Isaiah 8:11-9:7

8:11

For thus says [Qal Perf 3MS amar] YHWH my God, like the strong hand (?), and he admonished me [Piel Perf 3MS yasar + 1CS suff] from walking [Qal Inf Cons halak + M prep] in the way of this people, saying [Qal Inf Cons amar + L prep]: 12 Do not say [Qal Impf 2MP amar] conspiracy to all that this people calls [Qal Impf 3MS amar] conspiracy, and his fear you shall not fear [Qal Impf 2MS yare], and you shall not be afraid [Hiph Impf 3MS arats]. 13YHWH of hosts, him you shall regard as holy [Hiph Impf 2MP qadash]. And he your fear, and he your dread. 14And he shall be [Qal Perf 3MS hayah + waw cons] for a sanctuary, and for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offense, for both houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitant of Jerusalem. 15And many among them shall stumble [Qal Perf 3MP kashal + waw cons], and they shall fall [Qal Perf 3MP naphal] and they shall be broken [Niphal Perf 3MP shabar + waw cons], and they shall be snared [Niphal Perf 3MP yaqash + waw cons], and they shall be taken [Niphal Perf 3MP lakad + waw cons]. Bind up [Qal Impv MP tsarar] the testimony; seal up [Qal Impv MP chatam] the Torah among my disciples. 17And I will wait [Piel Perf 1CS chakah + waw cons] on YHWH, who hides [Hiph Part MS satar + H article] his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look [Piel Perf 1CS qiveh + waw cons] for him. 18Behold, I (anoki) and the children whom YHWH gave [Qal Perf 3MS natan] to me as signs and as wonders/portents in Israel, from with YHWH of hosts, who dwells [Qal Part MS shakan + H article] on the mountain of Zion. And when they will say [Qal Impf 3MP amar] to you, Seek [Qal Impv MP darash] unto the necromancers and the wizards who chirp [Pilpel Part MP tsaphaph + H article] and who mutter [Hiphil Part MP hagah + H article]: should not a people to his God seek [Qal Impf 3MP darash]? For the living [Qal Part MP chayah + H article] to the dead [Qal Part MP mot + H article]? 20To the Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak [Qal Impf 3MP amar] according to this word, it is because there is no dawn. 21And he passes [Qal Perf 3MS abar] in it, distressed [Niphal Part MS qashah] and hungry, and it shall be [Qal Perf 3MS hayah] that when he is hungry [Qal Impf 3MS raab] and he shall put himself in a rage [Hithpael Perf 3MS qatsaph + waw cons], and he shall curse [Piel Perf 3MS qalal] against his king and against his God, and he shall look [Qal Perf 3MS panah + waw cons] upward. 22And to the earth he shall look [Hiphil Impf 3MS nabat], and behold, trouble and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And into darkness he shall be thrust [Pual Part MS nadah]. For there will be no gloom for the one in anguish, as when at the first he brought into contempt [Hiphil Perf 3MS qalal] the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious [Hiphil Perf 3MS kabed] the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2The people walking [Qal Part MP halak] in darkness have seen [Qal Perf 3MP raah] a great light; those who dwelt in a land of the shadow of death, a light has shined [Qal Perf 3MP nagah] on them. 3You have multiplied [Hiphil Perf 2MS rabah] the nation, not (?) you have increased [Hiphil Perf 2MS gadal] the joy. They have rejoiced [Qal Perf 3MP samach] before you like the joy at harvest, like what they rejoice [Qal Perf 3MP gil] in their dividing [Piel Inf Cons chalaq + B prep] of the spoil. 4For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken [Hiphil Perf 2MS chatat] like the day of Midian. 5For every boot of a warrior in confused noise, and garment rolled [Polal Part FS galal] in bloods, and
9:1 19 16

it will be [Qal Perf 3FS hayah + waw cons] with burning, fuel of fire. 6For a child is born [Pual Perf 3MS yalad] to us; a son is given [Niphal Perf 3MS natan] to us. And the government will be [Qal Impf 3FS hayah + waw conj] on his shoulder. And his name shall be called [Qal Pret 3MS qara + waw cons] Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government, and of peace there is no end (eyn-qets). On the throne of David and on his kingdom, to order [Hiphil Inf Cons kil + L prep] it and to establish it [Qal Inf Cons saad + L prep + 3FS suff] in justice and in righteousness from now and up to forever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform [Qal Impf 3FS asah] this. Commentary 8:11-15: The context of 8:11ff is the threat of YHWH concerning the coming of the Assyrians to invade Israel and Judah. YHWH commanded Isaiah to name one of his sons Maher-shalal-hashbaz (The spoil speeds, the prey hastens) to signify how the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria (8:4), a harbinger of what Assyria would attempt to do in Israel and Judah. Yet here, in v. 11-15, YHWH warns Isaiah not to share the fears of the people. The particular emphasis, however, is that Isaiah should not share the fear of the people concerning Assyria. Instead, Isaiah is commanded to place his fear somewhere else: But YHWH of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread (v. 13). The reason that YHAH should be feared, then, is his impending judgment on the people: And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken (v. 14-15). Rather than fearing the Assyrians (as terrifying as that savage people would have been), YHWH of hoststhe commander of all the armies of heavenhas far more ability to break, snare, and take a rebellious people. 8:16-9:1: In this section of the passage, Isaiah lifts up the word of God as the only hope of the people. Oswalt argues that this is the meaning even of v. 16: This verse [v. 16] is commonly interpreted to refer to a withdrawal of Isaiah from public ministry when he perceived that he had been unsuccessful in altering the course of the nation during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis. According to this position, his oracles were sealed up and committed to his disciples to be published at some later date when events would have vindicated him and them. Such an interpretation is possible, but it overlooks an equally possible alternative, and one which accords better with the theological content of the segment. It is significant that the terms teudah, testimony, and torah, instruction, law, are terms used elsewhere in conjunction with one another (as well as with commandments and statutes) to denote the revelation of God (cf. Deut. 4:44, 45; 1 K. 2:3; Neh. 9:34; Ps. 19:8 [Eng. 7]; 78:5; and 119 throughout). Is it not possible then that Isaiah is here referring to the revealed word of God (certainly so in v. 20), and that the binding and sealing is an act of affirmation and attestation? He is evidently including his own oracles in the statement [page] (so v. 18), but the context demands that he not be

limiting the ground of his hope merely to his own experience (v. 17). If this is a correct understanding, then Isaiah, in response to Gods admonition of vv. 12-15, is reaffirming his dependence upon God as revealed in Scripture and challenging those who follow him to do the same (cf. Josh. 24:14, 15).1 The word for bind (whether tswr2 or tsarar3) refers to affliction and being pressed in upon. In particular, this was a picture of placing a city under siege. Taken alone, it would be difficult to see how binding could possibly refer to an act of affirmation and attestation. The word for seal (chatam4), on the other hand, much more easily lends itself to this interpretation. Millard gives this definition: While designs engraved on seals could differ and so serve to identify individual ownership or authority, the advent of writing made naming the proprietors possible, with consequent increase in particularity and grading of authority from a king downwards. Seals were usually impressed on lumps of clay to secure documents, containers, doors, etc., and sometimes on pottery vessels to mark ownership, origin, or content. As an extension of the individuals personality, a seal on a deed could attest his presence at its execution or his approval of its contents. Parties to a contract (Jer 32:10) or a pact (Neh 9:38[10:1]; 10:1[2]) mark their assent with their seals, subjecting themselves to the possibility of investigation should the deed be disputed or they renege upon it. Similarly, a book, or scroll or hinged wooden tablet form, could be sealed, completed, and preserved for future reference (Isa 8:16; 29:11; Dan 9:24; 12:4, 9).5 Taken together, the meaning of seal (as in, to place ones seal of authentication or approval) might help to define bind along these lines, especially since seals were often placed on sealed documents to secure the contents for storage or delivery. Moreover (and this point should not be too quickly overlooked), Oswalt is absolutely correct to argue that theological thrust of the rest of the passage supports such an interpretation. We are not reading v. 16 in isolation, but as a topic sentence for the paragraph. Rather than turning to mediums or necromancers who chirp and mutter, Isaiah is giving his whole-hearted commendation to YHWH, who delivers his teaching and testimony with supreme authority! And (as concluding evidence), v. 20 suggests that this is exactly what Isaiah intends: To the teaching and to the testimony! V. 17, then, should be read in context of v. 16: I will wait for YHWH, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. As he urges the people to bind up/seal the
1 2

John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 235-36. I. Swart, Tswr, in NIDOTTE, vol. 3, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 791-92. 3 I. Swart and Robin Wakely, Tsarar, in NIDOTTE, vol. 3, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 853-59. 4 Alan Millard, Chatam, in NIDOTTE, vol. 2, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 32425. 5 Alan Millard, Chatam, in NIDOTTE, vol. 2, ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 324.

teaching and the testimony, he insists that he himself will wait for YHWH, whom he finds to be trustworthy regardless of the fact that YHWH is currently hiding his face from the people. The children whom YHWH has given me in v. 18 is most likely a reference back to my disciples, among whom Isaiah insisted upon binding up the testimony and sealing the teaching in v. 16.6 These refer to the faithful, those who insist upon following YHWH despite wide-scale apostasy by others. Their faithfulness stands as a sign to the faithless. In v. 19-20, we see the clearest picture of the juxtaposition of the apostates from Isaiahs (and his children/disciples) fidelity to the word of YHWH:
19

And when they say to you, Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
9:1

Just a few observations on this passage: First, the contrast is drawn between the chirping and muttering of the mediums and necromancerswho consult the deadand those who consult the word of the living God. This is absolute stupidity! Instead of inquiring of the dead on behalf of the living, let us go To the teaching and to the testimony! Second, the first result of faithlessness is starvation. The imagery suggests an idea that what-youhear is what-you-eat. For those who feed on the feeble chirpings and mutterings of mediums and necromancers, they will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. This hunger will make them cranky: And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. Cf. Amos 8:1112, where YHWH promises to send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of YHWH. Childs writes: For those who hold to such a belief [in magic] there will be only without a dawn. These consequences are graphically spelled out. When pressed and hungry from the devastation of the land, they will grow outraged and curse their king and God. When they look skyward as they roam the land in despair, they will experience only darkness. Once again
6

Cf. John Calvin, Commentary on Isaiah, vol. I <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom13.xv.i.html>.

the theme of hardening, first sounded in chapter 6, returns. The judgment of God has not resulted in repentance, but only in the heightening of evil.7 Third, the second result of faithlessness is darkness, gloom, and anguish in the land; however, in v. 9:1, YHWH promises that there will come a time of deliverance and both in Israel (Zebulun and Naphtali), but also for the nations (in the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations). This darkness and gloom is the backdrop against which v. 2 breaks forth: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 9:2-6 In v. 2-3, Isaiah opens this prophecy with a broad picture of the great hope that YHWH will provide for his people with two images: (1) a great light shining in the darkness, and (2) the joyful multiplication of the people, as with a great harvest or the division of spoils after a great victory. Again, the great light is seen by and shined upon the people who walked and dwelt in a land of deep darkness. The context of the light is the great darkness in which the apostates have walked. Dont miss the sheer grace involved here! It is those who have walked in great darkness (e.g., those who have been consulting the chirpings and mutterings of mediums and necromancers) who have seen this great light! Moreover, the whole nation has been multiplied, and you have increased its joy. Rather than being distressed and hungry, enraged, contemptuous, and suffering under distress and the gloom of anguish (8:21-22), YHWH has multiplied the nation and increased its joy! In v. 4-5, Isaiah provides a better view into this sudden increase of light and joy. First, YHWH will break the rod of the oppressor, his yoke of burden, and his staff (v. 4). Any foreign oppressors will be crushed and dispelled from their onerous influence on Israel. Second, YHWH will put away all warfare, so that even the blood-stained boots and garments of warriors will be burned as fuel for the fire (v. 5). How will this sudden turn-around be accomplished? We get the answer in v. 6-7:
6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace There will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will do this.
7

Brevard Childs, Isaiah, The Old Testament Library (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 77.

A child will accomplish thisspecifically, a son who is given to us. This is no ordinary son, obviously. The government is upon his shoulder, and his name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is his own Wonderful Counselor, possessing all wisdom and knowledge for the administration of the universe. He is the Mighty God, who will accomplish his own will. He is the Everlasting Father, from whom all who have ever lived receive life and breath. He is the Prince of Peace, bringing shalom to the most bitter, painful, raging places. Furthermore, he brings a government that will usher peace into every nook and cranny in creation. Jesus Christ is the one who will end warfare, abortion, racism, and even my own deep pride. His kingdomas the perfect heir to Davids throneis the hope of the whole world, for it will establish justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. And here is the assurance that Jesus will indeed come: The zeal of YHWH of hosts will do this. YHWH is passionate about seeing Jesus ascend to this throne, and to heal the world. Oswalt writes: By this statement Isaiah acknowledges that the picture he has painted will not be realized in the ordinary course of affairs. It will only happen because of Gods passionate involvement with his people. Zeal and jealousy are two sides of the same concept. Both bespeak a kind of concern for someone that desires an exclusive place in that persons affections. Jealousy as it is used today connotes a petty, self-centered, unreasoning interest. But its better connotation depicts a consuming concern for the others best and an unwillingness that anything should hurt or destroy another (cf. Zech. 1:14; 8:2). Isaiah knew that God loved (desired) his people intensely. He could not adopt a blas, disinterested attitude toward them. That being so, the prophet was confident that God would not react casually to the bondage which would be the result of their drift from one false lover to another. No, he would not rest until, in the power of his holiness (Josh. 24:19), he had restored them to himself and given them that kind of government which would allow them to find themselves in him.8 Because of Gods passionate, jealous concern for his people, he would indeed give them a childa son on whose shoulders the government would be, from this time forth and forevermore.

John Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986), 248.