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ISAIAH 10

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:1-4
¹Woe to those who enact evil statutes
And to those who constantly record unjust decisions,
²So as to deprive the needy of justice
And rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So that widows may be their spoil
And that they may plunder the orphans.
³Now what will you do in the day of punishment,
And in the devastation which will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help?
And where will you leave your wealth?
⁴Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives
Or fall among the slain.
In spite of all this, His anger does not turn away
And His hand is still stretched out.

10:1 "Woe" This INTERJECTION (BDB 222) is used often in Isaiah (and Jeremiah). It is translated (NASB 1995 Update)

1. "alas," Isa. 1:4; 17:12
2. "ah," Isa. 1:24
3. "woe," Isa. 5:8,11,18,20,21,22; 10:1,5; 18:1; 28:1; 29:1,5; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1; 45:9,10; 55:1 (i.e., woe oracles)
4. "ho," Isa. 55:1; also possibly Isa. 10:5

It denotes anguish and pain or a summons (i.e., #4 above). There is another INTERJECTION (BDB 17), which is usually translated "woe," which expresses grief and despair (cf. Isa. 3:9,11; 6:5; 24:16 and 8 times in Jeremiah).

▣ The parallelism of Isa. 10:1a and b links the civil leaders (i.e., those who enact evil statutes) and judges (who constantly record unjust decisions, cf. Isa. 5:23). Israel's leadership has knowingly violated the Mosaic covenant emphasis on care for the poor, socially ostracized, and socially powerless people (cf. Isa. 10:2; 1:17,23; 3:14,15; 11:4; Deut. 16:19; 24:17; 27:19; Pro. 17:23; 18:5; Amos 4:1; 5:12).

10:2 Things are so upside down that the very ones YHWH seeks to protect (i.e., widows and orphans) have become the spoil and plunder!

The MT has "day of visitation." This visitation (BDB 924) by God can be for blessing (i.e., Job 10:12) or punishment. Here, for judgment (cf. Jer. 8:12; 10:15; 49:8; HOs. 9:7; Mic. 7:4).

A series of questions spells out the fate of these exploiters! One day, whether temporally or eschatologically, the Creator will call His creatures, made in His image and likeness, to give an account of the stewardship of the gift of life (cf. Isa. 10:4). YHWH is a moral, ethical, compassionate Deity and He demands these characteristics in His covenant people so that "the nations" may know and come to Him!! Israel was giving a false message!

SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT)

SPECIAL TOPIC: DAY (yom)

SPECIAL TOPIC: JUDGE, JUDGMENT, AND JUSTICE

10:4 "His hand is still stretched out" This is a recurrent phrase in this literary unit (cf. Isa. 9:12,17,21). It is an anthropomorphic way of expressing God's unrelenting judgment.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE USED TO DESCRIBE DEITY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:5-11
⁵Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,
⁶I send it against a godless nation
And commission it against the people of My fury
To capture booty and to seize plunder,
And to trample them down like mud in the streets.
⁷Yet it does not so intend,
Nor does it plan so in its heart,
But rather it is its purpose to destroy
And to cut off many nations.
⁸For it says, "Are not my princes all kings?
⁹Is not Calno like Carchemish,
Or Hamath like Arpad,
Or Samaria like Damascus?
¹⁰As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,
Whose graven images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,
¹¹Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her images
Just as I have done to Samaria and her idols?"

10:5-19 This is a literary unit on YHWH's activity in the nation of Assyria. It was the cruelest ANE power. It was brutal toward captive people groups. YHWH will use this godless pagan nation to accomplish His purposes (cf. Isa. 10:5b; 6b; as Hab. 1:12-17 asked God about His use of the Babylonian exile). God uses evil to do His biding! He did not make them (i.e., Satan, demons, fallen angels, evil empires), but He directs them for the larger good (cf. Job 12:23; Ps.47:7-8; 66:7; Dan. 2:21; Acts 17:26, i.e., His universal redemptive plan, see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN).

However, evil reaps the consequences of their acts. One day they, too, will be judged (cf. Deut. 32:34-43; Isa. 14:24-27; 30:27-33; 31:5-9). What Assyria did to others, Babylon (cf. Isa. 13:5) will do to them!

10:5 "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger" YHWH's tool for punishing His people's rebellion was the cruel nation of Assyria (cf. Isa. 7:17; 8:7). However, Assyria was responsible for her acts (cf. Isa. 10:24-27). The arrogance of Assyria is seen in Isa. 10:8-11,12.

10:6 "a godless nation. . .the people of my fury" Oh, my, this refers to the nation of Israel (cf. Isa. 9:17,19)! This same phrase is used of Israel in Isa. 19:17; 32:6. What irony, the covenant people are called "godless" and made morally equivalent to "godless" Assyria!

▣ "To capture booty and to seize plunder" As Isa. 10:21, "a remnant will return," reflects Isaiah's first son's name (cf. Isa. 7:3), this reflects his second son's symbolic name (cf. Isa. 8:1,3).

10:7 "Yet it does not so intend
  Nor does it plan so in its heart" Assyria did not know that YHWH was directing its actions for His purposes. Assyria was only after more and more spoil.

The intent of YHWH for the king of Assyria is revealed in a series of Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS (Isa. 10:6) against Israel.

1. capture booty (BDB 1021, KB 1531)
2. seize plunder (BDB 102, KB 117)
3. trample down (VERBAL BDB 962, KB 1321, NOUN BDB 942)

The intent of the King of Assyria is expressed in two Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS in Isa. 10:7c,d.

1. to destroy (BDB 1029, KB 1552)
2. to cut off (BDB 503, KB 500)

10:8-11 The King of Assyria's thoughts (i.e., "boasts," TEV) are revealed in these verses.

1. all his military commanders are kings (NRSV, TEV, NJB, REB, Peshitta), Isa. 10:8
2. his (Tiglath-Pileser III, who reigned from 745-727 B.C., or possibly Sennacherib, who reigned 705-681 B.C..) army has defeated several other trans-Euphrates cities and nations, along with all their gods, Isa. 10:9
   1. Calno (or Calneh), city in northern Syria (cf. Amos 6:2) fell in 742 B.C. (all these dates are estimates only)
   2. Carchemish, major city of the Hittites near the headwaters of the Euphrates, joined Assyrian coalition in 738 B.C.
   3. Hamath, city on the northern boundary of Israel (cf. 2 Chr. 8:4) on the Orontes River, fell in 738 B.C.
   4. Arpad, city in northwest Syria fell in 741 B.C.
   5. Samaria (capital of Israel) fell in 722 B.C. to Sargon II
   6. Damascus (capital of Syria) fell in 732 B.C.
3. he threatened to destroy Jerusalem and her "idols" as he had Samaria, Isa. 10:11. He had no knowledge of the distinction between "idols" (cf. Isa. 2:8) and the true worship of YHWH.

Just a word about which Assyrian invasion is depicted. The place names follow a traditional invasion route of ANE empires from Mesopotamia. Because of the desert, they had to follow the Euphrates River to its headwaters and then go south along the coastal plain. The problem with identifying which Assyrian invasion is complicated because Sennacherib, who did approach Jerusalem to besiege it, actually came from the south of the city in 701 B.C. The fall of the cities mentioned occurred under Tiglath-Pileser III (i.e., Pul). Therefore, I think the route was "idealized" as a northern invader.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF ASSYRIA

10:11 "images" This is an interesting word (BDB 47). Its basic meaning is uncertain, but it is spelled similarly to Elohim, which has caused scholars to assume it refers to weak and non-existent idols (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 411). Monotheism is the uniqueness of Israel's faith. There are other spiritual beings, but only one true God (cf. Deut. 4:35,39; 6:8; 32:39; Isa. 43:9-11; 45:21-22; Jer. 2:11; 5:7,10; Rom. 3:30; 1 Cor. 8:4,6; 1 Tim. 2:5; James 2:19). The idols represent nothing, only the false hopes and fears (superstitions) of fallen humanity realizing there is more to reality than the physical, but unable to comprehend spiritual truth (i.e., revelation).

SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C.

SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANGELS AND DEMONS

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:12-14
¹²So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness."
¹³For he has said,
"By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
For I have understanding;
And I removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants,
¹⁴And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest,
And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped."

10:12-14 YHWH asserts His control of Assyria and her victories. He will judge the king of Assyria (Isa. 10:12) for his

1. arrogant heart
2. haughtiness of his eyes (see SPECIAL TOPIC: LIFTED UP)

The Assyrian king's pride is shown in a series of self praises (Isa. 10:12-14), which sound very much like Assyrian documents of the period (see The IVP Bible Background Commentary OT, p. 599)

1. by the power of my hand
2. by my wisdom

He robbed the nations on the west banks of the Euphrates as one robs a bird's nest!

The ADJECTIVE'S (BDB 7) basic meaning, "strong," can refer to

1. mighty/violent man, Job 24:22; 34:20; Jer. 46:15; Lam. 1:15
2. stubborn minded, Isa. 46:12
3. angels, Ps. 78:25
4. animals
   1. bulls, Isa. 10:13 may refer to a bull because a winged bull was the symbol of Assyria (i.e., on the sides of the Ishtar gates, cf. Ps. 22:13; 68:30; Isa. 34:7)
   2. horses, Jdg. 5:22; Jer. 8:16; 47:3; 50:11

The ancient versions are very different in their understanding of this last poetic line of v. 13.

1. LXX ‒ "and I will plunder their strength"
2. Peshitta ‒ "and I have plundered their wealth, and subjugated the inhabited cities"
3. the MT ‒  "I have brought down, like a bull, those who sat on thrones."
4. JPSOA ‒ "I plundered their treasuries, and exiled their vast population."

10:14 The Bible often uses bird imagery to describe God's protection and care (cf. Exod. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; Ruth 2:12; Isa. 31:5; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34), but here the imagery is reversed! God has removed His protection!

The nations of the ANE were as defenseless as bird nests on the ground.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:15-19
¹⁵Is the axe to boast itself over the one who chops with it?
Is the saw to exalt itself over the one who wields it?
That would be like a club wielding those who lift it,
Or like a rod lifting him who is not wood.
¹⁶Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors;
And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.
¹⁷And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day.
¹⁸And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body,
And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.
¹⁹And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number
That a child could write them down.

10:15-19 YHWH responds to the boasts of the King of Assyria by questioning.

1. Is the power in the axe or the one who used the axe?
2. Is the power in the saw or the one who wields the saw?
3. Is the power in the club or the one who swings the club?
4. Is the power in a scepter or in the one who lifts the scepter?

YHWH will judge him and his army in one day (Isa. 10:17). This refers to

1. Tiglath-Pileser III
2. specifically to Sennacherib (701 B.C.), recorded in Isaiah 36-38; 2 Kgs. 18:17-21:11; 2 Chr. 32:9-24, where 185,000 soldiers die before the walls of Jerusalem in response to the arrogance of the king of Assyria and his military leaders (#2 fits best, but did not happen until decades after Tiglath-Pileser III took Samaria). There is a difference between the God of Israel and the idols of the nations!

10:16 YHWH is in control of history. This is the basic premise of monotheism linked to an involved Deity. He is present and active in His creation. In the OT all causality is attributed to YHWH (cf. Deut. 32:29; Job 5:18; Isa. 45:7; Hos. 6:1; Amos 3:6). It was a way to affirm monotheism. Exactly how, when, where He acts is unknown, but there is

1. an eternal redemptive plan (see SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN)
2. a covenant people (see SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT)
3. a coming Messiah (see SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH)
4. a heart for "the nations"

History is not cyclical, but teleological!

▣ "fire" See SPECIAL TOPIC: FIRE

10:17 Light (see note at Isa. 9:2) and fire are symbols of Deity (cf. Isa. 9:19; 29:6; 30:27; 31:9; 33:11-12,14). See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE.

10:18 "both soul and body" Mankind has both a physical component and a spiritual component. We as humans are prepared for life on this planet and for fellowship with a non-corporeal Deity! We share planet-life with animals, but we are creatures of eternity (cf. Gen. 1:26-27; Dan. 12:2)!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:20-23
²⁰Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped, will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
²¹A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
²²For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,
 Only a remnant within them will return;
 A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
²³For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.

10:20-23 This paragraph focuses on two theological truths.

1. YHWH will protect and restore a faithful remnant ("truly rely on the Lord," BDB 1043, KB 1612, Niphal PERFECT with waw) to accomplish His purposes with Abraham's seed.
2. "In that day" refers to a day of deliverance. One is never sure if this promise is fulfilled in
   1. a return to Judah allowed by Persia
   2. the Maccabees
   3. the end-time. The book that has really helped me understand the genre of Prophecy and Apocalyptic is D. Brent Sandy, Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic.

10:20 "the remnant" See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE REMNANT, three senses

▣ "will never again rely on the one who struck them" Ahaz trusted/relied on Assyria for help instead of YHWH, but not so in the future. They (i.e., the covenant people) will rely on YHWH alone!

▣ "truly rely" See SPECIAL TOPIC: BELIEVE, TRUST, FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS IN THE OT

▣ "the Holy One"  See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE HOLY ONE

10:21 "A remnant will return" This remnant (BDB 984) is described as from Jacob and Israel. In this context it must refer to the Northern Ten Tribes that split off in 922 B.C. and were exiled by Assyria in 722 B.C. Few of them returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Joshua after Cyrus' edict in 538 B.C. allowed all the exiled people groups to return to their native lands. The phrase translates Isaiah's first son's name (Shear-jashub) who went with his father to confront King Ahaz (cf. Isa. 7:1-3).

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE REMNANT, three senses

▣ "return" See SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE (OT)

▣ "to the mighty God" This is the same title (i.e., El, BDB 42 plus the ADJECTIVE "mighty" (BDB 150) used of the Messiah in Isa. 9:6. It is found only in these two places. In context this refers to YHWH.

10:22 "may be like the sand of the sea" This is a reference to the promise of many descendants, which was a major part of the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen. 13:16; 22:17; 32:12).

What a sad contrast occurs when the promises of YHWH to the Patriarchs of many descendants (see full note at Gen. 15:5).

1. like the stars (cf. Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4; Exod. 32:13; Deut. 1:10; 28:62)
2. like the dust (cf. Gen. 13:16; 28:14)
3. like the sand (cf. Gen. 22:17; 32:22)

is reduced through covenant disobedience and lack of personal trust (cf. Isa. 10:20) to only a few to return (cf. Isa. 10:21-22).

▣ "A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness" Israel's judgment has been

1. determined by YHWH, Isa. 10:22
2. decreed by YHWH, Isa. 10:23

Both "determined" and "decreed" translate the same VERB (BDB 358, KB 356, cf. Isa. 28:22; Dan. 9:26,27; 11:36). God will judge His people (Isa. 10:22). Isaiah 10:23 is (1) parallel to this or (2) YHWH will judge all the earth (LXX, Peshitta, NRSV. Paul quotes the LXX in Rom. 9:27-28). Context fits option #1 better. YHWH said He would do it; He did it!

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:24-27
²⁴Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did. ²⁵For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction." ²⁶The Lord of hosts will arouse a scourge against him like the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb; and His staff will be over the sea and He will lift it up the way He did in Egypt. ²⁷So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.

10:24-27 The paragraph again stresses YHWH's moral righteousness which is reflected in judgment against evil.

1. Israel experienced YHWH's righteous anger (cf. Isa. 10:22)
2. Assyria (cf. Isa. 37:26-28)
3. Like His wrath in Egypt during the Exodus (cf. Exod. 14:16,27)
4. Like Gideon against the Midianites (Judges 6-8)

YHWH's actions, past and future, described in Isa. 10:27, are parallel to His action (cf. Isa. 14:25) through the Messiah in Isa. 9:4, which also mentions the battle against Midian (an idiom of YHWH's total defeat of an enemy cf. Isa. 9:4; Ps. 83:9-11).

10:24 "do not fear the Assyrian" This VERB (BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT) is used as a JUSSIVE. The implication is "fear YHWH who will bring judgment on them" (Isa. 10:25-27).

SPECIAL TOPIC: FEAR (OT)

10:26 "the rock of Oreb" Gideon summoned the Ephraimites to help him wipe out the remaining retreating Midianites. Two of the leaders were caught and killed (cf. Jdg. 7:24-25). The place where this occurred took on the names of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. The exact location is unknown.

▣ "His staff will be over the sea" As God delivered the Israelites at the Red Sea (Exodus), He will deliver them from Assyria (here, called "the sea").

From these translations you can see the options.

1. NASB, JPSOA follow MT (the UBS Text Project, p. 35, gives this a "C" rating)
2. LXX, REB leave out the phrase "because of fatness"
3. NKJV refers to the Messiah (i.e., anointed)
4. Peshitta sees it as a reference to strength and growth (cf. Deut. 32:15), which may contrast Isa. 10:16.
5. the NET Bible, p. 1205, #10, gives the possible emendations

Since Isaiah 7-12 relates to the special children of the New Age, including the Messiah, I like NKJV's understanding as the one that makes the most sense to me in this large literary unit.

The UBS Text Project, p. 26, says that the original Hebrew text may have contained a place name.

1. a place name which became an unknown place
2. a proverbial location whose meaning is no longer recognized

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:28-32
²⁸He has come against Aiath,
He has passed through Migron;
At Michmash he deposited his baggage.
²⁹They have gone through the pass, saying,
"Geba will be our lodging place."
Ramah is terrified, and Gibeah of Saul has fled away.
³⁰Cry aloud with your voice, O daughter of Gallim!
Pay attention, Laishah and wretched Anathoth!
³¹Madmenah has fled.
The inhabitants of Gebim have sought refuge.
³²Yet today he will halt at Nob;
He shakes his fist at the mountain of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

10:28-32 H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Isaiah, vol. 1, p. 40, describes this stanza (strophe) as "The Strategic Assyrian Advance That Almost Took Zion Described in Terms of Bulletin-from-the-Front." Many geographical locations are mentioned and what was occurring at that location as the Assyrian mercenary army approached.

10:28 "Aiath" This is Ai close to Jericho. The places mentioned show the movement of the Assyrians toward Jerusalem from the north.

10:30 "Cry aloud. . .Pay attention" These are both IMPERATIVES.

1. BDB 843, KB 1007, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. BDB 904, KB 1151, Hiphil IMPERATIVE

This breaks the pattern of Isa. 10:28-32. If this stanza is "reports from the front lines," then Isa. 10:30 is a comment from the prophet, not an Assyrian messenger.

This is from either

1. the VERB "answer," BDB 772 I, Qal IMPERATIVE (MT)
2. an ADJECTIVE "poor," BDB 776

They both have the same consonants. UBS Hebrew Text Project gives #2, translated "unfortunate,"a "C" rating (considerable doubt). It is surely possible that "poor" and "Anathoth" are a sound play (NASB Study Bible, p. 974).

10:32 The second line of poetry expresses the Assyrian's contempt for Judah's God and His temple.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: ISAIAH 10:33-34
³³Behold, the Lord, the God of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;
Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down
And those who are lofty will be abased.
³⁴He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,
And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

10:33-34 Isa. 10:33-34 is hard to define as to who is "lopped off." It seems to be a literary link between Isa. 10:16-19 and 11:1. Isaiah often used forestry imagery. Whoever compiled the scroll of Isaiah used word plays and themes as a way to link together Isaiah's recorded prophetic messages. We must remember that the major truth of the literary unit and stanzas are more important than

1. the details
2. the exact historical setting of each literary building block

Our love for the Bible and desire to know more have caused us to treat the Bible in non-contextual, literal ways, which destroy the literary nature of Scripture and especially Hebrew poetry and prophecy!

I think this is an elaboration of Isa. 10:16-19. The imagery is the destruction of a forest, which symbolizes the Assyrian army and its leadership.

10:33 The second half of this verse has several terms found only here in the OT. This is why the central truth of the paragraph (prose) or stanza (poetry) is crucial. The main truth or imagery is key, not each and every detail or lexical option (often just an educated guess).

This phrase can refer to

1. God (cf. Isa. 10:33a; Isa. 10:34a)
2. the tall trees of Lebanon (cf. Isa. 10:33b,c; LXX, JPSOA, NET)

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