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From: Isaiah 8:23 - 9:3

Anguish caused by early defeats

[22] [A]nd they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.

The prince of Peace

[1] But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

[2] The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness
on them has light shined.
[3] Thou hast multiplied the nation,
thou hast increased its joy;
they rejoice before thee
as with joy at the harvest,
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

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Commentary:

8:21-22. The fear caused by news of Assyria’s growing strength increased even more once Judah began to feel its effects. This passage seems to refer to the deportation of the Glileans by Tiglath-pileser III in 732. Very succinctly it describes the distress of those who make their way into exile and can see for themselves the havoc caused by their enemies all over their country. This depressing panarama will be offset by the joyful oracle that follows.

9:1-7. At this point, though not yet very clearly, we begin to see the figure of King Hezekiah, who, unlike his father Ahaz, was a pious man who put all his trust in the Lord. After Galilee was laid waste by Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, and its population subsequently deported (cf. 8:21-22), Hezekiah of Judah would reconquer that region, which would recover its splendour for a period. All this gave grounds for hope again.

This oracle may have a connexion with the Immanuel prophecy (7:1-17), and the child with messianic prerogatives that has been born (cf. 9:6-7) could be the child that Isaiah prophesied about (cf. 7:14). For this reason, 9:1-7 is seen as the second oracle of the Immanuel cycle. This “child” that is born, the son given to us, is a gift from God (9:6), because it is a sign that God is present among his people. The Hebrew text attributes four qualities to the child which seem to embrace all the typical features of Israel’s illustrious forebears – the wisdom of Solomon (cf. 1 Kings 3: “Wonderful Counsellor”), the prowess of David (cf. 1 Sam 7: “Mighty God”), the administrative skills of Moses (cf. Ex 18:13-26) as liberator, guide and father of the people (cf. Deut 34:10-12), (“Everlasting Father”), and the virtues of the early patriarchs, who made peace pacts (cf. Gen 21:22-34; 26:15-35; 23:6), (“Prince of peace”). In the old Latin Vulgate, the translation gave six features (“Admirabilis, Consiliarius, Deus, Frotis, Pater futuri saeculi, Princeps pacis”); these have found their way into the liturgy. The New Vulgate has reverted to the Hebrews text. Either way, what we have here are titles that Semite nations applied to the reigning monarch; but, taken together, they go far beyond what befitted Hezekiah or any other king of Judah. Therefore, Christian tradition has interpreted them as being appropriate only for Jesus. St Bernard, for example, explains the justificiation for these names as follows: “He is Wonderful in his birth, Counsellor in his preaching, God in his works, Mighty in the Passion, Everlasting Father in the resurrection, and Prince of Peace in eternal happiness” (Sermones de diversis, 53, 1).

Because these names are applied to Jesus, the short-term conquest of Galilee by Hezekiah is seen as being only an announcement of the definitive salvation brought about by Christ. In the Gospels we find echoes of this oracle in a number of passages that refer to Jesus. When Luke narrates the Annunciation by the angel to Mary (Lk 1:31-33) we hear that the son that she will conceive and give birth to will receive “the throne of this father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Lk 1:32b-33; cf. Is 9:7). And in the account about the shepherds of Bethlehem, they are told that “to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord …” (Lk 2:11-12; cf. Is 9:6). St Matthew sees the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (Mt 4:12-17) as the fulfillment of this Isaian oracle (cf. Is 9:1): the lands that in the prophet’s time were laid waste and saw ethnic cleansing and transplantation were the first to receive the light of salvation from the Messiah.