting Ethiopia in
Isaiah 18:7, and at least expresses the yearnings of the prophet's heart after the conversion of Egypt to the worship of Jehovah. Like the previous prediction, it connects itself with Psalms 87, as recording the admission of proselytes as from other countries, so also from Rahab (
i.e.,Egypt). The "five cities" stand either as a certain number for an uncertain (
Isaiah 30:17;
Isaiah 17:6;
Leviticus 26:8;
1Corinthians 14:19), or possibly as the actual number of the chief or royal cities of Egypt. The "language of Canaan" is Hebrew, and the prediction is that this will become the speech of the worshippers of Jehovah in the Egyptian cities. There is to be one universal speech for the universal Church of the true Israel.
And swear to the Lord of hosts.--The oath, as in the parallel phrase ofIsaiah 45:23, is one of allegiance, and implies, therefore, something like a covenant of obedience. . . .
Verses 18-22. - THE TURNING OF EGYPT TO JEHOVAH. The chastisement of the Egyptians shall be followed, after a while, by a great change. Influences from Canaan shall penetrate Egypt (ver. 18), an altar shall be raised in her midst to Jehovah (ver. 19), and she herself shall cry to him for succor (ver. 20) and be delivered (ver. 20). Egypt shall even become a part of Jehovah's kingdom, shall "know him," and serve him with sacrifice and oblation (ver. 21), and perform her vows to Jehovah, and have her supplications heard by him, and be converted and healed (ver. 22).
Verse 18. -
In that day. Not really the day of vengeance, but that which, in the prophet's mind, is most closely connected with it - the day of restitution - whereof he has spoken perpetually (
Isaiah 1:25-27;
Isaiah 2:2-4;
Isaiah 4:2-6;
Isaiah 6:13, etc.). The two are parts of one scheme of things, and belong in the prophet's mind to one time.
Shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan. It is quite true, as Mr. Cheyne remarks, that the Eastern Delta was from a very early date continually more and more Semitized by an influx of settlers from Palestine, and that Egyptian literature bears strong marks of this linguistic influence. But this is scarcely what the prophet intends to speak about. He is not interested in philology. What he means is that there will be an appreciable influx into Egypt of Palestinian ideas, thoughts, and sentiments. "Five" is probably used as a "round" number. The first manifest fulfillment of the prophecy was at the foundation of Alexandria, when the Jews were encouraged to become settlers by the concession of important privileges (Josephus, 'Contr. Ap.,' 2:4), and where they ultimately became the predominant element in the population, amounting, according to Philo ('In Flaec.,' § 6), to nearly a million souls. The next great Palestinian influx was under Ptolemy YI. (Philometor), when Onias fled from Palestine with a number of his partisans, and obtained permission to erect a Jewish temple near Heliopelis. The site of this temple is probably marked by the ruins at Tel-el-Yahoudeh ('Quarterly Statement' of Palest. Expl. Fund for July, 1880, pp. 137-139). It seems to have been a center to a number of Jewish communities in the neighborhood. In this double way Jehovah became known to Egypt before Christianity. A Christian Church was early established in Alexandria, possibly by St. Mark.
Swear to the Lord of hosts;
i.e. "swear fidelity to him."
One shall be called, The city of destruction. Some manuscripts read '
Ir-ha-Kheres, "City of the Sun," for '
Ir-ha-heres, "City of Destruction," in which case the reference would be plainly to Heliopelis, which was in the immediate neighborhood of Tel-el-Yahoudeh, and which in the Ptolemaic period may well have fallen under Jewish influence. Even
if '
Ir-ha-heres stand as the true reading, the name may still have been given with allusion to Heliopolis, the prophet intending to say, "That city which was known as the City of the Sun-God shall become known as the City of Destruction of the Sun-God and of idolatrous worship generally." That Heliopolis did actually fall under Jewish influence in the Ptolemaic period appears from a remarkable passage of Polyhistor, who says of the Exodus and the passage of the Red Sea, "The Memphites say that Moses, being well acquainted with the district, watched the ebb of the tide, and so led the people across the dry bed of the sea; but
they of Heliopolis affirm that the king, at the head of a vast force, and having the sacred animals also with him, pursued after the Jews, because they were carrying away with them the riches which they had borrowed from the Egyptians. Then, "
they say," the voice of God commanded Moses to smite the sea with his rod, and divide it; and Moses, when he heard, touched the water with it, and so the sea parted asunder, and the host marched through on dry ground." Such an account of the Exodus would scarcely have been given by Egyptians unless they were three parts Hebraized.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
In thatהַה֡וּא(ha·hū)Article | Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931:He, self, the same, this, that, as, aredayבַּיּ֣וֹם(bay·yō·wm)Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117:A dayfiveחָמֵ֨שׁ(ḥā·mêš)Number - feminine singular
Strong's 2568:Fivecitiesעָרִ֜ים(‘ā·rîm)Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5892:Excitementin the landבְּאֶ֣רֶץ(bə·’e·reṣ)Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 776:Earth, landof Egyptמִצְרַ֗יִם(miṣ·ra·yim)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714:Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africawill speakמְדַבְּרוֹת֙(mə·ḏab·bə·rō·wṯ)Verb - Piel - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 1696:To arrange, to speak, to subduethe languageשְׂפַ֣ת(śə·p̄aṯ)Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 8193:The lip, language, a marginof Canaanכְּנַ֔עַן(kə·na·‘an)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667:Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordanand swear allegianceוְנִשְׁבָּע֖וֹת(wə·niš·bā·‘ō·wṯ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 7650:To seven oneself, swearto the LORDלַיהוָ֣ה(Yah·weh)Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelof Hosts.צְבָא֑וֹת(ṣə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ)Noun - common plural
Strong's 6635:A mass of persons, reg, organized for, war, a campaignOne of themלְאֶחָֽת׃(lə·’e·ḥāṯ)Preposition-l | Number - feminine singular
Strong's 259:United, one, firstwill be calledיֵאָמֵ֖ר(yê·’ā·mêr)Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559:To utter, saythe Cityעִ֣יר(‘îr)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 5892:Excitementof the Sun.הַהֶ֔רֶס(ha·he·res)Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2041:An overthrow, destruction
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OT Prophets: Isaiah 19:18 In that day there will be five (Isa Isi Is) 
