Isaiah 45:4
in Isaiah 45For the sake of Jacob My servant and Israel My chosen one, I call you by name; I have given you a title of honor, though you have not known Me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
KJV
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
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This verse in Isaiah 45
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Chapter 45, Verses 1-7) Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, his anointed one, whom he has taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings, to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more: I will go before you, and level the mountains; I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.
This site's exposition
the treasures of darkness
on Isaiah 45:3-4
Verse 3 promises “the treasures of darkness and the riches hidden in secret places”. It is given “so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel”, and the conquest becomes evidence. Verse 4 states the purpose, “For the sake of Jacob My servant”.
This site's exposition
a title of honor
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that Cyrus came to know the LORD in some degree, as his decree in Ezra 1:1 to 3 shows. Jerome and Matthew Henry read Cyrus as a type of Christ. He is raised to power so that the LORD's chosen people may go free.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 4) Because of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name: I have likened you to myself, and you have not known me. These things, he says, I attribute to you because of my servant Jacob, and my chosen Israel, and I called you by your name, just as I called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and long before, I foretold you, Isaac and Josiah, so that you would not think that he is the Christ, to whom you are compared, and in whose type and image you have preceded.
For taking into his hands the book of Isaiah he found as he read the section which contained the prophecy concerning himself; since Isaiah says in that section: Thus saith the Lord to his Anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the liberation of his people: for the sake of my servant Jacob, namely, that you should liberate him from captivity: who knows whether you are not therefore come to the kingdom (Esth 4:14). Second, he shows that this benefit is partly frustrated on the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Cyrus is preferred that Israel may be released. He shall have a kingdom, only that God's people may have their liberty; for their kingdom is not of this world, it is yet to come. In all this Cyrus was a type of Christ, who was made victorious over principalities and powers, and entrusted with unsearchable riches, for the use and benefit of God's servants, his elect.
For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Isa 43:14). surnamed--that is, designated to carry out My design of restoring Judah (see on Isa 44:5; MAURER here, as in Isa 44:5, translates, "I have addressed thee by an honorable name." hast not known me--previous to My calling thee to this office; after God's call, Cyrus did know Him in some degree (Ezr 1:1-3).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For Jacob my servant’s sake - (see the note at Isa 42:19). The statement here is, that God had raised up Cyrus on account of his own people. The sentiment is common in the Bible, that kings and nations are in the hand of God; and that he overrules and directs their actions for the accomplishment of his own purposes, and especially to protect, defend, and deliver his people (see the note at Isa 10:5; compare Isa 47:6). I have surnamed thee - On the meaning of the word ‘surname,’ see the notes at Isa 44:
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֙עַן֙ | lemaan | for [the] sake of | H4616 → | 272 times |
| עַבְדִּ֣י | ʾavdi | servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֔ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | veyisrael | and Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּחִירִ֑י | bechiri | chosen one my | H972 → | 13 times |
| וָאֶקְרָ֤א | vaekra' | and I summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | <to> you | ||
| בִּשְׁמֶ֔ךָ | bishmekha | by name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אֲכַנְּךָ֖ | ʾakhanekha | I will give a title you | H3655 → | |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדַעְתָּֽנִי׃ | yeda'tani | you know me | H3045 → | 945 times |
לְמַ֙עַן֙for [the] sake of
lemaanH4616 →272 times
עַבְדִּ֣יservant my
ʾavdiH5650 →799 times
יַעֲקֹ֔בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לand Israel
veyisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּחִירִ֑יchosen one my
bechiriH972 →13 times
וָאֶקְרָ֤אand I summoned
vaekra'H7121 →733 times
לְךָ֙<to> you
lekha
בִּשְׁמֶ֔ךָby name your
bishmekhaH8034 →864 times
אֲכַנְּךָ֖I will give a title you
ʾakhanekhaH3655 →
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְדַעְתָּֽנִי׃you know me
yeda'taniH3045 →945 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
Acts 17:23For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to…
it leads to
- Galatians 4:8–9
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
- John 4:22
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
- John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 17:25
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
- Galatians 4:8–9
Through
Romans 11:7What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
it leads to
- Romans 9:18
Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- Romans 11:5
In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Romans 9:18
Through
Isaiah 44:1But now listen, O Jacob My servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
it leads to
- Isaiah 41:8
“But you, O Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend—
- Isaiah 41:8
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 8; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.