Thomas Aquinas Commentary Isaiah 8:4-13

"For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria. And Jehovah spake unto me yet again, saying, Forasmuch as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah`s son; now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the River, strong and many, [even] the king of Assyria and all his glory: and it shall come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks; and it shall sweep onward into Judah; it shall overflow and pass through; it shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall be brought to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us. For Jehovah spake thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be in dread [thereof]. Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread." — Isaiah 8:4-13 (ASV)

1. For before the child knows… Here the interpretation of the sign is explained, and it is already clear according to the literal interpretation. According to the other interpretation, however—for before the child knows, by created knowledge, his father (his supposed father, Joseph, or God)—the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken away. According to this, it can also refer to the captivity of Samaria.

2. And the Lord spoke to me again. Here the act of destruction itself is described. Concerning this, the prophet does three things:

   1. He presents the fault of those to be punished.
   2. He presents the power of their punishers: behold the Lord will bring upon them (Isaiah 8:7).
   3. He presents the punishment itself: he shall come up over all.

   Therefore, he first says, and the Lord spoke to me again. After the sign was given, he speaks of the waters of Siloam. Siloam is a spring that rises at the foot of Mount Zion, whose waters bubble up for hours and flow evenly. For this reason, they signify the kings of Judah, who were sometimes good and powerful and sometimes evil and weak, but who nevertheless reigned lawfully and quietly compared to the kings of Israel, who all drove the people to idols.

3. But it seems this should not be held against them as a fault, because it was done by the will of the Lord, as it says in 1 Kings 12:24: this thing is from me.

   The response to this is that the Lord justly willed for the kings of Judah to suffer this harm because of Solomon’s fault (see 1 Kings 11). Israel, however, acted wickedly and out of pride, for they did not wish to pay the customary taxes, as we read in 1 Kings 12:4. Alternatively, the phrase this people has cast away means that they disdained and persecuted, following the malice of the two kings. This seems to be the intention from what follows: and has rather taken Rezin.

4. Therefore. Here the power of the enemy is described.

   1. First, a metaphor is presented in four aspects:
      • Regarding divine help: behold the Lord will bring upon them.
      • Regarding the impulse: the waters of the river.
      • Regarding their strength: strong.
      • Regarding their number: and many, as in Isaiah 17:13: Nations shall make a noise like the noise of waters overflowing.
   2. Second, he explains the metaphor: the king of the Assyrians, and all his glory, that is, his army. As Jeremiah 6:22 says, behold a people comes from the land of the north, and a great nation shall rise up. The Gloss says that this is understood to be Sennacherib.

   On the contrary, it was not Sennacherib who laid Samaria waste, but Shalmaneser, as is said in 2 Kings 18:9. To this, some say that the same man is called both Shalmaneser and Sennacherib. But this is clearly false based on what is said in Tobit 1:15, that when Shalmaneser was dead, his son Sennacherib reigned in his place.

   Therefore, it should be said that while Shalmaneser was reigning but already aged, his son was in the army and perhaps was at its head. For this reason, the same army can be attributed to either one. Thus, the prophet speaks of all the destruction carried out by those Assyrian kings as if it came from one persecutor, because of the unity of their reign.

5. And he shall come up. Here he describes the punishment itself, preserving the metaphor of overflowing waters, which are higher. Hence he says: and he shall come up over all his channels, that is, his princes, and over all his banks, his lands. As in Ezekiel 38:18–19: my indignation shall come up in my wrath, and in my zeal.

6. And shall pass through Judah. Here he foretells the tribulation overflowing into the two tribes.

   1. First, he presents the overflowing of the tribulation: and shall pass, that is, the impulse of the water, through Judah, meaning through the land of Judea, overflowing. He preserves the metaphor, for when waters overflow, they send waves beyond their bed into the neighboring fields. He says, shall pass, because they will not have complete dominion, as in Isaiah 28:2: as the violence of many waters overflowing. And in Jeremiah 47:2: behold there come up waters out of the north, and they shall be as an overflowing torrent, and they shall cover the land, and all that is therein, the city and the inhabitants thereof.
   2. Second, the overflowing of the persecution: and going over shall reach even to the neck. He speaks metaphorically, as if to say that the waters will run over in such abundance that if anyone wished to cross them, they would come up to his neck, and he would be almost submerged. This signifies that they will be near captivity, as is shown below in chapter 36. As in Ezekiel 47:2: And behold there ran out waters on the right side. And in Ezekiel 47:5: the waters were risen so as to make a deep torrent, which could not be passed over.
   3. Third, the multitude of the army: and the stretching out of his wings, that is, its princes, shall fill, by its multitude, the breadth of your land, that is, Judea, O Emmanuel, Christ, who was to be born from it. For Sennacherib sent his princes to capture Jerusalem . Of these wings, Ezekiel 17:3–4 says, a large eagle with great wings, long-limbed, full of feathers, and of variety, came to Lebanon, and took away the marrow of the cedar and the top of the twigs thereof: and carried it away into the land of Canaan, and he set it in a city of merchants.

7. Gather yourselves together, O you peoples. Because he had said that the persecution of the Assyrians would in some manner overflow into the two tribes, here he strengthens them, because they were not to be finally captured in that persecution, nor even be subjugated by the ten tribes and the Syrians. This is divided into two parts:

   • In the first, he presents divine strengthening.
   • In the second, he warns against consulting diviners: and when they shall say to you (Isaiah 8:19).

   Concerning the first part, he presents two things:

   1. He presents the ridicule of the enemy.
   2. He presents the instruction of the people: for thus says the Lord (Isaiah 8:11).

   Concerning the first of these, he does two things:

   1. He presents the ridicule or insult.
   2. He presents the reason for the ridicule: because God is with us (Isaiah 8:10).

   And he ridicules the army of those who fight, the counsel of the wise, and the command of the lords, for wars are fought by these three.

8. Now an army grows strong in three ways:

   1. By multitude, and regarding this, he says: O you peoples, of Syria and Samaria, gather yourselves together, so that you may be many, and be overcome, by God fighting against you through whichever of His ministers. And not only you, but give ear to this same thing, all you lands. This is sarcasm, a type of trope, which is said to be a sort of hostile and hateful ridicule. As in Joel 3:11: break forth, and come, all you nations from round about, and gather yourselves together: there will the Lord cause all your strong ones to fall down.
   2. It grows strong in the physical and spiritual fortitude of its fighters, and regarding this he says, strengthen yourselves. As in Joel 3:10: let the weak say: I am strong.
   3. It grows strong in the protection of arms: gird yourselves, which properly refers to swords but is used here to apply to all arms. As in 1 Maccabees 3:58: gird yourselves, and be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary.

9. As to counsel: take counsel together, and it shall be defeated. As in Job 5:13: who catchesComprehendit. Vg.: apprehendit. the wise in their craftiness, and scattersDissipat. DR: “disappointeth.” the counsel of the wicked. And in Proverbs 21:30: there is no wisdom, there is no prudence, there is no counsel against the Lord.

10. As to the commands of lords concerning those things chosen after counsel: speak a word, and it shall not be done, as above in Isaiah 7:6: let us make him king in the midst thereof. For the kings would announce what they chose to the people, as Homer says.In Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 3.9 (1113a8).

11. He presents the reason by translating the name Emmanuel: because God is with us. As in Romans 8:31: if God be for us, who is against us? And in Jeremiah 15:20: and they shall fight against you, and shall not prevail: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you, says the Lord.

12. For the Lord says these things to me. Here the instruction of the people is presented.

    • First, he teaches them what is not to be feared.
    • Second, what is to be feared: sanctify the Lord of hosts (Isaiah 8:13).

    The first part is divided into two sections:

    • The proof of the teaching.
    • Its delivery, where it says, say not: a conspiracy (Isaiah 8:12).

    And he proves in two ways that enemies are not to be feared.

    First, through the Lord’s command. Hence he says: you will be overcome, O enemies, for, that is, because, the Lord says these things, which have been spoken, to me, and therefore, do not fear. As in Numbers 23:19: God is not a man, that he should lie, nor as the son of man, that he should be changed.

    Second, by his own example. He says: the Lord says, I say, to me, saying to you what follows to teach you, as he has taught me, that is, that I not imitate them in their malice. And this with a strong hand, that is, with tribulation. Or, not only teaching what is to be done, but also giving the grace of virtue to carry it out. As in Lamentations 1:13: from above he has sent fire into my bones, and has taughtErudivit. DR: “chastised.” me.

13. Say not. Here the teaching itself is presented.

    First, he prohibits the word of fear: say not: a conspiracy, of two nations, as if it is to be feared by us; for all that this people speaks, is a conspiracy, against me. Hence if they accuse me of conspiring with you, they will know that I am joined to you in defense. As in Exodus 16:8: your murmuring is not against us, but against God.Deum. Vg.: Dominum. DR: “the Lord.” And below in Isaiah 50:8: let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.

    Second, he prohibits the stirring of passion: neither fear their fear. FearTimor. and dreadPavor. differ in degree, for fear causes a contraction of the heart, but dread, as it were, immobilizes the heart. As in Psalm 27:3: if armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear.

14. Sanctify the Lord of hosts. Here he instructs them on how the Lord is to be feared.

    • First, he presents the law.
    • Second, the sealing of the law: seal the law (Isaiah 8:16).

    Concerning the first, he does three things:

    1. He gives the commandment of the law.
    2. He shows the fruit of obedience: and he shall be a sanctification to you (Isaiah 8:14).
    3. He shows the punishment for rebels: but for a stone of stumbling.

    The commandment is that God be honored: sanctify the Lord of hosts, in yourselves, and serve Him in holiness. Let him be your dread, insofar as He is Lord. As in Psalm 112:1: blessed is the man that fears the Lord. Let him be your terror, insofar as He is the punisher. As in Matthew 10:28: fear not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell. Peter explains this as concerning Christ: and be not afraid of their fear: and be not troubled (1 Peter 3:14). This also seems to be the prophet’s intention because of what follows.

15. Note on the words, as he has taught me, with a strong hand (Isaiah 8:11), that there is a threefold divine hand.

    First is the hand of divine power, and this is threefold:

    1. The hand of God creating: your hands have made me, and fashioned me (Job 10:8).
    2. The hand of God containing: in your hand, Lord,In manu tua, Domine. Vg.: in manu ejus sunt. DR: “in his hand.” are all the ends of the earth (Psalms 95:4).
    3. The hand of God protecting, as below in Isaiah 49:2: in the shadow of his hand he has protected me.

    The second hand is the hand of justice, and this is threefold:

    1. Touching to test: the hand of the Lord has touched me (Job 19:21).
    2. Scourging to cleanse: for though, for the present time, I should be delivered from the punishments of men, yet should I not escape the handsManus. Vg.: manum. DR: “hand.” of the Almighty neither alive nor dead .
    3. Crushing to condemn: it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

    The third hand is the hand of mercy, and this is threefold:

    1. Healing: he wounds, and cures: he strikes, and his hands shall heal (Job 5:18).
    2. Pasturing: the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand (Psalms 95:7).
    3. Crowning: they shall receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord .