Isaiah-6
-hebraicstudies.net-
Please do NOT visit this
site on שַׁבָּת - Shabbat or
on the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts!
Tanakh versions:
Throughout this site I
may use any of the following three versions of the TaNaKh: 1. “Jewish Publication
Society” (JPS-1917), 2. Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC), and 3. “Sefaria.org” (SEF).
Colour coded
details of the - TaNaKh:
1. Torah =
History & Law, 2. Nevi’im =
The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical books - Psalms, Proverbs,
Job, the Megillot, or Scrolls - Song
of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and
Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and
Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ having been corrected like it once was pre the now “Masoretic Text”.
YYYYYYY
Remember the following two
truth’s from our beloved Scriptures!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם -
the LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim - Deuteronomy 4:2.
YYYYYYY
With
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Yeshayahu - Isaiah chapter 6 places us at a hinge moment, with the death of King Uzziah and the sudden, overwhelming appearance of יְהוָה - the LORD enthroned in the temple. The chapter moves quickly from cosmic worship (the seraphim’s triple “Holy”) to the prophet’s personal crisis of conscience, to a ritual cleansing, and finally to a Divine commissioning that shapes Isaiah’s life and message. Read as a whole, it frames prophecy as an encounter that both exposes human frailty and supplies the authority and purification needed to speak אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s (God’s) truth into a broken world.
Let us read Yeshayahu - Isaiah chapter 6: (JPS-1917
version of the Tanakh).
1. “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw יְהוָה - the LORD sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.
2. Above Him stood the seraphim; each one had six wings: with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3. And one called unto another, and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is צְבָאוֹת-יְהוָה - the LORD of hosts’; the whole earth is full of His glory’.
4. And the posts of the door were moved at the voice of them that called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5. Then said I: Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, צְבָאוֹת-יְהוָה - the LORD of hosts.
6. Then flew unto me one of the seraphim, with a glowing stone in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;
7. and he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated’.
8. And I heard the voice of יְהוָה - the LORD, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said: ‘Here am I; send me’.
9. And He said: ‘Go, and tell this people: hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they, seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their heart, return, and be healed’.
11. Then said I: ‘יְהוָה - LORD, how long?’ And He answered: ‘Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste’,
12. And יְהוָה - the LORD have removed men far away, and the forsaken places, be many in the midst of the land.
13. And if there be yet a tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up; as a terebinths, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they cast their leaves, so the holy seed shall be the stock thereof’”.
Now, we are going to look at a brief study guide and commentary on Isaiah chapter 6: with a close reading of ‘key Hebrew terms’ and ‘theological themes’.
Here is the Overview:
Isaiah chapter 6 narrates the prophet’s vision, his cleansing, and his commissioning a movement from awe to confession to mission cantered on the transcendent יְהוָה - LORD enthroned in the temple. The scene frames Isaiah’s prophetic vocation against national crisis (the death of King Uzziah) and sets the tone for the book’s mixture of judgment and hope.
Structure and dramatic moments:
Vv.1-4: The vision. Isaiah sees יְהוָה - the LORD “high and lifted up”, attended by seraphim; their cry “Holy, holy, holy” fills the temple and shakes its thresholds.
Vv.5-7: Confession and cleansing. Isaiah confesses his unclean lips; a seraph touches his mouth with a live coal from the altar, symbolically removing guilt.
Vv.8-13: Commission and hard message. אֱלֹהִים - Elohim asks, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah volunteers; he is sent with a message that will harden the people until only a remnant remains.
Key Hebrew terms and images:
צְבָאוֹת-יְהוָה - the LORD of hosts: the royal, covenantal Name of אֱלֹהִים - Elohim emphasized in the vision; “hosts” evokes heavenly armies and Divine sovereignty.
Seraphim - שְׂרָפִים: heavenly beings with six wings, covering face and feet, flying, whose triple “Holy” emphasizes אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s absolute otherness and the cosmic scope of Divine glory.
Coal from the altar: a cultic image linking temple worship and purification; the coal both cleanses the prophet’s speech and connects prophetic authority to sacrificial worship
Theological themes (bolded for emphasis):
Transcendence and immanence: אֱלֹהִים is utterly exalted yet present in the temple; Isaiah’s encounter shows Divine majesty that provokes human humility.
‘Sin’, ‘confession’, and ‘purification’: Isaiah’s “unclean lips” and the coal’s touch model how prophetic ministry begins with personal repentance and Divine forgiveness.
Judgment and remnant: The commissioning includes a hardening of the people, but the closing image of a surviving “holy seed” points to hope in a preserved remnant
Practical study questions and applications:
What does Isaiah’s reaction (v.5) teach about encountering אֱלֹהִים in worship?
How does the coal from the altar motif shape your understanding of prophetic authority and liturgy?
In what ways does the “remnant” motif (v.13) offer pastoral hope amid judgment?
To feel the drama, read the chapter aloud, ‘assigning’, if there is company; arrange roles such as the ‘narrator’, ‘seraphim’ and ‘Isaiah’).
In Closing:
Isaiah’s vision ends where it began, before יְהוָה - the LORD, yet he is ‘changed’: ‘humbled’, ‘purified’, and ‘sent’. The chapter holds together ‘judgment’ and ‘hope’, a hardening of the people alongside the promise of a preserved “holy seed”.
YYYYYYY
Please Note: “hebraicstudies” links are located
down the page!
This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem; walk in My statutes,
and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall
be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה
- the LORD your Eloheichem”.
Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
YYYYYYY
“Hebraic Studies” motto is as
follows;
“The More Torah, the
More Life”
For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He
is the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts. be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s (Prayers) and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s (blessings) before food and drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Enter ...
http://www.hebraicstudies.net/Site-Index.htm
Enter ...
https://www.hebraicstudies.net
-hebraicstudies.net-
Email the Rabbi
If the email link does not open - You can also copy the link
and use it.
Although the author
does not believe in having to copyright “Hebraic Studies” commenced in the mid
1980’,
but there have been occasions where there parts of his
studies have been taken and quoted out of context
under my name, and thus he has been misquoted by those who have
their own reasons for doing so.
Thus, it is only for
this reason these works are fully covered under strict ...
Copyright © 2025 - “Hebraic Studies” - All rights reserved.