Isaiah 11:2

2 And the spirit of Yahweh shall rest on him-- a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh.

Isaiah 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 11:2

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him
The rod and branch, the King Messiah, so qualifying him for his office, and the discharge of it. This shows that Christ's kingdom is of a spiritual nature, and administered in a spiritual manner, for which he was abundantly furnished by the "Spirit of the Lord" resting on him; by whom is meant the third Person in the Trinity, so called, not because created by him, for not any created spirit is meant, but because he proceeded from him; he is the one Jehovah with him, a divine Person, truly God, yet distinct both from the Father and the Son; so that here is a clear proof of the trinity of Persons. Christ was filled with the Spirit from the womb, and he descended and rested upon him at his baptism; he was anointed with him to be Prophet, Priest, and King, and received his gifts and graces from him without measure, which abide with him, and are designed in the following words:

the spirit of wisdom and understanding;
which appeared in his disputation with the doctors; in his answers to the ensnaring questions of the Scribes and Pharisees; in the whole of his ministry; and in his conduct at his apprehension, trial, condemnation, and death; as also in the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding he imparted to his disciples, and does more or less to all his people:

the spirit of counsel and might;
of "counsel", which fitted him to be the wonderful Counsellor, and qualified him to give suitable and proper advice to the sons of men; and of "might" or "power", to preach the Gospel with authority; do miracles in the confirmation of it; bear the sins of his people, and the punishment due to them; obtain eternal redemption for them; and engage with all their enemies and conquer them:

the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord;
and so as man had the "knowledge" of God the Father; of his mind and will; of the Scriptures, and things contained therein; of the law and Gospel; all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were hid in him, which he communicates to his saints; and "of the fear of the Lord", and so had a reverence of him, a strict regard to his will, and always did the things which pleased him; see ( Hebrews 5:7 ) this verse is also applied to the Messiah, both by ancient and modern Jews F21.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 2. Zohar in Gen. fol. 68. 3. & in Numb. fol. 54. 4. & 92. 1. & in Deut. fol. 123. 3. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 2. 4. sect. 8. fol. 6. 3. Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 13. fol. 209. 3. Midrash Ruth, fol. 34. 4. Pirke Eliezer, c. 3. fol. 3. 2. Raziel, fol. 11. 1. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 156. 1. Baal Hatturim in Numb. vii. 12. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 1. fol. 3. 1.

Isaiah 11:2 In-Context

1 And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit.
2 And the spirit of Yahweh shall rest on him-- a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh.
3 And his {breath} [is] in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall judge not by his eyesight, and he shall rebuke not by {what he hears with} his ears.
4 But he shall judge [the] poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for [the] needy of [the] earth with rectitude. And he shall strike [the] earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill [the] wicked person with the breath of his lips.
5 And righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.