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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 6

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord seated on a high, elevated throne.⁠ The hem of his robe filled the temple.⁠ 2 Seraphs stood over him;⁠ each one had six wings.⁠ With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly.⁠ 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy⁠ is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!⁠ His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”⁠ 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, and the temple was filled with smoke.⁠ 5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.” 8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”⁠ I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell these people:⁠ “‘Listen continually, but don’t understand. Look continually, but don’t perceive.’⁠ 10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind.⁠ Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”⁠ 11 I replied, “How long, Lord?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated, and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, 12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. 13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 6:13 and Jonathan Isaiah 6:13

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

Isaiah 6 describes a sacred Asherah tree being cut down to indicate the destruction of the land, with a surviving remnant compared to a seed. The Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan explains that this is a reference to the sufferings of the people.

Passages

Isaiah 6:13

Hebrew Bible
12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place, and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned. 13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Jonathan Isaiah 6:13

Targum
12 And the LORD has removed the children of men far away, and the desolation is great in the midst of the land. 13 And there will be left in it righteous men, one out of ten; they will return, and they will be brought to poverty. Like the terebinth and the oak when their leaves fall, they are like dry trees; nevertheless they are still moist enough to raise up seed from them. So the captivity of Israel will be gathered and will return to their land, for the holy seed is their planting.
200–300 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jonathan Isaiah

References

"... The Isaiah targumist explains many metaphors in the text, sometimes completely rewriting the passage, as in Isaiah 6:13, and identifies the positions of many of the people that are mentioned. The targumist removes some but not all anthropomorphisms by adding 'before,' 'glory,' Shekhinah and memra (word or wisdom). It is significant to note that the targumist's language of 6:3, Isaiah's vision of the words he heard the attendants (not Seraphim, as in the Hebrew) of God say, are repeated by Jewish worshipers in the daily services. Of special significance is the targumist's interpretation of verses 9:5 and 9:6, verses that many Christians assumed referred to Jesus. Just like Rashi and later Jewish commentators, the Isaiah targumist understood the passage to speak of the son of King Achaz, who did not follow God's commands. He would have a son whom God, the 'wonderful counselor,' will call 'Messiah,' meaning the 'anointed one,' and signifying that he will rule after Achaz. This child will keep the laws of the Torah and bring peace to the land ..."
Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner, Onkelos on the Torah, Exodus: Understanding the Bible Text (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2006), 294.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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