The reading from the Old Testament which is assigned to the Fourth Sunday in Lent in Series C of Lutheran Worship consists in all six verses of the twelfth chapter of the Book of Isaiah. (The exegesis of these verses below is, assuredly, in no way designed to promote the use in the main service of the week of any such modern selection of gospels and epistles as those suggested in Lutheran Worship. This exegete, on the contrary, would continue to urge, on various grounds, fidelity to the pericopal tradition inherited from the ancient church by the church of the reformation and modified only slightly by the Blessed Reformer of the Church, if one is speaking specifically of the gospels and epistles to be read in the main (eucharistic) service of the week. No comparable series of readings, on the other hand, from the Old Testament was either handed down from the ancient church or bestowed on us by the Blessed Reformer; nor, indeed, is there such a program of readings from the New Testament to be used in all the possible additional offices of any given week. In such cases, therefore, even such a traditionalist as this exegete is able, with consistency, to make use of any pericope drawn from the region of Holy Scripture desired.)

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HISTORICAL AND LITERARY SETTING

The historical and literary observations which follow assume the auctorial integrity of the Book of Isaiah which this exegete has defended elsewhere (especially in An Introduction to the Book of Isaiah). Isaiah ben-Amoz began his lengthy prophetic ministry of some six decades already in 739 B.C. in the final year of the reign of Uzziah as king of Judah. He then uttered the various prophecies contained in the first main unit of the Book of Isaiah (chapters 1-35, as we have come to call them since medieval times) on various occasions in the years leading up to 701 B.C. In the course of these years Isaiah prophesied again and again the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrians which finally occurred in 701 B.C. in the midst of the reign of Hezekiah -- as recounted in the "historical bridge" constituting chapters 36-39 of his magnum opus.

Isaiah then proceeded to compose in the course of the ensuing two decades the tightly integrated third unit of his book consisting in the chapters which we now enumerate as 40-66. The prophet had, indeed, evidently finished these chapters by the time that King Hezekiah died in 686 B.C. in view of the absence of any succeeding king from the superscription to the volume as a whole (1:1). Isaiah subsequently published the final edition of his book in its entirety circa 680 B.C., shortly before his martyrdom in the bloody persecution of the true faith sponsored by King Manasseh.

Chapters 1-12 (as Isaiah has come to be divided into chapters since medieval times) constitute the first of the seven distinct cantos which comprise the Book of Isaiah according to its original design. Each of these cantos provides, in its own individual way, the rationale of the thesis of Isaiah as a whole, namely, that the Lord is the only reasonable object of faith.

Canto 1, then, of the Book of Isaiah argues that the Lord is the only reasonable object of faith because, in the first place, He punishes those Israelites who lack trust in Him. This canto, which was first issued in the initial year of the primacy of King Ahaz (which was 734 B.C.), consists in material which was added on both ends of the original collection of the revelations of God to Isaiah in the course of the reigns of Jotham and Uzziah in Judah. An introduction, on the one hand, was prefixed to the beginning which remained the introduction to all succeeding editions of his book during the course of the lengthy prophetic ministry of Isaiah. The reference is, of course, to the three paragraphs which came eventually to be called chapter 1 of Isaiah. At the same time, on the other hand, the so-called Book of Immanuel (chapters 7-12) was now added as a continuation of the prophetic material already available to the people of Judah.

The call of Isaiah itself is specifically dated at the outset of chapter 6 to "the year of the death of the King Uzziah" (6:1). This phrase could, theoretically, refer to a point in 739 B.C. subsequent to the demise of Uzziah. The superscription, however, to the final edition of Isaiah (1:1) makes certain the initial impression created by 6:1 in itself, namely, that Isaiah was already prophesying while Uzziah was still living and reigning. Isaiah saw, then, the theophany recorded in his sixth chapter sometime in 739 B.C. (or possibly 740 B.C.) before the eternal glorification of King Uzziah.

For Uzziah (or Azariah), the ninth king of Judah, was a pious man, leading a life of repentance, despite the one grave public sin from which he suffered very grave temporal consequences to the end of his days in this world. He became primus rex upon the death of his father Amaziah, who was assassinated by disaffected courtiers. He then reigned for twenty-eight years as primus rex of Judah between 767 and 739.

Holy Scripture classifies Uzziah as a "good king" in terms of his personal and public life. (1.) He trained a well-armed army. (2.) He promoted the fortification of the country and the development of new weapons of defense. (3.) He subjugated the Philistines and made them his vassals, taking the cities of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. (4.) He made the Ammonites his vassals, receiving tribute from them on a regular basis. (5.) He reconstructed the port of Elath on the Gulf of Aqaba. (6.) He instituted a vigorous agricultural program. (7.) His reign, in short, saw the restoration of the southern half of the empire of David and Solomon (while Jeroboam II of Israel reigned over most of what had been the northern portion of the Solomonic empire). Amos and Hosea appeared on the scene as prophets of God before the death of Jeroboam II, the last king of significance in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was, indeed, in his reign the leading nation of the Levant.

It was, specifically, in 753 B.C. that Jeroboam II, the thirteenth king of Israel, died and was succeeded by his son Zechariah, who reigned for only six months. With the death of its last monarch of note, in fact, the Northern Kingdom of Israel entered a period of rapid deterioration which left Judah under Uzziah the most influential power on the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Thus, in 752 B.C. Shallum ben-Jabesh assassinated Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam II. Then Shallum, in turn, was assassinated by Menahem ben-Gadi, who established himself as the sixteenth king of Israel, reigning for ten years (752-742), evidently in association with Pekah ben-Remaliah, the latter probably acting as palatine in Gilead.

It was probably in 750 B.C. that Uzziah committed his one grave public sin, the temporal consequences of which he suffered all his remaining life. The otherwise pious king was apparently led astray by contemporary ideas of monarchical rights in the Near East and, even if in a relatively minor way, usurped the priestly office. He was, in consequence, afflicted with leprosy, which necessarily excluded him thenceforth from the palace and temple in Jerusalem. The year 750 is being suggested as the probable date of Uzziah's sin since it was evidently in this year that Uzziah made his son Jotham his co-regent. His leprosy would, certainly, have made such a co-regency a virtual necessity.

In Mesopotamia, meanwhile, seemingly far away, events were unfolding which would have enormous effects on Judah in the days of Isaiah. In 745 B.C. an Assyrian general named Pulu extinguished the dynasty of Tiglath-Pileser I and established the Sargonid dynasty, which was to become the greatest of the Assyrian houses, assuming himself the name Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.). He quickly added Babylonia to his realm and then subjugated Urartu to his north. Tiglath-Pileser III made it the policy of his dynasty to deter revolt in its empire by incorporating any rebellious nation as an Assyrian province and deporting its people to other parts of the empire.

In 743 B.C. Tiglath-Pileser III staged his first western campaign, in which he crossed the Euphrates to extend his empire to the Levant. He encountered there a coalition of western princes in which Menahem of Israel and the Aramaeans of Syria participated, with Uzziah of Judah serving as head of the anti-Assyrian alliance. Tiglath-Pileser III claimed the victory in this confrontation and forced a heavy tribute from Syria and Israel, but Judah was left unscathed for the time being. It was, presumably, in the absence of both Uzziah and Jotham on campaign that Uzziah made Ahaz, the son of Jotham, a second co-regent in Judah.

In the quickly crumbling Northern Kingdom King Menahem died in 742 B.C. and was succeeded by his son Pekahiah, who reigned, however, as the seventeenth king of Israel but two years (742-740 B.C.). For in 740 B.C. Pekahiah was assassinated in his palace in Samaria by Pekah ben-Remaliah and fifty Gileadites. Pekah was evidently the representative of an anti-Assyrian party in Israel engendered by the heavy tribute demanded by Tiglath-Pileser III. Pekah, at any rate, established himself as the eighteenth king of Israel, reigning for eight years as primus rex between 740 and 732 B.C.

The Prophet Amos had completed his book by the time that Isaiah received his call to the prophetic office in 739 B.C. Then within the same year King Uzziah died and was succeeded as primus rex by his son Jotham. Although Jotham held the title of "king" a full twenty years by virtue of lengthy co-regencies, the chronological exigencies leave him but four years in actual command as tenth king of Judah between 739 and 735 B.C. Holy Scripture classifies Jotham as a "good king" in terms of his personal and public life. (1.) He promoted a vigorous program of construction and fortification in Judah. (2.) He re-subjugated Ammon when it rebelled. During his reign the Prophet Micah received his call.

Then, strangely enough, the chronological exigencies indicate that Ahaz, the son of Jotham, evidently assumed the primacy of Judah in 735 B.C., even though Jotham lived yet four more years. Such a change, however, in the imperium could well have been the work of a pro-Assyrian party who feared for a future visitation of Assyrian vengeance upon Judah if Jotham should remain its primus rex. Ahaz reigned then as the eleventh king of Judah for sixteen years (as primus rex) between 735 and 719 B.C.

Holy Scripture classifies Ahaz as an "evil king" in contrast with his grandfather and father, as also with his son Hezekiah. Ahaz worshipped various false gods and goddesses, used the high places, destroyed temple vessels, built new altars, and even sacrificed children to the gods of Canaan. In accord, therefore, with the terms of the Sinaitic Berith, God quickly brought depredations on the new king and the people who eagerly followed him in his wicked ways. In 734 B.C. Pekah, the king of Israel, and Rezin, the king of Damascus, formed an anti-Assyrian coalition and tried to force Ahaz into it, laying siege to Jerusalem and devastating the countryside of Judah. It was probably at this time that Ahaz worshipped Syrian gods in an attempt, apparently, to win favor with the supernatural powers behind the Syrian armies ravaging his kingdom. The Ammonites, meanwhile, and the others who were vassals of Judah in the reigns of Uzziah and Jotham revolted; and, indeed, the Edomites and Philistines actually invaded Judah to add to the devastation already in progress. Ahaz then submitted to the suzerainty of Tiglath-Pileser III, sending him presents, and appealed to him for help.

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EXEGETICAL AND CONTEXTUAL OUTLINE

The following outline thus emerges of the First Canto of Isaiah (chapters 1-12) in which the twelfth chapter of the book, as it has come to be divided since medieval times, serves as the doxological conclusion of both the canto and the second edition of the Book of Isaiah (published in the year 734 B.C.):

Words Emanating from the Reigns of Uzziah and Jotham

and the First Year of Ahaz, 739-734 B.C.

"The Lord's Punishment of the Israelites Who Lack Faith in Him"

I. Introduction: Israel's Lack of Faith in the Lord (chapter 1)

II. Isaiah's Original Message to Israel

in the Days of Uzziah and Jotham (chapters 2-6)

A. Its Substance (chapters 2-5)

1. The first message, contrasting Judah's present and future (chapters 2:2-3:15)

a. Judah's future possession of true glory (chapter 2: 2-4)

b. Judah's present need of repentance (chapters 2:5-3:15)

(1.) A first call to repentance (chapter 2: 5-21)

(2.) A second call to repentance (chapters 2:22-3:15)

2. The second message, contrasting true and false beauty (chapters 3:16-4:6)

a. False beauty (chapters 3:16-4:1)

b. True beauty (chapter 4: 2-6)

3. The third message: the parable of the vineyard (chapter 5: 1-7)

a. Its enunciation (5: 1-6)

b. Its interpretation (5:7)

4. The fourth message: a series of six woes (chapter 5: 8-24)

a. Against a covetous people (5: 8-10)

b. Against a debauched people (5: 11-17)

c. Against an unbelieving people (5: 18-19)

d. Against a self-wise people (5: 21)

e. Against a justice-perverting people (5: 22-24)

5. The fifth message: an oracle of doom (5: 25-30)

B. Its Basis (chapter 6): The Call of Isaiah

1. Its Setting (verses 1-7)

a. The setting in time (verse 1a1)

b. The setting in space and circumstances: a theophany in the temple (verses 1a2-7)

2. Its Extension and Acceptance (verse 8)

a. Its extension by the Lord (verse 8a)

b. Its acceptance by Isaiah (verse 8b)

3. Its Goal (verses 9-13)

a. The condemnation of the faithless (verses 9-12)

b. The purification of the faithful (verse 13)

(1.) The return from the Babylonian Exile (verse 13a1)

(2.) The final destruction of the nation (verse 13a2)

(3.) The salvation of a minority (verse 13b)

III. Isaiah's Message to Israel in the First Year of Ahaz,

the So-Called "Book of Immanuel" (chapters 7-12)

A. The First Message: Encouragement of Judah and Condemnation of Ephraim and Syria (7: 1-9)

1. Its occasion (7: 1-2)

2. Its substance (7: 3-9)

a. In the form of a sign (7:3)

b. In the form of words (7: 4-9)

B. The Second Message: Condemnation of the Faithless (7: 10-25)

1. Its occasion (7: 10-12)

2. Its authentication (7: 13-15)

3. Its substance (7: 16-25)

a. With respect to both Judah and Ephraim (7:16)

b. With respect to Judah in particular (7: 17-25)

(1.) Expressed literally (7:17)

(2.) Expressed figuratively (7: 18-25)

(a.) As the descent of flies and bees (7: 18-19)

(b.) As shaving with a hired razor (7:20)

(c.) As a death of livestock (7: 21-22)

(d.) As the growth of briers and thorns (7: 23-25)

C. The Third Message: Condemnation of Ephraim and Syria by Means of Two Signs Employing the Term "Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz" (8: 1-4)

1. The inscription of a tablet (8: 1-2)

2. The naming of Isaiah's second son (8: 3-4)

D. The Fourth Message: Condemnation of Judah (8:5-9:6 MT; 8:5-9:7 EV)

1. Its most imminent manifestation (8: 5-8)

2. Its limitation (8: 9-10)

3. Its rationale in the form of an exhortation to the faithful (8:11-9:6 MT; 8:11-9:7 EV)

a. The introduction to the exhortation (8:11)

b. The essence of the exhortation (in the words of Immanuel Himself) (8: 12-22)

(1.) To avoid Judah's lack of trust in God (8: 12-15)

(2.) To avoid Judah's lack of trust in God's word (8: 16-22)

c. The basis of the exhortation: the manifestation of Immanuel (8:23-9:6 MT; 9: 1-7 EV)

E. The Fifth Message: Condemnation of the Faithless (9:7-12:6 MT; 9:8-12:6 EV)

1. Expressed in a direct manner (9:7-10:34 MT; 9:8-10:34 EV)

a. The condemnation of Ephraim (9:7-10:4 MT; 9:8-10:4 EV)

(1.) To devastation by the Syrians and Philistines (9: 7-11 MT; 9: 8-12 EV)

(2.) To the loss of its leaders (9: 12-16 MT; 9: 13-17 EV)

(3.) To internecine strife (9: 17-20 MT; 9: 18-21 EV)

(4.) To devastation by the Assyrians (10: 1-4)

b. The condemnation of Assyria (10: 5-27)

(1.) Its rationale (10: 5-15)

(2.) Its imminent manifestation (10: 16-19)

(3.) Its future effect on the faithful (10: 20-23)

(4.) Its present significance (10:24-27)

(5.) Its circumstances (10: 28-34)

2. Expressed by contrast with the future state of the faithful (11:1-12:6)

a. Its basis (11:1-5)

b. Its characteristics

(1.) Peace (11: 6-9)

(2.) Catholicity (11: 10-16)

c. Its result: the response of the faithful in the future (12: 1-6)

(1.) The thanksgiving of the individual believers (12: 1-2)

(2.) The thanksgiving of the believers in general (12:3)

(3.) The mutual exhortation of the believers to thanksgiving (12: 4-5)

(4.) The exhortation of the church corporate to thanksgiving (12:6)

Isaiah 12, as the preceding outline indicates, grammatically and substantially constitutes an integral portion of the second half of the fifth message of the Book of Immanuel. A more elaborate outline, however, is necessary to characterize the twelfth chapter in all its distinctive autonomy as a song of the church of the messianic era:

"The Song of the Believers of the New Testament"

I. The Thanksgiving of the individual Believers (verses 1-2)

A. Its Future Certainty: Its Introduction as Prophecy (verse 1a1a)

B. Its Expression (verse 1a1b)

C. Its Basis (verse 1b-2)

1. Reconciliation with God (verse 1b)

a. Objective Reconciliation (God reconciling Himself to the world) (verse 1b1)

b. Subjective Reconciliation (God consoling us with the gospel of His reconciliation) (verse 1b2)

2. Salvation by God (verse 2)

a. Its divine source (objective salvation) (verse 2a1)

b. Its individual appropriation (verse 2a2-2b1)

(1.) Its nature and issue (verse 2a2)

(a.) The faith of believers (verse 2a2a)

(b.) The fearlessness of believers (verse 2a2b)

(2.) Its basis and issue (verse 2b1)

(a.) The empowering inworking of God (verse 2b1a)

(b.) The witness of believers (verse 2b1b)

(3.) Its divine source (subjective salvation) (verse 2b2)

II. The Thanksgiving of the Believers in General (providing a transition from individual thanksgiving to the exhortation of others to give thanks) (verse 3)

A. The Possession of the Same Faith and Joy (verse 3a)

1. The same faith (verse 3a1)

2. The same joy (verse 3a2)

B. The Basis of Faith and Joy in the Same Salvation (verse 3b)

III. The Mutual Exhortation of the Believers to Thanksgiving (verse 4-6)

A. Its Future Certainty: Its Introduction as Prophecy (verse 4a1a)

B. Its Expression (verse 4a1b1)

C. Its Aspects (verses 4alb2-5)

1. The worship of God (verse 4alb2)

2. The evangelistic confession of God (verse 4a2)

3. The worship of God (verse 4b)

D. Its Basis in the Lord's Exaltation of His People (verse 5)

1. Its issue in the worship of God (verse 5a1)

2. Its essence in the exaltation of the church (verse 5a2)

3. Its issue in the evangelistic confession of God (verse 5b)

IV. The Exhortation of Church Corporate to Thanksgiving (verse 4-6)

A. The Exhortation to Joy in the Church (verse 6a)

B. The Basis of Joy in the Church: The Sanctifying Indwelling of the Incarnate God (verse 6b)

In the outline above the massoretic 'athnach always serves as the line of demarcation between the two main halves of each verse. The division between parts 1 and 2 of the first half of verse 1 occurs with the second zaqeph qaton, which here stands above YHWH ("the LORD"). The distinction, then, between parts "a" and "b" of verse 1a1 comes with the previous zaqeph qaton, above hahu' ("that"). The division within the second half of the verse has been made with the tiphchah beneath 'appkha ("Thy wrath"). The division within parts "a" and "b" of verse 2 occurs with the tebhir, beneath ysho'athi ("my salvation"), and the zaqeph qaton, which here stands above YHWH ("the LORD"), respectively. Verse 2a2 and 2b1 are then bisected, in turn, by the tiphchah beneath 'ebhtach ("I shall trust") and the yethibh beneath 'ozzi ("my strength") respectively. In the initial half of verse 3 the line of demarcation is the tiphchah, which underlies mayim ("waters"). The dividing line in verse 4a falls with the zaqeph qaton, above bishmo "on His name"), and then, in the initial quarter of the verse created thereby, with the rbhia', which stands above hahu' ("that"). Within verse 4a1b, in turn, the distinctions between parts 1 and 2 comes with the pashta', written above lYHWH ("to the LORD"). In verse 5a the mark of division is the zaqeph qaton above the divine name.

Aside from six of its words the twelfth chapter of the Book of Isaiah constitutes the traditional canticle of the church which is known as the Confitebor Tibi by virtue of its initial words in its traditional Latin version [TLH, 120]. It has been from antiquity the canticle appointed to be sung on Mondays. In terms, specifically, of the ancient Roman Ordo, the Confitebor Tibi was the canticle chanted in the service of lauds which immediately followed the office of matins.

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A LITERAL TRANSLATION AND COMMENTS

1. And thou shalt say in that day:

"I shall give Thee thanks, O LORD:

When Thou wast wrathful with me,

Thy wrath turned back,

And Thou comfortest me."

The three introductory words of the verse ("and thou shalt say in that day") are traditionally omitted in the Confitebor Tibi [TLH, 120]. The initial conjunction, as a correlative waw, connects the song of Isaiah 12 with the preceding prophecy, in Isaiah 11, of the worldwide church which was to be established by the Messiah (11: 1-16). The bayyom hahu' ("in that day") designates the second main portion of human history which we ordinarily call the era of the New Testament. The perfective aspect of 'mr is used emphatically here as the prophetic perfect (perfectum propheticum) and so is rendered "shalt" as opposed to the "wilt" which would constitute the ordinary indicative future of the second person. The addressee is each of the individual members of the church in the era of the New Testament.

The word ydh has the idea of thanking by making public confession of the goodness of God [BDB, 392]. The conception involves acknowledging the nature of God or someone or something else [Ralph H. Alexander, TWOT, I, 364a-366a, where, to be sure, the truth is carried to the extreme of making the confession the primary denotation of the word]. The Blessed Reformer, in consequence, emphasizes quite rightly the idea of confession in the particular context of Isaiah 12. Although a more specific translation of 'odkha ("I shall give Thee thanks") would work in this verse (such as "I shall confess Thee with thanks"), a corresponding translation would not work syntactically in the parallel case of verse 4.

The rationale of the thanks given here is clearly a change from God being angry with men to His reconciliation, clearly on the basis of the propitiating self-sacrifice of the Messiah. which influences the understanding of the breviate form here (often called, quite inexactly, the "jussive") of shwb, namely, yashobh, as opposed to the imperfect yashubh (with either shureq [long "u"] or qibbutz [short "u"], in the latter case there being only a difference in the pointing) [BDB, 996; GKC, 109k]. The breviate here, then, is to be understood as an instance of the original preterite use, quite independently of the strong waw, which has been preserved in Classical Hebrew only on a few occasions such as this one in the poetry of the Old Testament [in accordance with the discussion of the breviate in CHEL].

The piel of nchm provides the transitive transmutation of the basic significance of the verb which is found in the niphal [BDB, 636]. The imperfect is used here with weak waw in order to speak of the ongoing application to individuals, through the ages, of the salvation accomplished at one specific time by the Messiah and so denoted by the preterite [BDB, 636-637]. The means of this individual application is the gospel of the Messiah which consoles the hearts of those penitents who have been convicted of sin by the law of God and so are rightly fearful of His wrath.

Some translate ki as "that" and others as "for" or "because" understanding the rationale of thanksgiving here as residing in the second and third verbs. Others combine or replace such a causal interpretation of ki with "though" or "even though" to produce a concessive force. The same conception could be expressed by "yea" or "indeed" as well. There is, however, no reason to set aside a temporal understanding of ki, which is the most common significance of the conjunction in verbal clauses and, actually, fits into the sequence of thought here more easily than any other possibility (although this propriety goes unrecognized by the commentators).

The words "wrath" and "be wrathful" or "be wroth" are appropriate translations of 'aph and 'np respectively, even though they be quite common words in the semantic arena of "anger" and being angry. For, in terms of English usage, "wrath" is defined as being the poetic or rhetorical equivalent of "anger" and "indignation" [COD, 1510] and is, in addition, more euphonious [comparing the article on 'np in TDOT, which provides a helpful analysis of all the words pertaining to anger in the Old Testament].

2. "Behold, God is my salvation;

I shall trust,

and I shall be in no dread;

For my strength and song is Jehovah the LORD,

And so hath He become salvation to me."

The translation of hinneh as "behold" of "lo" rests purely on the requirements of euphony and the accompanying music in any given case. The verb pchd connotes a fearfulness of much more severity than simply being afraid of something, as is, of course, appropriate to the response of sinners to the wrath of God [BDB, 808]. The conception of the verb involves, specifically, being in dread of something. Such dread is work of the law of God, which is then counteracted by the consoling effects of His gospel.

In the causal clause the second three words and the final three words are based on Exodus 15:2 in the Song of the Sea:

My strength and song is Yah,

And He has become to me for salvation...

Isaiah, to be sure, now adds the causal connection ki. Even more significantly, however, does the prophet add the full divine name [BDB, 217] to its shorter form [BDB, 219], clearly by way of emphasis.

This verse is one of but seven in which the Authorized Version translates the divine name as "Jehovah" (Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, and Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4, plus the toponymic combinations in Genesis 22:14, Exodus 17:15, and Judges 6:24). The reason in this case was clearly the emphasis on the tetragrammeton [TWOT, I, which throws some healthy doubt on the original pronunciation of the divine name, whereas the additional doubts expressed concerning its etymology are unnecessary (even if they could be accepted, if found necessary, on the assumption that God in Exodus 6 was merely expressing the appropriateness of the name in view of its proximity in sound to the verb concerned)]. The doubts expressed by some concerning the use of the divine name to denote the Self-Existing One are based upon a false dilemma [as in TWOT], since we have, not only the argument of Christ Himself [which is mentioned in TWOT], but also the necessity of basing any more specific attribute of the Lord, including His faithfulness, on the unchanging eternity and self-defining nature of God to be what He wishes.

The noun zimrath, which lacks a personal suffix (presumably to stress its objectivity) carries the same psalmodic connotation as its cognate mizmor, the reference being to a poem written to be accompanied by music [BDB, I 274; GKC, 80g]. Both nouns derive from the verb zmr which commences verse 4. Modern dictionaries, to be sure, such as the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, connect the meaning "strength" with this word in Exodus 15, in Psalm 118, and here in Isaiah 12, on the basis of Ugaritic usage, which is to say Northern Canaanite [KB]. Such evidence, however, is, in principle, insufficient to overturn the straight-forward conception of the lexical family of zmr in Biblical Hebrew.

The use of strong waw with the breviate of hyh followed by lamedh (to indicate becoming) describes a developing from one thing to another. The reference, then, is to individual salvation through the proclamation of the word (including the "song" already noted) which describes the salvation of God, who is here called 'el [BDB, 42]. It is, specifically, the gospel of the Messiah which creates in individuals the faith which Psalm 8 also describes as spiritual strength. The strong waw, in other words, signifies "and so in this way" -- so that in this case the provision of strength and salvation is chronologically simultaneous.

3. And so shall ye draw waters with exultation

from the springs of His salvation.

The waw at the beginning of the verse is utilized by Isaiah to include others in the same scope of the appropriation of salvation as the individual Christian who has spoken thus far in the first person. Here Isaiah returns to the kind of prophecy of the church of the New Testament with which he filled the preceding chapter (Isaiah 11).

The middle word of the verse is the noun sason, which springs from the triliteral stem sws or sys. The verbal root, in turn, may derive onomatopoeically from an interjection expressive of glee [BDB, 965a]. Found only in the qal in the Hebrew Bible, sws or sys occurs already six times in two books of the Mosaic Era, namely in two verses of Deuteronomy (twice in 28:63 and twice in 30:9) and in two verses of Job (3:22 and 39:21) [BDB, 965a]. Otherwise all its appearances are restricted to the Psalter (seven times) and the prophetic books (fourteen times). The first category includes Psalms 19:6, 35:9, 40:17, 68:4, 70:5, and 119 (verses 14 and 162) [BDB, 965a]. The verb occurs thrice in the Lamentations of Jeremiah (1:21 and 4:21), but only once in the Book of Jeremiah itself (32:41), as also in Zephaniah (3:1) and Ezekiel (21:15) [which BDB erroneously regards as corrupted (BDB, 965a)].

The remaining eight of its appearances come in the Book of Isaiah, one in 35:1 and all the others within Canto 7, namely, in 62:5, as already in 61:10 and subsequently in 64:4, 65:18-19, 66:10, and 66:14 (which is misprinted as 68:14 in the Hebrew and English Lexicon [BDB, 965a]). Thus, of the total twenty-seven occurrences of sws or sys in the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah concentrates seven of them into the final six chapters of his book. Clearly, then, Isaiah sees this verb as contributing substantially to the theme of his concluding canto and especially of its final two sub-cantos. These two sub-cantos, one may note, resonate with special force the same prophecy of the church of the New Testament which already sounds forth in chapters 11 and 12 of the Book of Isaiah.

Forms of sws are frequently used in conjunction or in parallel with several others denotative or connotative of joy: smch and its derivative simchah, gyl, and 'ltz [BDB, 965]. The conception of sws or sys goes beyond joy to exultation, which is to say the enthusiastic expression of joy ("exult, display joy") [BDB, 965a]. The same idea is conveyed with the same clarity by the two synonymous masculine nouns which are derived from the verbal root.

The significance of "exultation" attaches equally to both sason and masos [BDB, 965a and 965b]. Thus, sason appears, for example, in Isaiah 61:3 in the phrase shemen-sason ("oil of exultation"). It is, however, found mainly in the Psalter (Psalms 45:8; 51:10; 51:14; 105:43; 119:111) and in the prophetic books, especially in Jeremiah. The usus loquendi of the substantive refers more to an activity of rejoicing -- exultation or jubilation -- than to an attitude of joy [BDB, 965].

The plural of ma'yan could feasiblely be translated as "well-springs" to distinguish it somewhat from the simpler vocable 'ayin ("spring"). Even though, however, the Authorized Version renders ma'yan as "wells" in this passage, the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament gives only "spring" as the definition of the word.

The presence of the definite article before "salvation" requires the use of some adjective in English to be referring back to the salvation previously mentioned. "His" has been selected in the translation above as being more poetic than "this" or "such" or the like.

4. And ye shall say in that day:

"Give ye thanks to the LORD!

Call ye on His name!

Make ye known His deeds among the peoples!

Keep ye in remembrance

that His name is to be set on high!"

The initial three words of the verse ("and ye shall say in that day") are traditionally omitted in the Confitebor Tibi [TLH, 120]. The initial conjunction, as a correlative waw, connects the song of Isaiah 12 with the preceding prophecy in verse 3 and, thereby, in turn, with the prophecy in the previous chapter, of the worldwide church which was to be established by the Messiah (Isaiah 11: 1-16). The bayyom hahu' ("in that day") designates the second main portion of human history which we ordinarily call the era of the New Testament. The perfective aspect of 'mr is used emphatically here as the prophetic perfect (perfectum propheticum) and so is rendered "shall" as opposed to the "will" which would constitute the ordinary indicative future of the second person plural. The addressees are all the innumerable members of the church of God in the era of the New Testament.

H. C. Leupold, following Luther, speaks of calling on the Lord's name as involving the preaching of His word. The verb sgb speaks of something already being in a position of height or being placed there [BDB, 960]. The use of passive participles (here the niphal) is often equivalent to the gerundive. In this case, to be sure, prediction predominates, but the prophecy necessarily places an obligation on the believers of the time predicted, which is to say the church of the New Testament.

5. "Sing ye to the LORD;

For He hath wrought majesty;

This is to be known in all the earth!"

The feminine noun ge'uth occurs eight times, twice with the literal meaning of "lifting up" (in Isaiah 9:17 and Psalm 89:10) and otherwise, according to the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, the metaphorical sense of "majesty" or "pride" (as in Psalm 17:10) [BDB, 145]. The substantive derives from the verb g'h, meaning "rise up" and so "be exalted" in a metaphorical sense, which occurs in both the perfect and the infinitive absolute in Exodus 15 in verses 1 and 21) [BDB, 144]. The more common cognate ga'on (meaning "exaltation") is translated as "majesty" in the case of Exodus 15:7. The noun ge'uth is ordinarily taken here in Isaiah 12 in an adverbial sense (producing such translations as "acted with majesty" and "done gloriously") or is treated as if it were a plural (as with the "marvelous things" of H. C. Leupold). It can, however, be more easily understood objectively as the majestic exaltation which the Lord has prepared for His people, the royal priesthood of believers, by means of the saving work of the Messiah.

The form of yd' found here is in any case some variety of passive participle which, like the niphal in the previous verse, could be given gerundive force, but is rather to be understood as a prediction which, however, necessarily places an obligation on believers of the New Testament. The Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament sides with the qere here in seeing the form as the hophal mudha'ath ("made known"). The translation, on the other hand, provided above assumes the pual of the kethibh, myudda'ath ("known"), which otherwise is used nominally to mean "acquaintance" [BDB, 394; GKC, 116e].

The translation above of the second line of the verse before us takes zo'th ("this") as referring back to the whole action of the preceding clause. This interpretation is related to (while not equalling) the function of the demonstrative as a relative pronoun which can in the poetry of the Hebrew Bible (as is indicated by the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament in section 5 of its entry on zeh [BDB, 261], as also by the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament [KB], although the cases cited there have the pronoun at the beginning of the relative clause, unlike the sequence here).

6. "Cry thou with shrill joy,

and so cry thou with ringing joy,

O she that dwelleth in Zion!

For great in thy midst is the Holy One of Israel."

The addressee changes back at this point from the grammatical plural to the singular. Here, however, the gender of the imperative is not, as in the initial clause of verse 1, the masculine, but rather the feminine. The addressee, then, of the command here is not, as there, each of the individual members of the church of the New Testament, but rather the church as a collective entity. The same conclusion is indicated also by the feminine singular form of the participle, which is translated here, therefore, as "she that dwelleth" [BDB, 442; GKC, 122s].

The phrase "cry thou with ringing joy" in the translation above renders the feminine singular of the qal imperative of rnn, which has "give a ringing cry" as its primary meaning [BDB, 943a, in 943a-b (Root I)]. With but three exceptions (Lamentations 2:19 and Proverbs 1:20 and 8:3), the connotation of the verb is uniformly indicative of joy [BDB, 943a-b]. Such is, certainly, the connotation of the form in this verse. For the way to the usual connotation here has been well prepared by the use of the verb ydh ("give thanks") in verses 1 and 4, as also of zmr ("sing") in verse 5, and the nouns zimrath ("song") and sason ("exultation") in verses 2 and 3 respectively.

The preceding phrase, likewise, "cry thou with shrill joy" in the translation above renders the feminine singular of the qal imperative of tzhl, which has "neigh" or "cry shrilly" as its basic signification [BDB, 843]. Again, however, the connotation of the verb is ordinarily indicative of joy, and such is certainly, as has been said, the case here.

The phrase "and so" before "cry thou with ringing joy" in the translation above indicates the waw which conjoins the imperative of rnn to the preceding imperative of tzhl. In such a case, then, "and so" is intended to indicate the idiomatic use of the standard conjunction connecting two imperatives to indicate a logical consequence which is specifically desired by the speaker.