Isaiah 8 is the eighth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

and is one of the

Books of the Prophets Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

Text

The original text was written in

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. This chapter is divided into 22 verses in many translations, but in Hebrew texts and some English versions Isaiah 9:1 appears as verse 8:23.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century),

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

(3rd century BC or later): * 1QIsa^a: complete * 1QIsa^b: extant: verses 1, 8-12 * 4QIsa^e (4Q59): extant: verses 2‑14 * 4QIsa^f (4Q60): extant: verses 1, 4‑11 * 4QIsa^h (4Q62): extant: verses 11‑14 There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the

version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century),

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(S; BHK:

\mathfrak

^S; 4th century),

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century) and

Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it ...

(Q;

\mathfrak

^Q; 6th century).

Parashot

The '' parashah'' sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 8 is a part of the ''Prophecies about Judah and Israel (

Isaiah 1 Isaiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah, one of the Book of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, which is the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.J. D. Davis. 1960. ''A Dictionary of the Bible''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book Hou ...

-12)''. : open ''parashah''; : closed ''parashah''. : 8:1-3a 8:3b-4 ויאמר ה' אלי 8:5-8 8:9-10 8:11-15 8:16-18 8:19-23 :1-6

The sign of Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8:1–4)

Since the sign of

Immanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

( Isaiah 7:14-17) gives an undisclosed time in the future, another sign is given to deal with the contemporary scene, in the form of a child with an ordinary birth and a name which would be a ''standing witness'' (cf. ) to the prophecy both about 'the enemy at the gate' (verse 4; cf. ) and about the next victim of the Assyrians, which is Judah itself ().

Verse 1

:''Moreover the Lord said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man’s pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz"''. *"

Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz "Maher-shalal-hash-baz" (; he, מַהֵר שָׁלָל חָשׁ בַּז, ' – "Hurry to the spoils!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!") was the second prophetic name mentioned in Isaiah chapter 8– 9. Biblical accounts The name is ment ...

": Literally, "Speed the Spoil, Hasten the Booty"

Verse 3

: ''Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, "Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz";'' The striking similarity with Isaiah 7:14-15 raises an argument that this is a variant version of the same story, but 'the heavily symbolic name given to the unsuspecting child has markedly different overtone'.

God's gentle flow and Assyria's torrent (8:5–8)

Using evil to fight evil would bring Judah to the path of the torrent/flood which would jeopardize herself as the land of ''Immanuel'', but for Immanuel's sake, there is a limit set (verse 8: ''up to the neck''; cf. ).

God our refuge or our ruin (8:9–15)

This part contains Isaiah's defiant response to the meaning of "

" (verse 10c: ''God with us'') and to God's insistence (verse 11: ''his strong hand upon me'') that people should reshape their thinking and emotional attitudes (verse 12) round God himself (cf. call to a transformed outlook in Romans 12:2).

Verse 12

:''"Do not say, 'A conspiracy,' '' :''Concerning all that this people call a conspiracy,'' :''Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."'' *"Their threats" (

NKJV The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...

; ESV: "What they fear"): or "terror". Verses 12b– 13a are cited in 1 Peter 3:14– 15 which identifies

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

with the "Lord of hosts" (''Lord Almighty'') as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

himself alluded Isaiah 8:14– 15 in Luke 20:18a (cf. Romans 9:33, 1 Peter 2:7– 8).

Verse 13

:''Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.'' * The first part is cited in 1 Peter 3:15 As the oracle of judgement in this part gives clear warning to all conspiring against the community that the presence of Immanuel ('God is with us') will overthrow their plans: There is no political solutions to the community's problems, but the people are to trust in YHWH (''Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread'').

Verse 14

:''He is the sanctuary and the stumbling stone'' :''and the rock that brings down the two houses of Israel;'' :''a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.'' *Cross reference: Isaiah 28:16 *Cited in Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:7– 8. *Alluded to in Luke 20:18a.

Verse 15

:''"And many among them shall stumble;'' :''They shall fall and be broken,'' :''Be snared and taken."'' *Alluded to in Luke 20:18a; 1 Peter 2:8. *"Taken": or "captured".

The light withdrawn (8:16–22)

This part indicates that Israel is losing God's teaching and blessing (verses 16–17), because Israel is refusing the light (verses 19–22), so is only left with ''signs'' (verse 18) and can only expect ''darkness'' (verse 22).

Verse 16

:''Bind up the testimony'' :''Seal the law among my disciples.'' This verse relates to the completion of the scroll initiated in verse 1. The expression ''my disciples'' is God's new definition for his people in their relation to him.

Verse 23

:''For is there no gloom to her that was steadfast?''Isaiah 8:23 - JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society of America)
/ref> The

Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonica ...

suggests that this line "seems to be a gloss". :''In the former time he debased the land of

Zebulon Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Book of Genesis, Genesis and Book of Numbers, Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the ...

, and the land of Naphthali;'' :''But in the latter time he hath made it glorious:'' :''Even the way of the sea, beyond

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, Galilee of the nations.'' This text, which appears as Isaiah 9:1 in most modern translations,Range of translations i
BibleGateway.com
/ref> forms verse 8:23 in Hebrew texts and some English versions.