Isaiah Chapter 4
4:1. This verse serves as a summary of the preceding chapter. As a result of the coming devastation of the land,
seven women shall take hold of one man, meaning that the male population will be so devastated that there will be
seven women for every surviving male.
4:2-6. The branch of the Lord is the Messiah Himself. This same title is used in Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15, and
Zechariah 3:8, and 6:12. Thus, in the midst of his warning of judgement, Isaiah reveals a glorious promise of the
future hope of the coming of the Messiah. He sees ahead to the millennial kingdom when once again the cloud of
glory shall rule them by day and the pillar of fire shall lead them by night. The phrase for upon all the glory shall be
a defense should read: "the glory shall be spread over them as a canopy of protection."
Isaiah Chapter 5
5:1-7. These verses explain a parable of the vineyard, which symbolizes Israel (cf. also Jer. 12:10; Ps. 80:8-19;
Matt. 21:33-45). The poem is called the song of my beloved, and resembles the Song of Solomon, but in this
passage it becomes a song of lament. The beloved is the Lord, and Israel is the vineyard that has brought forth
wild grapes. There is a play on sounds and letters in the Hebrew of he looked for judgement (mishpat) but behold
oppression (mispach); for righteousness (tsedaqah) but behold a cry (tse aqah). The prophet's point is that the
judgement of God will bring the opposite of what they expect.
5:8-25. The prophet pronounces a sixfold Woe on the sins of Judah. Join house to house means they are greedy
landgrabbers. By foreclosing mortgages, the wealthy landowners acquired all the adjoining land to form huge
estates. A bath was a liquid measure equivalent to an ephah of dry measure (about eight gallons). A homer was
bout 83 gallons. Strong drink (shekar) refers to fermented drink. Draw iniquity with cords refers to pulling a load of
sin with a rope on a cart. Thus the people of Judah are condemned for parading their sin before God.
5:26-30. Again Isaiah injects a word of hope in the midst of his prophecy of doom. God will raise an ensign (lit.,
"banner") and will hiss (whistle) at the nations to come and do His bidding. The banner serves as a declaration of
war, and the invading nations are coming to destroy Judah at God's request. The first five chapters serve as an
introduction or overview of the prophecies of this book.
Isaiah chapter 6
6:1-4 In chapter 6 Isaiah recounts his original call to the prophetic ministry, dating it from the year that king Uzziah
died, 740 B.C. With the death of godly Uzziah, Judah's golden age was fast slipping away. No human leader
appeared on the scene to reverse the decadence that had begun during Uzziah's final years of isolation due to
leprosy. At this crucial hour, the prophet's attention was turned to God Himself, the true Sovereign in the affairs of
men. A throne refers to the throne of heaven (Revelation 4:2). His train refers to His royal robes. Seraphim
("burning ones") are six-winged angelic creatures that continually fly in the presence of God, declaring His holiness.
Holy, holy, holy is a threefold declaration of God's person and may be taken as a suggestion of the Trinity. Note
that when God speaks, He uses the plural noun us (verse 8)
6:5 Isaiah's Confession: Having seen God in the full glory of His holiness, Isaiah pronounces the prophetic Woe
upon himself. This was a legal charge meaning "ruined" or "dead." His self-evaluation was I am undone (from
Hebrew damah, meaning "to be dumb" or "silent"). Thus, his response was a statement of total self-condemnation:
"I am dead...I am speechless!" Recognizing that he has no legitimate excuse for himself, he further realizes that he
is unclean (tame', "defiled" or "polluted"). This self-evaluation is made in light of the fact that he has seen the King,
the Lord of hosts. The heavenly King is identified as Yahweh Himself, who is called "Lord of hosts" 62 times in
Isaiah and 261 times throughout the Old Testament. See the note on 1 Samuel 1:3
6:6, 7 Isaiah's Consecration: Isaiah's confession of his personal sin brought the response of God's cleansing to
equip him for service to the Lord. The altar was the place of blood sacrifice, called by later rabbinic writers the
Paraclete, or place of expiation or intercession. The coal has no redemptive ability of it's own but is symbolic of the
efficacy of the burnt offering consumed on the altar. This Isaiah's sin was purged (cleansed).
6:8 Isaiah's Call: Isaiah states that he heard the voice of the Lord asking whom He should send and who will go for
us? The plural pronouns are used here as in Genesis 1:26 to refer to the triune God. The prophet himself is now a
changed man. Having his burden of guilt and worry removed, he spontaneously volunteers: Here I am, send me.
His consecration by God prepared him to answer God's call to service.
6:9-13 Isaiah's Commission: God warns Isaiah that his ministry, for the most part, will fall upon deaf ears. The
syntax of the sentence indicates that hear ye indeed means "keep on hearing." Thus Judah will continue hearing
but not heeding to the prophet's warning. Make the heart...far...ears heavy...shut their eyes indicates that the more
he preaches, the more the people will harden themselves to his message until the Babylonian captivity, after which
only a tenth...shall return.
Isaiah Chapter 7
7:1, 2. The Immanuel Prophecy (7:1-12:6) introduces the hope of the future in spite of pending judgement. Ahaz
ruled Judah from 736 to 720 B.C. He was an ungodly king who refused Isaiah's words of encouragement. Rezin was
the last king of Syria to reign in Damascus. He was later killed by Tiglath-pileser of Assyria. Pekah was the king of
northern Israel from 740 to 732 B.C. He usurped the throne by assassinating his predecessor, Pekahiah, and was
later murdered by his successor, Hoshea, the last king of Israel. Syria is confederate with Ephraim refers to the fact
that they had formed an alliance against Ahaz to force him into an alliance with them against Assyria. This event is
generally dated at 734 B.C. What Ahaz fears is an invasion of Judah by Syria and Israel.
7:3-9. Isaiah is sent by the Lord to warn Ahaz not to form an alliance with Assyria, but to trust Him to rid the land of
its enemies. Accompanying the prophet was Shear-jashub ("A Remnant Shall Return"), his son, whose name was
indicative of hope. The location at the end of the conduit of the upper pool is the same place that the Assyrian
Rab-shakeh would later defy Hezekiah (36:2). The invading kings are described as smoking firebands (lit.,
"smoldering sticks"). The prophet predicts that the threatened invasion will not succeed and that within threescore
and five years (65 years) the northern kingdom will fall into captivity.
7:10-13. As the spokesman of the Lord (Yahweh), Isaiah urges Ahaz to ask thee a sign (ot, miracle). However, the
king responded with a surprising pious ploy announcing that he would not ask for such a sign nor tempt the Lord.
Instead, Isaiah announced that God Himself had chosen a miraculous sign addressed to the house of David. Since
the Davidic line (and hence the messianic line) was at stake, the prophecy was directed to all generations. It was a
prediction of hope: though Israel and Judah may be cut down, a Child will spring forth as a Branch out of its roots.
7:14. Therefore is a traditional word used to connect verse 14 to the preceding statements. The Lord here is
Adonai. Behold is used to call attention to the unusual birth that is about to be announced. (See also Gen. 16:11
and Judg. 13:5.) A virgin is better read "the virgin." The Hebrew definite article ha indicates that a specific woman is
in view. The word virgin used here is the unique Hebrew term almah. A comparison of the six other instances where
it occurs (Gen. 24:43; Ex. 2:8; Ps. 68:25; Prov. 30:19; Song 1:3; 6:8) shows that it is the most precise term the
prophet could have chosen to indicate that the young woman in view was indeed a virgin. The more common word
betulah is used twice to refer to a married woman (Deut. 22:19 and Joel 1:8). Thus the Septuagint translation of
almah as parthenos (virgin) is correct, as is Matthew 1:23. Shall conceive is feminine adjective connected with an
active principle ("bearing") and should be translated "is pregnant". Thus the scene is present to the prophet's view,
and he sees the pregnant virgin about to bear a Son. That this prophecy must refer to the virgin birth of Christ is
obvious since the virgin is pregnant and is till a virgin! Immanuel is a symbolic name, meaning "God with Us". He is
the incarnate Son of God who is further pictured as the Child-Prince in 9:6, 7. See the note on Matthew 1:23.
7:15, 16. Butter and honey is a reference to the best food. (See v. 22, "abundance of milk ... and honey.") The
phrase indicates that the land will be so desolate of people that the best of food is available to those who remain.
Before the child shall know to refuse the evil implies about two years of age. The land that thou abhorrest refers to
Syria and Ephraim. In the context the prophet carries the present tense of the prediction into the immediate
situation. Though Immanuel would not actually be born for many years to come, His infancy symbolizes the fact that
Judah's present desolation will be short-lived because her enemies will soon be rendered powerless. Thus the
prophecy has both immediate significance to Ahaz and ultimate significance to the line of David in predicting the
virgin birth of the Messiah.
7:17-25. The day that Ephraim departed from Judah refers to the division of the kingdom between the northern and
southern tribes after the death of Solomon in 931 B.C. The king of Assyria is named as the source of the coming
destruction of the northern Israel, which was fulfilled in 722 B.C. The fly symbolizes Egypt, and the bee symbolizes
Assyria, Within two years after Isaiah's prophecy to Ahaz, Syria fell to Assyria (732 B.C.) and Pekah no longer ruled
Israel. Within another 10 years, Israel (Ephraim) had also fallen to Assyria.
Book of Isaiah chapter 8
8:1-4 Isaiah is commanded to take a great roll (scroll) and write on it the symbolic name of his son
Maher-shalal-hash-baz (meaning "Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Prey"). His name was to symbolize the swift and
successful Assyrian conquest of Damascus (Syria) and Samaria (Israel). Uriah is referred to as a faithful witness
and may be the priest name in 2 Kings 16:16. Zechariah is one of 28 men so named in the Old Testament. He is
here distinguished as the son of Jeberechiah.
8:5-10 The waters of Shiloah refers to to the waters of the pool of Siloam, known for their healing powers (John
9:7). Since the people of Israel have refused the Lord in a time of peace. God will bring upon them the waters of
the river, which are contrasted to those of the gentle pool. This phrase is used figuratively of the overflowing of the
army of the king of Assyria. Thus Isaiah names in advance the nation that will destroy Israel. That this invasion will
also pass through Judah, and will overflow even to the neck, indicates that the Assyrian invasion will wipe out the
northern kingdom and nearly drown the southern kingdom. Judah's narrow escape is described in Isaiah 36 and
37. Thy land, O Immanuel indicates that Immanuel is no ordinary person born in the days of Isaiah. He is the One
who owns the land Himself (a claim reserved in Scripture only for God). Thus the invading nations are told that their
alliances will not stand against Judah because God is with us. There can be no doubt that the use of these terms is
intended to connect this chapter with the prophecy of the virgin birth of Immanuel and to serve as a link to the
prediction of His birth as King in chapter 9.
8:11-18 The stone of stumbling and...rock of offense in verse 14 is quoted in Romans 9:33 and 1 Peter 2:8 as
predictively referring to Christ. A gin is a trap. Instead of finding asylum in the Lord, the unbelievers will stumble
over Him in disbelief. The prophet closes the section by stating the he and his children are intended to be signs
and...wonders to the nation of Judah. Their symbolic names were to serve as a final warning to the people of Zion.
8:19-22 Familiar spirits refers to witches, and wizards refers to male soothsayers. Peep and...mutter is better
rendered "chirp and whisper." In times of distress people often turn to witchcraft instead of God. The prophet warns
them not to seek these mediums for the living to the dead, that is, "Do not consult the dead on behalf of the living."
This warning speaks against spiritism and calls the reader back to the law and...the testimony as the only basis for
interpreting a claim to divine revelation.