Isaiah-Chap-8
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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.
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With Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben
Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Introduction:
Yeshayahu
- Isaiah Chapter 8 continues the prophet’s response to
the Syro-Ephraimite crisis, using dramatic sign, acts (writing on a large
scroll; naming a child) to make imminent political events morally and
theologically intelligible. The chapter’s core message is a contrast between
panic driven diplomacy and faithful reliance on אֱלֹהִים - Elohim (God), presented through vivid imagery and public prophecy.
Let us carefully read Yeshayahu - Isaiah
Chapter 8: (JPS-1917 version of the Tanakh!).
1. “And יְהוָה - the LORD said unto me: ‘Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it in common script: The spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth;
2. and I will take unto Me faithful
witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah’.
3. And I went unto the prophetess; and
she conceived, and bore a son. Then said יְהוָה
- the LORD unto me: ‘Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz.
4. For before the child shall have
knowledge to cry: My father, and: My mother, the riches of Damascus and the
spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria’.
5. And יְהוָה
- the LORD spoke unto me yet again, saying:
6. ‘Forasmuch as this people hath
refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoiceth with Rezin and
Remaliah’s son;
7. Now therefore, behold, the Lord
bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, mighty and many, even the king
of Assyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and
go over all his banks;
8. And he shall sweep through Judah
overflowing as he passeth through he shall reach even to the neck; and the
stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
9. Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and ye
shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird
yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be
broken in pieces
10. Take counsel together, and it shall
be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for אֱלֹהִים
- Elohim is with us.
11. For יְהוָה
- the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, admonishing me that I should
not walk in the way of this people, saying:
12. ‘Say ye not: A conspiracy, concerning
all whereof this people do say: A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor
account it dreadful.
13. יְהוָה - the LORD of
hosts, Him shall ye sanctify; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your
dread.
14. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but
for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of
Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15. And many among them shall stumble,
and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken’.
16. ‘Bind up the testimony, seal the
instruction among My disciples’.
17. And I will wait for יְהוָה - the LORD,
that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for Him.
18. Behold, I and the children whom the
LORD hath given me shall be for signs and for wonders in Israel from יְהוָה - the LORD of
hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion.
19. And when they shall say unto you:
‘Seek unto the ghosts and the familiar spirits, that chirp and that mutter;
should not a people seek unto their אֱלֹהִים - Elohim? on
behalf of the living unto the dead
20. for instruction and for testimony?’
Surely they will speak according to this word, wherein there is no light.
21. And they shall pass this way that are
sore bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass that, when they shall be
hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse by their king and by their אֱלֹהִים,
and, whether they turn their faces upward,
22. or look unto the earth, behold
distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and outspread thick darkness.
23. For is there no gloom to her that was
stedfast? Now the former hath lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land
of Naphtali, but the latter hath dealt a more grievous blow by the way of the
sea, beyond the Jordan, in the district of the nations”.
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Let us look at the Historical and literary context:
Date and setting: Mid 8th century BCE, when Aram (Syria) and the northern kingdom of
(Ephraim/Israel) threatened Judah and Assyria was the rising imperial force.
Isaiah’s symbolic actions are meant to communicate to the people and the court
the speed and certainty of coming spoil and upheaval.
Structure and key motifs:
Verses 1-4:
Sign of Maher
Shalal-Hash-Baz, the child’s name functions as a prophetic headline: speedy
spoil; the sign is public and immediate, intended to awaken the nation to
consequences of its bad choices.
Verses 5-12:
The flood image and
counsel of fear, Isaiah contrasts a small, local stream with an overwhelming
Assyrian flood, condemning counsel that trusts human alliances rather than אֱלֹהִים - Elohim.
Verses 13-18:
Prophetic posture,
Isaiah is commanded to “set his face” and wait on אֱלֹהִים - Elohim: the
prophet embodies patient trust as a counter sign to panic.
Verses 19-23:
Rejection of
necromancy and lament, the people are warned against occult practices and left
to the consequences of their choices, ending in distress and alienation from
the land’s blessings.
In Conclusion:
Yeshayahu
- Isaiah chapter 8 insists that national survival
depends on ‘spiritual fidelity’, and not on foreign pacts. The chapter’s
prophetic signs, ‘stark metaphors’, and ‘ethical demands’ form a coherent call
to fear אֱלֹהִים rather than
men. It is a message best taught from those who know and love their beloved
‘Tanakh’ as being the only writings ever received from אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the
LORD Elohim, בָּרוּךְ
שֵׁם
קָדוֹשׁוֹ - ‘Baruch Shem Kadosho’ – ‘Blessed be His Holy Name!’
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Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be He, said the following via several of our prophets...
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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).
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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
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שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
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