Isaiah 49:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 49:5
And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֗הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
formed
יֹצְרִ֤יyo.tze.Ri
H3335
to mould into a form · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
womb
מִבֶּ֙טֶן֙mi.Be.ten
H990
the belly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
servant
לְעֶ֣בֶדle.'E.ved
H5650
a servant · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
bring
לְשׁוֹבֵ֤בle.sho.Vev
H7725
to turn back (hence · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct
Jacob
יַֽעֲקֹב֙ya.'a.Ko
H3290
Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
again
שׁוּבshûwb
H7725
to turn back (hence
Israel
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לve.Yis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
gathered
יֵאָסֵ֑ףye.'a.Sef
H622
to gather for any purpose · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
glorious
וְאֶכָּבֵד֙ve.'e.ka.Ved
H3513
to be heavy · conjunction + verb, niphal, 1st person common singular
eyes
בְּעֵינֵ֣יbe.'ei.Nei
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
LORD
יְהוָ֔הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
וֵאלֹהַ֖יve.lo.Hai
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
strength
עֻזִּֽי'u.Zi
H5797
strength in various applications (force · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
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
Matthew 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in wh…
John 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
1 Peter 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Psalms 110:1-3 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from th…
Isaiah 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvatio…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 49:1-6
Here, I. An auditory is summoned together and attention demanded. The sermon in the foregoing chapter was directed to the house of Jacob and the people of Israel, Isa 49:1, Isa 49:12. But this is directed to the isles (that is, the Gentiles, for they are called the isles of the Gentiles, Gen 10:5) and to the people from far, that were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and afar off. Let these listen (Isa 49:1) as to a thing at a distance, which yet they are to hear with desire and attention. Note, 1. The tidings of a Redeemer are sent to the Gentiles, and to those that lie most remote; and they are concerned to listen to them. 2. The Gentiles listened to the gospel when the Jews were d…
The reason why He was confident that His work would be accepted and rewarded, namely, because He is "glorious in the eyes of Jehovah," &c.
to bring Jacob again to him-- (Mat 15:24; Act 3:26).
Though Israel be not gathered--metaphor from a scattered flock which the shepherd gathers together again; or a hen and her chickens (Mat 23:37). Instead of the text "not," the Keri has the similar Hebrew word, "to Him," which the parallelism favors: "And that Israel may be gathered to Him."
yet--rather, parenthetically. "For I am glorious, &c., and My God is My strength." Then (Isa 49:6) resuming the words from the beginning of Isa 49:5, "He saith" (I repeat), &c. HORSLEY explains, "Notwithstandin…
And now, saith the Lord,.... Jehovah the Father, in confirmation of the call, office, and work of Christ, which he hath declared, Isaiah 49:1,
that formed me from the womb to be his servant; who preordained him to this service before the world began, and prepared him for it from the womb of his mother Mary, by filling him with grace and wisdom and with the Spirit without measure; anointing him with the oil of gladness above his fellows, and so fitting him as man and Mediator for the preaching of the Gospel, and every other service he called him:
to bring Jacob again, to him; the lost sheep of the house of Israel, God's elect among the Jews, which were as straying sheep; or all his chosen p…
The Church Fathers
In respect of nature, [Christ] differs in nothing from us, though he precedes us in time, so long as we all consist and are created by the same hand.
"Who formed me from the womb to be his servant." This is clearly said with reference to Zerubbabel and the people but was accomplished in Christ. And indeed, since Christ will descend from them, it is with good reason that what concerns him is represented in them as in a sign.
For a lowly appellation is given to the Word whose origin is from God, that he is called slave, that is, a household member. For such a title can sometimes indicate "son," and at other times, as we have said, "household member." In the economy of the flesh, it is appropriate to consider the Son as a slave. For he is God by nature and free as being from God the sovereign Father, yet he took the shape or form of a slave. For no one with right understanding could say that he was a slave by nature who was then able to be brought into the form of a slave. Rather, he was outside of slavery and constraint, but for the sake of a sign, in the freedom of his nature, he received the shape, that is, the form of slave.… For he was Emmanuel, and he revealed to us no less in this way his freedom which was real and by nature.… For he who was God the Word dwelled in them and among us for no other reason except so that he could save Israel and gather Jacob. For he had scattered all others who were on the earth, every inventor of wickedness, into their many-colored and multifaceted vices.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
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).
And now saith Jehovah. By this verse he confirms the former statement, and yields more abundant consolation, by repeating that calling; and the testimony of conscience, which ought to be regarded by us as a fortress; for there is nothing that gives us greater distress and anxiety, than to entertain doubts by whose authority, or by whose direction everything is undertaken by us. For this reason Isaiah reminds us of the certainty of our calling.
Who formed me from the womb to be his servant. In the first place, godly teachers, along with Christ who is their Prince, say that they have been "formed" by a divine hand; because God always enriches and adorns with necessary gifts those whom he call…
The expression "and now" (ועתּה), which follows, evidently indicates a fresh turn in the official life of the person speaking here. At the same time, it is evident that it is the failure of his labours within his own people, which has forced out the lamentation in Isa 49:4. For his reason for addressing his summons in Isa 49:1 to the world of nations, is that Jehovah has not guaranteed to him, the undaunted one, success to his labours among his own people, but has assigned him a mission extending far beyond and reaching to all mankind. "And now, saith Jehovah, that formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring back Jacob to Him, and that Israel may be gathered together to Him; and I am…
my work seems so useless . . . to no purpose: Even though people stubbornly refuse his message, the servant would reach out to them. • I will trust God: Despite discouragement and suffering, the servant would continue to discharge his duty faithfully, trusting God for the outcome. God promised to reward the servant’s faithfulness (see also 40:10; 50:8).
Rashi on Isaiah 49:5
shall be gathered to Him To Him they shall return in repentance.
