Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken. Judah had believed herself" forsaken" of God (Isaiah 49:14), and had actually been, in a certain sense, forsaken "for a small moment" (Isaiah 54:7). Her enemies, it would seem, had gone so far as to give her the name in derision.
Neither shall thy land … be termed Desolate. Judaea had not only been desolated by the Babylonian invaders under Nebucbarlnezzar, but had remained "desolate" during the whole period of the Captivity (Isaiah 32:13, Isaiah 32:14; Isaiah 49:19, etc.
). It had come to be spoken of as Sh'marnah, "a desolation" (see Jeremiah 34:22; Jeremiah 44:2, Jeremiah 44:6; Ezekiel 33:29; Ezekiel 36:34). Now all should be altered. As Ezekiel prophesied, "The land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced and are inhabited" (Ezekiel 36:35).
Thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah; i.e. "my delight is in her." Hephzi-bah was the name of Hezekiah's queen, Manasseh's mother (2 Kings 21:1). And thy land Beulah. Beulah, or rather Be'ulah, means "married" (comp.
Isaiah 54:1). Judaea would be "married" to her sons, or her people, when they quitted Babylon and once more took possession of her. The Hebrew verb toe "to marry" means literally "to be lord over."