Isaiah 42:6 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 42:6
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
to call out to (i.e. properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
righteousness
בְצֶ֖דֶקve.Tze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
hold
וְאַחְזֵ֣קve.'ach.Zek
H2388
to fasten upon · conjunction + verb, hiphil jussive, 1st person common singular
hand
בְּיָדֶ֑ךָbe.ya.De.kha
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
keep
וְאֶצָּרְךָ֗ve.'e.tza.re.Kha
H5341
to guard · conjunction + verb, qal, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
give
וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ve.'e.ten.Kha
H5414
to give · conjunction + verb, qal, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
covenant
לִבְרִ֥יתliv.Rit
H1285
a compact (because made by passing between pieces of fl… · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
people
עָ֖ם'am
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
light
לְא֥וֹרle.'or
H216
illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
Gentiles
גּוֹיִֽםgo.Yim
H1471
a foreign nation · noun, common masculine plural 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
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the l…
Luke 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and gi…
Acts 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends…
Isaiah 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel:…
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath…
Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 42:5-12
Here is I. The covenant God made with and the commission he gave to the Messiah, Isa 42:5-7, which are an exposition of Isa 42:1, Behold my servant, whom I uphold.
1. The royal titles by which the great God here makes himself known, and distinguishes himself from all pretenders, speak very much his glory (Isa 42:5): Thus saith God the Lord. And who are thou, Lord? Why, he is the fountain of all being and therefore the fountain of all power. He is the fountain of being, 1. In the upper world; for he created the heavens and stretched them out (Isa 40:22), and keeps the vast expanse still upon the stretch. 2. In the lower world: for he spread forth the earth, and made it a capacious habitation,…
in righteousness--rather, "for a righteous purpose" [LOWTH]. (See Isa 42:21). God "set forth" His Son "to be a propitiation (so as) to declare His (God's) righteousness, that God might be just, and (yet) the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom 3:25-26; compare see on Isa 41:2; Isa 45:13; Isa 50:8-9).
hold . . . hand--compare as to Israel, the type of Messiah, Hos 11:3.
covenant--the medium of the covenant, originally made between God and Abraham (Isa 49:8). "The mediator of a better covenant" (Heb 8:6) than the law (see Isa 49:8; Jer 31:33; Jer 50:5). So the abstract "peace," for peace-maker (Mic 5:5; Eph 2:14).
the people--Israel; as Isa 49:8, compared with Isa 42:6, prove…
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,.... Not the Prophet Isaiah, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it; nor the people of Israel, as Kimchi; but the Messiah, whom Jehovah called to the office of Mediator, in a righteous way and manner, consistent with his own perfections; and not against the will of Christ, but with his full consent: or, "unto righteousness", as some (n); so the Arabic version; to fulfil his righteous purposes, concerning the welfare and salvation of his people; to perform his righteous promises of his coming, and of good things by him; to show his strict vindictive justice against sin, in the punishment of it; and to bring in an everlasting righteousness for his peo…
The Church Fathers
Since, therefore, we were as though blind before, and when we sat as though enclosed by the prison house of foolishness in the darkness, not knowing God and his truth, we were enlightened by him who adopted us by his gracious treatment (his will in our favor). And when he had freed us as from evils and bonds and brought us into the light of wisdom, he recognized us as the heirs of his heavenly kingdom.
Moses then received it, but they proved themselves unworthy. Learn now how we have received it. Moses, as a servant, received it; but the Lord himself, having suffered in our behalf, hath given it to us, that we should be the people of inheritance. But He was manifested, in order that they might be perfected in their iniquities, and that we, being constituted heirs through Him, might receive the testament of the Lord Jesus, who was prepared for this end, that by His personal manifestation, redeeming our hearts (which were already wasted by death, and given over to the iniquity of error) from darkness, He might by His word enter into a covenant with us. For it is written how the Father, about to redeem us from darkness, commanded Him to prepare a holy people for Himself. The prophet therefore declares, "I, the Lord Thy God, have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thy hand, and will strengthen Thee; and I have given Thee for a covenant to the people, for a light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, and to bring forth from fetters them that are bound, and those that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." Ye perceive, then, whence we have been redeemed.
(Verses 6-7) I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. Therefore, he to whom such great praises are sung has spoken these words to him, whose law the islands await and the nations: I am the Lord who called you in righteousness; of whom he himself speaks in the Gospel, Father, the world does not know you (John XVII, 25); so that he may be not only the God of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles. And I took hold of your hand, for whatever the Son does, the Father does also. And I saved you, who preserves all things yourself. And I gave you into a covenant with the people of Israel, to whom I had promised that you would come. And into the light of the Gentiles, who were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, so that you would open the eyes of the blind who had not seen God before. And you would bring out those who were bound in confinement (Prov. 2:16); for each one is bound by the cords of their own sins. And in the Gospel, which Satan had bound, the Lord set free (Matt. VIII). Those sitting in the darkness of the prison house, who were dwelling in the night of error and darkness.
Dictionary and topics
Covenant — A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means “to cut,” and hence a covenant is a…
Covenant, The · Christ, the substance of — Christ, the substance of
Depravity Of Man · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Gifts From God · .Christ, the Saviour — .Christ, the Saviour
Gifts Of God, The · Spiritual: Christ the chief of — Spiritual: Christ the chief of
Types Of Christ · Ark of the Covenant — Ark of the Covenant
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).
I Jehovah have called thee in righteousness. He again repeats the name of God, in which we ought to supply what he stated in the former verse about his power. It is generally thought that this points out the end of Christ's calling, that he was sent by the Father to establish "justice" among men, who are destitute of it so long as they have not Christ, and, being given up to all the corruptions of crimes and vices, are held captive under the tyranny of Satan. But because the word "righteousness" has a more extensive signification, I pass by that ingenious distinction; for it is not even said that he shall be called "to righteousness," but this phraseology ought to be viewed as equivalent to…
The words of Jehovah are now addressed to His servant himself. He has not only an exalted vocation, answering to the infinite exaltation of Him from whom he has received his call; but by virtue of the infinite might of the caller, he may be well assured that he will never be wanting in power to execute his calling. "Thus saith God, Jehovah, who created the heavens, and stretched them out; who spread the earth, and its productions; who gave the spirit of life to the people upon it, and the breath of life to them that walk upon it: I, Jehovah, I have called thee in righteousness, and grasped thy hand; and I keep thee, and make thee the covenant of the people, the light of the Gentiles, to open…
my people, Israel . . . my covenant with them (literally a covenant for the people): It is also possible that “the people” referred to all the peoples/nations of the earth (see 49:6). • light to guide the nations: See also 51:4; Acts 13:47.
Rashi on Isaiah 42:6
I called you To Isaiah He says.
and I formed you Heb. וְאֶצָּרְךָ. When I formed you (כְּשֶׁיְצַרְתִּיךָ), this was My thought, that you return My people to My covenant and to enlighten them.
for a light to nations Every tribe is called a nation by itself, as the matter is stated (Gen. 35:11): “A nation and a congregation of nations.”