Question: Who are the characters in Isaiah Chapter 7:1? Answer: They are the kings of Syria, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Ahaz was the King of Judah, Jotham was the father of Ahaz and former King of Judah, Uzziah was the father of Jotham and the grandfather of Ahaz and also a former King of Judah.
Rezin was the King of Syria with Damascus as its capital. Syria is also known as Aram. See map. Notice Damascus in upper right hand corner.
Pekah was the King of Israel with Samaria as its capital. His father was named Remaliah. Pekah was a usurper of the throne of Israel. Syria and Israel formed a military alliance (confederacy) to conquer Judah. “House of David” is a synonym for Judah. “His heart was moved” [Isaiah 7:2 states the people in Judah had troubled minds over the upcoming invasion of their country. Remember the Jews thought in their hearts and felt in their bowels.] In 7:3 Isaiah is told to meet King Ahaz of Judah by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fullers field. Just outside of the Jerusalem’s northeastern city’s wall was the fuller’s field where women went to wash their clothes and lay them out on the rocks to dry. There was a spring of water there. Undoubtedly, King Ahaz was checking the water supply in preparation for the impending invasion. Isaiah was commanded by the Lord to bring his son Shear-jashub [A REMNANT SHALL RETURN]. Yes Isaiah named two of his sons as a warning to Judah and to Israel. His other yet to be born son was named “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz meaning “Hasten to the spoil, speed to the prey.” Another interpretation would be “Sudden destruction will come upon you.” In 7:4 Isaiah tells King Ahaz of Judah to sit still and don’t fear and don’t let your mind be troubled because of the fierce anger of the Syrian King Rezin and his ally King Pekah of Israel, the son of Remaliah. A firebrand was the burnt end of a stick on fire, like Samson used to tie onto the tails of foxes and burned up the crops of the Philistines. (Judges 15:4). The Lord said that these firebrands were but stumps that were burnt out and now were only smoking sticks. Syria and Israel were all bluff and bluster with no real power. The plan was to replace Ahaz as king of Judah with a man named Tabeel who would be friendly to both Israel and Syria. Isaiah 7:7 The Lord said the plan of Syria and Israel would not come to pass. In 7:8 For the head (capital) of Syria is Damascus and Rezin the head (king) of Damascus. Before sixty-five years pass away Ephraim (a synonym for the Northern Kingdom of Israel) will no longer be a people. [They will be carried away to Assyria in 722 BC and become known as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel]. Ahaz began his reign about 742 BC. It was only twenty-one years after Isaiah’s prophecy that the last of Israel was carried away.
Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 BC) of Assyria ascended the throne and conquered the entirety of the Middle East, and in 732 BC, he destroyed the kingdom of Aram-Damascus for ever in the process. In other words Rezin and Damascus was destroyed ten years after Isaiah’s prophecy. Isaiah 7:8-9 Isaiah told Ahaz that if he did not believe the Lord’s prophet he would not be able to stand or stay in his place as King of Judah.
In Isaiah 7:11-12, Ahaz is asked if he wants a sign (a token of proof) from God. He can asked for it from the depths of Hell of the highest heaven. Ahaz hypocritically responded that would not ask for a sign. At this point Isaiah makes a Messianic prophecy. 7:13. Hear ye now, O house of David (Judah). Is it a small thing for you to weary (try the patience of) men, but will ye weary (try the patience of) my God also? [Ahaz was a wicked king and had already decided to form an alliance with Assyria.[1] It was a lack of faith for Ahaz not to trust the Lord to deliver Judah. Ahaz trusted in the arm of flesh which is why Isaiah chastised Ahaz for his lack of faith in God. But the Lord was not yet ready to have Judah carried off to Babylon. That would occur in 140 years] Isaiah 7:14, The Lord will give you a sign. “Behold a virgin shall conceive, a bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. [Immanuel literally means “With us is God” or God is among us here on earth. This is referring to the birth of Jesus Christ and his mortal mission of living among the people. This is also a dual prophecy that would be fulfilled by a local virgin giving birth to a son and before that child reached the age of discernment [eight years of age] the destruction of both Syria and Israel would be underway. Ahaz’s alliance with Assyria to prevent from being attacked by Syria and Israel would bring the wrath down upon Judah from both Egypt and Assyria.]
¶ Isaiah 7:15-19 sounds a bit confusing but it is not. Butter and honey are pastoral foods meaning that the cities will be wasted and the land overcome with briars and weeds along with grass. Because of the abundance of pastoral land and the excess of milk the people that are left as a remnant will be able to have butter. There will be an abundance of honey as well from bees. That is the reference to butter and honey. The Lord warns of a disaster that has not been known since the time that Ephraim departed Judah when Jeroboam drew the boundary line and took the ten tribes away from the rule of Judah and the house of David in 931 BC.
One of the symbols for Egypt was the fly. The psalmist said that God sent swarms of flies that devoured “Egypt.” (Psalm 78:45). Among the early plagues that Moses inflicted upon the land of Egypt was the plague of flies. (Exodus 8:21).The Assyrians had several of their deities with the wings of bees as well as bird wings. The Bee was the inspiration for the Sumerian winged figures of Innana-Ishtar. Isaiah warned that because of the desolation upon the once Promised Land that the Lord would “hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt and the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come and rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns, and upon all bushes.
Isaiah Chapter 8. The Lord tells Isaiah to take a pen and write in the language of the common man even so that the humblest man can read them. The name of his soon to be born son, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, [They, the Assyrians] shall “Hasten to the spoil [of Syria and Israel], they will speed to the prey,[which is Syria and Israel, meaning again sudden destruction will be the reward of their abandoning their covenant with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Isaiah 8:2 reports that Isaiah took with him faithful witnesses, [In the mouth of two or three witnesses will all truth be established (2 Cor. 13:1, Deut. 19:15)] Uriah the priest and Zechariah could be called upon as faithful testifiers to Isaiah’s prophecy being fulfilled. Are their female prophetesses? Yes, Deborah in Judges 4:4 is called a prophetess. Anna, the daughter of Phanuel in Luke 2:36 is called a prophetess and Isaiah’s wife is referred to as a prophetess. Before Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz knows how to say, “My father or my mother” the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria (capital of Israel) will be carried off by the king of Assyria. The complete destruction of Israel and the carrying away of the Ten Tribes to Ecbatana in modern day Iran, south of the Caspian Sea was completed in the year 722 BC. Isaiah’s ministry was from about 740 BC to 690 BC, which means that Isaiah and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz would have lived to see it.
¶ From Isaiah 8:5 to 8:8 and ¶ 8:9-10 the Lord outlines the futility of Syria and Israel fighting against Assyria. It is also true that Shiloh is one of the names for the Messiah or Jesus as found in Genesis 49:10, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Shiloh means “Tranquil” or “Peace.” One of the many titles for Jesus the Messiah is “Prince of Peace.”
Shiloh also was a city where the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant were located for the greater part of the time period of the Judges. Shiloh was located about ten miles northwest of Bethel. Both Shiloh and Shiloah come from the same root word meaning gentle, peaceful and tranquil as does the Hebrew greeting “Shalom.”
“Because the people of Syria and Israel refused the waters of Shiloah (Christ the living water as found in John 4:10 and John 7:37–38) [Siloam (Alternative spelling in the New Testament) was the only perennial fountain of Jerusalem and symbolic of God’s protection]. It was a spring that flowed gently even as the Messiah (Shiloh). Because the covenant people rejected the gentile waters of Jehovah they will experience the turbulent waters of the Euphrates overflowing its banks and flooding both Syria and Israel with soldiers from Assyria.
¶ Isaiah 8:11-12. Isaiah is warned not to follow the way of the people in Jerusalem. Don’t hope for a confederacy with Assyria nor be afraid of Assyria nor Syria nor Israel. The central and most profound verse in chapter 8 is # 13. “Sanctify the Lord of host himself; and let him be your fear and let him be your dread.” Lord of Host is a military title. Jesus led the Celestial army as the commander who cast Lucifer out of heaven. Jesus said to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Thinkest thou not that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve thousand legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53). That would be 60 million celestial heavenly storm-troopers. Isaiah is told to let the Lord be a safe and holy place, a sanctuary, but for the wicked Christ will be a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both Judah and Israel. Jesus is either the chief corner stone upon which the faithful build or as the Apostle Paul identified for the unbelieving “a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence.” (Romans 9:33)
Those who attempt to flee from the Assyrian onslaught will be trapped like birds. What is a gin and a snare mentioned in Isaiah 8:14? A gin is a net to capture birds and a snare was a noose which was also used to catch birds.
In Isaiah 8:16. Bind up the testimony refers to the testimony of the prophets in that part of the Old Testament we call the Prophets. The phrase “seal the Law” refers to the Law of Moses, or the first five books of the Old Testament. Seal is defined as joining two things together. The Law of Moses was to seal God’s laws to the hearts of his disciples. If someone tells you something that is not supported by the Law of Moses or the Prophets it is because there is no light (of Christ) in them.
Isaiah 8:17. Here Isaiah makes a confession like unto Joshua’s “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15). Isaiah said, “I will wait upon (serve) the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob,” (meaning both Judah and Israel). “I will look for him. Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwelleth in mount Zion (the Temple Mount on top of Mt Moriah.)
¶ Isaiah 8: 19-22, advises against seeking for help from men or devils. “And when they shall say to you, ‘Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep and mutter: should not a people seek unto their God?’ Instead of putting their trust in God, they look for Ouija board, black magic, witches and astrology charts. Why would you consult the dead on behalf of the living, why not consult with the living God in prayer? The people who are in a state of spiritual darkness will look up and curse their king and their God. And they shall look around the earth and behold trouble and darkness and dimness of anguish (apostasy) and they shall be driven to even more darkness and apostasy.
Chapter 9 of Isaiah starts out acknowledging that the people surrounding the Sea of Galilee, the tribe of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali were in spiritual darkness (apostasy). However the meaning of ‘when at first he (the Lord) lightly afflicted them’ refers to Zebulon and Naphtali being led away as a part of the Lost Ten Tribes. A significant number, tens of thousands of people from the Ten Tribes of Israel, escaped the Assyrian invasion by fleeing to Judah, Cypress, Egypt and modern day Turkey. The exact number carried away is not known but it was at least a million or more people. The Israelite were not removed overnight. It started with Tiglath-Pileser III about 740 BC and ended under Sargon II in 722 BC. The last city to fall was Samaria.[2] A final group of 27,290 captives were taken from Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, by the hand of Sargon II.[3] The Assyrians transported a gentile population into the Northern Kingdom of Israel to replace the ones they carried away. Many of those who fled to Judah, Cypress, Egypt and Turkey returned to their lands and intermarried with the gentiles. Those who intermarried with the Gentiles became known as the Samaritans and were hated by the Jews everywhere.
The people who walked in the darkness (apostasy) of the Galilee have seen (prophetically will yet see) a great light. Isaiah 9:2 (For Christ, the Messiah will walk, live and teach in the Galilee.) “The Hebrew word translated “shadow of death” is used poetically for thick darkness,”[4] as in spiritual darkness or apostasy.
Isaiah 9:3, “Thou (Christ) hast multiplied the nation, and (not)[5] increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. (4.) For Thou (Christ) hast broken the yoke of his (Israel’s) burden, and the staff of his shoulders (The stick used to goad prisoners), the rod of his oppressor, as in the day (when Gideon defeated the Midianites, Judges 7:8-22).
Isaiah 9:5. For every battle (boot) of the warrior is with confused noise (tramping sounds) and garments rolled in blood (will be destined to be burned in the fire), shall be with burning and fuel of fire.
Isaiah 9:6. This verse needs to be understood in light of the previous verses which announce the Messiah will break the yoke of spiritual bondage in the Garden of Gethsemane and mortal bondage later by his resurrection. These two events will highlight his mortal coming. At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ he will defeat all enemies of righteousness and deliver the Jews and the world from wickedness and usher in the Millennium. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the[Priesthood] government shall be upon His shoulders: and his name shall be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:7. “Of the increase of his [Priesthood] government and peace [Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. (John 14:27). The companionship of the Holy Ghost is the peace about which Jesus spoke.], there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgments [justice/charity/righteousness] and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal [earnest determination] of the Lord of host [Military Commander] will perform this.
¶ Isaiah 9:8-12. “The Lord sent a word [Christ is the Word, John 1:1] into [the lineage] of Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel. [Christ will be born in the land that once was the Northern Kingdom of Israel]. “And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria [its capital] that say in the pride and stoutness of heart [stubborn mindedness even though we have had our brick building broken down, we will build them back up with better hewn stones; and the sycamores are cut down we will replace them with the cedars of Lebanon], “Therefore [because of Israel’s pride and apostasy] the Lord shall set up the adversaries [Assyria] of Rezin [King of Syria] against him [Israel] and join his enemies together. [The so-called alliance with Syria and Israel will fall apart and Syria and the Philistines shall afflict Israel from all sides. In spite of the pride and rebelliousness of Israel the Lord’s anger or imposition of the consequences of apostasy and breaking the laws of God will go forth until and unless they repent. If Israel will repent the hand of the Lord will lift them up, if not the Lord’s hand will symbolically spank them.
¶ Isaiah 9:13. Israel is being punished by God, Israel’s enemies are the spanking hand of God and yet Israel “turneth not unto him that smiteth them, neither do they seek the Lord of host.” Because Israel remains unrepentant, “Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. [This includes] “The ancient and the honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. [To lift up if they repent or to spank if they do not repent].
¶ Isaiah 9:18-20. For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns [the wicked and rebellious], and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they [the wicked and rebellious] shall mount up [roll up] like the lifting up of smoke. [These consequences are a preparation for the Lord to restore his covenant with Abraham. The land has to be cleansed from the wicked and rebellious as well as the Assyrians before the Jews can return to the Promised Land. Meanwhile is, “The land darkened, and the people [of Israel] shall be as fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. And he [the Israelites] shall snatch [cut off with impunity and cruelty those of their own family] on the right hand, [they remain unsatisfied] and be hungry; and they shall eat on the left hand [there neighbors and those outside of their family and they remain unsatisfied] they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm. [They will revert to cannibalism and eat their own offspring][6] Isaiah 9:20. Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh: and they together shall be against Judah. [Civil War] For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand [to help or spank] is stretched out still.
Isaiah 10:1-34. The chapter title encapsulates the essence of chapter 10. “The destruction of Assyria is a type of the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming—Few people will be left after the Lord comes again—The remnant of Jacob will return in that day—Compare 2 Nephi 20.”
¶ 1. Woe [means unhappiness and sorrow] unto them [Judges] that decree unrighteous decrees, and [magistrates who persists in oppressing] that write grievousness they have prescribed. 2. To turn aside the needy from judgment [justice/charity] and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! [Those who afflict the widows and the fatherless face a grim fate. “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. Exodus 22:22-24”] 3. And what will ye do in the day of visitation, [Second Coming of Jesus and Judgment Day]. 4. Without me [Christ] they [ancient and modern Israel] shall bow down under the prisoners and they shall fall [overwhelmed] under the [heaps] of the slain. For all this his anger [Disappointment and Consequences] is not turned away, but his hand [to help or spank] is stretched out still. ¶ 5. [Mormon 4:5: states it is by the wicked that the wicked will be punish.] “O Assyrian, the [spanking] rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is (their)[7] indignation. 6. I (God) will send him [the Assyrian] against an hypocritical nation, [Israel and all hypocritical nations] and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey [Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz] and to tread them [the unrighteous] down like the mire of the streets.
The righteous sometimes recognize the hand of the Lord in their lives but the wicked seldom do. The wicked think they have achieved their success or victories because of their superior strength, wisdom or prowess. In reality the Lord allows it or uses the wicked to punish his covenant rebellious children.
¶ Isaiah 10:7. However he [the Assyrians] meaneth not so. [The Assyrians are not aware that God is using them] but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few. 8. For he [The Assyrian] saith, [Look how great I am nobody can stop me.] Are not my princes altogether kings? [The sons who are princes of the king of Assyria are placed as kings over the nations conquered by the king of Assyria.] 9. Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? Is not Samaria [Israel] as Damascus? [These were all city-states and small nations. The Assyrians are saying why should conquering Israel or even Judah be any different than all the other nations we have conquered? All these other nations had gods and images who did not protect them from us.] 10. As my [Assyrian] hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem [Judah] and of Samaria [Israel]? 11. Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols? 12. Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work [chastisement and purification] upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart [prideful mind] of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. [arrogance]. 13. For he saith, ‘By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man. 14. And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped. [Eagles, hawks and even chickens will gather their chicks under their wings to protect them, and open their beaks to attack a predator and to loudly chirp.] 15. Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth [chops] therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh [saweth] it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood. [God has permitted the haughty Assyrians to be an instrument in his hands to cleanse the land from wickedness.] 16. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness;[a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors][8] and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire. [The lord will start a fire under the king of Assyria and all rebellious children, that will erupt into a roaring blaze. At the Second Coming of Jesus the wicked will be consumed in a literal fire that will consume and purify the earth. Recall the warning of Malachi, “The day of the Lord cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up.” (Malachi 4:1)] 17. And the light of Israel [Jesus Christ] shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and briers [wicked and rebellious] in one day.[9] 18. And shall consume the glory of his forest. [Assyrian and the wicked at the last day] and of his fruitful field, both soul and body [spiritual and temporal] and they shall be as when a standard bearer fainteth. [Standard bearers were the best of the best and the bravest of soldiers, that is why they were allowed to carry the standard into battle. If the standard bearer faints from fear how will that impact all the other soldiers?] 19. And the rest of the trees of his [Assyrian glory and honor] forest shall be few, that a child may write [count] them.
¶ Isaiah 10:20. [Remember that Isaiah named his first son Shear-jashub which means that a ‘remnant shall return.’] And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob [meaning a remnant of both Judah and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel] shall no more stay [rely] upon him [powers of men] that smote them. [The seed of Jacob]; but they shall stay [truly depend] upon the Lord, the Holy one of Israel in truth [Jesus the Messiah]. 21. The remnant shall return [Shear-jashub], even the remnant of Jacob, unto the Mighty God. [God who is capable of saving both body and soul]. 22. For though thy people Israel [may now] be as the sands of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return; the consumption decreed [destruction] shall overflow [with a just punishment but it has a righteous purpose in the end. ‘My people must needs be chastened until they learn obedience, if it must needs be, by the things which they suffer.’ D&C 105:6] with righteousness. 23. For the Lord God of host shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of the whole earth. [The Lord will follow through with his promise to destroy the wicked and the whole world will know of it.]. 24. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, O my people that dwell in Zion, [the true pure in heart D&C 97:21], be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. [Exodus 5]. 25. For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction [Your just punishment and the destruction of the Assyrian and all worldly powers]. 26. And the Lord of host shall stir up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb. [Judges 7:24-25, Oreb was a Midianite prince who was part of an overpowering army that outnumbered Gideon and the Israelites by tens of thousands, Oreb was beheaded on the rock which would forever bear his name. The point is that the Lord will miraculously deliver his chosen people]. 27. And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden [of Assyria] shall be taken from off thy [Zion’s] shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. [Here the chosen people are compared to an ox that has grown so large that the yoke is broken, literally because the ox is so fat. The ANOINTING has a dual fulfillment. King David was anointed and promised that through his lineage a king would rule forever. “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” 2 Samuel 7:16]. Messiah in Hebrew means the “Anointed One.” Christos in Greek also means the “Anointed One.” Jesus is the fulfillment and the reference to Isaiah’s ‘the anointing.’ God will redeem his children.
Isaiah 10:28-32. [The towns mentioned are all north of Jerusalem. All of these towns were conquered by the Assyrians on their march down to Nob, which was a tiny hamlet less than 100 yards from the walls of the city of Jerusalem.
The Lord told the people through his Prophet Isaiah, not to fear because he was more powerful than Assyria and the entire world. Even though the Assyrians may come to the very Eastern Golden Gates of the “daughter of Zion” which is the hill and city of Jerusalem, God will deliver his people. The tiny village of Nob was an Aaronic Priesthood hamlet whose primary responsibility was to bake the twelve loaves of bread representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These loaves were to be place on the showbread table located inside the Tabernacle and later the Temple in the room designated as the Holy Place. Nob was situated according to some scholars next to the Garden of Gethsemane on the west side of the Mount of Olives and used the Brook Kidron for its water supply. When David was fleeing from King Saul in 1 Samuel 21:1, David took five loaves of showbread from the village of Nob. Regardless Nob was used by Isaiah to say that no matter how close the Assyrians come to the walls of Jerusalem, the Lord will save them. Isaiah 10:32-34.,
32 As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled. 34 And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one.
Assyria is to fall like a forest of trees are fallen by an army of loggers. The trees of Lebanon were very much like the giant redwoods of northern California. It was the cedars of Lebanon that David and Solomon used to build the Temple of Solomon. The cedars of Lebanon were symbolic of pride and loftiness.
As previously pointed out, the Assyrians suffered the loss of 185,000 troops in a single night as they surrounded the city of Jerusalem. Isaiah 37:35-38
35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. 36 Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. 37 ¶ So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh. 38 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his stead.
[1] Dummelow’s One Volume Bible Commentary, p. 418
[2] http://www.britam.org/NumberExiles.html
[3] https://www.bible-history.com/destruction_of_israel/destruction_of_israel_sargon_ii.html
[4] https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/shadow-of-death/
[5] The word (not) is not in the Book of Mormon version of Isaiah. Neither is (not) found in NIV, Amplified Bible or the New American Standard Bible.
[6] “Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring.” NIV
[7] Book of Mormon uses their and not “mine.”
[8] NIV translation
[9] During a single night this prophecy was fulfilled, when “the Angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 185 thousand men.” Isaiah 37:38. The Assyrian soldiers had surrounded the city of Jerusalem.