Chapter 1 Summary
Verses 1-9 שמעו שמים
- Witnesses invoked;
- Israel demonstrated to be worse than animals, in not even recognizing their own creator;
- Continually seeks out her own beatings;
- The only remnant being a result of God's kindness
Verses 10-14 שמעו דבר ה
- God has had it with hypocritical sacrifices and prayer.
- Israelites given clear instructions on how to make amends; Do good. Pursue justice. Aid the wrong. Fight for the orphan. Defend the widow.
Verses 18-20 לכו נא ונוכחה
- Redemption is possible. And either Israel shall eat from the good of the land, or shall be consumed by the sword.
Verses 21-23 איכה !
- How low Jerusalem has fallen!
- Linguistic parallels to the laws of the Rebellious Child, who is deserving of death. (Not for the first time this chapter.)
Verses 24-31 לכן נאם האדון
- God will pursue vengeance;
- Jerusalem will be restored;
- Ends on a downer.
Some view this ch as a single speech that is especially comprehensive in its subject matter and biting in tone. Alternatively, it may be a summary of the contents of the books as a whole, written specifically to be an introduction, probably to chs 1-33... ----- from the Jewish Study Bible Commentary
Superscriptions Compared - Which came first?
(א) חֲזוֹן֙ יְשַֽׁעְיָ֣הוּ בֶן־אָמ֔וֹץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָזָ֔ה עַל־יְהוּדָ֖ה וִירוּשָׁלִָ֑ם בִּימֵ֨י עֻזִּיָּ֧הוּ יוֹתָ֛ם אָחָ֥ז יְחִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ מַלְכֵ֥י יְהוּדָֽה׃
(1) The prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
צדקה as "retribution"
כִּֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה לְאִ֗ישׁ בֵּ֚ן סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמוֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֣נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֔עַ בְּק֥וֹל אָבִ֖יו וּבְק֣וֹל אִמּ֑וֹ וְיסְּר֣וּ אֹת֔וֹ וְלֹ֥א יִשְׁמַ֖ע אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ וְתָ֥פְשׂוּ ב֖וֹ אָבִ֣יו וְאִמּ֑וֹ וְהוֹצִ֧יאוּ אֹת֛וֹ אֶל־זִקְנֵ֥י עִיר֖וֹ וְאֶל־שַׁ֥עַר מְקֹמֽוֹ׃ וְאָמְר֞וּ אֶל־זִקְנֵ֣י עִיר֗וֹ בְּנֵ֤נוּ זֶה֙ סוֹרֵ֣ר וּמֹרֶ֔ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ שֹׁמֵ֖עַ בְּקֹלֵ֑נוּ זוֹלֵ֖ל וְסֹבֵֽא׃ וּ֠רְגָמֻהוּ כָּל־אַנְשֵׁ֨י עִיר֤וֹ בָֽאֲבָנִים֙ וָמֵ֔ת וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ וְכָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל יִשְׁמְע֥וּ וְיִרָֽאוּ׃ (ס) וְכִֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה בְאִ֗ישׁ חֵ֛טְא מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֖וֶת וְהוּמָ֑ת וְתָלִ֥יתָ אֹת֖וֹ עַל־עֵֽץ׃
If a man has a wayward and defiant son, who does not heed his father or mother and does not obey them even after they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his town at the public place of his community. They shall say to the elders of his town, “This son of ours is disloyal and defiant; he does not heed us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Thereupon the men of his town shall stone him to death. Thus you will sweep out evil from your midst: all Israel will hear and be afraid. If a man is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale him on a stake,
כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל עֹלוֹתֵיכֶ֛ם סְפ֥וּ עַל־זִבְחֵיכֶ֖ם וְאִכְל֥וּ בָשָֽׂר׃ כִּ֠י לֹֽא־דִבַּ֤רְתִּי אֶת־אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ וְלֹ֣א צִוִּיתִ֔ים בְּי֛וֹם הוציא [הוֹצִיאִ֥י] אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם עַל־דִּבְרֵ֥י עוֹלָ֖ה וָזָֽבַח׃ כִּ֣י אִֽם־אֶת־הַדָּבָ֣ר הַ֠זֶּה צִוִּ֨יתִי אוֹתָ֤ם לֵאמֹר֙ שִׁמְע֣וּ בְקוֹלִ֔י וְהָיִ֤יתִי לָכֶם֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים וְאַתֶּ֖ם תִּֽהְיוּ־לִ֣י לְעָ֑ם וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗ם בְּכָל־הַדֶּ֙רֶךְ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם לְמַ֖עַן יִיטַ֥ב לָכֶֽם׃
Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat! For when I freed your fathers from the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifice. But this is what I commanded them: Do My bidding, that I may be your God and you may be My people; walk only in the way that I enjoin upon you, that it may go well with you.
Rabbi Samuel David Luzzato (Shadal), Italy, 19th century
From Wikipedia on Israel (name): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_(name)
Commentators differ on the original literal interpretation. The text of Genesis etymologizes the name with the root śarah "to rule, contend, have power, prevail over": שָׂרִיתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִים (KJV: "a prince hast thou power with God"), but modern suggestions read the el as the subject, for a translation of "El/God rules/judges/struggles", "El fights/struggles".
...
In Jewish and Christian texts from the Greco-Egyptian area during Second Temple Judaism and beyond the name was understood to mean "a man seeing God" from the ʾyš (man) rʾh (to see) ʾel (God).
איש-ראה-אל --->>> (א)יש-רא(ה)אל--->>>ישראל
Parallel to Isaiah 1:30
Interjections
This is one of the 10 parts of speech of Biblical Hebrew. Generally a word of exclamation in which the speaker makes known his/her inner emotional state.
Here are three which are very much related, two of which we have already seen:
הוי - Expresses grief, pain, sorrow, misery. Usually translated as "Alas!", or "Woe!"
אהה - Expresses complaint, or strong despair.
אוי - An impassioned expression of grief and despair, often as though pronouncing woe upon the person(s) to whom it refers, almost always governing the object of its pronouncement with an inseparable preposition or a pronominal suffix.
Here is another one which we have seen, also in Isaiah 1:
איכה - Expresses intensity. Has an affinity with הוי above.