Isaiah 29 Study Notes

29:14 The wisdom offered by the wise would vanish because it is based on the past, and God was going to do new wonders, such as the fall of Jerusalem, the return from captivity, and the sending of a Savior. Paul quotes this verse in 1Co 1:19.

29:15 A new woe oracle (see note at 1:4) begins with this verse and extends to the end of the chapter. This is the third woe presented in chaps. 28-33 (v. 1; 28:1; 30:1; 31:1; 33:1). Those who did evil thought they could hide their actions from God. It may be that these plans included a decision to seek help against Assyria from Egypt. Such presumption would not go unpunished.

29:16 The metaphor of God as a potter is used in a few key places in prophetic literature (45:9; 64:8; Jr 18:1-12; see also Rm 9:21). It evokes the description of the creation of Adam from the dust of the ground (Gn 2:7). The prophets pointed out how crazy it was for God’s creatures, the pots made from clay, to challenge or question their Maker, the Potter.

29:17-24 As with the previous woe oracle, there is a shift in this pronouncement from judgment to hope (see note at vv. 5-8).

29:17 Lebanon was known for its cedar forests, but it will be transformed into an orchard—a place for fruit-bearing trees. The cedar is often used in the Bible as a symbol of power and arrogance, so perhaps the transformation has to do with a change from pride to humble service.

29:18 The coming transformation is also pictured as the deaf hearing and the blind seeing. The document probably is an allusion to vv. 11-12. In those verses the document could not be understood, but here it could.

29:21 The city gate was where public hearings and judicial proceedings were held. The mediator was the person who heard a case. His removal would lead to injustice.

29:22 The pronouncement invokes the election of Abraham (Gn 12:1-3), the father of God’s people. Jacob is another name for the nation of Israel.

29:23-24 God will fulfill his promise to Abraham and Jacob by transforming his people.