Isaiah 7-8 form a unit that is roughly chiastic (the following is modified from David Dorsey): A. threat from Aram and Israel, 7:1-2 B. Yahweh speaks to Isaiah: message for Ahaz, 7:3-9 C. Yahweh speaks to Ahaz, 7:10-17: sign, Immanuel, king of Assyria D. “In that day,” 7:18-25 C’. . . . . Continue Reading »
The song of the vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7) is an Edenic song. Yahweh forms Israel as His garden, and waits eagerly for it to produce grapes and wine to bring joy to His heart. The creation motif is reinforced by the structure of the passage. Verse 2 is a sevenfold sequence of clauses. Six describe . . . . Continue Reading »
When Yahweh judges Jerusalem and Judah, the traditional leaders will topple, and the people will scramble around to find rulers. “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler ( qatsiyn )” (Isaiah 3:6). “You should not appoint me ruler ( qatsiyn ),” he replies (v. 7). The . . . . Continue Reading »
“Come, let us go to the mountain of Yahweh,” the peoples say (Isaiah 2:3), that “He may teach us . . . that we may walk.” The nations stream to Zion so they can learn to walk, because Yahweh has said, Suffer the little children to come to Me, and forbid them not, for of such . . . . Continue Reading »
I argued in a post a few months ago that Isaiah 2:5 begins a new paragraph of Isaiah 2, rather than concluding the opening section of that chapter. I still think that’s correct, but it is something of a Janus verse that faces backwards too. “Come” in 2:5, addressed to the . . . . Continue Reading »
Can it be an accident that the word “nation” ( goy ) occurs 73 times in Isaiah? The initial vision of Jerusalem’s restoration includes all nations - goy is used 4x in Isaiah 2:2-4, signalling the global extent of the redemption. And the overall numerology of the word substantiates . . . . Continue Reading »
“Forsake” ( ‘azab ) is one of the key words of Isaiah. It is used 22 times in the prophecy, the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Isaiah is an A to Z of forsaking and forsakenness. The word initially appears in charges against Judah, who has forsaken Yahweh (1:4, 28). . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION The first sequence of five “burdens” of Isaiah begins with Babylon (chs. 13-14) and ends with Egypt (chs. 19-20). Isaiah is working backward in redemptive history, from Judah’s future conqueror to Israel’s earliest slave master. THE TEXT “The burden . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 17:7-8 has a complex structure, revolving around two different verbs for “look” or “see.” Following the Hebrew word order, we have this structure in verse 7: A. Looks ( sha’ah ) B. Adam C. on his Maker B’. his eyes C’. to the Holy One of Israel . . . . Continue Reading »
The nations roar and murmur like the sea (Isaiah 17:12), like the formless waters of the first creation (Genesis 1:2). Then God speaks, and the nations scatter like chaff and become as helpless as dust in a tornado (v. 13). The Lord sends out His Rebuke and His Wind, and the nations are calmed. God . . . . Continue Reading »
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