Text: Isaiah 11:15-16
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 23:20
Subject: Torah law and history
Source: Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Typology
Significance: Isaiah 11:15-16 envisions the LORD splitting the Euphrates into seven streams for dry crossing and a מְסִלָּה (mesillah, "highway") for the remnant returning from Assyria, "as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt." This directly recalls God's promise in Exodus 23:20 to send an angel (מַלְאָךְ, mal'akh) to protect Israel along the way. The full passage (11:15-16) extends the highway motif by adding the miraculous drying of waters — combining the sea-crossing (Ex 14) with the wilderness-guiding angel (Ex 23:20). The new exodus will recapitulate both elements: supernatural water-crossing and divinely prepared highway.