Isaiah 6:2,Isaiah 6:3

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 6:2

Isaiah 6:2. Above it Or, rather, above him, as ממעל לו might be better rendered; stood the seraphim As ministers attending upon their Lord, and waiting to receive and execute his commands. The word seraphim, which, like cherubim, is plural, signifies burning, or flaming ones, from the verb שׂר Š, seraph, to burn or flame. The expression here means spiritual beings, qui a claritate et aspectus splendore, quasi flammantes et ignei visi sunt, “who, from their brightness,... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 6:1-13

God’s call of Isaiah (6:1-13)Isaiah has gone to some length to describe Judah’s spiritual and moral corruption before he mentions God’s call to him to be a prophet. His reason for doing this seems to be that he wants his readers to see why God called him. Their understanding of conditions in Judah will help them understand the sort of task that lay before him.King Uzziah’s death marked the end of an era of prosperity unequalled in Judah’s history. Yet this era brought with it the corruption... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 6:2

it: i.e. the throne. seraphims = burning ones. No Art. Celestial beings, named but unexplained. Name used of the serpents (Numbers 21:6 ) because of the burning effect produced by them, just as nachash was used of a snake because of its shining skin (Numbers 21:9 ), as well as of the shining one of Genesis 3:1 . See notes on Genesis 3:1 .Numbers 21:6 , Numbers 21:9 , and App-19 . Septuagint reads "and seraphs stood round about Him". read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 6:2

Isaiah 6:2. Above it stood— The state, figure, and actions of the Seraphim are here described: The word שׂופים seraphim, says Vitringa, signifies fiery and shining bodies, from ףּשׂר seraph, to burn; (see Numbers 21:6.) and is in this place to be understood of persons of a bright and splendid appearance, covered with wings, and in a human form. This part of the vision seems manifestly to be taken from the representation of the Divine Glory, as it was exhibited in the Holy of Holies; where was... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 6:2

2. stood—not necessarily the posture of standing; rather, were in attendance on Him [MAURER], hovering on expanded wings. the—not in the Hebrew. seraphim—nowhere else applied to God's attendant angels; but to the fiery flying (not winged, but rapidly moving) serpents, which bit the Israelites (Numbers 21:6), called so from the poisonous inflammation caused by their bites. Seraph is to burn; implying the burning zeal, dazzling brightness (2 Kings 2:11; 2 Kings 6:17; Ezekiel 1:13; Matthew 28:3)... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 6:1-8

A. The prophet’s cleansing 6:1-8 read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Isaiah 6:2

Fiery angels attended the Lord. "Seraphim," a transliteration of the Hebrew word, probably means "burning ones." (cf. Numbers 21:6). This is the only reference to seraphim as angelic beings in Scripture. Usually this Hebrew word describes snakes (cf. Numbers 21:6; Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6). What John saw may have been dragon-like creatures. They covered their faces, as we do when we are in the presence of something extremely brilliant, to hide and protect themselves from the... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 6:1-13

The Prophet’s CallThis c., which recounts the prophet’s call and commission, would stand first in a chronological arrangement of the book. The opening words remind us of the vision of Micaiah (1 Kings 22:19), and we should compare the visions of Jeremiah and Ezekiel which inaugurated their prophetic activity. In St. John’s vision (Revelation 4) the same anthem, ’Holy, holy, holy,’ is sung by the six-winged living creatures round about the throne. Isaiah’s vision foreshadows such leading... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Isaiah 6:2

(2) Above it stood the seraphims . . .—It is noticeable that this is the only passage in which the seraphim are mentioned as part of the host of heaven. In Numbers 21:6, the word (the primary meaning of which is the burning ones) occurs as denoting the fiery serpents that attacked the people in the wilderness. Probably the brazen serpent which Hezekiah afterwards destroyed (2 Kings 18:4) had preserved the name and its significance as denoting the instruments of the fiery judgments of Jehovah.... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Isaiah 6:1-13

Redeeming Vision Isaiah 6:1 In all life's necessary contact and inevitable contest with reality, nothing is more needed than the uplifted eye with its power of vision, which is the power of purity. To see 'also the Lord' is alike the secret of steadfastness and the guarantee of that knowledge in the midst of perplexity, which alone liberates from fretful anxiety and unbelief, and leads to right choice and wise action. I. In connexion with duty, how indispensable is the sight of the... read more