Isaiah 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Book of the Prophets. This chapter provides an introduction to the issues of sin, judgement, and hoped-for restoration which form the overarching structure of the whole book. It concludes with 'a reference to the burning of those who trust in their own strength', in a fire which cannot be 'quenched', a relatively rare word which is also used in the last verse of the book, thereby linking together beginning and ending of this whole book.
The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex. Isaiah 1 is a part of the Prophecies about Judah and Israel. : open parashah; : closed parashah.
Isaiah 1:1 = Subtitle or superscription: the vision of Isaiah
= The Wickedness of Judah
= The Degenerate City
Superscription (1:1)
The introductory verse of the Book of Isaiah is closely comparable to the opening of the books of Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah.
Verse 1
"Vision" : Introducing the whole book as a vision in the title, as well as in : Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold they are written in the vision of Isaiah.
According to the Pulpit Commentary, the prophecies of Isaiah "concern primarily the kingdom of Judah, not that of Israel". This verse "is probably best understood as the heading of the first great collection of prophecies" in chapters 1-12. Chapter 13 initiates a proclamation against Babylon.
The great accusation (1:2-4)
Isaiah calls the people of Judah "a thoughtless people".
Verse 2
Isaiah's opening words recall those of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1: The New Century Version combines these two exhortations into one:
Verse 3
This verse has played an important part in ChristianChristmas tradition, along with a number of other verses in Isaiah which are treated as pointing forward to the time of Christ, and, although not mentioned in the gospels, "the ox and the donkey/ass" are often connected with accounts of the birth of Jesus. The animals in the Christmas crib are first mentioned in the apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, where it is said that Mary 'put her child in a manger, and an ox and an ass worshipped him. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "The ox knows his owner and the ass his master's crib"'.
The devastation of Judah (1:5–9)
Isaiah uses images of the sick individual and the desolate nation to portray the sinfulness of his nation. The "daughter of Zion" remained an isolated stronghold when Sennacherib, king ofAssyria attacked the fortified cities of Judah in 701 BCE.
Pious corruption and its cleansing (1:10–20)
Considered 'the most powerful and sustained' prophetic outburst at religious unreality, the vehemence of this prophecy is built up together in its form and content. First, God rejected the offerings, then the offerers, the specific accusation in the lurid conclusion of verse 15: Your hands are full of blood, followed by the command to 'have done with evil' in 'eight thunderous calls', ending in the reminder of the life-and-death alternatives similar to.
The Jerusalem Bible separates out verses 29-31 as an oracle "against tree worship", suggesting that the prophet "possibly has Samaria in mind".
Verse 29
"Oaks", or "terebinths", may refer to the "oaks" in.
"Which ye have desired" or "which give you such pleasure"
Verse 30
"Garden": may refer to the "gardens" in.
Verse 31
"Quench": Illusion of a fire which cannot be 'quenched', from the Hebrew root: k-b-h, links this verse to the last verse of the whole book. Moreover, it is also used in three other places: of the servant in, that 'a dimly burning wick he will not quench'; that 'the fire devouring Edom "will not be quenched"', and those who oppose the LORD'S path are 'quenched like a wick'.
