Read Isaiah 7 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
7:1-2 {s} Aram and Israel confederate against Judah, made Ahaz’s heart fear
7:3-6 {p} Go with your son, A Remnant Shall Return, meet Ahaz, and say ‘Fear Not’
7:7-9 {p} Their plan shall not stand, within 65 years Ephraim shall be broken
7:10-17 {p} YHVH’s sign: a virgin shall bear a Son, Immanuel/ the king of Assyria shall come
7:18-20 {p} In that day YHVH will whistle for Assyria, and shave Israel with him as with a hired razor
7:21-22 {s} In that day the remnant will eat curds and honey
7:23-25 {p} In that day the fruitful land will become briers and thorns
The Strong themes:
7:1-6 {s+p} Aram and Israel aligned against Judah so that Ahaz feared but A Remnant Shall Re-turn, Fear not!
7:21-25 {s+p} In that day the remnant will eat curds and honey, the fruitful land will become briers and thorns
Thus says the Lord YHVH, “It shall not stand, and it shall not be.” 8 For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin, and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be shattered from being a people. Isa 7:7-8
The war between Aram and Israel against Judah is recorded in 2 Kings 16. All three countries—Aram, Israel, and Judah—were paying tribute to Assyria, as were most nations in the region then. Israel and Aram formed an alliance to stop paying tribute, seeking to increase their chances of resisting Assyria by pressuring Judah to join them. Judah, however, would not. So, Aram and Israel joined together against Jerusalem, to depose King Ahaz, and put their own puppet on the throne.
Ahaz sent to Tiglath-Pileser III, the king of Assyria, to come help him. With this historical context, here is the timeline (according to Ussher).
738 BC Aram and Israel formed an alliance against Judah; Isaiah delivered the prophecy recorded in Isaiah 7;
737 BC Ahaz sent additional tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III with request for help;
736 BC Tiglath-Pileser III captured Damascus and killed Rezin;
725 BC Shalmaneser V began the seige of Samaria;
722 BC Sargon II captured Samaria, took captives, and ended the northern kingdom of Israel; Assyria began resettling foreigners into the northern kingdom’s territory;
673 BC Foreign resettlement completed under Esarhaddon, confirmed by Assyrian records. Ephraim has been shattered from being a people.
738 BC to 673 BC is 65 years, which fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy.
Instead of biblical scholars confirming the accuracy of Isaiah’s prophecy, did you know most debate it, coming up with all kinds of caveats to explain why the years don’t add up? They expect the fall of Samaria to be the conclusion of the prophecy. They trot out copyist errors at every opportunity. Those pin-headed theologians!
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