Read Isaiah 55 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
55:1-5 {s} The abundant and free Word of God which satisfies
55:6-13 {p} Seek YHVH, for He will have mercy/ His word accomplishes His will
The Strong theme:
54:1-55:13 {sx4+p} In mercy YHVH has gathered Israel to Him/ He has established her in righteousness and satisfies her with His Word
The Chiastic structure:
God is issuing the world an invitation: Come!
To come is Strong’s H3212, ילך yalak, “to go, walk, come.”
yud י = closed hand (work, throw, worship)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
kaph כ ך = open palm (bend, open, allow, tame)
The Hebrew Root Word parable is of grasping (yud) the staff (lamed) in the palm (kaph). When someone went anywhere, he took his staff in his palm, to aid in walking. Come, then, is movement toward. (Nothing is said of arriving; but keep Him in your sights, and keep moving toward.)
But what about the one who has been caught up in iniquity? Surely the invitation is not for him? Yes, even for the one caught up in iniquity. When he does his two things, God responds to him by doing His two things.
Let him 1) forsake wicked ways and thoughts, and 2) return to YHVH, and YHVH will 1) have compassion, and 2) abundantly pardon.
To forsake is Strong’s H5800 עזב azab, “to leave.”
ayin ע = eye (watch, know, shade)
zayin ז = mattock (tool, food, cut, nourish)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
The definition comes from its first occurrence in Scripture of the man leaving his father and mother, to cleave to his wife (Gen 2:24). Essentially it means, to understand that you have been cut from where you were and act accordingly.
To return is Strong’s H7725 שוב shuv, “to return.”
shin ש = two front teeth (sharp, press, eat, two, again)
vav ו = tent peg (add, secure, hook)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
The parable is to again (shin) secure oneself (vav) to the house (bet). The house we have left, to which we are to return to, is His house, because history began with Father God, a beautiful garden, and the two children He had made to dwell with Him forever, to be part of His household. Shuv is the root of the abstract concept of teshuvah, “repentance.” The term most often used to describe this restoration in the New Testament, is salvation or justification.
To have compassion is Strong’s H7355, רחם racham, “to be soft.” The modern letters are resh + chet + mem, but according to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, the chet was transposed from an original kaph.
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
kaph כ, ך = open palm (bend, open, allow, tame)
mem מ, ם = water (chaos, mighty, blood)
The parable is of the man (resh) whose palm is opened (kaph) toward another in trust, friendship, or blessing, which is like water (mem) allowed to flow when a dam has been removed.
To abundantly pardon is from two words in Hebrew.
Abundant is from Strong’s H7235 רבה rabah; “to be great.”
resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
hey ה = man w/ upraised arms (look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath)
The parable is of the head (resh) of the house (bet) who abounds in revelation (hey, i.e., wisdom). The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon says,
“Each family has a master that rules all cases, trials, conflicts and contests. This person was the representative for the whole tribe, one abundant in authority and wisdom.”
This master is the greatest or most renowned person of the tribe, usually the patriarch; thus, to be or become great.
To pardon is Strong’s H5545, סלח salach, “to forgive.”
sin ס = thorn (grab, hate, protect)
lamed ל = shepherd’s staff (teach, yoke, to, bind)
chet ח = wall (outside, divide, half)
The cognate words (basket, bank, ladder) all have to do with raising up in one way or another, as a basket is raised up on the head to carry it; a bank is a raised mound of earth; and a ladder is something which raises to a higher elevation. The parable is of taking ahold of (sin) the yoke (lamed) which limits (chet, in the sense of a fence which defines the limit of a space) so as to raise it up or off. According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, salach lifts one out of a debt.
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