1. TAKE, etc.] read 'Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man, Maher-shalal-hash-baz.' A MAN'S PEN] i.e. such as a common man would use for writing in large characters that all might, undertsand the words. MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ] i.e. 'The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth.' T... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I TOOK] RV 'And I will take,' the speaker being Jehovah as in Isaiah 8:1. WITNESSES] who would be able when the fulfilment came to testify that the prophecy had been delivered.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PROPHETESS] i.e. the prophet's wife. CALL HIS NAME] see on Isaiah 7:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
This prophecy was fulfilled, Damascus being captured by the Assyrians in 732 b.c., and Samaria ten years later: cp. Isaiah 10:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS PEOPLE] i.e. the Ten Tribes (ref erred to as 'this people' again in Isaiah 9:16), who refused the mild rule of the House of David, and, having set up their own king, have allied themselves with Rezin. THE WATERS OF SHILOAH] The gently-flowing stream that issued from Zion near the sanctuary (Psa... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RIVER] i.e. as elsewhere, the Euphrates (Joshua 24:2); denoted in RV by a capital R.... [ Continue Reading ]
PASS THROUGH] RV 'sweep onward into.' TO THE NECK] The head, therefore, will escape. So Isaiah regularly indicates the preservation of a remnant in the judgments that are coming upon the nation. THE STRETCHING OUT, etc.] The image is suddenly changed from that of a devastating flood to that of a bir... [ Continue Reading ]
PEOPLE] RV 'peoples.' GIRD YOURSELVES] i.e. for warfare.... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD _IS_ WITH US] alluding to the significance of the name Immanuel (Isaiah 8:8, cp. Isaiah 7:14). 11, 12. The prophet has been divinely warned not to show the unreasoning fear of the Syro-Ephraimite alliance which the men of Judah exhibit.... [ Continue Reading ]
WITH A STRONG HAND] In Heb. phraseology the coming of prophetic inspiration is spoken of anthropomorphically as seizure by the hand of Jehovah (2 Kings 3:15; Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 37:1).... [ Continue Reading ]
A CONFEDERACY] alluding to the alliance between Israel and Syria, which caused so much fear in Judah (Isaiah 7:2). The same word is, however, elsewhere rendered 'conspiracy' or 'treason' (2 Kings 17:4; 2 Chronicles 23:13): so RV 'conspiracy' here. In that case the allusion would be to the cry of 'Co... [ Continue Reading ]
The meaning is, 'recognise Jehovah in His true character as the all-holy One' (so He had revealed Himself to the prophet, Isaiah 6:3), 'and stand in awe of Him accordingly.'... [ Continue Reading ]
SANCTUARY] The secondary meaning of 'refuge' is here the prominent one (1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28). BOTH THE HOUSES] i.e. the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Every revelation of God puts men on their trial and sifts them: to those who accept it in faith and turn to Him it means deliverance, but t... [ Continue Reading ]
MANY AMONG THEM SHALL STUMBLE] RV 'many shall stumble thereon.'... [ Continue Reading ]
BIND UP] i.e. tie up the parchment roll on which the prophet's teaching has been written, and lay it aside to be consulted later. THE TESTIMONY] i.e. the inspired admonition which the prophet has just delivered. THE LAW] not referring to the written law of God, but used in the wide sense of 'instru... [ Continue Reading ]
The ground of the confidence just expressed. The prophet and his children are by their names Isaiah (salvation of Jehovah), Shear-jashub (a remnant shall return, Isaiah 7:3), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isaiah 8:3), pledges of a brighter future in fulfilment of the prophet's words. WONDERS] i.e. omen... [ Continue Reading ]
SEEK UNTO] i.e. with a view of consulting as an oracle, despairing of other help. FAMILIAR SPIRITS] The forms of necromancy referred to are forbidden in Deuteronomy 18:11, and the nature of the practices reprobated is well illustrated by the famous example of the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:7.) PEEP... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LAW.. THE TESTIMONY] i.e. Isaiah's own teaching, which, by his direction, had been written down and carefully preserved (Isaiah 8:16). IF THEY SPEAK NOT, etc.] The meaning seems to be, 'If they speak not according to this word' (viz. 'to the law and to the testimony') 'surely there is no mornin... [ Continue Reading ]
CURSE THEIR KING, etc.] RV 'curse by their king and by their God.' The expression is the same as in 1 Samuel 17:43.... [ Continue Reading ]
DIMNESS, etc.] RV 'gloom of anguish; and into thick darkness they shall be driven away.' Note the close connexion with Isaiah 9, where a brighter future is predicted.... [ Continue Reading ]