Isaiah 7:2

2 When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, ^[a] the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

Isaiah 7:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 7:2

And it was told the house of David
Ahaz, and his family, the princes of the blood, his court and counsellors; who had intelligence of the designs and preparations of the Syrians and Israelites against them: saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim;
the ten tribes; or the kingdom and king of Israel. Some render it, "Syria led"; that is, its army "unto Ephraim" ^F25; marched it into the land of Israel, and there joined the king of Israel's army; others, as the Vulgate Latin version, "Syria rests upon Ephraim" ^F26; depends upon, trusts in, takes heart and encouragement from Ephraim, or the ten tribes, being his ally. The Septuagint version is, "Syria hath agreed with Ephraim"; entered into a confederacy and alliance with each other; which is the sense of our version; and is confirmed by the Targum, which is,

``the king of Syria is joined with the king of Israel:''

and his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the
trees of the wood are moved with the wind;
the metaphor denotes the strength and force of the confederate armies, comparable to a strong, blustering, boisterous wind; see ( Isaiah 32:2 ) ( Jeremiah 4:11 Jeremiah 4:12 ) and the weakness of the king and people of Judah, who were like to trees shaken by the wind; and also the fear they were possessed with, partly through consciousness of guilt, and partly through distrust of divine power and Providence; and also on account of what they had suffered already from these powerful enemies, when they attacked them singly; and therefore might much more dread them, as they were combined together against them; see ( 2 Chronicles 28:5-8 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (hxn) "duxit exercitum", Tigurine version.
F26 "Syria quievit super Ephraim", Forerius, Cocceius; "Syria acquiescit in Ephraimo", Piscator.

Isaiah 7:2 In-Context

1 Now in the days that Ahaz son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, Rezin king of Aram marched up to wage war against Jerusalem. He was accompanied by Pekah son of Remaliah the king of Israel, but he could not overpower the city.

2 When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

3 Then the LORD said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct that feeds the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field,

4 and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.

5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:

Footnotes

• [a]. Or had set up camp in Ephraim, that is, the northern kingdom of Israel