Isaiah 8:1
in Isaiah 8Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto me, Take thee a great tablet, and write upon it with the pen of a man, For Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
KJV
Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Maher–shalal–hash–baz.
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This verse in Isaiah 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseChapter 8 — Verses 1-4. And the Lord said to me: Take for yourself a large book, and write in it with the pen of a man, quickly seize the spoils, swiftly plunder. And I appointed faithful witnesses for myself, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Barachiah, and I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son.
This site's exposition
Take a large scroll
on Isaiah 8:1-2
Isaiah is told to write Maher-shalal-hash-baz, hasten the spoil, hurry to the prey, "with an ordinary stylus," in script any passerby could read. Two "trustworthy witnesses," Uriah the priest and Zechariah, certify the writing before the child is conceived. No one can claim the prophecy was written after the fact.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
263. And the Lord said to me: take you a great book. Here he foretells the destruction of the ten tribes, insofar as it pertains to their punishment. This was carried out by the Assyrians: first, in the reign of Phacee, by Theglathphalasar, who captured …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Moreover the Lord said unto me,.... This is another prophecy, confirming the same thing that was promised in the preceding chapter Isa 7:1; namely, safety to the Jews from the two kings of Syria and Israel, which combined against them: take thee a great roll; or volume, a writing book, a roll of parchment, in which form the ancients used to write, Psa 40:
A roll - Or, a great volume, because the prophecy to be written in it was large, and God would have it written in large and legible characters. Pen - With such a pen as writers use. Concerning - Concerning that thing which is signified by the name of the child, which is here mentioned by way of anticipation.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Take thee a great roll - The word which is here translated ‘roll’ more properly signifies tablet. So the Chaldee renders it. Those tablets were made of wood, metal, or stone, for the purpose of writing on; see Isa 30:8; Hab 2:2. On these tablets, or smooth plates, writing was performed by cutting the letters with an iron stylus, or small chisel. The process was slow, but the writing was permanent.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Hebrew, enosh means a "common man," is contrasted with the upper ranks (Re 21:17; The object was that, after the event, all might see that it had been predicted by Isaiah. concerning--the title and subject of the prophecy.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Take thee a great roll “Take unto thee a large mirror” - The word גליון gillayon is not regularly formed from גלל galal, to roll, but from גלה galah, as פדיון pidyon from פדה padah, כליון killayon from כלה, calah, נקיון nikkayon from נקה nakah, עליון elyon from עלה alah, etc., the י yod supplying the place of the radical ה he. גלה galah signifies to show, to reveal; properly, as Schroederus says, (De Vestitu Mulier. Hebr. p. 294), to render clear and bright by rubbing; to polish. גליון gillayon, therefore, according to this derivation, is not a roll or volume: but may very well signify a polished tablet of metal, such as was anciently used for a mirror. The Chaldee paraphrast renders it by לוח luach, a tablet, and the same word, though somewhat differently pointed, the Chaldee paraphrast and the rabbins render a mirror, Isa 3:23. The mirrors of the Israelitish women were made of brass finely polished, Exo 38:8, from which place it likewise appears that what they used were little hand mirrors which they carried with them even when they assembled at the door of the tabernacle. I have a metalline mirror found in Herculaneum, which is not above three inches square. The prophet is commanded to take a mirror, or brazen polished tablet, not like these little hand mirrors, but a large one; large enough for him to engrave upon it in deep and lasting characters, בחרט אנוש becheret enosh, with a workman’s graving tool, the prophecy which he was to deliver. חרט cheret in this place certainly signifies an instrument to write or engrave with: but חריט charit, the same word, only differing a little in the form, means something belonging to a lady’s dress, Isa 3:22, (where however five MSS. […]
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קַח־ | kach- | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | <for> yourself | ||
| גִּלָּי֣וֹן | gilayon | a tablet | H1549 → | |
| גָּד֑וֹל | gadol | large | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וּכְתֹ֤ב | ukheto | and write | H3789 → | 224 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בְּחֶ֣רֶט | becheret | with a stylus of | H2747 → | |
| אֱנ֔וֹשׁ | ʾenoosh | a person | H582 → | 566 times |
| לְמַהֵ֥ר | lemaher | <to> Maher- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| שָׁלָ֖ל | shalal | Shalal- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| חָ֥שׁ | chash | Hash- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| בַּֽז׃ | baz | Baz | H4122 → | 8 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
קַח־take
kach-H3947 →966 times
לְךָ֖<for> yourself
lekha
גִּלָּי֣וֹןa tablet
gilayonH1549 →
גָּד֑וֹלlarge
gadolH1419 →526 times
וּכְתֹ֤בand write
ukhetoH3789 →224 times
עָלָיו֙on it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
בְּחֶ֣רֶטwith a stylus of
becheretH2747 →
אֱנ֔וֹשׁa person
ʾenooshH582 →566 times
לְמַהֵ֥ר<to> Maher-
lemaherH4122 →8 times
שָׁלָ֖לShalal-
shalalH4122 →8 times
חָ֥שׁHash-
chashH4122 →8 times
בַּֽז׃Baz
bazH4122 →8 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
Isaiah 30:8Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 31:22
So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.
- Habakkuk 2:2
Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
- Jeremiah 36:28–32
“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.
- Deuteronomy 31:19
Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
- Jeremiah 36:2
“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of…
- Deuteronomy 31:22
Through
Jeremiah 36:32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 36:4
So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 36:18
“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
- Jeremiah 36:4
Through
Isaiah 8:3And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
it leads to
- Hosea 1:3–9
So Hosea went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
- Hosea 1:3–9
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.