Isaiah 8:3
in Isaiah 8And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said Jehovah unto me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
KJV
And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher–shalal–hash–baz.
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This verse in Isaiah 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verse267. And I went to the prophetess. Here it is confirmed by the deed, for sometimes the prophets announced a future thing also by the deed itself, as below: go, and loose the sackcloth from off your loins, and take off your shoes from your …
This site's exposition
she conceived, and bare a son
on Isaiah 8:3-4
Isaiah goes to the prophetess, his own wife by the plain reading of the text, and she conceives and bears a son whom the Lord names Maher-shalal-hash-baz before he draws his first breath. Before the child can say father or mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried off before the king of Assyria, a horizon of months rather than years. Gill and Clarke both set this beside the child of chapter 7 as a second dated clock ticking toward the same Assyrian invasion, this one shorter and more precise than the first.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Chapter 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.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 5:2 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
How was it then, one may say, that His name was not called Emmanuel, but Jesus Christ? Because he said not, "thou shalt call," but "they shall call," that is, the multitude, and the issue of events. For here he puts the event as a name: and this is customary in Scripture, to substitute the events that take place for names. Therefore, to say, "they shall call" Him "Emmanuel," means nothing else than that they shall see God amongst men. For He hath indeed always been amongst men, but never so manifestly.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I went unto the prophetess,.... His wife, so called; not because she prophesied, but because she was the wife of a prophet; and besides, the birth of her son later mentioned, and his name, had in them the nature of a prophecy.
3 ), but with this difference, that spoke mercy, Shear-jashub--The remnant shall return; but, that being slighted, this speaks judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz--In making speed to the spoil he shall hasten, or he has hastened, to the prey. The prophecy is doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then said the Lord ... - The name thus given was to be emblematic of a particular event - that Assyria would soon take away the spoil of Damascus and Samaria. It is not remarkable that the name Immanuel should also be given to the same child, as signifying the presence and protection of God in defending the nation from the invaders; see the notes at Isa 7:14-
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
prophetess--perhaps the same as the "virgin" (Isa 7:14), in the interim married as Isaiah's second wife: this is in the primary and temporary sense. Immanuel is even in this sense distinct from Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֶקְרַב֙ | vaekrav | and I drew near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַנְּבִיאָ֔ה | haneviah | the prophetess | H5031 → | |
| וַתַּ֖הַר | vatahar | and she conceived | H2029 → | 43 times |
| וַתֵּ֣לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| בֵּ֑ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| קְרָ֣א | kera' | call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שְׁמ֔וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מַהֵ֥ר | maher | Maher- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| שָׁלָ֖ל | shalal | Shalal- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| חָ֥שׁ | chash | Hash- | H4122 → | 8 times |
| בַּֽז׃ | baz | Baz | H4122 → | 8 times |
וָאֶקְרַב֙and I drew near
vaekravH7126 →280 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַנְּבִיאָ֔הthe prophetess
haneviahH5031 →
וַתַּ֖הַרand she conceived
vataharH2029 →43 times
וַתֵּ֣לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
בֵּ֑ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
קְרָ֣אcall
kera'H7121 →733 times
שְׁמ֔וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
מַהֵ֥רMaher-
maherH4122 →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
Judges 4:4Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
it leads to
- Luke 2:36
There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 15:20
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
- 2 Kings 22:14
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived…
- Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Luke 2:36
Through
2 Kings 22:14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived…
it leads to
- Judges 4:4
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
- 2 Chronicles 34:22
So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in…
- Micah 6:4
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.
- Zephaniah 1:10
On that day,” declares the LORD, “a cry will go up from the Fish Gate, a wail from the Second District, and a loud crashing from the hills.
- Judges 4:4
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, 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 Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 5:2; 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.
