Isaiah 8:2
in Isaiah 8And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will take unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
KJV
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
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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.
This site's exposition
Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah
Two trustworthy witnesses meet the law of Deuteronomy 19:15, as Aquinas says. Henry says Uriah the priest is the one who built an altar for King Ahaz in 2 Kings 16:10 and 11. At this time nothing stood against him as a witness.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
266. And I took unto me. Here the sign is confirmed by testimony; faithful witnesses: in the mouth of two or three witnesses let every word stand (Deut 19:15).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
They were two in number (for out of the mouth of two witnesses shall every word be established ); one was Uriah the priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for none of his good deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar ( 2 Kings xvi. 10, 11 ); however, at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful witness.
And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Uriah--an accomplice of Ahaz in idolatry, and therefore a witness not likely to assist the prophet of God in getting up a prophecy after the event (2Ki 16:10). The witnesses were in order that when the event should come, they might testify that the tablet containing the prophecy had been inscribed with it at the time that it professed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And I took unto me faithful witnesses - What was the precise object in calling in these witnesses is not known. Some have supposed that it was to bear testimony to the marriage of the prophet at that time. But it may have been for the purpose of a public record of the prophecy; a record so made, that the precise time when it was delivered could be attested without dispute. The prophecy was an important one; and it was important to know, in the most authentic and undisputed manner, that such a prophecy had been delivered.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָעִ֣ידָה | veaidah | and I will call as witness | H5749 → | |
| לִּ֔י | li | for <the> myself | ||
| עֵדִ֖ים | ʾedim | witnesses | H5707 → | 70 times |
| נֶאֱמָנִ֑ים | neemanim | reliable | H539 → | 106 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אוּרִיָּ֣ה | ʾuriyah | Uriah | H223 → | |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זְכַרְיָ֖הוּ | zekharyahu | Zechariah | H2148 → | |
| בֶּ֥ן | ben | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְבֶרֶכְיָֽהוּ׃ | yeverekhyahu | Jeberekiah | H3000 → |
וְאָעִ֣ידָהand I will call as witness
veaidahH5749 →
לִּ֔יfor <the> myself
li
עֵדִ֖יםwitnesses
ʾedimH5707 →70 times
נֶאֱמָנִ֑יםreliable
neemanimH539 →106 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אוּרִיָּ֣הUriah
ʾuriyahH223 →
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
זְכַרְיָ֖הוּZechariah
zekharyahuH2148 →
בֶּ֥ן[the] son of
benH1121 →4930 times
יְבֶרֶכְיָֽהוּ׃Jeberekiah
yeverekhyahuH3000 →
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 Corinthians 13:1This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
it leads to
- Matthew 18:16
But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
- Deuteronomy 19:15
A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or…
- Deuteronomy 17:6
On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
- John 8:17–18
Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.
- Numbers 35:30
If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a…
- Matthew 18:16
Through
Ruth 4:2Then Boaz took ten of the elders of the city and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.
it leads to
- Proverbs 31:23
Her husband is known at the city gate, where he sits among the elders of the land.
- 1 Kings 21:8
Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
- Exodus 21:8
If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he…
- Proverbs 31:23
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah

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); 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.
