Isaiah 7
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Isaiah 7 is the seventh
chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
of the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah ben Amo ...
in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
of the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
and is one of the
Books of the Prophets The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...
.


Text

The original text was written in
Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...
. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.


Summary

Isaiah 7 is a pivotal chapter in the Book of Isaiah, containing the famous prophecy of the Immanuel sign and dealing with the historical crisis faced by King Ahaz of Judah.


Historical Context

Isaiah 7 takes place during the Syro-Ephraimite War (c. 735–732 BCE), when the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and Aram (Syria) attempted to force the southern kingdom of Judah to join their alliance against the Assyrian Empire. King Ahaz of Judah feared an invasion from these two neighboring kingdoms. The prophet Isaiah confronted Ahaz and urged him to trust in God rather than seeking military assistance from Assyria. Isaiah assured Ahaz that the coalition against Judah would fail. When Isaiah invited Ahaz to request a sign from God, Ahaz refused, likely because he had already decided to seek Assyrian help.


The Immanuel Prophecy (Isaiah 7:14)

One of the most well-known verses in Isaiah 7 is the prophecy of Immanuel: :''"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."'' (Isaiah 7:14, ESV) This prophecy is interpreted in two primary ways: * Historical Context – In its immediate context, the "Immanuel" child was a sign that before the child grew up, the two enemy kings (Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel) would be destroyed. This was fulfilled within a few years when Assyria defeated both kingdoms. * Messianic Interpretation – The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:23) cites Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In Christian theology, Jesus is considered the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, meaning "God with us."


Significance

Isaiah 7 is considered significant for several reasons: * Theological Importance – The chapter emphasizes the importance of trusting in God rather than political alliances. Ahaz’s reliance on Assyria instead of God led to long-term consequences for Judah. * Messianic Expectation – The Immanuel prophecy is one of the key Old Testament passages interpreted by Christians as a foreshadowing of Jesus. * Historical Impact – Ahaz’s decision to ally with Assyria made Judah a vassal state, contributing to later conflicts, including the Babylonian exile. Isaiah 7 is thus both a historical warning and a prophetic promise, playing a central role in both Jewish and Christian traditions.


Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
are of the
Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
tradition, which includes the
Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...
(895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916),
Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...
(10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...
(3rd century BC or later): * 1QIsaa: complete *1QIsab: extant: verses 14‑16, 20‑25 *4QIsaf (4Q60): extant: verses 16‑18, 23‑25 *4QIsah (4Q62): extant: verses 14‑15 *4QIsal (4Q65): extant: verses 17‑20 There is also a translation into
Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
known as the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
version include
Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...
(B; \mathfrakB; 4th century),
Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...
(S; BHK: \mathfrakS; 4th century),
Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...
(A; \mathfrakA; 5th century) and
Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus, designated by siglum Q, is a 6th-century Greek language, Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. It is now in the Vatican Library. The text was writte ...
(Q; \mathfrakQ; 6th century).


Parashot

The ''
parashah The term ''parashah'', ''parasha'' or ''parashat'' ( ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian , Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book ...
'' sections listed here are based on the
Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...
. Isaiah 7 is a part of the ''Prophecies about Judah and Israel (
Isaiah 1 Isaiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, one of the Book of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, which is the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.J. D. Davis. 1960. ''A Dictionary of the Bible''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book Ho ...
-12)''. : open ''parashah''; : closed ''parashah''. : 7:1-2 7:3-6 7:7-9 7:10-17 7:18-20 7:21-22 7:23-25


Verse 1

:''Now it came to pass in the days of
Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...
the son of
Jotham Jotham or Yotam (; ; ) was the eleventh king of Judah, and son of Uzziah and Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. Jotham was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for 16 years. Edwin R. Thiele concluded that his reign commenced as a coreg ...
, the son of
Uzziah Uzziah (; ''‘Uzzīyyāhū'', meaning "my strength is Yah"; ; ), also known as Azariah (; ''‘Azaryā''; ; ), was the tenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and one of Amaziah's sons. () Uzziah was 16 when he became king of Judah and ...
,
king of Judah The Kings of Judah were the monarchs who ruled over the ancient Kingdom of Judah, which was formed in about 930 BC, according to the Hebrew Bible, when the United Kingdom of Israel split, with the people of the northern Kingdom of Israel rejecti ...
, that
Rezin Rezin of Aram (, ; ; *''Raḍyan''; ) was an Aramean King ruling from Damascus during the 8th century BC. During his reign, he was a tributary of King Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria. Lester L. Grabbe, ''Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How ...
, king of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
and
Pekah Pekah (, ''Peqaḥ''; ''Paqaḫa'' 'pa-qa-ḫa'' ) was the eighteenth and penultimate king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah. Pekah became king in ...
the son of Remaliah,
king of Israel The article deals with the biblical and historical kings of the Land of Israel—Abimelech of Sichem, the three kings of the United Kingdom of Israel and those of its successor states, Israel and Judah, followed in the Second Temple period, ...
, went up to
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
to make war against it, but could not prevail against it.'' Cross reference: ; Matthew 1:9 The purpose of the war was to bring Judah into an anti-
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
n coalition.


Verse 3

:'Then the Lord said to Isaiah, :: ''“Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son,'' :: ''at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,'' * " Shear-Jashub": literally means "A remnant will return" (; compare Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 8:3) serves "as a good omen for
Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...
."The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 987-989 Hebrew Bible. According to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, the "upper pool" is the "reservoir south of Gihon Spring" (). This was unlikely to be a regular meeting point: the
Good News Translation Good News Bible (GNB), also called the Good News Translation (GNT) in the United States, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society. It was first published as the New Testament under the ...
calls the area "the road where the cloth makers work"; Ahaz may have gone there to undertake an engineering inspection, to ensure either that the water supplies for
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
were secure, or that they would not be accessible to invading forces.Pulpit Commentary on Isaiah 7
accessed 14 March 2018
Isaiah speaks God's word to Ahaz; apparently this is "received in silence, at any rate without acknowledgment". The place of meeting would witness another confrontation between
Rabshakeh Rabshakeh ( Akkadian: 𒃲𒁉𒈜𒈨𒌍 ''rab šāqê'' AL.BI.LUL.MEŠ ; ''Rapsakēs''; ; ; alternative spellings include Rab-shakeh, Rabsaces, or Rab shaqe) is a title meaning "chief of the princes/cup-bearers" in the Semitic Akkadian and Ara ...
, the messenger of
Sennacherib Sennacherib ( or , meaning "Sin (mythology), Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705BC until his assassination in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynasty, Sennacherib is one of the most famous A ...
, king of Assyria, with the officials of
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...
, son of Ahaz ( Isaiah 36:2), presenting a contrast of behavior between Ahaz and Hezekiah.


Verse 12

:''Ahaz said, “I will not ask or a sign nor will I test the Lord!”'' Ahaz, unwilling to commit to the faith in God which Isaiah has demanded, uses the edict of , ''Do not put the Lord your God to the test'' (
New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is a translation of the Bible into contemporary English. Published by Biblica, the complete NIV was released on October 27, 1978, with a minor revision in 1984 and a major revision in 2011. The NIV relies ...
) as an excuse, "under a pretence of reverence".


Verse 14

: ''Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel Immanuel or Emmanuel (, "God swith us"; Koine Greek: ) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the House of David. The Gospel of Matthew ( Matthew 1:22 –23) interprets this as a prophecy o ...
.'' The Hebrew
Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
(10th century) and the
Isaiah scroll The Isaiah Scroll, designated 1QIsaa and also known as the Great Isaiah Scroll, is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 from Qumran List of manuscripts from Qumran Cave 1, Cave 1. The scroll i ...
(2nd century BC): (read from right to left) : Transliteration : "''lā·ḵên yitên ’ă·ḏō·nāy hū lā·ḵem o·wt: hinneh hā·‘al·māh hā·rāh wə·yō·le·ḏeṯ bên, wə·qā·rāṯ shem-o imanuel''" This verse is cited in Matthew 1:23.


Verse 15

:''Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.'' *"Butter" (, ''chem'âh''): could be rendered as "thick and curdled milk". Barnes, Albert
''Notes on the Bible'' - Isaiah 7
James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884.


Verse 18

:''And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.'' KJV The
Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible first published between 1880 and 1919
suggests that "the choice of the terms 'bee' and 'fly' to represent respectively the hosts of
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, is not without significance. Egyptian armies were swarms, hastily levied, and very imperfectly disciplined. Assyrian were bodies of trained troops accustomed to war, and almost as well disciplined as the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
s."


Uses


Music

The
King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English Bible translations, Early Modern English translation of the Christianity, Christian Bible for the Church of England, wh ...
of verse 14 from this chapter is cited as texts in the English-language
oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
"
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
" by
George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
(HWV 56).


See also

*Related
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
parts:
2 Kings 16 2 Kings 16 is the sixteenth Chapters and verses of the Bible, chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. The book is a compilation o ...
,
2 Kings 18 2 Kings 18 is the eighteenth chapter of the second part of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the Second Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the king ...
,
Isaiah 36 Isaiah 36 is the thirty-sixth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. The text, de ...
,
Matthew 1 Matthew 1 is the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains two distinct sections. The first lists the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham to his legal father Saint Joseph, Joseph, husband of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, ...
,
John 5 John 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It relates Jesus' healing and teaching in Jerusalem, and begins to evidence the hostility shown him by the Jewish authorities.Plummer, A. (1902)Cambri ...


References


Sources

* * *


External links


Jewish


Isaiah 7: Hebrew with Parallel English


Christian


Isaiah 7 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
{{Book of Isaiah 07 House of Pekah