1richardbsmith
Chapter 7 marks a shift from poetic to prose style, and introduces two of the three named children in Isaiah.
Verse 7.3: Shear Jashub - a remnant will return.
Verse 7.14: Immanuel - God with us.
The second named child of course is used as a prophecy for the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1.23. Let me repeat what has so often been said, the Hebrew in Isaiah is about a young woman, not a virgin. There is another Hebrew word for virgin.
The LXX does translate the Hebrew "young woman" of 7.14 with the Greek for virgin. Matthew takes the precise phrasing from the LXX in 1.23.
The most difficult part of the chapter for me is to understand the images in verses 21 and 22. "Curds and honey," is that a good thing to eat or not? (see 16) Each man preserving a heifer and two of the flock, is that a good thing or not?
In the context of the chapter, they might be assumed to be negative images (see 1.17).
It is also interesting that Isaiah makes in 17 a historical reference to the extremely bad days immediately following the period when the Northern Kingdom split from the Southern Kingdom. Often the troubles of that period are missed in the histories of Kings and Chronicles.
In verse 17 there is a clear reference to those struggles. I would think though that vassalage to Assyria proved to be a much greater oppression than the troubles suffered from the kingdom split.
Verse 7.3: Shear Jashub - a remnant will return.
Verse 7.14: Immanuel - God with us.
The second named child of course is used as a prophecy for the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1.23. Let me repeat what has so often been said, the Hebrew in Isaiah is about a young woman, not a virgin. There is another Hebrew word for virgin.
The LXX does translate the Hebrew "young woman" of 7.14 with the Greek for virgin. Matthew takes the precise phrasing from the LXX in 1.23.
The most difficult part of the chapter for me is to understand the images in verses 21 and 22. "Curds and honey," is that a good thing to eat or not? (see 16) Each man preserving a heifer and two of the flock, is that a good thing or not?
In the context of the chapter, they might be assumed to be negative images (see 1.17).
It is also interesting that Isaiah makes in 17 a historical reference to the extremely bad days immediately following the period when the Northern Kingdom split from the Southern Kingdom. Often the troubles of that period are missed in the histories of Kings and Chronicles.
In verse 17 there is a clear reference to those struggles. I would think though that vassalage to Assyria proved to be a much greater oppression than the troubles suffered from the kingdom split.
2jimroberts
#1: richardbsmith "'Curds and honey,' is that a good thing to eat or not?"
Definitely very good, especially with prunes.
ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curd_cheese
Definitely very good, especially with prunes.
ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curd_cheese
