Isaiah 7:1 to Isaiah 9:7 A collection of prophecies belonging to the reign of Ahaz. Two important events in Isaiah's career are here chronicled. (1) The first is his _début_as a practical statesman, seeking to shape the destinies of his country by a definite policy urged on the king and his adviser... [ Continue Reading ]
The genealogy of Ahaz seems unnecessary for the contemporaries of Isaiah, although it might be given to connect the passage with ch. Isaiah 6:1. The latter part of the verse closely resembles 2 Kings 16:5; and it is not improbable that the data were supplied by an editor from the historical book, in... [ Continue Reading ]
_the house of David_ (Cf. Isaiah 7:13_; Isaiah 7:17_) either the court (ch. Isaiah 22:22) or the royal family (1 Samuel 20:16, &c.), which must have formed a numerous and powerful caste, and must have exercised a considerable influence on the government under a weak king like Ahaz. This was probably... [ Continue Reading ]
The prophet is instructed to meet Ahaz at a certain point outside the city, taking his son with him for a sign to the king. _Shear-jashub_ "Remnant-shall-turn," i.e. "turn to Jehovah," not "return from exile" (ch. Isaiah 10:22). How much the name meant to Ahaz we cannot tell; nor is it clear whethe... [ Continue Reading ]
The message to Ahaz begins with an exhortation to composure and presence of mind (cf. ch. Isaiah 30:15). The prophet does not deprecate reasonable forethought for the safety of the city, but only the excessive alarm which might drive the court into a false and dangerous policy. _Take heed, and be q... [ Continue Reading ]
Change the order with R.V.: BECAUSE SYRIA HATH COUNSELLED EVIL AGAINST THEE, EPHRAIM AND THE SON OF REMALIAH, SAYING, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
The project of Rezin and Pekah is opposed to the purpose of Jehovah and shall come to nought. The verses form a single sentence, 5 and 6 being the protasis and 7 the apodosis.... [ Continue Reading ]
_and vex it_ Rather FRIGHTEN IT (cf. Isaiah 7:16, where the _Qal_of the same verb means "cower"), unless we adopt a conjecture of Gesenius giving the sense "press it hard." The idea, however, is probably that the allies trusted greatly to the panic caused by the suddenness of their attack. _make a... [ Continue Reading ]
_and within threescore and five years … people_ This clause is suspicious on several grounds. (1) Because of its position; Ephraim has not yet been mentioned, and a prophecy of its annihilation would hardly have been followed by an argument (9 _a_) which assumes its continued independence. (2) There... [ Continue Reading ]
A confirmation of Isaiah 7:7; but the thought is difficult to grasp. The general meaning seems to be that the league is an attempt to obliterate the political distinctions which Jehovah has established between the neighbouring states. (Observe that in Isaiah 7:16 the prophet seems to speak as if Syr... [ Continue Reading ]
IF YE WILL NOT BELIEVE (_ta"ǎmînû_) YE SHALL NOT BE ESTABLISHED (_tç"âmçnû_, 2 Samuel 7:16). One of Isaiah's paronomasias; "_gläubet_ihr nicht, so _bleibet_ihr nicht" (Luther); "if ye will not have _faith_, ye shall not have _staith_" (G. A. Smith). Cf. 2 Chronicles 20:20. The words mark an epoch i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover the Lord spake again_ Better, AND JEHOVAH SPAKE FURTHER. The expression does not of itself imply that this second communication followed immediately on the first, but that is certainly the most natural supposition.... [ Continue Reading ]
Isaiah's last ineffectual effort to bring Ahaz to the attitude of faith. A sign is offered and refused.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ask thee a sign_ The "sign" (_"ôth, móphçth_, here the former), plays a very large part in O.T. religion and with considerable latitude of meaning. The most important cases are those in which a divine revelation is attested by some striking event within the range of immediate perception through the... [ Continue Reading ]
The answer of Ahaz reveals his utter incapacity for the faith which Isaiah demanded. He evidently believes that the sign will happen if he asks it, yet he cannot trust the spiritual fact which lies behind it. He is afraid of being committed to a policy in which he has no confidence, and therefore, u... [ Continue Reading ]
Speaking under the deepest excitement, the prophet proceeds to unfold the consequences of such impenetrable hardness of heart. Is it _a small thing for you_ Trans. IS IT TOO LITTLE FOR YOU TO WEARY MEN (i.e. the prophet himself) THAT YE WEARY, &c. The _house of David_is addressed, perhaps because I... [ Continue Reading ]
The sign of Immanuel. See Additional Note at the end of this chapter. 14. _Therefore_ because of this act of unbelief. _the Lord himself_ The word is _Adonai_, as ch. Isaiah 6:1. _Behold, a virgin_ (LXX. ἡ παρθένος, other Greek versions νεᾶνις.) The Hebrew word (_-almâh_) means strictly "a young wom... [ Continue Reading ]
_Butter and honey shall he eat_ This has to be explained by Isaiah 7:22, where the eating of butter (lit. "thick milk") and (wild) honey is a symptom of the primitive simplicity to which human life is reduced by the cessation of agriculture. The meaning is that the youth of Immanuel will be spent am... [ Continue Reading ]
The "for" seems to go back to Isaiah 7:14: he shall be called "God with us," because whilst he is yet in infancy a signal deliverance shall be wrought. _the land that thou abhorrest … kings_ Render: THE LAND BEFORE WHOSE TWO KINGS THOU COWEREST SHALL BE DESERTED. The two "tails of smoking firebrand... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Lord shall hiss_ See ch. Isaiah 5:26. The comparison of the Egyptians to flies and the Assyrians to bees is thoroughly appropriate, Egypt being infested with swarms of flies (Isaiah 18:1), while Assyria was pre-eminently a land of bees. Dangerous enemies are compared to bees in Deuteronomy 1:44... [ Continue Reading ]
Judah, as the theatre of the inevitable duel between Assyria and Egypt for the mastery of Asia, must endure all the horrors of the double invasion.... [ Continue Reading ]
Further announcements (not addressed to Ahaz, but probably compiled from fragments of several of Isaiah's prophecies) of the Assyrian invasion (18 20) and its consequences (21 25).... [ Continue Reading ]
The figure is kept up. _desolate valleys_ rather, PRECIPITOUS RAVINES (lit. "valleys of precipices"). _upon all thorns … bushes_ Render: UPON ALL THE THORN-BUSHES (Isaiah 55:13) AND UPON ALL THE PASTURES. These are the places naturally frequented by insects.... [ Continue Reading ]
A new figure for the degradation and impoverishment of Judah at the hands of Assyria. _In the same day_ IN THAT DAY. _with a rasor … river_ Better: WITH THE RAZOR HIRED BEYOND THE RIVER (Euphrates). There may possibly be here an allusion to the "hiring" of Assyria by Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7 f.); if so t... [ Continue Reading ]
The land having gone out of cultivation, the sparse population is reduced to the pastoral life of the desert. Cf. ch. Isaiah 5:14; Isaiah 5:17; Isaiah 32:12-14.... [ Continue Reading ]
_butter and honey_become the staple food of the country; in normal circumstances they were only eaten as delicacies along with bread and flesh (Genesis 18:8; 2 Samuel 17:29). Immanuel is the representative of the young generation nourished on this frugal fare (Isaiah 7:15).... [ Continue Reading ]
_a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings_ i.e. "silver shekels." Schrader reckons the silver shekel as equal to about half-a-crown of our money, which would make the price of the vineyard about £125. But the estimate neglects the important element of variation in the purchasing power of money. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
The most costly vineyards, requiring the most sedulous cultivation, are overrun by thorns and thistles, cf. ch. Isaiah 5:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_With arrows and with bows_ the weapons of the hunter (Genesis 27:3).... [ Continue Reading ]
_a thousand vines at a thousand silverlings_ i.e. "silver shekels." Schrader reckons the silver shekel as equal to about half-a-crown of our money, which would make the price of the vineyard about £125. But the estimate neglects the important element of variation in the purchasing power of money. Th... [ Continue Reading ]