INTERMISSION 🙞 Walk through of Isaiah
So I will be going to a bible study with my mom this fall and it will be going through Isaiah. Though I have read though these books many times, I have stayed away from deeper study with the prophetic books because they tend to be the most troublesome when deciphering whether we are talking about literal or figurative, who is speaking to who, past or present or future plus the historical.
One of the reasons I began project psalms was to develop the understanding of the ancient Hebrews semantics and my ability to identify figures of speech so that I could come back to the harder books like Isaiah. I'm not done going through the psalms but I need to start my initial run through of Isaiah in preparation.
My plan is to do one chapter a day...but I'm not sure I will get through it all in time lol. This took 4 times as long as I wanted it to. I swear I am trying to do the bare minimum...but what the mind sees it must flush out...
Check out the intro of my post Break down of book of psalms if you want to understand my note taking process a little better. And as always, all literary elements and figures of speech are put in bold. My purpose in these walk-through exegeses is not in making conjecture but finding all the bricks with which to lay a good foundation to make good conjecture.
I advise you to read the passage first before going through these notes. And then of course, to look at each verse while going over its corresponding notation I have made. Otherwise you have no context for what I'm talking about.
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CH 1: 1-9: Exhortation Reprehensory Hysteresis – narration OR epitrochasmos - summarizing 10-20: Divine commandment & Divine Judgement 21-23: continues the epitrochasmos in pathos 24-31:
prophecy and Divine recompense |
1: Vocab: saw - chazah – to gaze on, to see, to behold, to perceive, prophesy. This is a waking vision. Used in 2:1,13:1 also. From the noun given chazone – vision/s, a sight or dream, revelation or oracle. COMPARED WITH – dream - chalam – to dream. This is while sleeping. This verb is used in Genesis and Daniel. COMPARED WITH – saw – ra'ah – to see, saw, seen, look, looked, appeared, sees. To see literally or figuratively. Used in 6:1, 21:6. →The word is given to, Concerning Judah and Jerusalem (Israel the nation). Not the church (Israel + gentile). 2: The Lord hath spoken – Isaiah is having the vision, his writing and voice BUT it is the Lord's words. DECLARATION/ANNOUNCEMENT - It's saying, everybody listen up. More specifically, all Inhabitants of heaven and earth (all created things including angels, mountains, waters, peoples etc.). Not apostrophe here. Yet in verse 5 we do have Apostrophe it then directly speaks to Israel for a moment to ask a question before returning to the announcement. Sons rebel against the Lord → Israel rebels against the Lord Use of Dianoea - animated dialogue. 3. vocab – understand - bin. A better translation would give us consider, concern, discern, perceive, or distinguish. Vocab - know – Yahdah – know intimately, with all senses or know through experience. So this is - “My people do not know Me, they are not able to percieve”. Most translations put either understand or consider. NLT puts 'My people do not recognize my care for them'. →REF – Jer 8:7 "Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and thte thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the Lord" 4. Parallelism. And synonymia – words similar in sense but different in origin. Possibly Anabasis - gradual ascent. Pathos: could be through ecphonesis – expression by way of exclamation. Or could be eleutheria - An expression of feeling by way of bold freedom of speech in reprehension; Also called candor. Or aganactesis - indignation, an expression of feeling by way of indignation. Speaking through euphemism. 5. Merismos – talking about the whole and then parts. Israel is Personified. Erotesis - is an exchange of a statement for a question in order to emphasize the point being made in order to create a swelling emotional response as a declaration. This Q is better translated as 'where else can I hit you that hasn't been hit?!' or 'why do you want more beatings?'. This is Apostrophe – turning aside from direct line of speech to specifically address a person directly – Israel addressed. The anachoresis – return to original subject or line of speech happens directly after the question by Erotesis in the same verse. So we know the Lord has been 'speaking' to Israel, He has been faithful to try to lead them in the right direction. That Israel has been suffering discipline through punishments yet they haven't been willing to change their evil ways. 6. hypotyposis – word picture – in verses 5-6 this is creating a picture of curses and judgements. 7: Are a reiteration of 5-6 word picture – with literal explanation to explain it. So prosapodosis or detailing – a returning for repetition and explanation. OR simply epexegesis or fuller explanation. 8: Simile: the daughter of Zion is like a shelter in a vineyard. Ellipsis - daughter of Zion is omitted in the next two similes. (omitted – Daughter of Zion) is like a watchmen's hut in a cucumber field (omitted – Daughter of Zion) Is like a besieged city. Parallelism - all similes express same thing. Does this mean abandoned? Left empty? Or does it mean overtaken, ascended upon, coveted/fought over? A type of syncrisis is at work. 9: Simile – Israel would have been (dealt with/wiped out) like Sodom and Gomorrah. Thus in verse 10... 10: it is Israel who is being told to listen – metonymy for hear. Ye rulers of Sodom and ye people of Gomorrah are not speaking to S & G but to Isreal. Could be Judah for Sodom and Jerusalem for Gomorrah. By Metonymy - the exchange of nouns – Israel (OR J&J) is exchanged for S & G. So Israel is being called Sodomites and Gomorrites (spelling ?) →Playing the harlot REF - psalm 106:39, Ezek 16:15-63, Jer 2:20 →REF – Matthew 10:15 10: Now a direct command to Israel – judgement pronounced on Jerusalem and Judah. 11. Erotesis. Not asking a Q but saying extremely emphatically that these sacrifices are displeasing. Woah...the Lord is pissed. This verse is intense. Then Synathroesmos or enumeration (Bullinger, 436). Or possible hypotypoisis or word picture again (Bullinger, 445). 12. Apodioxis – a type of pathos. Feelings by way of detestation. Ooooh this is intense. So what the Lord conveyed in verses 11-15 – hollow sacrifices is equated with trampling the Lord's courts... →REF - Psalm 50:16 "To the wicked, however, God says, 'What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips? For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you'". 13: These things that Israel was commanded to do – sabbath, appointed feasts, new moon festivals, offerings etc. the Lord says He hates. What is He saying He actually hates? He hates when these things are done from a wrong heart position. He hates these things being done with idolatry (pagan elements). Idolatry, idol worship is always at the same time adultery against the Lord. →REF psalm 95:8-11 "Today if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your father's tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For 40 years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest". Ellipsis, an omission of words - new moon & sabbath, the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure is omitted. Hyndiadys - two things mention but one thing meant: Iniquity and assembly - iniquitous festivals/assemblies. Idioma - I am not able to endure - is properly translated as 'I cannot away with'. But gets translated to what the idiom expresses. 14: My soul hates – use of synecdoche – is put for 'I hate'. Another instance in which we have the Lord saying 'He hates'. Noting hating is not in and of itself a sin. And that our Lord indeed hates things – noting He has emotions such as hate and jealousy. New moons and feasts – represent repentance and fellowship with the Lord. So because of their idolatry and adultery the Lord does not want to fellowship with them and does not want to receive their sacrifices and prayers of repentance. 15: hands covered in blood – is put by Synecdoche and means - your works are all of iniquity. Metonymy – hands – works, blood- iniquities, possibly specifically blood guilt and murders.
Hand is put for the action through metonymy -'spread out hand' is to pray, but this confused me because 'in prayer' is added which reads 'to pray in prayer'. So this is talking about the action of praying, like the ritual of coming into prayer with the Lord. Westerners don't consider proper conduct. The closest we have a sense of this is the tradition of kneeling to say the Lord's prayer in the evening. A better translation puts 'when you petition to receive mercy in prayer' simply because it makes clear the specific type of prayer that is happening by alluding to the ritual that is done (like bringing the sacrifice to the altar and lifting the hands).
Usually when 'eyes' is added through metonymy or synecdoche it does have to do with a 'looking'. So this could mean, 'I will not look upon your troubles'. Which means I will not consider your prayer requests. Let me illustrate. Prayer requests go to the courts and is brought to the Lord's desk as a formal petition. Instead of opening and reading it, He hides his eyes from it and doesn't look at it – which translates into not looking into that person's troubles. (remember psalm 121&123 which shows us how the Lord shows up to manage our life affairs (121) and how we dependently wait on Him to do it (123). The Lord 'hiding His eyes' is serious indeed. But this verse ends with 'I will not listen'. Which tell us 'hide eyes' is somewhat synonymous with listen. So okay. These are pretty synonymous anyway - to not look upon/consider your troubles & to not listen to your prayer requests. ----So verses 11-15 God is saying – here is what you did that displeases me, is evil. ----verses 16-17 – here is what you need to do, obey and change your ways. ------verses 18 – 20 - here is what I will do if you don't obey and change your ways (here is the punishment). Highlight point: Verses 11-15 – the hollowness of mere religion when done with an evil heart is just going through the motions. And in verse 14 we are told they are burden to the Lord. Vocab: burden – trouble or load. This brings forth an awareness that there is spiritual repercussions to do these offerings and festivals with an evil heart. Israel is doing these things wanting good spiritual repercussions but because of their sin they will instead receive negative repercussions. This also brings to an awareness of the heavenly courts spiritual legal system that the Lord actually has to do work to undo the negative repercussions. The heavenly realms spiritual legal process deals with recompense, judgement, repercussions of actions etc. as well as deliverance, blessings, salvation etc. 16: wash yourself, make yourself clean – is put for spiritual washing. This exchange is done by Synedoche. 17: synecdoche – widow and orphan is put for all afflicted and needy. Anabasis – gradation: 1. learn to do good 2. seek justice 3. reprove the ruthless, 4. defend the orphan & plead for the widow. 18: Apostrophe again – directly speaking to Israel. Syncrisis – repeated simile Metonymy – sins are red - sin is put for the person/sinner. This phrase 'sins are red' is put for 'though you have sinned'. Red then represents sin. White represents purity. Ellipsis – 'they' is put for sin, which is put for sinner. Phrase 'sins will be white as snow' is put by metonymy for 'sinner will be white as snow'. Red=Sin – White=snow. So this could be read as 'though you are red, I will make you white as snow'. →REF psalm 51:7 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow". →REF - Rev19:11 - "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war". →REF – Isaiah 59:3 "For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things". →REF - Rev 6:4 "Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make men slay one another. And he was given a great sword". 19: 'eat the best of the land' by synecdoche – have every good thing ----now I correct myself – this phrase actually means have peace, live in peace. it could include what I suggested above but have peace, live in peace is more accurate. → Consent & obey (19)→antithetical juxtaposition refuse and rebel (20) 20: Antithesis of verse 19 –
→REF Lev 26:6 "neither shall the sword go through your land". Under synecdoche 'be devoured by the sword' means – warfare, desolation, laid waste (through war): →REF Jer 46:10 - But that day belongs to the Lord, the LORD Almighty— a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. →Jer 12:12 - Over all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will swarm, for the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other; no one will be safe. →Duet 32:42 - I will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” →Lam 26:33 - And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. →Isaiah 65: 12 - I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen.
So by metonymy – 'the mouth of the Lord' is 'spoken' put for 'the will of the Lord' has 'gone out/been decreed'. →REF: Isaiah 55:11 - so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
21: to lodge over night, or pass the night – is put by synecdoche – for abiding. So 'once righteousness abided in her'. Personification of righteousness. Antithesis – now murders (once righteous men). Erotesis – This verse begins with a question by erotesis. Translators often take the initiative to put it as a statement which is why you don't see this verse appear with a Qmark. But this is what is being put 'How has the faithful city become a harlot?!' So verse 18 through apostrophe the Lord directly speaks to Israel again. But here He returns again to the address to all heaven and earth and begins his summarized speech again. Thus – anachoresis – we turn back to the main line of speech. Continued dianoea also called animated dialogue. ----verses 21-31 – the evil nation will be punished – but then I will restore you. Biblehub commentary note - The elegy (qînâh, distinguished by a peculiar rhythm and by the opening word ’êkâh, “how”) is a frequent vehicle of prophetic utterance. This is the clearest instance in the genuine writings of Isaiah, and it is characteristic of the ‘city prophet’ (Cheyne), that the subject is not the nation but the idealized capital.
Pathos -the release of extreme emotions. Pathos through one of these: paraeneticon or exhortation – said to strongly encourage the receiver of the message to change their ways. Maybe eleutheria also known as candor - Expression of feeling by way of bold freedom of speech and reprehension.
Could be aganactesis also known as indignation. This is an expressed feeling of displeasure, anger, frustration, vexation aroused by something unjust or wrong (morally). Or Apodioxis which is also known as Detestation. The figure is so called because the speaker or writer repels something and spurns it as absurd or wicked. The Latins called it rejectio or abominatio. ----verses 21-23 this is a reiteration of what has already been said. A restatement – I think it is epidiegesis - restatement for the purpose not of explanation but to kindling emotion, provoking indignation or evoking comparison. But Bullinger says it as a use of hermeneia (as a figure). Unlike epidiegesis – this figure is defined as repetition for the purpose of interpretating what has already been said. But I think it is the above. What do you think? Actually, maybe verses 21-23 could be Isaiah's lament which is expressed in addition to the Lord's?
22: silver becomes dross, wine becomes watered down – what was once good, quality, substantial – becomes worthless, poor, rubbish. figurative- not speaking of actual wine/liquor and silver – synecdoche or metonymy in use.
When you refine metal, the dross is the impurities that come up to the surface in the melting process. These are to be taken away to get a good product. Watered down wine/liquor speaks for itself. 23: eh, everything said here is pretty straight forward. Not figuratively speaking. Almost like stating facts. 24: Declaration divine punishment and reward verses 24-31. 'relieve' and 'avenge' have different word origins but similar meanings – possible synonymia. Nacham – for relieve - has a deeper meaning. Will not flush out here. The Lord is calling Judah and Jeruslaem His adversaries and foes. Link back to verse 10 where He calls them Sodomites and Gomorrites. →J&J = Sodomites and Gomorrites = the Lord's adversaries and foes. 25: Idioma and Metonymy – to turn the hand upon is put for – repeat the punishment. Link to verse 5 where the Lord asks where He should smite them this time. Allegorical + synecdoche – smelt away your dross – remove the dross from the good metal. With lye – through cleansing. Remove all your alloy. Alloy is mixed metal. Therefore – remove all pagan and wicked practices. I could just say remove sinful deeds, iniquities. But verse 21 calls Israel a harlot. Thus adulterous nation. This specifically refers to worshipping other gods and practicing evil religious practices (later Isaiah mentions specific things) And this is the heart of what this allegorical verse is getting at. Link to verse 16 “wash & cleanse yourselves; remove the evil of your deeds”. This is also linked to verse 4 that speaks through euphemism. ----basically, God is saying here 'I'm going to punish you but it also is simultaneously saying I'm going to cleanse you'. Punishment and cleansing seem to mean the same thing. → REF: Zech 13:9 - And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” → Malachi 3:3 - And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
→ psalm
66:10 - For
you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. 26: is like verse 23 which is straight forward and not figurative. This verse is saying, (after I punish/cleanse you verse 25) I will redeem/restore you and so that you will be righteous again (clean and not wicked/mixed). Side note – does punishment and redemption go hand in hand the same way deliverance and recompense go hand in hand? -----There is a possible encircling or epanadiplosis between verse 21-26 where we see at the beginning of this first verse 'faithful city' is also at the ending of verse 26 'faithful city'. 27: not much to say. Now referring to the faithful city as Zion.
28: These are the dross now in this expression. Before the dross was talking to wicked deeds, now it has become the wicked men. For this was a type of explanation after the allegory. It would be hermeneia and not epidiegesis. This is linked to verse 18 where the same thing happened. The sin was called red but through metonymy the sin referred to the men being red. 29. 'Surely you' – is not saying it is likely you will feel shame. It is the follow through – the Lord is saying – I will surely/ most definitely do this. Thus - 'surely I will punish you for the oaks you desired and gardens you chose'. Heterosis – exchange of voice, tense, person for another - change of second person to the third: they will be ashamed for the oaks you desired. Many translations change it to its meaning 'you will be ashamed for the oaks you desired'. Vocab: boosh - ashamed. Biblehub says “It expresses the inner collapse that follows disappointed trust, moral failure, or public humiliation, and it often appears antithetically with hope, joy, salvation, or covenant faithfulness”.
the oaks – metonymy – speaking to the trees used for idol worship. The gardens – metonymy – put for the place one chooses to be nurtured. →Link this to psalm 1 which juxtaposes the wicked and righteous and how the righteous will be planted like an oak in the garden of the Lord (which denotes watering and nurturing). Not sure if there were specific gardens used for idol worship and pagan practices. Too tired to look into this right now.
30: Simile + ---verse 29-30 repetition of the word oaks and gardens. Using the same words but with different meanings. maybe a type of antanaclasis also known as word clashing - this is the repetition of the same word in a sentence with different meaning. Interesting how the Lord is now likening Zion to the oaks and gardens when in the previous verse these were denoting places of wicked practice. thus, what you used for wickedness I will now illustrate with them how doing that causes you to decay. This is done to bring forth the awareness that these evil deeds cause you to decay.
31: Metaphor – the strong man (becomes/will be) is tinder. Metaphor – His work is a spark.
So this clarifies verses 29-30. The works or spark are the evil deeds a.k.a desired oaks and gardens chosen. While the strong man is Zion. Unlike in verse 18 & 28 both the man and the iniquity are mentioned. Strong man – by metonymy – is put for wicked Zion.
works – by metonymy – is put for evil deeds, works of idolatry, iniquity. Why does the Lord now put strong man here? I think of strong man in a positive way but this verse is clearly saying the strong man will be burned away. Strong man as replacement for wicked? It makes me think of the parable in Matthew 12:29. allegory - --So strong man is put by metonymy to bring forth the mindset of one puffed up in himself, reliant on himself, trusting in the works of his hands, pursing his kingdom, saying God does not see... ---Tinder is the dry, lightweight, flammable material – usually dried leaves and grass a.k.a ...chaff. It acts as a combustion to start a fire, igniting the kindling which is needed to then set the thick logs aflame so that the initial flame does not go out. →This links us again to psalm 1 in which the Lord says the wicked are like chaff (and are not oaks brought into or planted in the garden/house of the Lord). -- no one can quench the flames - no one can stop the wrath of the Lord when He decides to unleash it.
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WORKS CITIED:
Bullinger, E.W. Figures of Speech used in the Bible.1898.
Martino Publishing. Eyre & Spottiswoode London.
Many Translations of the bible. https://biblehub.com/
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