ISAIAH 8

v. 1 Name means “the spoil speeds, the prey hastens” J.B. Phillips: “quick pickings, easy prey.”

See Habakkuk 2:2 for large letters.

Probably a wooden tablet prepared with wax or plaster coating. “Belonging to” is inscribed on many pottery jars.

Tablet may have contained a complete prophecy of the defeat of Damascus and Israel at the hands of the Assyrians. Other explanations: (a) a deed showing that the land would soon belong to Assyria or (b) Isaiah's marriage certificate.

v. 2 Needed at least two witnesses. Uriah may have been chief priest mentioned in 2 Kings, and Zechariah may have been Ahaz's father-in-law. This indicates that Isaiah may have had high connections. In addition, 2 Chronicles indicates that Isaiah may have been a court scribe.

v. 3 This is the third time that name of child is of importance in ch. 6-8. The prophetess was Isaiah's (second) wife.

Child may have been the same as Immanuel of 7:14, in which case the mother and father gave different names to the child (other examples of this in OT include Benjamin and Solomon).

v. 6 a gentle stream from a spring that fed the pool of Siloam. Shiloh means conduit: a reminder of Isaiah's earlier encounter with the king.

v. 7 The river is probably the Euphrates of Assyria.

v. 8 Here “Immanuel” has ominous overtones. But “even to the neck” indicates that, again, there will not be total destruction.

v. 11 Hand on me = in the Spirit

v. 12 Note God's use of “this” instead of “my.” The irony is that Isaiah only has the good of people at heart yet he is branded as a conspirator. Analogy with war protesters. I once served on a Personnel Commitee at a church where we had to make some hard, but necessary, decisions. As a result, our committee was branded as “tool of Satan” by a vocal church member. See Matthew 5:11; I Peter 2:12. Another interpretation is that Isaiah is branding Ahaz's alliance with Assyria a conspiracy

vv. 12b-13a Quoted in I Peter 3:14-15. Strikingly, the phrase applying to God in Isaiah is applied to Christ in I Peter. Same with the stumbling stone of v. 14.

v. 16 refers back to the document of v. 1.

vv. 17b-18 Quoted from the Septuagint in Hebrews 2:13. In both cases the context is one sent from God who is rejected by men but will be vindicated. Prime example of OT quotes carrying along their contexts.

vv. 19-22 may mean that if Ahaz consults dead spirits he will find them cursing him from the underworld. Or it may just refer to people turning in vain to mediums for guidance.

v. 19 Wizards mutter their secret incantations. By contrast, in bringing Lazarus back to life, Jesus cries out with a loud voice so that people will know this is not magic.