Isaiah 7:6
in Isaiah 7‘Let us invade Judah, terrorize it, and divide it among ourselves. Then we can install the son of Tabeal over it as king.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeel;
KJV
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal:
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This verse in Isaiah 7
Commentary
10 notes on this verseRouse it up, like someone resting in sleep, and draw it away, that is, let us draw it into our power. The son of Tabeel, literally, a certain man, or an idol of our god; Tabeel means "God is good."
This site's exposition
Go forth now to meet Ahaz
on Isaiah 7:3-6
The Lord sends Isaiah to meet Ahaz at the conduit of the upper pool, likely the very place where the king was inspecting Jerusalem's water supply against a coming siege, and orders him to bring his son along. Shear-jashub, a remnant shall return, is himself a sign walking beside his father: judgment is coming on the nation but it will not be total. Gill and Clarke both draw out the boy's name as a wordless sermon set before the king before Isaiah speaks a word of his own message.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 3, 4 and following) And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-Jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller's Field. And say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
. [1.] That very thing which Ahaz thought most formidable is made the ground of their defeat--and that was the depth of their designs and the height of their hopes: " Therefore they shall be baffled and sent back with shame, because they have taken evil counsel against thee, which is an offence to God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes
), for nothing can cut off the entail on the Son of David that shall be Immanuel." Note, The strongest consolations, in time of trouble, are those which are borrowed from Christ, our relation to him, our interest in him, and our expectations of him and from him. Of this child it is further foretold (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes
Let us go up against Judah, and vex it,....
Note, The sin of a land brings foreign invasions upon it and betrays the most advantageous posts and passes to the enemy; and God sometimes makes one wicked nation a scourge to another; but judgment, ordinarily, begins at the house of God.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The confirmation of this by a sign which God gave to Ahaz, when he refused to ask one, referring to Christ, and our redemption by him,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And vex it - Margin, ‘Weaken it.’ Probably the word means to throw into consternation or fear, by besieging it - “Gesenius.” And let us make a breach therein - Let us break down the walls, etc. And set a king - Subdue it, and make it tributary to the allied kingdoms of Syria and Ephraim. The son of Tabeal - Nothing more is known of this person.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
vex--rather, "throw into consternation" [GESENIUS]. make a breach--rather, "cleave it asunder." Their scheme was to divide a large portion of the territory between themselves, and set up a vassal king of their own over the rest. son of Tabeal--unknown; a Syrian-sounding name, perhaps favored by a party in Jerusalem (Isa 3:6, 9, 12).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נַעֲלֶ֤ה | naaleh | let us go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| בִֽיהוּדָה֙ | vihudah | on Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּנְקִיצֶ֔נָּה | unekitzenah | and let us demolish it | H6973 → | |
| וְנַבְקִעֶ֖נָּה | venavkienah | and let us break into it | H1234 → | 51 times |
| אֵלֵ֑ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to ourselves | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְנַמְלִ֥יךְ | venamlikh | and let us make king | H4427 → | 348 times |
| מֶ֙לֶךְ֙ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּתוֹכָ֔הּ | betokhah | in [the] midst of it | H8432 → | 418 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| טָֽבְאַֽל׃ ס | taveal | Tabeel | H2870 → |
נַעֲלֶ֤הlet us go up
naalehH5927 →890 times
בִֽיהוּדָה֙on Judah
vihudahH3063 →819 times
וּנְקִיצֶ֔נָּהand let us demolish it
unekitzenahH6973 →
וְנַבְקִעֶ֖נָּהand let us break into it
venavkienahH1234 →51 times
אֵלֵ֑ינוּto ourselves
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
וְנַמְלִ֥יךְand let us make king
venamlikhH4427 →348 times
מֶ֙לֶךְ֙a king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּתוֹכָ֔הּin [the] midst of it
betokhahH8432 →418 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
טָֽבְאַֽל׃ סTabeel
tavealH2870 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies6
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.