Isaiah 51:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 51:1
Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
after
רֹ֥דְפֵיRo.de.fei
H7291
to run after (usually with hostile intent · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
righteousness
צֶ֖דֶקTze.dek
H6664
the right (natural · noun, common masculine singular absolute
seek
מְבַקְשֵׁ֣יme.vak.Shei
H1245
to search out (by any method · verb, piel active participle, masculine plural construct
LORD
יְהוָ֑הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
look
הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ha.Bi.tu
H5027
to scan · verb, hiphil imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
rock
צ֣וּרtzur
H6697
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
hewn
חֻצַּבְתֶּ֔םchu.tzav.Tem
H2672
to cut or carve (wood · verb, pual perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
hole
מַקֶּ֥בֶתma.Ke.vet
H4718
properly · noun, common feminine singular construct
pit
בּ֖וֹרBor
H953
a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or a priso… · noun, common masculine singular absolute
digged
נֻקַּרְתֶּֽםnu.kar.Tem
H5365
to bore (penetrate · verb, pual perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
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
Isaiah 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of t…
Psalms 94:15 But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
Psalms 105:3-4 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Romans 9:30-32 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness wh…
Romans 14:19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Proverbs 21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
Isaiah 48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 51:1-3
Observe, 1. How the people of God are here described, to whom the word of this consolation is sent and who are called upon to hearken to it, Isa 51:1. They are such as follow after righteousness, such as are very desirous and solicitous both to be justified and to be sanctified, are pressing hard after this, to have the favour of God restored to them and the image of God renewed on them. These are those that seek the Lord, for it is only in the say of righteousness that we can seek him with any hope of finding him. 2. How they are here directed to look back to their original, and the smallness of their beginning: "Look unto the rock whence you were hewn" (the idolatrous family in Ur of the C…
Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness,.... After having declared the doom of the wicked, and those that trust to their own righteousness, the Lord returns to them that fear him, whom he describes as such that "follow after righteousness"; not the righteousness of the law, it is the character of carnal Israel to follow after that; nor is that attainable in the way it is pursued by such; nor is there any justification by it; nor is following that consistent with seeking the Lord, in the next clause: but the righteousness of Christ is meant; not his essential righteousness as God; nor the righteousness of his office as Mediator; but that which consists of his active and passive ob…
Hearken to me, ye that follow righteousness. The Prophet now exhorts the Jews not to despair because they are few in number; for they had been cut down and diminished to such a degree that they appeared to be on the eve of being reduced to nothing, while there was little or no hope of any to succeed them. He therefore reminds them of their origin, that they may know that, though they are a small remnant, God can increase and multiply them; and he bids them contemplate their father Abraham, who, though he was a single individual, grew to a vast number, and received from God a numerous posterity. Hence they might infer that God, who, in so short a period, had multiplied their fathers, would in…
The Church Fathers
The Jews refer this to Zerubbabel's time, because after the devastation of Babylon, Zion was restored, the Temple was built, and the ancient religion was restored.… thus the Lord also speaks here to those who persecute what is just, according to what is said elsewhere: Seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm XXXIII, 5); and again: Pursuing hospitality (Romans XI, 13). And they seek the Lord, so that from past events he may infer his presence: since much more difficult things have already happened, they should not doubt the future things that are promised. Furthermore, it is said by the persecutors of justice according to the Septuagint, that they may look upon the most sturdy rock, which they have cut down, and the pit of the trap they have dug, that is, the Lord as Savior, about whom the Apostle speaks: And that rock was Christ (I Cor. X, 4).… We can call the rock that was hewn out the sepulcher of the Savior, in which he was buried, and rising from the dead, he begot innumerable children. And he was called Abraham, that is, the father of many nations. Just as Sarah, once barren, is interpreted as the Church, which is also called Zion, whom the Lord has comforted, and has made her desolate places like a paradise. For she has more children of the desolate than of her who has a husband.
"Righteous," he says, instead of "righteousness," which is through Christ through faith in him, a faith that justifies the ungodly and removes all stain from those who have been filthy, and cleanses them in the Spirit and prepares for them the shining honor of sonship. They pursue righteousness, not in the sense of driving it before them and so away from their minds, but of running toward it to take hold of it. As David said, "Seek peace and pursue it." … The speech of the holy prophets always draws figures from the visible and the tangible things. For it has expressions that transcend reference, the senses and even the mind. In this way "Zion" is mentioned—not that we think of the earthly city but rather take it to be the spiritual one, that is, the church of the living God. Or how else would we see the words of the prophet coming true?…"Worship in spirit and truth," and the power of spiritual worship gave off the pleasant spiritual fragrance and joy in the hope that is in Christ. For if we trust that our body of lowliness will be transformed into the body of his glory, so we shall be with him and reign with him, assembled among the children of God and enriched with his divine and life-giving Spirit. We too bring forward the spiritual harvest to him—the confession and hymns of thanksgiving. For with such sacrifices is God well pleased.
Dictionary and topics
Depravity Of Man · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Humility · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Righteousness · Saints: Follow after — Saints: Follow after
Rocks · Illustrative of: The ancestor of a nation — Illustrative of: The ancestor of a nation
Seekers · 5:8;8:5,6; — 5:8;8:5,6;
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).
This prophecy calls for trust in the Lord. Each of its three units begins with the phrase, Listen to me (51:1, 4, 7).
51:1 The rock and the quarry represent Abraham and Sarah (51:2).
Rashi on Isaiah 51:1
look at the rock whence you were hewn from it.
and at the hole of the pit Heb. מַקֶּבֶת. With which they penetrate (נוֹקְבִין) and hew the pits. you were dug with which you were dug.
you were dug Heb. נֻקַּרְתֶּם, an expression similar to (Ex. 33.22) “The cleft (נִקְרַת) of the rock”; (Prov. 30:17) “The ravens of the brook shall pick it (יִקְּרוּהָ).” And who is the rock? He is Abraham your forefather. And who is the hole? She is Sarah who bore you. [תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶם means] ‘who bore you,’ an expression similar to (infra 66: 8) “For Zion experienced pangs (חָלָה) and also bore.”
(Chapter 51, verses 1 and following) Listen to me, you who pursue what is just and seek the Lord. Consider the rock from which you were hewn, and the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father, and Sarah who bore you; for when I called him, he was but one, then I blessed him and made him many. Therefore, the Lord will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. LXX: Listen, you who pursue what is just, and seek the Lord. Pay attention to the sturdy rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for he was alone when I called him, but I blessed him and multiplied him. And now I will comfort you, Zion. I have made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of praise. While the sleeping ones are in sorrow and perpetual grief, who kindled a fire for themselves and made the flames very strong, you who pursue justice and seek the Lord (which signifies the choir of the Apostles and of those who believe through the Apostles), look back at the rock, that is, your father Abraham, from whom you were cut off, and at the cave of the lake, from which you were cut off, that is, Sarah who bore you. And consider this, that when he was of one hundred years and his wife was barren, I multiplied his children like the stars of the sky, so that the multitude would surpass the number. If, therefore, from one man so many thousands of people have been born, what great thing is it for me to restore the ruins of Zion and to change its deserts into a paradise of pleasure and into the garden of the Lord which God planted in Eden opposite the East? And let there be found in it joy and gladness instead of diverse trees, confession and the voice of praise. The Jews refer this to Zerubbabel's time, because after the devastation of Babylon, Zion was restored, the Temple was built, and the ancient religion was restored. But how does it say above (in chapter XLIX, 22, 23) to Zion: They will bring your sons in their arms, and they will carry your daughters on their shoulders. And your kings will be your foster fathers, and your queens will be…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
