Isaiah 7:20 NIV

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 7:20

Isaiah 7:20. The Lord shall shave Shall utterly spoil, as shaving takes away the hair; with a razor that is hired Hired by Ahaz; for he purchased the aid of the Assyrians with large sums of silver and gold, 2 Kings 16:7-8. And so the prophet signifies the just judgment of God, in scourging them with a rod of their own making. By them beyond the river Euphrates, called the river, by way of eminence, beyond which Assyria lay. By the king of Assyria By the successive kings of the Assyrian... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 7:1-25

7:1-12:6 JUDAH IN THE REIGN OF AHAZChapters 7-12 belong to the reign of Ahaz, when Pekah the king of Israel and Rezin the king of Syria (Aram) joined forces to attack Ahaz, with the aim of forcing Judah into their anti-Assyrian alliance. Before reading these chapters, readers should be familiar with the historical background given in the introduction under the heading ‘Israel and Syria attack Judah’.Isaiah’s message for Ahaz (7:1-25)When the Judean king Ahaz hears of the approach of the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 7:20

hired. By Ahaz himself. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Isaiah 7:20

"In that day will the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, even the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it shall consume the beard.""The Lord will shave ..." This does not mean that God will shave himself, but that he will shave the land of his rebellious people. Shaving the hair of the feet, the head, and the beard simply means that nothing will be left. "Judah is to be completely stripped."[13] read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 7:20

Isaiah 7:20. Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, &c.— Shall the Lord shave with that mercenary razor by them beyond the Euphrates, &c.—And even the beard also shall be close shaven. Schultens. The metaphor of a razor is immediately explained by the prophet, who calls the king of Assyria, emphatically, that mercenary razor, alluding to the hire which Ahaz offered to him for his service. See 2 Chronicles 16:14; 2 Chronicles 16:14. We have a full completion of this prophesy in... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 7:20

20. razor—The Assyrians are to be God's instrument of devastating Judea, just as a razor sweeps away all hair before it (Isaiah 10:5; Ezekiel 29:19; Ezekiel 29:20). hired—alluding to Ahaz' hiring (2 Kings 16:7; 2 Kings 16:8) Tiglath-pileser against Syria and Israel; namely, by them beyond the river—namely, the Euphrates; the eastern boundary of Jewish geographical knowledge (Psalms 72:8); the river which Abram crossed; the Nile also may be included (Psalms 72:8- :) [G. V. SMITH]. GESENIUS... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 7:18-25

The threat of Assyria 7:18-25This section explains how the coming days would be the worst since the division of the kingdom (Isaiah 7:17). Assyria was not just a powerful and brutal enemy, but it would be a tool in Yahweh’s hand that He would use to discipline Judah. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 7:20

Judah’s Sovereign would particularly use Assyria, as a barber uses a razor, to remove all the "hair" from Judah, to completely humiliate her (cf. 2 Samuel 10:4-5). Prisoners and slaves were shaved as a mark of dishonor, and this condition signified insult and disrespect. [Note: Watts, p. 107.] Ahaz was already negotiating to hire Tiglath-pileser III, the king of Assyria, perhaps secretly at this time, to come and help Judah against the Syro-Ephraimitic alliance. However, Yahweh would "hire" the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 7:1-25

1-16. Isaiah assures Ahaz by a sign that Judah will be delivered from Syria and Israel.1. See prefatory note to the section.2. Ephraim] the popular name for the northern kingdom (Isaiah 9:8-9). His heart was moved] i.e. the heart of king Ahaz, because of the formidable confederacy against him. Serious reverses suffered by Judah at this time are recorded in 2 Chronicles 28:5-15.3. Shear-jashub] i.e. ’a remnant shall return.’ Already in the reign of Ahaz the prophet had summed up the... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 7:20

(20) Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired.—Better, “with the razor.” The words find a parallel in the “made him naked” of 2 Chronicles 28:19. The term “hired” applies to the tribute which Ahaz was about to pay to Tilgath-pilneser. He thought that he was securing an ally: he was but hiring a razor (there is, perhaps, the implied thought that the razor is in other hands than his) that should sweep away all the signs of strength, and leave him an open shame and scorn to all who looked... read more