Read Isaiah 17 and 18 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
17:1-3 {p} Damascus will cease from being a city/ the fortress will cease from Ephraim
17:4-8 {s} The glory of Jacob will wane/ in that day he will look to his Maker, not to idols
17:9-11 {s} Because Jacob forgot the God who saved him, his pleasant plantings will be a heap of ruins
17:12-14 {p} The nations will roar and rush, but God will rebuke them: the lot of those who plunder Jacob
18:1-3 {s} Messengers sent to Cush/ see the banner lifted on its mountains
18:4-6 {s} The vines and shoots cut off and taken away in the summer, before the grape ripens
18:7 {p} At that time Cush will bring a gift to YHVH of hosts, to Mount Zion
The Strong themes:
17:4-14 {s+s+p} Jacob’s glory diminished because they forgot God, but they will return; He will secure them
18:1-7 {s+s+p} Cush will see the banner lifted on the mountains and will worship YHVH of hosts
The Chiastic structures:
The central elements of the structure is about the devastation coming on the nations. But the outer bookends are all about the Banner that is lifted up, who is the Root of Jesse (Isa 11:10).
And it will be in that day, the Root of Jesse, who stands as a banner for the peoples —the nations will seek Him, and His resting place will be glorious. Isa 11:10
And He will raise a banner for the nations, and will gather the banished of Israel, and the dispersed of Judah He will collect from the four corners of the earth. Isa 11:12
All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a banner is lifted up on the mountains, look; and when a shofar is blown, listen! Isa 18:3
Banner is in Hebrew, Strong’s H5251 nes, a concrete noun meaning, “something lifted up;” from Strong’s H5264, nasas, “to gleam from afar,” i.e., to be conspicuous as a signal, to raise a beacon. The ancient pictographs are nun + sin + sin.
nun נ , ן = seed, thus continue, heir, son
sin ס = thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
sin ס = thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is of continuing (nun) to grab hold (sin), i.e.; to lift up as an ensign, standard, or banner, in order to provide refuge (second sin, in its meaning of protection). According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, the verbal root of this whole family of words is “to lift up;” the concrete noun is “a standard,” the banner, which is carried into battle with the national leaders. As long as the battle rages, the banner is continually held aloft to indicate to near and far that this party in the conflict has not been defeated. The abstract concept then, is “refuge,” as the place to which one retreats to come under the protection of the king.
In Exo 17, the first occurrence of “banner” in Scripture, Moses held aloft the rod of God, and as long as he did so, Israel prevailed over her enemies. From this event Moses named the altar, Yehovah is my banner, i.e., YHVH is He who we lift aloft so that Israel prevails.
Here in Isaiah, the Root of Jesse, who is Messiah Yeshua, is the banner lifted up, gleaming from afar as a signal to the nations to come under the protection of the King. He is the standard to which both Israel (Ephraim, dispersed, that is, Gentiles or Christians) and Judah will repair (Isa 11:12). Judah is already being regathered to her homeland. Can Ephraim be far behind? And when the last of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved (Rom 11:25-26)!
If there are questions, this is a good resource:
The One House (formerly the Two Houses) – Christine Miller
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