Isaiah 38:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 38:5
Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal infinitive absolute
say
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ve.'a.mar.Ta
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
Hezekiah
חִזְקִיָּ֗הוּchiz.ki.Ya.hu
H2396
Chizkijah · proper noun, a man's name
saith
אָמַ֤ר'a.Mar
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָה֙Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵי֙'e.lo.Hei
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
David
דָּוִ֣דda.Vid
H1732
David · proper noun, a man's name
father
אָבִ֔יךָ'a.Vi.kha
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
heard
שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙sha.Ma'.ti
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
prayer
תְּפִלָּתֶ֔ךָte.fi.la.Te.kha
H8605
intercession · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
seen
רָאִ֖יתִיra.'I.ti
H7200
to see · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
tears
דִּמְעָתֶ֑ךָdim.'a.Te.kha
H1832
weeping · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
add
יוֹסִ֣ףyo.Sif
H3254
to add or augment (often adverbial · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
days
יָמֶ֔יךָya.Mei.kha
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
fifteen
חֲמֵ֥שׁcha.Mesh
H2568
five · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
years
שָׁנָֽהsha.Nah
H8141
a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 34:5-6 They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed.
1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Revelation 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe aw…
Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call…
Psalms 147:3 He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
Psalms 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
2 Kings 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacher…
Psalms 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 38:1-8
We may hence observe, among others, these good lessons: - 1. That neither men's greatness nor their goodness will exempt them from the arrests of sickness and death. Hezekiah, a mighty potentate on earth and a mighty favourite of Heaven, is struck with a disease, which, without a miracle, will certainly be mortal; and this in the midst of his days, his comforts, and usefulness. Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. It should seem, this sickness seized him when he was in the midst of his triumphs over the ruined army of the Assyrians, to teach us always to rejoice with trembling. 2. It concerns us to prepare when we see death approaching: "Set thy house in order, and thy heart especially…
God of David thy father--God remembers the covenant with the father to the children (Exo 20:5; Psa 89:28-29).
tears-- (Psa 56:8).
days . . . years--Man's years, however many, are but as so many days (Gen 5:27).
John Gill on Isaiah 38:5
Go and say to Hezekiah,.... Turn again, and tell him, 2 Kings 20:5,
thus saith the Lord the God of David thy father; this is said, to show that he remembered the covenant he made with David his father, concerning the kingdom, and the succession of his children in it; and that he had a regard to him, as walking in his steps:
I have heard thy prayer; and therefore was not surely a foolish one, as Luther somewhere calls it, since it was heard and answered so quickly:
I have seen thy tears; which he shed in prayer, and so studiously concealed from others, when he turned his face to the wall:
behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years; that is, to the days he had lived already, and beyond…
Thus saith Jehovah the God of David thy father. At first, when he struck terror alone, he reckoned it enough to mention the bare and simple name of God, to whose heavenly judgmentseat he summoned him as a criminal; but now, when he brings consolation, he distinguishes God by a peculiar and honorable title in order to point out the cause and origin of grace; as if he had said that, from a regard to his covenant which he made with David, he is inclined to mercy, so that he does not deal rigorously with Hezekiah. (2 Samuel 7:12.) We know that nothing is more difficult than for hearts that have been greatly alarmed by the conviction of God's anger to be encouraged to entertain favorable hope, so…
The Church Fathers
Prayer sometimes brings the dead back to life, but sometimes it may slay the living, as happened with the godly Peter. He brought Tabitha back to life by prayer, but he effected the death of Ananias and Sapphira. … The case of Hezekiah was also astonishing. Through prayer he added to the days of his life as king. He routed the mighty Assyrian army through the agency of a spiritual being.
The number seven, as has often been said, denotes the week occasioned by the sabbath of the Old Testament. The number eight signifies the Lord's day, on which he clearly rose again, and this is relevant to the New [Testament]. When joined together, they are seen to make up the number fifteen.… Some commentators think that the fifteen additional years accorded to King Hezekiah are related to this parallel, so that the number fifteen is shown to have signified the course of his perfect life.
When Hezekiah, king of Judah, was still sick and weeping, there came an angel, and said to him: "I have seen thy tears, and I have heard thy voice. Behold, I add unto thy time fifteen years. And this shall be a sign to thee from the Lord: Behold, I turn back the shadow of the degrees of the house of thy father, by which the sun has gone down, the ten degrees by which the shadow has gone down," so that day be a day of thirty-two hours. For when the sun had run its course to the tenth hour, it returned again. And again, when Joshua the son of Nun was fighting against the Amorites, when the sun was now inclining to its setting, and the battle was being pressed closely, Joshua, being anxious lest the heathen host should escape on the descent of night, cried out, saying, "Sun, stand thou still in Gibeon; and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon," until I vanquish this people. And the sun stood still, and the moon, in their places, so that day was one of twenty-four hours. And in the time of Hezekiah the moon also turned back along with the sun, that there might be no collision between the two elemental bodies, by their bearing against each other in defiance of law. And Merodach the Chaldean, king of Babylon, being struck with amazement at that time-for he studied the science of astrology, and measured the courses of these bodies carefully-on learning the cause, sent a letter and gifts to Hezekiah, just as also the wise men from the east did to Christ.
Dictionary and topics
Disease · Of Hezekiah — Of Hezekiah
Hezekiah · .Sickness and restoration of — .Sickness and restoration of
Life, Natural · Sometimes prolonged, in answer to prayer — Sometimes prolonged, in answer to prayer
Sickness · God: Heals — God: Heals
Tears · Observed by God — Observed by God
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The prospect is now mercifully changed. "And it came to pass (K. Isaiah was not yet out of the inner city; keri סהצר, the forecourt, and) the word of Jehovah came to Isaiah (K. to him) as follows: Go (K. turn again) and say to Hizkiyahu (K. adds, to the prince of my people), Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thine ancestor, I have heard thy prayer, seen thy tears; behold, I (K. will cure thee, on the third day thou shalt go up to the house of Jehovah) add (K. and I add) to thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee ad this city out of the hand of the king of Asshur, and will defend this city (K. for mine own sake and for David my servant's sake)." In the place of העיר (the city) the…