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{{Short description|Book of Isaiah, chapter 7}}
{{Bible chapter|letname= Isaiah 7 |previouslink= Isaiah 6 |previousletter= chapter 6 |nextlink= Isaiah 8 |nextletter= chapter 8 |book=[[Book of Isaiah]] |biblepart=[[Old Testament]] | booknum= 23 |hbiblepart= [[Nevi'im]] | hbooknum = 5 |category= [[Nevi'im|Latter Prophets]] | filename= Great Isaiah Scroll.jpg |size=242px | name=Great Isaiah Scroll |caption=<div style="width: 242px; text-align: center; line-height: 1em">The [[Great Isaiah Scroll]], the best preserved of the biblical scrolls found at [[Qumran]] from the second century BC, contains all the verses in this chapter.</div>}}

'''Isaiah 7''' is the seventh [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|chapter]] of the [[Book of Isaiah]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]] or the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]]. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the [[Biblical prophet|prophet]] [[Isaiah]] and is one of the [[Nevi'im|Books of the Prophets]].

== Text ==
The original text was written in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew language]]. [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|This chapter is divided into]] 25 verses.

==Summary==

Isaiah 7 is a pivotal chapter in the Book of Isaiah, containing the famous prophecy of the Immanuel sign and dealing with the historical crisis faced by King Ahaz of Judah.

=== Historical Context ===  
Isaiah 7 takes place during the '''Syro-Ephraimite War''' (c. 735–732 BCE), when the northern kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) and Aram (Syria) attempted to force the southern kingdom of Judah to join their alliance against the Assyrian Empire. '''King Ahaz of Judah''' feared an invasion from these two neighboring kingdoms.  

The prophet '''Isaiah''' confronted Ahaz and urged him to trust in God rather than seeking military assistance from Assyria. Isaiah assured Ahaz that the coalition against Judah would fail. When Isaiah invited Ahaz to request a sign from God, Ahaz refused, likely because he had already decided to seek Assyrian help.  

=== The Immanuel Prophecy (Isaiah 7:14) ===  
One of the most well-known verses in Isaiah 7 is the prophecy of Immanuel:  

:''"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."'' (Isaiah 7:14, ESV)  

This prophecy is interpreted in two primary ways:  

* '''Historical Context''' – In its immediate context, the "Immanuel" child was a sign that before the child grew up, the two enemy kings (Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel) would be destroyed. This was fulfilled within a few years when Assyria defeated both kingdoms.  
* '''Messianic Interpretation''' – The Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 1:23) cites Isaiah 7:14 as a prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In Christian theology, Jesus is considered the ultimate fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, meaning "God with us."  

=== Significance ===  
Isaiah 7 is considered significant for several reasons:  

* '''Theological Importance''' – The chapter emphasizes the importance of trusting in God rather than political alliances. Ahaz’s reliance on Assyria instead of God led to long-term consequences for Judah.  
* '''Messianic Expectation''' – The Immanuel prophecy is one of the key Old Testament passages interpreted by Christians as a foreshadowing of Jesus.  
* '''Historical Impact''' – Ahaz’s decision to ally with Assyria made Judah a vassal state, contributing to later conflicts, including the Babylonian exile.  

Isaiah 7 is thus both a historical warning and a prophetic promise, playing a central role in both Jewish and Christian traditions.  


===Textual witnesses===
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]] are of the [[Masoretic Text]] tradition, which includes the [[Codex Cairensis]] (895), [[Codex Babylonicus Petropolitanus|the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets]] (916), [[Aleppo Codex]] (10th century), [[Leningrad Codex|Codex Leningradensis]] (1008).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=35-37}}

Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] (3rd century BC or later):
*[[Isaiah scroll|1QIsa<sup>a</sup>]]: complete
*1QIsa<sup>b</sup>: extant: verses 14‑16, 20‑25
*4QIsa<sup>f</sup> (4Q60): extant: verses 16‑18, 23‑25
*4QIsa<sup>h</sup> (4Q62): extant: verses 14‑15
*4QIsa<sup>l</sup> (4Q65): extant: verses 17‑20

There is also a translation into [[Koine Greek]] known as the [[Septuagint]], made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the [[Septuagint]] version include [[Codex Vaticanus]] ('''B'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>B</sup>; 4th century), [[Codex Sinaiticus]] ('''S'''; [[Biblia Hebraica (Kittel)|BHK]]: <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>S</sup>; 4th century), [[Codex Alexandrinus]] ('''A'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>A</sup>; 5th century) and [[Codex Marchalianus]] ('''Q'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>Q</sup>; 6th century).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=73-74}}

==Parashot==
The ''[[parashah]]'' sections listed here are based on the [[Aleppo Codex]].<ref>As reflected in the [http://mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et0.htm Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English].</ref> Isaiah 7 is a part of the ''Prophecies about Judah and Israel ([[Isaiah 1]][[Isaiah 12|-12]])''. {P}: open ''parashah''; {S}: closed ''parashah''.
: {P} 7:1-2 {S} 7:3-6 {P} 7:7-9 {P} 7:10-17 {P} 7:18-20 {P} 7:21-22 {S} 7:23-25 {P}

==Verse 1==
:''Now it came to pass in the days of [[Ahaz]] the son of [[Jotham (son of Gideon)|Jotham]], the son of [[Uzziah]], [[king of Judah]], that [[Rezin]], king of [[Aram-Damascus|Syria]] and [[Pekah]] the son of [[Remaliah]], [[king of Israel]], went up to [[Jerusalem]] to make war against it, but could not prevail against it.''<ref>{{bibleref2|Isaiah|7:1|NKJV}} [[New King James Version|NKJV]]</ref>
Cross reference: {{bibleref2|2 Kings|16:5|NKJV}}; [[Matthew 1:9]]

The purpose of the war was to bring Judah into an anti-[[Assyria]]n coalition.<ref>Footnote in [[Jerusalem Bible]] at 2 Kings 16:5</ref>

==Verse 3==
:'Then the Lord said to Isaiah, 
:: ''“Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son,''
:: ''at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field,''<ref>{{bibleref2|Isaiah|7:3|NKJV}} NKJV</ref>
* "[[List of minor Old Testament figures, L–Z#Shearjashub|Shear-Jashub]]": literally means "A remnant will return" ({{bibleref2|Isaiah|6:13}}; compare [[Isaiah 7:14]]; [[Isaiah 8:3]]) serves "as a good omen for [[Ahaz]]."<ref name=newoxford>The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Augmented Third Edition, New Revised Standard Version, Indexed. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, Editors. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2007. pp. 987-989 Hebrew Bible. {{ISBN|978-0195288810}}</ref>
According to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, the "upper pool" is the "reservoir south of Gihon Spring" ({{bibleref2|Isaiah|36:2}}).<ref name=newoxford/> This was unlikely to be a regular meeting point: the [[Good News Translation]] calls the area "the road where the cloth makers work";<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|7:3|GNT}}: Good News Translation</ref> Ahaz may have gone there to undertake an engineering inspection, to ensure either that the water supplies for [[Jerusalem]] were secure, or that they would not be accessible to invading forces.<ref name=Pulpit>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/isaiah/7.htm Pulpit Commentary on Isaiah 7], accessed 14 March 2018</ref>

Isaiah speaks God's word to Ahaz; apparently this is "received in silence, at any rate without acknowledgment".<ref name=Pulpit />

The place of meeting would witness another confrontation between [[Rabshakeh]], the messenger of [[Sennacherib]], king of Assyria, with the officials of [[Hezekiah]], son of Ahaz ([[Isaiah 36:2]]), presenting a contrast of behavior between Ahaz and Hezekiah.{{sfn|Coggins|2007|p=463}}

==Verse 12==
:''Ahaz said, “I will not ask [for a sign], nor will I test the Lord!”''<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|7:12|NKJV}}</ref>
Ahaz, unwilling to commit to the faith in God which Isaiah has demanded, uses the edict of {{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|6:16|NIV}}, ''Do not put the Lord your God to the test'' ([[New International Version]]) as an excuse, "under a pretence of reverence".<ref>Skinner, J. (1897-98), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/isaiah/7.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Isaiah 7, accessed 1 December 2019</ref>

==Verse 14==
{{main|Isaiah 7:14}}
[[File:Book of Isaiah Chapter 7-1 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media).jpg|thumb|200px|The last part of Isaiah 7:14 in [[Hebrew]].]]
: ''Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name [[Immanuel]].''<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|7:14|KJV}} [[King James Version|KJV]]</ref>

The Hebrew [[Masoretic text]] (10th century) and the [[Isaiah scroll]] (2nd century BC): (read from right to left)
:<big>'''{{Script/Hebrew|לָכֵן יִתֵּן אֲדֹנָי הוּא לָכֶם אוֹת הִנֵּה הָעַלְמָה הָרָה וְיֹלֶדֶת בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ עִמָּנוּאֵל}}'''</big>

Transliteration
: "''lā·ḵên yitên ’ă·ḏō·nāy hū lā·ḵem o·wt: hinneh hā·‘al·māh hā·rāh wə·yō·le·ḏeṯ bên, wə·qā·rāṯ shem-o imanuel''"

This verse is cited in [[Matthew 1:23]].

==Verse 15==
:''Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|7:15|KJV}} KJV</ref>
*"Butter" ({{langx|he|חמאה}}, ''chem'âh''): could be rendered as "thick and curdled milk".<ref name=barnes>[[Albert Barnes (theologian)|Barnes, Albert]]. [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/isaiah/7.htm ''Notes on the Bible'' - Isaiah 7]. James Murphy (ed). London: Blackie & Son, 1884.</ref>

==Verse 18==
:''And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|7:18|KJV}} KJV</ref>
The [[Pulpit Commentary]] suggests that "the choice of the terms 'bee' and 'fly' to represent respectively the hosts of [[Assyria]] and [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], is not without significance. Egyptian armies were swarms, hastily levied, and very imperfectly disciplined. Assyrian were bodies of trained troops accustomed to war, and almost as well disciplined as the [[Roman army|Roman]]s."<ref name=Pulpit />

==Uses==
===Music===
The [[King James Version]] of verse 14 from this chapter is cited as texts in the English-language [[oratorio]] "[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]" by [[George Frideric Handel]] (HWV 56).<ref name="Block 2001">
{{cite journal
| last = Block
| first = Daniel I.
| author-link = Daniel I. Block
| year = 2001
| title = Handel's Messiah: Biblical and Theological Perspectives
| journal = [[Didaskalia (journal)|Didaskalia]]
| volume = 12
| number = 2
| url = http://www.sbts.edu/documents/icw/messiah.pdf
| access-date = 19 July 2011
}}
</ref>

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
*[[Ahaz]], [[Kingdom of Judah|king of Judah]]
*[[Christian messianic prophecies]]
*[[Immanuel]]
*[[Jotham]], king of Judah
*[[Jewish messianism]]
*[[Messianic prophecies of Jesus]]
*[[Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament]]
*[[Pekah]], [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|king of Israel]]
*[[Pool of Bethesda]]
*[[Rezin]], king of [[Aram-Damascus|Aram]]
*[[Uzziah]], king of Judah}}
*Related [[Bible]] parts: [[2 Kings 16]], [[2 Kings 18]], [[Isaiah 36]], [[Matthew 1]], [[John 5]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book|last= Coggins | first= R. | chapter = 22. Isaiah | title=The Oxford Bible Commentary | editor-first1=John| editor-last1=Barton |editor1-link = John Barton (theologian) | editor-first2=John| editor-last2= Muddiman |editor2-link = John Muddiman | publisher = Oxford University Press |edition= first (paperback) | date = 2007 | pages = 433–486 | isbn = 978-0199277186 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ| access-date=February 6, 2019}}
*{{cite book | last = Motyer | first = J. Alec | title = The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary | publisher = InterVarsity Press | year = 2015 | isbn = 9780830895243 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p3R3CwAAQBAJ }}
*{{cite book | last = Würthwein | first = Ernst | author-link = Ernst Würthwein | title = The Text of the Old Testament | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans |location = Grand Rapids, MI | year=  1995 | translator-first1 = Erroll F.| translator-last1 = Rhodes |isbn = 0-8028-0788-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC | access-date= January 26, 2019}}

==External links==
===Jewish===
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1007.htm Isaiah 7: Hebrew with Parallel English]

===Christian===
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101227195829/http://latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=27&c=7 Isaiah 7 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate]

{{Book of Isaiah}}

[[Category:Book of Isaiah chapters|07]]
[[Category:House of Pekah]]