ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Isaiah 7

Isa. 7:1 In the days of Ahaz is c. 735 b.c., when Ahaz has just begun his reign. Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel. Syria and the northern kingdom of Israel (“Ephraim,” v. 2) try to force the southern kingdom of Judah to join them against Assyria.

Isa. 7:2 the house of David. Because of God’s covenant with his forefather David, Ahaz can be confident of God’s protective care (see 2 Sam. 7:8–17; Ps. 89:3–4).

Isa. 7:3–4 Isaiah delivers God’s message that Ahaz does not need to fear . . . Rezin and Pekah.

Isa. 7:7–9 Human threats are to be dismissed and divine promises firmly trusted, for the Lord God rules all events. within sixty-five years. The northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 722 b.c. By around 670 b.c. the ethnic identity of the former kingdom would have been changed due to foreign settlers (see 2 Kings 17:24; Ezra 4:1–2, 10). If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. The southern kingdom still has an opportunity to hold fast to God, but their faith must be firm. Not believing God destabilizes everything for Ahaz, not just his religious life.

Isa. 7:10–17 Ahaz, king of Judah, sees Syria and Ephraim (the northern kingdom) as a threat, even though the Lord has said Ahaz has nothing to fear from them. Though Ahaz is the heir of David’s throne, he has put his firm faith in the king of Assyria (v. 9; see 2 Kings 16:1–9). He placed his hope in human power rather than in the Lord. But Isaiah calls for Ahaz and all of Jerusalem to put their faith in a far more reliable ally: “the Lord himself” (Isa. 7:14). The Lord invites Ahaz to request a sign to strengthen his faith (v. 11), but Ahaz refuses to do so, saying I will not put the Lord to the test (v. 12; see Deut. 6:16). Isaiah then addresses the house of David (Isa. 7:13). He accuses the royal house of wearying God, but he also offers them a sign from the Lord himself (v. 14). This sign is the famous announcement of a son born to a virgin, whose name will be Immanuel. This child’s life is to be the sign that confirms the truth of the divine word, which the Lord will bring upon you (v. 17; see note on vv. 15–17).

Isa. 7:14 the Lord himself. The divine King offers a sign. The word translated virgin refers specifically to a “maiden”—that is, a young woman who is unmarried and has not had a sexual relationship with anyone. Thus Matthew rightly applied this prophecy to the virgin birth of Christ (Matt. 1:23). This prophecy also had significance for Isaiah’s day. Ahaz and his house stood judged by God for unbelief. The passage gave hope to faithful believers like Isaiah for a future Messiah. The sign finds its final fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus, who is literally “God with us” (the meaning of Immanuel).

Isa. 7:15–17 The threat from Syria and Ephraim will pass in less time than it takes for the boy (possibly meaning “any boy”) to reach an age when he can refuse the evil and choose the good. In fact, Syria did fall to Assyria in 732 b.c. and Israel fell in 722. But the agent of deliverance—the king of Assyria—was a worse disaster for Judah. Ahaz forsook “the King, the Lord of hosts” (6:5) for a dreaded earthly king (2 Kings 16:5–9). Ahaz’s unbelief doomed the Davidic dynasty to foreign domination. Now God must restore the throne of David.