Episode 181: God will shave the hair of their feet
Isaiah 6-12
Isaiah sees God
61 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw God sitting on a throne.
2 The seraphim stood above him. Each had six wings; two wings covered their face, two covered their feet, and they flew with the other two.
3 They cried to each other, saying, "God is holy, holy, holy."
4 There was a loud voice that moved the doorposts, and the house filled with smoke.
5 Then I said,
Woe is me! Because I have unclean lips and I live with people who have unclean lips. And my eyes have seen God.
6 Then one of the seraphim flew over to me, with a live coal in his hand. 7 And he laid it on my mouth, and said,
Lo, this has touched your lips. Your sins are taken away.
8 I also heard God say, "Who should I send?" And I said, "Here I am, send me."
96 A son has been born who will control the government. His name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
13 The people didn't turn back to God after he smote them.
17 So God won't have mercy on the young men, fatherless, or widows. Because everyone is an evil hypocrite who says foolish things.
19 God will burn the people in a fire.
20 And the people will eat their right hands, but still be hungry. So they'll eat their left hands, but still not be satisfied. Everyone will eat the flesh of their own arm.
111 A rod will come out of the stem of Jesse, and branch will grow out its roots.
4 He’ll smite the earth with his mouth and breath and kill all the wicked people.
5 His loins will be girdled with righteousness, and his kidneys (reins) with faithfulness.
Cockatrice dens
6 Wolves, leopards, and bears will live peacefully with their prey.
7 And lions will eat straw.
8 Children will safely play with poisonous snakes and put their hands in cockatrice dens.
Cockatrice
15 And God will destroy the Red Sea and dry up the Euphrates River.
Note from HarperCollins Study Bible: Probably 738 BCE.
To cover their feet (6:2)
"Seraphim have six wings. Two cover their faces, two cover their feet (probably a euphemism for genitals), and they fly with the remaining two." Bible Odyssey: Seraphim
Hear but won't understand. See, but won't perceive. So that they won't understand, or be converted.
A young woman is pregnant and she will bear a son. (7:14)
In the King James Version, this verse reads, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This verse is used in the gospel of Matthew (1:23) to claim that Jesus's birth is a fulfilment of this prophecy. But it wasn't a prophecy, it was a sign. A young woman (not necessarily a virgin) has already conceived at will bear a son. The following verses make it clear that soon (before the boy is old enough to tell good from evil), God will destroy the Ephraimite-Syrian coalition. Christians have misused this supposed prophecy ever since.
The hair of their feet (7:20)
"Feet, a euphemism for genitals. (Exodus 4:25)" - Harper Collins Study Bible note for Isaiah 7:20.
Mahershalalhashbaz.
This is often said to the the longest name in the Bible. In Hebrew it means something like, "quickly to the plunder," which is probably a reference to the coming destruction of Israel and Syria by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.
The King James Version puts this verse in the future tense, instead of the past, as it is in the original Hebrew. This was done to make it appear to be a prophecy of Jesus. Although there is some disagreement among Jewish commentators, Rashi believed this verse referred to Hezekiah.
A rod will come out of the stem of Jesse. (11:1)
Christians also claim that this verse is a prophecy about Jesus - since he is often referred to as the son of David, and David was the son of Jesse.
Cockatrice dens (11:8)
A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays.
