Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 6

In the year - This naturally denotes a period after the death of Uzziah, though in the same year. The mention of the time was evidently made when the prophecy was composed, and it is to be presumed that the death of Uzziah had occurred at the time when the prophet saw this vision. If so, it is clear that this was not the first of his prophecies, for he saw his visions in the days of Uzziah; (Isaiah 1:1). The Chaldee, however, reads this: ‘in the year when Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy;’ and most of the Jewish commentators so understand it (2 Chronicles 26:19–20).

The rabbis say that the meaning is, that he then became civilly dead, by ceasing to exercise his functions as a king, and that he was cut off as a leprous man from all connection with the people, and from all authority; see the Introduction, Section 3. This is, doubtless, true; but still, the more natural signification is, that this occurred in the year in which he actually died.

I saw - That is, he saw in a vision; see the Introduction, Section 7. (4). A similar vision is described by Micaiah (1 Kings 22:19); see also Amos 7:1; Amos 8:1; Amos 9:1; Daniel 7:13.

The Lord - In the original here the word is not יהוה yehovah but אדני 'ădonāy; see the notes at Isaiah 1:24. Here it is applied to Yahweh; see also Psalms 114:7, where it is also so applied; and see Isaiah 8:7, and Job 28:28, where Yahweh calls himself Adonai. The word does not itself denote essential divinity; but it is often applied to God. In some MSS., however, of Kennicott and DeRossi, the word Yahweh is found. We may make two remarks here:

1. That Isaiah evidently meant to say that it was Yahweh who appeared to him. He is expressly so called in Isaiah 6:5-8, Isaiah 6:11.
2. It is equally clear, from the New Testament, that Isaiah saw the messiah. John quotes the words in this chapter (Isaiah 6:10), as applicable to Jesus Christ, and then adds (John 12:41), these things said Esaias when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

An inspired man has thus settled this as referring to the Messiah, and thus had established the propriety of applying to him the name Yahweh, that is, has affirmed that the Lord Jesus is divine. Jerome says, that this vision was designed to represent the doctrine of the Trinity. In John 1:18, it is said, No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. In Exodus 33:20, God says, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live; see also 1 Timothy 6:16. These passages may be reconciled with what is here said by Isaiah, in the following manner:

1. Isaiah does not say that he saw the Divine Essence; and all that his words fairly imply, is, that he saw a manifestation, or vision of Yahweh - some striking symbolic representation of him.
2. It was the manifestation of Yahweh in the person of the Messiah, of the only begotten Son who hath revealed or declared him, that he saw. Such manifestations of God have been made often, and all that the declaration of Isaiah implies, of necessity, is, that he had a vision of God incarnate seated in glory, from whom he now received a new commission to go out and proclaim the truth to that wicked and rebellious generation.

Sitting upon a throne - God is thus often represented as a king, sitting on a throne; 1 Kings 22:19; Ezekiel 43:7; Jeremiah 17:12.

High and lifted up - That is, the throne; an indication of state and majesty.

And his train. The word train שׁוּליו shûlāyv — properly signifies the skirt of a garment, or a robe (Exodus 28:33–34). Here it is evidently designed as a representation of a large, flowing robe, that filled all the most holy part of the temple. The Orientals regarded such large robes as indicative of grandeur and state.

The Messiah was seen seated on a throne as a king; clothed in a large, loose, flowing robe, in the manner of oriental monarchs, and surrounded by his ministers. The design of this magnificent vision was not only to impress the prophet with a sense of the holiness of God, but also to give additional weight to his commission, as having been derived immediately from the divine majesty . It is remarkable that Isaiah attempts no representation of Yahweh himself.

He mentions his robes; the throne; the seraphim; but mentions no form or appearance of God himself. In this there is great sublimity. There is enough mentioned to fill the mind with awe; there is enough concealed to impress as deeply with a sense of the divine majesty.

It is remarkable, also, that it is not the usual appearance of God in the temple to which he refers. That was the Shekinah, or visible symbol of God. That was on the mercy-seat, this was on a throne; that was a cloud, of this no form is mentioned; over that the cherubim stretched forth their wings, over this stood the seraphim; that had no clothing, this was clad in a full flowing robe.

Filled the temple - Probably, the most holy place only is intended. The large, full, magnificent robe seemed to fill up the entire holy of holies. Some have supposed that this vision was represented as appearing in the heavens. But the expression here evidently implies, that it was seen in the temple at Jerusalem.

Above it - Either above the throne, or above him. The Septuagint renders it, ‘Round about him’ - κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ kuklō autou. The Chaldee, ‘The holy ministers stood on high in his presence.’

The seraphims - The verb שׂרף s'âraph — from which this word is derived, is uniformly translated “to burn,” and is used frequently; see “Taylor.” The noun שׂרף s'ârâph denotes, according to Bochart, the “chersydros,” a serpent that lives in lakes and moist places; but when those places are dried up, it becomes a land serpent, and then its bite is very fierce, and is attended with a most dreadful inflammation all over the body.

Rabbi Solomon says that ‘serpents are called seraphim because they burn people with the poison of their teeth,’ perhaps because the idea of “heat and poison” were connected. The word is applied to the fiery flying serpents which bit the children of Israel, and in imitation of which a brass serpent was erected on a pole by Moses.

It is translated a fiery serpent in Numbers 21:8; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6. In Deuteronomy 8:15; Numbers 21:6, it is rendered fiery, and in the passage before us, seraphims.

The word שׂרפה s'erêphâh often occurs in the sense of “burning;”Deuteronomy 29:23; 2 Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 21:19, ...

The Septuagint renders it “seraphim,” σεραφὶμ serafim; so the Vulgate and the Syriac. The Chaldee, ‘his holy ministers.’

Probably it is now impossible to tell why this name was given to the representations that appeared to Isaiah. Perhaps it may have been from their “burning” ardor and zeal in the service of God, or perhaps from the “rapidity” of their motion in his service—derived from the rapid motion of the serpent.

Gesenius supposes that the name was derived from a signification of the word denoting “noble or excellent,” and that it was on this account applied to princes, and to celestial beings. Kimchi says that the name was given with reference to their bright, shining appearance (2 Kings 2:2; 2 Kings 6:17).

The word is applied to celestial beings nowhere else, except in this chapter. There is no reason to think that the seraphim described here partook of the “form of” the serpent, as the representation seems to be rather that of a man. Thus, in Isaiah 6:2, each one is represented as covering his “face” and his “feet” with his wings—a description that does not pertain to the serpentine form.

God is usually represented as surrounded or encompassed by heavenly beings, as his ministers (Psalms 104:4; Daniel 7:10; 1 Kings 22:19; Psalms 68:17; Hebrews 12:22).

The idea is one of special magnificence and grandeur. It is derived especially from the customs of monarchs, particularly Eastern monarchs, who had numerous princes and nobles to attend them, and to give magnificence to their court.

Each one had six wings - Wings are emblematic of the “rapidity” of their movement; the number here, perhaps, denoting their celerity and readiness to do the will of God.

With two he covered his face - This is designed, doubtless, to denote the “reverence and awe” inspired by the immediate presence of God (compare Amos 6:9, Amos 6:10). The Chaldee adds, ‘He covered his face so that he could not see.’ To cover the face in this manner is the natural expression of reverence (compare the note at Isaiah 52:15). And if the pure and holy seraphim evinced such reverence in the presence of Yahweh, with what profound awe and veneration should we, polluted and sinful creatures, presume to draw near to him! Assuredly their position should reprove our presumption when we rush thoughtlessly and irreverently into his presence, and should teach us to bow with lowly veneration and deep humility .

He covered his feet - In a similar description of the cherubim in Ezekiel 1:11, it is said that they covered “their bodies.” In Isaiah, the expression clearly denotes not the feet only, but the lower extremities. This was also an expression of reverence drawn from our conceptions of propriety. The seraphim stood covered, or as if “concealing themselves” as much as possible, in token of their nothingness and unworthiness in the presence of the Holy One.

He did fly - He was quick to execute the commands of God. It may be observed, also, that among the ancients, “Mercury,” the messenger of Jupiter, was always represented with wings. Milton has copied this description of the seraphim:

‘A seraph winged: six wings he wore to shade
His lineaments divine; the pair that clad
Each shoulder broad, came mantling o’er his breast
With regal ornament; the middle pair
Girt like a starry zone his waist, and round
Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold,
And colors dipt in heaven; the third his feet
Shadowed from either heel with feathered mail,
Sky-tinctured grain.’

Par. Lost, Book v.

And one cried to another - Hebrew: “This cried to this.” That is, they cried to each other in alternate responses. One cried holy; the second repeated it; then the third; and then they probably united in the grand chorus, Full is all the earth of his glory. This was an ancient mode of singing or recitative among the Hebrews; see Exodus 15:20-21, where Miriam is represented as going before in the dance with a timbrel, and the other females as following her, and answering, or responding to her (Psalms 136:1); compare Lowth, “On the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews,” Lecture 19.

Holy, holy, holy - The repetition of a name, or of an expression, three times, was quite common among the Jews. Thus, in Jeremiah 7:4, the Jews are represented by the prophet as saying, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these. Thus, Jeremiah 22:29: O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord;Ezekiel 21:27: I will overturn, overturn, overturn; see also 1 Samuel 18:23: O my son Absalom! my son, my son; see also the repetition of the form of benediction among the Jews (Numbers 6:24–26):

Jehovah bless thee and keep thee;
Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee,
And be gracious unto thee;
Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee,
And give thee peace.

In like manner, the number seven is used by the Hebrews to denote a great, indefinite number; then a full or complete number; and then perfectness, completion. Thus, in Revelation 1:4; Revelation 3:1; and Revelation 4:5, the phrase, the seven spirits of God, occurs as applicable to the Holy Spirit, denoting His fullness, completeness, perfection. The Hebrews usually expressed the superlative degree by the repetition of a word. Thus, Genesis 14:10: The vale of Siddim, pits, pits of clay, that is, was full of pits; see Nordheimer’s “Hebrew Grammar,” Sections 822-824. The form was used, therefore, among the Jews, to denote emphasis; and the expression means in itself no more than “thrice holy;” that is, supremely holy.

Most commentators, however, have supposed that there is here a reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. It is not probable that the Jews so understood it; but applying to the expressions the fuller revelations of the New Testament, it cannot be doubted that the words will express that. Assuming that doctrine is true, it cannot be doubted, I think, that the seraphs laid the foundation of their praise in that doctrine.

That there was a distinct reference to the second person of the Trinity is clear from what John says (John 12:41). No argument can be drawn directly from this in favor of the doctrine of the Trinity, for the repetition of such phrases three times in other places is merely emphatic, denoting the superlative degree. But when the doctrine is proved from other places, it may be presumed that the heavenly beings were apprised of it, and that the foundation of their ascriptions of praise was laid in that. The Chaldee has rendered this, “Holy in the highest heavens, the house of his majesty; holy upon the earth, the work of his power; holy forever, and ever, and ever, is the Lord of hosts.” The whole expression is a most sublime ascription of praise to the living God, and should teach us in what manner to approach Him.

The Lord of hosts - See the note at Isaiah 1:9.

The whole earth - Margin, “The earth is the fullness of his glory.” All things which He has made on the earth express His glory. His wisdom and goodness, His power and holiness, are seen everywhere.

The whole earth, with all its mountains, seas, streams, trees, animals, and people, lays the foundation of His praise. In accordance with this, the Psalmist, in a most beautiful composition, calls upon all things to praise Him (Psalms 148:1–14):

Praise the Lord from the earth,
Ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire and hail; snow and vapours;
Stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills;
Fruitful trees, and all cedars;
Beasts, and all cattle;
Creeping things, and flying fowl.

And the posts of the door - Margin, ‘Thresholds.’ There is some difficulty in the Hebrew here, but the meaning of the expression is sufficiently apparent. It means that there was a tremor, or concussion, as if by awe, or by the sound attending the cry. It is evidently a poetic expression.

The house - The temple.

Was filled with smoke - There is here, doubtless, a reference to “the cloud” that is so often mentioned in the Old Testament as the visible symbol of the Divinity; see the note at Isaiah 4:5. A similar appearance is recorded when Solomon dedicated the temple; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Ezekiel 10:4.

Woe is me! — That is, I am filled with overwhelming convictions of my own unworthiness, with alarm that I have seen Yahweh.

For I am undone — Margin, ‘Cut off.’ Chaldee, ‘I have sinned.’ Septuagint, ‘I am miserable, I am pierced through.’ Syriac, ‘I am struck dumb.’ The Hebrew word may sometimes have this meaning, but it also means “to be destroyed, to be ruined, to perish” (Zephaniah 1:2; Hosea 4:6; Isaiah 15:1). This is probably the meaning here, ‘I shall be ruined, or destroyed.’ The reason for this, he immediately states.

A man of unclean lips — This expression evidently denotes that he was a “sinner,” and especially that he was unworthy either to join in the praise of a God so holy, or to deliver a message in His name. The vision, the profound worship of the seraphim, and the attendant majesty and glory had deeply impressed him with a sense of the holiness of God, and of his own unfitness either to join in worship so holy or to deliver the message of so pure a God. A similar effect is recorded in reference to Abraham (Genesis 18:27); see also Exodus 4:10, Exodus 4:12; Jeremiah 1:6. A deep consciousness of guilt, in view of the holiness and majesty of God, is also described by Job:

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear
But now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself,
And repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42:5–6)

An effect also remarkably similar is described in reference to the apostle Peter (Luke 5:8): “When Simon Peter saw it (the miracle which Jesus had performed), he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’”

A people of unclean lips — A people who are unworthy to celebrate the praises of a God so pure and exalted.

Mine eyes have seen — In Exodus 33:20, it is said: ‘Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live.’ (1 Timothy 6:16). Perhaps it was in recollection of this that Isaiah said he was undone.

It is not, however, to be understood that the prophet saw Yahweh Himself, but only the “symbol” of His presence.

It was for this expression, according to the tradition of the Jews, that Manasseh took occasion to put the prophet to death (see the Introduction, Section 2).

The Lord of hosts — Yahweh of hosts. John applies this to the Lord Jesus, and this proves that He is divine .