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

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3, p. xvi). Compare yoursubject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key tofollowing the original author’s intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one andonly one subject.1. First paragraph2. Second paragraph3. Third paragraph4. Etc.CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTSA. This chapter illustrates the problem of trying to outline poetic prophecy by stanzas. It isunsure how these stanzas are structured. It is even unsure to whom they are spoken!B. In chapters like this it is best to try to find the main truth of each stanza. Then see if there areany “key” repeated words or concepts. Be careful of pushing details into dogmatic orsystematic theologies. Hebrew poetry is notoriously ambiguous. See Appendix One.C. Ambiguity is characteristic of Hebrew Poetry and Prophecy. Exegesis of the details kills theartistry (word plays, parallelism) and often loses the meaning in the minutia. These stanzaswere originally separate. They were designed to be heard! They were meant to have animmediate emotional impact! Only with time, prayer, and progressive revelation do the truthsbecome clear!D. Chapters 6-8 have many SINGULAR PRONOUNS. YHWH is addressing the prophet and heoften addresses groups as collective.WORD PHRASE STUDYNASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 8:1-41Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinaryletters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. 2 And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses fortestimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 So I approached theprophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name himMaher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry out 'My father' or 'My mother,' thewealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria."8:1-4 Isaiah’s second son (cf. v. 3) is a prophecy about the destruction of Judah’s main invader (i.e.,Syro-Ephraimite war), Syria (capital of Damascus). Damascus was captured by Assyria in 732 B.C. andthe inhabitants of the land were exiled. In some ways Isaiah’s second son parallels the promised child of7:14-16.108