ISAIAH 1

Oswalt—chapters 1-5 form the introduction to the whole book, but chapter 1 introduces the introduction.

v. 1 This is an unusual opening in that it doesn't explain the prophet's call (that is found in chapter 6), but gives the background of why Isaiah needed to be called by God. Isaiah = God is salvation.

The word “vision” implies insight.

Tradition says that Amoz was brother to King Amaziah (Uzziah's father). Amoz the scribe appears as a name on a seal of that time period.

Kings: The first three were basically good and the last one bad.

v. 2 Two witnesses are called to listen to the charge against the people. Moses called upon the same two to witness the covenant with the people (Deuteronomy 30-32). The book is set up like a lawsuit trial.

Three words for rebellion in this chapter: political revolt (2 and 28), turning aside or deviation in 5 and 23, and bitterness (root) in 20. Rebellion against a parent was punishable by death.

vv. 2-3 Contrast these names for Judah with later language about them (vv. 4, 10, 21).

v. 3 “Know” is a covenant word, not an intellectual one. Question: “Why don't they know?”

This verse was used by Christians much later to develop legends involving animals in the stable v. 4 “Holy One of Israel” is one of the distinctive phrases Isaiah uses for God (26x with only 2x outside this book). Holiness stresses the otherness and remoteness of God while “of Israel” denotes that He has given himself to his people. “Ah” = alas.

v. 4b The figure changes from a father-son to a marriage relationship.

v. 5-6 Several of these words recur in Chapter 53 applied to the Suffering Servant. This explains how people can bear the suffering they deserve. Picture of a man flogged but asking for more.

reference or allusion to King Uzziah's leprosy.

v. 7 A series of devastations occurred between 740-605 BC from Israel, Edom, Philistia, Assyria and Babylonia.

v. 8 Zion is the mountain upon which Jerusalem was built, often personalized as a young woman. Huts were set up for a time during harvest to allow someone to protect crops from thieves. Capture of much of Judah by Sennacherib in 701 may be referred to, or Israel's invasion around 735.

v. 9 “Lord of hosts” stresses God's power and infinite resources. Thus, it is not out of weakness that He acts in a forgiving manner. This is the first hint in the book of the saved remnant theme.

vv. 11-14 All acts commanded by God. Jeremiah, Amos and Micah made similar statements. Does this mean that he has changed his mind? Application today? One commentator: “They had mastered the art, but not the heart, of worship.” See I Samuel 15:22-23.

vv. 18-20 and 27-28 lay out the two alternative actions for Judah and their consequences.

v. 18a This is a phrase used by LBJ. It means let us argue our case (law metaphor). Ryken: a perfect example of how “the Bible repeatedly appeals to the intelligence through the imagination.”

1:18b “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

Grammar: The present condition is contrasted with the future. Therefore it is a prophecy. Is this prophecy conditional? Possibly yes since other translators say, “they could become...” The pronoun “they” is plural and so it has to refer to “sins.”

Immediate Context: The bulk of Isaiah 1 is very negative in tone, indicating that this verse could very well be a curse rather than a promise.

Poetry: Parallelism between the two lines makes it clear that the property of snow in mind is its color – white.

Figurative Language: This is obviously written in figurative language since (a) it appears in a poetic section of the book, (b) a literal meaning would make no sense, and (c) the obvious presence of similes in the sentence.

Idomatic Expression: If whiteness refers to purity, this verse states that sins will become pure, which contradicts all biblical theology. Therefore it could possibly be an idiom to express that you will be purified from your sins, but that expression is not obvious and has no parallels elsewhere in the Bible.

Translation Problems: Another approach taken by the NRSV Study Bible is the possibility that the two clauses in Isaiah 1:18b may taken as rhetorical questions (“Will they become like snow?”) with the obvious answer of “no.” This possible meaning is derived from verses 12-13 stating that mere sacrifices will not cleanse them. Similarly, there has been an appeal to verses 15-16 in which red = blood of futile sacrifice and white = cleanliness.

Word Usage: My own preferred approach is to consider that an entirely different metaphor is intended. Unfortunately, it is hard to know what Isaiah has in mind since he rarely uses images of red or white elsewhere in his book except in 63:3 where God's robe is stained red with the blood of judgment. In today's culture, we automatically associate whiteness with something good, compared to red. But there are several places in the Bible where this is not necessarily the case.

The man on the white horse in Revelation 6 represents conquest by might and is accompanied by three other horsemen who all have negative connotations associated with them. Conversely, scarlet and crimson can refer to rich fabrics. This image can be negative in case of the Whore of Babylon but positive when applied to decorations in the temple. There are even a positive references to crimson cords used to identify those in the chosen line (Jacob and Rahab) of Jesus.

However, the closest analog to the present passage in found in the only other side-by-side comparison of the colors red and white, and that is in the purity laws of Leviticus 13. In that chapter, the serious condition of leprosy which renders one ritually impure is distinguished from other skin conditions that are of no concern by their color. In this case, red is harmless while white has drastic consequences. Using this metaphor, Isaiah is saying that the sins of the people may seem harmless now but it they continue in the same path they will become much more serious in the future.

vv. 21-23 She is compared to a prostitute because she went after false gods.

vv. 22, 25 describe the method of obtaining pure silver from crude lead ore.

vv. 27-28 show that even though Judah as a whole will be redeemed, those within it who were unfaithful will not.

v. 29 Oaks and gardens refer metaphorically to man's own strength and accomplishments which are trusted in instead of God (see v. 31). Others feel it applies to either places of fertility cults or land coveted by the rich. LXX has oak = idol.