Isaiah 7:1

The Message to Ahaz

1 This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Rezin king of Aram, along with Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, waged war against Jerusalem, but he could not succeed.

Isaiah 7:1 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 7:1

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of
Jotham, the son of Uzziah king of Judah
Here begins a new prophecy under the reign of another king; who, though a wicked king, had religious ancestors; and who are mentioned, not, as the Jewish writers ^F21 generally say, because it was owing to their worthiness that the enemies of Ahaz could not prevail against him; but because it was under these kings the prophet had prophesied: what is contained in the first five chapters were delivered in the times of Uzziah; and the vision in the sixth was in the times of Jotham, in the beginning of his reign; and what is said here, and in some following chapters, was in the time of Ahaz; so that this is mentioned to fix and carry on the date of the prophecy: [that] Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah king
of Israel, went up towards Jerusalem to war against it;
at the latter end of Jotham's reign, and the beginning of Ahaz's; these two separately came up against Judah, and greatly distressed and afflicted the kingdom, slew many, and carried others captive, ( 2 Kings 15:37 ) ( 2 Chronicles 28:5-7 ) but afterwards, in the third ^F23 or fourth ^F24 year of Ahaz, as it is said, they joined together to besiege Jerusalem, which this refers to, ( 2 Kings 16:5 ) : but could not prevail against it;
or "he could not"; that is, according to Aben Ezra, the king of Israel, Pekah, the son of Remaliah; but, according to Kimchi, it was Rezin king of Syria, who, he says, was the principal in the war, and brought Pekah along with him; but it may very well be understood of them both, since in ( 2 Kings 16:5 ) , the plural number is used; "and they could not"; and so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Oriental versions here.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Jarchi & Kimchi in loc. & Yalkut Simeoni, ex Bereshit Rabba, sect. 63. fol. 54. 4.
F23 Yalkut Simeoni in loc.
F24 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 23. p. 85. Jarchi in ver. 14.

Isaiah 7:1 In-Context

1 This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah: Rezin king of Aram, along with Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, waged war against Jerusalem, but he could not succeed.

2 When it became known to the house of David that Aram had occupied Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in a wind.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, "Go out with your son Shear-jashub to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, by the road to the Fuller's Field.

4 Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don't be afraid or fainthearted because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, Rezin of Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say: