Isaiah 8:3

Isa 8:3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name Mahershalalhashbaz.

Ver. 3. And I went unto the prophetess.] Prophets’ wives were anciently called prophetesses; like as bishops’ wives, saith A Lapide the Jesuit, were also called bishopesses, presbyters’ wives, presbyteresses, deacons’ wives, deaconesses. Jesuits have still their Jesuitesses, as majors their majoresses, &c.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz,] q.d., Make haste, come away to so rich a booty, to the rifling and ruinating of these two potent and opulent kingdoms. God hereby seemeth to speak of the Assyrian, as Cicero once did his friend, Si dormis, expergiscere: si stas, ingredere: si ingrederis, curre: si curtis, advola, &c. and at the calling of this child by his name, the prediction was remembered, and the thing ascertained.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:3 my wife: Literally the prophetess. • Like the name Immanuel (7:14), Maher-shalal-hash-baz is symbolic. It is possible that this child was the partial fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy as well (see study note on 7:14). The ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy occurred with the birth of Jesus (Matt 1:22-23).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, to his wife, and this was done in a vision.

Or, make speed to the spoil: haste to the prey.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

prophetess--perhaps the same as the "virgin" (Isa 7:14), in the interim married as Isaiah's second wife: this is in the primary and temporary sense. Immanuel is even in this sense distinct from Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Thus nineteen months at least intervene from the prophecy (Isa 7:14), nine before the birth of Immanuel, and ten from that time to the birth of Maher-shalal-hash-baz: adding eleven or twelve months before the latter could cry, "Father" (Isa 8:4), we have about three years in all, agreeing with Isa 7:15-16.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(3) I . . . the prophetess . . .—The word may have been given by courtesy to a prophet’s wife as such. Elsewhere, however, as in the case of Deborah (Jdg_4:4) and Huldah (2Ch_34:22), it implies prophetic gifts. Possibly, therefore, we may think of the prophet and his wife as having been drawn together by united thoughts and counsels, in contrast with the celibate life of Jeremiah (Jer_16:2), the miseries of Hosea’s marriage (Hosea 1, 2), and the sudden bereavement of Ezekiel (Eze_24:16-18). We may, perhaps, trace, on this view, the wife’s hand in the toilet inventory of Isa_3:16-24.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. the prophetess] Isaiah’s wife is so called, not because she herself possessed the prophetic gift, but because the husband’s designation is transferred by courtesy to the wife;—as a German might have said “die Frau Prophetin.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I went unto the prophetess,.... His wife, so called; not because she prophesied, but because she was the wife of a prophet; and besides, the birth of her son later mentioned, and his name, had in them the nature of a prophecy. The phrase of going unto her is an euphemism, a modest way of expressing the conjugal debt:

and she conceived and bare a son; which Jarchi would have the same with Immanuel in Isa 7:14 but this is a later prophecy, and a distinct one from that; and not only the names of the children are different, but the mothers also; the one a virgin, the other the prophet's wife.

Then said the Lord to me, call his name Mahershalalhashbaz: of the signification of this name; see Gill on Isa 8:1. Kimchi thinks that his name did not consist of these four words, only of two of them; and that he was sometimes called "Mahershalal", and sometimes "Hashbaz": both signifying the same thing. Some think that all this was done only in a vision, and not in reality, to declare and confirm what follows; though by that it seems rather to be a real fact.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Then said the Lord ... - The name thus given was to be emblematic of a particular event - that Assyria would soon take away the spoil of Damascus and Samaria. It is not remarkable that the name Immanuel should also be given to the same child, as signifying the presence and protection of God in defending the nation from the invaders; see the notes at Isa 7:14-15. Calvin thinks that all this passed in a vision before the prophet; but it has every mark of being a literal narrative of the birth of a son to Isaiah; and without this supposition, it is impossible to understand the account contained here.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Prophetess. The blessed Virgin [Mary], (St. Chrysostom, &c.) or to his wife. He gives his son a different name from Emmanuel, (chap. vii. 14.) that they might not be confounded. --- Hasten. Hebrew Mahershalalchashbaz, ver. 1. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I went unto, Heb. I came near to her. A modest expression of the conjugal act.

The prophetess; so called, partly as she was the prophet’s wife, wives being frequently denominated from their husbands’ titles, as the wives of mayor, or doctor, &c, are commonly called mayoress, doctoress, &c.; and partly because she did concur with the prophet to the procreation of this prophetical child.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

3. Then said the Lord — The prophetic inscription is fulfilled so far by the child’s birth; and Jehovah requires his symbolic name to be conferred, like a prophetic inscription, on the child.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The prophetess. It is not necessary to suppose that the wife of Isaiah must have uttered prophecies because she is called "the prophetess." Titles were given in the East to the wives, daughters, etc., of officials, which merely reflected the dignity of their husbands, fathers, etc. Even Miriam seems to be called a "prophetess" (Exo_15:20) from her close relationship to Moses, rather than from any supernatural power that she had. In the Mishna, a priest"s wife or daughter is called "priestess" (Cheyne). Call his name. There is no reason for doubting that the name was actually given. Other Israelites had such names as Jushab-hosed, (1Ch_3:20) Haah-ashtari, (1Ch_4:6) Romamti-ezer, (1Ch_25:4) Machnadebai, (Ezr_10:40) and the like. Assyrian names were even longer; e.g. As-shur-bel-nisi-su, Asshur-kinat-ili-kain, etc. In ordinary parlance, names of this type were commonly shortened, "Shalman-eser" becoming "Shalmau", (Hos_10:14) "Sennacherib Jareb", (Hos_10:6) and the like.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Prophetess - To his own wife, so called, because the wife of a prophet.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

But something occurred in the meantime whereby the place of the lifeless table was taken by a more eloquent and living one. "And I drew near to the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son: and Jehovah said to me, Call his name In-speed-spoil-booty-hastens (Maher-shalal-hash-baz): for before the boy shall know how to cry, My father, and my mother, they will carry away the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur." To his son Shear-yashub, in whose name the law of the history of Israel, as revealed to the prophet on the occasion of his call (Isa 6:1-13), viz., the restoration of only a remnant of the whole nation, had been formulated, there was now added a second son, to whom the inscription upon the table was given as a name (with a small abbreviation, and if the Lamed is the particle of dedication, a necessary one). He was therefore the symbol of the approaching chastisement of Syria and the kingdom of the ten tribes. Before the boy had learned to stammer out the name of father and mother, they would carry away (yissâ, not the third pers. fut. niphal, which is yinnâsē, but kal with a latent, indefinite subject hannōsē': Ges. 137, 3) the treasures of Damascus and the trophies (i.e., the spoil taken from the flying or murdered foe) of Samaria before the king of Asshur, who would therefore leave the territory of the two capitals as a conqueror. It is true that Tiglath-pileser only conquered Damascus, and not Samaria; but he took from Pekah, the king of Samaria, the land beyond the Jordan, and a portion of the land on this side. The trophies, which he took thence to Assyria, were no less the spoil of Samaria than if he had conquered Samaria itself (which Shalmanassar did twenty years afterwards). The birth of Mahershalal took place about three-quarters of a year later than the preparation of the table (as the verb vâ'ekrab is an aorist and not a pluperfect); and the time appointed, from the birth of the boy till the chastisement of the allied kingdoms, was about a year. Now, as the Syro-Ephraimitish war did not commence later than the first year of the reign of Ahaz, i.e., the year 743, and the chastisement by Tiglath-pileser occurred in the lifetime of the allies, whereas Pekah was assassinated in the year 739, the interval between the commencement of the war and the chastisement of the allies cannot have been more than three years; so that the preparation of the table must not be assigned to a much later period than the interview with Ahaz. The inscription upon the table, which was adopted as the name of the child, was not a purely consolatory prophecy, since the prophet had predicted, a short time before, that the same Asshur which devastated the two covenant lands would lay Judah waste as well. It was simply a practical proof of the omniscience and omnipotence of God, by which the history of the future was directed and controlled. The prophet had, in fact, the mournful vocation to harden. Hence the enigmatical character of his words and doings in relation to both kings and nation. Jehovah foreknew the consequences which would follow the appeal to Asshur for help, as regarded both Syria and Israel. This knowledge he committed to writing in the presence of witnesses. When this should be fulfilled, it would be all over with the rejoicing of the king and people at their self-secured deliverance.

But Isaiah was not merely within the broader circle of an incorrigible nation ripe for judgment. He did not stand alone; but was encircled by a small band of believing disciples, who wanted consolation, and were worthy of it. It was to them that the more promising obverse of the prophecy of Immanuel belonged. Mahershalal could not comfort them; for they knew that when Asshur had done with Damascus and Samaria, the troubles of Judah would not be over, but would only then be really about to commence. To be the shelter of the faithful in the terrible judicial era of the imperial power, which was then commencing, was the great purpose of the prediction of Immanuel; and to bring out and expand the consolatory character of that prophecy for the benefit of believers, was the design of the addresses which follow.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The significant name, before inscribed upon the tablet, is now applied to the Prophet’s new-born son, that the child, as well as the inscription, might remind all who saw them of the prophecy. The execution of the previous command is here, as in many other cases, tacitly included in the record of the command itself. (Vide supra, Isa 7:4) “And I approached unto the Prophetess; and she conceived and bare a son, and Jehovah said to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.” This name, like Immanuel, may be understood as simply descriptive or symbolical, but its actual imposition is inferred by most interpreters from verse 18, where the Prophet speaks of himself and his children as signs and wonders in Israel, with reference, as they suppose, to the names Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The Prophetess is probably so called because she was a prophet’s wife, as queen usually means a royal consort, not a queen in her own right. A remarkable series of prophetic names, imposed upon three children, is recorded in the first chapter of Hosea.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I went to the prophetess

It can be stated explicitly that Isaiah is married to the prophetess. AT: "I slept with my wife, the prophetess" (See: Euphemism and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

the riches of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the king of Assyria will carry away all the treasures of Damascus and Samaria" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

prophet

name

Damascus

Samaria

king

Assyria

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

and she bore a son He is the very son whom the prophetess called Immanuel, since the Holy One, blessed be He, would be at the aid of Hezekiah when he would reign. [It is impossible to say that it was another son, for we learned [in Seder Olam ch. 22] that in the fourth year of Ahaz, this prophecy was said, and in the fourth year of Ahaz, Pekah was assassinated, and it is impossible for two children to be born in one year, one after the other.] And Isaiah his father called him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, because of the calamity destined to befall Rezin and the son of Remaliah, who were coming to wrest the kingdom from the House of David and to curtail the kingdom of Hezekiah.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ואקרב. And I went unto. Euphemism; comp. Exod. 19:15.

The prophetess. The wife of the prophet; she is called prophetess on account of her husband being a prophet, or perhaps because she was herself a prophetess.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.