Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 9:8

"The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel." — Isaiah 9:8 (ASV)

The Lord sent—Not Yahweh here, but “Adonai.” It is apparent that this verse is the beginning of a new prophecy, not connected with what precedes it. The theme of the preceding prophecy concerned Judah; this is confined solely to Israel, or Ephraim. The chapter division should have been made here and not interrupted again until Isaiah 10:4, where the prophecy closes. The prophecy is divided into four parts, and each part is designed to threaten a distinct judgment for some particular, prominent vice.

1. “Crime”: their pride and ostentation (Isaiah 9:8–9). “Punishment”: the land would be invaded by the Syrians and the Philistines (Isaiah 9:11–12).
2. “Crime”: they had apostatized from God, and the leaders had caused them to err (Isaiah 9:13, Isaiah 9:16). “Punishment”: Yahweh would cut off the chief men of the nation (Isaiah 9:14–15, Isaiah 9:17).
3. “Crime”: prevalent wickedness in the nation (Isaiah 9:18). “Punishment”: the anger of Yahweh, consternation, anarchy, discord, and want (Isaiah 9:19–21).
4. “Crime”: prevalent injustice (Isaiah 10:1–2). “Punishment”: foreign invasion, and captivity (Isaiah 10:3–4).

The poem is remarkably regular in its structure (Lowth) and apt in its illustrations. It is not certain at what time it was composed, but there is strong internal evidence that it immediately followed the preceding one concerning Judah.

A word—A message or prediction .

Into Jacob—Jacob was the ancestor of the nation. But the name came to be applied to the ten tribes, as they constituted the majority of the people. It was at first used to denote all the Jews (Numbers 23:7, Numbers 23:10, Numbers 23:23; Numbers 24:17, Numbers 24:19; Deuteronomy 32:9; 1 Chronicles 16:13; Psalms 14:7; Psalms 20:1); but it came, after the revolt of the ten tribes under Jeroboam, to be used often to denote them alone (Amos 6:8; Micah 1:5; Micah 3:1; Micah 5:8). The word or message that was sent undoubtedly refers to what immediately follows.

And it has lighted upon—Hebrew ‘It fell.’ This is simply a varied expression for “he sent it to Israel.”

Israel—The same as Jacob—the ten tribes, the kingdom of Ephraim.