Isaiah 8-9

Isaiah 8-9 Study Guide – to be discussed November 3
Day 1: Read Isaiah 8:1-4 (with footnotes 1c,d,3a)
1. What does the name “Maher-shalal-hash-baz” mean?


2. Maher-shalal-hash-baz has the distinction of being the longest name in the Bible. Why might Isaiah have written his son’s extensive name on a “great roll” (large scroll or tablet)?



3. Isaiah 1:4 explains why Isaiah gave his son this lengthy name. What would happen to the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) before the boy was old enough to say “Daddy” or “Momma”? About how much time did they have left?



Day 2: Read Isaiah 8:5-10 (with footnotes 7a, 8a,c, 9a, 10b), John 4:14, John 9:6-7
(NOTE: “Rezin” was the king of Syria; the “son of Remaliah” was Pekah, king of Israel.)
4. Read John 4:14 and John 9:6-7 to help explain what the “waters of Shiloah” represent.



5. Why do you think Isaiah compared the armies of Assyria with a strong river, over-flooding its banks?



6. Using footnotes 7a, 8a,c, 9a and 10b, rewrite Isaiah 8:9-10 in your own words.



Day 3: Read Isaiah 8:11-18 (with footnotes 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a)
7. What strong counsel did the Lord give Isaiah regarding the politics of his day?



8. Read the footnote to Isaiah 13a. What does it mean to “sanctify the Lord of hosts” and “let him be your fear… your dread”?



9. Read Isaiah 8:14-15 with Helaman 5:12 and Matthew 21:42-44. How is Christ a sanctuary to those who trust him? To whom might his life and example be a “rock of offense”?



Day 4: Read Isaiah 8:16-22 (with footnotes 16b, 18a, 19b,c, 20b, 21a, 22b), D&C 109:46
10. Read D&C 109:46 (from the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple). What do you think it means to “bind up the testimony” and “seal the law” (Isaiah 8:16)?



11. How were Isaiah and his two sons “signs” or symbols of prophecy to the people? (See footnote 18a.)

12. (NOTE: The term “hardly bestead” in Isaiah 8:21 could also be translated “poorly situated” or “embittered by hunger.”) What kind of people did Isaiah describe as having “no light in them”?



Day 5: Read Isaiah 9:1-7 (with footnotes 1, 2a,b, 3c, 4d,e, 5a,b), 3 Nephi 8:19-22, 3 Nephi 11:3-11, 2 Nephi 19:3
(NOTE: Isaiah 9:1 is the last verse of Isaiah 8 in the Hebrew Bible.)
13. Read Isaiah 9:1-2 with footnotes 1b, 2a,b, 3 Nephi 8:19-22 and 3 Nephi 11:3-11. Give examples of how we can step out of darkness and into the light today.



BONUS: Look up Matthew 4:12-16. How did Jesus’ teaching in Galilee fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy?



14. Compare Isaiah 9:3 with 2 Nephi 19:3. What word should be crossed out in Isaiah’s Old Testament text?


BONUS: How does the term “multiplied the nation” (v.3) imply blessings of the Abrahamic covenant?


15. List three reasons Judah will have increased “joy” and hope, from Isaiah 9:4-7.



Day 6: Read Isaiah 9:8-17 (with footnotes 8a, 12a,b,d, 15a)
16. Isaiah 9:8 through Isaiah 10:4 outlines four of the evils of Ephraim, by way of warning. What is the first evil, as described in Isaiah 9:9-12?



17. What is the second evil of Ephraim, as described in Isaiah 9:13-16? (NOTE: head = leaders; tail = false prophets; branch = victory; rush = common people.)



18. From Isaiah 9:17, how deep did the corruption go in Israel?


Day 7: Read Isaiah 9:18-21
19. What is the third evil of Ephraim, as described in Isaiah 9:18-21?



20. How is wickedness like a wildfire?



21. The phrase, “they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm [or offspring]” may indicate that the wicked will turn on each other, even members of their own family. What relation was Ephraim to Manasseh? To Judah?