Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 8:2
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
2. And I took ] The Hebr. pointing gives and I will take (as in R.V.). The speaker is still Jehovah. The LXX. and other old versions have the imperative (“and take for me”) which, as addressed to the prophet, reads more naturally. Uriah the priest is mentioned in 2Ki 16:10 ff.; Zechariah is unknown, although the name occurs in the nearly contemporary notices of 2Ch 26:5; 2Ch 29:13. He has even been identified, somewhat rashly, with the author of Zechariah 9-11 on the ground of Zec 1:1. It is not to be inferred that the two men were intimate friends of Isaiah, still less that they belonged to the band of his disciples ( Isa 8:16); they are called to witness simply as responsible public persons, trusted by the people.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I took unto me faithful witnesses – What was the precise object in calling in these witnesses is not known. Some have supposed that it was to bear testimony to the marriage of the prophet at that time. But it may have been for the purpose of a public record of the prophecy; a record so made, that the precise time when it was delivered could be attested without dispute. The prophecy was an important one; and it was important to know, in the most authentic and undisputed manner, that such a prophecy had been delivered. It is probable that the prophecy, attested by the names of those two men, was suspended in some public place in the temple, so that it might be seen by the people, and allay their fears; and in order to remove from the multitude every suspicion that it was a prophecy after the event. That this was a real, and not a symbolic transaction, is perfectly manifest, not only from the narrative itself, but from Isa 8:18. They are called faithful, not off account of their private character, but because their public testimony would be credited by the people.
To record – To bear witness.
Uriah the priest – This is, doubtless, the same man that is mentioned in 2Ki 16:10. He was a man of infamous character; the accomplice of Ahaz in corrupting the true religion; but still his testimony might be the more valuable to Ahaz, as he was associated with him in his plans.
And Zechariah … – It is not certainly known who this was. Perhaps he was one of the Levites whose name is mentioned in 2Ch 29:13.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Persons of unquestionable reputation, who should bear witness that the following name and prophecy was written and published by me, according to Gods command.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. I tookrather, “TheLord said to me, that I should take,” &c. [MAURER].
Uriahan accomplice ofAhaz in idolatry, and therefore a witness not likely to assist theprophet of God in getting up a prophecy after the event (2Ki16:10). The witnesses were in order that when the event shouldcome, they might testify that the tablet containing the prophecy hadbeen inscribed with it at the time that it professed.
Zechariah (2Ch29:13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record,…. Not his marriage, nor the birth of his son, nor the name he gave him, but the prophecy written in the roll, concerning the spoiling of Syria and Israel, in a very short time; that so, when it came to pass, it might be a clear and certain point that it had been foretold by him:
Uriah the priest; of whom mention is made in 2Ki 16:10 which some object to, because he proved a wicked man, and obeyed the king’s command, contrary to the law of God, in building an altar according to the form of one at Damascus; but to this it is replied, that it was before this happened that Isaiah took him to be a witness; and besides, because of the authority of his office, and his familiarity with Ahaz, he must be allowed to be a proper and pertinent person to bear testimony in this case. Some indeed, and so the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, would have Uriah the prophet meant, who prophesied in the times of Jehoiakim, and was slain by him,
Jer 26:20 to which it is objected, that he was no priest, as this was and, besides, was not born at this time; it was a hundred and forty years after that he lived:
and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah; this was Zechariah the prophet, as the Targum, and all the Jewish writers, say o; who lived in the times of Darius, which was two hundred and forty years after this; but most likely this Zechariah is he who was Ahaz’s wife’s father, 2Ki 18:2 or rather, as Vitringa thinks, Zechariah a Levite, a son of Asaph, 2Ch 29:13 though there are some learned men p, who think the two prophets Uriah and Zechariah are meant, though then unborn; who prophesied of the like or same things as Isaiah did; and so were faithful witnesses of his prophecy, as of the calamities that should come on the land, the restitution of it to its former fruitfulness, and the coming of the Messiah; nor is the observation of Abarbinel to be despised, taken from the ancient Jews, that these are the words, not of the prophet, but of God himself; as also that they are to be read in the future tense, “and I will take to me”, &c.
o T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 24. 2. p Cocceius, Witsius, Miscel. Sacr. tom. 1. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 8, 9, 10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. And I took into me witnesses. The noun עדים, ( gnedim,) and the verb אעיד, ( agnid,) which the Prophet employs, are derived from the same root, and the allusion is elegant, as if we were to say, “I have called-to-witness witnesses.” (121) As this was a matter of great importance, he therefore took to himself witnesses, as is usually done on important occasions.
Faithful witnesses. He calls them faithful, that is, true and worthy of credit; and yet one of them was an ungodly and worthless apostate, who, wishing to flatter his king, erected an altar resembling the altar at Damascus, and openly defended ungodliness and unlawful modes of worship. Some commentators, I am aware, are of opinion that it was a different person; but a careful examination of the circumstances will convince any one, that this was the same Urijah, of whom the sacred history declares that he was slavishly devoted to the ungodliness and lawless desires of the king. (2Kg 16:11.) As to those who think that it was a different person, because Isaiah here calls this man faithful, such an argument carries little weight; for the Prophet did not look at the man, but at the office which he held, and which rendered him a fit person for bearing testimony. Accordingly, he does not mean that he was a good and excellent man, but that his office gave him such influence that nobody could reject him, and that his testimony was, as they say, free from every objection.
Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. I think that this prophecy was affixed to the gates of the temple, Uriah and Zechariah having been taken to be witnesses; for he does not speak of a vision, but of a command of God, which he actually obeyed, in order that these words, like a common proverb, might be repeated by every person.
(121) The Latin language afforded to our Author an exceedingly successful imitation of the Hebrew phrase, “ Contestatus sum testes .” It is readily acknowledged that the turn of expression adopted by the translator is much less felicitous; but it is hoped that it will aid the judgment, though it may fail to gratify the taste, of the English reader. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) And I took unto me faithful witnesses.That the prophets challenge to his gainsayers might be made more emphatic, the setting-up of the tablet is to be formally attested. And the witnesses whom the prophet calls were probably men of high position, among those who had been foremost in advising the alliance with Assyria. Of Uriah or Urijah, the priest, we know that he complied with the kings desire to introduce an altar after the pattern which he had seen at Damascus (2Ki. 16:10-11). Of Zechariah we know nothing; but the name was a priestly one (2Ch. 24:20), and it has been conjectured, from his association with Isaiah, that he may have been the writer of a section of the book that bears the name of a later Zechariah (Zechariah 9-12), which bears traces of being of a much earlier date than the rest of the book. The combination of Zachariah, son of Jeberechiah reminds us of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, and points to a priestly family. (See Note on Mat. 23:35.) In 2Ch. 29:13 the name appears as belonging to the Asaph section of the Levites. A more probable view is that he was identical with the father of the queen then reigning, and was therefore the grandfather of Hezekiah (2Ch. 29:1). Probably, looking to the prophets habit of tracing auguries in names, the two witnesses may have been partly chosen for the significance of those which they bore, Uriah, i.e., Jah is my light, Zechariah, i.e., Jah will remember, each of which comes in with a special appropriateness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Uriah the priest The same that was sent for to Damascus by Ahaz to take a complete pattern of a heathen altar which the king desired to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem. 2Ki 16:10. He was a bad man; a willing accomplice of Ahaz to introduce a corrupt religion into Jerusalem. Who Zechariah was is not so clear; possibly he was a Levite mentioned in 2Ch 29:13. Both were of the king’s party, as against the reform party of Isaiah; so that it could not be pretended that it was a prediction forged after the event.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 8:2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record These witnesses were called in to sign the instrument or writing wherein Isaiah, according to God’s command, was to write the name mentioned in the preceding verse. It is not to be supposed that they were witnesses of a new marriage, as there are no indications thereof, and as it is plain from the preceding chapter, Isa 8:3 that Isaiah was married. This instrument was to be signed, and preserved as a public testimony to the time and manner of the delivery of this prophesy, and consequently to its truth and divinity. Isaiah’s wife might be called a prophetess, as being the wife of a prophet; or possibly she herself might be endued with the gift of prophesy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 8:2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
Ver. 2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses. ] So they might be, and yet not godly men; as Galba and our Richard III were said to be bad men, but yet good princes. Some think that this Uriah was the same with him that brought in the altar of Damascus. He had been better perhaps, but at last revolted; as did Demas, of whom Dorotheus saith that he became a priest in an idol temple at Thessalonica; and Damascen, who turned Mohammedan, as some write. Zechariah, the other witness, was a man of great eminence, as being grandfather, by the mother’s side, to good Hezekiah.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Uriah = Urijah. See 2Ki 16:10.
Zechariah. Probably the father-in-law of Ahaz (2Ki 18:2).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
I took: Rth 4:2, Rth 4:10, Rth 4:11, 2Co 13:1
Uriah: 2Ki 16:10, 2Ki 16:11, 2Ki 18:2
Reciprocal: 2Ch 29:1 – Zechariah Jer 32:10 – and took
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 8:2-3. And I took me faithful witnesses Persons of unquestionable reputation, who should bear witness that the following name and prophecy were written and published by me, according to Gods command. It is likely these witnesses signed a copy of the prophecy with their own hands, and dated it according to the time it was declared by the prophet. And I went unto the prophetess His own wife, so called, because she was the wife of a prophet, wives being frequently denominated from their husbands titles. Or possibly she herself might be endowed with the gift of prophecy. Some commentators suppose that Isaiah married another wife on this occasion, and that the witnesses above mentioned were called to attest the matrimonial contract, according to the custom of the Jews. But there are no indications of this, and, as it is certain from the preceding chapter that he already had a wife, the mother of Shear-jashub, it seems highly improbable that he should take another. Others again suppose, that these witnesses, who were persons of rank, were called on to attend the circumcision of the prophets son, and to attest the name by which he was called, as well as the prophecy, confirmed and illustrated by that name.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:2 And I took to me {c} faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
(c) Because the thing was of great importance, he took these two witnesses, who were of credit with the people, when he set this up upon the door of the temple, even though Uriah was a flattering hypocrite, 2Ki 16:11 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God selected two men whom he wanted to witness the writing or posting of this document to confirm the date of this prophecy. When the predicted events happened, they could faithfully testify that Isaiah had predicted them. One of the witnesses was Uriah ("Yahweh is light"). He was probably the high priest who built an altar, like the one in Damascus that Ahaz had seen, and set it up in place of the brazen altar (cf. 2Ki 16:10-16). The position that this Zechariah ("Yahweh remembers") occupied is unknown, but he may have been a prominent public figure like Uriah (cf. 2Ch 26:5; 2Ch 29:12-13).