The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary

7:18 “In that day” “That day” is the day of the Lord’s fulfillment of His promises (cf. vv. 18,20,21,23). It can refer to a near future time (fall of Syria and Israel, cf. v. 16) or an end-time, eschatologicalsetting (i.e., Messianic age, age of the true one virgin birth).} “whistle” See note at 5:26.} “Egypt” God’s people were still caught in the power struggle between the empires of the FertileCrescent and the Nile River. Egypt is referred to in Hosea 7:11; 8:13; 9:3, 6; 11:5, 11; 12:1.7:19 “on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places” This is aseries of metaphors to describe the large invading army that will occupy even the remotest regions of thePromised Land.NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:2020In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (thatis, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard.7:20 “In that day the Lord will shave with a razor” This seems to refer to Ahaz’s sending tribute tohire Assyria to help her out, II Kings 16:7-9. The head and the beard being shaved was a sign of shameand mourning (cf. II Sam. 10:4-5; I Chr. 19:4; Jer. 48:37).The phrase “the hair of the legs” seems to relate to the pubic hair of the young men (cf. 6:2; Jdgs.3:24; I Sam. 24:3), which would denote shame.The Hebrew term “feet” (BDB 919) in several places can refer to1. male genitalia, Exod. 4:25; Judg. 3:24; Ruth 3:4,7; I Sam. 24:32. female genitalia, Deut. 28:57; Ezek. 16:253. even angelic creatures, Seraphim, Isa. 6:2; Cherubim, Ezek. 1:23In Isaiah 36:12 urine is called “water of feet” (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 1048).NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:21-2221Now in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of theabundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eatcurds and honey.7:21 There is much discussion of whether this refers to prosperity or scarcity just like v. 15.NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 7:23-2523And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousandvines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. 24 People will comethere with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hillswhich used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; butthey will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.7:24-25 This refers to the large number of wild beasts that will occupy the Promised Land because ofthe absence of people (both of which relate to the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28).105