Isaiah 9:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 9:1
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
to be heavy · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
way
דֶּ֤רֶךְDe.rekh
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct
sea
הַיָּם֙hai.Yam
H3220
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
beyond
עֵ֣בֶר'E.ver
H5676
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּ֔ןhai.yar.Den
H3383
Jarden · definite article + proper noun, a place name
Galilee
גְּלִ֖ילge.Lil
H1551
Galil (as a special circuit) in the North of Palestine · noun, common masculine singular construct
nations
הַגּוֹיִֽםha.go.Yim
H1471
a foreign nation · definite article + 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
Matthew 4:15-16 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;
2 Kings 15:29 In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel-beth-maachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and…
Isaiah 8:22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
1 Chronicles 5:26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them…
2 Kings 17:5-6 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
2 Chronicles 16:4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and A…
Leviticus 26:24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
Leviticus 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 9:1-7
The first words of this chapter plainly refer to the close of the foregoing chapter, where every thing looked black and melancholy: Behold, trouble, and darkness, and dimness - very bad, yet not so bad but that to the upright there shall arise light in the darkness (Psa 112:4) and at evening time it shall be light, Zac 14:7. Nevertheless it shall not be such dimness (either not such for kind or not such for degree) as sometimes there has been. Note, In the worst of times God's people have a nevertheless to comfort themselves with, something to allay and balance their troubles; they are persecuted, but not forsaken (Co2 4:9), sorrowful yet always rejoicing, Co2 6:10. And it is matter of comfo…
Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,.... The words may be rendered, "for there shall be no weariness to him that straitens" or "afflicts" them (f); so Jarchi, who interprets it of the king of Assyria; but it is better to understand it of Titus Vespasian, who would not be weary of, but indefatigable in carrying on the siege of Jerusalem, and in distressing the Jews in all parts: or thus, "for there shall be no fleeing from him that is oppressed in it" (g); either that is besieged in Jerusalem, or distressed in Judea; and so the words are a reason of the former distress, and a continuation and amplification of it; though many interpreters think they are to be und…
Yet the darkness shall not be. He begins to comfort the wretched by the hope of alleviation, that they may not be swallowed up by the huge mass of distresses. Many take these words in quite an opposite meaning, that is, as a threatening which denounces against the Jews a heavier affliction than that with which Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29) and Shalmanezer (2 Kings 17:6) afflicted them. The former inflicted a heavy calamity, the latter inflicted one still heavier, for he carried the twelve tribes into captivity, and blotted out the name of the nation. Some think that he now foretells the heaviest calamity of all, for if it be compared with the former two, it exceeds both of them. Though I a…
The Church Fathers
(Chapter 9, verses 1 and following) In the first time, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were relieved, and in the last time the way of the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles was made heavy. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shone. LXX: Drink this first, quickly make it for the region of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, and the rest of you who are near the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. We have made two editions, because the testimony has been spread and used by the evangelist Matthew, so that either the diversity of interpretation or the similarity may be known. First, it should be noted that the evangelist Matthew placed this testimony not according to the Septuagint, but according to the Hebrews. For the Gospel narration says: When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, upon them a light has dawned.' From that time Jesus began to preach and say: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand' (Matt. 4:13 et seqq.). And John the Evangelist reports that Jesus, with his disciples, was invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and there he performed his first sign by turning water into wine. This Jesus did, the beginning of his signs in Cana of Galilee, and he manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him (John 2:11). And in the Septuagint it is said: Drink this first, do it quickly, for the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali will see the first miracles of Christ, so that they may be the first to drink the potion of faith, which they first saw the Lord performing signs. And, according to the Hebrew, it is said to have been relieved of the burden of sins in the first time: because in the regions of the two tribes, the Savior first preached the Gospel. Therefore, in the sixty-seventh Psalm it is…
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
Captivities Of The Jews — The present article is confined to the forcible deportation of the Jew; from their native land, and their forcible detention, under the Assyrian or Babylonian kings. Captives of Israel.—The kingdom…
Captivity — (1.) Of Israel. The kingdom of the ten tribes was successively invaded by several Assyrian kings. Pul (q.v.) imposed a tribute on Menahem of a thousand talents of silver (2 Kings 15:19, 20; 1 Chr.…
Galilee — Circuit. Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services rendered him by the gift of an upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, and called it “the land of…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Zebulun, Lot of — In Galilee, to the north of Issachar and south of Asher and Naphtali (Josh. 19:10-16), and between the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean. According to ancient prophecy this part of Galilee enjoyed…
Afflictions · God regulates the measure of — God regulates the measure of
After the prophet has thus depicted the people as without morning dawn, he gives the reason for the assumption that a restoration of light is to be expected, although not for the existing generation. "For it does not remain dark where there is now distress: in the first time He brought into disgrace the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and in the last He brings to honour the road by the sea, the other side of Jordan, the circle of the Gentiles." כּי is neither to be taken as equivalent to the untranslatable ὃτι recitativum (Knobel), nor is there any necessity to translate it "but" or "nevertheless," and supply the clause, "it will not remain so." The reason assigned for the fact t…
Beyond destruction there is hope. In the Messiah’s kingdom, the darkness would give way to great light, which was to dawn in Galilee and reach the whole nation, and then the whole world. The Messiah’s rule would be marked by the vindication of the oppressed and the end of all oppression. He would bring justice and righteousness forever in a kingdom of peace.
9:1 Zebulun and Naphtali were northern tribes in Israel (Judg 6:35). They were humbled by the Assyrian invaders under Tiglath-pileser III in 734 and 732 BC. In Jesus’ lifetime, this prophecy was connected with his coming out of Galilee (Matt 4:14-16). • Galilee of the Gentiles was the region of Israel between the Sea of Galilee and the…
The people who walked in darkness The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were darkened by their concern [of falling into the hands] of Sennacherib. Comp. with what Hezekiah said (infra 7:3), “This day is a day of distress, debate, and blasphemy.”
have seen a great light with Sennacherib’s downfall.
Quotations And Allusions · IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM, AND TO, THE OLD TESTAMENT — IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM, AND TO, THE OLD TESTAMENT
Zebulun · General references — General references
Zebulun, The Tribe Of · Country of, blessed with the presence and instruction of Christ — Country of, blessed with the presence and instruction of Christ
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).
