Isaiah 11:2
in Isaiah 11The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah.
KJV
And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
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This verse in Isaiah 11
Commentary
34 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the Spirit of the Lord - The Spirit of Yahweh. Chaldee, ‘And there shall rest upon him the spirit of prophecy from before Yahweh.’ In the previous verse, the prophet had announced his origin and his birth. In this, he proceeds to describe his extraordinary endowments, as eminently holy, pure, and wise. There can be no doubt that reference is here had to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the sacred Trinity, as descending upon him in the fullness of his influences, and producing in him perfect wisdom, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.
This site's exposition
Then a shoot will spring up
on Isaiah 11:1-2
The shoot springs from the stump left standing at the close of chapter 10, a Branch "from his roots," named from Jesse, David's father, the family's root before its royal height. The Spirit rests on Him in three pairs, wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and the fear of the LORD. It is the fullest description of the Spirit resting on any single figure in the Old Testament.
This site's exposition
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him
The Spirit is named with three pairs, wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and fear of the LORD. The Greek and Latin add piety, and Bede counted from them the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Cyril of Jerusalem read one Spirit with diverse operations.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A person would not have wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of God unless, according to the prophet's words, he had received "the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, of counsel and of fortitude, of knowledge and of godliness, and of fear of God." ... And a person would not have power and love and sobriety, except by receiving the Spirit of whom the apostle speaks: "We have not received the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of sobriety." So also one would not have faith unless he received the spirit of faith of which the same apostle says: "But having the same spirit of faith, as it is written, 'I believed, therefore I have spoken,' we also believe therefore we speak also." Thus he shows very plainly that faith is not received because of merit but by the mercy of him who has mercy on whom he will, when he says of himself: "I have obtained mercy to be faithful."
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 120 (119): 1 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
For if Paul had said only "Jesus Christ," he would have included Jesus Christ according to his divinity, according to his being the Word who was with God, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Yet children cannot receive what is said in this manner. How, therefore, do they who are fed milk receive it? "Jesus Christ," he said, "and him crucified." Feed upon what he did for you, and you will grow to know him as he is. There are therefore both those who ascend and those who descend on that ladder. Who are they that ascend? They who progress towards the understanding of things spiritual. Who are they that descend? They who, although, as far as men may, they enjoy the comprehension of things spiritual: nevertheless, descend unto the infants, to say to them such things as they can receive, so that, after being nourished with milk, they may become fitted and strong enough to take spiritual meat. Isaiah, brothers, was himself among those who descended to us, for the steps upon which he descended are obvious. In reference to the Holy Spirit, he said "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God rested upon him," he began from wisdom and descended toward fear. See how the teacher descended from wisdom toward fear; you who learn, if you are to make progress, must ascend from fear to wisdom. For it is written, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Listen, therefore, to the psalms.
A commentator
Augustine of HippoEXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 150: 1 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
And this Holy Spirit is in Scripture especially spoken of by the number seven, whether in Isaiah or in the Apocalypse, where the seven Spirits of God are most directly mentioned, on account of the sevenfold operation of one and the self-same Spirit. And this sevenfold operation is mentioned in Isaiah: "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God rested upon him." This fear of the Lord should be understood as pure, enduring forever.
"The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."That the Holy Spirit is suggested by the number seven anybody knows who can read. But listen anyway, those of you who read carelessly, or perhaps cannot read. This is how God presents the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit," he says, "of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and fortitude, of knowledge and piety, the Spirit of the fear of God." This is the sevenfold Spirit who is also called down upon the newly baptized. The law is the Decalogue; the Ten Commandments, you see, were written on tablets, but stone ones still, because of the stubborn hardness of the Jews. After the Spirit came, what does the apostle say? "You yourselves are our letter, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart." Take away the Spirit, the letter kills, because it finds the sinner guilty, doesn't set him free. That's why the apostle says, "For we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as coming from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of the new covenant, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit brings to life." So add seven to ten, if you wish to fulfill all justice. When you are commanded by the law to do something, ask the Spirit to help you.
The apostle also says to Timothy, "For God hath not given to us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Now in respect of this passage of the apostle, we must be on our guard against supposing that we have not received the spirit of the fear of God, which is undoubtedly a great gift of God, and concerning which the prophet Isaiah says, "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon thee, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord." It is not the fear with which Peter denied Christ that we have received the spirit of, but that fear concerning which Christ Himself says, "Fear Him who hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him." This, indeed, He said, lest we should deny Him from the same fear which shook Peter; for such cowardice he plainly wished to be removed from us when He, in the preceding passage, said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." It is not of this fear that we have received the spirit, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. And of this spirit the same Apostle Paul discourses to the Romans: "We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." Not by ourselves, therefore, but by the Holy Ghost which is given to us, does it come to pass that, through that very love, which he shows us to be the gift of God, tribulation does not do away with patience, but rather produces it.
26 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers12 voices
It seems to me, therefore, that the sevenfold operation of the Holy Spirit, of which Isaiah speaks, coincides with these stages and maxims. However, the order is different. In Isaiah, the enumeration begins from the higher, while here it begins from the lower; in the former, it starts from wisdom and ends at the fear of God. But "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Therefore, if we ascend step by step, as it were, while we enumerate, the first grade is the love of God; the second is piety; the third is knowledge; the fourth is fortitude; the fifth is counsel; the sixth is understanding; the seventh is wisdom. The fear of God coincides with the humble, of whom it is here said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
Therefore, the fear of the just is the tribunal of Christ's speech and the golden foundation of full prudence. But the good image, like the likeness of truth, is the word of the saints. And see how the fear of the saints is like a golden foundation. Read Isaiah: see how much fear he has subjected, in order to make it blameless and good fear: the spirit, he says, of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and power, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of holy fear. By how much fear did he subject, so that he might have something to follow? He is informed through wisdom, instructed through understanding, guided by counsel, strengthened by virtue, governed by knowledge, adorned by piety. Take away from fear of the Lord those things, and it is an irrational and foolish fear, one of those: "Outside are battles, inside are fears," by which even Paul would have been afflicted if he did not have the Lord as his comforter.
And as the Son is the Angel of great counsel, so, too, is the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Counsel, that you may know that the Counsel of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is One. Counsel, not concerning any doubtful matters, but concerning those foreknown and determined.
We read in Isaiah that the Spirit of the Lord descended upon the Lord Jesus, "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and piety." It is in reference to this same Spirit of the Lord who …
I think Isaiah loves to call the activities of the Spirit "spirits."
As we said earlier, the seven-formed Spirit has been denoted here, as you easily infer by calculation and recognize by his activity. But we must regard this Holy Spirit as one and the same as him whose virtues are known by Isaiah's witness to be …
About this text you should first take care to observe that Isaiah does not say that "the spirit of fear shall rest upon him" but "shall fill him." The power of it is so abundant that if once it possesses a person in its strength, it possesses his mind to the exclusion of all else. Linked with the charity that never fails, it fills and permanently possesses the soul whom it has seized, and it cannot be lessened by the temptations of any this-worldly happiness.
The Scripture says that these enumerated powers of the Spirit have come on Him, not because He stood in need of them, but because they would rest in Him, i.e., would find their accomplishment in Him, so that there would be no more prophets in your nation after the ancient custom: and this fact you plainly perceive. For after Him no prophet has arisen among you.
Scripture testifies that "a great and strong angel exclaimed in heaven: Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seal? No one was able to open the book or to look at it, neither in heaven nor on earth nor under the …
Isaiah signifies that the Spirit was indeed one and indivisible, but his operations diverse.
Chapter XI - Verses 1, 2. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Up to the beginning of the Vision or the weight of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amos saw, all this prophecy is about Christ, which we wish to explain in parts so as not to confuse the reader's memory by presenting and discussing it all at once. The rod and the flower from the root of Jesse are interpreted as the Lord Himself of the Jews: so that in the rod, the power of the reigning one may be shown, and in the flower, the beauty. But we understand the rod from the root of Jesse to be the holy Virgin Mary, who had no fruit cohering to herself; of whom we also read above: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isa. VII, 14). And the flower is the Lord and Savior, who says in the Song of Solomon: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Cant. II, 1). Concerning the root which alone the LXX translators turned into Hebrew script, it has (in Geza) which Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotio interpreted as κορμὸν, that is, trunk. And concerning the flower which is called (in Hebrew) Neser, they translated it as germ to show that much later after the Babylonian captivity, with no one from the line of David possessing the glory of the ancient kingdom, Christ arose as if from the trunk of Mary, and from Mary Christ was born. That which in the Gospel of Matthew everyone seeks the words of the Ecclesiastics, and does not find where it is written, 'He shall be called a Nazarene' (Matt. 2:23), the learned Hebrews think is taken from this place. […]
So, then, the Holy Spirit is the river, and the abundant river, which according to the Hebrews flowed from Jesus in the lands, as we have received it prophesied by the mouth of Isaiah. This is the great river that flows always and never fails.
The Medieval Church10 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." John in the Apocalypse saw in …
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The third ground of the influx of fortitude is from God indwelling. "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety"; and he places fortitude in the …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistMorals on the Book of Job, Book 1, Section 27 · Written before 604.
proposed
For there are seven sons born to us, when by the conception of good intent the seven virtues of the holy Spirit spring up in us. Thus the Prophet particularizes this inward offspring, when the Spirit renders the mind fruitful, in these words: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." So when by the coming of the Holy Spirit there is engendered in each of us, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, piety, and the fear of the Lord, something like a lasting posterity is begotten in the mind, which preserves the stock of our nobility that is above unto life, for so much the longer as it allies it with the love of eternity.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistHomilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7 · Written before 604.
proposed
The gate is ascended by seven steps, because through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit the entrance to heavenly life is opened to us. Isaiah, enumerating this sevenfold grace in our very Head, or in His body, which we are, says: "The spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon Him, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him." Speaking of heavenly things, he numbered these steps by descending rather than ascending, namely: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear. And since it is written, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," it is without doubt established that one ascends from fear to wisdom, but does not return from wisdom to fear, because indeed wisdom possesses perfect charity. And it is written: "Perfect charity casts out fear." Therefore the prophet, because he was speaking from heavenly things down to the lowest, began rather from wisdom and descended to fear. But we who strive from earthly things toward heavenly things, let us enumerate those same steps by ascending, that we may be able to arrive from fear to wisdom. For in our mind the first step of ascent is the fear of the Lord; the second, piety; the third, knowledge; the fourth, fortitude; the fifth, counsel; the sixth, understanding; the seventh, wisdom. For the fear of the Lord exists in the mind. But what kind of fear is this, if piety is not with it?
For you know that in the Old Testament all action is commanded through the precepts of the Decalogue, but in the New Testament the power of that same action is given through the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit as the faithful are multiplied. Announcing this, the prophet says: "The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." But he receives action in this Spirit who acknowledges the faith of the Trinity, so that he believes the Father and the Son and the same Holy Spirit to be of one power and confesses them to be of one substance. Because therefore the seven things we mentioned above were given more broadly through the New Testament, but the ten precepts through the Old, all our virtue and action can be fully comprehended through ten and seven.
The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which remain in our Lord and Redeemer forever and are distributed in his members (that is, in all the elect) according to his will.
Only of the mediator between God and humanity, the man Jesus Christ, can it be said truthfully, "And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and piety, …
In truth, not all the saints receive the fullness of his Spirit, but they receive from his fullness, insofar as he grants it.
357. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. Here he describes him as to his sanctity, as to three things: first, as to habits of necessity; second, as to rectitude of works: he shall not judge according to the sight of the …
Although the gifts of gratuitously given grace are very many, and generally all habits divinely given can not absurdly be called gifts of God, yet specially and appropriately there are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which Isaiah enumerates and names, speaking of the flower …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Wisdom - It is not needful, exactly to distinguish these two gifts; it is sufficient that they are necessary qualifications for a governor, and a teacher, and it is evident they signify perfect knowledge of all things necessary for his own and peoples good, and a sound judgment, to distinguish between things that differ.
1 ), and he was heard in that he feared ( Heb. v. 7 ), but he shall have a zeal for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and jostle out, but to increase and support, our fear of the Lord.
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And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,.... The rod and branch, the King Messiah, so qualifying him for his office, and the discharge of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The Spirit by which the prophets spake: for Messiah was to be a Prophet (Isa 61:1; Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are specified, to imply that the perfection of them was to be in Him. Compare "the seven Spirits" (Re 1:4), that is, the Holy Ghost in His perfect fulness: seven being the sacred number.
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And a shoot shall spring forth from the stem of Jesse And if you say, ‘Here are consolations for Hezekiah and his people, that they shall not fall into his hands.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And a king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and from his children's children the Messiah shall be anointed.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָחָ֥ה | venachah | and it will rest | H5117 → | 142 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| ר֣וּחַ | ruach | [the] spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ר֧וּחַ | ruach | a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| חָכְמָ֣ה | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וּבִינָ֗ה | uvinah | and understanding | H998 → | 38 times |
| ר֤וּחַ | ruach | a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| עֵצָה֙ | ʾetzah | counsel | H6098 → | 89 times |
| וּגְבוּרָ֔ה | ugevurah | and strength | H1369 → | 61 times |
| ר֥וּחַ | ruach | a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| דַּ֖עַת | daat | knowledge | H1847 → | 92 times |
| וְיִרְאַ֥ת | veyirat | and [the] fear of | H3374 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְנָחָ֥הand it will rest
venachahH5117 →142 times
עָלָ֖יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
ר֣וּחַ[the] spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ר֧וּחַa spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
חָכְמָ֣הwisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
וּבִינָ֗הand understanding
uvinahH998 →38 times
ר֤וּחַa spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
עֵצָה֙counsel
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
וּגְבוּרָ֔הand strength
ugevurahH1369 →61 times
ר֥וּחַa spirit of
ruachH7307 →378 times
דַּ֖עַתknowledge
daatH1847 →92 times
וְיִרְאַ֥תand [the] fear of
veyiratH3374 →45 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Timothy 1:7For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
it leads to
- Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
- 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
- John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
- Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
- Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.
- Romans 8:15
Through
Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…
it leads to
- Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight…
- Luke 7:22
So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and…
- Isaiah 42:7
to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners out of the dungeon and those sitting in darkness out from the prison house.
- Luke 4:18–19
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Wisdom35 verses
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 33 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Ambrose of Milan, Exposition on Psalm 118, 5.39; Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit, Book 2.2.20; Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 1.16; Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 194; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 120 (119): 1; Augustine of Hippo, EXPLANATIONS OF THE PSALMS 150: 1; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 229M.2; Augustine of Hippo, ON GRACE AND FREE WILL 39; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON ON THE MOUNT 1:11; Bede, On the Tabernacle 1:9; Bede, Homilies on the Gospels 1:2; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 2; Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5; Bonaventure, Breviloquium, Part 5; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 28:9; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 16:30; Faustus of Riez, TWO BOOKS ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 1:7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON PENTECOST, ORATION 41:3; Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 1, Section 27; Gregory the Dialogist, Homilies on Ezekiel, Book 2, Homily 7; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 24; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 11:13; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter LXXXVII; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Paulus Orosius, DEFENSE AGAINST THE PELAGIANS 15:5-10 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.