Marc Chagall, The Prophet Isaiah, 1968. Oil on canvas, Musée National Marc Chagall, Nice, France.
Seen at: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/image-gallery/i/isaiah-6-chagall (Jan. 2021)
(א) בִּשְׁנַת־מוֹת֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ עֻזִּיָּ֔הוּ וָאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אדושם יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֖א רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֑א וְשׁוּלָ֖יו מְלֵאִ֥ים אֶת־הַהֵיכָֽל׃
(ב) שְׂרָפִ֨ים עֹמְדִ֤ים ׀ מִמַּ֙עַל֙ ל֔וֹ שֵׁ֧שׁ כְּנָפַ֛יִם שֵׁ֥שׁ כְּנָפַ֖יִם לְאֶחָ֑ד בִּשְׁתַּ֣יִם ׀ יְכַסֶּ֣ה פָנָ֗יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֛יִם יְכַסֶּ֥ה רַגְלָ֖יו וּבִשְׁתַּ֥יִם יְעוֹפֵֽף׃
(ג) וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ ה' צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
(ד) וַיָּנֻ֙עוּ֙ אַמּ֣וֹת הַסִּפִּ֔ים מִקּ֖וֹל הַקּוֹרֵ֑א וְהַבַּ֖יִת יִמָּלֵ֥א עָשָֽׁן׃
(ה) וָאֹמַ֞ר אֽוֹי־לִ֣י כִֽי־נִדְמֵ֗יתִי כִּ֣י אִ֤ישׁ טְמֵֽא־שְׂפָתַ֙יִם֙ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבְתוֹךְ֙ עַם־טְמֵ֣א שְׂפָתַ֔יִם אָנֹכִ֖י יוֹשֵׁ֑ב כִּ֗י אֶת־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ ה' צְבָא֖וֹת רָא֥וּ עֵינָֽי׃ (ו) וַיָּ֣עָף אֵלַ֗י אֶחָד֙ מִן־הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים וּבְיָד֖וֹ רִצְפָּ֑ה בְּמֶ֨לְקַחַ֔יִם לָקַ֖ח מֵעַ֥ל הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ (ז) וַיַּגַּ֣ע עַל־פִּ֔י וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֛ה נָגַ֥ע זֶ֖ה עַל־שְׂפָתֶ֑יךָ וְסָ֣ר עֲוֺנֶ֔ךָ וְחַטָּאתְךָ֖ תְּכֻפָּֽר׃
(ח) וָאֶשְׁמַ֞ע אֶת־ק֤וֹל אדושם אֹמֵ֔ר אֶת־מִ֥י אֶשְׁלַ֖ח וּמִ֣י יֵֽלֶךְ־לָ֑נוּ וָאֹמַ֖ר הִנְנִ֥י שְׁלָחֵֽנִי׃
(ט) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֵ֥ךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה שִׁמְע֤וּ שָׁמ֙וֹעַ֙ וְאַל־תָּבִ֔ינוּ וּרְא֥וּ רָא֖וֹ וְאַל־תֵּדָֽעוּ׃ (י) הַשְׁמֵן֙ לֵב־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְאָזְנָ֥יו הַכְבֵּ֖ד וְעֵינָ֣יו הָשַׁ֑ע פֶּן־יִרְאֶ֨ה בְעֵינָ֜יו וּבְאָזְנָ֣יו יִשְׁמָ֗ע וּלְבָב֥וֹ יָבִ֛ין וָשָׁ֖ב וְרָ֥פָא לֽוֹ׃
(יא) וָאֹמַ֕ר עַד־מָתַ֖י אדושם וַיֹּ֡אמֶר עַ֣ד אֲשֶׁר֩ אִם־שָׁא֨וּ עָרִ֜ים מֵאֵ֣ין יוֹשֵׁ֗ב וּבָתִּים֙ מֵאֵ֣ין אָדָ֔ם וְהָאֲדָמָ֖ה תִּשָּׁאֶ֥ה שְׁמָמָֽה׃ (יב) וְרִחַ֥ק ה' אֶת־הָאָדָ֑ם וְרַבָּ֥ה הָעֲזוּבָ֖ה בְּקֶ֥רֶב הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (יג) וְע֥וֹד בָּהּ֙ עֲשִׂ֣רִיָּ֔ה וְשָׁ֖בָה וְהָיְתָ֣ה לְבָעֵ֑ר כָּאֵלָ֣ה וְכָאַלּ֗וֹן אֲשֶׁ֤ר בְּשַׁלֶּ֙כֶת֙ מַצֶּ֣בֶת בָּ֔ם זֶ֥רַע קֹ֖דֶשׁ מַצַּבְתָּֽהּ׃ (פ)
(1) In the year that King Uzziah died, I beheld my Lord seated on a high and lofty throne; and the skirts of His robe filled the Temple.
(2) Seraphs stood in attendance on Him. Each of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his legs, and with two he would fly.
(3) And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! The LORD of Hosts! His presence/kavod fills all the earth!”
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai Tzevaot, melo' khol ha-aretz kevodo!
(4) The doorposts would shake at the sound of the one who called, and the House kept filling with smoke.
(5) I cried, “Woe is me; I am lost! For I am a man of unclean lips And I live among a people Of unclean lips; Yet my own eyes have beheld The King LORD of Hosts.” (6) Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. (7) He touched it to my lips and declared, “Now that this has touched your lips, Your guilt shall depart And your sin be purged away.”
(8) Then I heard the voice of my Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me.”
(9) And He said, “Go, say to that people: ‘Hear, indeed, but do not understand; See, indeed, but do not grasp.’ (10) Dull that people’s mind, Stop its ears, And seal its eyes— Lest, seeing with its eyes And hearing with its ears, It also grasp with its mind, And repent and save itself.”
(11) I asked, “How long, my Lord?” And He replied: “Till towns lie waste without inhabitants And houses without people, And the ground lies waste and desolate— (12) For the LORD will banish the population— And deserted sites are many In the midst of the land. (13) “But while a tenth part yet remains in it, it shall repent. It shall be ravaged like the terebinth and the oak, of which stumps are left even when they are felled: its stump shall be a holy seed.”
At the Temple
A representation of the Shrine of Solomon's Temple,
inspired by 1 Kings 6-7
The pillars: Jachin (Yachin) and Boaz (I K 7:21)
Ten lampstands/menorahs (I K 7:49)
What brought Isaiah to the Temple in the First Place?
Marvin A. Sweeney, "Isaiah," The New Oxford Annotated Bible
"As a royal adviser, Isaiah would stand with the king by the column at the entrance of the Temple where he could see the interior of the Temple. ... It is possible that the vision takes place on the Day of Atonement, when the priest enters the Holy of Holies to atone on behalf of the people." (Introductory Comment to 6:1-13)
(13) When Athaliah heard the shouting of the guards [and] the people, she came out to the people in the House of the LORD. (14) She looked about and saw the king standing by the pillar, as was the custom, the chiefs with their trumpets beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah rent her garments and cried out, “Treason, treason!”
Visions of God
(ט) וַיַּ֥עַל מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹ֑ן נָדָב֙ וַאֲבִיה֔וּא וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים מִזִּקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (י) וַיִּרְא֕וּ אֵ֖ת אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְתַ֣חַת רַגְלָ֗יו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה֙ לִבְנַ֣ת הַסַּפִּ֔יר וּכְעֶ֥צֶם הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לָטֹֽהַר׃ (יא) וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א שָׁלַ֖ח יָד֑וֹ וַֽיֶּחֱזוּ֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹקִ֔ים וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃ (ס)
(9) Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascended; (10) and they saw the God of Israel: under His feet there was the likeness of a pavement of sapphire, like the very sky for purity. (11) Yet He did not raise His hand against the leaders of the Israelites; they beheld God, and they ate and drank.
(18) He [=Moses] said, “Oh, let me behold Your Presence!”
(19) And He [=God] answered, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name LORD, and the grace that I grant and the compassion that I show. (20) But,” He said, “you cannot see My face, for man may not see Me and live.” (21) And the LORD said, “See, there is a place near Me. Station yourself on the rock (22) and, as My Presence passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and shield you with My hand until I have passed by. (23) Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.”
(1) In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. (2) On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— (3) the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, by the Chebar Canal, in the land of the Chaldeans. And the hand of the LORD came upon him there.
(26) Above the expanse over their heads was the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and on top, upon this semblance of a throne, there was the semblance of a human form. (27) From what appeared as his loins up, I saw a gleam as of amber—what looked like a fire encased in a frame; and from what appeared as his loins down, I saw what looked like fire. There was a radiance all about him. (28) Like the appearance of the bow which shines in the clouds on a day of rain, such was the appearance of the surrounding radiance.
That was the appearance of the semblance of the Presence/Kavod of the LORD. When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking.
(ז) חֲמִשָּׁה הֵן הַנִּקְרָאִים מִינִים. הָאוֹמֵר שֶׁאֵין שָׁם אֱלוֹקַּ וְאֵין לָעוֹלָם מַנְהִיג. וְהָאוֹמֵר שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם מַנְהִיג אֲבָל הֵן שְׁנַיִם אוֹ יוֹתֵר. וְהָאוֹמֵר שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם רִבּוֹן אֶחָד אֲבָל שֶׁהוּא גּוּף וּבַעַל תְּמוּנָה. וְכֵן הָאוֹמֵר שֶׁאֵינוֹ לְבַדּוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹן וְצוּר לַכּל. וְכֵן הָעוֹבֵד כּוֹכָב אוֹ מַזָּל וְזוּלָתוֹ כְּדֵי לִהְיוֹת מֵלִיץ בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין רִבּוֹן הָעוֹלָמִים. כָּל אֶחָד מֵחֲמִשָּׁה אֵלּוּ הוּא מִין:
Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon),
Spain and Egypt, d. 1204
(7) There are five categories of atheists;10Minim. G. (1) he who says that there is no God and no Omnipotence; (2) he who says that there is an Omnipotence but that there are two or more such; (3) he who says that there is One Lord; but that He is corporeal and has a form; (4) Likewise one who says that He alone is not the First Cause and Creator of all; (5) likewise he who worships a star, or planet, or any other as a mediator between him and the Lord of the universe; every one of these five is an atheist.13Sanhedrin, 26b. C.
(א) והאומר שיש שם רבון אחד אלא שהוא גוף ובעל תמונה. א''א ולמה קרא לזה מין וכמה גדולים וטובים ממנו הלכו בזו המחשבה לפי מה שראו במקראות ויותר ממה שראו בדברי האגדות המשבשות את הדעות:
Rabbi Avraham ben David of Posquieres (France), d. 1198
(1) He who says that there is One Lord but that He is corporeal and has a form. Why does he call such one an atheist? Many greater and better than he followed this opinion according to what they saw in phrases, and more particularly in the texts of the Agadot (legends of the Talmud) which misdirect opinions.
Elements of Visions of God
Glory/Presence/Kavod
(י) וַיְהִ֕י בְּצֵ֥את הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים מִן־הַקֹּ֑דֶשׁ וְהֶעָנָ֥ן מָלֵ֖א אֶת־בֵּ֥ית ה'׃ (יא) וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֧וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֛ים לַעֲמֹ֥ד לְשָׁרֵ֖ת מִפְּנֵ֥י הֶֽעָנָ֑ן כִּי־מָלֵ֥א כְבוֹד־ה' אֶת־בֵּ֥ית ה'׃ (פ)
(10) When the priests came out of the sanctuary—for the cloud had filled the House of the LORD (11) and the priests were not able to remain and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence/Kavod of the LORD filled the House of the LORD—
The Divine Court
(19) But [Micaiah] said, “I call upon you to hear the word of the LORD! I saw the LORD seated upon His throne, with all the host of heaven standing in attendance to the right and to the left of Him. (20) The LORD asked, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will march and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said thus and another said thus, (21) until a certain spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked him. (22) And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You will entice and you will prevail. Go out and do it.’ (23) So the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; for the LORD has decreed disaster upon you.”
Seraphs/Seraphim/שרפים
"Seraphs," by Benjamin Sommer, https://www.bibleodyssey.org/tools/ask-a-scholar/seraphs (visited Jan. 2021)
These seals picture basically the same scene portrayed by Isaiah in the opening verses Isa 6:1-7. The text on seal 273 states that it belonged to a courtier of King Ahaz named Ashna. In light of the similarity between the seal and Isaiah 6, it is worth noting that Jerusalem in the eighth-century B.C.E. was a very small town, that both Isaiah and Ashna lived during the reign of King Ahaz, and that Isaiah enjoyed very close connections to the royal court in which Ashna served (see Isa 7-9). Consequently, it is inconceivable that Isaiah and Ashna did not know each other.
Ongoing Jewish Life:
Kedushah prayer
(יא) כֶּתֶר יִתְּנוּ לְךָ, ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ, מַלְאָכִים הֲמוֹנֵי מַעְלָה, עִם עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל קְבוּצֵי מַטָּה. יַחַד כֻּלָּם קְדֻשָּׁה לְךָ יְשַׁלֵּשׁוּ, כַּדָּבָר הָאָמוּר עַל יַד נְבִיאָךְ וְקָרָ֨א זֶ֤ה אֶל־זֶה֙ וְאָמַ֔ר קָד֧וֹשׁ ׀ קָד֛וֹשׁ קָד֖וֹשׁ ה' צְבָא֑וֹת מְלֹ֥א כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃
כְּבוֹדוֹ מָלֵא עוֹלָם, וּמְשָׁרְתָיו שׁוֹאֲלִים אַיֵּה מְקוֹם כְּבוֹדוֹ לְהַעֲרִיצוֹ: לְעֻמָּתָם מְשַׁבְּחִים וְאוֹמְרִים בָּר֥וּךְ כְּבוֹד־ה' מִמְּקוֹמֽוֹ׃ ...
וּבְדִבְרֵי קָדְשְׁךָ כָּתוּב לֵאמֹר יִמְלֹ֤ךְ ה' ׀ לְעוֹלָ֗ם אֱלֹקַ֣יִךְ צִ֭יּוֹן לְדֹ֥ר וָדֹ֗ר הַֽלְלוּיָֽהּ:
Kedushah for Shabbat Musaf (Additional) Prayer in the Sephardic/Eastern tradition
Keter/Crown
A Crown they grant you, /O Lord our God,/ The throngs of angels above/ with Your people Israel gathered below.
Together they all thrice declare a Sanctification/Kedushah to You,/ According to the Word stated by Your prophet (Isaiah),/
"And one would call to the other,/ 'Holy, holy, holy!/ The Lord of Hosts!/His presence/kavod fills all the earth!'" (Isaiah 6:3)
His presence fills the world/and those who serve Him ask,/ "Where is the place/makom of His presence/kavod that He may be exalted?"/ Those opposite them declare in praise/
"Blessed is the presence/kavod of the Lord from His place/makom" (Ezekiel 3:12).
And in Your Holy Writings it is written/
"The Lord shall reign forever,/your God, O Zion, for all generations./Hallelujah." (Psalms 146:10)
(יא)... רבי יהודה היה עונה עם המברך (ישעיהו ו) קדוש קדוש קדוש ה' צבאות מלא כל [הארץ כבודו] (יחזקאל ג) וברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו כל אלו היה ר' יהודה אומר עם המברך.
(11) ...Rabbi Yehudah (2nd c.) would say together with the one that chanted the blessings (the Amidah), "Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Hashem Tzevaot Melo Kol Haaretz Kevodo" (Isaiah 6:3) (Holy, Holy, Holy, Hashem Tzevaot, the earth is full with His glory) and Baruch Kevod Hashem Mimkomo (Ezekiel 3:12) (Blessed be the glory of Hashem from His place).
All of these Rabbi Yehudah would say together with the one that chanted the blessings.
Sanctus ("Holy", in Christian liturgy, parallel to Kedushah) (Wikipedia)
The text of the Sanctus passed from Jewish use to Christian use at a very early time, since it cited in the Apocalypse of John and in the letter of Clement to the Corinthians.[26]
In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth;
plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou,
In the Roman Rite:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.
Later Anglican prayer books
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
A Perplexing Commission!
NJPS Translation
And He said, "Go say to that people: 'Hear, indeed, but do not understand; See, indeed, but do not grasp.'
Dull that people's mind, Stop its ears, And seal its eyes---
Lest, seeing with its eyes, And hearing with its ears, It also grasp with its mind, And repent and save itself."
Following Michael Fishbane's comment on v. 9 in the JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot
"...'Hear though you do not understand; See, though you do not grasp.'
[Dull is that people's mind; Stopped up are its ears; Sealed are its eyes--
So that, it cannot see with its eyes, or hear with its ears, or grasp with its mind and repent and save itself."]