Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 8:13
Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.
13. Render: Jehovah of Hosts, Him shall ye count holy, and let Him be ( the object of) your fear and ( of) your terror. “Count holy” (Isa 29:23); recognise as the Holy One, especially by absolute trust in His providential disposition of events; fearing only what would offend Him.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Sanctify … – Regard Yahweh as holy; that is, worship and honor him with pious fear and reverence. Regard him as the source of safety, and the true defense. Ahaz and his people sought for aid from Assyria against the armies of Syria and Samaria. The direction here is rather to seek aid from God.
Let him be your fear – Do not be alarmed at what man can do Isa 8:12, but fear and honor God. Be afraid to provoke his wrath by looking to other sources of help when his aid only should be sought.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Sanctify the Lord of hosts; give him the glory of his power, and goodness, and faithfulness, by trusting to his promises for your deliverance.
Let him be your fear; let God, and not the kings of Syria and Israel, be the chief object of your fear.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. SanctifyHonor Hisholy name by regarding Him as your only hope of safety(Isa 29:23; Num 20:12).
him . . . fear“fear”lest you provoke His wrath by your fear of man and distrust of Him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,…. Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Lord of the armies above and below, of angels and of men, God over all, the true Jehovah, who is sanctified by his people, when they declare him to be so; as the Targum paraphrases it,
“the Lord of hosts, him shall ye say is holy;”
for they cannot make him so, nor can he receive any holiness from them, nor does he need any; but they celebrate the perfection of his holiness, and ascribe it to him; yea, they sanctify him, by ascribing their holiness to him; by looking to him as their sanctification, and by deriving and expecting every degree and measure of holiness from him, to complete theirs; by exercising faith upon him, and showing a regard to his commands and ordinances:
and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread; that is, the object of fear and dread; not of a servile fear and dread, but of a holy reverence and godly fear; such a fear as is the grace of the covenant, which flows from the goodness of God, and has that for its object, and is influenced by it; see Ho 3:5 where the same Lord, Messiah, David the king, is meant, as here. See 1Pe 3:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The object of their fear was a very different one. “Jehovah of hosts, sanctify Him; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your terror. So will He become a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence ( vexation) to both the houses of Israel, a snare and trap to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and shall fall; and be dashed to pieces, and be snared and taken.” The logical apodosis to Isa 8:13 commences with v’hahah (so shall He be). If ye actually acknowledge Jehovah the Holy One as the Holy One ( hikdsh , as in Isa 29:23), and if it is He whom ye fear, and who fills you with dread ( maartz , used for the object of dread, as morah is for the object of fear; hence “that which terrifies” in a causative sense), He will become a m ikdash . The word m ikdash may indeed denote the object sanctified, and so Knobel understands it here according to Num 18:29; but if we adhere to the strict notion of the word, this gives an unmeaning apodosis. Mikdash generally means the sanctified place or sanctuary, with which the idea of an asylum would easily associate itself, since even among the Israelites the temple was regarded and respected as an asylum (1Ki 1:50; 1Ki 2:28). This is the explanation which most of the commentators have adopted here; and the punctuators also took it in the same sense, when they divided the two halves of Isa 8:14 by athnach as antithetical. And m ikdash is really to be taken in this sense, although it cannot be exactly rendered “asylum,” since this would improperly limit the meaning of the word. The temple was not only a place of shelter, but also of grace, blessing, and peace. All who sanctified the Lord of lords He surrounded like temple walls; hid them in Himself, whilst death and tribulation reigned without, and comforted, fed, and blessed them in His own gracious fellowship. This is the true explanation of v’hayah l’mikdas , according to such passages as Isa 4:5-6; Psa 27:5; Psa 31:21. To the two houses of Israel, on the contrary, i.e., to the great mass of the people of both kingdoms who neither sanctified nor feared Jehovah, He would be a rock and snare. The synonyms are intentionally heaped together (cf., Isa 28:13), to produce the fearful impression of death occurring in many forms, but all inevitable. The first three verbs of Isa 8:15 refer to the “stone” ( ‘eben ) and “rock” ( tzur ); the last two to the “snare” ( pach ), and “trap” or springe ( mokesh ).
(Note: Malbim observes quite correctly, that “the pach catches, but does not hurt; the mokesh catches and hurts (e.g., by seizing the legs or nose, Job 40:24): the former is a simple snare (or net), the latter a springe, or snare which catches by means of a spring” (Amo 3:5).)
All who did not give glory to Jehovah would be dashed to pieces upon His work as upon a stone, and caught therein as in a trap. This was the burden of the divine warning, which the prophet heard for himself and for those that believed.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
13. Sanctify Jehovah of hosts himself. We have said that the reason why dangers lead to immoderate alarm is, that wretched men do not raise their eyes and minds to heaven. The Prophet now, therefore, proposes a suitable remedy for allaying terrors, that they who dread the evils which threaten them may learn to give to God the honor due to him. To sanctify the God of armies means to exalt his power highly; so as to remember that he holds the government of the world, and that the beginning and the end of good and evil actions are at his disposal. Hence it follows that, in some respects, God is robbed of his holiness, when we do not immediately betake ourselves to him in cases of perplexity. This mode of expression, therefore, is highly emphatic; for it shows us that no higher affront can be offered to God than to give way to fear, as if he were not exalted above all creatures, so as to control all events. On the other hand, when we rely on his aid, and, through victorious steadfastness of faith, despise dangers, then do we actually ascribe to him lawful government; for if we are not convinced that innumerable methods, though unknown to us, are in his power for our deliverance, we conceive of him as a dead idol.
And let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. He properly adds, that God himself should be the fear and the dread of the people, in order to inform them that there awaits them a just and lawful reward of their crimes and of their contempt of God, when they thus in wretchedness and alarm tremble at dangers. Though he speaks not only of fear but of dread, yet he does not mean that the Jews should be filled with horror at the name of God, so as to desire to flee from him, but merely demands from them reverence for God, and uses both words in order to express continuance. He therefore means that they will be free and exempted from solicitude of mind, if a sincere fear of God be deeply engraven on their hearts, and never pass away from them; and indeed every person who freely devotes himself to God, and undertakes to fear him alone, so as to lay this restraint on himself, will find that no haven is more safe than his protection. But as the ungodly do not cease to provoke his anger by shameless transgression, he harasses their minds by continual uneasiness, and thus inflicts the most appropriate revenge for their careless indifference.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
HALLOWED BE THY NAME!
Isa. 8:13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, &c.
I. What is it to sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself? It is,
1. To fill our minds with right thoughts concerning Him [854]
2. To fill our hearts with right feelings towards Him (P. D. 14921526).
[854] See note () to preceding outline: BIBLICAL POLITICIANS.
II. How is this to be done? By frequent, devout, prayerful, intense meditation on the revelations of Himself which He has been pleased to give (H. E. I. 35073514).
III. What will be the effect of doing it?
1. All other fear and dread will vanish from our minds (1Sa. 14:6; 1Sa. 17:37; Jer. 32:17; 1Pe. 3:14-15).
2. Thus we shall unconsciously and inevitably attain to that heroism of which some of us dream (Psa. 16:8; Dan. 3:16-18; Act. 4:19-20).
3. Thus we shall be qualified for the noblest service of God and man (Heb. 11:24-27; 1Co. 4:3-4).
4. Thus a divine peace and joy will fill our whole being, as a mighty tide fills every nook and cranny of a wide-stretching bay (Psa. 104:34). We shall rejoice in God as a soldier rejoices in a mighty fortress in which he feels secure from all assaults (2Sa. 22:2-3).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(13) Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself . . .The words contain an implicit appeal to the revelation of the Divine Name in Isa. 6:3. Had the prophets disciples entered into the meaning of that Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts? Had they learnt to sanctify Jehovah Sabaoth, to recognise the power of that infinite holiness?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Sanctify, etc. Regard Jehovah as immutably true.
Let him be your fear Literally, He is your fear and your dread; one whom alone you have true occasion to fear as your sovereign, and love as your protector.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 8:13. Sanctify the Lord of Hosts himself The Lord of Hosts, him shall ye sanctify, &c. The duty opposite to the vice of the Jewish people is here set forth, Sanctify the Lord; that is to say, so worship and reverence him, as to attribute to him all that glory which properly belongs to him. See Num 20:12. Deu 32:51 and ch. Isa 29:23 of this book. Perhaps the word sanctify in this place contains a more sublime sense; leading us to understand, that he gives the greatest honour to God, who acknowledges him not only able to protect his people against all worldly power, but also to perform, and about to perform to the whole believing world, that spiritual deliverance in his Son, figured out by every other deliverance, the basis and foundation of every other, and the promise of which was wrapped up in the name Immanuel. He who believes God in this great promise, will never distrust him in lesser ones: and to this what follows has an immediate respect.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.
Ver. 13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself. ] Even your sweetest Immanuel; non sanctificatur autem nisi in eam credatar; sanctify him, I say, by believing in your hearts and confessing with your mouths, Rom 10:9 and walking “as becometh the gospel, in nothing terrified by your adversaries.” Php 1:27-28
And let him be your fear.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Sanctify = Hallow, regard as holy. Compare Isa 29:23. See note on Exo 3:5. Reference to Pentateuch (Num 20:12; Num 27:14).
the LORD of hosts. See note on Isa 1:9 and 1Sa 1:9.
be your dread = inspire you with awe. Quoted in 1Pe 3:13-15.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Sanctify: Isa 26:3, Isa 26:4, Lev 10:3, Num 20:12, Num 20:13, Num 27:14, Rom 4:20
and let him: Gen 31:53, Psa 76:7, Mal 2:5, Mat 10:28, Luk 12:5, Rev 15:4
Reciprocal: Gen 28:16 – and I Gen 31:42 – fear Exo 14:10 – sore afraid Exo 20:20 – his fear Deu 20:3 – be ye terrified Deu 32:51 – because ye 2Ki 6:16 – Fear not Job 13:11 – his dread Psa 34:9 – fear Psa 119:165 – nothing shall offend them Pro 3:25 – Be Isa 5:16 – sanctified Isa 10:24 – be not afraid Isa 29:23 – sanctify Isa 37:16 – Lord Isa 51:13 – feared Hos 14:9 – and the Rom 11:9 – their table 2Th 2:2 – shaken Heb 11:23 – and they 1Pe 3:14 – and be
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE TRIUNE SANCTUARY
Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.
Isa 8:13
I. The whole subject of Godhead is one of awe, and if of awe, then dread.The more you know of God, the more you feel the unfathomableness of the mystery of Godhead. And all mystery is awe. It is a rule of our being that we must tremble when we stand on the margin of the unknown. Therefore, they who know most of God will most fear, not His anger, but simply His amazing greatness.
II. The sense of mercy and benefits heaped upon us has an overwhelming influence upon the mind.Do not you know what it is to tremble at a danger when you have escaped it much more than you did when you encountered it? That is exactly the fear and the dread of a pardoned sinner. It is the contemplation of a thunder-cloud which has rolled over your head.
III. Reverence is the great lesson which our age has to learn.Be suspicious of the love which is without awe. Remember that our best acquaintance with God only shows us more the immensity of the fields of thoughts which no mind can traverse.
IV. He shall be for a sanctuary.Do you recoil at the idea of dreading God? That which makes the dread makes the hiding-place. To those who fear He shall be for a sanctuary. (1) To a Jewish mind the first idea of a sanctuary would be refuge. (2) The sanctuary of safety becomes the home of peace. Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. (3) God is the fountain of your holiness. The Shechinah shines within the veil; but as you become familiar with the precincts of that holy place you catch some of its rays and reflect its glory.
Rev. Jas. Vaughan.
Illustration
What is the measuring-line of our distance from God? The Saviour. What is the Saviour? Infinite. Who, then, knows the actual separation of a man from God, but he who knows the Saviour? Who, then, will be the man, who, having the most knowledge of the distance, will be stricken with the greatest appreciation of the terribleness of Almighty God? The forgiven sinner.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 8:13-15. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Give him the glory of his power, and goodness, and faithfulness, by trusting in his promises for deliverance; and let him be your fear Let God, and not the kings of Syria and Israel, be the chief object of your fear. And he shall be for a sanctuary A sure refuge to all that truly fear him, and rely upon him; but for a stone of stumbling An occasion of sin and ruin, at whom they will take offence, and stumble, so as to fall and be broken, as it is expressed Isa 8:15; to both the houses of Israel To the two kingdoms, that of the ten tribes, and that of the two tribes. And for a gin, &c., to the inhabitants of Jerusalem This is distinctly mentioned as a wonderful thing, because Jerusalem was the seat of the temple, and of Gods solemn worship; where all the means of knowledge and grace were in the greatest plenty; where the thrones of civil and ecclesiastical judicature were established; where the most wise and learned doctors had their constant abode. And that such a place and people should reject Immanuel, when he should appear, was so strange an occurrence, that the prediction of it was highly necessary, lest otherwise, when it came to pass, it should shake the faith of all who did believe on him; whereas, now the accomplishment hereof was a notable confirmation of their faith. And many among them Not all; for there shall be a remnant, as was foretold, Isa 4:2; Isa 6:13; shall stumble At that stone or rock, mentioned Isa 8:14. The writers of the New Testament, who have so frequently quoted this passage, prove, beyond all controversy, that the subject of it is, God manifest in the flesh; the Messiah, who performed for his people all those benefits of grace which this promise implies, being a sanctuary, or place of refuge to them; and who, at the same time, became to the hypocrites and unbelievers in Judea, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to the destruction of the far greater part of that people. See the margin.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:13 {p} Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.
(p) In putting your trust only in him, in calling on him in adversity, patiently looking for his help, and fearing to do anything contrary to his will.