Isaiah 7


Isaiah 7 is the seventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah and is one of the Books of the Prophets.

Text

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Summary

Isaiah 7 is a pivotal chapter in the Book of Isaiah, containing the famous prophecy of the Immanuel sign and dealing with the historical crisis faced by King Ahaz of Judah.

Historical context

Isaiah 7 takes place during the Syro-Ephraimite War, when the northern kingdom of Israel and Aram attempted to force the southern kingdom of Judah to join their alliance against the Assyrian Empire. King Ahaz of Judah feared an invasion from these two neighboring kingdoms.
The prophet Isaiah confronted Ahaz and urged him to trust in God rather than seeking military assistance from Assyria. Isaiah assured Ahaz that the coalition against Judah would fail. When Isaiah invited Ahaz to request a sign from God, Ahaz refused, likely because he had already decided to seek Assyrian help.

The Immanuel prophecy (Isaiah 7:14)

One of the most well-known verses in Isaiah 7 is the prophecy of Immanuel:
This prophecy is interpreted in two primary ways:
  • Historical context – In its immediate context, the "Immanuel" child was a sign that before the child grew up, the two enemy kings would be destroyed. This was fulfilled within a few years when Assyria defeated both kingdoms.
  • Messianic interpretation – The Gospel of Matthew cites Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In Christian theology, Jesus is considered the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, meaning "God with us".

    Significance

Isaiah 7 is considered significant for several reasons:
  • Theological importance – The chapter emphasizes the importance of trusting in God rather than political alliances. Ahaz’s reliance on Assyria instead of God led to long-term consequences for Judah.
  • Messianic expectation – The Immanuel prophecy is one of the key Old Testament passages interpreted by Christians as a foreshadowing of Jesus.
  • Historical impact – Ahaz’s decision to ally with Assyria made Judah a vassal state, contributing to later conflicts, including the Babylonian exile.
Isaiah 7 is thus both a historical warning and a prophetic promise, playing a central role in both Jewish and Christian traditions.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets, Aleppo Codex, Codex Leningradensis.
Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls :
  • 1QIsaa: complete
  • 1QIsab: extant: verses 14‑16, 20‑25
  • 4QIsaf : extant: verses 16‑18, 23‑25
  • 4QIsah : extant: verses 14‑15
  • 4QIsal : extant: verses 17‑20
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus, Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Marchalianus.

Parashot

The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 7 is a part of the Prophecies about Judah and Israel . : open parashah; : closed parashah.

Verse 1

Cross reference: ; Matthew 1:9
The purpose of the war was to bring Judah into an anti-Assyrian coalition.

Verse 3

  • "Shear-Jashub": literally means "A remnant will return" serves "as a good omen for Ahaz."
According to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, the "upper pool" is the "reservoir south of Gihon Spring". This was unlikely to be a regular meeting point: the Good News Translation calls the area "the road where the cloth makers work"; Ahaz may have gone there to undertake an engineering inspection, to ensure either that the water supplies for Jerusalem were secure, or that they would not be accessible to invading forces.
Isaiah speaks God's word to Ahaz; apparently this is "received in silence, at any rate without acknowledgment".
The place of meeting would witness another confrontation between Rabshakeh, the messenger of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, with the officials of Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, presenting a contrast of behavior between Ahaz and Hezekiah.

Verse 12

Ahaz, unwilling to commit to the faith in God which Isaiah has demanded, uses the edict of, Do not put the Lord your God to the test as an excuse, "under a pretence of reverence".

Verse 14

The Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Isaiah Scroll :
Transliteration
This verse is cited in Matthew 1:23.

Verse 15

  • "Butter" : could be rendered as "thick and curdled milk".

    Verse 18

The Pulpit Commentary suggests that "the choice of the terms 'bee' and 'fly' to represent respectively the hosts of Assyria and Egypt, is not without significance. Egyptian armies were swarms, hastily levied, and very imperfectly disciplined. Assyrian were bodies of trained troops accustomed to war, and almost as well disciplined as the Romans."

Uses

Music

The King James Version of verse 14 from this chapter is cited as texts in the English-language oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel.

Jewish

  • Christian

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Category:House of Pekah