Read Isaiah 40 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
40:1-2 {s} Comfort for God’s people, for her warfare ended, iniquity pardoned
40:3-5 {p} The voice of one crying: prepare the way of YHVH
40:6-8 {s} The grass withers but the word of God stands forever
40:9-11 {s} You who bring good news, say to Judah: Behold your God!
40:12-16 {p} Greatness of God contrasted with smallness of the nations
40:17-20 {s} To whom will you liken God?
40:21-24 {s} He who sits above the circle of the earth brings the princes to nothing
40:25-26 {s} To whom will you liken God? He has created all
40:27-31 {s} God who is never wearied gives power to the faint
The Strong themes:
40:1-5 {s+p} Comfort, for iniquity pardoned, revealing YHVH’s glory
40:6-16 {s+s+p} Flesh/ nations cannot compare to YHVH, coming with might and mercy
The Chiastic structure:
To Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain; to Jerusalem, bearer of good news, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” Behold, Lord YHVH comes with might, and His arm rules for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He tends His flock; with His arm He gathers lambs, and in His bosom He carries them; He gently leads those nursing young. {s} Isa 40:9-11
This paragraph set up a puzzle for me, because it seems, to human logic, to have two topics, and not just one as the Teaching Tool of Paragraph Markers indicates.
Topic 1: Vs. 9-10 and Ruling Might
Might is from Strong’s H2388 חזק chazaq, meaning, “to strengthen, to uphold.” The ancient pictographs are chet + zayin + quph.
chet ח = wall (outside, divide, half)
zayin ז = mattock (tool, food, cut, nourish)
quph ק = on the horizon (condense, circle, time)
The parable the Hebrew Root Word is telling, is of a wall (chet) built up (zayin, as tools are used in building) so that it encircles (quph). Positively it means to be strong, to grab hold of and not let go.
Topic 2: Vs. 11 and Tender Care
To Gently Lead is from Strong’s H5095 נהל nahal , meaning, “to lead.” The ancient pictographs are nun + hey + lamed.
nun נ ן = seed (continue, heir, son)
hey ה = man w/upraised arms (look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
The parable is to continually (nun) guide (hey, as in pointing out) as a shepherd (lamed).
But, this is why the two concepts of Ruling Might and Gentle Leadership are in the same paragraph. We humans separate the concepts as opposites; God in teaching us His thoughts (Isa 55:8-9), are unifying them as two sides of the same coin. God, Elohiym means, after all, the Sovereign united with the Shepherd.
If there are questions, this is good resources:
Elohiym, “God,” Strong’s H430 – Christine Miller
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