Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 7:3
Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
3. The prophet is instructed to meet Ahaz at a certain point outside the city, taking his son with him for a sign to the king.
Shear-jashub ] “Remnant-shall-turn,” i.e. “turn to Jehovah,” not “return from exile” (ch. Isa 10:22). How much the name meant to Ahaz we cannot tell; nor is it clear whether the boy was present to have the incident impressed on his own memory, or to recall to the king’s mind some earlier prophecy of Isaiah in which the name was explained. The latter seems more probable. In any case the name embodies a fundamental idea of Isaiah’s ministry (see on ch. Isa 6:13), and if it conveyed any significance to Ahaz at this time it was a prediction at once of judgment and hope: a remnant shall turn; but only a remnant!
at the end of the conduit field ] On the same spot the Rabshakeh stood 34 years later and delivered Sennacherib’s insulting message to Hezekiah. It seems therefore to have been within earshot of the wall (ch. Isa 36:2, cf. Isa 7:11; 2Ki 18:17; 2Ki 18:26). On what side of the city it is to be sought is as yet a matter of conjecture. (1) The “upper pool” is by many identified with the Birket el-Mamilla (about half a mile to the west of the city), from which a canal leads to reservoirs within the walls. In this case it would be difficult to explain the expression “go out to the end of the conduit,” and besides the distance from the wall is too great. (2) Tradition fixes the site of the Assyrian camp on the north of the city, and here an ancient aqueduct (older than Herod’s temple) has been discovered which pierces the wall to the east of the Damascus gate, and discharges into a large reservoir in the northern quarter of the city. If this reservoir be the “upper pool” the end of its conduit would be the northern extremity of the canal mentioned. (3) A third suggestion is that the “upper pool” like the “lower pool” (ch. Isa 22:9) was in the south of the city and inside the wall. It has been identified with a recently-discovered pool near the present pool of Siloam, and a conduit has also been excavated which carried its surplus water outside the wall, to where the “fuller’s field” is thought to have been. Ahaz was at this anxious moment devoting his personal attention to the water supply of his capital. Operations were apparently in progress either for filling the reservoirs and cisterns within the city, or for stopping the sources that would be accessible to the enemy. In the historic sieges of Jerusalem the assailants always suffered more from scarcity of water than the defenders; and it is not impossible that the precautions taken on this occasion were the reason why the allies “were not able to fight against it.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then said the Lord – In regard to the purposes for which Isaiah was sent to meet Ahaz, and the reason why this place was selected, see the Analysis of the chapter.
Thou and Shear-ashub – The meaning of the name Shear-jashub is, the remnant shall return. The names which Isaiah gave to his sons were significant or emblematic of some important events which were to occur to the Jews. They were for signs to the people, and had been given in order to keep before the nation the great truth that God was their protector, and that however much they might suffer or be punished, yet the nation would not be totally destroyed until the great Deliverer should come; see the note at Isa 7:14, and Isa 8:3, note. Why this name was given to this son, or on what occasion, is not certainly known. It is probable, however, that was with reference to the future calamities and captivity of the Jews, denoting that a part of the people would return to the land of their fathers: compare Isa 10:21-22. The name was a remembrancer given by him as a prophet, perhaps, some time before this, that the nation was not to be wholly annihilated – a truth which Isaiah everywhere keeps before them in his prophecies; compare the note at Isa 6:13. Why Shear-jashub accompanied Isaiah now is not recorded. It might be as a pledge to Ahaz of the purpose of the Lord, that the people should not be destroyed. Ahaz may have been apprized of the reason why the name was given, and his presence might serve to mitigate his fears.
At the end of the conduit – A conduit is a pipe, or other conductor of water. The water flowed from a fountain, but was conducted to different receptacles for the supply of the city.
Of the upper pool – Or the upper receptacle, or pond. Robinson (Bib. Researches, i. p. 483) and Pococke (Descr. of the East, ii. pp. 25, 26) suppose that the upper and lower pools referred to by Isaiah, were on the west side of the city, the ruins of which now remain. The upper pool is now commonly called by the monks Gihon, and by the natives Birket el Mamilla. It lies in the basin forming the head of the valley of Hinnom or Gihon, about seven hundred yards west-northwest from the Yafa gate, on the west of Jerusalem. The sides of this pool are built of hewn stones laid in cement, with steps at the corners by which to descend into it. The bottom is level. The dimensions are as follows:
| Length (in Eng. Feet) from east to west | 316 |
| Breadth at the west end | 200 |
| Breadth at the east end | 218 |
| Depth at each end | 18 |
There is no water-course, or other visible means, by which water is now brought into this reservoir, but it is probable that it was filled in the rainy seasons by the waters which flowed from the higher ground round about. From this upper pool a part of the water was conveyed into the city to the pool of Hezekiah, lying within the walls, and situated some distance to the northeastward of the Yafa gate. Hezekiah stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David; 2Ch 32:30; compare the notes at Isa 22:9. This upper pool had a trench or conduit, and a considerable part of the waters were allowed to flow through this to the lower pool. The lower pool is mentioned in the Old Testament only once, and that by Isaiah Isa 22:9, and there without any hint of its locality. There is now a large lower pool on the western side of Jerusalem, which is not improbably the one intended, and which stands in contrast with the one mentioned here. This pool is called by the Arabs Birket es-Sultan. There is, at present, no other pool in the vicinity of Jerusalem to which the description in Isaiah can be well applied. This reservoir is situated in the valley of Hinnom or Gihon, southward from the Yafa gate. Its northern end is nearly upon a line with the southern wall of the city. The pool was formed by throwing strong walls across the bottom of the valley, between which the earth was wholly removed. A road crosses on the causeway at the southern end. The following are the measurements of this pool:
| Length (in Eng. Feet) along the middle | 592. |
| Breadth at the north end | 245 |
| Breadth at the south end | 275 |
| Depth at north end | 85 |
| Depth at south end | 42 |
This reservoir was probably filled from the rains, and from the superfluous waters of the upper pool. It is now in ruins. The water from this pool would flow off into the valley of Hinnom, and thence, into the valley of Jehoshaphat or Kedron, or subsequently into the pool of Hezekiah, situated within the city; see the notes at Isa 22:9, Isa 22:11. Why Ahaz was at that place, the prophet does not say. It is possible he was examining it, to see whether the fountain could be stopped up, or the water diverted so that it could not be used by the enemy, and so that they could be prevented from maintaining a protracted siege; compare 2Ch 32:4. It is probable that the king had gone to this place attended by many of his counselors, and as this was the main source of the supply of water to the city, a multitude would be there, and Isaiah could have an opportunity not only to deliver his message to Ahaz and his court, but in the presence of a considerable concourse of people, and might thus inspire confidence among the alarmed and dejected inhabitants of the city.
In the highway of the fullers field – In the place occupied as a situation on which to spread, or suspend cloth that was bleached, or dyed. This situation would be chosen because much water was needed in bleaching or dyeing cloth. The name highway denotes the public path, or road that led to this field. Probably, on one side of this highway was the aqueduct, and on the other the fullers field. Of the fullers field, Eusebius and Jerome merely say that it was shown in their day in the suburbs of the city. – Onom. art. Ager Fullonis.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Now] na, is omitted by two MSS., the Septuagint, Syriac, Arabic, and Vulgate.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Go forth now to meet Ahaz, though he do not seek nor send to thee, as he ought. This is an eminent instance of preventing mercy.
Shear-jashub; whose very name carried in it a sign and pledge of the promised deliverance.
At the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fullers field; whither he probably went to take care about the waters, which thence were brought into the city, either to secure them to himself, or to keep them from the enemy, as Hezekiah afterward did, 2Ch 32:3,4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Go forthout of the city,to the place where Ahaz was superintending the works for defense andthe cutting off of the water supply from the enemy, and securing itto the city. So Isa 22:9; 2Ch 32:4.
Shearjashubthat is, Aremnant shall return (Isa 6:13).His very name (compare Isa 7:14;Isa 8:3) was a standing memorialto Ahaz and the Jews that the nation should not, notwithstanding thegeneral calamity (Isa 7:17-25;Isa 8:6-8), be utterlydestroyed (Isa 10:21; Isa 10:22).
conduitan aqueductfrom the pool or reservoir for the supply of the city. At the foot ofZion was Fount Siloah (Isa 8:6;Neh 3:15; Joh 9:7),called also Gihon, on the west of Jerusalem (2Ch32:30). Two pools were supplied from it, the Upper, or Old(Isa 22:11), or King’s(Ne 2:14), and the Lower(Isa 22:9), which received thesuperfluous waters of the upper. The upper pool is still to be seen,about seven hundred yards from the Jaffa gate. The highway leading tothe fullers’ field, which was in a position near water for thepurposes of washing, previous to drying and bleaching, the cloth, wasprobably alongside the aqueduct.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then said the Lord unto Isaiah,…. The prophet, the inspired penman of these prophecies, that go by his name; what follows, the Lord said unto him in vision, or by an articulate voice, or by an impulse on his mind:
go forth now to meet Ahaz; the prophet was in the city of Jerusalem, and Ahaz was without, as appears by the place after mentioned, where he was to meet him; perhaps Ahaz was at his country house, which, upon the news brought him of the designs of his enemies, he leaves, and betakes himself to Jerusalem, his metropolis, and fortified city, where he might be more safe; or he had been out to reconnoitre the passes about Jerusalem, and give orders and directions for the strengthening and keeping of them:
thou, and Shearjashub thy son: whose name signifies “the remnant shall return”, and who was taken with the prophet, to suggest either that the remnant that were left of the former devastations by those two kings ought to return to the Lord by repentance; or that though the people of Judah should hereafter be carried captive by the Assyrians, yet a remnant should return again. The Targum interprets this not of Isaiah’s natural son, but of his disciples; paraphrasing it thus,
“thou, and the rest of thy disciples, who have not sinned, and are turned from sin:”
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool; for there was an upper pool and a lower one; see Isa 22:9 this was outside the city, and is the same place where Rabshakeh afterwards stood, and delivered his blasphemous and terrifying speech, 2Ki 18:17:
in the highway of the fuller’s field; where they washed and dried their garments, and whitened them; the pool, conduit, and field, being fit for their purpose.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In this season of terror Isaiah received the following divine instructions. “Then said Jehovah to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shear-jashub thy son, to the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, to the road of the fuller’s field.” The fuller’s field ( sedeh cobes ) was situated, as we may assume with Robinson, Schultz, and Thenius, against Williams, Krafft, etc., on the western side of the city, where there is still an “upper pool” of great antiquity (2Ch 32:30). Near to this pool the fullers, i.e., the cleaners and thickeners of woollen fabrics, carried on their occupation ( Cobes , from C abas , related to C abash , subigere , which bears the same relation to rachatz as to ). Robinson and his companions saw some people washing clothes at the upper pool when they were there; and, for a considerable distance round, the surface of this favourite washing and bleaching place was covered with things spread out to bleach or dry. The road ( m esillah ), which ran past this fuller’s field, was the one which leads from the western gate to Joppa. King Ahaz was there, on the west of the city, and outside the fortifications – engaged, no doubt, in making provision for the probable event of Jerusalem being again besieged in a still more threatening manner. Jerusalem received its water supply from the upper Gihon pool, and there, according to Jehovah’s directions, Isaiah was to go with his son and meet him. The two together were, as it were, a personified blessing and curse, presenting themselves to the king for him to make his own selection. For the name Shear – yashub (which is erroneously accentuated with tiphchah munach instead of merchah tiphchah , as in Isa 10:22), i.e., the remnant is converted (Isa 10:21-22), was a kind of abbreviation of the divine answer given to the prophet in Isa 6:11-13, and was indeed at once threatening and promising, but in such a way that the curse stood in front and the grace behind. The prophetic name of Isaiah’s son was intended to drive the king to Jehovah by force, through the threatening aspect it presented; and the prophetic announcement of Isaiah himself, whose name pointed to salvation, was to allure him to Jehovah with its promising tone.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. Then said the LORD. First, we see how God, remembering his covenant, anticipates this wicked king by sending the Prophet to meet him; for he does not wait for his prayers, but of his own accord promises that he will grant deliverance. His son Shear-jashub is joined with the Prophet as a witness of the prediction, and there is reason to believe that his name, Shear-jashub, was not given at random, but by the secret inspiration of the Spirit, or by an immediate command of God, and in order to point out the future deliverance of the people. He, therefore, carried in his name what might be regarded as an engraven seal, both of the approaching captivity and of the return. It is also probable that this symbol of the prediction was generally known, for he would not have been joined with his father on any other account than because he bore in his person some authority.
To the way of the fuller’s field. The place is mentioned in order to give authenticity to the history. It is possible that the king, for the purpose of repelling the enemy, may have set out to watch his approach, which appears more clearly from the sacred history. (2Kg 18:17.) It is called the way of the fuller’s field, perhaps because it was customary to wash clothes there, or because the name arose out of some ancient occurrence. However that may be, it was an evidence of anxiety and dread, that this wretched hypocrite was running about in all directions, when Isaiah came forth to meet him and to soothe his mind.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
ISAIAHS INTERVIEW WITH AHAZ
Isa. 7:3-25. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, &c.
In this interview of Isaiah with Ahaz we have an instance
I. Of Gods efforts to turn men from ruinous courses. God is the great Lawgiver, and the Judge before whose bar all impenitent transgressors of His law will have to stand. Absolute inflexibility is necessarily His characteristic in both these capacities. But these are not the only capacities He seeks to sustain to us. It is His ambition to be the Saviour of men from sin and ruin. Consequently, He does not merely lay down His law and stand coldly by, to see whether men will keep it or not. He plies them with inducements to keep it. When He sees them bent on transgression, He endeavours to arrest them in their foolish and fatal purpose. Short of that destruction of the freedom of their will, which would be the destruction also of their responsibility and of their possibilities of virtue, He leaves nothing undone to turn them from the broad road that leads to death [784] By adverse providences, by the strivings of His Holy Spirit, by awakening conscience to an active exercise of its functions, He works upon and in them to will and to do His good pleasure. No sinner has ever gone down to perdition unheeded, unpitied, without attempts to rescue him. Your own experience attests the truth of these statements: you know you had to fight your way through to those transgressions of which you are now ashamed. Gods preventing grace is a great fact of which we should take reverent heed, and for which we should give fervent thanks [787]
[784] Augustine, in his Confessions, makes thankful note of the manner in which, in the years of his ungodliness, God had raised up obstacles in his path of sin. When sinful desires raged within him, he says, the means for gratifying them were absent; or when the desires and the means of gratifying them came together, some witness was present to deter him; and when the means were present, and no witnesses stood by to hinder him, the desire to transgress was wanting. He rightly judged that these were no mere accidents or coincidences.
[787] The preventing methods of grace may deservedly pass for some of the prime instances of the divine mercy to men in this world. For though it ought to be owned for an eminent act of grace to restore one actually fallen, yet there are not wanting arguments to persuade, that it is a greater to keep one from falling. Not to break a limb is more desirable than to have it set and healed, though never so skilfully and well. Preservation in this, as in many other cases, being better a great deal than restoration; since after all is done, it is odds but the scar will remain when the wound is cured and the danger over.South.
II. Of the manner in which sinners, by insincere pretences, resist Gods saving purposes. The stubbornness and insincerity of Ahaz are obvious [790] But in neither of these is he singular. Sinners who are bent on their sins not seldom go on to them under pretexts of righteousness, with which they endeavour to deceive themselves and others. The greatest crime ever committed was done under a pretext of righteousness (Mat. 26:65). So has it been with countless crimes since. Let us be on our guard against our own hearts (Jer. 17:9; Pro. 14:12). Let us not act upon any reason which we do not really believe will bear the scrutiny of God.
[790] Ahaz listened in sullen and incredulous silence; and the prophet resumesAsk thee a sign of Jehovah thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz, who looked on Jehovah not as his God, but only (like any of his heathen neighbours) as the god of Juda, and as such inferior to the god of Assyria; and who had determined to apply to the king of Assyria, or perhaps had already applied to him, as a more trustworthy helper than Jehovah, in the present strait; declines to ask a sign, excusing himself by a contrary use of the words of Moses, Thou shalt not tempt Jehovah. He refused the sign, because he knew it would confirm the still struggling voice of his conscience; and that voice he had resolved not to obey, since it bid him give up the Assyrian, and trust in Jehovah henceforth.Strachey.
III. Of the twofold result which always follows such resistance to the divine purposes.
1. The sinner is, ere long, compelled to confess that the counsels he set aside were counsels of truth and wisdom. In less than three years, Ahaz had cause to acknowledge the soundness of the advice to which on this memorable day he refused to listen [793] A typical case.
2. The obstinate sinner is left to the ruin from which he would not permit God to deliver him. There is no salvation by force. God acts upon our will, but He will not save us against our will. Neither shall those who refused to be saved from sin be saved from its consequences. If we choose evil, no act of omnipotence will render the choice harmless (chap. Isa. 3:11). Ahaz chose the help of Assyria rather than the help of Jehovah, and with the help of that great and unscrupulous power he had to take its domination and destructiveness (2Ch. 28:16; 2Ch. 28:20). Again a typical case. The retributive justice of God is a fact of which it behoves us to be heedful.
[793] Within the space of time figuratively indicated by the time necessary for the child of the prophet to become capable of discerning between good and evil,i.e., in about three years,Rezin and Pekah were slain, and the fact that they were but two tails of smoking firebrands demonstrated. (See 2Ki. 15:27-30; 2Ki. 16:1-9.)
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) Go forth now to meet Ahaz . . .At this crisis the prophet, already recognised as such, and gathering his disciples round him (Isa. 8:16), is told to deliver a message to the king. He finds him halting between two opinions. He is making a show of resistance, but in reality he is not depending either on the protection of Jehovah, or the courage of his people, but on a plan of his own. Why should he not continue to pay tribute to Assyria, as Uzziah and Menahem (2Ki. 15:19) had done, and write to Tiglath-pileser to attack the territories of the invading kings, as he actually did at a later stage in the war (2Ki. 15:29)?
Thou and Shear-jashub thy son.Assuming Isaiah 6 to give the first revelation of the idea of the remnant, it would follow that the birth of the son whose name (Remnant returnsthe return being both literal and spirituali.e., is converted), embodied a prophecy, must have followed on that revelation, and he was probably, therefore, at the time a stripling of sixteen or eighteen. It may be noted that Isaiah had in the history of Hosea 1, 2 the example of a prophet who, as his children were born, gave them names which were terribly or hopefully significant. Each child was, as it were, a sign and portent (Isa. 8:18). The fact that the mother of his children was herself a prophetess (Isa. 8:3), sharing his hopes and fears, gives a yet deeper interest to the fact.
At the end of the conduit . . .The king was apparently superintending the defensive operations of the siege, probably cutting off the supply of water outside the walls, as Hezekiah afterwards did (2Ch. 32:3-4). The upper pool has been identified with the Upper Gihon pool (Birket-el-Mamilla) or the dragons well of Neh. 2:13. A lower pool meets us in Isa. 22:9. The fullers field was near En-rogelim (Isa. 36:2; 2Sa. 17:17).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Shear-jashub was to go with Isaiah because his name, signifying “a remnant shall return,” like an inscription, was a memento of final salvation for Judah, and it was a message of encouragement for Ahaz that the prophet would bring.
Conduit of the upper pool “The upper pool” was a water reservoir for city use; and the “conduit” was the pipe or aqueduct by which the water was conveyed to the western side of the city.
See notes on 1Ki 1:33, and 2Ki 18:17. (See opposite map.)
Highway of the fuller’s field The “field” where, contiguous to the needed water, dyers spread and bleached their cloths, and the “highway” leading to it from the city.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 7:3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah Isaiah is ordered, with his son Shear-jashub, whose name signifies the remnant shall return, (see chap. Isa 10:21.) to go and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the high-way of the fuller’s field; a place of very public resort, where the messengers of the king of Assyria had delivered their threats, (see 2Ki 18:17.) and whither it is thought Ahaz was then coming, in order to see whether he could not cut off from the enemy the waters of this pool. See 2Ch 32:1-4 compared with 2Ch 32:30. For, as the prophet’s speech to the king was not only reprehensive but consolatory, it was proper that there should be many witnesses of it; and this appears to have been the case from Isa 7:9. The prophet took his son with him for the consolation of the pious; that his son, to whom this name was given by the divine command, as was the case also of another of his sons, (see chap. Isa 8:1; Isa 8:3; Isa 8:18.) might be shewn to them as a kind of sacrament to the divine promises, to assure them that in the greatest calamities of the nation God would never wholly forsake his people; but that a remnant should remain at all times, whom God would, after many years, restore from banishment; and that God would through Christ his son have mercy upon all them who would believe. See Vitringa.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
I beg the Reader to remark with me, the Lord’s tender mercy to his people. Surely in this history, as in a thousand others, the Apostle’s words are fulfilled: where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; Rom 5:20 . We hear nothing of Ahaz sending to Isaiah or himself calling upon the Lord; but it is the Lord sending to Ahaz. Grace must first be given, or there will be no moving of the heart to the Lord. Reader! do remark the command of God to the prophet, to take his son with him, when he sent him to meet Ahaz. The Lord sent the prophet, notwithstanding Ahaz’s undeserving, with a message of comfort; and perhaps the child’s being with him, was intended as a sign; for his name seems to have been significant of it. Shear-jashub implies, a remnant to return. In the Old Testament Scripture, the Lord’s servants were remarkable for giving names to their children, according to the times, or special mercies received, by way of memorial. And no doubt, as oft as they looked upon them, it brought the pleasing circumstance afresh to recollection, and called forth new praise. It were to be wished, that New Testament saints would adopt the same plan: they would find the Lord’s blessing upon it. Faith, in honouring God, will find God honouring the exercise of it. If the Reader would wish to see instances, I refer him to those scriptures, Gen 28:19 ; 1Sa 1:20 ; Psa 70 in the title. It is not said what effect the prophet’s message produced on the king’s mind; but by what follows, we are led to admire and adore the Lord’s grace in bearing with sinners, who slight his renewed mercies. Reader! do not fail to remark from it, how, in all ages, sin and its hardening effects abound!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
Ver. 3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah. ] Wicked Ahaz shall have a prophet sent him with a promise, if it be but to leave him without excuse. There was also a godly party in the land, whose comfort was aimed at, and for whose sake Shearjashub was also taken along, as carrying comfort in this very name. Portendit enim omnes pios qui divini verbi satu generandi sunt salvos et incolumes fore, divinisque muneribus exornatos.
At the end of the conduit of the upper pool.
Of the fuller’s field.] Fullers must have store of water, and room enough for the dressing and drying of their clothes. Ministers are by an ancient called Fullones animarum, Fullers of men’s souls.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 7:3-9
3Then the LORD said to Isaiah, Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway to the fuller’s field, 4and say to him, ‘Take care and be calm, have no fear and do not be fainthearted because of these two stubs of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.
5Because Aram, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has planned evil against you, saying, 6Let us go up against Judah and terrorize it, and make for ourselves a breach in its walls and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it, 7thus says the Lord GOD: It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass. 8For the head of Aram is Damascus and the head of Damascus is Rezin (now within another 65 years Ephraim will be shattered, so that it is no longer a people), 9and the head of Ephraim is Samaria and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you will not believe, you surely shall not last.’
Isa 7:3 Isaiah His name is a combination of two NOUNS, salvation and YHWH. To assert the understood or implied meaning, a VERB must be assumed, YHWH is salvation, YHWH brings salvation, etc. See Special Topic: Salvation (OT Term) and Special Topic: Names for Deity .
Shear-jashub This is Isaiah’s first son. His name means a remnant shall return of chapter Isa 10:20-23. The very fact that Isaiah is told to take his son to meet the king shows that his name had relevance to the subject of the meeting. It could refer to
1. only a small part of the invading army will survive to return home
2. only a small part of faithless Judah will survive. Isaiah uses the concept of a faithful remnant often. See Special Topic: The Remnant, Three Senses .
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool This relates to the Gihon spring which supplies Jerusalem with water during sieges. This spring was also used in the coronation of the kings of Judah. Ahaz was checking the preparations for a siege. He was checking his resources!
Isa 7:4-9 This is YHWH’s message to Ahaz through Isaiah. The first part addresses Ahaz.
1. take care, BDB 1036, KB 1581, Niphal IMPERATIVE
2. be calm, BDB 1052, KB 1641, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
3. have no fear, BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
4. do not be fainthearted, BDB 939, KB 1236, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
The cause of Ahaz’s fear was the invasion plans of Syria and Israel (Isa 7:5).
YHWH characterizes the thoughts of the Syro-Ephraimite coalition (Isa 7:6).
1. let us go up against Judah, BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
2. cause it a sickening dread (NASB margin), BDB 880, KB 1089, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
3. make for ourselves a breach in its walls, BDB 131, KB 149, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
4. set up the son of Tabeel as king, BDB 573, KB 590, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
YHWH describes His plans in Isa 7:7.
1. it shall not stand, BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal IMPERFECT
2. nor shall it come to pass, BDB 224, KB 243, Qal IMPERFECT
YHWH is in control of history, not human armies, whether Syria/Israel or Assyria. However, there is a requirement on behalf of Judah’s leadership-they must believe/trust YHWH’s word (Isa 7:9)!
1. believe, BDB 52, KB 63, Hiphil IMPERFECT, PLURAL (royal court and leadership, cf. Isa 7:13-14)
2. shall not last (lit. be confirmed), BDB 52, KB 63, Niphal IMPERFECT, PLURAL
This same play on the meaning of is found in 2Ch 20:20. This same VERB is used in 2Sa 7:16 in relation to the permanence of the Davidic kingship. In a covenant relationship YHWH chooses not to act if His covenant partners refuse to believe/trust in Him (cf. Isa 30:15). See Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith, and Faithfulness in the OT .
these two stubs of smoldering firebrands The two invaders are depicted as soon-to-be has-beens. Syria (i.e., Damascus) fell to the Assyrians in 732 B.C. and Israel (i.e., Samaria) fell in 722 B.C. The number (65 years) found in Isa 7:8 is difficult to reconcile with our current historical information about this period of history.
Isa 7:6
NASBmake. . .a breach in its walls
NKJVmake a gap in its walls
NRSVconquer it
NJBdestroy it
PESHITTAmake a breach in it
REBbreak her spirit
This VERB (BDB 131, KB 149, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense) basically means to break open or to break through(cf. 2Ki 3:26).
The name Tabeel (BDB 370) is an Assyrian name. There are two known uses: (1) a tribe of people in Gilead or (2) the name of a king of Tyre (To-ba-il, LXX Tabeel, also known by Ethba’al); however, the MT adds vowels to the name and changes it to Tabeal, which in Hebrew means good-for-nothing. The changing of names was common in the OT to show the author’s view of the character of the person. However, in context this refers to an unknown Assyrian supporter within Judah.
Isa 7:7 thus says the Lord GOD, ‘It shall not stand nor shall it come to pass’ This is one of several verses in this context that teaches God’s control and sovereignty over all nations and all history (cf. Isa 7:17-18; Isa 7:20). Also note Isa 8:10 and Isa 28:18.
Isa 7:8 (now within another 65 years) This time element is difficult to understand. It may relate to Esarhaddon completing the deportation and resettlement of the land of Israel (cf. 2Ki 17:24; Ezr 4:2). This could be a good example of (1) the ambiguity of predictive prophecy in the OT; (2) a later scribe updating the text of Isaiah with an editorial comment; or (3) both.
The NIV expresses Isaiah’s word play as If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
Isa 7:9 If you will not believe See Special Topic: Believe, Trust, Faith, and Faithfulness in the OT .
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Shear-jashub = the remnant shall return.
highway. Occurs in the “former” portion, here, Isa 11:16; Isa 19:23; Isa 33:8; Isa 35:8; Isa 36:2; and in the latter portion, Isa 40:3; Isa 49:11; Isa 57:14 (verb); Isa 59:7 (paths); Isa 62:10 (verb and noun).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 7:3-9
Isa 7:3-9
“Then said Jehovah unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou and Shear-Jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fuller’s field; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, because of these two tails of smoking fire-brands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have purposed evil against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel; thus saith the Lord Jehovah, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, so that it shall not be a people: And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”
Isaiah 7:3 gave God’s instructions for Isaiah to take his son Shear-Jashub with him when he went to meet Ahaz; and the very presence of this son was a stern warning to Ahaz that troubled times lay ahead for Judah. The name Shear-Jashub was in all probability prophetically given by God Himself and had the meaning, “a remnant shall return.”[3] The prophecy implied by this indicated not merely that “a remnant shall return,” but also that Judah would also go into captivity. This conviction regarding “a remnant shall return” was a frequently reiterated doctrine in Isaiah’s great prophecy.
The very place where Isaiah would meet Ahaz was significant. As many have surmised, the king was engaged at that very moment in carrying out his own schemes for the defense of his city, probably securing the water system, or devising to make it unusable for the enemy, or perhaps both.
“Smoking firebrands …” This actually means burnt-out firebrands, thus no threat that should have concerned Judah as long as they believed and trusted God.
“It shall not stand; neither shall it come to pass …” God here vetoed the evil purposes of Judah’s enemies; then in Isaiah 7:8 God gave through Isaiah the reason why such evil purposes of Judah’s enemies were doomed to failure and frustration, that reason being that whereas Syria and Ephraim had merely human heads and leadership, Judah belonged to God, their true king, whose purposes would inevitably prevail.
The heavenly promise that Ephraim would be broken in pieces and stand no longer as a separate and distinct people (Isaiah 7:8b) is believed to have been given in 735 or 733 B.C.; and if this date is correct the sixty-five years allowed for the fulfillment of this prophecy would have fallen somewhere in the reign of Ashurbanipal over Assyria. A much earlier indication of the prophecy’s accuracy came only about 11 years later (722 B.C.) when Samaria fell to Assyria and thousands of citizens of the Northern kingdom were led away to Assyria in long lines held together with ropes or chains through the ears of the victims who later were either worked or starved to death in Assyria.
This horrible disaster to Northern Israel (Ephraim) should have been warning enough for Ahaz. A foreign alliance had led only to defeat and extermination for Ephraim; and if Ahaz had been blessed with the ability to think properly he should have been able to see that a foreign alliance for Judah would lead to the same disastrous results. The total fulfillment of this predictive prophecy, however, came within about one lifetime, the sixty-five years of Isaiah 7:8b. “In 669 B.C., Esar-Haddon, having made his son Ashurbanipal king of Assyria, moved his own residence to Babylon; and this was probably the same year in which he sent from Babylon and vicinity many colonists to re-populate Samaria.” Following these events, “Ephraim was no longer a people.” The colonists intermarried with the few remaining Jews; and the mixed racial descendants became the Samaritans who were despised by the Jews of later times.
Some have questioned whether or not this warning to Ahaz would have been effective because of the time it took to be completely fulfilled; but such an objection is completely nullified by the utter destruction of Samaria and the captivity of its people within a mere eleven years from the date of the prophecy, making the ultimate and complete fulfillment of it absolutely certain, even as early as 722 B.C. Cheyne and other scholars have supposed that this prophecy might have been given at some other point chronologically; but as Rawlinson noted “There is no appearance in this chapter of any need for such theories.”
In the final verse of this paragraph, Isaiah’s call to faith is uttered with a slogan-like play on words which is almost impossible of translation into English, although James Moffatt’s Translation of the Bible (1929) attempted it as follows: “Hold God in doubt; You’ll not hold out,” or, “Unsure, Insecure!” Faith in God is always a pre-condition of pleasing God, whether by individuals or nations.
Isa 7:3-9 THE COMFORT: Isaiah and his son, Shearjashub (A remnant shall return) were sent to meet Ahaz at a precise point-the point where the water from the upper pool emptied into the conduit. The boy was to serve as a symbolic sign of hope. Ahaz was told to be quiet and calm. Rezin and Pekah were lots of smoke but no fire according to the Lord. They are burned-out, smoldering stumps. God knows their threatenings and He knows that in 65 years they will both have disappeared utterly. The coalition wishes to set up the son of Tabeal (the original form of the name suggests he was a Syrian) on the throne of Judah in the place of Ahaz. But God promises, It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. Israel and Syria have only human heads (Isa 7:8) while the head of Judah is the Lord God. In 721-722 B.C. Sargon took Samaria (2Ki 17:16-24) and in 669 B.C. Esar-Haddon of Babylon sent colonists to occupy Samaria and entirely destroyed the nationality of Israel. This was 65 years from the time of Isaiahs prediction here (733 or 734 B.C.). All Ahaz had to do was to accept this promise and believe God and he would be established on the throne of Judah. But Ahaz would not believe it (Cf. 2Ki 16:7-18; 2Ch 28:16-20).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Shearjashub
Meaning, a remnant shall return. Isa 8:3.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Go forth: Exo 7:15, Jer 19:2, Jer 19:3, Jer 22:1
Shearjashub: that is, The remnant shall return, Isa 6:13, Isa 10:21, Isa 55:7, Rom 9:27
the end: Isa 36:2, 2Ki 18:17, 2Ki 20:20
highway: or, causeway
Reciprocal: 2Sa 20:13 – the highway Neh 3:16 – the pool Isa 8:18 – I and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 7:3. Then said the Lord unto Isaiah This fifth discourse, delivered as immediately from the Lord, which extends from hence to the end of chap. 12., is of a very mixed and various argument. It may be divided into five parts: the first contained in this chapter; the second from Isa 8:1, to Isa 9:7; the third from Isa 9:7, to Isa 10:5; the fourth from Isa 10:5, to the end of that chapter; and the fifth is contained in the eleventh and twelfth chapters. The first part of this prophecy, which foretells the invasion of Judea by the Ephraimites, the Syrians, and Assyrians, contains a kind of introduction to the subsequent prophecies in this discourse. Its design is two-fold; first, to comfort the pious in Jerusalem, amidst this great calamity which threatened their nation, and to testify the singular providence of God toward the house of David, which he had hitherto preserved, and would continue to preserve till the completion of his great design: and, secondly, to upbraid the folly and ingratitude of Ahaz. See Vitringa. Go forth now to meet Ahaz Here we have an eminent instance of Gods preventing mercy toward one who neither inquired of him, nor sought his help. Thus God is often found of those who seek him not: much more will he be found of those who seek him diligently! And Shear-jashub thy son Whose very name, signifying, A remnant shall return, carried in it a sign and pledge of the promised deliverance. At the end of the conduit Whither he probably went to take care about the waters which thence were brought into the city, to secure them to himself, or keep them from the enemy, as Hezekiah afterward did, 2Ch 32:3-4.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
7:3 Then said the LORD to Isaiah, Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and {e} Shearjashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field;
(e) That is to say, the rest will return which name Isaiah gave his son, to signify that the rest of the people would return out of their captivity.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God instructed Isaiah to take his son Shearjashub ("a remnant shall return;" cf. Isa 6:13) and meet Ahaz at a strategic water source for Jerusalem, which Ahaz was apparently examining. The location of this pool is uncertain, but it was a reservoir for Jerusalem (cf. Isa 36:2), perhaps near the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley. [Note: Watts, p. 91.] A vulnerable above-ground aqueduct brought water from it into the city. The fuller’s field was a place where people washed clothes, fuller being another name for launderer.
Shearjashub’s presence may have been designed to encourage Ahaz to believe that his enemy would not destroy Judah completely, even though they had already defeated him previously (cf. Isa 7:4). Still, the mention of only a remnant returning was sobering. This was the very spot on which Sennacherib’s field commander later stood to hurl insults at Hezekiah (Isa 36:2), the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prediction of an Assyrian attack.