Just notes. This series on the blog are just the notes from the margins of my Bible, hopefully the comments, observations, cross references, etc. will be helpful. I don't intend this to be a commentary or an exhaustive treatment of the passage. Tuesdays will be an exploration through Isaiah.
Isaiah 1
Shema – Deuteronomy 6:4-5
shema means to hear, referencing the motto of early Israel: Hear O Israel…
“The Lord Speaks” possible theme for Isaiah. See Isaiah 1:2, 11, 18, 20.
References to time markers: 2 Kings 15:1; 2 Chronicles 32:32
Isaiah 1:2: Listen…and hear (shema, ozen, or azan)
Israel replaced with two witnesses to the voice of God: heaven and earth. Follow this pairing throughout Isaiah. Psalm 50:1-4; Micah 1:1-2; Micah 6:1-2; Deuteronomy 30:19; 31:21; 32:1.
Isaiah 1:3: Two stupid animals are referenced here, ox and donkey. They both have enough sense to know their owner and their place. Israel on the other hand doesn’t know or understand. Paul would use this imagery (not the animals) in Romans 1:18ff: we all know God. Other cross references (mine): Jeremiah 8:7; Hosea 11:1-4; Matthew 11:29, Jeremiah 4:22.
Isaiah 1:4: “people weighed down with iniquity” – freedom comes when the burden is lifted.
Last phrase: “they have turned away from Him” an alternate phrasing is “turned backward.”
Jeremiah 2:27; 7:24
Isaiah 1:5: “the whole head is sick” – priests and kings.
Isaiah 1:6: Middle Eastern external applications of medicine (Luke 10:34).
Isaiah 1:9, 10: Repetition of the formula from Isaiah 1:2, Listen…hear (shema, ozen).
Isaiah 1:15: God will not listen (shema); “your hands are covered with blood” cf Isaiah 1:21 (murderers).
Isaiah 1:17: “Seek Justice” & “Defend” is a play on words (they have the same root), mishpat and shepet, compare James 1:27
Isaiah 1:19: “Obey,” is the word for listen (shema).
Isaiah 1:20: compare with 1:2, “truly , the mouth of the Lord has spoken”
Isaiah 1:26: “at the first” & “at the beginning” ??
Isaiah 1:28: A verse supporting annihilationist view of hell.
Isaiah 1:31: see note on 1:28.
Books
