Isaiah 7 explained: A Frightened King Offered a Sign

Two kings threaten Jerusalem (vv. 1-6)

Around 735 BC, Aram (Syria, ruled from Damascus) and the northern kingdom of Israel, here called Ephraim, marched on Judah, probably to force it into their alliance against Assyria, and planned to install a puppet king, the otherwise unknown son of Tabeel. Isaiah meets the terrified King Ahaz at the city's water supply with his son, whose name means “a remnant will return,” and calls the two kings smoldering stubs of firewood, more smoke than fire.

Trust or fall (vv. 7-9)

The LORD says the plot will fail, because each enemy is led by a mere man, and within a few years Assyria took Damascus and Israel's king Pekah was assassinated. Scholars are unsure how to count the sixty-five years in verse 8, since Israel fell much sooner, and verse 9 plays on a Hebrew word, roughly “no firm trust, no firm footing.”

Ahaz turns down a sign (vv. 10-13)

God offers Ahaz any sign he likes, from the depths below to the heights above, but Ahaz refuses, echoing the law's command not to put God to the test. Isaiah calls this refusal a trial of God's patience. Many readers suspect the pious answer hid a plan to seek Assyria's help, which the book of Kings says Ahaz did, though this chapter does not say so.

A child called God with us (vv. 14-16)

The sign is a child named Immanuel, “God with us,” and it sets a timeline: before he can tell right from wrong, the lands of the two kings Ahaz fears will lie waste. The Hebrew word for the mother means a young woman of marriageable age, and the ancient Greek translation used a word for virgin, so English versions differ. Jewish readers and many scholars see a child born in Ahaz's day, while Christians, following Matthew's Gospel, read it as pointing to Jesus born of Mary.

Assyria the razor (vv. 17-20)

The LORD will bring the king of Assyria and give Judah its worst days since the northern tribes broke away, whistling for flies from Egypt and bees from Assyria to swarm over the land. Assyria is pictured as a razor God hires from across the Euphrates, possibly a jab at Ahaz paying it for help, and the shaving of head, beard and body is a picture of deep humiliation.

A land gone wild (vv. 21-25)

With farming wrecked, a household might keep only a young cow and a couple of animals, and the few people left will live on milk curds and honey. Vineyards once worth a fortune turn to thorns fit only for hunting and grazing, and the curds and honey echo verse 15, where scholars debate whether that food signals hardship or plenty.

Key verse: Isaiah 7:9

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether verse 14 foretold Jesus alone, or first promised a child born in Ahaz's own day whose fuller meaning Christians find in Jesus.

Something to think about

When you are badly frightened, what do you tend to reach for first, and has it ever ended up costing more than you expected?