1Since (hos[G]) therefore, it had come to pass (ou [G], vayhiy[H]) the Lord (ho kurios[G], la-Adon[H]) knew (ginosko[G], noda[H]) that the Pharisees (Pharisaios[G], Perushiym[H], chaste, abstinent ones) had heard that Yeshua[H, A] (Iesous[G], YHVH Saves, Jesus, Joshua) was making, forming, fashioning, preparing, authoring (poieo[G]) and immersing, facilitating tevilah [baptizing] (Baptizo[G], Tebiyl[H]) gaining a great number more (pleion[G], harbeih[H]) disciples (mathetes[G] [pupils], talmidim[H] [religious students, followers]) than (or “from” alt. Heb. m’yochanan) Yochanan[H] (Ioannes [G], YHVH is gracious, John) 2 {although Yeshua Himself (autos[G], hu[H]) was not immersing, facilitating tevilah [baptizing] (Baptizo[G], Tebiyl[H]), but His disciples (mathetes[G] [pupils], talmidim[H] [religious students, followers]) were}, [alt. Heb. kiy iym-talmiydayv: because the immersions were with the disciples]
 
We note that it is because of Yeshua’s foreknowledge and His spiritual discernment that He was aware of the dislike that many of the Pharisees already had for John, and for Yeshua Himself, largely in part due to the number of disciples that John and Yeshua were amassing. Both the Greek ginosko and the Hebrew noda (from yodata) can denote intimate knowledge, in other words, Yeshua knew the intimate thoughts of the Pharisees, and knew that, at this stage the majority were against His ministry. His knowledge of their thoughts in spite of the fact that they were not present to witness His actions is evidence of His Divine nature.
 
We also see that Yeshua is called “Ho Kurios” meaning “The Lord” (Heb. La-Adon). The writer of John’s Gospel is further illuminating his Spirit given understanding concerning the Messiah’s deity (John 1). To call Yeshua “the Lord of…” would have been an acceptable usage in reference to any Jewish religious leader of the time, but to call Him “The Lord” would have been considered blasphemy by the majority of religious leaders and even by many of His disciples, until such a time as they had come to understand as John the disciple had, that Yeshua is the Imanu-El of Whom Isaiah the prophet spoke: that is, God with us, the Servant King Messiah (Isa. 7:14; 8:8).
 
We note that the Pharisees had “heard” of what was happening, meaning that the majority had not witnessed the immersions associated with Yeshua’s ministry. Although they had witnessed the immersion ministry of John the Immerser (Baptist) [see John 1-3].
 
With regard to the increase in disciples who had decided to follow Yeshua it is interesting to consider the Greek word “poieo” meaning, “forming, fashioning, preparing, authoring”. Yeshua’s disciples were being formed by His ministry, they were not yet fully formed. They were being prepared for something yet future. They were being authored into a new story by the Author of all things and fashioned by the Creator Himself.
 
At this point the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) had not yet been poured out on the disciples. Therefore, the immersion being performed was one of teshuva, returning and devotion to God and to His promised King Messiah (Though some, if not all were yet to understand what “Mashiach” truly meant). It is poignant therefore that the author of John’s Gospel makes it clear that Yeshua did not facilitate tevilah (immersion) but that it was performed and facilitated by His disciples. Yeshua would facilitate the immersion of all who believe once He was seated at the right hand of HaShem the Father after Yeshua’s death and resurrection. Thus, He instructed His disciples to “Go therefore (because all authority has been given to you…), making talmidim of all nations, immersing them in the Name of Ha Av (The Father) and of Ha-Ben (The Son), and of Ruach Ha-Kodesh (The Holy Spirit)” [Matt. 28:19].
 
3 And He left, turned away (aphiemi[G], va-yeitzei[H], v’shavkah[A]) from the territory, the land (mei-eretz[H]) of Yehudah[H] (Judea, ho Ioudaia[G][Praise]) and went away again, anew (palin[G]) into, toward, for, among (eis[G]) the region of the (Galilee, Galilaia[G] ha-Galiylah[H] [Circuit, perpetual turning, going round] or Ha-Kinneret[H] [Harp]). 4 And it was necessary that (dei[G]) He Himself (autos[G]) pass through, go toward (la’avor[H]) make way (dierchomai[G], derek[H]) in the land/territory (eretz[H]) of Shomron[H] ([place of guardians, watch mountain, watch tower] Samaria, ho-Samareia[G] [guardianship]).
 
The Samaritans (Shomroniym) are mixed race descendants of the remnant of the ten tribes of northern Israel who were left in the land when the northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 BCE, and colonists from Babylonia and Media brought by the Assyrian conquerors of Shomron (Samaria) [2 Kings 17:24-41]. Technically speaking their descendants are not idolaters, however, they see their version of the Torah (Pentateuch), written in an ancient Hebrew script (popularly referred to as “Paleo Hebrew”), as the only inspired word of God. Their version of the Torah differs slightly in some places but is generally equivalent to the Hebrew and Greek versions of the Torah/Pentateuch. Therefore, the Samaritans do not accept the writings of the prophets of the TaNaKH (OT) as inspired Scripture. In this respect they shared some beliefs and practices in common with the Sadducees of the first century CE.
 
While the root of the divide between the Jews (Yehudah and Benyamin) and the Samaritans/(10 tribes) began during the division of Israel into two kingdoms following the death of king Solomon (931 BCE; 1 Kings 11-12), it was solidified following the intermarriage between the remnant of the 10 tribes left in the land and the Babylonian and Median colonists of 722 BCE.
 
The 10 tribes (of Israel, not Samaritans) had practiced apostate worship in the north, while the Jews (Yehudah and Benyamin) had worshipped according to the Torah in Jerusalem at the Temple Mount. However, upon the return of the Jews (Yehudah, Benyamin, and the integrated exiled 10 tribes of Israel) from the Babylonian exile, the Samaritan sect fiercely opposed the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (539 BCE; Ezra 4:6-24). They had established their own apostate form of worship associated to Mt Gerizim and therefore resisted the reestablishment of the Jerusalem Temple and its rites (even though the Samaritan Pentateuch reads as the Torah does concerning the placing of God’s Name on Mt Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem).
 
I consider it important to note that “It was necessary for Yeshua Himself to pass through Shomron.” The witness of His disciples alone was insufficient. The people of Shomron, the Samaritans (Shomronym), who practiced an apostate derivative of the Jewish religion and were a diluted bloodline attached to the Jewish people, needed to meet the Messiah in person in order to be reconciled to Israel’s greater purpose and indeed, to God through the Messiah Yeshua. In one sense Yeshua was offering the Samaritan sect an opportunity to re-join Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen) in accordance with the Torah and Prophets and put away their apostate worship which centred its sacrificial system around Mt Gerizim rather than the Torah commanded Mt Moriah (Temple Mount).
 
It is interesting to note that the rabbinic Judaism of the modern state of Israel has in the last few decades made serious attempts to bring the Samaritan sect back into the fold of greater Judaism. In some rare cases rabbinical Jews have married into the Samaritan sect and vice versa. Although, devout adherents on both sides continue to detest the idea of merging the two groups.
 
Shomron (Samaria) is derived from the Hebrew “shomer” meaning to keep, guard, protect etc.
 
The Aramaic “shavkah” is similar to the Hebrew “shuv” meaning to turn. Therefore I’ve added the possible translation “turned away”.
 
The Greek “dierchomai” seems to be an example of transliteration converging with a composite Greek word and representing the Hebrew “derek” meaning “way, path, direction” etc. This is yet another, albeit subtle indication of the possibility of an original Hebrew manuscript of Yochanan’s Gospel. At very least it is another indication of the writer’s initial audience, that being Judeans, Jews (The collected tribes post exile), Samaritans, Israelis of the first century CE.
 
5 So He came to (va’yavo[H]), into, toward, for, among (eis[G]) a city (polis[G]) of the land/territory of Shomron[H] ([place of guardians, watch mountain, watch tower] Samaria, ho-Samareia[G] [guardianship]) called Suchar[H] (Sychar, Suchar[G] [drunken]), neighbouring (plesion[G]) the field (chorion[G]) that Yaakov[H] (Iakob[G], Jacob [grasps the heel, follower]) gave (natan[H]) to his son Yosef[H] (Joseph, Ioseph[G] [YHVH adds, double blessing]); 6 and Yaakov’s spring, well (pege[G], be’eir[H]) was there. Therefore (oun[G]) [because Yaakov’s well was there] Yeshua[H, A] (Iesous[G], YHVH Saves, Jesus, Joshua), being wearied from the way, journey (min-ha-derek [H]) sat by, on, before, at (epi[G], al[H]) the spring, well (pege[G] be’eir[H]). It was about 12pm midday (the sixth hour of the Jewish day, counted from sunrise [approx. 6am]).
 
The walk from Jerusalem (Judea region) to the Galilee (Capernaum) is approximately 40 hours (4 days of 10 hours walking per day) 209 km. Jacob’s well is about a third of the way between Jerusalem and Galilee (Capernaum).
 
Some have suggested that “the sixth hour” refers to the Roman method of time keeping and should be interpreted as referring to 6pm in the evening. In support of this supposition they refer to the singular instance of Genesis 24:11 and the fact that the women came out to draw water in the evening. However, there are a number of reasons why this cannot be the case in the context of John 4:6.
 
I do not believe this meeting took place at 6pm. The author is a Jew telling Jewish time to a Jewish audience using the Greek language, and is therefore using the Jewish method of time keeping. Furthermore, if we accept the argument that women drew water in the evening or late afternoon, we must also admit that the women (plural) of the entire village or community did so together. Therefore, in the present instance Yeshua would have been speaking to a group of women, whereas the text indicates a solitary woman and a conversation that would have been considered too intimate to be had in the hearing of others. The text does not tell us when Yeshua left Judea, nor does it tell us how long it took Him to reach Jacob’s well. At most it would have been a one and a half day walk consisting of eight to ten hours travel per day during the cool parts of the day and breaking to camp in between (at noon when the day was hottest).
 
If Yeshua had arrived along with His disciples at 6pm in the evening they would not have had time to purchase goods at the market, which would have been near closing, nor would there have been time for all the other events associated to this meeting to have taken place prior to nightfall (v.27-54). Finally, the writer of John’s Gospel clearly uses the hours of the Jewish day elsewhere in his Gospel, (John 1:39 “tenth hour referring to 4pm”; John 11:9 “twelve hours in a day” referring to the 12 daylight hours of the Jewish day; John 19:14 “sixth hour” midday during Pilate’s declaration concerning Yeshua prior to His crucifixion). It would be inconsistent of him to swing from one method of time recording to another. Nor is it even remotely likely that he would do this for a single event while maintaining a Jewish time recording method for all other instances in his Gospel. Therefore, it seems extremely unlikely that the writer of John is referring to the sixth hour according to Roman time.
 
This meeting took place at 12pm according to Jewish time counted from the first hour following sunrise (approx. 6am). This means that the woman had made a solo journey to the well at an unusual time. One of the reasons for this may have been her adulterous lifestyle which was as abhorrent to the first century Samaritan religion and culture as it was to the Jews. Thus, she was collecting her water at midday in order to avoid verbal and physical abuse levelled at her by the other women of her village (region), some of whom may well have been victims of her promiscuous lifestyle.
 
Biblical Sychar is thought to have been situated in the vicinity of modern Nablus in the Israeli territory of Shomron.
 
We note that the Greek for Sychar is a direct transliteration of the Hebrew Suchar. Once again, Jewish audience, Hebrew place names. Interestingly the modern Hebrew sucar (sugar) is spelled the same way.
 
We note that Jacob’s well is situated not far from the base of Mt Gerizim and close to modern day Nablus. This is important given the dialogue that follows regarding which of the two mountains, Mt Gerizim or Mt Moriah (Temple Mount), is the correct place upon which to offer sacrifices and worship before Hashem (YHVH).
 
The references to Shechem and Yaakov’s well are found in Gen. 33:19; 48:22; Josh. 24:32.
 
We note that Yeshua was physically weary and thirsty, although He is God with us He took on the frailty of human existence for our sake (Phil. 2:6-11; Heb. 4:15). There is a beautiful irony here, Yeshua (God with us) allows Himself to become physically thirsty in order to satiate the spiritual thirst of the human soul.
 
The physical thirst of Yeshua is mentioned only once more in the Gospel of John, at the same time of day (12pm, sixth hour) during His crucifixion (19:28).
 
7 There came a woman (ishah [wife]), a shomroniyt {of the land/territory of Shomron[H] ([place of guardians, watch mountain, watch tower] a Samaritan)} to draw (antleo[G], lishav[H]) water (hudor[G], mayim[H]). The (ho[G]) Yeshua[H, A] (Iesous[G], YHVH Saves, Jesus, Joshua) said to her, “Give (didomi[G], taniy-na[H]) Me (moi[G], liy[H]) a drink.” 8 For His disciples (mathetes[G] [pupils], talmidim[H] [religious students, followers]) had gone away into the city to buy food (ochel[H]) in the market (agorazo[G], shuk[H]). 
 
We see that both the Greek “gune” and the Hebrew “ishah” meaning woman, can also mean wife. This is an intentional ambiguity as pretext to the conversation that follows regarding the woman’s many sexual partners.
 
The departure of Yeshua’s disciples may be intended to explain the lack of anyone else to serve Him water. It also emphasises the solitude of the situation. The text infers that there were no other people present at the well.
 
9 Therefore the Samaritan (ha-shomroniyt: of the land/territory of Shomron[H] [place of guardians, watch mountain, watch tower]) woman (ha-ishah [the wife]) said to Him, “How is it that You, being Yehudiy[H] (a Jew [of Israel], a religious Jew, an ethnic Jew, a Judean, Ioudaios[G]), ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For ha-Yehudiym [the Judeans, Jews] have no dealings, do not associate with, participate with [sugchraomai[G]do things jointly or in unison] with Ha-Shomroniym Samaritans.) 
 
In the context of this meeting the Greek Ioudaios is qualified by the Samaritan woman’s view. The Samaritan sect used the term Yehudiym, Ioudaios to refer not only to the religious and region specific Judeans but also to all the tribes of ethnic, religious Israel. Therefore, it is correct to translate Ioudaios in the more general form “Jews” in this instance.
 
NB: It is important to keep in mind that the Jews of the first century CE were the collected body of the returned tribes of Israel gathered together following the exile in the region of Judea and were therefore collectively called Yehudiym. By the first century CE this title was not used exclusively to describe the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Southern Kingdom). The popular theory of the so called “Lost Tribes” is untenable when tested against the history of the Jewish people. This myth has been used by many to develop such anti-Semitic teachings as “Replacement Theology”, “British Israel” etc. It is also used by some modern Christian scholars to support the lie that the modern Jewish people are not related to the Biblical Jewish people.
 
There is an important pretext here in the use of the Greek sugchraomai, meaning “use jointly”. The religious Jews of the first century CE did not share in the apostate practises of the Samaritans. Nor did they dine with Samaritans or Gentiles except in rare circumstances. Primarily this was in order to keep themselves set apart unto God. It may have become a practise of hubris, but it had started from a pure motive. After all, to participate in the sacrifice of an animal on Mt Gerizim for example, to share its meat etc. would have been in direct violation of the Torah.
 
From the perspective of the Samaritan woman (a sinful woman who clearly did not keep even the laws of her own Samaritan sect) Yeshua’s request is an opportunity to debate what she may see as the arrogant religious position of Jews such as Yeshua. Her reference to the Jewish practise of setting themselves apart may be an attempt to deny water to Yeshua. After all, we must remember that historically, culturally and contextually, Yeshua is an enemy from the Samaritan woman’s point of view. Those religious Jews who travelled through Samaria at this time in history did so primarily because it was the most direct route to the Galilee, enabling them to avoid the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. They travelled through Samaria but generally avoided contact with the villages and people of Samaria. However, the Jewish sages had varied views concerning the Samaritans, who the rabbinical rabbis called “Cuthites”, a name derived from one of the locations in Babylon that the non Jewish forebears of the Samaritans had come from (2 Kings 17:24).
 
"a roasted egg of the Cuthites (or Samaritans), lo, this is lawful: says R. Jacob bar Acha, in the name of R. Lazar, the boiled victuals of the Cuthites (Samaritans), lo, these are free; this he says concerning boiled food, because it is not their custom to put wine and vinegar into it,''
 
- T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 44. 4. 
 
"the unleavened bread of the Cuthites (or Samaritans), is lawful, and that a man is allowed the use of it at the passover.''
 
 - T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 10. 1. & Cholin, fol. 4. 1. & Kiddushin, fol. 76. 1.
 
"he that buys wine of the Cuthites (Samaritans), says, the two logs that I shall separate, lo, they are first fruits, &c.''
 
- Misn. Demai, c. 7. sect. 4. Vid. Bartenora in ib.
 
"that, he that eats the bread of the Cuthites (or Samaritans), is as if he eat flesh; to when (who reported this) says (R. Akiba) be silent, I will not tell you what R. Eliezer thinks concerning it.''
 
- Misna Sheviith, c. 8. sect. 10. Pirke Eliezer, c. 38.
 
"because the Cuthites (or Samaritans) ate at his table, it was the reason why his children went into captivity-and further add, that whoever invites a Cuthite (or Samaritan) into his house, and ministers to him, is the cause of captivity to his children.''
 
-T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 104. 1.
 
"three days before the feasts of idolaters (for such they reckoned the Samaritans, as well as others), it is forbidden to have any commerce with them, to borrow of them, or lend to them
 
- T. Bab. Becorot, fol. 7. 2. Piske Toseph. ib. art. 4. & in Megilla, art 102. Misna Avoda Zara, c. 1. sect. 1. 
 
Yeshua’s view concerning the Samaritans seems to have been one of reconciliation and inclusion in the greater body of the Jewish people (Luke 9:52), and their spiritual redemption through Him. However, it would require their repentance.
 
FYI: Today Jews who live in Shomron and Judea need not fear the Samaritans (descendants of the Shomroniym of the first century) but are constantly under attack from Palestinian extremists and are regularly taunted and verbally abused by so called Christian organisations such as the EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) who are funded by the WCC (World Council of Churches), whose 350 members include denominations such as Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Eastern Orthodox, Quakers, Lutheran and many more. Circa 2020
 
10 Yeshua[H, A] answered and said to her, “If you perceived, (eido, yada’at[H]) knew the gift (ho-dorea, et-matan[H]) of the God (ho-Theos[G], ha-Elohim[H]), and Who it is Who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water (mayim chayim[H], hudor-zao[G]).” 
 
Note that the unity of God is alluded to in the person of Yeshua and in His insistence that the woman needs to ask the question of God in order to receive the gift which is manifest in the woman’s presence. Therefore, Messiah is both the gift of God and God with us Who gives the gift of eternal living, represented here using the figure of living water: water that comes from an untouched spring of the earth rather than from a manmade cistern (Num. 19:17). It is also known for its refreshing application (Jer. 2:14; 17:13). Living water is moving water that is undefiled and finds its origin and flow in God alone. In short, living water comes from above and renews the sin affected earth.
 
11“Has a nation changed gods
When they were not gods?
But My people have changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
12 “Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
 
-Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NASB)
 
11 She said to Him, “My Lord, Master (kurios[G], adoniy[H]), You have nothing to draw with and the well, pit, abyss (phrear[G]) is deep; from what place (pothen[G]) then do You hold, wear, possess (echo[G]) the (ho[G]) living water (mayim chayim[H], hudor-zao[G])? 12 You are not greater (meizon[G]ha-gadol[H]) than our father (ho-pater[G], aviynu[H]) Yaakov[H], are You, who gave (didomi[G], natan-lanu[H]) us the well (ho-phrear[G], et ha-beir[H]), and for himself drew out to drink of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” 
 
We note that like Nakdimon (Nicodemus) the Samaritan woman fails to understand the full spiritual meaning of Yeshua’s figurative speech. Therefore, she answers in response to what she understands as a literal offer of water from the well of Jacob. Another beautiful irony, in that the water Yeshua offers does come through Jacob from God in the form of the descendant of Jacob and  Person of God’s only begotten Son.
 
Yeshua’s words and countenance had clearly sparked a fire of transformation in the woman, who now calls Him “My Lord (Master)” rather than referring to Him as part of the collective of the Jewish people as she had before.
 
The use of the Greek “phrear” can refer to the abyss or netherworld and infers at least in part that the woman had begun to sense that this was a spiritual conversation. “Phrear” is a word that denotes bottomless depth and is probably employed here to indicate that the well of Jacob is in fact quite literally a well from a natural underground spring of flowing water and is therefore a physical representation of the figurative application of the Hebrew mayim-chayim (living waters).
 
13 Yeshua[H, A] answered and said to her, “Everyone, all who drink (pino[G], kol-hashoteh[H]) of, from this water (hudor[G], min-ha-mayim[H]) will suffer thirst, return to thirst (dipsao[G], yashuv veyitzma[H]) again; 14 but whoever drinks (pino[G], yishteh[H]) of, from the water (hudor[G], min-ha-mayim yishteh[H) that I will give (notein[H]) him shall never suffer thirst (dipsao[G], yitzma[H]) into the unbroken age, eternity, the world (eis ho aion[G], le’olam[H]); because (kiy[H]) the water (hudor[G], ha-mayim[H]) that I am giving (didomi[G], eten-lo[H]) him will become, arise, close to the source (ginomai[G], vekirbo lim’kor[H]) in him a well, spring (pege[G]) of water (hudatos[G], mayim[H]) springing, leaping, gushing up (hallomai[G]) into, toward, among life, living (zoe[G], lechayeiy[H], L’chaye[A]Pl.) without end, in the eternal world (aionios[G], ha-olam[H]).”
 
This living water is the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is poured out on every believer beginning at Shavuot (Pentecost) approx. 33 CE (Acts 2), as a result of Yeshua’s death, resurrection, ascension and authority at God’s right hand. Rain, water, living water, are all symbolic of the moving and life giving Spirit of the Living God. The context of this passage denotes spiritual renewal and points to a relationship of worship that can only be participated in by those who dwell in the Spirit of God and the Truth of His Son (v.24). We know that the water Yeshua is speaking of is the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) because Yeshua Himself says so:
 
“37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast (Sukkot), Yeshua stood and cried out, saying, “[g]If anyone is thirsty, [h]let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From [i]his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Yeshua was not yet glorified.” -Yochanan (John) 7:37-39
 
“‘For I will pour out water on [a]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
And My blessing on your descendants;” -Isaiah 43:3 (NASB)
 
““Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no [a]money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.” -Isaiah 55:1 (NASB)
 
“And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your [a]desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not [b]fail.” -Isaiah 58:11 (NASB)
 
15 Speaking (lego[G]) to Him the woman (gune[G], ha-ishah[H] [wife]) said, “Lord, Master (kurios[G], adoniy[H]), give (didomi[G], tenah[H]) me this (touto[G]) the (ho[G]) water (hudor[G], ha-mayim[H]), so I will never suffer thirst (dipsao[G], lo etzma[H]) nor walk (dierchomai[G]) here [Heb. Alt. od velo osiyf labo “continually adding by coming”] to draw water over and over again (antleo[G]).” 16 Yeshua[H, A] said to her, “Go, and call (phoneo[G], vekiriy[H]) your husband (aner[G], leiysheich[H]) and come here.” 
 
The request of the Samaritan woman comes from her sin seeded brokenness and her desire to find a life that has meaning beyond that of sensual pleasure, temporary physical gratification and empty promises. However, she still interprets Yeshua’s words literally, referring to the well’s location and her desire to no longer have to revisit it.
 
Note that Yeshua did not give her the water He had spoken of straight away in response to her request. Rather He began by pointing out her sin with the view to lead her to repentance so that she might receive the water He had spoken of following His resurrection. The unrepentant cannot receive the water of living (the promised Holy Spirit) because without turning toward God, no one can engage in relationship with Him, nor be sustained by His Spirit. To deny sin and its fruit is to deny a self-inflicted wound.
 
17 The woman (gune[G], ha-ishah[H] [wife]) answered and said, “I have no husband (aner[G], iysh[H][man]).” Yeshua[H, A] said to her, “Yes (ken[H]) you spoke correctly when you (kalos[G],) said, ‘I have no husband (aner[G , iysh[H][man])’; 18 In fact you have had five (chamishah[H]) husbands (aner[G],  bealiym[H][husbands, masters, rulers]), and at the present time (nun[G]) the one whom you now have is not your husband (aner[G], ba’leikh[H][your husband, master, ruler]); this you have said truly (alethes[G], emet[H]).”
 
The woman intended to hide her sin with her answer but Yeshua exposed that which she had attempted to hide by illuminating the truth of her situation. Something only those who knew the woman could have known. Thus, He proves Himself a prophet in her eyes, not because He foretold the future but because He revealed the present. The prophets of Israel were primarily tasked with exposing sin and calling Israel to repentance. Yeshua plays the same role in this encounter.
 
The Hebrew text better conveys the nuance of Yeshua’s response. When Yeshua repeats the woman’s answer back to her He uses her words “I have no man/husband (iysh)”, but when He exposes her half-truth (a lie) He says “In fact you have had five husbands/masters (bealiym)” using the Hebrew “ba’al” which refers specifically to a husband rather than the generic term “iysh” which can mean husband or man. Ba’aliym was the title used to describe the false gods worshipped by Israel’s forebears, thus, Yeshua makes a drash of this idolatry in order to expose the woman’s true spiritual state.
 
Not only is Yeshua exposing the woman’s words and spiritual condition, He is also clearly defining for her the nature and extent of her sin. Put simply, “You spoke well saying that you have no husband, in fact you have had five sexual partners and married four of them officially, while the one you are with at present you have not married officially.”
 
The historical, religious context here is of paramount importance. It explains the depth of sin of the woman, the sin of the male leaders in her village, the reason she was at the well at an unusual time of day and it partly qualifies the religious Jewish avoidance of the Samaritan region and people.
 
The religious Samaritan’s of the first century CE adhered to their slightly corrupted version of the Torah with great devotion. They would have frowned upon adultery and the defiling of the marriage bed through premarital sexual relations. However, it seems from Yeshua’s words that the woman had been married by religious ceremony four times. This means that either all three of her first husbands had died or committed adultery against her leaving her free to marry under Torah law, or that the religious leaders of her village had allowed her marriages to take place outside of the requirements of the Torah. Based on the text it appears that the latter is the more likely. The fifth man is not her husband, meaning that she is either cheating on her fourth husband or is in an illicit premarital affair, or is in an illicit sexual relationship with another woman’s husband. In any case she would have been a woman despised by the other woman of her village (many of whom had been victims of her sin), a woman with few friends and many male admirers. It is likely that she survived because the men of her village enjoyed her and advocated for her promiscuous lifestyle. The hypocrisy of the religious was not limited to certain Jewish religious leaders, it was also clearly prevalent in the Samaritan sect.
 
19 The woman (gune[G], ha-ishah[H] [wife]) said to Him, “Lord, Master (kurios[G], adoniy[H]), I perceive, see (theoreo[G], roah[H]) that You are a prophet (prophetes[G], naviy[H]). 20 Our fathers (avoteiynu[H]) worshiped, bowed down, kissed (proskuneo[G], hishtachau[H], saghed[A]) in/on this mountain (bahar[H]), and you (ve’atem[H]) say (omriym[H][Pl]) Jerusalem (Yerushalayim[H] [Flood of Peace]) she (hiy[H]) is the place (ha-makum[H]) where men ought to worship, bow down (proskuneo[G], lehishtachot[H], saghed[A]).” 
 
As stated previously, she perceived that Yeshua was a prophet not because He foretold the future but because He exposed the present.
 
The use of the Hebrew “Ha-Makum” in the woman’s response is significant. Ha-makum is a name for the Temple Mount and literally means “The Place”. It is used in reference to the place where Jacob lay his head and saw the dream of Jacob’s ladder (Gen.28:10-19). This story was of great importance to both Jews and Samaritans and as a result the location of “The Place” was contested. The Samaritans believed (incorrectly) that Mt Gerizim (near modern Nablus [Biblical Shechem/Sychar] in the Shomron region) was Ha-Makum (the Place) while the Jews correctly understood that Mt Moriah (The Temple Mount in Jerusalem) is Ha-Makum (The Place). Something that Yeshua affirms in the following verses.
 
NB: Gerizim means “cuttings” a plural of garaz “cut off”. Moriah translates literally as “from the sight of YHVH” meaning “YHVH has seen and chosen” (me-ra’ah-YHVH). Eyval (Ebal) means “Stone” or “Bare Mountain”. Both mountains are mentioned in the proclaiming blessing and curse over Israel as they approached the promised land (Deut. 11:29; 27, 28).
 
We note that the woman recognises Yeshua as a prophet and includes Him in her general reference to the Jewish people as a whole.
 
Notice that the name Jerusalem means “Flood or Downpour of Peace” and refers to the Spirit of God and the Son being poured out over the inhabitants of the city, something which took place at Shavuot (Pentecost approx.. 33 CE) and will take place again at the reconciliation of all Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen).
 
21 Yeshua[H, A] said to her, “Dear woman (gune[G], ishah[H] [wife]), believe, trust in, have the faith in Me (ha’amiyniy[H]), because (kiy[H]) a certain definite time, an hour (hora[G], sha’ah[H]) is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you (all) worship (proskuneo[G], tishtachau[H], saghed[A])  the Father (ho pater[G], la’Av[H]). 22 You all (humeis[G], atem [H]) worship (proskuneo[G], mishtachaviym[H],saghed[A]) what you can’t see, do not know (eido[G], yedatem[H]); we worship (proskuneo[G], mishtachaviym[H]) Who (ho[G]) we see, know (eido[G], yadednu[H]), because (hoti[G], kiy[H]) the (ho[G]) salvation (ha-yeshuah[H]), deliverance, preservation, safety (soteria[G]) is out of, by, from (ex[G], min[H]) the Jewish people (Ioudaios[G], ha-yehudiym hiy[H]) [Aramaic alt. d’chaye men yihudaye, “living is from the Jews”].
 
Notice that the woman had placed emphasis on the location of worship whereas Yeshua places the emphasis on The Father. Therefore, it is not upon mountains that we are to rely but upon the Creator of mountains.
 
“We know Who we worship” is an allusion to the fact that God had revealed Himself to the people of Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen) from Abraham and through the generations of Isaac, Jacob and their children’s children. God chose Israel to receive His Torah and His prophets and had appointed her to be a light of His redemptive purpose to all humanity. Although Israel had failed in this task corporately, she none the less had always had among her those who were devout toward God and knew Whom they worshipped. Therefore, Yeshua is not ashamed to include Himself in the collective voice of Israel (ethnic, religious, chosen, empirical), saying “We know Who we worship…”
 
Salvation (Himself: Yeshua) comes from the Jews (plural), that is, from the Jewish bloodline.
 
Yeshua has essentially challenged the woman to examine her sinful state and consider repentance, then accept that the promised Messiah is of the Jewish people and accept His saving work in order to receive the water He has spoken of. This will also result in her re-inclusion back into the tribal body of Israel (The Jews of the first century).
 
The Aramaic text is interesting because it makes “chaye” (Aramaic plural meaning living) synonymous with “yeshuah” (Hebrew feminine form for Salvation).
 
23 A certain definite time, an hour (hora[G], sha’ah[H]) is coming, [Heb. Alt. Olam tavo sha’ah “A world is coming in time”] and now is, when the true (alethinos[G], ha-amitiym[H]) worshipers (proskunetes[G], yishtachau[H]) will worship (proskuneo[G]) the Father (ho pater[G], la’Av[H]) in spirit (pneuma[G], beruach[H]) and in truth (aletheia[G], uve’emet[H]); for such people the Father seeks (zeteo[G]) to be His worshipers (proskuneo[G]). [Heb. Alt. kiy bemishtachaviym koeileh chapeitz ha-Av “Because it is in worshippers who worship as a whole that the Father reveals the objective”]
 
This revelation connects the individual to the collective and emphasises corporate worship. The text does not say, “The true worshipper” but “the true worshippers”. Yeshua points the woman to her inclusion in Israel and away from individual and tribal rivalries.
 
24 God is (Theos[G], Elohim[H]) spirit (pneuma[G], ruach[H]), and those who worship (proskuneo[G], vehamishtachaviym[H]) Him must (tzeriychiym[H] [Pl]) worship in spirit (pneuma[G], beruach[H]) and in truth (aletheia[G], uve’emet[H]).” 
 
In the Spirit of God Who is the nearest subject of “Spirit”, and in the Truth of His Living Word (Yeshua) Who is the speaker. Again the language is plural, “those” not “the one”. In one sense our personal experience of God’s Spirit and Truth is reliant on the corporate experience of God’s Spirit and Truth. One cannot exist without the other.
 
25 The woman (gune[G], ha-ishah[H] [wife]) said to Him, “I know, see, perceive (eido[G], yadatiy[G]) that Messiah (Messias[G], Mashiach[H]) is coming, (He who is called Christos[G] [Anointed One]); when He comes, He will announce, make known, declare, tell (anaggello[G], veyagiyd[H]) all things to us (hapas[G], et kol[H]).” 26 Yeshua[H, A] said to her, “I (Ani[H]) who speak (ha-medabeir ) to you I am He (Ani Hu[H]).” [Heb. Lit. “I Am the One speaking to you, I Am He”].
 
The woman professes her belief that the promised Messiah is coming. Her confession is no different from many Jews and most Samaritans today, who believe in the coming of a Messiah but do not accept that the Messiah has already come or that Yeshua is the promised Messiah. Although the woman has concluded that Yeshua is a prophet and therefore a man of God, she has not put two and two together. Therefore, Yeshua speaks plainly to her, “I AM the One (Messiah) speaking to you”. The Hebrew text reads “Ani Ha-medabeir eilayikh Ani hu”, “I Am the One speaking to you, I Am He.” This statement reflects the Self-existent proclamation of HaShem [YHVH] (Exodus 3:14).
 
Yeshua uses this “I AM” identifier nine times in the Gospel according to Yochanan (John) [4:26; 6:20; 8:24, 28, 58; 13:9; 18:5, 6, 8)[cf. Mark 14:61-62]. By His use of this statement of Self-revelation Yeshua implies that He is more than just a man, He is the promised Imanu-El (God with us), the manifestly present God, come to redeem His chosen people and all among humanity who will receive Him.
 
 Even if one could disassociate Yeshua’s use of “I Am” from the Self-existing statement of YHVH (Exodus 3:14) in eight out of its nine uses within John’s Gospel, none can refute its clear meaning in John 8:58:
 
“Yeshua said to them, “In Truth, in truth, be’emet, be’emet, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”
 
In His response to the Samaritan woman at the well, Yeshua is quite literally quoting Isaiah 52:6
 
“Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.”
 
NB: Isaiah 52:6 is pretext to the latter part of Isaiah 52 and the entire chapter of Isaiah 53 which explains the coming Messiah’s sacrificial death.
 
Yeshua is either the Messiah and God with us or He is an apostate heretic, a liar and a fraud. There is absolutely no room for the foolish notion that Yeshua was simply a good Rabbi but not the Messiah, nor for the false doctrine that He is the Messiah but is not God with us. The Scripture demands that we make a choice. Face to face with the King Messiah the Samaritan woman at the well was presented with that same choice. She chose well, will you?
 
 
Copyright 2020 Yaakov Brown

Water into Wine (John 2:1-11):
 
Introduction:
 
The wedding in Cana and the miraculous sign of the water being turned to wine appears at first glance to be a party trick, a fanciful form of entertainment, and for those who detest wine and prefer an unfermented faith, a miracle of water into grape juice, albeit a far less miraculous transformation. However, Yeshua is no magician, nor is He a performer or a people pleaser, and both the Greek and Hebrew words for wine mean fermented grape juice, that is, alcohol. So what is this miracle all about? After all, one would think that Yeshua’s first recorded miracle would carry some significance outside of “Wow, we haven’t seen that done before”.
 
In fact, the miracle of water to wine has deep significance beyond the plain action described in the text of the Gospel of Yochanan. It links Yeshua to creation itself, to the miraculous work of Moses, and symbolically reveals Yeshua’s vicarious, sacrificial blood. All this, at a wedding banquet that prefigures that great wedding banquet at the end of the age, the wedding supper (Rev. 19:7, 9) of the “Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John. 1:29).
 
Joh 2:1  And in the day, the third (uvayom hashliyshiy[H]) there was a marriage festival (gamos[G]Chatunah[H]) beginning (ginomai[G], haytah[H]) in Cana (Kana[G], Qanah [H], reeds) of Galilee (Ho-Galilaia[G] circuit, Yam Ha-Kineret[H] Lake of the harp, [region]); and the mother (meter[G], eim[H]) of the (tos[G]) Yeshua[H] [A] (Iesous[G] YHVH Saves) was in that place (ekei[G]):
 
NB: Cana is approximately 7.9 km north of Nazareth. This would have been approximately 1 ½ hours walk. Yeshua spent His middle years in Nazareth.
 
“Cana of Galilee” Is a town assigned to the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:28). Cana meaning reeds and Asher meaning Happiness.
 
“In the third day” (uvayom hashliyshiy), could refer either to the third day following the day that the disciples of John (the Immerser) first meet Yeshua, or to the third day of a week, that being comparable to Tuesday in the modern western calendar. It is also a figurative prophetic reference to the resurrection of the King Messiah Yeshua. If it refers to the third day of the Hebrew week, there is a significant inference. The third day of the week is that day of the created order where “God  saw that it was good” twice (Genesis 1:10, 12). As a result it is thought to be a day of twofold blessing.
 
The Hebrew chatunah (Marriage) is interesting in that the Hebrew groom, chatan having been joined by the Hebrew bride kalah (arusah, betrothed), enters a binding commitment of love that is named by a feminine form of the masculine noun chatan (groom), that being  chatunah. In other words, the bride joins with the groom and takes on his character.
 
“The mother of” Yeshua’s mother Miriyam (Mary) is never mentioned by name in the Gospel of Yochanan (John). It seems that Yochanan shares his sense of intimate connection to Yeshua with his understanding of Yeshua’s special connection to His mother. It is to Miriyam that Yeshua says “Woman here is your son” and to Yochanan He says “Here is your mother”.
 
“25 Near the execution tree of Yeshua stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Yeshua saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Precious Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” -John 19:25-27
 
Thus, those whom the author sees in this way need not be mentioned by name because they are known to the intimate circle of his audience. This is still further evidence that this gospel was initially intended for a Jewish audience and only by extension to the gentiles being saved throughout the Roman empire of the latter first century CE (AD).
 
“The Yeshua” It is interesting to note that while the more recent Hebrew text available does not have the definite article in conjunction with Yeshua’s name, both the Greek and Aramaic texts do. Meaning that the Jewish author, writing in Greek, clearly intended that this Yeshua be seen as exceptional. Thus, “And the mother of the Yeshua was in that place”. Keeping in mind that Joshua (Yeshua, Yehoshua) was an extremely common Jewish name in the first century CE (AD). Therefore, there may well have been several of the 1200 guests who were named Yeshua (Yehoshua, Joshua).
 
Marriage in Judea and Galilee in the first century CE (AD):
 
There were some differences between the Jewish marriage customs of Judea and the Galilee during the first century CE (AD). Religious laws were codified in order to establish correct practise for Jews living in the land at that time.
 
"There are three countries (regions), for the celebration of marriages; Judea, the country beyond Jordan, and Galilee;''
-Misn. Cetubot, c. 13. sect. 10. T. Hieros. Cetubot, fol. 36. 2.
 
Therefore, these three distinct tribal regions of Jews were obligated by Jewish religious law to marry among themselves. If a member of one group married a woman from outside of the group she was not obliged to leave her region and go with him. This is consistent with the Torah requirements regarding the passing on of land as an inheritance to the respective tribes.
 
"They do not bring them out from city to city, (i.e. oblige them to go with them from city to city,) nor from town to town; but in the same country they bring them out from city to city, and from town to town.''
-Bartenora in ib.
 
"In Judea, at first, they joined the bridegroom and bride together an hour before they went into the bride chamber, that so his heart might be lifted up in her; but in Galilee they did not do so: in Judea, at first, they appointed for them two companions, one for him, and another for her, that they might minister to, or wait on the bridegroom, and bride, when they went into the bride chamber; but in Galilee they did not do so: in Judea, at first, the companions slept in the house where the bridegroom and bride slept; but in Galilee they did not do so.''
-Talmud. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 12. 1.
 
Joh 2:2  And both Yeshua[H] and His disciples (mathetes[G] [pupils], talmidim[H] [religious students, followers]) were called by name (kaleo[G]) to the marriage festival (gamos[G]Chatunah[H]).
 
The Greek “kaleo” denotes the receipt of a person by name, and or the receiving of the person’s name and identity. A deep form of welcome that infers either familial relationship or close friendship. Therefore, it is likely that the families who were celebrating this wedding knew Yeshua and His disciples personally. They were either related to Miriyam (Mary) or Yosef (Joseph) [now deceased] or were close friends of the family. Certainly, at very least Yeshua was known to the family through His mother and thus His disciples would have been invited in connection to their newly found spiritual teacher and Rabbi.
 
“Yeshua and His disciples” These being Andrew, and the John (other disciple, not John the Baptist), who followed Yeshua, Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathanael, all of whom were from the Galilee region. Therefore, five of Yeshua’s disciples were present along with His mother and brothers, Yaakov (James), Yosef (Joseph), Yehudah (Judah) and Shimon (Simon) [Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55-56]. Including Yeshua this makes a total of ten free Jewish men present. Ten being a number of fullness and completion, wholeness and restoration, renewal and well-being. This is significant given that according to Jewish Law 10 free Jewish men (a minyan) were required to be present at the blessing of a bridegroom.
 
“They do not bless the blessing of bridegrooms, but with ten principal and free men; and the bridegroom may be one of the number.”
-Maimon. Hilch. Ishot, c. 10. sect. 5. Pirke Eliezer, c. 19. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 9. 3.
 
Aside from the plan circumstances in which Yeshua was a guest and not the bridegroom, we non the less note that figuratively speaking the bridegroom of the body of believers (Yeshua) was among their number.
 
Joh 2:3  And when they were behind in the supply of (hustereo[G]) wine (oinos[G], yiyn[H]) the mother of the (tos[G]) Yeshua[H] [A] said to Him, “They have no wine.”
 
The Greek “oinos” is yet another Hebrew/Aramaic transliteration into Greek. The Hebrew word is “yiyn” and is used to describe the fermented juice of grapes. Wine is a symbol of blessing in both ancient and modern Judaism, thus a lack of wine is symbolic of a lack of blessing or is otherwise seen as a sign that the blessing has run out.
 
Whatever role Yeshua’s mother played at the wedding banquet, she is almost certainly serving as a direct aid to the banquet master, who was likely a close relative. There is a beautiful correlation here. Miriyam is servant both to the banquet master of this wedding and to her own Son Yeshua, the Son of the banquet Master of creation (YHVH). Just as she serves, so she offers Yeshua and opportunity to reveal His service. He is after all the Servant King Messiah (Isa. 53).
 
In this ancient Jewish cultural setting it would have been seen as a disgrace to the families of both bride and groom had the wine run out before the festivities had been concluded. Therefore, the remedying of this situation was of great importance to Miriyam (Mary).
 
Joh 2:4  The (Ho[G]) Yeshua[H] [A] said to her, “What have I to do with your doings (soi[G]) precious woman (gune[G])? [Alt. Hebrew reading: mah-liy valach ishah[H] What of Me and to/for you woman?] My hour, season, time (hora[G])  is not yet arrived (heko[G]) [Alt. Hebrew reading: itiy adayin lo-ba’ah[H] With Me what is yet to be is not come.”
 
The Greek gune in this context refers specifically to a woman relative, wife, betrothed, mother etc.
 
“Precious woman” is a phrase used throughout the Gospel of John as a precursor to a revelation to those women dear to the heart of the Messiah (4:21; 19:26; 20:13,15).
 
“What have I to do with your doings precious woman?” This is a Hebrew idiom from the Tanakh which has been translated into Greek in order to convey a uniquely Hebrew perspective. It is clear that the author knew his primary readers (Jews) would understand it without explanation, and he intentionally fails to clarify its meaning for any later gentile readers. This is because some of the food of the gospel is first and foremost for the children of Israel (Jews, ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen) [Matt.15:26]. The phrase in question is used throughout the Tanakh in different contexts to mean, “What do we have in common?”, “Why are you involving me?”, “Don’t tell me what to do!”, “Why are you turning to me?”, “Your concern is not my concern.”
 
In this case the idiom is employed as a gentle rebuke that seeks to illuminate for Miriyam the importance of Yeshua’s timely revelation of His manifest glory and ultimate goal. None the less, HaShem (YHVH) had always intended for this to be Yeshua’s first miraculous sign, and Yeshua knew this. He did not give in to His mother’s request as some foolishly suggest, rather He helped His mother understand the true significance of her request. Thus Yeshua obeys the will of His Father (YHVH) and proceeds to do what He had always intended to do.
 
“With Me what is yet to be is not come.” Meaning, “The full revelation of my redeeming work and identity awaits its perfect timing.” Therefore, while Miriyam was hoping for Yeshua to be fully recognised for Who He truly was on the occasion of this wedding, He was making sure she understood that His actions at the wedding would be a mitigated revelation that would point to the perfect hour (time) of His vicarious death and resurrection unto glory, resulting in eternal life for all who would receive Him. 
 
Joh 2:5  His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
 
This is one line of motherly advice that every believer should take heed of. Miriyam was approximately 44 years old at the time of these events.
 
Miriyam’s response to Yeshua’s gentle rebuke is one of submission, respect and honour. A carnal mother would have rebuked her son and said to him, “Do as I say” but Miriyam the mother of Yeshua is a devote worshipper and lover of God. Thus she turns to the servants and says, “Do whatever He says”.
 
We note that Yeshua’s mother Miriyam (Mary), who had treasured in her heart that which she had understood of His identity, none the less, does not respond. Rather, like a Yiddish momma, she simply turns to the servants and directs them to obey her son. In doing so Miriyam shows that she understands that while Yeshua’s time of sacrificial death (Luke 2:19, 34-25, 51-52) has not yet come, His time to launch his miraculous ministry has.
 
We must remember that when Yosef (Joseph) and Miriyam had brought the new-born Yeshua to the Temple for consecration, the righteous man Simeon had spoken directly to Miriyam about Yeshua’s destiny:
 
“Then Shimeon blessed them and said to Miriyam, his mother: ‘This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” -Luke 2:34-35
 
Miriyam had listened to and watched Yeshua grow and treasured both Him and His role as redeemer of Israel (Luke 2:19, 51-52). Therefore, the account of her conversation at the wedding in Cana does not show that she misunderstands Yeshua’s appointed time, to the contrary, her response shows that she understands perfectly and in spite of what she knows will lead to her own great loss, she none the less makes it possible for the people of Israel to begin to understand the fullness of God’s purpose of redemption made manifest in Yeshua, her precious, beloved and treasured son.
 
Joh 2:6  And there were set in that place (ekei[G]) six stone (lithinos[G]) water vessels (hudria[G], kadeiy-even[H]), according to the purification, cleansing, washing rituals, judgements, regulations (mishpat[H]) of the (Ho[G]) Judeans (Ioudaios[G], Ha-Yehudiym[H]) each capable of containing 75 to 115 litres.
 
According to Jewish tradition stone jars can be cleansed if made impure but jars made of clay must be destroyed (Lev.6:28; 11:33). It is interesting to note that stone vessels of this kind have been found in a quarry near Nazareth which dates to the first century CE. Additionally, the Greek word tekton, which is translated carpenter in most English Bibles can refer to any kind of labourer, craftsman, or artisan, including a stone mason. Therefore, it is quite possible that both Yosef (Yeshua’s father) and Yeshua (initially as apprentice to His father) were in fact stone masons (Matt.13:55; Mark.6:3). Thus, Yeshua Himself may have made the stone vessels that were present at this wedding in Cana, at the quarry outside of Nazareth, where He spent the majority of His pre-ministry years.
 
“Six stone water vessels” Stone (earth) and water, the elements present at the beginning of creation (Gen.1:1) are present in the six stone vessels, which are themselves representative of the six days of creation. Therefore, figuratively speaking Yeshua as the Creative Word (John 1:1) begins the ministry that will bring about a renewed creation with a sign that speaks of how the renewed creation will come about. That is, through the shed blood of the King Messiah.
 
“According to the purification, rituals, of the Judeans” Refers to Judeans by religion as opposed to Judeans by location or ethnicity, although, for the most part those who were Judean by ethnicity were also at least under the religious instruction of the Judean religious authorities in Jerusalem. The Galileans, who were Jewish by ethnicity but did not necessarily keep all the same sectarian rituals as the Judeans, had none the less provided for the religious rites of their fellow Jews from Judea and may share some of those rites with their brothers and sisters. The ritual washing vessels in this case were most likely used for the washing before meals, a tradition that makes its way through history to the modern rabbinical practise of Netilat Yadaiym (The cleansing of the hands). This practise is likely very similar in form to that of the first century CE (AD) practise.
 
What this tells us is that the wedding was attended by Jews from both Galilee and Judea and that the couple, contrary to extrabiblical Jewish legal custom, may have been a mixed Jewish couple, one Galilean (Of Asher – Cana) and one Judean (Of Judah).
 
“Each capable of containing 75 to 115 litres” In total the six jars were capable of holding approximately 600 litres of water. If we estimate that each guest used the 300 – 500 millilitres of water necessary to perform Netilat Yadayim, we can safely say that there were a minimum of 1200 guests at the wedding. It is no wonder then that there was a wine shortage.
 
Joh 2:7  The (O[G]) Yeshua[H] [A] said to them, “Fill entirely (gemizo[G]) the water jars (hudria[G]) with water (mayim[H]).” And they filled them entirely, up to the brim.”
 
In order for something to be filled it must first be emptied. This means that those attending the wedding festival were devout Judean Jews and observant Jews from the Galilee and Nazareth, many of whom had performed ritual washing (Netilat Yadayim) using the water in the stone vessels before eating at the wedding feast.
 
This filling is figurative of the fresh living water that Yeshua would fill creation with (John 4:14).
 
We note that this sign is given following the account of John the Immerser (John 1:33) speaking of the Messiah bringing a tevilah (Immersion, baptism) in the Spirit that perfects the tevilah (Immersion) of water.
 
Both the beginning of creation and the beginning of Yeshua’s miraculous signs allude to the mikveh (gathering of waters, immersion pool), and to tevilah (immersion).
 
Joh 2:8  And He said to them, “Draw out now (nun[G]), and carry (phero[G]) it to the master, the great one (architriklinos[G], el-Rav[H]) of the feast.” And they carried it.
 
“Draw out now” No sooner had the vessels been filled with fresh water, that they were straight away poured into wine jugs and transported to the master of the banquet. This miraculous sign happened instantaneously, in the same way that the Nile had been turned red by the command of Moses.
 
We note that Yeshua made a presentation to the lord of the feast, of the fine wine that had resulted from His work. This is of course figurative of the presenting of His own blood before the Lord of All things (YHVH).
 
“The great one of the feast” The Greek architriklinos (Master of Festivities) is a compound title made up of three words: arche meaning beginning, origin, tria meaning three, and klino meaning to recline, rest, the declining of the day. It is a description of a dinner bed, or three couches connected and used for feasting and thus becomes a noun describing the master of ceremonies at a banquet. However, it is also a figure for the unity of God, Who begins all things (arche), is three and One (tria), and Who offers rest and reclining at the declining of time, to all who receive His Son (klino). Interestingly, the Hebrew text calls the master of the feast “El-Rav” The Great One”, Rav being the root for Rabbi.
 
Joh 2:9  When the master, the great one (architriklinos[G], el-Rav[H]) of the feast had tasted the water (hudatos[G], mayim[H]) it had become wine (oinos[G], yiyn[H]), and he had not seen the place it had come from: (but the servants who drew the water knew;) thus, the great one (architriklinos[G], el-Rav[H]) of the feast called the bridegroom (numphios[G], chatan[H])
 
It is impossible to think of a modern scientific explanation for this miraculous sign. Water does not become wine through any instantaneous process, nor is it feasible to suggest that this was simply diluted wine made from some deposit of wine in the base of the jars because the master of the banquet himself states that it is the best of wines, a fine, full bodied wine incomparable to the weaker wines served up to that point.
 
We note that only Yeshua’s mother (who possibly told His brothers and relatives), the disciples with Him and the servants, knew what had taken place at this point. Metaphorically speaking there is a miracle (sign) that only the servants, followers, and relatives of Yeshua know, that being the salvation that comes through His vicarious death and miraculous resurrection. To others the wonderful transformation of those being saved is seen publicly as the “finest wine” which is saved for last. While still others are not even invited to the Wedding Banquet.
 
“The great one of the feast called the bridegroom” The bridegroom would have been seated with the bride in a prominent place. Therefore, the calling out of the bridegroom would have been seen by all. Figuratively, Yeshua is called by the Father to be honoured before all creation.
 
Joh 2:10  And said to him (bridegroom), “Every (individual) man (human being) first sets out the excellent, precious, surpassingly good (kalos[G], ha-tov[H]) wine (oinos[G], yiyn[H]); and when people have become drunk (methuo[G]), then that which is worse (elasson[G]): but you have taken care, attended to matters carefully, reserved, kept (tereo[G]) the excellent, precious, surpassingly good (kalos[G] ha-tov[H]) wine (oinos[G], yiyn[H]) until this moment (arti[G]).”
 
Yeshua’s first sign prophetically prefigures the unsurpassable value of the last sign of His earthly ministry, that being His death and resurrection.
 
We note that the bridegroom had no idea of what had taken place (at least, not at this point).
 
“Every man first sets out the good wine; and when people have become drunk, then that which is worse” A drunk man cannot appreciate the fine qualities of superior wine. Therefore, common sense dictates that the good wine should be served first at a time in proceedings when it can be appreciated, and later, for those who have drunk too much, the cheap wine is served.
 
“but you have taken care, reserving the good wine until this moment” Yeshua has produced the best wine last for a reason. The fact that the wine had run out indicates that many of the guests must have been over drinking, many, but not all. Those who had become drunk would now be given the fine wine produced by Yeshua but would be unable to appreciate it, while those who had been drinking responsibly would have been free to enjoy the superior wine to the fullest. Based on his assessment of the wine we know that the master of the banquet was one who had drunk responsibly. Likewise Yeshua’s mother and disciples. It is also possible that the servants who had not been drinking but serving, were later afforded the opportunity to drink of the fine wine, not having indulged in irresponsible drinking because of their commitment to service.
 
Therefore, we conclude that the wine was appreciated by the sober but went unnoticed by the drunk. This is a figure for the Gospel, where the blood of Messiah is received as the sweet fragrance of salvation to those being saved and as the stench of death to those being lost (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).
 
Joh 2:11  This beginning, origin, first (arche[G], reishiyt[H]) of (O[G]) the signs, wonders, miracles (semeion[G], ha-otot[H]) Yeshua[H] [A] did in Cana (Kana[G], Qanah [H], reeds) of Galilee (Ho-Galilaia[G] [circuit], Yam Ha-Kineret[H] Lake of the harp, [region]), and manifested, made known, made visible (phaneroo[G]) His glory, splendour, brightness, opinion, judgement, view (doxa[G], kevodo[H]); and His disciples, religious students, followers (mathetes[G], talmidim[H]) believed, had faith, trusted, were persuaded, accepted the truth (pisteuo[G], ya’amiynu[H]) in/on Him.
 
“This beginning, origin, first of the signs, wonders, miracles” The Greek “semeion” (miracle) equates to the Hebrew “ot” which is the same word used to describe the signs and wonders that God performed for Israel through Moses and the prophets.
 
This was the first of seven miraculous signs that each showed how the created order submitted to the authority of Yeshua (2:1-11; 4:43-54; 5:1-9; 6:1-5; 9:1-41; 11:1-44), the seventh sign showing Yeshua’s authority over the grave. Additionally the turning of the water to wine at Cana is the first of a total of 37 public signs (miracles) which are recorded in the gospels. We add to these: 1. the miraculous birth of Yeshua, 2. the sign of His death on the tree, and 3. His miraculous resurrection and we come to the sum 40, a number symbolizing fullness and new beginning. A number closely associated with the prophet Moses.
 
By turning the water into wine Yeshua emulated the first public sign (miracle, plague) performed by Moses via his proxy Aaron (Moses brother), that being the turning of the waters of the Nile to blood (Exodus 7:19-20). We note that this first public sign of Moses (Following the consuming of Pharaoh’s snakes) began the 10 plagues against Egypt (Double Distress) and was the beginning of Israel’s journey to freedom through the blood of the Passover Lamb. Thus, Yeshua showed Himself to be the One Who Moses had prophesied would come:
 
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.  For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” -Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (NIV)
 
The first public sign of Moses was a plague, the first public sign of Yeshua was a symbol of redemption and healing from the greatest of plagues (sin and death). The Torah brought the indictment against sin, the vicarious sacrifice of the Author of the Torah (Yeshua) brings atonement and freedom from the indictment of the Torah (cf. John 1:17).
 
Both the first sign of Moses and the first sign of Yeshua were the inauguration of a process that would lead to the death of the first born. In the case of Moses, to the death of the firstborn of Egypt (double distress), and in the case of Yeshua, the death of the First Born Son of God Himself. The former being the means of physical freedom, the latter being the means of eternal metaphysical freedom.
 
If we are not to be judged we have no need of salvation. Therefore, judgement is necessary in order to qualify redemption.
 
Where Moses’ miraculous sign brought judgement against the enemies of God, Yeshua’s sign prophesied the means by which the enemies of God might be redeemed. And, just as the Passover Lamb delivered Israel from physical slavery, so too the “Lamb of God” would deliver Israel from spiritual slavery. It is no coincidence therefore, that the following verses of John 2 (v.13) speak of the Passover, for that is exactly what this first miraculous sign of Yeshua was pointing toward.

In summation, the miracle of the water turned to wine uses the symbolism of creation and the first public miracle (sign) of Moses to present to Israel the One (Yeshua) Who brings the redemptive means by which the sin affected creation can be cleansed and reborn as a new creation.

1. Creation (earth & water)
2. Moses (Nile to blood)
3. Atonement (water to wine)
4. Wedding Banquet of the Lamb (wedding at Cana)

​John’s gospel began by illuminating the creative Word of God Yeshua and continued through chapter one to allude to the Immerser Yochanan, whose immersion (ritual washing) is one of repentance. Now in the opening account of chapter two, in the miracle (sign) of the wedding at Cana we see the creative Word (Yeshua) of God present at a wedding festival. We see six stone jars, which, unlike clay kilned jars, are not of man-made material (Yeshua may well have literally made the stone vessels present at the wedding at Cana). We recall the stone (rock) which is cut out and will destroy the wicked kingdoms of humanity, establishing His rule over all things, as referenced to the prophetic dream of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:34, 44-45).The six jars are the six days of creation and the stone (rock, earth) and water are the base elements of the created order of our world (Genesis 1:1-2). Therefore, the Word (Creative voice of God, Yeshua), Who was in the beginning with God (John 1:1) commands that the stone jars be filled to the brim with water on the third day (v.1), and in stone and water He creates wine, just as God created the grape vines on the third day (Gen. 1:10-13) following the creation of the Cosmos, heavens, earth and water, and prior to the creation of humanity. 
​
The water from the jars for ritual cleansing had been used to purify the body but could never purify the soul, spirit, conscience, being. Yeshua fills the same jars with new water, His living water, and turns the notion of temporary purification (physical washing) into a symbol for the blood (wine) that will bring a cleansing which will rid the soul, spirit, conscience, being of impurity forever. That is, the blood of His own vicarious, sacrificial death, shed for many. This wine (blood) is presented before the Master (God the Father) of the wedding Banquet (Of the Lamb) and it is The Master (YHVH) Who says of this wine (blood), “you’ve saved the best for last”, in other words, the temporary blood (wine) of animal sacrifice and the temporary cleansing of water is now eclipsed by the all sufficient blood (wine) of the Messiah Yeshua, Who perpetually pours out the mayim Chayim living waters of His life into the lives of others.
 
Yeshua Makes a Whip (John 2:12-25):
 
Joh 2:12  After this He (Yeshua) went down to Kafar Nachum[H] (Village [atonement] of comfort Capernaum), He, and His mother (meter[G], eim[H]), and his brethren (adelphos[G], echayn [achim] [H]) and His disciples, religious students, followers (mathetes[G], talmidim[H]): and they continued there for only a few days.
 
Capernaum is not south (down) of Cana, rather it is “down” in the sense of terrain.
 
NB: Capernaum is 38 km north-east of Cana and is known as the town of both Peter and Yeshua. It would have been approximately 7 ½ hours walk from Capernaum to Cana.
 
Yeshua was born in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth and He preached in Jerusalem but spent the majority of His time during His public ministry years in Capernaum. It is thought that when the Bible speaks of Yeshua’s “own city”, it is referring to Capernaum (Matt. 9:1). It is interesting to note that the Comforter (Yeshua) spent much of His public ministry living in the village of comfort (K’far Nachum).
 
We note now for the second time that Yeshua’s earthly father (step father as it were) is not present with His mother and the family. It is highly unlikely that Joseph (being a righteous man) had divorced his wife (or we would hear of it elsewhere), therefore, it seems that between the age of 12 (Luke 2:41-52) and the beginning of Yeshua’s public ministry (age 30) His earthly father Joseph had passed away.
 
Joh 2:13  And the Holy convocation of the Passover (Pascha[G], Chag ha-Pesach[H]) of (Ho[G]) the (Ioudaios[G], Yehudiym[H]) Judeans was at hand (eggus[G]), and Yeshua[H][A] went up upon, made aliyah (anabaino[G], vaya’al[H]) to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim[H]: Flood/Downpour of Peace and wholeness),
 
NB: Jerusalem is 163 km south-west of Capernaum. This would have been approximately 35 hours walk, or a day and a half’s journey.
 
“The Passover of the Judeans” means that it was the Passover sacrifice performed according to the Temple rites upon the Temple altar as commanded by God for when Israel entered the land of Israel (The Temple being in Jerusalem of Judah). Prior to Israel’s entry to the land the Passover sacrifice was made outside of Israel and the Temple mount. The Samaritans practiced the Passover sacrifice (in direct violation of Torah) on Mt Gerizim. An issue that Yeshua addressed directly with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:4-42). The Passover of the Judeans also infers a practice that had additional customs associated with the Biblical command, customs that the Judean religious leaders had added. Regardless, Yeshua came to share in the Passover observance in Jerusalem along with all those Jews from throughout the known world who regularly made Aliyah for the Regalim (three going up festivals: Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot). Regalim is from the Hebrew root “rega” meaning to wait, thus these festivals were known as the three times when all Israel waited on the Lord together in His Holy City Jerusalem, where He had placed His Name.
 
It is no coincidence that the miracle of the water to wine occurs directly prior to the sacrifice of the Passover, which is the very thing that the symbolism of the miracle reveals. Therefore, having been called the “Lamb of God Who takes away the offence of the world” and having shown how His blood would become the finest wine of redemption, Yeshua now goes up to Jerusalem to the Passover celebration that has prefigured His coming for millennia.
 
Joh 2:14  And came upon, found, discovered (heurisko[G]) in (en[G]) the temple (hieron[G], vamikdash[H]) salesmen, barterers (poleo[G]) that sold oxen and sheep and doves (yonah[H]), and the money brokers (kermatistes[G], porteiy ha-kesef[H]) sitting in fixed abode (kathemai[G], yoshviym sham[H]):
 
This same incident is recorded in Matthew 21:12-27, Mark 11:12-17, and Luke 19:45-20:8  where the emphasis differs slightly. In John’s account Yeshua emphasises the need for the temple to be purified so that His own Jewish people might worship God in purity. Thus the author quotes Psalm 69:9. This makes sense, given that the author of the Gospel According to John sees the Jews as his primary audience. Whereas, the focus of Mark’s Gospel for example, is on rebuking the false witness that these practices exhibit to the nations. Therefore, the author of Mark’s Gospel quotes a different verse from the Tanakh (OT), “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ (Isaiah 56:7). But you have made it a den of robbers (Jeremiah 7:11).”
 
While the accounts are very similar the overturning of the tables is recorded at the end of Yeshua’s ministry in the other gospels rather than at the beginning as in the present text. This means that Yochanan the author of the Gospel According to John, either changed the chronology to suit his narrative and theme, or, more likely, that Yeshua turned over the trading tables in the Temple a second time in the latter days of His ministry. This is consistent with the fact that the accounts of the synoptic Gospels are thematically different from that of John.
 
Therefore, when He first turned over the tables Yeshua was showing Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen) the need for the purification of the temple, whereas, nearing the end of His ministry He placed the emphasis on how the apostate worship of Israel was causing the nations to stumble.
 
It is interesting to note that the Mark 11:12-17 account has Yeshua cursing the fig tree prior to the events that took place in the temple courts. Later that fig tree had withered. We recall that Nathanael had been called from under the fig tree which represented the place of Torah study and the fruitfulness that should come from it, however, there were those who taught in the seat of authority who had made the fig tree (metaphorically) fruitless. Unlike Nathanael, who was “A true Israelite in whom there is no deceit”, many of the Torah scholars and teachers among the Judean religious leadership had made their fig trees fruitless through teaching “the rules of men”, and thus were cursed by Yeshua so that the tree of their false teaching might not bear fruit in the future.
 
“In the Mikdash (temple)” means inside the temple area itself, and does not refer to the outer court of the gentiles which is not considered part of the temple proper (Yet further proof that this is a separate, earlier event of similar nature). The selling and bartering of religious goods is most likely to have occurred in the court of the men of Israel which is located just prior to the court of the priests where the sacrifices are offered on the altar. Based on the Greek text we can deduce that the sellers and money changers had fixed abodes there. Simply put, they weren’t coming and going, rather they had set up semi-permanent tables and booths from which they sold their merchandise, changed money for interest into the temple shekel, and generally profited from those who had come from afar to observe the regalim festivals.
 
Pilgrims making Aliyah (going up) were obligated by the Torah to pay the Temple tax by way of the official half-shekel (Exodus 30:11-16).
 
Joh 2:15  And when He had prepared, constructed, fashioned (poieo[G]) a scourge, whip (phragellion[G]) out of individual cords [bound together] (schoinion pas[G]), He drove, cast (ekballo[G]) them all (kulam[H]) out of the temple (hieron[G], ha-mikdash[H]), and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out, sent flying, spilled abroad (ekchuno[G]) the changers' of small coins (kollubistes[G], Maot[H]), both the small coins (kerma[G]) and the tables (trapeza[G], ha-shulchaniym[H]) were overturned, destroyed (anatrepo[G], yahapokh[H]);
 
“And when He had fashioned a scourge out of individual cords” This task would have taken a minimum of 30 minutes and probably up to an hour to complete. Yeshua maintained His Godly anger (Yaakov 1:20) over this period of time and focused on the creative task of making the whip out of numerous leather cords bound at the base and knotted at the ends, designed to draw blood. This was not the foolish instantaneous reaction of an angry man, rather it was the contained, premeditated, disciplinary action of the Spirit filled King Messiah. It is utterly foolish therefore, to claim that Yeshua was a pacifist (non-violent resistance). Just as the gospel is perpetually first for the Jews (Rom.1:16), so to the discipline of God is perpetually first for the Jews (Rom.2:9), and the coming glory of God’s Kingdom will be first for the Jews (Rom.2:10). He disciplines the ones He loves (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6).
 
The use of the Greek kollubistes (changers' of small coins) in place of kermatistes (Money brokers) which is used in the previous verse, is intentional. It refers to changers of even the smallest coins, meaning that every defiled item down to the least, was dispersed and driven out of the temple complex by the King Messiah Yeshua.
 
The Greek anatrepo is more forceful than simply overturning (as in many English translations), it carries the sense of destruction. Yeshua did more than simply overturn the tables, He stomped them into pieces, such was His anger concerning the defiling of His Father’s House. The phrase “Gentle Jesus meek and mild”, while not entirely untrue, has none the less, become a lie of omission on the tongues of many believers. Therefore, we are reminded by the Gospel of Yochanan, that Yeshua has already come as a meek Lamb to the slaughter but He is now resurrected and will return as the warrior King Messiah, destroying the tables and wealth of God’s enemies and restoring righteousness and truth to the temple mount.
 
Joh 2:16  And said to those that sold, bartered over (poleo[G]) doves (yonah[H]), “Take these things away; do not make My Father's (pater[G]) house a house of merchandise, trade, an emporium, a market place (emporion[G]).” Joh 2:17  And His disciples (talmidim[H]) remembered that it was written, “The zeal (zelos[G] kinat[H]) for Your, the (ho[G]) house (oikos[G] beiytecha[H]) has eaten me up, consumed me (katesthio[G achalateniy[H]).”
 
“Kiy-kinat Because jealousy beiytecha for Your House achalateniy eats me, burns me up, vecherpot and the scorn, blaspheme, taunt, defying chorfeycha that has scorned, blasphemed, taunted, defyied You nafelu has fallen alay upon me.” -Psalm 69:9
 
We note that the so called “uneducated” am ha-aretz (people of the land, common people) disciples (talmidim) of Yeshua, were in fact very well versed in the Torah, Prophets and Writings of the Tanakh.
 
The Scripture that they had recalled further illuminates the context of this incident at the temple.
 
“I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;
for zeal for your house consumes me,
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.” -Psalm 69:9-10 (NIV)
 
Yeshua’s disciples understood that this scripture was being enacted in all its prophetic fullness, right before their eyes. This psalm of David was written at a time when he had been scorned by his own people and treated as a foreigner because of his zeal for God’s House (Temple), and all that entailed.
 
Joh 2:18  Then (Ho[G]) the (Ioudaios[G], Yehudiym[H]) Judeans (religious leaders in Jerusalem) answered and said to Him, “What sign (semeion[G], ot[H]) will you show, expose to our eyes (deiknuo[G]), seeing that you do these things?”
 
It was believed (And rightly so), that according to the Tanakh, the Messiah when He came, would manifest signs and wonders like those of Moses and Elijah. The question of the religious leaders was not wrong in and of itself but the motivation behind their question sought to disprove Yeshua’s identity as the King Messiah. Thus, it is in large part because of their evil intent that Yeshua answers the way He does in the following verse.
 
Joh 2:19  Yeshua answered and said to them, “Destroy, loose, unfasten, unbandage (luo[G]) this temple (naos[G], heiychal[H]) and in three days I will arouse, raise it up (egeiro[G]).”
 
The word for temple here is the Greek naos rather than the formerly rendered hieron. Where hieron refers to the sum of the temple precinct courts, naos refers to the temple proper, the Holy place and the holy of holies. Likewise, the Hebrew text uses heiychal (sanctuary, holy place & holy of holies), rather than mikdash (temple precinct).
 
We note that this chapter began “On the third day…”
 
Joh 2:20  Then (Ho[G]) the (Ioudaios[G], Yehudiym[H]) Judeans (religious leaders in Jerusalem) said, “This temple (naos[G], heiychal[H]) has been constructed over a period of forty six years, and wilt You arouse, raise it up (egeiro[G]) in three days?”
 
It seems logical that men looking at literal earthly objects would conclude a physical meaning related to the temple itself in Jerusalem. The construction of Herod’s temple had begun in approximately 20-19 BCE (BC). The two years of preparation in construction is probably not included in the estimate of the religious leaders, which means that these events probably too place about 28 CE (AD). This confirms the view that the gospel writer is speaking of the first of two occasions where Yeshua turned over the tables of the money changers.
 
In fact, the construction of the temple complex was not completed until 64 CE (AD) by Herod Agrippa, just six years before the Romans destroyed it.
 
Joh 2:21  But He had spoken of the temple (naos[G], heiychal[H]) of His body (soma[G]). Joh 2:22  When therefore He was aroused, risen (egeiro[G]) from the dead (nekros[G]), His disciples, religious students (talmidim[H]) remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed, trusted, were confident in (pisteuo[G], yamiynu[H]) the Writing (graphe[G], katuv [ketvi] [H]) and the word (logos[G], davar[H]) which Yeshua had spoken.
 
“The Temple of His body” being an intimate correlation to the temple of God. In both cases the Greek and Hebrew texts use the same word to describe the Holy place at the centre of the temple precinct
 
“they believed in the Writing” Both the Greek graphe and the Hebrew katuv (ketvi) mean writing, written thing. Where others translate “scripture” it is more accurate to translate “Writings”, referring specifically to the third section of the Tanakh (OT) called the Ketuvim (Writings) which includes the poetry books [(Psalms, Proverbs, and Job), the Megillot, or Scrolls (Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther), and some of the books of prophecy (Daniel), and history (Ezra, Nehemiah, and I and II Chronicles).]
 
Joh 2:23  Now when He was in Jerusalem (Yerushalayim[H]: Flood/Downpour of Peace and wholeness) at the Passover (Pascha[G], Chag ha-Pesach[H]), on the festival day (heorte[G], be’chag[H]), many believed, trusted, were confident (pisteuo[G], yamiynu[H]) in His Name (onoma[G], besh’mo[H]), when they saw the miracles (semeion[G], ha-otot[H]) which He did.
 
“The festival day” refers to the day of the Passover sacrifice called the Chagigah (Festival offering).
 
The miracles being referred to are those performed during this same period in Yeshua’s early ministry as recorded in the other gospels.
 
“Many believed in His Name, when they saw the miracles which He did.” Many outside of Yeshua’s circle of family and disciples believed in Him based on the signs He was doing, signs like those of Moses and Elijah, which was what had been expected of the Messiah by the Jewish people. Like the three thousand at Shavuot (Pentecost) and the many thousands more among the Jews who believed both before and after His death and resurrection, it was this remnant of Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical, chosen) who were the first to receive Yeshua, and His gospel continues to be first for the Jews (Romans 1:16).
 
Joh 2:24  But Yeshua did not commit, entrust (pisteuo[G], he’emiyn[H]), himself to them, upon which (al-asher[H]) he knew all (yada et-kulam[H]), Joh 2:25  And did not need the testimony (martureo[G], le’eidut[H]) of a man (iysh[H]) of humanity (anthropos[G], al-ha’adam[H]): for He knew (yada[H]) what was in, among (en[G], mah-bekerev[H]) humanity, the man (anthropos[G], ha-adam[H]).
 
“But Yeshua did not entrust himself to them, upon which he knew” At this point in His ministry those who believed Yeshua was the promised Messiah would also have held tightly to the prophecies of His dominion over Israel and the nations. Therefore, they would have been eager to make Him King on the throne of David and see Him physically defeat the Roman empire and bring about the Messianic reign promised in the Tanakh (OT). Knowing this, Yeshua did not entrust Himself to the plans of human beings (cf. Matt.16:23; Mark 8:33). His time to rule and the Messianic age had not yet come, He must first suffer and die for all humanity. This reflects the gentle rebuke made to Miriyam earlier in the chapter (v.4).
 
“Did not need the testimony of a man: for He knew what was in, among humanity” The second Adam Yeshua knew intimately the nature of the first Adam and his progeny (Humanity). It was not the approval or validation of human beings he sought but the honour and glory of the Father to Whom He submitted all things. Had Yeshua given in to the human desire to promote Himself, He may well have become King and victor over Rome, but at the cost of the damnation of all humanity. Yeshua was not afforded the luxury of error and repentance. He had come to be Holy, just as the Father is Holy. He would endure all things that a human being must endure but would remain sinless for the sake of all humanity.
 
“4 Therefore, since we have a Kohen Gadol great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua the Son of Elohim, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a Kohen Gadol high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet remained without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” -Hebrews 4:14-16
 
Copyright 2019 Yaakov Brown

Introduction:
The former chapter ends with a description of the wicked, lazy, godless false shepherds and rulers of Israel at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy. They are described as drunken fools who are devoid of faith and focused solely on their own unjust gain. They are now starkly contrasted to the righteous who have fallen as a result of the wicked rulers and false shepherds of Israel (Judah).
 
Isa 57:1  Ha-tzadiyk The righteous avad perishes, ve’eiyn and no iysh (man) one sam lays it al upon (within) leiv their core being (heart); ve’ansheiy-chesed merciful men of standing ne’esafiym are taken away (removed), be’eiyn while none meiviyn understand. Kiy-mipeneiy For from before the face ha’ra’ah of the evil ne’esaf ha-tzadiyk the righteous are gathered in, taken away, received;
 
“The righteous die, and no man layeth my fear to heart; and the men who shew mercy are taken away, and they consider not that the righteous are taken away on account of the evil which shall come.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
“The righteous perishes, and no one lays it upon (within) their core being (heart)” It seems clear given the context and chronology that righteous Jews living in the midst of their idolatrous countrymen have died as a result of the ungodly rule of the wicked. Specifically the wicked rulers and shepherds of Israel (56:9-12). Therefore, it is members of the righteous remnant that are being referred to.
 
The prophet’s words may well reflect the condition of Judah under the reign of king Manasseh, who is described this way: “Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.” (2 Kings 21:16).
 
“Merciful men of standing are taken away (removed), while no one understands.” The spiritual condition of Judah (Israel) is so debauched that the people barely pay attention to the deaths of the righteous, nor are they able to do the spiritual math and see that this is a sign of how low they have sunk into idolatry and lewdness. The Hebrew “ansheiy” refers not just to men but to men of standing, respected and righteous men who are leaders of the community. We note that the Targum reads, “no man layeth my fear to heart.” This correlates to the idea that those who resist God’s love often choose to celebrate the death of His servants:
 
“and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.” -Revelation 11:10 (ESV)
 
King David’s response to the loss of the godly is the right response, and an example to all:
 
“Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.” -Psalm 12:1
 
He rightly understands that the death of the righteous is an indictment against a community, and at its extension, an indictment against humanity. Therefore, he cries out to the Lord for salvation. At the time of Isaiah’s prophecy Judah (Israel) did not follow the good example of David because unlike David the rulers and shepherds of Judah (Israel) were unrepentant and had forsaken God’s Torah, and instead had turned to numbing themselves with debauchery in the worship of false gods.
 
“For from before the face of the evil the righteous are gathered in, taken away, received;” This is an explanation of that which the wicked of Israel are unable to understand in their state of spiritual blindness. For the righteous, death is not an end to life but rather a transitional journey into everlasting life. For the wicked on the other hand, death is an end that gives birth to an everlasting second death. Therefore, the death of the righteous is described as an act of God’s mercy. He has taken the righteous away to Gan Eden (Paradise) in order to spare them the face of evil that will come against the wicked in this temporal sin affected world.
 
Something similar is prophesied by Huldah the prophetess concerning the righteous king Josiah:
 
“Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.” -2 Kings 22:20 (ESV)
 
In a literal historical sense the evil that is about to come upon Judah (Israel) will come in the form of the Babylonian Empire. Thus, the righteous are being spared from captivity. In a greater spiritual sense the Lord continues to deliver the righteous from the plague of evil that is coming upon the world in these latter days. And, like the spiritually blind Israel of old the present generation is oblivious to both the loss of the righteous and the clear sign that this loss presents regarding the coming destruction and judgement.
 
Isa 57:2  Yavo He has and continues to enter into shalom peace (wholeness, wellbeing); yanuchu they have and continue to rest (remain, dwell) al-mishkevotam upon their beds holeich who walk in ne’chocho straightness, rightness (in front of).
 
“They shall enter into peace; they shall rest in the place of their beds, those that do His law.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
“He has and continues to enter into shalom peace (wholeness, wellbeing)” The “He” in this phrase is the righteous, the merciful man of standing. Keep in mind that this follows the perishing (death) of the righteous one. Therefore, the text infers an ongoing existence after death in the afterlife (Gan Eden: Paradise).
 
The Hebrew text informs us that the righteous one has (past tense) and continues to (present tense) enter into Peace, wholeness, and well-being. This is a description of the soul dwelling in spirit with the person of Peace, that is the transcendent resurrected Messiah, the Prince of Peace. This is in keeping with the familiar refrain of the Torah, “He was gathered to his tribe” (Gen.25:8). One asks, given that Abraham died and was gathered to his tribe, where is his tribe, and how is it possible to be gathered to one’s ethnic family after death? The answer is of course found in the teachings of our rabbis and in the mashal of Yeshua concerning Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Sheol, the place of the departed (not the grave: kever), is divided into Gan Eden (Paradise) and Gehenna (Torment), with an uncrossable chasm between the two.
 
“they have and continue to rest (remain, dwell) upon their beds who walk in straightness, rightness.” The bed is used as a euphemism for the sleep of death. Yeshua used the euphemism sleep to describe temporal death, that is, the first death. It is temporal in the fact that the first death lasts only until the judgement, at which time there is a second death for the wicked but eternal life for the righteous (those made righteous through Messiah Yeshua). The use of “bed” as a euphemism for death is consistent with the use of “sleep” for the same purpose. Both infer a temporal state, one that the sleeper (on his bed) will one day awake from. Thus, both Gan Eden and Gehenna are temporal holding places that will give forth their dead at the judgement, after which the righteous will live in the Olam Haba (world to come) in God’s manifest presence and the wicked will be consigned to the place they have chosen, that is the lake of fire that torments perpetually (Rev. 20:14).
 
We note that it is those whose faith causes them to walk in straightness, which is synonymous with righteousness, who are received to rest in peace upon their beds.
 
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’” -Revelation 14:13 (ESV)
 
The Hebrew “mishkav” translated bed, is an accurate description of the ancient Jewish interment practice of chiselling out rock beds, and cubicles inside caves, and or setting them in man-made tombs (above ground). These acted as the tombs (graves) of those who had passed on. Therefore, unlike the English word “grave” the Hebrew “kever” denotes an above ground interment rather than an under ground burial.
 
Later in the chapter the bed is seen as a convergent euphemism for both adulterous idolatry and death.
 
Isa 57:3  Ve’atem But you (plural), kirvu-heinah draw near, here, now, beneiy sons (children) onenah of a sorceress, zera seed (offspring) me’naeif from an adulterer v’tizneh and a whore (fornicator).
 
“But ye, come nigh hither, people of a generation whose works are evil, whose plant was of a holy plant; but they are adulterers, and fornicators.” Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE).
 
Now the prophet speaks God’s disciplinary words to the wicked among the people of Judah and Israel.
 
The modern Hebrew convergent phrase for the litany of titles at the end of this verse is “Ben-zonah”, equivalent to “Son of a bitch”, but literally “Son of a whore”.
 
We note that this is a generational indictment. Not only are the generation of Isaiah’s lifetime wicked, they are the children of a wicked generation.
 
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” -1 Samuel 15:23
 
The progression of titles is significant:

1. Sons of a sorceress (Idolatry and rebellion)
2. Seed from an adulterer (Dissolution of Marriage, Destruction of family)
3. Seed from a whore (Wasted seed, Infant murder, Destroying future progeny)

 
The children of the sorceress are children of rebellion. Both they and their parents have rebelled against God. The adulterer destroys families. Therefore, the children of the adulterer are those who destroy families through sexual sin. The children of the whore, however, in addition to destroying families, also participates is the ironic and self-defeating act of wasting seed and by aborting (sacrificing) unwanted babies that result from breeches in birth control for the prostitute. This brings blood guilt (murder) on both the prostitute and the one who lies with her.
 
This list of titles and their sins results in a generation that is destroying itself through rebellion toward God. Thus, a loving God has no other option but to discipline His wayward children in order to save them from themselves.

A similar indictment is brought against the Church in Thyatira, and serves as a warning to the Church today:

“But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” -Revelation 2:20 (ESV)
 
Isa 57:4  Al-miy Against whom tit’an’agu do you mock? Al-miy Against whom tarchivu do you open wide peh your mouth, ta’ariychu lengthening (sticking out) lashon your tongue? Ha-lo-atem Are you (plural) not yildeiy-fesha children of rebellion (transgression), zera seed (offspring) shaqer of lies, deceit, falsehood.
 
“Against whom do you mock? Against whom do you open wide your mouth, lengthening (sticking out) your tongue? In one sense the text speaks of the wicked who mock the righteous representatives of God and indeed God himself. They ridicule and poke out their tongues. In another sense this could be seen as a description of haughty lasciviousness, sexual foreplay. Finally, there is the figurative application of the mouth and the words that proceed from it. The words of the wicked among Israel are words that produce death in opposition to the Word of life spoken by God’s prophet. The lengthening of the tongue could also be understood as an idiom meaning, to use language as a means of deception.
 
“Are you (plural) not children of rebellion (transgression), seed (offspring) of lies, deceit, falsehood.” The title “Children of rebellion” is the other part of the couplet to verse 3’s sorceress. Likewise “Seed of lies” relates to the adulteress and the whore.
 
Isa 57:5  Ha’neichamiym You who get hot with lust baeiliym among the terebinth trees (gods, idols, judges), tachat under kol-eitz ra’anan every green tree, shochateiy who slaughter ha-yladiym the children banechaliym in the valleys, tachat under se’ifeiy clefts ha-selaiym in the rock?
 
“Who worship idols beneath every green tree, who sacrifice the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
“Terebinth trees” The terebinth was the chief tree in Canaanite pagan worship, and is possibly the tree associated with the worship of Ashteret. The Ashterot poles/idols were possibly carved from the terebinth.
 
“In the valleys” probably refers to the Hinnom and Kidron in particular. The Hinnom valley is a known location for child sacrifice to the false Canaanite horned bull deity Moloch, aka Molech.
 
Sexual perversion and the sacrifice of children on pagan altars was common practice among the Canaanites whom HaShem had commanded the Israelites to remove from the land. Instead, the generations pursuant to Israel’s coming into the land became seduced by the women of the land and fell into worship of the false gods of Canaan.
 
Sacred prostitutes acted as priestesses and priests of deities such as Ashteret, the Canaanite equivalent to Aphrodite (the Greek godess of love, sex, beauty and fertility). The cult of Moloch demanded the sacrifice of children and was practised by king Manasseh in the Valley of Hinnom below Mount Zion surrounding Jerusalem from west to south (2 Chronicles 33:6). The valley of Hinnom is used as a figure for the holding place of torment known as Gehinnom or Gehenna.
 
However, the current reference to child sacrifice also specifies the location “under the clefts of the rock” which is an allusion to the high place sacrifices made to the Ba’aliym (Husbands, masters, false deities). It is likely that both forms of pagan sacrifice are being referred to.
 
Isa 57:6  Bechalkeiy-nachal Among the smooth stones of the wadi (torrent valley, stream bed) chelkeich is your portion; heim, heim they, they, goraleich are your lot (dice, chance pebbles); gam-lahem shafacht also to them you have poured out nesech a drink he’eliyt offering (ascending), minchah a grain offering, tribute, sacrifice. Ha-al eileh enacheim Am I supposed to relent, regret, be comforted by, console Myself, repent because of these things?
 
“Among the smooth stones of the wadi (torrent valley, stream bed) is your portion” Stones made smooth by the swift current of water that flooded the valleys were often anointed with oil and became objects of pagan worship upon which tribute was left and sacrifices were made.
 
“they, are your lot” This can be understood to refer to either a portion inherited or a chance devise. The commentator Yarchi suggests that the very stones used in pagan worship will be used to stone to death their worshippers. This is certainly an accurate picture of the nature of sinful action. In one sense all idolatry is self-abuse.
 
The use of the Hebrew “minchah” meaning, offering or grain offering, one specifically associated with the worship of HaShem; denotes a syncretistic practice that makes these actions all the more abhorrent.
 
“Am I supposed to relent, regret, be comforted by, console Myself, repent because of these things?” HaShem asks this incredulous rhetorical question as a challenge to the idolatrous Israelites (Judean’s). The Holy God of creation could neither be comforted nor offer consolation in response to such lewd and perverted pagan practices. According to the above explanation regarding the Hebrew minchah, it is more than likely that the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea may well have been syncretising these practises with their worship of HaShem, making their sin all the more heinous.
 
It is worth noting that the practises of pagans are intrinsically linked to demons, and ultimately to Ha-Satan (The Devil).
 
“They sacrificed to demons, a non-god,
gods they had not known--
to new ones who came in lately,
ones your fathers had not dreaded.” -Deuteronomy 32:17 (TLV)
 
“No, I’m saying that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God, and I don’t want you to become partners with demons.” -1 Corinthians 10:20 (TLV)
 
Isa 57:7  Al Upon har-gavah ve’nisa a high (exalted) and lofty mountain samt mishkaveich you have set your bed, gam-sham also there aliyt you went up lizboach to slaughter zavach an animal (blood) sacrifice.
 
Ancient pagan worship made sacred places out of high mountains and hills. Some of the righteous kings of Israel removed the objects of worship used on these high places but many others allowed Israel to syncretise its worship of YHVH with the worship of other deities on the mountains and hills of Israel. This is to be considered the gravest of abominations.
 
“You have set your bed” Is a convergent euphemism. It combines the sexual immorality of pagan worship with the death bed that results. In effect the simple statement “You have set your bed also there” infers that the bed of adultery and idolatry set on the high place for all to see, will also become the bed on which the dead idolater lies in full view of everyone.
 
Isa 57:8  Ve’achar And behind ha-delet the door ve’hamezuzah and the mezuzah (container holding the promises of God: Deut. 6:4-9 and 11:13-21) on the doorpost samt you have set zichroneich up your remembrances; kiy for, mei’itiy from Me, giliyt you have uncovered your bed, vata’aliy and have gone up from Me, hirchavt widening mishkaveich your bed; vatichrat-lach mei’em and you have cut off a piece of (made a covenant for) yourself with them, ahavat you have loved mishkavam their bed, yad a penis (figurative use of yad: hand) chaziyt you looked upon.
 
“Behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up the remembrance of thy idols; thou hast been like a woman who is beloved by her husband, but goeth astray after strangers; thou hast enlarged thy bed: thou hast made a covenant with some of them, thou loved the place, the place of their beds, the place thou hast chosen.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE). 
 
“And behind the door and the mezuzah on the doorpost you have set up your remembrances;” This is a description of syncretism. Idolatrous Jews were placing the charms of other deities under the mezuzot on the doors of their houses. This is significant given that Hashem had commanded Israel to write His word on the doorposts of their houses. The mezuzah has the Hebrew character Shin on it to remind the home owner that El Shaddai the all sufficient protector of Israel guards the home and equally, that His shalom is on the home of the true worshipper of Hashem. Thus, instead of the protection and peace of Hashem the Jews of the time were invoking protection from other gods, gods that could never protect them, gods that would in reality, bring about their destruction.
 
“for, from Me, you have uncovered your bed, and have gone up from Me, widening your bed;” This is the figure of a spurned husband whose wife is an adulteress. She leaves her husband’s bed in order to sleep with not one but many lovers. Thus, “widening your bed”.
 
“and you have cut off a piece of (made a covenant for) yourself with them, you have loved their beds, yad a penis (figurative use of yad: hand) you looked upon.” This is a description of the height of lewdness and unabashed perversion. The euphemistic use of the Hebrew “yad” seeks to expose the depths of depravity reached by the idolatrous. The yad (hand, penis) may also be representative of the Ashterot poles, and or the trees of pagan worship. This correlates to earlier references concerning Israel’s “burning with lust under every green tree.”
 
“Cut off a piece of yourself” refers to the practise of self-harm as it applies to pagan worship. The tragic irony of the idolatrous practises of the Jews of Isaiah’s time is that the covenants of God (with the exception of circumcision) shed the blood of animals as a prefigure of the vicarious sacrifice of the Messiah, whereas the demonic pagan practise required an individual to harm themselves in order to enter into covenant (a binding) relationship with the cold deities of stone and wood. This binding agreement made in the blood of the worshipper had significant spiritual consequences, none of them good.
 
Isa 57:9  Va’tashuriy You travelled lamelekh to the king bashemen with oil va’tarbiy and a great amount rikuchayich of your perfumes; vateshalechiy you sent tzirayich your envoys ad-meirachok to far off distant lands, vatashpiyliy to be humbled, abased, made low ad-sheol even (as far as) the place of the departed.
 
It is suggested by some that “lamelekh” can be understood to be “lamoloch” thus rendering the proper noun of the false god of the Canaanites. Of course devoid of the nikudot of the Masorites the text can be understood to refer to either the king of a foreign land or the god Moloch. The Moloch reading is consistent with worship practices associated to it, which are alluded to in the subsequent list of oils and perfumes. However, it is equally likely that the king described is Ahaz, who sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria, to say to Him, “I am thy servant and thy son.” Ahaz took the silver and gold that were in the house of YHVH, and in the treasures of the palace, and sent a bribe to the king of Assyria (2 Kings 16:7, 10).
 
Whatever the meaning, the motivation is the same. In each instance Israel is seeking comfort and protection from a king other than the King of the Universe HaShem, the God and King of Israel.
 
“you sent your envoys to far off distant lands, to be humbled, abased, made low even (as far as) the place of the departed.” King Ahaz of Israel did this very thing. However, this could also be interpreted to mean that by going in search of the gods of far off lands Israel has instead found humiliation (through captivity) and sheol (the place of the departed) by dying in captivity.
 
Isa 57:10  Berov darkeich yaga’at Abundant were your ways (paths, roads) that wearied you, lo-amart but you didn’t say, “Utter despair (No hope)”; chayat yadeich matzat your hand (penis) has found living al-kein upon it therefore, lo chaliyt you were not faint.
 
In spite of the exhaustion the idolatrous experienced as a result of their pursuit of false gods, they did not give up and acknowledge that there was no hope in the pagan religions. The latter phrasing describes the temporary delight of engaging in sexual immorality, something that the rebellious children of Judah and Israel had pursued with all their might without growing faint. The Hebrew “yad” is again used in an ambiguous way to figuratively represent a phallus.
 
Alternate interpretations see the latter clause as representing unjust gain:
 
"the necessity of thine hands, thou hast found prosperity in thy works:'' -Yarchi
 
Isa 57:11  Ve’et-miy da’agt Whom did you dread vatire’iy and fear, kiy techazeiviy when you lay down, ve’otiy-lo zachart and did not remember Me, lo-samt nor did you lay it al-libeich upon your core being (heart)? Ha-lo aniy Have I not machsheh umeiolam kept silent perpetually, ve’otiy lo tiyraiy and you do not fear, revere Me (hold Me in awe)?
 
“And of whom hast thou been afraid? and on account of whom hast thou feared? Thou hast surely multiplied speaking lies, and thou hast not remembered my service, and hast not had my fear in thine heart: I would have given you the ends of the world, if you had returned to my law; but thou hast not returned to me.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
This verse sums up the previous indictments. Israel, and specifically Judah has rejected God and His Torah, His love and protection. Rather than stand in awe of God and in fear of His just punishment of sin, Israel (Judah) has given Him no second thought as they have pursued the depraved gods of the Canaanites and of the surrounding nations. HaShem has kept silent in the sense that He has not yet put upon Israel the discipline she deserves. He has given her an opportunity to conclude for herself the need to return to Him, and yet she has refused to the point of disregarding Him altogether.
 
“The apostate Israelites took the silence of their God for indifference rather than attribute it to His longsuffering.” -Victor Buksbazen
 
Isa 57:12  Aniy I agiyd will declare (make known) tzidkateich your righteousness ve’et-ma’asayich and your deeds, ve’lo yoiyluch and they will not profit you.
 
“So be it” says HaShem. “I will declare your (version) of righteousness”, which will be seen for the profitless wickedness that it actually is.
 
Isa 57:13  Be’za’akeich When you cry out, yatziyluch kibbutzayich let your assembled heap (of idols) deliver you! Ve’et But the kulam lot of them yisa-ruach will be carried away by a wind, yikach-havel their breath taken away. Ve’hachoseh viy But he who seeks refuge in Me yinchal-eretz will inherit (possess) the land ve’yiyrash and will inherit (take possession of) Har-Kadshiy My holy mountain.
 
Judah (Israel) had chosen to trust in false, demonic deities. Now, when they cry out to the One true God for help He will respond by telling them to seek help from their worthless husbands (gods) whom they had chased after through their adulterous behaviour, having rejected their true Husband HaShem. Even in this we see mercy. HaShem will not allow the total annihilation of His people. This is an act of discipline. The loving father withholds help when that help is nothing more than an act of enabling.
 
“But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit (possess) the land and will inherit (take possession of) My holy mountain.” HaShem never leaves the faithful without the hope and assurance of his promised inheritance.
 
While the majority of Israel had rejected God, there remained a righteous remnant: many of whom were referred to in the previous chapter, some of whom were proselytes. In the midst of Judah’s coming suffering and exile, God was reminding the faithful that He would bring them into their inheritance in the land of Israel and further still, they would inherit that which is unpurchaseable by human beings, the very dwelling place, and manifest presence of God Himself, that is, the Temple Mount, Mount Zion, Har Beit, Mount Moriah.
 
Isa 57:14  Ve’amar And say, “Solu-solu Lift up, lift up, panu-darech turn toward the way, hariymu raise michshol every occasion of stumbling miderech from the way of amiy My people.”
 
“And he shall say, Teach and admonish, turn the heart of this people to the right way; remove the stumbling-block of the wicked out of the way of the congregation of my people.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
The repetition, as is always the case, denotes the fact that HaShem has firmly established the future removal of all that seeks to get in the way of His relationship with Israel. Prior to Judah’s exile to Babylon, HaShem promotes His redemptive purpose and the restoration of His people. His mercy always precedes His righteous judgement. His discipline is born of His love. While the disobedient children of God see only the disaster that is before them, God sees the goal from the beginning, and bestows hope upon the undeserving.
 
“A voice cries out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of Adonai,
Make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.
4 Every valley will be lifted up,
every mountain and hill made low,
the rough ground will be a plain
and the rugged terrain smooth.
5 The glory of Adonai will be revealed,
and all flesh will see it together.’
For the mouth of Adonai has spoken.” -Isaiah 40:3-5 (TLV)
 
Isa 57:15  For thus says ram ve’nisa the One Who is high and lifted up, shochein ad  Who dwells in eternity, ve’kadosh Holy shemo is His Name: “Marom ve’kadush eshkon I dwell in the high and holy place, ve’et and with daka the one of a contrite ushefal-ruach and humble spirit (breath, wind), lehachayot to revive, sustain the life of ruach shefaliym a humble spirit, ulehachayot and to revive leiv the core being (heart) nidkaiym of the contrite ones.
 
“For thus saith the high and lofty One, that dwelleth in the heavens, and whose name is Holy, who inhabits the height — yea, His holy Shekinah hath promised to save the contrite of heart, and the humble of spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to support the heart of the contrite.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
The God of Israel is YHVH, He is above the highest heights that the false gods are worshipped on, further still He is eternal, uncreated and the Creator of the heights upon which the false deities of Israel’s folly have been worshipped. He is set apart, Holy beyond all measure, and yet, He is present with the heart (core being) of those who are humble and contrite in spirit. HaShem will sustain and strengthen the core being of the repentant, humble ones who love and honour His Holy Name (person, character, nature).
 
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
A broken and a contrite heart, O God,
    You will not despise.” -Psalm 51:19 (TLV)
 
Isa 57:16  For I will not ariyv contend forever, nor will I always eketzof be angry; kiy-ruach for the spirit milefanay from before My face ya’atof would grow faint (turn away), uneshamot and the soul life breathe that aniy I asiytiy made, fashioned.
 
“For I will not take vengeance of judgment for ever, neither shall my wrath be eternal: for I will revive the spirits of the dead, and the souls I have created.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
If God were to remain angry no human being would be able to stand before Him, for all are guilty of sin and have fallen short of His Glory. Therefore, His mercy precedes His judgement so that He might relent and forgive the repentant, humble, contrite of core being (heart).
 
The Hebrew is interesting. Spirit/wind/breath is “ruach”, and soul is “nefesh” meaning the connected elements of human existence in action. However, while God created numerous living things which have spirit (ruach), and living souls (nefesh), including animal life. According to the Genesis creation account, human beings were uniquely created to exist as a convergence of spirit and soul. The Hebrew word used to convey the human spirit/soul convergence is “neshamah”.
 
“And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” -Matthew 24:22 (ESV)
 
“The elect” of this passage are the Jewish people (ethnic, religious, empirical), the elect (chosen) people of God.
 
Isa 57:17  Ba’avon In the perversity bitzo of his unjust gain katzaftiy I was angry, ve’akeihu and struck him; hastier ve’ektzof I concealed Myself and was angry, vayelech but he went shovav turning back be’derech in the way libo of his own core being (heart).
 
This is a description of the yetzer ha-ra (evil inclination). The fallen nature of human beings means a tendency toward sin (idolatry). Perversity and self-seeking greed are some of the most common manifestations of human sin action.
 
“Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.” -Psalm 78:38 (ESV)
 
“I concealed Myself and was angry” HaShem cannot be seen by those who refuse to see Him because He has afforded humanity the opportunity to choose Him. Love cannot exist without freewill. Therefore, from the point of view of the suffering wicked, HaShem has concealed Himself, though all things exist and have their being in Him.
 
“but he went turning back in the way of his own core being (heart).” This verse describes a life focused on debauchery and selfish gain followed, not by “teshuva” repentance (turning toward God) but by “shovav” turning away from God. Those being observed here are turning inwardly toward their own fallen nature. They have blinded themselves to their own demise. Therefore, God, Who is merciful, choses to refrain from His righteous anger in order to save idolatrous Israel from herself.
 
Isa 57:18  Derachayv His ways raiytiy I have seen, ve’erpaeihu and I will heal him; veancheihu and I will lead him va’ashaleim and restore (make whole) [alt. through a covenant of peace] nichumiym offer comforts to him lo ve’la’aveilayv and his mourners,
 
“His ways I have seen, and I will heal him” The ways of the wicked have made him ill, or else why does he need healing? Therefore, the compassionate God of Israel seeks to heal the disobedient child.
 
“and I will lead him and restore (make whole) [alt. through a covenant of peace] offer comforts to him and his mourners,” HaShem has seen the way of the wayward. He sees that they have so deluded themselves that they are unable to find restoration. Therefore, God has come to lead the idolatrous and wayward children of Israel out of their self-imposed suffering and into His love and prosperity. He will do this through a covenant of peace, and will provide the redeemed who mourn (with Godly sorrow) their sinful actions (the act of a contrite heart), with comfort.
 
Isa 57:19  Borei creating (from nothing) niyv fruit of sefatayim the lips. Shalom, shalom Peace, peace (wholeness, well-being), larachok to the far velakarov and to the near,” says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), “Urefativ and I will heal him.
 
“Creating (from nothing) fruit of the lips…” The Hebrew “Borei” signifies the creative expression of God Himself, the root being “bara”, meaning to create from nothing. Thus, the fruit of the lips of this creating are intrinsically connected to the Word of God and the manifest nature of peace, Who is Himself a person, that is the Prince of Peace.
 
“Shalom, shalom Peace, peace (wholeness, well-being), to the far and to the near,’ says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), ‘and I will heal him.’” The repetition of shalom denotes the firmly established peace, wholeness and well-being imparted by God through the redemptive work of the Prince of Peace (the Servant King Messiah). This peace is being offered to those who are “far off”, that is the Gentiles, and to those who are “near”, that is Israel (ethnic, religious, empirical).
 
The words of Iben Ezra are interesting:
 
“The meaning of the whole verse is: Proclaim, peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him who is near; announce, that the Lord has already saved Israel, because I have indeed healed him.” -Iben Ezra
 
In a very real sense, because God knows the end from the beginning and because the lamb of God has been slain before the foundation of the world, the repentant, righteous remnant of Israel have and will be seen to have been already saved through the Servant King Messiah Who brings peace, wholeness and well-being through His vicarious sacrifice.
 
Isa 57:20  Ve’hareshaiym But the wicked kayam nigrash are like the tossing sea; for it hashkeit lo will neither be silent yuchal or prevail, vayigreshu and its waters meiymayv throw up refesh mud vatiyt and clay.
 
While the righteous of Israel will be delivered, those who are determined to pursue wickedness in spite of God’s loving offer of grace and mercy, will be like a storm tossed sea that is unrelenting in its dredging up of worthless mud and debris: its turmult results in damage and its ferocity wrecks destruction. Therefore, the wicked will destroy themselves. This is an intentional choice to refuse God and His mercy.
 
Isa 57:21  Eiyn shalom There is no peace (wholeness),” says Elohay My God, “le’reshaiym for the wicked.”
 
It is impossible for those who are determined to resist God to receive His peace, wholeness and well-being. Why? The answer is quite simple, love is a choice to commit wholeheartedly to another, though the other might love unconditionally, none the less, if that love is refused it cannot be received. The Love, mercy, grace, and peace of God are offered to all but only those who accept His free gift will receive it. An unwrapped gift cannot be enjoyed, a bride cannot be married until she says “I do”, a woman cannot conceive unless she receives her husband, love cannot exist without freewill, and relational love cannot be experienced unless it is responded to. Therefore, “‘There is no (everlasting) peace, wholeness and well-being,’ says My God, ‘for the wicked’”
 
Notice that while the peace afforded to the righteous is “Shalom, shalom” (v.19), the doubling denoting the fact that it is firmly established, immutable; the peace that the wicked have not received awaits the possibility of repentance: the single use of the word “Shalom” allows for mercy to be offered within time and space. Therefore, up until the wicked persons last breath that person may choose to repent and through the righteousness of the Messiah (Peace Himself), receive “Shalom, shalom”, everlasting peace, wholeness and well-being.
 
Copyright 2019 Yaakov Brown

Introduction:
 
Having rebuked Babylon, HaShem now turns to His chosen people in their captivity. His message is an intimate challenge, a fierce rebuke and a promise of a redemptive act of grace. He does not prophecy Israel’s deliverance as a reward for her righteousness. To the contrary, He calls out her sin and her stubborn self-destructive behaviour, concluding in the end that it is for the sake of His own Name (Because the redemption of humanity relies on His Name being honoured) that He will deliver her from captivity.
 
Isa 48:1  Shimu-zot Listen, hear, understand, obey this, Beit-Yaakov house of Jacob (follower), Ha-nikraiym the called be’sheim in/by the name Yisrael (Israel: overcome in God), u’mimeiy and waters of Yehudah (Judah: praise) yatza’u come forth; who ha-nishbaiym make oaths be’sheim in/by the name of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), u’veiloheiy and in the God of Yisrael, but yazkiru lo you call not ve’emet out in truth, ve’lo and not vitzadakah in righteousness, right action, charity.
 
“Hear and receive this message house of followers, those called out to overcome in God, and you waters of praise, come forth; you who make oaths in the Name of Mercy Himself, and according to the Judge of those who overcome in God, but you don’t call out in truth, nor in righteousness.” -Author’s paraphrase
 
The general theme of this opening verse correlates to words formerly prophesied by Isaiah:
 
“So Adonai says,
    “Since these people draw near with their mouths
        and honour Me with their lips,
    yet their hearts are far from Me,
        and their fear of Me is a mitzvah taught by men.” -Isaiah 29:13 (TLV)
 
Israel is guilty of professing a connection to HaShem while acting in an entirely contrary way. “Among the nations My Name because of you…” (Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24).
 
Israel (ethnic, religious) is instructed to “Shimu” listen, hear and receive the truth of God’s word to her through the prophet Isaiah.
 
Three names are given for Israel, each showing a step in both the physical and spiritual growth of the nation. Yaakov the follower of God meets the “Man” with Whom he wrestles and from Whom he eventually receives the blessing of redemption, thus becoming Yisrael, the one who overcomes in God. Following the division of the northern and southern kingdoms and the exile, first of the ten tribes and subsequently of Judah (& Benjamin), the entirety of the tribes (all 12) would inevitably return to the land under the title of Yehudiym (Jews). This is one of the primary reasons for the allusion to the waters of Yehudah (Judah), who come forth from Babylon and return to the land of Israel, the twelve tribes united under the name of the tribe from which the King Messiah was prophesied to come.
 
“The scepter will not pass from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
    until He to Whom it belongs will come.
To Him will be the obedience of the peoples.” -Bereishit (Genesis) 49:10 (TLV)
 
HaShem is calling Yaakov to follow Him out of captivity in Babylon (confusion). He is calling Yisrael to remember that only in God can she overcome. He is reminding Yehudah that the tribes of Yisrael have been split and exiled but that HaShem will reconcile them under the tribe and King of Yehudah. HaShem calls Yehudah to offer praise for all that He has done in her, so that the world might know that the God of Yehudah, of Yisrael and of Yaakov is One, Creator and King of the universe.
 
“Who make oaths in/by the name of HaShem, and in the God of Yisrael, but you do not call out in truth, nor in righteousness.”
 
The Hebrew ha-nishbaiym meaning, the solemn requesting of sevens (oaths, completions, fullness) comes from the root sheva (seven). The exiled Jews were invoking oaths on themselves in God’s Name and expecting to reap favourably results through said oaths, while living sinful, Godless lives, even in their captivity. The writer is making it clear from the beginning that it is not for Israel’s sake that God will deliver her but rather for the sake of His Name, which He has placed upon the people of Israel.
 
Yeshua says to the religious leaders of Israel in the 1st century CE:
 
 “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:
‘These people honour me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’” -Mark 7:5-7 (TLV)
 
Isa 48:2  Kiy Because (for) mei’iyr a city (alt. from anguish) ha-kodesh the holy nikra’u they call themselves, ve’al and upon the Eloheiy God of Yisrael nismachu they rest; HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) Tzevaot Who goes warring (of hosts) shemo is His name:
 
This is the first time in the Tanakh that Jerusalem is referred to as “The Holy City”. The post exilic prophet Nehemiah later affirms the title (Nehemiah 11:1).
 
In one sense the text is saying that the exiles identify themselves with the Holy city of God, while in another sense the text literally says that they consider themselves to be a Holy city. In both cases pride is the mitigating factor.
 
The city of Jerusalem, is called the Holy city because the temple of HaShem is located there, God had placed His Name there, thus, it is considered the residence of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, the exiles of both Judah and the remaining tribes (Israel) considered themselves, not only children of Jacob, and of the tribe of Judah, but as inhabitants of Jerusalem, the holy city, both literally and figuratively. Given the extent of Israel’s sin at this point in her history, her claims show great hubris and a sad lack of repentance. However, while God’s children may dishonour and reject Him, He is none the less incapable of dishonouring or rejecting His children.
 
It seems that in spite of their sinful behaviour they have none the less continued to pay God lip service, even to the extent of resting on the belief that He will redeem them regardless. However, the God Who goes warring (Adonai Tzevaot), will remind Israel yet again of the fact that He disciplines the ones He loves. Thus, in freeing her He will also discipline her both on her way back to the land and in the land upon her return.
 
“The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon HaShem, and say, Is not HaShem in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.” -Micah 3:10
 
Isa 48:3  Ha-rishonot The former (heads of) things mei-az from time (of old) past higadtiy I have declared; u-mipiy and from My mouth yatzeu they went forth, ve-ashmiyeim and I caused them to be heard: suddenly asiytiy I fashioned, accomplished, did them, and they came to pass.
​
“The former (heads of) things from time (of old) past I have declared”. God had declared from the beginning of the people of Israel, from the head of the Hebrews, our father Abraham, to whom God spoke of what would come; that we would sojourn in Egypt, the land of double distress, be enslaved there, and come out in freedom with great wealth: being brought into the land of Kena’an (Canaan: lowland, humility), toppling the inhabitants and driving them out (albeit ineffectively due to our sin)[Gen. 15:13].

“And from My mouth they went forth, and I caused them to be heard…” These things were told to Abraham by the Word of God’s mouth and were passed on to the subsequent generations of the father of faith both in blood and in spirit.
“Suddenly I fashioned, accomplished, did them, and they came to pass.” Historically speaking, what God had promised to Abraham, He did quickly, and all that was prophesied came to pass precisely as it was foretold; not one thing which HaShem had spoken into time and space, failed (Joshua 21:45).
 
In part this is the Godly counterpoint to the Godless invocation of blessing. Where Israel had invoked undeserved blessing, contemptuously, God had none the less previously promised blessing and fully filled it (Sheva: complete, full, seven).
 
Isa 48:4 Because I knew that you are kasheh obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead brass;
 
A twofold pride is alluded to here. The neck of iron elevates the head, both literally and figuratively, meaning that both the individual and the leaders of the community (therefore, the community as a whole) were prideful in their self-assessment and in their assessment of the nation. Additionally, the forehead of brass infers spiritual pride. The forehead bore the symbol of prayer (Head Tefillin) and denoted the cleansing of the Word (Torah). However, the brass forehead of the exiles was unable to receive the Word (which resided in the Tefillin) because their minds were closed off to God. They were simply reciting tropes, mindless incantations devoid of practiced Godly spirituality.
 
Iben Ezra says that “the second person refers to those Israelites who do not believe in God”. However, the prophet does not make this distinction. After all, it is quite possible for a person to believe in God and yet exhibit pride and ignorance in relating to God and others.
 
“You believe that God is one, great: the evil spirits have the same belief, and tremble in fear.” -Yaakov (James) 2:19
 
Isa 48:5  Va’agid And it was made conspicuous to you meiaz from of old; be’terem before tavo it came to pass hishmaticha I made it heard by you; lest you should say, ‘Atzebiy My idol asam has fashioned, accomplished, done them, ufisliy and my carved image, ve’niskiy and my molten image, tzivam has commanded them.’
 
Hundreds of years before the nation of Israel existed, HaShem had spoken of their journey as a people, first to Abraham, then Isaac and eventually in the midst of them He spoke through Moses and the prophets. Thus, “From of old”, and long “before it came to pass”. Why? So that the accurate prophecies of God could not be claimed by the false gods that Israel had turned to. The Israelites could not deny the evidence of God’s faithfulness, provided throughout their generations.
 
“My idol fashioned them” is the false claim that acts as a counterpoint to the truth of HaShem’s statement that He “fashioned them” (v.3). The Hebrew asam (fashioned etc.) is from the root asah meaning to make (out of something pre-existing).
 
“My molten image commanded them” is the false claim that acts as a counterpoint to HaShem’s statement, “I have declared; and from My mouth they went forth”.
 
Isa 48:6  Shamata You have heard; chazeh behold culah all this; ve-atem and you (plural), ha-lo will you not tagidu declare it? hishmaticha I made it heard by you, chadashot new things meiatah from now, u-netzurot even guarded (hidden) things, which you have not yedatam known.
 
Israel has not merely heard, but has been made well aware of the miraculous deliverances of God. Each generation has witnessed His proclamations, miracles and fulfilments. Now (in the preceding chapters) Isaiah has prophesied the destruction of the Babylonian empire, and the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus; things that have not yet come to pass, which were hidden in the mind of God, and unknown to Israel prior to the prophesies of Isaiah.
 
Isa 48:7  Now they are nivreu created, and not from of old; velifneiy-yom and before the face of this day you had not heard of them; lest you should say, ‘Hineih Behold, yedatiyn I knew them.’
 
“They are created”. The new, redemptive events being prophesied are not made (asah) from things pre-existing, rather God is creating (bara) them from that which has not yet been accomplished. In other words, this is an affirmation of the fact that God continues to participate within His creation in order to bring about the perfection of His redemptive purposes for Israel and humanity through His Son the King Messiah Yeshua. Due to the newness of what God will do, no one can claim to have known of it beforehand. We must remember that at the time these words were prophesied Cyrus had not yet been born, thus, these new things could not possibly have been fathomed by Israel.
 
Isa 48:8  Gam Also, lo-shamata you didn’t hear; gam also, lo yadata you didn’t know; gam also, meiaz from of old lo-fitechah azenecha your ear was not opened: kiy yadatiy for I knew you bagod tivgod to be deceitful in thought and action, ufosheia and a rebel mibeten from the womb this is what you were called.
This is a rebuke that exposes the extreme lack of faith and expectation among the idolatrous Israelites. Not only did they fail to listen, they also lacked the basic faith to receive what the prophets told them because they had placed their faith in foreign gods. God knew that they would reject His love and would rebel against Him, even from their inception as a nation.
 
 
Isa 48:9  Le-ma’an For the sake Shemiy of My Name, will I defer apiy My flaring nostrils (anger), utehilatiy and for My praise (renown) I will refrain for you, so that I don’t cut you off.
 
“For My Name’s sake” is quite literally the case. Yisra-El literally contains a name for God “El”. The name of the people Yisra (overcome) El (God), conveys the redemptive plan of God for humanity. Thus, because the very salvation of the repentant relies on the integrity and honour of God’s Name, He must show Himself faithful in spite of Israel’s faithlessness. Therefore, God will never completely cut off the Jewish people. Not because we are perfect, nor because we chose Him, but because He is faithful and chose us.
 
Isa 48:10  Hineih Behold, now, pay attention, I have refined you, but not ve-kasef as silver; becharticha I have chosen, elected, decided on you be’chur in the furnace of oniy affliction, misery, poverty.
 
“Behold, I have refined thee, but not in the crucible of silver; I tried thee in the distress of poverty.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
“I have refined you by the exile” -Iben Ezra
 
“I have refined you by taking away the dross, that is, the wicked” -Iben Ezra
 
We note that the Hebrew in its plainest sense does not speak of trying Israel in affliction but rather of choosing Israel in her affliction. It is the choosiness of Israel that is accentuated because of the One Who chose her and not because she has learned obedience from her having been tried. The rebuke of the earlier verses makes this abundantly clear. In spite of her captivity she has still yet to learn her lesson in regard to God’s redemptive love for her.
 
Having said this, it is clear from the figurative language that Israel is being refined for several reasons. First and foremost, so as to bring the attention of the nations toward the God Who alone can offer deliverance from sin, and second, to show that God disciplines and refines those He loves. He remains faithful even when His people are unfaithful.
 
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful,
    for He cannot disown Himself.” -2 Timothy 2:13
 
Isa 48:11 Le’ma’aniy For My sake, le’ma’aniy for My purpose, I will e’eseh fashion, accomplish, do it; for how should my name be yechal profaned, defiled, polluted, desecrated? U-chevodiy And My glory I will not give to another.
 
“For my name's sake, for the sake of my Word, that it may not be profaned, I will do it, and my glory in which I have revealed myself unto you, I will not give to another people.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
It is for the sake of both the Name of HaShem (Mercy) and the application of His work (The Messiah), that HaShem will not allow His Name to be profaned, nor will He give the glory due Him to another.
 
Interestingly, the Targum illuminates the Davar (Word, logos, Messiah), and attaches the revelation of God’s glory to the people of Israel, saying that God will not allow His glory to be made manifest in this particular way on any other people. This understanding is consistent with the Scripture as a whole, and provides a platform for better understanding the intrinsic link between God’s coming Kingdom and the Temple Mount.
 
Isa 48:12  Shema Hear, receive, obey, listen to Me, Yaakov (follower), and Yisrael (Overcome in God) mekoraiy My called: Ani-hu I am He; I am rishon first, also I am acharon that which follows perpetually (the last, the goal).
 
Again God calls Israel by several prophetic titles that reveal both her physical and spiritual journey. Yaakov the follower and Yisrael the overcomer are reminded of the calling of the chosen people and of the One Who called her.
 
“I am the first and the perpetual goal”. The Hebrew rishon (first) is related to rosh (head) and denotes God’s Kingship (Headship) over all things as well as alluding figuratively to the King Messiah as head over the body of believers. God is not only the uncreated beginning of all things, He is also the perpetual goal and continuation of all things (Rev. 1:8). It appears that God describes Himself in these terms through the prophet in order to remind Israel that He is the Creator of the universe and that His choosing of her is part of a much grander plan for the redemption of the repentant from among all of humanity.
 
Isa 48:13  Af Surely, yadiy my hand yasedah founded, established, laid the foundation of eretz earth, viymiyniy and my right hand has spread out shamayim the heavens: when I call to them, ya’amdu they stand up yachdav together, in union.
 
“By wisdom Adonai founded the earth.
By understanding He established the heavens.” -Proverbs 3:19 (TLV)
 
“My hand established the earth, and My right hand has spread out the heavens.” (Isaiah 40:12) The hand of God is a figure for strength and the right hand the multiplication of power. Iben Ezra and Kimchi interpret the creation of the earth of the left hand, and the work of the heavens they ascribe to the right hand; inferring that the heavens are of greater importance due to them being the perceived dwelling place of God, Who is outside of all things (Vid. T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 36. 2.). However, this is a distinction without a difference given that God is uncreated and that the heavens and the earth are both created entities within the universe that exists in God. Therefore, the debate between Hillel and Shaminai over which came first, the earth or the heavens, is redundant, for as R. Simeon ben Yochai rightly observes, according to the text, they were both created together (Vid. T. Bab. Chagigah, fol. 12. 1.).
 
“When I call to them they stand up together in union.” The personification of the created order serves to remind the reader that God commands all things in the same way that He commands humanity. However, unlike the created elements (which cry out for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God [Romans 8:19]), human beings are prone to disobedience. Thus, the heavens and the earth shame us with their willing and prompt obedience to the command of God. In addition, the created elements respond in union to the command of God: they show distinction devoid of separation. They are united in essence while unashamedly maintaining their uniqueness.
 
Isa 48:14  Assemble yourselves, chulechem all of you, u-shamau and listen, hear, receive, understand; who among them has declared these things? HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has loved him, ya’aseh has fashioned, accomplished, made cheftzo his desire be’va’vel on Babylon (Bavel: confusion), and his arm against the Kasdiym (Chaldeans: increasers).
 
HaShem calls the collective captives of Israel and Judah together to hear and receive the truth of His words.
 
“Who among them has declared these things?” Which of all the idols has been capable of the kind of prophecy God has displayed? This is of course rhetorical, the answer is “None!”  “These things”, are the prophesied events that concern the redemption and salvation of Israel.
 
“HaShem has loved him, He has fashioned, accomplished, made his desire on Babylon, and his arm against the Chaldeans.” Who is the “him”? First, in the plain sense of the text and with deference to the historical context, the “him” is the yet to be born Cyrus of Persia. Second, and in respect of the perpetual nature of Hebrew prophecy, the “Him” is a figurative allusion to the Messiah and His redemptive work that frees all who will turn to Him from confusion (Babylon).
 
Isa 48:15  Aniy Aniy I, even I, dibartiy I have spoken; af indeed, keratiyv I have called; haviy’otiyv I have brought him, ve’hitzliach and successful, prosperity, advancement to his darko way, road, distance, journey.
 
The emphatic doubling of “Aniy” (I, Me, I am), is intended to convey the certainty of what is going to happen. HaShem has brought Cyrus to affect the deliverance of Israel, and therefore, will prosper the work of Cyrus in spite of the fact that Cyrus was a heathen king (albeit a king whose heart became soft toward the God of Israel and the plight of the Jewish people).
 
Isa 48:16  Kir’vu Come near, draw close eilay to Me, shimu-zot you, hear, listen, receive  this (f.); lo not meirosh from the head (beginning) ba’seiter in hiding, covering, shelter, secrecy have I spoken ba’seiter; from the time it came to pass, there Aniy I am: and now the Adonaiy Lord HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) shelachaniy has sent me, ve’rucho and His Spirit.
 
“Draw near to Me.” This intimate phrase requests a greater depth of communication. God is seeking a face to face meeting as it were.
 
“I have not spoken in secret from the head (beginning).” This is intended to call Israel to account. They have witnessed God’s prophetic word and His miraculous deliverances throughout their generations. Therefore, they are without excuse. As the text states, He has not hidden His word from them.
 
“I am: and now the Lord HaShem has sent me, and His Spirit.” All the linguistic and interpretational gymnastics in the world cannot change the plain meaning of this verse. It is HaShem that is speaking, therefore, it cannot be Cyrus who speaks the latter clause. The “I am” is God, how then can God send Himself? The text says, “I am: and now YHVH has sent me”, this finds a correlation in the words of David, “The YHVH said to my Lord…” (Psalm 110:1). Cyrus did not bring with him the Spirit of HaShem, rather he was spurred on by God’s Spirit. There is only one person who qualifies for the role of being sent in the way described here: Yeshua the King Messiah. He qualifies because He is both God with us Imanu-El, and the One through Whom God imparts His Spirit to the Jew first and also to the nations. Thus, in the middle of a prophecy of near future deliverance for the Jewish captives in Babylon, HaShem also seeds a prophecy for the yet future deliverance of the Jewish people from the confusion (Babylon) of sin.
 
Isa 48:17  Thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), Goal’cha your Kinsman Redeemer, the Kedush Yisrael Holy One of Israel: I am HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) Eloheycha your God, me’lamedcha Who teaches you le’hoiyl to profit, benefit you, mad’riychacha who leads you be’derek in the way teilech you go.
 
This incredible list of titles for God must bring the reader to attention. God makes known some of His primary attributes and characteristics in these beautiful names. He is demanding the attention of Israel and of all humanity.
 
YHVH – Mercy
Goel – Kinsman Redeemer
Kedush Yisrael – Holy One of Israel (those who overcome in God)
YHVH Eloheycha – Mercy your Judge
 
Always, His Mercy precedes His judgement. He offers Himself as Redeemer. He reminds Israel and the world that He is the God of Israel (ethnic, religious). Finally, He shows Mercy to the repentant and brings judgement against the wicked.
 
HaShem also takes on the role of Israel’s teacher. This He does for her benefit. He leads Israel be’derek in the Way she should go.
 
Isa 48:18  Lu If only hikshavta you had heard, heeded, hearkened to My lemitzvotay commandments (instruction to right action)! Then chanahar like a river shelomecha your peace, wholeness, well-being would have been, ve’tzidkatecha and your righteousness kegaleiy as the billowing waves of ha-yam the sea (body of water):
 
It is because of Israel’s disobedience that she found herself in captivity. If Israel had obeyed the instruction of HaShem and kept His commandments, she would not have been enslaved and afflicted.
 
There is a spiritual principal here for all believers. If we love Him and keep His commandments we will reap rivers of peace, wholeness and well-being, and as a result we will impart righteousness, our right action will flow forth from His presence in us and will be like billowing waves, powerfully shifting the ocean of life.
 
Isa 48:19  Zarecha Your seed (sowing) also had been as the sand, ve’tze’etza’eiy and the offspring (issue) of mei’echa your womb (internal organs) like the grains of sand: lo yikareit not cut off ve’lo yishamed and not destroyed shemo his name, from before Me.
 
Israel’s population had diminished in captivity due to her disobedience. However, God will not cut off the name of Israel from before Him. Why? Because His Own great Name is on her.
 
Isa 48:20  Go forth mibavel from Babylon (confusion), flee mikasdiym from the Chaldeans (increasers); be’kol in a voice rinah ringing out, crying out, hagiydu make known, hashmiyu zot convey this (f.), utter it even ad ketzeh to the furthest extremity of ha-aretz the earth (The Land): you should say, ‘HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) has ga’al redeemed avdo His servant Yaakov (follower, Jacob).
 
“Go forth out of confusion, flee from increasing; in a voice that cries out, make known in murmur and in volume, to the extremities of the earth: say, ‘Mercy Himself has redeemed His servant the follower (Yaakov, Israel).’” – Author’s paraphrase
 
Even before her captivity, and in retrospect during her captivity, Israel hears and reads the promise of her redemption: Mercy precedes Judgement.
 
Note that the prior verse says, “The name of Israel (ethnic, religious) will not be cut off from before Me.” And, the current verse, “HaShem has (past tense) redeemed Israel (ethnic, religious).” God is zealous for His chosen people Israel, fierce in His love for her, and His promise of redemption is spoken in the past tense because from His perspective it has already been accomplished and has come about in the eternal present.
 
Isa 48:21  And they did not thirst bochoravot in the deserts, desolations, waste lands holicham when He led them; He caused mayim waters to flow mitzur from the rock for them; vayika-tzur He split, divided, broke the rock also, vayazuvu and gushed out mayim waters.
 
As is so often the case, HaShem reminds Israel of His provision for her as she came out of Egyptian bondage. In the plain sense the prophet is speaking of a correlation in the provision God would bring to those escaping from Babylon and returning to the Land of Israel, and the historical journey of Israel in her escape from Egyptian bondage.
 
The use of the specific symbol of waters is significant. Messiah is the Mayim Chayim (Living waters) of God. The use of the symbolism of the rock is also important. God is the Rock of Israel’s security. Thus, the living waters of the Messiah flow forth from God our Rock. Notice also that allusion is made to the splitting of the Rock. The Rock Himself suffered the pain of redemptive sacrifice in order to offer the waters of living to His people.
 
Isa 48:22  ‘Eiyn shalom There is no peace, wholeness, well-being,’ says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), ‘la’reshaiym to the wicked, criminal, one hostile to God, guilty one.’
 
Finally, a strong warning to those who might reject God’s loving redemptive offer. First to the Jews and also to the nations (in this case, specifically Babylon).
 
“There is no peace, wholeness or well-being given to the wicked, those who reject God’s love.” Why? Is it because God is punitive? Of course not! What is the result when one person rejects the love offered by another, and subsequently walks away from them and seeks out a lifestyle of self-abuse and torment? In this case, is the person who offered the love guilty of sending the one who rejected it into torment? Of course not! Torment results when we refuse genuine love for the sake of selfish gain. God is just, and therefore, there must be a place of punishment. He is also loving and merciful, therefore, He offered Himself as a substitute for us so that we might be freed from the punishment we deserve. However, if we refuse His offer of substitution and the love that goes with it, it is not His fault. Love cannot exist without free will. Therefore, God does not send people to eternal punishment, rather, those who end in perpetual torment have chosen to be there.
 
Such is the hatred, pride and wickedness of Satan, that if he were offered a place in the world to come, providing he submitted to the love and governance of God, he would refuse outright, why? Because he wants to be King without it costing him anything. On the other hand, God is King, and has willingly paid an incomparable price to set His subjects free, a cost paid in His own blood: making it possible for His subjects to become His sons and daughters. Satan seeks to subjugate, God seeks to dwell alongside, Satan seeks to promote himself, God seeks to promote love. Satan fails, God has already succeeded.
 
Copyright 2019 Yaakov Brown

​Cf. 2 Kings 20:1-11
Introduction:
 
The events described in chapters 38 - 39 preceded the events of chapters 36 and 37 by a period of approximately 10 years. We’re able to deduce this because chapter 39 ends with a prediction of the Babylonian exile. However, the scribes who transmitted the scroll of Isaiah placed these events after chapters 36 and 37 in order to form a bridge, giving the meta-narrative a greater sense of continuity. Thus, the prediction of the Babylonian exile (Chap. 39) precedes chapter 40, the subject of which is Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile.
 
The events of chapter 38 are recorded in a parallel passage in 2 Kings 20:1-11 with only slight variations, and of course the omission of Hezekiah’s psalm/meditation (Isaiah 38:9-20). It seems fitting that the scribes include the mikhtav of Hezekiah in the present chapter of Isaiah’s poetic, prophetic scroll and exclude it in the more historically styled record of the Kings.
 
What follows conveys the ancient rhythm of God inspired relationship: a relationship strengthened rather than weakened by illness and despair.
 
Isa 38:1  In those days Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) became chalah sick, weak, grieved, sorry, diseased lamot to the point of death. And Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah) the prophet the son of Amotz (Strength, courage) came to him, and said to him, Thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), “tzav order, command lebeitecha your house: for met die you shall, and not tichyeh live.”
 
Cf. 2 Kings 20:1
 
“In those days” as discussed above, refers to that time approximately 10 years prior to the events of chapters 36-37. Hezekiah assumed the throne of Judah at the age of 25 and reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:2), living to the age of 54: given that 15 years are added to his life in the present text, he was therefore, 39 years of age at the time of the events recorded in Isaiah chapter 38. However, Yarchi and a number of other Jewish commentators suggest that these events took place three days before the ruin of Sennacherib's army (placing them at the end of the aforementioned ten year period); and that it was on the third day that Hezekiah recovered, and went up to the temple, that the destruction of the Assyrian army occurred, that evening being the first day of Pesach the Passover (Seder Olam Rabba, c. 23. p. 65).
 
It is noteworthy that Isaiah came to Hezekiah during his time of personal illness, whereas on occasions when Hezekiah was in health he had sent messengers to Isaiah. This shows compassion on the part of Isaiah. Although he had been tasked with giving bad news to Hezekiah, he performed that duty in person as a friend to the King rather than sending a messenger to deliver the news.
 
Some have suggested that the Hezekiah’s illness was brought on by the stress that he experienced in response to the speed and force of the invading Assyrian army, and his inability to gain adequate protection from Egypt. We find out later in this chapter that the sickness is somehow connected to a boil that had grown on Hezekiah’s body which may have become infected, thus, causing blood poisoning; a life threatening condition.
 
“order, command your house” is a way of saying “Make your last will and testament, leave instructions for your household regarding what is to be done after your passing.”
 
“for die you shall, and not live.” Makes death certain but is not specific enough to infer immediate death. None the less, Hezekiah’s illness was terminal.
 
Isa 38:2  Then Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) turned his face toward ha-kiyr the wall, and prayed to HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD),
 
Cf. 2 Kings 20:2
 
“The wall” could be understood in a plain sense to simply refer to the wall of the room in which Hezekiah was bedridden. Turning in toward the wall would have been his only means of finding some privacy and solace with the palace representatives and staff constantly present to care for the king.
 
As a remez I see the act of Hezekiah’s turning as being a turning toward God in his distress. Further to this although the Hebrew kiyr is a generic term for a flat surface, wall etc. it can also be used to describe the wall surrounding the Temple complex of Solomon. I can’t help but see a comparrison to ha-kotel, the western wall of the Temple of Herod, yet future at the time of Hezekiah, and certainly present in its Solomonic form during Hezekiah’s time . To turn toward it is to turn toward the Temple and the Holy of holies. As I’m writing this we are in that time of repentance and preparation in the month of Elul, when, davening selichot (prayers of contrition), thousands of Jews are turned toward ha-kotel and the Temple mount as a symbolic physical act representing our desire to turn toward God in our distress.
 
I’m not alone in my supposition, regarding Hezekiah potentially turning toward the wall surrounding the Temple complex of his time: the second century Targum writers understood ha-kiyr to refer to the outer wall of the Temple complex of Hezekiah’s day:
 
“Then Hezekiah turned his face towards the wall of the house of the sanctuary, and prayed before the Lord,” -Targum Yonatan
 
Turning toward the Temple to pray is advocated for by king Solomon (1 Kings 8:29-61) and is elsewhere commonplace within traditional Jewish prayer practice throughout the world.
 
Hezekiah’s first instinct as a human being and as a Jew upon whom God had placed His Name, was to turn to God in an intimate gesture of vulnerability and cry out in prayer: his prayer being a response to the conversation God had already begun. One could say that the general nature of Isaiah’s warning (which doesn’t say when Hezekiah will die, just that his death is certain) was God’s way of allowing Hezekiah the opportunity for repentance and healing.
 
Isa 38:3  And said, “Anah I beseech you, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), zechor-na remember, recall, call to mind now, how I have walked before You be-emet in truth uveleiv and with a heart (core being) of shaleim wholeness, safety, completeness, peacefulness, and have done that which is ha-tov good in Your sight.” And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) bechiy bewailed gadol greatly.
 
Cf. 2 Kings 20:3
 
Hezekiah does not presume to be perfect in his walk before God, he is simply asking that God acknowledge the sincerity with which he has sought to follow the commandments and restore the centrality of the Temple cult to Judah and Israel. After all, Hezekiah was responsible for removing the high places and tearing down the heathen altars, and for bringing the focus of Israel’s worship back to the God appointed Temple mount and the altar of sacrifice therein (2 Kings 18:4).
 
Hezekiah does not think that God has forgotten him, rather he is in a sense, reminding himself that God is aware of every intimate part of Hezekiah’s life. Thus, feeling abandoned within time and space, he calls out to God, Who is outside of Time and space and in control of all things.
 
Hezekiah’s “bewailing greatly” denotes not only his concern for himself and his potential loss of life but also for the state of the nation and the added vulnerability that would ensue were he to die with the invading Assyrian army at the doorstep of Jerusalem.
 
Isa 38:4  Then came a devar-YHVH word of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) to Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah), saying,
 
“And it came to pass, before Isaiah was gone out (chatzeir) of the city centre, that a word of the Lord came to him, saying,” -2 Kings 20:4
 
The account of 2 Kings 20 illuminates further the immediacy of God’s response to Hezekiah. Isaiah was still in the centre of the upper city of Jerusalem and probably had gone no further than the middle court of the king’s residence, and or had progressed via the Temple pausing at the middle court (court of Israel) to pray.
 
Isa 38:5  “Go, and say to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy), ‘Thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), Eloheiy the God of David aviycha your father, I have shamatiy heard, listened to your prayer, I have raiytiy seen, considered your tears: Hineni Now, behold, pay attention, I will yosif add to your days fifteen years.’”
 
Cf. 2 Kings 20:5-6
 
“Thus says HaShem the God of David your father”. This is said to affirm the covenant God had made with the house of David (2 Sam. 7:4-17). It is for the sake of the King Messiah Who will come out of the line of David and for the subsequent redemption of those who receive Him that God calls Himself “Eloheiy Daveed”.
 
Neither a prayer said in vain nor the superficial tears of the unrepentant invoke the mercy of God. Hezekiah’s request is acknowledged as genuine and moving (Yaakov [James] 5:16). God now demands that Hezekiah pay attention, that is, “act righteously in response to the extension of life that I am giving you”.
 
15 years is representative of two terms of completion (2 x 7) plus a year of new beginning (+1). 2 sevens are an allusion to eternity (completion perfected) and the added single year an allusion to the beginning of that eternity. Thus, the added years promise far more than earthly life, something that Isaiah already understands but Hezekiah has yet to fully grasp.
 
Isa 38:6  And I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Ashur (A step, Assyria): ve’ganotiy and I will defend, cover, surround this city.
 
Cf. 2 Kings 20:6
 
This verse suggests that while these events occurred as many as 10 years prior to Sennacherib’s move against Jerusalem, it is also possible that they occurred closer to the end of that 10 year period and therefore, align with the Jewish Sages’ tradition more closely than some scholars suspect.
 
The wording of God’s comforting response to Hezekiah seeks to calm his concerns both for himself and for Jerusalem and its inhabitants: “I will defend, cover, surround this city.”
 
The 2 Kings 20 account places the entire conversation concerning the sign and the healing of Hezekiah by means of a pressed fig rub at this point in the narrative, giving the dialogue a more natural continuity. Thus, 2 Kings 20:7-8 correspond to the seemingly ill-placed verses of Isaiah 38:21-22, which bare no connection to the following chapter but rather refer back to a point in the narrative prior to the giving of the sign and the healing of Hezekiah.
 
“And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?” -2 Kings 20:7-8
 
Isa 38:7  And this to you ha-ot the miraculous sign from HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), that HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) will ya’aseh fashion, do ha-devar this thing, word, essence that He has dibeir spoken;
 
“And Isaiah said, This sign you will have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten steps: no, but let the shadow return backward ten steps.” 2 Kings 20:9-10
 
The sign is to be a miraculous one. While some seek to provide a practical reason for the adjustment of the shadow, the plain meaning of the text denotes a supernatural event that directly affects the sun itself. In the 2 Kings 20 account the recorded request of Hezekiah shows either his true belief in the miraculous power of God or his desperate need to witness that power made manifest as a promise of even greater deliverance to come. Thus, his request relates to both his own healing and the protection of Jerusalem and her inhabitants.
 
“Do this thing which He has spoken” refers to the healing and longevity of Hezekiah, for which the sign is offered.
 
It is of note that Hezekiah acted in contradiction to his wicked father Ahaz, who hypocritically refused to ask for a sign from God (Isaiah 7:12).
 
Isa 38:8  Hineni Now, behold, pay attention, I will bring again the shadow of ha-ma’alot the steps, which yaredah descends bema’alot on the steps of Achaz (grasped), ten ma’alot steps backward. Ve’tashav And returned ha-shemesh the sun, the ten ma’alot steps, bama’alot on the steps it yaradah had descended.
 
“And Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord: and He brought the shadow ten steps backward, by which it had gone down in the steps of Ahaz.” -2 Kings 20:11
 
Although some suggest a momentary refraction of light as the mechanism behind the sign, we notice that it is the sun itself that is the subject of the returning in the latter clause of verse 38, and not it’s light, the steps or the shadow it casts. In laymen’s terms, the sun itself went backward; a stumbling block for both the modern scientist and the desperately rational theologian. This is one of the many reasons we must become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of God (Matt. 18:3).
 
Isa 38:9  The writing of Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) king of Yehudah (Praise, Judah), bachaloto in his sickness, vaychi and in restored life from out of his sickness:
 
This psalm-like piece of writing (mikhtav) while present here, is not included in the 2 Kings 20 account. As I said in my introduction to the chapter, it seems fitting that the scribes include the mikhtav of Hezekiah in the present chapter of Isaiah’s poetic, prophetic scroll and exclude it in the more historically styled record of the Kings.
 
This psalm/meditation was written both during (in) Hezekiah’s illness and following (in) his restoration to health. Thus, it probably covers Hezekiah’s progression of feelings throughout the entire experience. Therefore, we should look for a progression of Hezekiah’s understanding of God and his relationship in Him as we journey through the thoughts, emotions, desperate cries and ecstatic relief of Hezekiah’s psalm/meditation.
 
Hezekiah’s mikhtav is typical of psalms of supplication and thanksgiving. Similar elements appear in psalm 118 and in the psalm of Jonah 2. In fact, Hezekiah’s mikhtav follows the basic structure of this type of psalm:
 

1. A description of crisis: Isaiah 38:10-13 (Psalm 118:5-7; 10-16; Jonah 2:4-7)
2. A reference to the lament offered during the crisis: Isaiah 38:14 (Psalm 118:5; Jonah 3, 3)
3. God’s faithfulness: Isaiah 38:15-20 (Psalm 118:8-9; Jonah 2:7-8)

 
Isa 38:10  “I said bidmi in the cessation, silence, quiet, pause of my days, I will walk to the gates of Sheol (Holding place of departed humans, divided into Gan-Eden and Gehinnom): I am deprived of the yeter remainder, residue, excellence of my years.
 
Ibn Ezra explains that “bidmi” means “cut off” according to its comparable use in Hosea 10:15. This makes sense as an allusion to the weavers analogy of Isaiah 38:12. Others interpret it to convey a quiet part of the day, that being the middle of the eastern day and a time for rest from the heat. Both readings have relevance here: the theme being that Hezekiah is to be cut off (die) in the prime of his life, the middle of his days.
 
Hezekiah’s reference to Sheol does not denote a cessation of consciousness but a cessation of earthly life. As I have stated in previous articles, Sheol is not the grave (kever), and the ancient (Biblical) Hebrew grave was above ground, a tomb, cave, and or stones piled over the remains.
 
Isa 38:11  I said, I will not see HaShem (Yah: Mercy, the LORD), HaShem (Yah: Mercy, the LORD), be’eretz in the land of ha-chayim the living: I will behold humanity no more with the inhabitants chadel at rest.
 
The repetition of “Yah”, the shortened form of YHVH, denotes the permanence of Mercy. We note that while Hezekiah says “I will not see Yah, Yah” the qualifying phrase is “in the land of the living”, the living being the temporal living of humanity within the sin affected creation. Thus, the final clause in this verse alludes to the cessation of Hezekiah’s days spent with humanity (humanity within the context of the sin affected creation and not in regard to consciousness of the spirit).
 
Ibn Ezra suggests that “I will not see” means, “I shall not see any longer the works of the Almighty:” in the land of the living. He explains further that this is the reason for the latter clause “I will behold humanity no more”, because part of the witness of God’s works is manifest in human beings.
 
Many translate the Hebrew “chadel” as “World, life” following the comparative use in Psalm 39:5-6. However, the plain meaning of this word is “rest, cessation” and as such conveys a much different meaning from that of the traditional English translations. In short, the latter part of this verse “I will behold humanity no more with the inhabitants chadel at rest.” Is conveying the idea that Hezekiah is mourning the beholding of humanity in this (temporary) life alone, while at the same time showing that his understanding of Sheol includes the idea that he will share this inability to behold humanity in the land of the living, with those others who are departed and present with him in Sheol “with the inhabitants chadel at rest.”
 
The Jewish sage Ben Melekh, in keeping with the writers of the 2nd Century Targum, observes, that seeing or appearing before the Creator signifies confession and praise. Thus the Targum of Yonatan’s allusion to the Temple cult and the manifest feminine presence of the Shekhinah, which is a manifestation of the Kevod HaShem (Glory of God).
 
“I shall no more appear before the face of the Lord in the land of the house of his Shekhinah, in which is length of life; and I shall no more serve him in the house of the sanctuary.'” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
Isa 38:12  Doriy My generation, time, age is nesa pulled up, departed, veniglah and is removed, uncovered from me like keohel roiy my shepherd's tent: kipadtiy I am gathered together, rolled up by a weaver is chayay my life: midalah from threads he will cut me off: from day until night ta-shlim-eini You will make a covenant of peace with me.
 
Contrary to common interpretation I do not believe “Doriy” (from dor: generation) should be understood as describing the so called “Tent of the body”, which is in fact a Gnostic idea drenched in heresy. Rather, as is suggested by the plain meaning of the Hebrew “Dor”, it is the temporal nature of existence in general within the sin affected creation, that is intended. Thus, “Generation” and not “Tent, dwelling”.
 
That which is being lifted up and put away like a tent is the temporal existence (generation of a life) within the sin affected creation. The body on the other hand is yet to be restored and renewed as a metaphysical entity at the resurrection of the dead, and not done away with completely as many theologians suggest. To the contrary, we believe in the physical resurrection, or did Messiah rise a ghost? A curse on that idea! Thomas touched His physical body post resurrection. It is high time we did away with these Gnostic lies.
 
“veniglah and is removed, uncovered from me like keohel roiy my shepherd's tent”. So much is to be uncovered ahead of the dying man: the veil of temporal existence gives way to eternal rest for those, who like Hezekiah have placed their hope in HaShem. A shepherds tent is pulled up to make way for a journey, an adventure into the new grazing lands of the future. Thus, following death the believer receives a fuller understanding of the eternal present.
 
The Hebrew “Roiy” can be understood as “My shepherd” or, “The Shepherd to Whom I belong”. Both denote God and His King Messiah Yeshua. Think carefully on this: “uncovered from me like my shepherd's tent (generational existence)”. God, Who is Hezekiah’s Shepherd, is attributed a temporal tent, even though He is unmistakably eternal. Therefore, Whoever Hezekiah is referring to must be that manifestation of God as Shepherd Whom Isaiah has been prophesying as the King Messiah Imanu (with us) El (God). Messiah is yet to come in the context of Hezekiah’s historical prayer, and yet is alluded to as being one Who will experience death, the cessation of His time (dor) on earth (albeit temporarily).
 
“I am gathered together, rolled up by a weaver is my life: from threads He will cut me off: from day until night You will make a covenant of peace with me.”
 
The weaving analogy infers God as the weaver (Job 6:9). It also reveals the threads of life woven together to bring Hezekiah to this point. The phrase “from day to night” is a Hebrew idiom expressing the outworking of something within a short period of time. Thus, prior to God’s response and promise of additional years Hezekiah believed his death was imminent.
 
“You will make a covenant of peace with me.” Notice that in spite of his distress and the realization that he is soon to die Hezekiah none the less acknowledges his belief that beyond death the covenant of peace God will make with Hezekiah will sustain him.
 
Isa 38:13  It is made plain to me until morning, as a lion, so will He break all my bones: from day until night ta-shlim-eini You will make a covenant of peace with me.
 
Simply put, Hezekiah has come to terms with his imminent death. He has concluded that regardless of the distress caused by his anticipation of death and the pain of the illness along with its fast approaching end, that he is certain (repeating the phrase for the second time) that God “will make a covenant of peace” with him. That covenant, whether Hezekiah fully understood it or not, would be made in the shed blood of the coming Messiah (historically speaking), a covenant that had already been made outside of time and space (Rev. 13:8).
 
Notice that Hezekiah acknowledges God’s control over both the illness and the covenant of peace.
 
Isa 38:14  Like a swallow or a crane, so I did chirp: ehgeh moaning, muttering, meditating as a dove: my low eyes fail to look up: Adonaiy Lord I am oppressed; areveini make an exchange, become surety, mortgage (death pledge), become a ransom for me.
 
Hezekiah explains the din of his expressions of pain. The cacophony of cries that issue from his suffering body and soul. He likens his suffering to oppression, an allusion to the oppression of Israel, particularly with regard to her time in Egypt. The sickness is the Tyrant that is oppressing Hezekiah and is a figure for sin, which oppresses his soul.
 
“my low eyes fail to look up”. The plain meaning is that Hezekiah is so weak and sick that he lacks the physical and emotional energy to look up, either for food or in a spiritual sense to make proper supplication before God. The Targum Yonatan conveys this in the spiritual sense by alluding to the manifest glory of the Shekhinah:
 
“I lifted up mine eyes, that refreshing might come to me from (before) Him whose Shekhinah is in the highest heavens: Lord, hear my prayer; grant my petition.” -Targum Yonatan
 
“Lord I am oppressed make an exchange for me.” This shows, at least in part Hezekiah’s understanding that his suffering can only be overcome through a redemptive ransom. The title Adonaiy is used rather than the Holy Name YHVH: while Adonaiy can refer to any lord, YHVH refers only to Hashem. Thus, in petitioning Hashem Hezekiah has chosen a title that might also be used of Messiah, a man Who is God with us. “Make an exchange for me” equates to “take my place”, or “Bail me out”. Thus, whether Hezekiah fully understand what he is asking for or not, he is essentially requesting that God take his place and bear the suffering for him. This is of course, the very nature and mechanism of the Gospel: Messiah (Imanu-El, with us-God) becomes the ransom that atones for our sin and makes us whole.
 
Isaiah will later prophecy the greater answer to Hezekiah’s request:
 
“Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to His own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” -Isaiah 53:4-6
 
Isa 38:15  What will I say? Now speaking to me Himself He has fashioned, made, done it: I will go softly all my years upon the bitterness of nafshiy my soul.
 
Hezekiah acknowledges that in when faced with God’s authority, mercy and redemption there is nothing more a man can say.
 
Ibn Ezra suggests that this verse refers to the answer of God and the promise of an additional 15 years. This view would mean that the final clause refers to the way Hezekiah intends to address bitterness in the years ahead, be it through illness or political intrigue. However, it is equally possible that this verse is referring to the first words of the Lord spoken through Isaiah concerning Hezekiah’s certain death. If this is the correct understanding then the present verse shows that Hezekiah has concluded that he should exhibit a contrite state of heart before God in the face of his imminent death.
 
Isa 38:16  Adonaiy Lord, according to this life are all these things, and in the life of ruchiy my spirit ve-ta-chalimein-iy so You will recover me (chalam as from a dream), ve-ha-chayeiniy and cause me to live.
 
“according to this life are all these things”. What things? All those things aforementioned in Hezekiah’s mikhtav: pain, sorrow, despair, distress, oppression are all part of a man’s life on earth in a sin affected world.
 
“These things” might also refer to the things fashioned by God for the sake of Hezekiah, however, this is less likely. What is certain is that all things exist according to God’s word and that “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deut. 8:3 Matt. 4:4). Therefore, we can understand this verse to convey the idea that relying on the things of God is the foundation for the recovery the human spirit.
 
“In the life of my spirit, so You will recover me and cause me to live.” Hezekiah has just prior to this named those things that are common to life on earth in a sin affected body: now he makes a distinction between the sin affected body and the everlasting nature of the spirit ruach, that part of the person that continues to exist in Sheol after death awaiting the resurrection and restoration of the physical in the perfect world to come. Therefore, contrary to the protestation of many modern scholars, Hezekiah is clearly showing an understanding of the afterlife that includes the conscious state of the spirit within Sheol, be it in Gan-Eden or Gehinnom. After all, the Hebrew chalam is used as a descriptor that invokes the idea of waking from a dream. What is this life if not the dream that acts as a prelude to the reality of eternity. Thus, “In the life of my spirit, so You will recover me and cause me to live” takes on an ambiguous meaning that illuminates both the physical healing of Hezekiah and the post death reality of his spirit when the 15 years are concluded.
 
The Targum also interprets this verse as referring to the resurrection:
 
“O Lord, You have said concerning all the dead, that You will quicken them, and You have quickened my spirit before any of them: You have quickened, You have made me to live.” -Targum Yonatan
 
Isa 38:17  Hineih Behold, now, le-shalom for peace I had great bitterness: but You have chashakta in longing for nafshiy my soul delivered it mishachat from the pit of wearing out: for You have cast behind Your back all my sins.
 
One cannot dispute the fact that Hezekiah understands his deliverance to be both physical and spiritual. It is deliverance from sin that he is alluding to here, something that can only be purchased by a substitutionary sacrifice of shed blood. Therefore, he understands at least in part the redemptive process of God through Messiah, even though at that time in history Messiah was yet to enter time and space. Thus, we understand that the transcendent nature of the resurrected Messiah is inferred by Hezekiah’s words.
 
“now, for peace I had great bitterness”. Is understood by Ibn Ezra to refer to Hezekiah’s life being at the middle point of his days and the bitterness refers to his illness. Thus, at 39 years old he was considered to be in the relatively peaceful middle time of life rather than at one end or the other. It was therefore, in the peaceful time of his life that he received the dreadful news of his imminent death and was thus embittered. However, Yosef Kimchi interprets this phrase to mean that peace had replaced the bitterness: “Now my life is for peace, though I had great bitterness”. This I believe is the correct interpretation.
 
“but You have in longing for my soul delivered it from the pit of wearing out: for You have cast behind Your back all my sins.” Hezekiah recognizes that God has longed for him in love and mercy and will both deliver him from the physical wearing out of his body in the immediate sense, and from the just punishment for his sins in the eternal sense.
 
Isa 38:18  For Sheol (Holding place of departed humans, divided into Gan-Eden and Gehinnom) cannot praise You, nor can death yahaleka celebrate (shine light on) You: there is no hope for those who descend into bor a pit, well, cistern, to come into amitecha Your truth.
 
It is true that the holding place Sheol cannot praise God, nor can death, which is not a person but a state resulting from sin. This of course does not negate the ability of the departed to engage with God (Rev. 6:9-11), Who is not bound by time and space, nor is He deaf to the conscious departed (Though it is true that they have no means of communicating with those who remain living in the sin affected world of the present reality).
 
The latter clause “there is no hope for those who descend into a pit, to come into Your truth” is best summed up by the Scripture “It is appointed unto human beings to die once and then the judgement” (Hebrews 9:27). In other words, there is no dispensation for salvation following death: a person must accept God’s redemptive offer during life and or in the moments of transition between life and death.
 
Isa 38:19  Chay Life, chay life, he yodecha shall throw praise to You, kamoni as I do ha-yom this day: Av Father levaniym to the children You make known amitecha Your truth.
 
“Chay, chay” The living, both those corporeally and spiritually alive will always praise God.
 
“As I do this day” refers first to the day that Hezekiah receives his healing and in general to every day on which Hezekiah’s voice gives praise to Hashem.
 
The Father mentioned is of course Hashem and the children (plural) are Israel, ethnic, religious and subsequently all those who through Israel’s Messiah receive the truth that the Father makes known. “Your truth made known” is the redemption of human beings and of all sin affected creation through the shed blood of the Son and King Messiah Yeshua.
 
Isa 38:20  HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) is for saving me: u-neginotay therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life at beiyt the house of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD).”
 
The singular grammar of the first clause is beautiful: “Mercy is for saving me”. Take time to pause and consider this, HaShem is for saving you, are you for accepting that salvation?
 
Notice that following the singular phrasing of the first clause that the Hebrew uses the plural to describe the songs of praise. Why? Because Hezekiah is referring to something more than physical healing and salvation from certain death in his personal immediate context. He is also referring to the deliverance of Judah from the Assyrians: further still and most importantly he is alluding to that salvation which places our sin behind the back of God (as it were). Thus, in the likeness of the psalmist we (all Israel and those from other nations who find redemption through her Messiah) sing praises “all the days of our life at the house of HaShem”, both physical atop the Temple mount and eternal, being in God and the Lamb, Who reside in place of the Temple in the New Jerusalem, a city which has no need of a Temple (Rev. 21:22).
 
Isa 38:21  For Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah) had said, “Let them take a cake of pressed figs, and use it as a medicinal rub upon the boil, and he will recover.”
 
These verses are retrospective in that they refer back to the process of healing that occurred over the period of time that Hezekiah was recording his mikhtav.
 
The mechanism for the healing reminds us that God heals in many and varied ways and not always instantaneously. The goal of the miraculous is to point people to salvation. Healing is of little value if it only extends life unto eternal death. The purpose of God’s healing is to invoke salvation and wholeness. Thus, Yeshua says “Go, your faith has made you whole.” And not “Go, your faith has healed you” as some intellectually dishonest English versions suggest (Luke 19:17; Mark 5:34; 10:52 etc.)
 
Isa 38:22  Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD)?
 
Once again this verse should be understood retrospectively and refers to the sign of the shadow reversing up the stars of Ahaz, which has occurred chronologically speaking prior to this point in the narrative. As explained earlier, these verses are included directly prior to the healing of Hezekiah in the 2 Kings 20 account.
 
Copyright Yaakov Brown

Isa 37:1  And it came to pass, when king Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) heard, he tore his clothes, vayitkas and covered, concealed, hid himself with sackcloth, vayavo and went to the beit house of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD).
 
Hezekiah tore his cloths in union with his court and the people of Judah. He tore them in mourning at their predicament and in sorrow over both his personal sin and disbelief, and over that of his people. This is the first step in his symbolic repentance. Second, he put on or “covered” himself with sackcloth. The Hebrew root “kasah” translated “covered” also means to conceal, hide and in a figurative sense to overwhelm. Thus, Hezekiah is overwhelmed by the consequences of both his own sin and that of Judah. While tearing garments is an instantaneous response to the revelation of sin and turmoil, it is none the less over in moments. Putting on sackcloth adds an intentional and ongoing component to repentance by constantly reminding the wearer of the discomfort and distress that sin and its consequences have brought upon him.
 
These acts of repentance do nothing to convince God of a man’s true state of heart, He knows all that is in a man’s heart. Rather, these symbolic actions are a means by which a man might remind himself of his true state before God and his need for the redemption that only God can provide him. Prayerful supplication and practiced repentance are for our benefit, yet another affirmation of God’s grace and mercy toward us. He is all knowing and yet in love He has selflessly engaged us in eternal conversation.
 
Hezekiah went “to” not “into” the house of HaShem. Only priests were allowed to enter the Temple (Court of priests, holy place) and only the High priest, the Holy of holies. The Hebrew reads “vayavo beit YHVH” literally “and he went house YHVH”. If the text were meant to be understood as “and he went into the house of HaShem” it would need to read “vayavo babeit YHVH”.
 
Were we to read the text as most English translations render it “he went into the house of the Lord”, we would also need to presume sin upon Hezekiah for breaking the Temple cult protocol (a sin committed by king Uzziah, who was struck with leprosy as a result [2 Chron. 26:16-22]): this is clearly not what the context conveys. Hezekiah is in no way punished for his genuine pleas to HaShem and is therefore not guilty of breaching Temple protocol or presuming upon himself the role of priest. To the contrary, Hezekiah is shown here as a respecter of protocol and one who honours the God given roles of others. This is one of his noblest traits as king.
 
Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord (v.14) and certainly entered the court of Israel (men’s courtyard) approaching the court of priests (For priests only) but went no further than the opening to the court of priests.
 
There is much for us to learn from Hezekiah’s actions. At this point in his story he did not presume to take things into his own hands as he had done. Instead he chose to rely on God and the systems set in place for orderly worship and petition. Hezekiah honoured the roles of the priest Eliyakiym, the Torah scribe Shevna and the priests who were fulfilling their allocated period of service in the Temple proper at the time of these events. His patient attention to detail in these matters shows both humility and trust on his part. A trusting man may act promptly but he need not act presumptuously as a result of panic and apprehension.
 
Isa 37:2  And he sent Eleyakiym (God raises, arises), who was over ha-beit the house (Temple), and Shevna (vigour, tender youth) ha-sofeir the scribe, and the ziknei elders (older ones) of ha-cohanim the priests, mitkasiym covered, concealed (overwhelmed) with sackcloth, to Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah) the prophet the son of Amotz (Strong, alert, courageous).
 
We note that Yoach the recorder/historian is missing from the religious retinue sent to Isaiah. The petitioning of God through the prophet is pursued devoid of concern for contemporary secular record. This group of the king’s representatives are those responsible for the spiritual care of Judah and Israel. Thus, it is the elders among the priesthood who go in addition to Eliyakiym and Shevna, as representatives of the entire priesthood and of Judah’s Temple cult practitioners.
 
Isa 37:3  And they said to him, “Thus says Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy), ‘This day is a day of tzarah distress, and of tochechah correction, and of ne’atzah blasphemy (contempt): for the baniym children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
 
Hezekiah calls this day a day of  “tzarah” distress, and of “tochechah” correction, and of “ne’atzah” blasphemy (contempt)”:
 

1. “Tzarah” is the root used to form the proper noun Mitzraim (Egypt, double distress). It infers a correlation between Israel’s distress in Egypt and her present distress in the shadow of the Assyrian invasion. Thus, tzarah denotes distress born of bondage and oppression.
2. “Tochechah” is reproof, correction, rebuke. It is used in regard to the disciplining of sinful Israel.
3. “Ne’atzah” is contempt, blasphemy and scorn born of na’atz which means to spurn, despise and abhor. Thus, it refers not to Hezekiah or Judah (Who are now turning to God in their distress) but to Sennacherib, Rav-Shakeih and the Assyrian Empire, who have wilfully and blatantly shown contempt for the God of Israel and have instead sought to set up their own gods and their king as the King of kings.

 
By using these three specific terms Hezekiah is soberly acknowledging the truth of Judah’s situation. She is being oppressed as God’s people, she is guilty of sinning against God and is deserving of His rebuke and correction, and she is appalled at the blasphemy being levelled against the God of Israel as a result of both Israel’s sin and the arrogance of her enemies, who are ultimately the enemies of God.
 
The idiom “for the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth” (ref. Isa. 66:9) conveys a great deal. In its colloquial form it was probably used in the singular, however, here it is plural “children”. Thus, as Yarchi rightly interprets it refers to Israel (God’s chosen children) and the matriarchs of Israel, her human mothers. In the process of birthing there is sometimes a point at which neither the mother’s contractions nor the child’s movements are able to bring about the final coming forth from the womb. In such cases both mother and child are helpless to deliver themselves, they’re utterly reliant on help received from another, such as a midwife or physician. Thus Hezekiah is making an admission on Judah’s (Israel’s) behalf, confessing her helplessness and complete reliance on deliverance at God’s hand.
 
Isa 37:4  It may be that HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Eloheiycha your God (Judge) will yishma hear, listen to the words of Rav-shakeih (The great cupbearer), whom the king of Ashur (a step: Assyria) his adonav master has sent to taunt the Elohiym Chai living God, and will decide against the words which HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Eloheiycha your God (Judge) has heard: wherefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”
 
Hezekiah is not necessarily showing his lack of relational understanding of God with the phrase “Your God”. This phrase is often used by Hebrew speakers to challenge the hearer to take ownership of their common bond. Yeshua (Jesus) uses it in this way when he says “Your Torah” (John 8:17; 10:34; 18:31): He does not mean to say that it is not His Torah, rather He means to stir in them a sense of right identity and ownership with regard to the Spirit of the Torah and the bond shared in it by every Jew. Therefore, we may understand the phrase “Your God” in one of two ways: either Hezekiah is yet to enter into personal relationship with God or, he is reminding himself that his God is also the God of Isaiah, and reminding Isaiah that the prophet shares his God with his people Israel.
 
By saying “Maybe Hashem will hear” means, maybe the sin of Assyria will make a louder din in the ears of God than that of our own sin. Hezekiah knows that God has witnessed the blasphemy of Assyria, his question is one of action: Will God act for His own Name’s sake and subsequently for the sake of His people Judah?
 
The phrase “lechareif Elohiym chai” to taunt the living God, seems to be an allusion to the mocking display of Goliath (1 Sam. 17:26; 17:36). Thus, the mocking display of Rav-Shakeih is seen as being an affront to God of similar nature.
 
With regard to the phrase “Your prayer” as it applies to Isaiah. It is true to say that “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective”, not because of a man’s righteousness but because the Righteous One lives in him. Thus, with regard to salvation God has no favourites but with regard to right action God favours the obedient.
 
Isa 37:5  So the servants of king Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) came to Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah). Isa 37:6  And Yeshayahu (YHVH, he is salvation: Isaiah) said to them, “Thus will you say to adoneichem your master, Thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), ‘Al-tiyra Be not afraid mipenei of the face (appearance) of ha-devariym the words that you have heard, with which the na’arei young boys of the king of Ashur (a step: Assyria) have blasphemed Me.
 
Isaiah turns Hezekiah’s phrasing toward the servants of the king for much the same reason for which Hezekiah had addressed Isaiah. “Thus will you say to your master/lord…” As priests and keeper of Torah responsible for the mechanisms of worship practice they are being tasked by the prophet to honour the Lord’s chosen king over Judah and to act in a messianic role as communicators to the king. They are both receiving and giving the Word of the Lord.
 
To Hezekiah the message of HaShem begins as it often does with the comforting words “Al-tiyra” no fear! Specifically “Don’t be afraid of the appearance of the words that you’ve heard”. So often we are afraid of how things appear to be because we have lost sight of the unseen and the present work of God in our midst. God calls Hezekiah to return to Him and receive insight so that he might be delivered from appearances and understand the reality of God’s work.
 
There is a beautiful irony in the name Ashur (a step). It’s as if the step had hurled curses at those who will step on it as they ascend to the mountain of the Lord.
 
The prophet uses the Hebrew “na’arei” boys, young men, as a subtle insult toward the messengers of Sennacherib. They are not even wise enough in years to qualify as seasoned servants and are instead called novice children by the prophet Isaiah.
 
Isa 37:7  Hinni Behold, pay attention, I will send a ruach spirit (wind) upon him, and he will hear a rumour, and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’”
 
It is a spirit from HaShem that is to come upon Sennacherib. This can be understood as both an angelic messenger that will disquiet him and or a spirit of dread, fear etc. An ill wind as it were.
 
“He will hear a rumour” most likely refers to the rumour of verse 9 concerning the king of Ethiopia. It may also be alluding to the news of the destruction of the Assyrian army which will soon (Within a year’s time) reach Sennacherib, though this is less likely given the seeming immediacy of the qualifying events pursuant to this verse.
 
Isa 37:8  So Rav-shakeih (The great cupbearer) returned, and found the king of Ashur (Assyria: a step) warring against Livnah (white): for he had heard that he was departed from Lachiysh (invincible: south of Jerusalem in the territory of Judah).
 
Rav-Shakeih had heard of Sennacherib’s movements and had journeyed from Lachiysh to Livnah (possibly the Egyptian city but more likely the city of the same name in the territory of Judah [Joshua 10:29]).
 
Isa 37:9  And he heard it said concerning Tirhakah (searched out the pious) king of Ethiopia, “He is come forth to make war with you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy), saying,
 
The nearest precedent subject is Sennacherib, thus, it is Sennacherib who receives the news concerning Tirhakah and in desperation sends messengers back to Hezekiah to repeat and expand on the threats and intimidations of the previous chapter.
 
Tirhakah was king of both Ethiopia and Egypt at this time.
 
Isa 37:10  “Thus will you speak to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) king of Yehudah (Judah: praise), saying, ‘Don’t let Eloheicha your God, in Whom you trust, deceive you, saying, “Yerushalayim (Flood of peace: Jerusalem) will not be given into the hand of the king of Ashur (Assyria: a step).”
 
These are the words Sennacherib instructed his messengers to say to Hezekiah. The prophet Isaiah juxtaposes the arrogant actions of the king of Assyria and his messengers against the righteous actions of God and His prophet, messenger to the children of Israel.
 
Sennacherib’s accusation exceeds the blasphemous words previously spoken by Rav-Shakeih. To claim that HaShem (Who cannot lie) has deceived Hezekiah and Israel amounts to likening HaShem’s character to that of the father of lies the Satan.
 
Isa 37:11  Hinei Behold, pay attention, you have heard what the kings of Ashur (Assyria: a step) have done to all lands by destroying them utterly; and will you be delivered? Isa 37:12  Have the elohoheiy gods of the nations delivered those who my fathers have destroyed, Gozan (cutting off), and Charan (Mountaineer), and Rezeph (Hot stone), and the children of Eden (Pleasure, delight) which were in Tel-assar (Hill of Ashur)? Isa 37:13  Where is the king of Chamat (fortress), and the king of Arphad (I will be spread out), and the king of the city of Sepharvaim (two sipparas), Hena (troubling), and Ivah (ruin)?’”
 
It is interesting to note that here Sennacherib attributes to his fathers’ (Sargon and the previous kings of the Derketade dynasty which he had overthrown) that which Rav-shakeih had given Sennacherib himself credit for. This serves to strengthen the indictment against Sennacherib’s generational pride and the pride seeded in the very soil of Assyria and her precedent empires.

While many of the cities mentioned are identifiable a number of them can’t be placed geographically with certainty do to insufficient historical and archaeological information. The Targum understands the last two nouns as a description of Sennacherib’s actions:

"has he not removed them, and carried them captive?'' -Targum Yonatan
The Jewish commentator Yarchi agrees with this interpretation:
"the king of Assyria has moved and overthrown them, and destroyed them, and removed them out of their place;''
What is certain is that Sennacherib was boasting of his prowess and wilfully impugning the character of the God of Israel.
 
Isa 37:14  And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH) received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) went up to ha-beit the house of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), and spread it before HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD).
 
Like the tearing of his cloths and the wearing of sackcloth, the spreading out of the letter before the Lord was a symbolic act done before the people to show that the king was petitioning the God of Israel alone for deliverance. This act is in itself a prayer practice.
 
Hezekiah went up to the Temple and as far as the court of Israel in order to lay out the letter at the opening to the entry to the court of the priests.
 
Isa 37:15  And Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy) prayed to the HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), saying, Isa 37:16  “HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Tzevaot (Who goes warring, of hosts), Eloheiy God of Yisrael (Israel: overcomes in God), that sits between the ha-kerubim (Angelic beings), You are ha-Elohiym the God, You alone, to all the kingdoms of the earth: You have made ha-shamayim the heavens and ve’et ha-aretz the earth.

Having presented his unspoken prayer to God in the form of the letter, Hezekiah now calls on God using a very specific and significant title “YHVH Tzevaot, Eloheiy Yisrael” Mercy Who goes Warring, God/Judge of Israel (Overcome in God). There are many other names for God that Hezekiah could have used, however, the situation called for the God Who arises to battle, the King over all Who rules the host of the heavens. One does not call on the Prince of Peace when war is needed. Of course, it is one of the mysterious ironies of God’s character, that it is Mercy (YHVH) Who goes warring.
 
Hezekiah adds to the first title by acknowledging God’s intrinsic link to His people Israel “Eloheiy Yisrael” those who overcome in God’s judgement. Ethnic, religious, spiritual: HaShem has placed His Name on the people of Israel.
 
Hezekiah is not done with his identifying of the attributes and person of his God: “Who sits between the Cherubim” is a reference to the Mercy Seat atop the Ark of the Covenant which resides between the fierce Cherubim (Anthropomorphic Angelic beings) and dwells in the Holy of holies (Psa. 18:10; 80:1). This is a description of both the attribute of God’s mercy and the literal manifest (feminine) presence of God known to the rabbis of the Talmud as the Shekhinah.
 
Still Hezekiah continues, the entire prayer thus far being a calling out of some of the many titles and attributes of God. He concludes with two fundamentally important descriptors: Elohiym (Intense God) over all the kingdoms of the earth (A direct affront to the foolish claims of Sennacherib), and Creator of both the heavens (All that exists above and beyond) and the earth (the location of the present crisis).
 
How often we miss out on the comfort that might be afforded us in simply calling on the various attributes and character traits of God. We rush into our petitions with desperate cries for help when much of that help begins in the knowledge of Who we’re petitioning. Hezekiah reminds himself and his people that all prayer is a response to the Greatest of Persons. He calls out to:
 

1. YHVH Tzevaot: Mercy Who goes Warring
2. Eloheiy Yisrael: God of those who overcome in God
3. Shekhinah Between the Cherubim: Present Merciful Comforter made manifest
4. Elohiym El Elyon: King over all the earth
5. Borei Shamayim ve’aretz: Creator of the heavens and the earth (all things)

 
It is in the comfort of reminding himself of Who God is that Hezekiah gains the spiritual strength to continue his petition in hope.
 
Isa 37:17  Incline Your ear, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), and hear; open Your eyes, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), and see: and hear all the words of Sennacherib (Sin [moon deity] sends many brothers), which he has sent to taunt the Elohiym Chaiy living God.
 
God is invisible, immutable, unseen, He has no ears. The poetic language is used to bridge the gap between the seen and the unseen. God has heard, He is all knowing, thus, Hezekiah is asking God to listen and act. God has seen, He is all seeing, thus, Hezekiah is asking God to look with mercy and act.
 
Hezekiah identifies the blasphemous words of Sennacherib not for God’s sake, God has heard them and decided Sennacherib’s fate from before the foundation of the world. Hezekiah is reminding himself of the insult to God and acknowledging to himself and all Israel, that unlike the gods that Sennacherib has alluded to in their defeat, the God of Israel is living, in fact He is the very reason that life exists “Elohiym Chaiy”.
 
Isa 37:18  Amenam Surely, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), the kings of Ashur (Assyria) have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, Isa 37:19  And have naton given their elohiym gods (judges) ba-eish into the fire: for they were not gods, but the work of human hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
 
Hezekiah acknowledges before God the truth of what Sennacherib has said while at the same time discerning the key difference between the defeated non-gods and the God of Creation.
 
Isa 37:20  Now therefore, HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Eloheiynu our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD), You only.”
 
Hezekiah ends his prayer by acknowledging the ultimate reason for God’s acting in these circumstances. It is God’s Name and reputation that must be honoured and maintained before all the kingdoms. Why? Because the salvation of humanity is reliant on Him. God is not a narcissist, He lifts Himself up before humanity in order to raise us up from eternal death. His exaltation is our redemption.
 
Hezekiah ends his prayer by acknowledging that Gods Mercy YHVH is firmly established (He uses the Holy Name twice), that YHVH is Eloheiynu is “Our God” (Israel’s God), and that God alone holds the title of Merciful Judge over all things.
 
Isa 37:21  Then Yeshayahu (YHVH, Mercy, He is salvation: Isaiah) the son of Amotz (Strength) sent to Chizkiyahu (Hezekiah: my strength is YHVH, Mercy), saying, “Thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Eloheiy God of Yisrael (Israel: overcomes in God), ‘Whereas You have prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Ashur (Assyria):
 
It is “Mercy He is Salvation” the son of “Strength” who is tasked with sending God’s answer to “My strength is Mercy”. What beauty there is in the names of God’s servants, what majesty there is in the narrative of God’s Word, and what unparalleled mystery is held in the fact that it is the sum of history and eternity woven together.
 
Notice that Isaiah identifies (his God) as YHVH Eloheiy Yisrael. He does this in truth and in solidarity with his Israeli brother Hezekiah. As if to say, “We have called on Him together my brother, and it is He Whom we have called on, the very person Who imparts our identity, Who responds to us”.
 
Isa 37:22  This is ha-d’var the word which HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) has spoken concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Tziyon (Parched land), has despised you, and laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Yerushalayim (Flood of peace) has shaken her head at you.
 
“This is ha-d’var the word” is both literal and literary. It is also transcendent in that this word (essence) is not simply true in the moment or even according to the circumstance but rather it is perpetually true because the Devar Word is Yeshua Himself.
 
We could read “This is the Yeshua Whom Mercy has sent out in response to the taunts of His enemies.”
 
Note that what follows is a future prophetic statement at the time that Hezekiah receives it. After all, Judah the virgin daughter had not yet laughed Sennacherib to scorn, nor had the residents of Jerusalem mocked him with shaking heads. To the contrary, Judah was terrified of him. Thus, HaShem speaks into time and space that which is already complete, though yet future.
 
Isa 37:23  Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? and against Whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high (gazed at with haughty eyes)? Against the kedosh Holy One (holiness) of Yisrael (Israel).
 
The true nature of the subject of Sennacherib’s taunt is revealed “Kedosh Yisrael” Holy One of Israel. “The tribal God of Israel is God over all, tremble you piss-ant!”
 
Isa 37:24  Via your servants you have taunted adonaiy a lord (Hezekiah), and have said, ‘By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the highest mountains, to the sides of Levanon (witnesses); and I will cut down the tall cedars there, and the choice fir trees there: and I will enter into the height of his border, and the forest of his Carmel (orchard, plantation). Isa 37:25  I have dug, and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet I have dried up all the rivers of the besieged places.’
 
The English reader should be careful not to read “adonaiy” master/lord in this context as referring to God, it does not. It is used here to refer to the king of Judah adonaiy melekh Yehudah, the earthly king Hezekiah.
 
The message from God to Sennacherib is a fundamental challenge to the world view of the heathen king. The indictment cites Sennacherib’s taunting of Hezekiah (God’s chosen king over Judah at this point in history). The boasts of Sennacherib are acknowledged and the truth of at least some of them is affirmed. God does not deny that Sennacherib has had power to do these things, what He does is challenge him by revealing the true source of that power.
 
Isa 37:26  Haven’t you heard long ago, I have asah fashioned it; and of ancient times, that I have yatzar framed it? Now I have brought it to pass, that you should be allowed to lay waste defenced cities turning them into ruinous heaps.
 
God being outside of time and space, knowing the end from the beginning, has seen these events complete and has been in control of the outcome from before the birth of Sennacherib.
“Haven’t you heard?” Sennacherib had all the resources of the known world available to him regarding ancient histories and the words of the prophets of many nations. He had heard of the God of Israel and what had been done for the ancient Israelites. The Targum Yonatan adds,
"what I did to Pharaoh king of Egypt;''
 
Thus king Sennacherib is without excuse. He cannot say “I didn’t realise that the God of Israel was not to be trifled with…”

Isa 37:27  Therefore their inhabitants were of short yad hand (strength), they were shattered and put to shame: they were as the plants of the field, and as the green herb, as the leeks on the housetops, and as crop blasted before it was grown up.
 
God allowed the inhabitants of the cities defeated by Sennacherib to be caught by surprise and made weak in military terms so that the greater purpose of God, the redemption of His people and subsequently of the nations, might come to fruition.
 
Isa 37:28  But I know your abode, your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against Me.
 
This is an interesting turn of phrase. To the Hebrew reader it is a phrase all too familiar, prayed over the mezuzah as we leave and enter our homes “Blessed are you HaShem our God Who guards our going out and our coming in… Who guards our coming in and our going out.” It is a phrase connected to Shaddai (The Shin on the mezuzah) the All Sufficient Protector of Israel. It is a phrase that comforts Israel while at the same time terrifying her enemies.
 
“You say you are King of kings Sennacherib, and that your god is above all others. Wake from your delusion you fool, I know the intimate details of every aspect of your existence and hold your fate in My hands.”
 
Isa 37:29  Because you rage against Me, and your storming, has come up into My ears, therefore I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way in which you came.
 
The idea that Sennacherib’s rage and boasting has come up into God’s ears is a slight against Sennacherib and his gods. Their taunts and boasts concern a small dominion, one allowed them by God, Who is high above them.
 
The Assyrians were known to lead their captives away with hooks in their noses and pull them along from piercings in their lips. Thus, they are punished according to their own actions.
 
Isa 37:30  And this will be a sign to you, You will eat this year that which grows of itself; and the second year that which springs up on its own: and in the third year you will sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
 
Verse 30 begins an inserted word of hope spoken to Judah (Israel). Here the children of Judah are addressed, the sign being one that reveals Judah’s coming deliverance. Notice that the sign will unfold over the course of Judah’s deliverance from Assyria. It will not happen all at once but it will happen.
 
Isa 37:31  And the remnant that has escaped of the house of Yehudah (Praise: Judah) shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:
 
“as a tree which sends forth its roots below, and lifts up its branches above.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
This remnant is not a “type” as some foolishly suggest, so as to deny ethnic Israel’s identity. To the contrary, the remnant is literal ethnic Judah (Israel): it is literally qualified as such by the words “of the house of Judah”, an ethnic distinction. These are those in Jerusalem joined with those that had escaped out of the cities of Judah, during Sennacherib's invasion of the land, and besieging and taking of the fortified cities. By God’s grace they will again thrive like a tree that takes root downward feeding on the deep mayim chayim living waters of God and bears fruit upward providing healing for the nations.
 
Isa 37:32  For out of Yerushalayim (Flood of peace: Jerusalem) will go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Tziyon (Parched land): the kinat zeal, jealousy of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) Tzevaot (Who goes warring, of hosts) will do this.’
 
“For the remnant of the righteous shall go forth from Jerusalem, and the escaped of them that establish the law from mount Zion: by the Word of the Lord of hosts shall this be done.” -Targum Yonatan
 
It is the “kinat” fervour, zeal, jealousy of the Lord of Mercy Who goes warring, that will do this. It is God in action, arisen, fierce, Who comes to deliver His loved ones.
 
They will go out from Jerusalem to return to their allotted towns and villages within the territory of Judah. They will escape captivity in the mount and be free to go out and come in.
 
The added clause of the Targum rightly concludes that this remnant will (for a time at least historically speaking) be devote in their faith practice and love for HaShem.
 
Nothing either Hezekiah or Judah has done will bring these things about. This will happened based entirely on the “Zeal of The Lord Who goes Warring”!
 
Isa 37:33  Therefore thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) concerning the king of Ashur (Assyria), “He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a siege ramp against it.
 
“Therefore” means, “because I am zealous for My people and My own great Name, and have already established Judah’s deliverance”.
 
God has determined that Sennacherib will not even get the opportunity to approach the city of Jerusalem or plan even the minutest detail of a campaign to proceed against her.
 
Isa 37:34  By the way that he came, by the same he will return, and will not come into this city,’ says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD). Isa 37:35  ‘For I will defend this city to save it for My own sake, and for my servant David's sake.’”
 
Nothing is so soul destroying to the man of great conquest as a defeat that forces him to return in the way that he came. All ground gained is lost with each step back, every boast is swallowed, and like the poison of pride it sits festering in the belly. To die in battle is the glory of a warrior, and to return in defeat is his greatest shame. This would be god Sennacherib will suffer the greatest humiliation because he failed to humble himself.
 
“Will not come in to this city” says YHVH. There is a day coming when Hashem will speak these same words to the enemies of Israel and to the great adversary of humanity the Satan “You will not come into this city!”
 
Why does God defend and save the city of Jerusalem (Flood of Peace)? Is it for Judah’s sake? Is it for Israel’s sake? Is it because He wants to build a castle on the hill? Hashem defends and saves Jerusalem “for My own sake, and for my servant David's sake.” “For My Own sake” because without the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord no one can be saved, and “For My servant David’s sake” because the greater son of David the King Messiah brings redemption to Israel and to all humanity.
 
Isa 37:36  Then malakh an angel of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy, the LORD) went forth, and struck in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all pegariym corpses meitiym dead on mass.
 
These events are also recorded in 2 Chronicles 32:21-23 and 2 Kings 19:35-37.
 
“Then” seems to infer that these events happened on the same night that Hezekiah had received the correspondence from Isaiah (2 Kings 19:35). However, this is probably not the case, given that the prophecy of 37:30 requires at least a year gap between it and the events of Assyria’s defeat. What took place during that year? Sennacherib was engaged in a conflict with Ethiopia/Egypt. We know this because Isaiah 37:8-9 explains that when he made his second attempt to bring Jerusalem under his power, he had received intelligence of the advance of Tirhakah, and therefore had withdrawn the centre of his army from Lakhiysh, and encamped before Livnah.
 
The seemingly redundant language “they were all corpses dead” is a Hebrew poetic formula that denotes utter defeat.
 
This work of an angel (messenger) of Hashem draws a correlation with Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. It is miraculous, instantaneous, performed at night and beyond the mechanisms of humanity.
 
“And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.” -2 Chronicles 32:21-23
 
The first of Isaiah’s histories concerning Assyria closes here with a short account of the result of the Assyrian drama, in which Isaiah's prophecies were fulfilled: not only the prophecies immediately preceding, but all the prophecies of the Assyrian era since the time of Ahaz, which pointed to the destruction of the Assyrian forces (e.g. Isa. 10:33-34), and to the flight and death of the king of Assyria (Isa. 31:9; 30:33).
 
If we look further forward to chapters 38-39, we see from Isa. 38:6 that it is only by anticipation that the account of these closing events is finished here.
 
Isa 37:37  So Sennacherib king of Ashur (Assyria) departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh (Abode of Ninus [possibly Nimrod]).
 
Nineveh was built by the ancient man Ashur of Genesis 10:11. It became synonymous with those who served the sensual gods of created things in opposition to the One true God of Israel. The same spirit is in that land and its people till this very day.
 
Isa 37:38  And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch (the great eagle) his god, that Adrammelekh (Majestic king) and Sharetzer (Prince of treasure) his sons struck him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat (Armenia: curse reversed): and Eisar-chaddon (Ashur has given a brother) his son reigned in his stead.
 
A period of approximately 20 years passed between Sennacherib’s return to Nineveh from Judea and his death (701 – 681 BCE).
 
“Nisroch” is a deity whose exact identity is debated. The Jewish sage Yarchi says, that the name Nisroch is related to "netser", a Hebrew noun referring to a branch or shoot and in Talmudic terms a plank, which may have been from the ark of Noah. This however, is pure conjecture.
 
“Adrammelekh” was also the name of an idol (2 Kings 17:31) to whom children were sacrificed in fire.
 
It is not known for certain what moved Sennacherib’s sons to commit this patricide. Yarchi says that Sennacherib prayed to his god, and vowed, if he would deliver him, that he might not be slain, he would offer up his two sons to him. Apparently his sons had been within hearing of him, therefore they killed him to prevent their own deaths. Again, this is conjecture.
 
 
Copyright 2018 Yaakov Brown

Isa 32:1  Behold, letzedek for righteousness yimelakh will reign melekh a king, ulesariym and princes lemishpat will justly rule.
 
Some of our sages (Rashi, Ibn Ezra) suggest that this verse refers to the coming reign of Hezekiah, who would be a more righteous king than his father Ahaz. However, although Hezekiah was indeed more righteous than his father, he was by no means a king who’s reign was epitomized by righteousness, nor did just princes reign with him. In fact the council of his subordinate rulers was often opposed to that of the Lord. At best Hezekiah might be considered a type for the righteous king to come but neither he nor any subsequent king of Israel has ever qualified to meet the plan meaning of this text. At least not until the first century CE/AD when the greater son of David (Yeshua) was born of Judah and into the kingdom of Israel.
 
This text, when read plainly names the king “Tzedek” righteousness. “Behold! For righteousness will reign a king.” The writer of the book of Hebrews names the righteous king of Salem (Jerusalem, Peace) as a type for the Messiah (Heb. 7). There is a correlation here between the prophetic type Melkhi-tzedek (My king of righteousness) and the coming King Messiah (Gen. 14).
 
Some will say that Yeshua did not reign, and while He has always reigned with HaShem outside of time and space, it is true that at His first coming he did not literally take on the physical throne of David and defeat Israel’s enemies. However, Scripture clearly teaches of a second coming of the King Messiah. When He returns He will reign meta-physically over all creation upon the throne of David and in deference to HaShem.
 
Who are the princes that are qualified by their just rule? Yeshua the King of Righteousness told us who they would be:
 
“Then Kefa (Peter) said to Him (Yeshua), ‘Look, we’ve left everything to follow You! So what will we have?” And Yeshua said to them, “Amen, certainly, I tell you, when the Ben Adam Son of Man sits on His glorious throne in the regeneration, you (Talmidiym) who have followed Me shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’” -Matthew 19:27-28 [Luke 22:28-30].
 
The princes of Isaiah 32:1 are Jews who dispense justice according to the will of the King of Righteousness. The talmidiym of Yeshua alone qualify for this role. Thus, Yeshua affirms the prophecy of Isaiah in His promise to His disciples.
 
This description of the King of Righteousness is a further illumination of Isaiah’s previous prophecy recorded in chapter 11:1-10.
 
Isa 32:2  And it has come to pass, iysh a man will be as a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter from the rain; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great cliff face in a weary land.
​
The man of the present verse is the Righteous King of the first verse. Verses 1 and 2 give as a beautiful insight into the character of the King Messiah. In verse 1 He is called “Righteousness” and His reign is “Just”. In the present verse He is described as “A man”. He is also poetically referred to as “A hiding place”, “A shelter”, “Streams of water”, and “A shadow”. Each of these similes conveys an aspect of the King Messiah’s character and person.
 
By naming Him “A man” the prophet puts to flight any gnostic or post-modern esoteric view of the Messiah. The King Messiah is literally a man while at the same time being Righteousness Himself, a title that only God qualifies for.
 
He is “A hiding place”. That is an intimate description. Those who hide in Him have drawn near to seek refuge and protection from the harsh winds of life.
 
He is “A shelter”. A hiding place denotes a surrounding protection while a shelter more specifically alludes to covering which is above and protects from that which falls. In this case the rain is seen as a threat that the King Messiah will shelter Israel from. The counterpoint to this is seen in the second to last verse where the raining hail destroys Assyria, Israel’s enemy.
 
He is “Rivers of water in a dry place”. With verse 19 in mind we might consider the rain from above as a symbol of water falling in judgement. The counterpoint is the rivers of water that bring life to the desperately dry land and her people. Israel will quench her desperate thirst with the living waters of the King of Righteousness.
 
He is “A shadow of a great cliff face”. This simile conveys a sense of the immutable and immovable nature of the King’s protection over His people and the relief that it brings. Travellers in the middle east often endure harsh conditions as they journey through arid places. Thus, when they come across a cliff face that shelters, cools and protects them they are filled with a sense of relief and security. The shadow of the righteous brings relief from the hot sun, whereas the shadow of the wicked makes the shivering one colder still.
 
Isa 32:3  And the eyes of roiym seeing ones will not look away, veazneiy and the ears of shomei’iym hearing ones will tiksavenah hear, heed, be attentive.
 
“And the eyes of the righteous shall not be shut, and the ears of those who receive instruction shall hear.” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE/AD) 
 
This is the counterpoint to Isaiah’s earlier prophecy concerning Judah’s inability to see or hear the sound teaching and warnings of Hashem.
 
This seeing and hearing will be upon the entire nation of Israel. The curse of blindness and wilful resistance will be removed by the Righteous King and the renewed nation will be judged with justice, tribe by tribe.
 
Isa 32:4  ulevav And the core being (heart) of nimhariym the hurried (anxious) will understand lada’at knowledge, uleshon and the tongue of those who speak nonsense will hurry to speak clearly.
 
For the Hebrew the lev/levav (heart) is not the seat of emotion. The heart is the point of convergence for all aspects of the human existence, while it manifests emotion it is not the sole domain of emotion. Therefore, we understand “heart” to mean “core being”. Thus when the Scripture says “The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9) it does not mean “The emotion of man (alone) is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked”, rather it means “Humanity now has a fallen nature that is manifested within the core of its existence”. In terms of rabbinical nomenclature we would call this sin affected aspect of our nature “Yetzer ha-ra” inclination of the evil.
 
In the present text the core being of the hasty and anxious person will be set free to receive and understand the knowledge that comes from Hashem. In addition, the one who is undecided and speaks nonsense will be set free to speak clearly and relay the righteous paths of Hashem. All this is the fruit of the reign of the King of Righteousness mentioned in verse 1.
 
Isa 32:5  lenaval The vile fool will no longer be called nadiyv generous, nor the scoundrel (withholder) said to be shoa noble, free.
 
"the wicked man shall be no more called just, and they that transgress His word shall not be called mighty.'' – Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE/AD)
 
The Hebrew naval denotes villainy and foolishness. The fool Nabal is famous for his mistreatment of David and his men (1 Sam. 25). The Hebrew text of verse 5 is a transliterated word play “lo yikarei od naval nadiyv”.
 
This verse is saying that the truth will no longer be made a lie by the upside down nature of the wicked tongue. The vile will be known for who they are and the scoundrel will no longer be seen as noble.
 
Isa 32:6  For naval a vile fool will speak vile, foolish words, ve’libo and his core being (heart) will make wickedness, to practice godless hypocrisy, and to speak error against HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), to make empty nefesh the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the irrigation of the thirsty to fail.
 
This is a vehement denunciation of the ruling class of Jerusalem that explicitly calls out their vile behaviour and hypocrisy. The King of verse 1 will illuminate the truth of their actions and evil will be seen for what it is. It is often true that a soft heart that has been deluded by lies is quick to repent when faced with the realization of evil’s true nature.
 
We note that those being exposed are speaking error against God (YHVH: Mercy)  and that the result is hunger of the soul (nefesh) and not the stomach (beten). In other words the wickedness of Jerusalem’s rulers and priests has produced a spiritual hunger in the unlearned classes and has meant that the irrigation of Biblical teaching has been stopped up, preventing the people from receiving the streams of water that would otherwise have flowed forth to them.
 
However, verse 1 pre-empts this with the promise of the King of Righteousness, Who will come as streams of life giving water.
 
The Targum of Yonatan supports this understanding:
 
"to make the soul of the righteous weary, who desire doctrine, as a hungry man bread; and the words of the law, which are as water to him that is thirsty, they think to cause to cease.''
 
Isa 32:7  Vecheilay And a scoundrel’s (withholder) keilayn instruments, vessels, utensils, are raiym evil, injurious: hu he zimot plans to counsel le’chabeil to bind aniyiym  the humble, afflicted, poor beimreiy with speech of deception, uvdabeir when the words evyon of the needy seek justice.
 
The instruments of the withholder are those of the false shepherd (Zechariah 11:15), sent against Israel by Adonay Himself. These false shepherds, like those of Zechariah’s time, have claimed to worship Adonay but have instead syncretised the faith of Israel and birthed the idolatry of compromise. Their deceptive teaching has severely afflicted those who most needed their care and their words had denied the needy justice. This in complete opposition to the coming King and His just princes.
 
Isa 32:8  venadiyv And the generous one counsels nediyvot generous things; vehu and he, al upon nediyvot generosity yakum arises.
 
Once again Ibn Ezra and others claim that this refers to Hezekiah. Once again, if it does, it is only so in the sense that Hezekiah is a type for the Messiah. However, there is no explicit evidence of Hezekiah acting in this way toward the people of Jerusalem and Judea during his reign. In fact, this verse is referring back to the Righteous King of verse 1 Who’s generous counsel will produce generous outcomes as He arises in Israel and reveals His character to those being redeemed through Him. We note that He arises upon generosity meaning that generosity is an attribute of His character.
 
Isa 32:9  Women of leisure; komenah arise shemanah listen, hear, receive, understand koli my voice, banot daughters botchot trusting; hazeinah give ear to imratiy my speech.
 
From the very beginning of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry he has pointed out that the fruit of moral decay is often made manifest in a care free, flirtatious and selfish lifestyle (Isa. 3:16-26). This had continued to be the case in the lives of Judah’s leading women. Thus, he once again warns those same women of their need to listen to Hashem and repent of their self-idolatry.
 
Isaiah uses a formula that is familiar to the writings of the prophets Moses and Amos (A contemporary of Isaiah).
 
“And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:” -Genesis 4:23
 
“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria…” -Amos 6:1
 
Notice the use of the Hebrew “botchot” trusting, a feminine plural from the root batach. The point is, “What are you trusting in?”
 
So we see that it is not trust that is important so much as who or what we place our trust in.
 
Ibn Ezra sees these women as allegorical of the towns of Samaria.
 
Isa 32:10  Yamiym Days upon shanah a year will tirgaznah agitate, trouble, perturb you, botechot trusting ones: for the vintage will cease, the gathering will be worn out and be brought in.
 
Ibn Ezra suggests that “yamiym al shanah” equates to “shanah al shanah” year after year. However, this is unlikely given the similar use of shanah elsewhere in Scripture as alluded to by the Scholars Keil & Delitzch:
 
“Shanah is the current year. In an undefined number of days, at the most a year from the present time (which is sometimes the meaning of yamiym).” -Keil & Delitzch
 
Therefore, what seems to be meant here is that “Within the days of the current year, you trusting daughters will be troubled, for the vintage will cease and before you get even a small amount of the harvest collected you will find it to be  devoid of any real value.”
 
This is most likely in reference to the invasion of Sennacherib the Assyrian ruler, who invaded Judea in 704 BCE/BC and brought devastation and ruin to the land causing the harvest to cease and the ingathering to fail. This means that Isaiah prophesied these words approximately 702-703, a year or so prior to the Assyrian invasion of Judea.
 
Isa 32:11 Chirdu Tremble, be afraid, women of leisure; regazah quake, rage, be agitated, botechot trusting ones: veorah make yourself bare, and gird your loins.
 
This is both a warning of the natural outcome of invasion and at the same time a call to repentance. The phrase “veorah” is often linked to the donning of sackcloth and is a symbol and practice of repentance and genuine sorrow for sin as well as a sign of mourning.
 
These words are reminiscent of the words of the prophet Joel:
 
“Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God.” -Joel 1:13
 
“Gird your loins” means prepare to flee.
 
Isa 32:12  Upon your shadayim breasts, wail, mourn, upon the shedeiy-chemed field of delight, upon the fruitful vine.
 
Like sackcloth, the beating of the breast is a sign of mourning and repentance. Here it will be done in response to the failing fields of Judea at the coming invasion of the Assyrian army. There is a word play here that links the Hebrew shadayim (breasts) to the shedeiy (field).
 
Isa 32:13  Upon adamat the land ami of my people thorns and sharp stones will come up; for, upon all the houses of masos exaltation in the village jubilant:
 
The sharp stones and thorns are both literal and allegorical. The stones and thorns that burden the soil of the middle east are the bane of the farmers existence. They must be removed constantly or they will cause the crop to fail and the feet of the workers to become bruised and cut. Spiritually speaking Israel’s failure to remove the stones and thorns of idolatry and sin will result in the failing of the spiritual crop, even in that city that has been exalted as holy and celebrated with pilgrimage.
 
“The village Jubilant” is most likely a poetic title for Jerusalem.
 
Both God and the prophet continue to call Israel, and in particular Judah, “My people”. God and the prophet Isaiah are suffering the grief and heartbreak of the suffering of Israel, even when that suffering is the result of the sin choices of the people. Israel, ethnic-religious is always God’s people. Her identity is not measured by her actions.
 
Isa 32:14  Because a palace will be forsaken; a multitude in anguish will leave a ofel vebachan hill fort, and a watch tower will become surrounded by dens ad-olam perpetually forever (in the world), an exaltation of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
 
“Armon” palace is singular, "the palace", meaning the royal palace. Thus, Iben Ezra and Yarchi interpret it of the king's palace in Jerusalem. The Targum of Yonatan paraphrases armon as “the house of the sanctuary”, or the temple, which was eventually left desolate. Messiah foretold this in Matthew 23:38.
 
“Ofel vebachan” are said by some to be the names of two towers in Jerusalem. “Ofel” is located on the south-eastern fortified slope of the temple mountain (2 Chronicles 27:3).
 
The “watch tower” is translated by some (Rashi) to refer to the ramparts or citadel (Ibn Ezra) of Jerusalem but may also be understood to be the same as the “Tower of the flock” mentioned in Micah 4:8. Migdal Eder (Tower of Eder [flock]), which is located in Bethlehem.
 
The Hebrew “ad-olam” must be understood relative to the “olam” world it refers to. There are essentially two worlds: the olam hazeh, literally “world this one”, and olam haba “world the coming” or “the world to come”, meaning eternity. Thus, in the present passage the context of “ad” perpetually going round “olam” forever, or in the world, refers to the olam hazeh (present world) rather than the olam haba (world to come).
 
Therefore, the desolation being spoken of is repeated over and again throughout Israel’s history until the Righteous King of Isaiah 32:1 returns to deliver Jerusalem and unite it to the heavenly Jerusalem which will exist in the olam haba ad-olam “In the world to come perpetually forever”.
 
Isa 32:15  Ad Until yeiareh naked, uncovered, poured out emptied aleiynu on us ruach spirit, wind, breath, from on high, and it comes to pass that midbar the wilderness will be a fruitful field, vehacarmel and the Carmel (fruitful field) be a forest yeichasheiv of esteem, value, (countless).
 
The theme of verses 15 to 20 is one of restoration, which will come to a repentant Jerusalem. The city being defined by its inhabitants.
 
The plain meaning is that the desolation decreed against Jerusalem will continue throughout history until Israel receives the unveiled Spirit of God and repents of her sin. As a result she will experience fruitfulness both physical and spiritual, even in the barren wilderness.
 
“Ad” until, means, the desolation described in the previous verses will continue to come against Jerusalem, Judah and all Israel until the unveiled Spirit is poured out upon the Jewish people (Israel ethnic, religious) from above. That is until the Spirit of God is poured out upon the repentant Jewish people.
 
The Hebrew “yeiareh” means naked, uncovered, emptied and figuratively, poured out. This is a description of intimacy and relational force. The Spirit is to be revealed unveiled to the people of Israel. We know that this work of redemptive revelation was begun in Jerusalem (Judah, Israel) in the first century CE/AD (Acts 2). Ethnic Jews from throughout the world received the Spirit of God at the aliyot festival celebration of Sukkot (Pentecost) [approximately 33 to 39 CE/AD]. The account of Acts 2 details the Spirit descending like fire, another symbol of naked, unveiled power, and recalls the Jewish tradition that says fire descended upon the elders of Israel at the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
 
We note that this was the inception, the beginning of the full filling of this prophesied promise of Isaiah. While the salvation of the Jewish people has begun and continues as each one turns to God through Yeshua the Messiah (Righteous King of verse 1), it will not be complete until the fullness of the nations have come to Messiah, at which time those Messianic Jews who have already received the Spirit from above will be joined by the remnant of ethnic religious Israel (Romans 11:25-26). When Shaul (Paul) says “a partial hardening has come to Israel” it means that part of ethnic Israel continues to resist Messiah while other ethnic Jews accept Him. When Shaul (Paul) says “in this way all Israel will be saved” it means that following the salvation of the fullness of the nations the remnant of Israel (ethnic) who remain in disbelief will receive Messiah and be joined to those who are already Messianic Jews (ethnic), thus, all Israel (ethnic) will be saved and reunited in Messiah.
 
The Hebrew “midbar” meaning wilderness, pasture, uninhabited land, comes from the root dabar meaning essence, thing, word etc. In fact midbar seems to be a contraction of the Hebrew “me” meaning from, and “davar” meaning word, essence. Therefore, as a remez we can read “from the word will come fruitfulness.” The Word is Messiah, the fruit is right action born of Messiah in us.
 
Isa 32:16 Veshakhan And dwelling bamidbar in the wilderness (ba-in, & mi-from the, d’bar-word), mishpat judgment utzedakah and righteousness bacarmel in the Carmel (fruitful land) teishev will dwell, remain, abide.
 
“And dwelling in and from the Word, right judgements and righteousness we will abide in the fruit of right action.”
 
“shakhan” is the root from which we get “Mishkhan” The Tent of Meeting where the Kadosh HaShem (Glory of YHVH) would presence Himself while Israel camped in the desert.
 
Isa 32:17 And the work of righteousness will be peace; va’avodat and the service (effect) of ha-tzadakah the righteousness, ha-shekheit the shut it (quietness) vavetach and security (trust) ad-olam perpetually forever (in the world).
 
This verse begins with a powerful and timeless statement. “The work of righteousness will be peace”. Peace is not the result of military power or political alliances but of right action. That is, righteous faith that bears right action.
 
In fact the Scripture says “For no one is righteous, not even one” (Psalm 51:4) and “No one living is righteous before You” (Psalm 143:2) and “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Daniel 9:11; Romans 3:23) and still further, “Our righteousness is like menstrual rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, only God and His Messiah are truly righteous. Thus verse 17 draws the reader’s attention back to the first verse of this chapter and the righteousness of the King. Thus, we can read “The work of Righteousness Himself will bring peace.” Not temporal but lasting peace.
 
Yeshua illuminates this truth further:
 
“Then they asked Him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Yeshua answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’” -Yochanan (John) 6:28-29
 
This work of righteousness continues within the present world until it meets the world to come.
 
It is utter nonsense to claim as Iben Ezra does, that the peace born of righteousness described here happened during Hezekiah’s reign. The Scripture itself testifies against this interpretation. Israel did not enjoy any lasting peace during the reign of Hezekiah. One might best describe Hezekiah’s reign as a temporary reprieve, almost ruined completely by Hezekiah’s own compromised faith journey.
 
Isa 32:18  Veyashav And dwelling ami My people in an binevah abode (shepherd shelter)  of peace, uvmishkenot and in dwellings, mivtachiym of trusting, refuge, confidence, uvimnuchot and in resting places shaananot secure, quiet, at ease;
 
Under the reign of the Righteous King Messiah “My people” will dwell in the abode of The Shepherd (God, Yeshua), and in dwellings of trust and refuge. Resting secure.
 
This is a picture of the Mishkhan (Tent of Meeting) and the sukkot (dwellings) of Israel while she wondered the desert. Uvmishkenot uses the feminine plural form of Mishkhan. This poetic image is transferred to the Messianic reign and the city of the New Jerusalem, where there will be no Temple, but God Himself and the Lamb will be its Temple (Revelation 21:22).
 
Isa 32:19  Uvarad And it will hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place.
 
Having concluded the prophecy concerning the redemption and peace of Israel the prophet now turns back to the coming destruction of Israel’s enemies. Specifically the hail coming against the forest, which is connected to Assyria’s army in Isaiah 10:34, and against the prosperity and pride of Nineveh the capital of Assyria, which is figuratively called a low place and is ironically made lower still.
 
Isa 32:20 Ashreiychem Happily Blessed are you that scatter seed upon all mayim waters, meshalesheiy that send forth the feet of the ox and the ass.
 
As quickly as the prophet had digressed, he now returns to the subject at hand, that of Israel’s future redemption and the conditions she will enjoy under the reign of the King of Righteousness. Seed scattered on many waters is an idiom that conveys fruitfulness and life born of living and abundant water supply. The sending forth of the feet of the ox and ass is a picture of the shore footed path of livestock, from the strong animals used for ploughing and threshing to the domestic animals of burden, all will be readily available to Israel in the Messianic Kingdom. This kingdom will begin in the olam hazeh (present world) and converge with the olam haba (world to come).
 
Copyright 2018 Yaakov Brown

​Isa 31:1  Oy Grief, hope, heart wrenching woe, to hayrediym those descending to Mitzrayim (Egypt: double distress) for help, relying on horses for support, vayivtechu and trusting in rechev chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they look not unto the Kedosh Holy One of Yisrael (Overcomes in God), neither do they darashu seek, enquire of, resort to HaShem (YHVH: Mercy)!
 
“but they stay not themselves upon the Word of the Holy One of Israel, neither seek instruction from the Lord.” -Targum Yonatan Isaiah 31:1b (2nd Century CE/AD)
 
Rashi interprets this verse of Hoshea and the ten tribes, who sent emissaries down to Egypt (2 Kings 17). However, this doesn’t fit with the context and geographical language of the prophet’s rebuke, which is focused on Judah and the Holy Mountain in Zion.
 
The main theme of this chapter is a continuation of the previous one, and emphasizes the folly of Judah’s trusting in human strength rather than in God.
 
The phrase “those descending” finds its counterpart in God’s descent upon mount Zion (v.4). Judah descends into distress and God descends to deliver her.
 
The prophet warns of the natural outcome of trusting in fallible human beings and the strength of the fallen world rather than in God Who is infallible and all sufficient (Shadday). The horse and chariot were the armoured vehicles and tanks of their time. The Biblical Hebrew word rechev meaning chariot is also the modern Hebrew word for an armoured vehicle. Not only has Judah put her trust in armament, she has also relied on the great numbers of chariots, and has mis-concluded that numbers equate to true strength.
 
The heartbreak of God for His wayward people comes through strongly in the latter part of the first verse, “but they look not unto the Kedosh Holy One of Yisrael, neither do they darashu seek, enquire of, resort to HaShem (YHVH: Mercy)!” We could read, “They don’t look to the holiness of Israel, neither do they diligently seek Mercy.” Israel’s set apart status, her holiness, her very identity is in God (El).
 
Isa 31:2  And also He is chacham wise, skilful, and will bring ra injury (evil), and will not call back His devarrayu words, things, essence, but will arise against the house of the mereiiym (from ra: evil) evil-ones, and against the help of those who make trouble.
 
The understatement, “And also He is wise” which refers to HaShem, is intended as a stark contrast to the wisdom of the wise ones of Egypt.
 
HaShem is in control of all things, He directs the forces of evil and allows the consequences of fallen actions to unfold. We read elsewhere that God “sent an evil spirit to torment Saul” (1 Sam. 16:14-15 see also Judges 9:23 re: the men of Shechem and Avimelekh). Therefore, it is unwise to presume that the enemy (Ha-Satan) has independent power to do evil. If evil is not under God’s control the alternative is a dualistic view of good and evil that offers only a fifty fifty chance of good overcoming evil. The fact that God is in control of both good and evil is an assurance that He will silence evil forever and that the goodness of this present life will one day be eclipsed by the all surpassing goodness of God’s character. Evil is subject to God but God is not subject to evil!
 
Deuteronomy 28:58-68 details the consequences for Israel if she fails to obey the Torah. The end to those consequences is the promise that she will return again to Egypt and bondage. These words of the Torah are not “called back”, to the contrary, Judah has in fact pursued the very punishment promised her in the Torah. All this as a result of refusing to listen to and obey the “words, essence, things” of God. In terms of both remez (hint) and sod (mystery) this equates to a refusal to accept God’s Davar Word (Messiah: John 1).
 
Notice that God brings evil against evil-ones. This is another way of saying He has given them over to the consequences of their own sinful actions.
 
Isa 31:3  Now the Mitzrayim (Egypt: double distress) are adam human, and not El God (a god); and their horses are bashar flesh, and not ruach spirit, wind: and HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) will stretch out His hand, and he that helps will stumble, and he that is helped will fall, and they will all be consumed together.
 
The Egyptian culture was saturated with spiritual views that allowed for the deification of human beings. In particular the ancient belief that their Pharaohs were gods. Thus, the reminder to Israel that she had already seen the defeat of these so called gods when she was delivered from them during Pesach (Passover). The Egyptians were human, of the fallen sin affected creation and not gods: their horses were flesh, vulnerable to death and not spirit (eternal).
 
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” -Yeshua (John 4:24 NASB)
 
With an ironic turn of phrase Isaiah drives home the message, “God (Who is spirit) will stretch out His hand”. Both Judah and those in whom she has sought security will fall together. Historically this came about when the king of Assyria destroyed Egypt as part of his larger campaign which included his unsuccessful besieging of Jerusalem. Thus, Ben Melekh interprets “spirit” to refer to the Angel of The Lord (Who decimated the Assyrian army overnight as they camped against Jerusalem [2 Kings 19:35]).
 
Isa 31:4  For thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) to me, “As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds are called against him, he will not be afraid at their voices, nor be occupied with the noise of them: descending HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) Tzevaot (Goes warring) of hosts litzbo will go to war upon Har-Tziyon mount Zion, and upon her hill.
 
God is likened to both a seasoned older lion and a young lion that growls over its prey. The shepherds are the wicked leaders of both the Judeans and the Egyptians, and further, the Assyrian invaders. God will go to war on, not against (as some foolish Christian scholars suggest) mount Zion in order to destroy the wicked and protect the holy remnant among the ethnic-religious children of Israel. HaShem descends to deliver the righteous from the descent of the wicked.
 
Isa 31:5  As birds afot hovering (lighting upon), so will HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) Tzevaot (Goes warring) of hosts be upon Yerushalayim to defend and deliver her, pasakh He will pass over and affect her escape.
 
First like a roaring lion HaShem fiercely consumes the wicked, and now as a constant guardian He looks down upon, rests upon and keeps lookout over His people (ethnic-religious Israel) for her defence and security. He has purposed to deliver her and will once again pasakh pass over her in protection. That same passing over will be terror to Israel’s enemies just as it was to the Egyptians in the past. Thus, the destruction of the Assyrians by the Angel of The Lord almost certainly occurred during Pesach Passover (2 Kings 19:35).
 
Isa 31:6  Shuvu Turn to Him from Whom you have deeply sarah withdrawn, b’nei children of Yisrael (Overcome in God).
 
In the familiar pattern of his scroll Isaiah speaks an opportunity for returning, deliverance, and reconciliation. Judah and Israel have deeply withdrawn from right relationship with God, in Whom they find their identity. The message is simple, “Return!”
 
Isa 31:7  For bayom in the day hahu that one (the he) they will cast away everyone his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made bringing you guilt.
 
This speaks of that yet future day when Israel will cast away her idolatry and return to HaShem (Isaiah 30:22; 27:9; 17:8; 2:20).
 
Isa 31:8  And cast down will be the Ashur Assyrian becherev by the sword, lo isyh not of a man; vecherev lo adam and the sword, not of a human, will tochalenu devour him (Assyria), burn him up; and he will flee mipeneiy from the face of a cherev sword, and his young men shall become forced labourers.
 
Only a short time (historically speaking) after Isaiah prophesied these words they literally came to pass (2 Kings 19:35).
 
HaShem did not use a sword of human origin but a sword of the spirit, a sword wielded by His Angel.
 
Sennacherib king of Assyria fled from the face of the sword of the Angel of Hashem and was himself cut down by Adrammelech and Sharezer in Nineveh in the temple of his god Nisroch (2 Kings 19:37).
 
Isa 31:9  vesaleo And his rock mimagor from terror will pass away, and his princes will be shattered mineis by the miracle, sign, banner,” says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), Whose Or Light (fire) betziyon is in Zion, vetanur and His furnace (stove, cooking pot) is in Yerushalayim (Down pour of Peace).
 
“His rock” means that the strength of Assyria and of all subsequent enemies of God and Israel, will pass away before the terror of Hashem. We note that the princes of Assyria and therefore, symbolically, all future enemies of God and His people, will be shattered by the “neis” miracle whose light is in Zion (Isaiah 30:17).
 
Translating “Or” as fire is more figurative than literal. In fact this same word is used to describe the light of the beginning that issues from the mouth of God prior to the existence of the sun and moon (Genesis 1:3). This light is distinguished as being set apart and is intrinsically connected to our Messiah, Who is the Davar (word essence) of God (John 1). It is no coincidence that the city Ur, the origin of Abram, is spelled with the same Hebrew characters and means “Light”. Thus, figuratively speaking, Abram is born again as Abraham through the same Light that was present at the beginning of creation.
 
Therefore, both the Neis miracle and the Or Light are the manifest work of Messiah Yeshua, Who through the miraculous redeeming work of His death and resurrection, has become a beacon, a standard, a miracle of Israel’s deliverance, not only from physical enemies (yet to be fully filled) but more importantly from the enemy of our souls, Ha-Satan. This miracle of Yeshua has shattered the princes of darkness and has illuminated to all who have walked in darkness the reality that the Or Light of Messiah Yeshua, God with us, has been in Zion all along.
 
The heat of the furnace of God’s wrath is fearful punishment to the enemies of God but it is the warmth of deliverance to His children, purchased with the blood of His Son, our King Yeshua the Messiah. As a result, we receive the Downpour of Peace, the unification of both the Heavenly and earthly Jerusalem. Echad ve’echad asah echad ad olam, one and one made one until forever.
 
Copyright 2018 Yaakov Brown

​Introduction:
The theme of the next two chapters is Judah’s choosing to seek an alliance with Egypt for protection against Assyria rather than relying on the Lord to deliver her.
 
Our Jewish sages are divided on who the recipient is: some say that Isaiah is rebuking king Hezekiah of Judah, others say he is rebuking king Hoshea of Israel. The former is a more reasonable conclusion given the context of the previous chapter and the identifying of Zion and Jerusalem within the current chapter. However, the prophet is far more likely to be rebuking a controlling faction within the king’s retinue. After all, the plural “baniym” is used and given that the prophet doesn’t name any one individual it seems more tenable to suggest that he is rebuking a group of governing leaders and or the people of Judah as a whole.
 
The secret planning begun in Isaiah 29:15 has clearly advanced and is now bearing fruit. Negotiations by ambassadors have already commenced. Therefore, on a personal level, the prophet is warning against something he can no longer prevent.
 
It is interesting to note that throughout this series of rebukes God is named using YHVH, the Holy personal Name which denotes mercy. YHVH is used 13 times, 13 being the number that unites the 1 true God with the 12 tribes: a sacred number that has great significance in Jewish thought, religious practice and culture. It is a number that conveys a new beginning atop fullness. With this in mind we read the indictments in the following verses as the loving discipline of Mercy Himself: once again, God purposes a discipline that concludes with the redemption of Judah and all Israel.
 
Isa 30:1  Oy Grief, hope, heart wrenching woe, baniym offspring (children, sons) of rebellion, declares HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), la’asot that fashion eitzah purpose, but not of Me; velinesokh and that pour out [anoint] maseikhah [a king, molten gods] libations, but not of Ruachi My Spirit, breath, wind: with the intent of being consumed by chatat al chatat sin upon sin:
 
Following Rashi’s interpretation one Jewish English translation reads:
 
‘“Woe to rebellious children," says the Lord, "to take counsel but not from Me, and to appoint a ruler but not of My spirit, in order to add sin upon sin.”’ [Judaica Press]
 
This is the second to last of the “Oy” chapters. Both this chapter and the following one address Judah, the tribe from whom the King Messiah will one day come.
 
The accusation of rebellion is well founded and must have been a difficult one for the prophet to speak against his people. “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (1 Sam. 15:23), and that is precisely the problem here. Seeking to manipulate forces they don’t understand, both physical and spiritual, the children of Judah have turned their backs on God and His mercy and have instead sought out others in a vain effort to protect themselves from the Assyrians.
 
Judah has made her plans and sought her alliances, and has poured out libations, perhaps even in a syncretised form that was supposed to please HaShem; however, God makes it very clear that her practices are no of His Spirit. To the contrary, it seems that the rulers and people of Judah have intentionally chased after alliances that they knew were contrary to God’s will, and have pursued other gods and sins of the flesh with the full intention of indulging their sensual desires until they’re consumed by them.
 
The reason for the diversity of meaning in the latter clause “that pour out libations” is the phrase “velinesokh maseikah”. Both Hebrew words come from the root nasak which means “to pour” and is used to denote anointing, libations, coverings, molten gods, and by inference, kings, counsellors etc.
 
The Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE/AD) sees in the phrasing “velinesokh maseikah” an allusion to the seeking of ungodly counsel. It reads as follows:
 
“Woe unto the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel, but not of my Word, who consult a consultation, but do not ask my prophets, that they may add sin unto the sins of their soul.”
 
Isa 30:2  Who walk to descend into Mitzrayim (Egypt: double distress), and of My mouth you have not enquired; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh (Great House), and to seek refuge in the shadow of Mitzrayim (Egypt: double distress)!
 
A reading of the text using the meanings of the proper nouns would go something like this:
 
“Who choose the way of descent into double distress, refusing to enquire of Mercy, they strengthen themselves with a great but temporary ruler, seeking refuge in double distress.”
 
This heart breaking account of Judah’s wilful return to the place of her slavery must have caused Isaiah great affliction of soul. Through the prophet HaShem says, “Of My mouth you have not enquired”, meaning that Judah has not only rejected the words proceeding from the mouth of God but have also shunned the intimacy of the mouth of her Husband and deliverer, the King of the Universe (all things).
 
Perhaps the prophet hoped that by describing her actions back to her, he would somehow alert Judah to the obvious: that she had turned her back on the God Who delivered her from double distress in Egypt, and was now returning to the very bondage she had once ached to be freed from. All this in order to make an alliance with her persecutors so as to avoid another enemy who God had already promised to deliver her from.
 
We note that it is on the heels of Judah’s rebellion against HaShem, her reliance on human planning, her anointing of false counsellors, her ignoring of God’s Spirit and her seeking to be consumed by her sinful desires, that she makes the decision to seek refuge in Egypt. Many today act in a similar way, searching for security in the things of this world in spite of the fact that God’s arm is stretched out still, willing, waiting, wanting to redeem us if only we would acquiesce and receive His offer of eternal refuge.
 
Isa 30:3  Therefore it has come to pass for you that the strength of Pharaoh (Great House) is your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Mitzrayim (Egypt, double distress) likh’limah is confusion, reproach, disgrace, dishonour.
 
Like Judah, when we put our trust in human strength, even the greatest of human strength, we are inevitably put to shame because human strength is always born of human nature (fallen, sin affected). If we choose to return like dogs to vomit, seeking shelter beneath the shadow of our past bondage, we should expect nothing more than confusion and dishonour. Like Judah, many believers today, having been given freedom in Messiah, none the less choose to return to the bondage from which they were delivered. We are like prisoners sitting in cells, the doors flung open, more comfortable in our captivity than we are in His freedom. In order to admit our need for Him, we must first accept that we are prisoners, unable to escape of our own fruition. It is not a question of slavery but one of mastery and masters. Whom will we serve?
 
The price of our freedom has been paid with the imperishable blood of God with us: the door to our eternal freedom can only be opened from the other side. Once the door is opened it is up to us to walk through it. We are predestined and we have freewill. Messiah has set us free from false choices.
 
In the current text Judah has been offered the open door of God’s redemption and has refused it, instead choosing to walk in the opposite direction, returning to her ancient captors Egypt. For the Jew Egypt represents sin and captivity, thus, only the greatest hubris could inspire him to turn to Egypt for help.
 
Isa 30:4  For his (Judah) princes were at Tzoan (Place of departure), and his malachayn messengers (ambassadors) came to Chanes (Grace has fled).
 
“Princes”sarayu, refers to royalty and means that either blood born or royally affiliated rulers from Judah have sought alliance with Egypt. This probably means that the king of Judah has either wilfully or tacitly approved of their undertaking.
 
Tzoan was an ancient city of Egypt known by the Greeks as Tanis and located on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. It was the capital of the Shepherd dynasty, built seven years after Hebron and existing prior to the birth of Abraham and the time of the exodus. The meaning of Tzoan reflects Israel’s (Judah) “departure” from God’s will.
 
“Messengers” malachayn, is born of the root that we often translate as “angel”. In this context the messengers are political ambassadors, subordinate to royalty in status but powerful in function. They are the ones who would have ensured that the vision of the nation was implemented.
 
The location of Chanes is uncertain but it may be either Tahpanhes, on the eastern frontier, or a town on an Island in the Nile south of Memphis. Once again the name reflects the reality that while Judah has fled from God, God’s grace has fled from her.
 
The highest levels of Judean government are represented here, and as representatives of Judah they make all Judeans complicit in their actions. This is why elsewhere the prophet identifies himself as sharing in the guilt of his people (Isaiah 6:5): not because he is personally guilty but because he is a Jew and is therefore represented by the Jewish leaders, and the people of Israel, righteous or not.
 
Isa 30:5  They all stunk and were shamed on account of a people that could not profit them, and not help, and for no gain, except to be shamed, and taunted.
 
 
The Hebrew text of this verse offers at least one alternate translation due to what some consider scribal error. I have simply included both options in the one translation because I believe the so called error to be intended and a valuable illumination of the message.
 
The clear message of this verse is that Judah, wanting to build an alliance with Egypt, will none the less be treated contemptibly by the Egyptians and will find only the stench and shame associated to the enslavement of her past. She will not profit from any alliance with Egypt, to the contrary, Judah will gain only taunting and humiliation from the Egyptians.
 
Isa 30:6  The masa burden of the beasts of the Negev (south, southern desert): into the land of distress ve’tzukah and constraint, anguish: to the lioness and the lion, the viper vesaraf and fiery serpent meofeif flying (hovering), they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the humps of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.
 
The Hebrew “masa” is used here as a title like the four title headings in chapters 21 to 22. “The Burden” alludes to the fact that the prophetic utterance is a burden upon both the prophet and the people. Thus, the first five verses of chapter 30 are a general indictment and beginning with verse six a more specific indictment is issued. In this case Isaiah speaks of the journey of the princes’ and ambassadors as they travel toward Egypt via the Negev, Israel’s southern desert region.
 
The language of this verse is both literal and figurative in nature, not to mention poetic. The couplet of distress and anguish, finds its poetic counterpart in the lion and the serpent. Likewise, the doubling of riches and treasures coincide with the burdens they place upon the donkey and camel. Thus, masa “the burden of the beasts of the south.” This burden will come upon Judah as a result of her having given away the riches and treasures of God, replacing them with the unreliable riches and treasures of Egypt (human strength).
 
Isa 30:7  And the Mitzrayim Egyptians (double distress) are like hevel vapour (vanity) variyk and emptiness: therefore have I cried out concerning this, “Rahav Arrogant one (proud, storm, sea monster: Egypt) hem who shavet ceases (sits).
 
Egypt, which is symbolic of sin, captivity and double distress, is likened to a fearsome sea monster unable to exert its power, or an arrogant being that sits still incapable of acting. The name Rahav is applied to Egypt elsewhere (Isa. 51:9, Psa. 87:4, 89:10). This is the people who Judah has foolishly placed her hopes upon. They are like an empty vapour in the vastness of eternity, a passing breath that is of no lasting consequence. Judah has given up the strong arms of Hashem and has instead sought to grasp at the wind.
 
Isa 30:8  Now go, chotvah write it al upon liuach a tablet (stone, wood, metal) for them, and al upon seifer a scroll (book), chukah to inscribe it (decree, cut out, engrave) for the day (time) to come ad olam as far as forever:
 
This instruction to write is important because the majority of Isaiah’s words, while spoken by the prophet (in the hearing of the people), were none the less probably recorded by Isaiah’s scribe. The prophets of Israel were often accompanied by scribes who were devoted disciples. For example, Baruch the scribe of Jeremiah. However, Habakkuk was also instructed to write his prophecy on a tablet (Hab. 2:2).
 
Here, Isaiah is specifically directed to write this prophecy down as a perpetual reminder to future generations, even to those as far afield as the last days. The message is to be written on stone and on kosher animal hide, perhaps in part because every matter must be established by two witnesses. These two formats were the means of keeping the permanent records of the time. It is clear from the receipt of the text that Isaiah was obedient to God’s instruction and must certainly have understood his message to be for the future generations of Israel.
 
The words “chotvah” and “chukah” both come from the root katav which refers specifically to the written word. There is a Kabbalistic teaching (from the Zohar) that suggests the ketvi (written word: from katav) is the essence of the universe. While in the strictest sense this is only true of ketvi based on a figurative interpretation, it is none the less very similar to the teaching of Yochanan’s (John) Gospel (John 1). However, there is a marked difference between the two teachings in that the Hebrew “D’var” is not restricted in the way that the Hebrew “ketvi” is. While “ketvi” may proceed from “D’var”, “D’var” cannot proceed from “ketvi”. With regard to the order of the universe “ketvi” is subject to “D’var”.  
 
Isa 30:9  Because this is a rebellious people, baniym children (sons) of kechashiym lies (lying), baniym children (sons) unwilling to hear the Torah (Instruction) of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy):
 
This verse describes the type of people who ask prophets not to speak the truth. These are not just rebellious but also children of lies. They’re not simply ignorant of the Torah, rather they refuse to hear it. Keeping in mind that if we read the inferred meaning of the Holy Name of God, we translate, “children unwilling to hear the Instruction of Mercy”.
 
Yeshua is probably alluding to this verse when He says:
 
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks lies he is just being himself—for he is a liar and the father of lies.” -Yochanan (John) 8:44 (TLV)
 
Isa 30:10  Who say laroiym to the seers, “See not”; ve’lachoziym and to the visionaries, “Don’t provide visions to us of straight (right) dav’ru essence (words, things), flatter us with what you see, prophesy deceptions:
 
Spiritual blindness is Judah’s problem. Thus, the use of the very specific prophetic title “roiym” Seers.
 
The rebellious children of Judah (Israel), who are children of lies and wilfully refuse God’s Instruction, now demand of their roiym seers that they “See not”, and of the choziym visionaries, that they not provide visions of “straight things” (2 Sam. 15:3). Worse still, and in keeping with their unwillingness to hear the Torah of Mercy, they compel both the seers and the visionaries to flatter the people with the things that they want to hear, even if those things are known to be deceptions. This is one of the greatest of sinful delusions, for “no one is blinder than he who refuses to see.”
 
Speaking of certain elements within the Ecclesia (Church: community of believers), Rav Shaul (Paul) writes to Timothy saying:
 
“For the time will come when they will not put up with sound instruction, but they will pile up for themselves teachers in keeping with their own desires, to have their ears tickled.” -2 Timothy 4:3 (TLV)
 
Isa 30:11  Turn aside from the derech way, thrust aside the orach journey (path), His rest, turn us from His face kedosh the Holy One of Yisrael (overcome in God).”
 
The divine title “Holy One of Israel” is used three times between verses 11 and 15. It is within these verses that we find Israel denying both her God and her own identity. It is because God is the Holy One of Israel that Israel exists at all. In his weakness Jacob was blessed by God and through submission to God with us (the wrestling man) was given the name Israel, which means “Yisra” overcome, “El” God. Thus, Israel are those ethnic children of Jacob who overcome in God. Therefore, in his charge against Israel, the prophet Isaiah uses the title for God that best illuminates the ironic and self-deluded behaviour of the people.
 
The foolish words of the people continue as they tell the nevi’iym prophets, roiym seers, and choziym visionaries of Israel to “turn aside from the way” of God. They have just said, “Don’t tell us straight things”, now they add, “And don’t live straight lives”. In other words, “We don’t want to be reminded of God and His ways by goody two shoes prophets who continue to live for God in the midst of our sin”. The people want to be led away from God by spiritual leaders who are also walking away from God.
 
The Hebrew phrasing “ha-derech” the way, could not be more prophetically relevant to the future disciples of the coming Messiah. It is of course the very title used to describe the Jewish sect who were followers of the Messiah Yeshua in the first century CE/AD (Acts 9:2).
 
The prophets of Israel are not only told to turn aside from “the way” but also from “the journey”, and “the rest” of God. “The way” means knowing which direction to head in, “the journey” means continuing to walk in that direction, and “the rest” is the secure knowledge that it is the right direction.
 
Those who walk in darkness detest light. This is why the people say “Turn us from His face, the glory of Israel”. How heart breaking it must have been for Isaiah to speak these words and how saddened the heart of God. The people to whom He desired to show mercy refusing their own identity in Him. Israel, whose name is born of the “Glory of Israel” (God Himself), refuses her God and her identity, preferring to live a lie.
 
Isa 30:12  Wherefore thus says kedosh the Holy One of Yisrael (overcome in God), “Because you despise, refuse, reject ba’davar this word, essence, thing, and trust in oppression, perversion remains on you:
 
Simply put, “I give you over to the fruit of your own sin”.
 
“This word” literally refers to this specific prophecy of Isaiah. However, it can be understood in more general terms and applied as a drash (comparative teaching), a remez (a hint) and illuminates a sod (mystery).
 
Those who refuse “The Word” (Yeshua) of God inevitably fall victim to their own words.
 
“But My people did not listen to My voice.
Israel was not willing to be Mine.
So I gave them over
to the stubbornness of their heart,
to walk in their own counsels.” -Psalm 81:12-13 (TLV)
 
“24 Therefore God gave them over in the evil desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies with one another. 25 They traded the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to shameful passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for what is against nature. 27 Likewise the men abandoned natural relations with women and were burning with passion toward one another—men committing shameful acts with other men[g] and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to recognize God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what is not fitting. 29 They became filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents. 31 They are foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree—that those who practice such things deserve death—they not only do them but also approve of others who practice the same.” -Romans 1:24-32
 
“Trust in oppression” is a reference to the people of Israel (Judah) returning to the land of their captivity (Egypt) seeking help. For the modern believer a comparative teaching can be made: to trust in oppression would be to turn back to a sin practice that Messiah has freed us from.
 
Isa 30:13  Therefore it has come to pass this perversity will be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, which breaks forth suddenly in an instant.
 
Note that it is Israel’s own perversity that has become a breach in the wall of her protection. It has grown slowly but will fall suddenly. When a broken or swollen breach in a high wall comes down it usually brings down the entire section of wall with it. The rulers of Judah will bring down all of Judah through their perverse leadership.
 
The root “ba’ah” swelling, is used elsewhere to refer to the swelling caused by disease (Exodus 9”9, “boils erupting”). Thus, Israel’s perversity is like a disease that causes boils to erupt suddenly upon her.
 
Isa 30:14  And He (God) will break it like the breaking of a moulded jar that is broken into pieces; He will not show compassion: so that in the bursting of it there will not be found a shard for collecting fire from the hearth, or to draw water out of the cistern (pool).
 
God will use the hostile power Assyria to break up Israel like the breaking of a clay jar. For a time He will withhold compassion so that Israel will realize her need for Him.
 
Fire and water are two of the primary human needs. Thus, the prophet uses the symbolism of the tiny broken pieces unable even to collect fire for warmth or water for life.
 
Isa 30:15  For thus says Adonay the Lord HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), kedosh the Holy One of Yisrael (overcome in God); be’shuvah In returning va’nachat and rest, quietness, comfort you will be saved; behashekeit in quietness (shutting of the mouth) uv’vitechah (from bitchah, betach) and in trusting will be your strength (bravery, mighty deeds): and you are unwilling.
 
God offers a solution to Israel’s self-afflicting sin. We note that three titles for God are used, “Adonay” Lord, “YHVH” Mercy, and “Kedosh Yisrael” Holy One of Israel”. Each title signifies an attribute of God and His relationship to His people Israel. Adonay conveys Lordship over Israel. YHVH denotes mercy and shows God’s willingness to be merciful toward Israel. Kedosh Yisrael reminds Israel that Adonay is her God and that her identity is in Him.
 
God is constantly offering mercy, forgiveness and redemption to those who have rejected Him. However, in order for love to exist freewill must also exist. Therefore, He will not force Himself on anyone.
 
“be’shuvah In returning va’nachat and rest, quietness, comfort you will be saved;”
 
Note that it’s in returning to God (repentance), and by resting in Him, that Israel receives salvation (Yeshua). Many convey the Gospel of our Messiah in complicated terms but the truth is that right standing with God is as simple as admitting our sinfulness and accepting His sacrificial love, outworked through Yeshua our King Messiah. Our salvation comes to us through returning and quiet acceptance.
 
During the weekly Torah service when the Torah is returned to the Aron Ha-kodesh (The Holy Ark), we recite the following words:
“Whenever the ark came to rest, Moses would say: ‘Return, HaShem to the myriad thousands of Israel!’” -Numbers 10:36
We then conclude with the words of Eitz Chayim, which concludes with the words:
“Turn us Lord to You and let us return, renew our days as of old”
Returning and rest have been the building blocks of redemption from the very beginning.
 
“in trusting will be your strength (bravery, mighty deeds):”
 
The root for the word “trusting” is batach, a form of practiced trust that must be perpetuated. Notice that salvation is not reliant on batach but upon returning and rest, whereas strength, bravery, and mighty deeds are reliant on consistent trusting (betach).
 
Sadly, at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy we were unwilling to accept HaShem’s offer of salvation.
 
Isa 30:16  But you said, “No; for upon a horse we will flee;” therefore you will flee: and, “We will ride upon the swift;” therefore those who pursue you will be swift.
 
Israel will be judged by her own words. With pride she says “We will flee” to Egypt for protection. But instead she will “flee” in terror from invading armies. She says “We will ride swiftly” to our protector Egypt. But instead, Egypt will not protect her and she will be swiftly pursued by her enemies.
 
Isa 30:17  One thousand will flee from before the face of the rebuke of one; from the face of the rebuke of five one will flee: until you’re left as a beacon upon the rosh head of ha-har the mountain, ve’caneis and as a banner (signal, sign, miracle) on ha-givah the hill.
 
HaShem answers Judah’s prideful words by fulfilling upon them the curses of the Torah (Lev 26:8, Lev 26:36; Deu 28:25; Deu 32:30). One, or at the most five, of the enemy would put to flight a thousand men of Judah.
 
The verb nus (Isa 30:16), which rhymes with sus is used first in its primary sense of “flying” (related to nutz cf., Exo 14:27), and then in its more usual sense of “fleeing.”
 
Ibn Ezra notes that “The meaning of the whole phrase is: An officer over a thousand men will flee at the threatening of one man.”
 
“until you’re left as a beacon upon the rosh head of ha-har the mountain,”
 
Rosh ha-har “head of the mountain” is a reference to Mount Zion, the Temple mount. Thus, Israel will be afflicted until a mere remnant remains, having retreated to Mount Zion, returning to the place where HaShem had placed His Name.
 
“ve’caneis and as a banner (signal, sign, miracle) on ha-givah the hill.”
 
Ha-givah “the hill” is part of a poetic couplet that also denotes the Temple mount. It is in this location that the remnant of Israel will be seen as a neis miracle, sign, banner, both to her shame and for HaShem’s glory. For He will miraculously deliver His people who He has chosen and loved with an everlasting love. I’m reminded of our Diaspora Chanukah dreidel “neis gadol haya sham” a great miracle happened there.
 
Isa 30:18  And therefore yechakeh await HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), that He may be chanan gracious unto you, and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have racham mercy upon you: for Eloheiy (God: Judge) is mishpat a just HaShem (YHVH: Mercy): ashreiy blessed, happy are all those who wait for Him.
 
In accordance with the rhythm of Isaiah’s scroll the usual pattern of indictment is followed by the promise of restoration.
 
Israel is advised to wait for HaShem’s grace and mercy and reminded that He is a just God Whose Name denotes mercy. Those who wait on Him will be blessed with true happiness.
 
Note that HaShem is not a narcissist. His exaltation is purposed for mercy. He doesn’t exalt Himself for His own sake but rather for the sake of those He loves, that He might show them mercy. He is Judge (Eloheiy), just (mishpat), and merciful (YHVH).
 
HaShem has waited on Israel His wayward wife, His rebellious children. Now they must meet His waiting with their own waiting so as to receive true happiness in Him.
 
Isa 30:19  For the people will yeisheiv remain (dwell) in Tziyon (Parched land: The Mount: The Land: The People) in Yerushalayim (Down pour of Peace): weeping you will weep no more: He will be chanon yach’necha gracious to be gracious unto you at the voice of your outcry; when He hears it, He will answer you.
 
Judah will not lose Zion, she will remain in her. Note the doubling of grace within the Hebrew text: this denotes grace firmly and immutably established for Judah and all Israel. HaShem is ready and willing to act with grace and mercy in the moment that His people cry out to Him for deliverance. This has and will not change: it is the same for you as it is for Israel. He is the God of all.
 
Isa 30:20  And though Adonay the Lord gives you tzar narrow lechem bread (of adversity), and mayim water of lachatz distress (of oppression), yet your moreykha teacher (teachers) will not be hidden any more, but your eyes shall see your moreykha teacher (teachers):
 
This is an allusion to the broken pot shards of verse 14. Although Israel did not even have the tools to collect the basic necessities of life, none the less God will provide what megger rations of food and water they do have. It will be in the consumption of megger amounts of bread and distressfully small amounts of water that Israel will be given sight to see her Teacher HaShem. The Hebrew moreykha can be read as either singular or plural and in any case it is both. HaShem is Israel’s Teacher and He provides her with good teachers, such as the prophets.
 
Isa 30:21  And your ears will hear (receive, understand) d’var a word from behind you, saying, “This is ha-derech the way, you walk in it,” when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.
 
This verse has been misapplied by many believers. First because it is taken out of context and second because the presumption is made that it offers a type of coin toss as to directing the future path of any given believer.
 
The p’shat plain meaning of the text is clear, “A word from behind you” means, at that time in the future when you realize your error and see your Teacher (God with us), you will remember this prophecy, spoken years prior (behind you). “Saying, ‘This is the way’” means, the way of salvation through Messiah, spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. “Walk in it” means, walk in repentance, the salvation of the Messiah and the freedom of God. “When you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.” Means, wherever you go. It does not mean that the word speaking from behind you will tell you to go right or left, as if to say, you’ll be walking blindly forward and will only know which way to turn at the last minute.
 
Put concisely, in the future you will repent when you remember the d’var word of salvation spoken by Isaiah, and through that word you will be directed to walk in ha-derech “The Way” of God’s Messiah. Thus, you will walk in Messiah wherever you walk, be it right or left.
 
Followers of Yeshua Ha-Mashiyach do not practice blind faith, to the contrary, we practice a faith born of sight. We see Messiah and walk in light, regardless of whether we walk to the right or to the left. We walk with authority and confidence as His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11; Romans 8:29; Mark 3:34) and as sons and daughters of HaShem.
 
We should remind ourselves again that the first Jewish followers of Messiah Yeshua were considered a sect of Judaism and were “Ba-derech” in The Way (Acts 9:2).
 
Isa 30:22  You will defile the silver plating of your idols, and the ephod (mantle) of your molten images of gold: you will cast them away as a davah menstrual cloth; you will say to it, “you, get out, leave!”
 
These abominations of idolatry (which continued even in the first years of Hezekiah's reign: ( Isa 31:7; Mic 1:5; Mic 5:11-13; Mic 6:16) were to be defiled and discarded. Even the gold and silver with which the images were overlaid, would be made unclean.
 
“Davah” is shortened from “keli davah” menstrual cloth. This symbolizes infertility and decay and presents the idols as fruitless, dead, and worthless.
 
“Get out, leave!” Israel must wilfully reject and cast out her idols both physically and mentally. She is to be adamant in her speech in order to affirm her actions and ongoing commitment to turning her back on idolatry.
 
Isa 30:23  Then He will give the rain for your seed, which you will scatter in the ground; ve’lechem and bread (food) of the increase of the ground, and it has come to pass that fat and shamein oil will pasture your livestock bayom in the day (time period) ha-hu that one (the he), kar the basket saddle nirechav will grow wide [the meadow will be enlarged].
 
When Israel decides to uproot her idolatry God will once again bless the land and His people with abundance and prosperity.
 
The rain meets the need for water alluded to previously and the grain becomes bread to meet the hunger born of scant rations. The rain is the water of life, the flood of God’s Spirit and the bread is the sustenance of life, the Torah and living Word of God.
 
This blessing is to follow the defeat of Assyria which is spoken of in verse 25. The prophet pre-empts that victory with the promise of what comes after it.
 
“Bayom” in that day, finds its counterpart in verse 25 and turns the day of God’s destruction of Israel’s enemies into a day of deliverance, repentance, returning, rest and abundance for Israel.
 
Isa 30:24  Both the oxen and the young asses alike, that work ha-adamah the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been zoreh winnowed ba-rachat (from ruach) with the winnowing shovel and with the pitchfork/rake.
 
The cattle will not only have feed but will have the salted (seasoned) feed of a prosperous herdsman. This is an image of great abundance.
 
Isa 30:25  And it has come to pass that upon every har mountain high (exalted), and upon every (exalted) giveah hill nisa’ah lifted up, pelagiym rivers (channels), yivleiy streams of mayim water bayom in the day (time period) hereg rav of great slaughter, binefol migdaliym when the towers fall.
 
On every high mountain where idolatrous sacrifices brought judgement and drought to Israel, the refreshing waters of HaShem will flow once more. All this will happen following Hashem’s defeating of the Assyrian army that will surround Jerusalem.
 
Isa 30:26  Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, the light of seven days, bayom in the day that HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) binds up the breach of His people, and heals their severe wound.
 
The plain meaning of this verse expresses joy and light at the defeat of Israel’s enemy Assyria and the binding up of the breach suffered as a result of Judah’s wilful sin along with the healing of her wounds of oppression.
 
Ibn Ezra notes that the majority of Jewish commentators associate this verse with the Messianic age following the war of Gog and Magog.
 
The moon is a symbol of the Messiah due to its waning and resurrection each month.
 
Here the remez and sod meanings are attached to creation itself and the days of the creation recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. The sevenfold light is explained by the prophet as the combined light of seven days made manifest in one. The seventh day is of course the Shabbat. Thus in the day (time of the world to come, the Messianic age), redeemed Israel will enter into an eternal Shabbat whose light is so bright that it has no need of sun or moon and is therefore also not subject to the passing of time.
 
The writer of Hebrews explains the Olam Habah (World to come) as being the Shabbat which remains for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9). Thus there is an established understanding within ancient Judaism that the current text refers to a yet future day or time period. That day or time period being the inception of the World to Come, the eternal Shabbat of God’s rest.
 
The commentator Delitzsch puts it beautifully when he writes:
 
“Heaven and earth will then put on their sabbath dress; for it will be the Sabbath of the world's history, the seventh day in the world's week. The light of the seven days of the world's week will be all concentrated in the seventh. For the beginning of creation was light, and its close will be light as well. The darkness all comes between, simply that it may be overcome. At last will come a boqer (morning), after which it will no more be said, “And evening was, and morning was.” 
 
Isa 30:27  Hineih Now, pay attention and behold, Shem the name of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) comes from a distant place, burning in His nostrils, ve’koved and heavy glory ma’asah is uplifted: segatayn His language (lip) is full of za’am indignation, uleshono and His tongue ke’eish is ochalet a devouring fire:
 
“Pay attention” says the prophet. The Name of the Lord is synonymous with the Malakh HaShem Angel of the Lord and with the Lord Himself. He comes from a distant place, that is, the heavens, from where the Malakh HaShem Angel of the Lord came down to wipe out the Assyrians overnight (2 Kings 19:35; 2 Chronicles 32:21).
 
This picture of HaShem’s fierce wrath against Israel’s enemies is at once both terrifying and comforting. This same fierce God of creation is fierce for all who accept His love.
 
Isa 30:28  Verucho And His breath, Spirit, wind, as an overflowing stream, will reach to the middle of the neck, to sift the goyim nations with the sieve shave of emptiness: and He will put a bridle in the jaws of the amiym peoples (tribes), causing them to go astray.
 
“Goyim” nations are made up of “amiyim” tribes.
 
The “sieve of emptiness” means that all of the crop of the wicked nations will be devoid of grain. It will all be chaff and dust blown away by the wind with not one ear of grain left on the threshing floor. God’s judgement will come against both the wicked goyim nations and against the wicked individual tribes amiym that make up those wicked nations. He will direct them toward their just destruction.
 
Isa 30:29  Ha-shir The song of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) will come to you in the night hitekadesh chag when the holy convocation (festival, offering) is kept (made); vesimchat and there will be joy leivav of the core being (heart), like walking with a flute to come behar into the mountain of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), to Tzur the Rock (cliff face) of Yisrael.
 
The Hebrew “chag” means both festival and festival offering. In this case the “chag” is qualified by the fact that it happens at night. The only festival that meets this requirement is Pesach (Passover). Therefore, the prophet is alluding to Passover. Subsequently the sages suggest that the Assyrian army was destroyed during Passover. This helps illuminate the meaning of the song of deliverance that will be given to Israel when God comes first to deliver her from Assyria and then, in that future day ba-yom, to deliver her from all the nations that surround her to destroy her because she bears His Name.
 
Just as the avenging angel came against Israel’s oppressors in Egypt on that first Passover night, so too the Angel of HaShem would come upon the Assyrians during the night, and in the future upon all the enemies of God and His chosen people ethnic-religious Israel.
 
The joy of her core being will be overflowing like one who ascends the Mountain of HaShem with joyous music, secure in the knowledge that the immovable Rock of Israel is her God.
 
Isa 30:30  And the majesty of HaShem’s (YHVH: Mercy) glorious voice will be heard, listened to and understood, ve’nachat and the descending of His arm, with the rage of his nostril, ve’lahav and with the blade eish of fire ocheilah devouring, driving storm and flood of rain, ve’even and stones barad of hail (judgement).
 
HaShem’s voice will be heard and understood by both Israel and her enemies. To Israel it will be the sound of deliverance and security and to her enemies the sound of imminent terror. Likewise the blade of devouring fire will be seen as protection by Israel but by her enemies as judgement and condemnation.
 
Isa 30:31  For mikol from the voice of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) yeichat shattered, dismayed, broken, abolished will be Asshur (Assyrians: a step), bashevet with the rod, struck down.
 
The plain meaning has been the defeat of Assyria all along. In Isaiah 10:5 Assyria herself is called the “rod of His indignation”. Now wicked Assyria will be wiped out by the rod of His indignation.
 
Isa 30:32  And it has come to pass that col every passing of the mateih the staff (branch) musadah of foundation (appointed), which HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) will lay upon him (Assyria), it will be with tambourine and harps: and in battles of shaking will He wave it.
 
Israel, the victims of Assyrian oppression will celebrate her defeat with tambourine and harp, At every swing of the staff of God’s wrath Israel will celebrate her freedom from her enemies with loud music and the joyous jangling swing of the tambourine.
 
Isa 30:33  For Tofeteh (Place of spitting fire: southeast end of the valley of Ben-Hinnom: just south of Jerusalem) is ordained of old; also, it (he) is prepared lamelekh for the king (of Assyria); He has made it deep and large: the pyre there is eish fire and full of wood; nishmat (from nasham) the breath of HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), a torrent of brimstone, consuming it.
 
Tofeteh is literally located in the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem, which has been historically associated with the heathen death cult of molech and with child sacrifice in fire. It has been ordained of old, that is from the fall of Satan, to physically receive the enemies of Israel into its well-stocked fire, blown to life by the breath of God.
 
Spiritually speaking the valley of Hinnom is symbolic of a much worse place, Gehinnom. Yeshua used the physical location of the valley of Hinnom as a representation of a much greater spiritual torment that awaited the wicked beyond this world. Therefore, it would be foolish, as some do, to right off the spiritual interpretation in favour of the idea that Gehinnom was intended as nothing more than an allegory based on the physical location. After all, an allegory is used to describe or convey a reality that cannot be comprehended in literal terms within time and space. Therefore, the allegory of the valley of Hinnom, where Israel’s enemies fell, garbage fires burned perpetually and children were sacrificed to heathen gods, must surely be a prophetic linguistic attempt to warn of something far worse outside of our present reality. Make no mistake, both temporal and eternal punishment await the wicked. But eternal life and perpetual rest await those redeemed in Yeshua the King Messiah.
 
“In returning and rest you will be saved!”
 
Copyright Yaakov Brown 2018

Introduction:
This chapter collects three distinct poetic warnings concerning Jerusalem, Judah and her inhabitants, each section describing a people worthy of punishment and each one ultimately prophesying salvation for Judah.
 
Each section of chapter 29 describes Judah in a unique way:

1. Lion/hearth of God – Verse 1-8
2. A stubborn people – Verses 9-14
3. A people worthy of condemnation – Verses 15-24

 
Against this is the description of God’s character, revealed in three unique ways as a response to the identity, stubbornness and unworthiness of His people:

1. God the Savior – Verse 1-8
2. God Who delivers in a surprising way – Verses 9-14
3. God the Redeemer – Verses 15-24

 
Therefore:

1. The proud lion (Judah) is saved by the humble Lion (Messiah) – Verse 1-8
2. The stubborn people are suddenly and surprisingly delivered by the God of grace – Verses 9-14
3. The unworthy people are redeemed by the Worthy and Merciful God of Jacob, Redeemer of Abraham – Verses 15-24

​
Isa 29:1  Oy Grief, hope, heart wrenching woe, Ariyeil (Piercing Lion [image of a lion] gatherer of God or hearth of God), Ariyeil, the city encampment of David (Beloved) [the city David besieged]! Consuming year upon year chagiym festivals, [Regaliym, Aliyot], (going up feasts), festival sacrifices as they come around [are killed, cut off].
 
Ariyeil is a poetic name for Jerusalem, the city of David. This is qualified by the phrase “city encampment of David” and by the text of Ezekiel 43:15-16, where the prophet uses the Hebrew words Harel and Ariyeil to describe the Temple Mount and the Altar of sacrifice in Jerusalem within the context of restoration.
 
Ezekiel figuratively calls the altar of burnt sacrifice Ariyeil “Lion of God”. Ariyeil is used to describe the altar because of the continuity between the devouring lion and the devouring fire upon the altar. This has great prophetic significance with regard to the use of figurative language in the scroll of Isaiah. In the previous chapter Isaiah uses the personification of the even stone to depict the coming Messiah, now he illuminates the difference between a false altar/Messiah and the legitimate altar/Messiah. The altar that sheds the blood of animals in idolatrous syncretism will be replaced by the altar on which eternal atonement will be made for Judah, Benjamin and all the house of Israel. It is right then that we understand the connection between the altar, the Temple mount, the Lion of God, and our King Messiah Yeshua, the Lion of Judah.
 
The Targum of Yonatan also understands the name Ariyeil to refer to the altar of burnt offerings in Jerusalem:
 
“Woe, altar, altar, which was built in the city where David dwelt;”
 
Ariyeil is a contraction made up of Ariy (lion, or image of a lion, gatherer of food) and El (God, gods, judges). The association of the lion with the tribe of Judah stems from the blessing of Joseph over Judah in Genesis 49:9. The Hebrew root arah, meaning to pluck, gather, pierce, is the basis for the word Ariy, lion, gatherer. In one sense Ariyeil means “a picture of the Lion, gatherer of God”: thus in this context it is a representation of the Lion of Judah Who is yet to come. This understanding invokes an even greater sense of woe because the city and her people bear the name of HaShem’s Messiah and thus represent His character, and yet they have lived in a way that dishonours and misrepresents the character of God and His Messiah.
 
The alternate reading, “The city David besieged” is a reference to David’s victory over the heathen Jebusites whom he conquered in c.1010 BCE (BC) [2 Samuel 5; 1 Chronicles 11].
 
The final clause “festival sacrifices come around [are killed, cut off].” Can be understood to mean either that the festival sacrifices will continue right up until Jerusalem comes under siege or that the festival sacrifices will cease completely.
 
“the festivities will cease” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
Isa 29:2  And yet I will constrain, distress Ariyeil (Piercing Lion [image of a lion] gatherer of God or hearth of God), and there will be mourning and sorrow: and she shall become to Me Ariyeil (Piercing Lion [image of a lion] gatherer of God or hearth of God).
 
"and I will distress the city where the altar is, and it shall be desolate and empty; and it shall be surrounded before me with the blood of the slain, as the altar is surrounded with the blood of the holy sacrifices on a solemn feast day all around;'' -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE)
 
Historically speaking this distress came in 701 BCE with the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. It could also be suggested that this prophecy has been fulfilled over and over again throughout Israel’s history, and that it is yet to be fully filled.
 
This verse encapsulates the very essence of the Gospel (Good News) of God. God disciplines the ones He loves (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6). Thus, the verse begins with distress being brought against the prideful people that bear God’s name and are witness to His altar of blood covering. The people respond in the appropriate way in repentance, mourning and sorrow over their sin, and as a result they return to God and become a true representation of His love for humanity. The false altar becomes a true altar, and the one who gathered idolatries becomes a gatherer of men. She shall become to me a gathering lion of God and a keeper of the altar of salvation.
 
Isa 29:3  And I will camp against you surrounding you, and will lay siege against you with a mountain, and I will raise siege-works against you.
 
Notice that God Himself will camp against Jerusalem. This is of course in reference to the siege of the Assyrians, who are described figuratively as a mountain, meaning that they will appear to be an unconquerable foe raising walls against Jerusalem’s walls. It can also be applied to the final Roman siege of Jerusalem which occurred at a much later date: its final fulfillment is still yet future. In a spiritual sense it is God Himself who comes against Jerusalem in order to discipline her for her own good.
 
Isa 29:4  And you will be brought down, speaking from the ground, and dust will meet your mouth’s utterances, and it has come to pass that like the keov water skin (one who evokes the dead), your voice will be a dusty utterance, nothing more than a gurgling whisper.
 
This verse is rich with Hebrew cultural idiom and metaphor which makes it difficult for the English mind. It begins with a metaphor of humility. The proud are brought so low that their speech is hampered by the dust in their mouths. The Hebrew ov meaning “water skin” is sometimes used figuratively to describe the hollow mumbling of a medium who consults the dead. There is however no mention of dead spirits in the Hebrew. The Hebrew may infer the idea of a familiar spirit, that is a demonic spirit and its mutterings, but no more than that. The many English translations that render this clause as “ghosts from the earth” are at best appeasing superstition and at worst completely misleading the reader. Isaiah has used similar language in the past (Isaiah 8:19).
 
The humility described here refers specifically to the submissive language of Hezekiah to Sennacherib, and his messengers (2 Kings 18:14).
 
Isa 29:5  And it has come to pass like fine dust are your many strangers, and like chaff that passes away will be the many terrifying ones: and it has come to pass in an instant,  suddenly.
 
Once again the text prophecies the coming Assyrian siege and subsequently the many sieges of Jerusalem throughout the ages, culminating in the final siege of Revelation.
 
The sudden destruction of the Assyrian army by the Malakh HaShem Angel of the Lord during its siege of Jerusalem is recorded in 2 Kings 19:35.
 
We note however that the siege will cease in an instant at the visitation of HaShem, and the enemies of Hashem and His people will be blown away like the dust or the worthless chaff which is removed from the grain at harvest time. While this image alludes to the Assyrian siege it is equally applicable to all of Israel’s historical enemies and to the latter days.
 
Isa 29:6  Beside you will be HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) Tzevaot (of hosts) Who goes to war, with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
 
The Malakh Hashem Angel/Messenger of the Lord Himself visited destruction on the Assyrian army: in the latter days He will act against the enemies of God and Israel (ethnic-religious).
 
It is Mercy (YHVH) Who goes to war for Israel’s sake, a mighty storm, quaking the earth, a flame of devouring fire.
 
The storm is the turmoil that God will bring against those who put His people in turmoil, and the devouring flame is the righteous judgement of God upon the wicked.
 
Isa 29:7  And it has come to pass that the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariyeil (Piercing Lion [image of a lion] gatherer of God or hearth of God), all the siege works and those who fight against her, and that distress her, shall be like a dream, a night vision.
 
The Assyrian army was dealt with overnight as if Israel had only dreamed of the siege (2 Kings 19:35).
 
Those that fight against redeemed Israel (ethnic-religious: the gathering lion of God) will be gone in an instant as if they had been nothing more than a dream or a passing vision. Thus, In Messiah, Israel’s eternal reality will surpass the temporal dream of the sin affected world.
 
Isa 29:8  And it has come to pass like a hungry one who dreams and hinei behold, now he eats but awakens, and naf’shu his soul (existence) is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreams and hinei behold, now, he drinks but he awakens, and, hinei  behold, now, he is faint, weary, weak and naf’shu  his soul (existence) thirsts: so will the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Har mount Tziyon (Zion: Parched Land).
 
The nations have always sought the land of Israel, Jerusalem and the Mountain of God  to satisfy their lust for power, their hunger for riches and their desire to become gods. However, like a man who dreams he has eaten and awakes hungry, the enemies of God and Israel will be left wanting, and awaken to judgement.
 
This is why the Hebrew text says “so will the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against Har mount Tziyon”. Notice that they have not come against Israel alone but rather they have sought to take the Mount of HaShem, the place where HaShem has placed His Name. This is true today, the mosque of the moon god Allah sits as a desecration atop the Temple Mount, defiling the place where God has Placed His Name. This mosque, and the false religion and nations it represents will one day be torn down and forgotten like a faded dream, and in an instant the Mountain of the Lord will be united with the eternal Jerusalem of the heavens.
 
Isa 29:9  Wait, and be astounded; your eyes smeared over, and blinded: they are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
 
“Wait” means pause and consider, ready yourselves to be astounded by the work of God.
 
“be astounded” is also a call to wake out of stupor.
 
The poetic Hebrew image of eyes being smeared over has become a prophetic refrain for the people of Judah and Israel. Yeshua counteracted this symbolically when He healed the blind man, spitting into the dirt and making a mud poultice which He smeared over the blind man’s eyes. After the mud washed away in the pool of Siloam (sent) the man began to see, both physically and spiritually (Yochanan 9:5-7).
 
These words continue to be spoken to the people of Judah and Zion. Their drunkenness and staggering is spiritual, they have been given over to their own pursuit of vain religion and idolatry.
 
Isa 29:10  For poured out upon all of you is HaShem’s (YHVH Mercy) Ruach Spirit, Wind of tardeimah deep sleep, trance, and He has closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers (heads), ha-choziym the seers He has kisah covered, hidden, concealed, overwhelmed.
 
The Targum Yonatan reads:
 
"the prophets, and the Scribes, and the teachers that teach the law.''
 
Yeshua reminds His hearers:
 
“And Yeshua said, ‘For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”-John 9:39
 
The deep hypnotic sleep tardeimah is also born of the work of God’s Spirit in Genesis 2:21; 15:12; 1 Samuel 26:12. It is a state of physical unconsciousness best likened to that of an anaesthetised patient.
 
The title ha-choziym (The Seers) is used in addition to the nevi’iym (Prophets) and rosheiychem (Heads, Rulers), in order to emphasise the blindness that has resulted from the closed eyes of Judah’s secular and spiritual leadership.
 
Israel’s blindness is a temporary act of mercy perpetuated until the fullness of the nations have received God’s Messiah. Make no mistake, Messiah will deliver His people, ethnic-religious and remove their blindness. The day is coming soon when all ethnic-religious Israel will come to faith in Messiah Yeshua and be healed of her blindness and redeemed unto eternal life (Romans 11).
 
Isa 29:11  And it has become to you all chazot visions ke’divreiy of all of the words, essence, of ha-seifer the book that is sealed, which is given to one that yodeia knows, ha-seifer the book to say, “Read this aloud, I plead with you:” and he says, “I’m unable to because it (he) is sealed:”
 
The chazot (visions, seeing) of all the divreiy (From D’var: Word, Essence, Thing, Substance [John 1]) of ha-seifer (The Book), can be understood either to refer to the Torah, which was complete at this point in Israel’s History, or to both the Torah and the words of Israel’s prophets up to this point in Israel’s history, or specifically to the words of Isaiah’s prophecies, which, although they have been spoken aloud in the hearing of the people, have none the less been ignored and are therefore, in a sense sealed up and unfathomable from the perspective of those who are choosing to wilfully reject God’s word spoken by His prophet.
 
The Targum of Yonatan understands the divreiy (words, essence etc.) to refer to Isaiah’s prophecy:
 
‘And all the prophecy shall be unto you as the words of a sealed book, which if one gives to a man that is learned, saying, "Read this now";' then he shall answer, "I am not able, because it is sealed."’
 
If “The Book” refers to the Torah, then it is given to one who knows it, and he is instructed to read it aloud, only to discover that he doesn’t comprehend its meaning: thus it is as if it were sealed. The idea of reading the Torah aloud before the people is one that invokes national repentance. The prophet Ezra reads the Torah aloud to the people at a much later date in Israel’s history following her return from exile in Babylon (Nehemiah 8).
 
The priests and teachers of the law among Judah are being asked to warn the people by reading the Torah aloud to them. However, the one who knows (Or should know) the book responds by saying, “I’m unable to because it is sealed”. We know that the Torah was not sealed but made available to Judah and Israel. We also know that Isaiah’s prophecies and indeed the prophecies of all the prophets up to that point had been proclaimed to all the people in order to give them just warning. Therefore, the Hebrew chatum (sealed) must refer to the inability of the learned ones to comprehend both the Torah and the prophets, Isaiah included, and not because the words were literally sealed or inaccessible.
 
A seal or seals usually include an identifying mark of the one who made them. In the case of a king or priest that mark would denote his authority and would act as a sign to those who received the scroll or book. Only those who are approved by the king or priest would be allowed to break the seal or seals. In the present context the rulers, prophets, priests and seers of Israel are unable to open the book because they are not in right relationship with the King of kings HaShem. Isaiah is a messenger, sent to deliver a sealed scroll to Judah, the tribe from which Israel received her kings, however, Judah did not recognize the seals of her God and King and were therefore, unable to open the scroll and receive the warning and the promises that were written within.
 
In many ways this text prefigures the sevenfold sealed scroll of Revelation 5. Though at that later period in history the scroll of Revelation 5 can be seen to contain (at least chronologically speaking) a greater number of prophecies and instructions, being the culmination of the revealed warning and promises, it none the less serves a similar purpose to the sealed scroll of Isaiah 29. What is most important is that there is someone Who is worthy to break the seals, One Who knows the King Hashem intimately and is without sin before Him. This person has been alluded to throughout Isaiah and is further illuminated in the current chapter. He shares the root of His name with Isaiah, in fact, His name is the root from which Isaiah receives his identity.
 
In one sense, given that ha-seifer hu (The Book) is masculine and that the D’var (Word) is a figurative way of referring to the Messiah Yeshua (John 1), we could say that the final clause “I’m unable to because it (he) is sealed:” infers that the one who knows ha-seifer (The Book: Torah, Prophets etc.) is unable to properly understand it because the knowledge of Messiah is sealed up so that it might be revealed at the appropriate time to a repentant remnant. Yeshua experienced this very thing when the religious leaders of His day failed to understand His message, just as the religious leaders of Isaiah’s time failed to understand him. Yeshua responds to the religious leaders (Blind Guides) with the words, “You are in error because you do not know the Tanakh or the power of God!” (Matthew 22:29; Mark 12:24). They knew the Tanakh and believed in the power of God, and yet Yeshua says that they comprehended neither. We must be careful to ensure that we do not find ourselves in the same position.
 
For further study regarding the sealed scroll please follow the link to my article on Revelation 5:
 
https://www.bethmelekh.com/yaakovs-commentary---15081497151214931513-1497150615111489/revelation-5-the-standing-lamb-that-was-slain
 
Isa 29:12  And giving ha-seifer the book to one who doesn’t know, saying, “Read this aloud, I plead with you:” and he says, “I don’t know a book.
 
The plain meaning of the text in verses 11 & 12 conveys the idea that neither the educated nor the uneducated were able to comprehend the words of The Book.
 
From a spiritual perspective, if the book is the Torah, and or the prophecies of Isaiah, the fact that the average uneducated person doesn’t know The Book denotes a failure on the part of Judah’s spiritual and secular leaders to teach the uneducated to read and learn the words of HaShem in all their available forms. Therefore, while each one is accountable for his or her own response to God, spiritual leaders are judged more strictly because they have been given a role in educating others concerning the things of God.
 
Isa 29:13  And speaking Adonay the Lord says, “Because drawing near to Me ha-am the people ha-zeh this one, with mouths and language, speaking glory, but with hearts far removed from me, and their reverence/fear toward me is mitzvat commands that anashiym men teach:”
 
“Wherefore the Lord hath said: Because I am magnified by the mouth of this people, and with their lips they do honour me, but their heart is far from my fear, and their fear towards me is as the commandment of men teaching them:” -Targum Yonatan (2nd Century CE) 
 
Yeshua speaks these same words to the generation of Israel in the first century CE. These words are true of every generation of humanity. There will always be those who pay God lip service but are not known to Messiah (in respect to salvation) nor do they know Him.
 
“And answering, He said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” -Matthew 15:3
 
“Hypocrites! Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, ‘This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” -Matthew 15:7-9 TLV
To the Hebrew the heart “levav” is not simply the seat of emotion but rather the centre of the being where all parts of the human existence converge. Therefore, this text is not saying that the people are devoid of an emotional love toward God, rather it is saying that their entire human existence is wilfully numb to Him, relationally, spiritually, physically, mentally and so on. Thus the commandment says, “Love the Lord your God with all your levav core being, heart, and with all your nefesh soul, and with all your meod exceeding strength.”
 
Isa 29:14  Therefore, hineni now, behold, yosif  adding, increasing, again I will do a marvellous work among ha-am the people, ha-zeh this one, ha-pelei va-pele a distinguishing act, difficult to understand, and a wonder: for destroyed will be the wisdom of their wise ones, and the discernment of their prudent ones will be hidden, concealed.
 
“Therefore” because you refuse to receive My warning through Torah and the prophets, specifically the words of Isaiah, and because you have chosen blindness over sight and the wisdom of humanity over the wisdom of God. I will give you over to the self-destruction of your human wisdom and true discernment will be hidden from you.
 
“Hineni” Wake up and listen!!! One last plea for repentance.
 
“A marvellous work” A work of God that will astound and leave the people in awe. This work is in one of its fulfilments, seen in the overnight defeat of the Assyrians. However, the prophet has also been speaking of the spiritual redemption of Israel yet future. Thus this marvellous work must also refer to something more, something associated to the Messiah, the stone.
 
“The people, this one” Is Judah and by extension Israel as a whole.
 
“Ha-pelei va pele” is a repetition that denotes a firmly established work. The Hebrew “pele” means, “a wonder, extraordinary, a distinguishing act, an act difficult to understand”. The doubling of this phrase makes the establishment of this act immutable. It is done on earth as it is done in heaven.
 
Whatever this wonderful extraordinary act is, it will expose and destroy the wisdom of humanity and blind the wicked who have claimed to see.
 
Isa 29:15  Oy Grief, hope, heart wrenching woe, unto the ones who seek profound things: from HaShem (YHVH: Mercy) they seek to hide their counsel and have come into dark deeds, and they say, “Who sees us? and who knows us?”
 
The plain meaning as it pertains to the history of the period infers that a powerful group connected to the military and political leadership of Judah were attempting to undermine Hezekiah’s kingship by making secret alliances with Egypt against the Assyrians. They did this in secret knowing that Isaiah and therefore, the Lord, was opposed to their plans. Thus, in a very literal way the prophet’s words describe and expose the true motivation of these leaders of Judah, who think that no one sees them or knows what they are planning.
 
Spiritually speaking the living mashal of the historical figures corresponds to the practices of all who seek to hide their plans from God. The thinking of the one who seeks to hide his sin is twice flawed: it first presumes that God is not omniscient (All knowing), and then believes that if he is not found out he will not be punished. This thinking stems from a world view that stands in judgement of God and His Prophets (Nevi’iym), Writings (Ketuviym) and Instruction (Torah). Those who consider themselves worthy of standing in judgement over Gods Word will, to their dismay, find themselves being judged by it. Philosophy over thinks itself into oblivion and theology presumes to illuminate hidden things: both are the constructs of human wisdom. In our search for the profound we have become enamoured by our own counsel and have manifested dark deeds. We think ourselves unseen and unknown but we are seen, we are known.
 
Isa 29:16  Hafkechem The perversities (turning upside down) you fashion are regarded like a potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, “He didn’t make me?” or shall the thing fashioned say of him that fashioned it, “He had no understanding”?
 
The literal and plain meaning of the Hebrew text of this verse is often misunderstood due to its similarity to the potter/clay references in Isaiah 45 and 64. While Adonay is later described as a Potter and Israel the clay, and while in the latter context of Isaiah this is used comparatively by Rav Shaul (Paul) the apostle in Romans 9:21, it is not the case here. The present use of the potter and clay simile is in regard to the perverse actions of the rebellious people of Judah and not in relationship to God. It is the perversities fashioned by the rebellious people of Judah that are the works/moulded clay. Judah is the potter and in spite of her attempts to hide her wicked deeds (see previous verse), the deeds themselves testify against her. Therefore, the clay in its completed form reflects the character of the potter, who in this case is Judah/Israel. Context is essential.
 
Isa 29:17  Is it not so, that in a very little while, Levanon (witness) will be turned la-carmel into a fruitful orchard, a plantation and a highly esteemed forest?
 
The promise of redemption begins with a counterpoint to the “Upside down” perversion described in the previous verse. HaShem will turn the barrenness of Levanon on its head and cause the lands of Israel’s northern neighbours to flourish like the Carmel (from kerem: vineyard), which was the lush agricultural region by the Mediterranean ocean belonging to Manasseh, one of the sons of the Yosef (HaShem adds) [See. 29:14].
 
Isa 29:18  Veshamu And hearing, listening, obeying bayom in the day ha-hu that one (the he) the deaf divreiy the words, essence, substance of seifer a book, and out of obscurity, and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind will see.
 
In a day or time period yet future, the deaf (spiritually deaf) of Judah (Israel) will have their ears opened to a book or scroll. This may refer specifically to the scroll of Isaiah and its quotation by Yeshua the Messiah. Or it may be a figure for the Messiah, Yeshua being Ha-D’var the Word, Essence, Substance of God with us. Like the book of the current verse Messiah Yeshua’s life was and is heard by those who were once deaf and has and will bring sight to those who were once blind: for the Jew first, and also for the nations.
 
Isa 29:19  Veyasefu (from Yasaf) Added to the afflicted ba-YHVH in HaShem (Mercy), simchah joy, and the poor among adam humanity bik’dosh in the holiness (set apartness) of Yisrael (overcomes in God) will rejoice [in the Holy One of Israel will rejoice].
 
This is now the second use of the Hebrew root yasaf “add”. God has firmly established and made immutable the fruitfulness, mercy and joy of His redemptive work.
 
It is to those afflicted in Him that He will add joy, and those who are poor in spirit among all humanity, who have also recognized Him as the Holy One of Israel, will be set apart for rejoicing.
 
There will be no place for those who reject the God of Israel and His chosen people, ethnic-religious.
 
Isa 29:20  Because an end will come to striking terror, and the scornful mouth will be consumed, and all who are awake to wickedness will be cut off:
 
The “striking terror” is the foreign oppressor and the “scornful mouth” is the native Judean cynic.
 
Isa 29:21  Those who condemn a  man for a word, and lay a snare for him who judges in the gate, and pervert with emptiness a tzadiyk righteous one.
 
This is a description of injustice, both on an individual level in giving false testimony and on a corporate level at the city gate where the elders of the city sit in judgement. With no evidence the wicked pervert the course of a righteous man’s life. There will be an end to this in Judah and all Israel. In order for Yaakov to be without shame he must first repent.
 
Isa 29:22  Therefore thus says HaShem (YHVH: Mercy), to the house of Yaakov (Follower), Who redeemed Avraham (Father of Many Peoples), concerning the house of Yaakov, “No shame now Yaakov, neither will his face now grow pale.”
 
With great compassion and mercy HaShem speaks of Yaakov’s (Israel’s) redemption. A time, spoken of in both the present and future tense. “No shame now Yaakov” and “Neither will his face grow pale”. The prophet speaks of a time now and yet to come when Jacob (Israel) will be free of foreign oppression and of domestic injustice.
 
Isa 29:23  Because when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in the midst of him, yakedishu (From Kadash: be holy, set apart) they swill sanctify (set apart) My name, vehi-yakedishu and sanctify et Kadosh the Holy One of Yaakov, ve’et Eloheiy and be in awe of the God (Judge) of Yisrael (Overcomes in God).
 
According to the plain meaning of the text he children are the ethnic descendants of Jacob (Israel). They are the work of God’s hands because for all intent and purposes they have miraculously survived their oppressors and the division within their own people. Thus, having witnessed the mercy of God upon their nation, the children of Jacob will stand among their people Israel, and in the midst of the land of Israel and will sanctify, set apart and devotedly worship the Holy One of Israel.
 
Isa 29:24  And he who is known to have erred in spirit will understand, and they that were backbiters (whisperers) shall learn to receive instruction.
 
God will show mercy to the repentant ones who have sinned against Him in spirit and they will understand and return to Him. Likewise, the dissenters among the people of Israel will repent and seek out the instruction of God.
 
 
Copyright Yaakov Brown 2018