The Bible Says
Isaiah 7:1-2 Meaning

Isaiah 7:1-2 establishes the historical setting for the chapter. The primary events of Isaiah 7 take place several years after the events of Isaiah 6. Isaiah’s vision of the LORD’s throne room occurred “In the year of King Uzziah’s death” (Isaiah 6:1a). Historical records indicate that Uzziah died in 740 B.C.

Uzziah’s son, Jotham, whose rule began before his father’s death (2 Chronicles 26:21) continued until his own death in 735 B.C. Ahaz was the son of Jotham and Ahaz became king of Judah after his father died. Ahaz was king of Judah from 735 B.C.-715 B.C.

Isaiah 7:1 begins with the expression, Now it came about the days of Ahaz, to indicate when the primary events of Isaiah 7 began. These endeavors occurred when Ahaz was the king of Judah. And they likely happened near the beginning of Ahaz’s reign-while he was still a new king of Judah. It is therefore reasonable to surmise that there was about a 5-6-year gap between the primary events of Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 7.

King Ahaz
King Ahaz was the twelfth king of Judah. The Biblical record of Ahaz’s rule can be found in 2 Kings 16 and 2 Chronicles 28.

Ahaz reigned during a politically tumultuous and spiritually dark time for the southern kingdom of Judah. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:2a).

Unlike his father Jotham, and grandfather, Uzziah, Ahaz “did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done” (2 Kings 16:2b). Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, even going so far as to offer his son as a burnt offering, “according to the abominations of the nations” (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Chronicles 28:3).

Ahaz promoted idolatry throughout Judah and even shut the doors of the temple (2 Chronicles 28:24).

And as we will see, politically, Ahaz was weak and panicked in the face of threats. Instead of trusting the LORD, Ahaz made terrible alliances with the kings of Assyria that changed Judah into a vassal state and deepened pagan influence among the people, causing them to sin against God (2 Chronicles 28:16-25). Ahaz’s reign is a case study in failure to trust in the LORD, and his choices had consequences that extended beyond his own reign.

But the events of Isaiah 7 first took place early in Ahaz’s reign, after he had begun his wicked idolatry (2 Chronicles 28:2-5), but before his legacy as a wicked king was fixed.

Jotham and Uzziah
Jotham was the father of Ahaz and reigned over Judah prior to his son. The Biblical record of Jotham’s reign can be found in 2 Kings 15:32-38 and 2 Chronicles 27.

As king, Jotham “did what was right in the sight of the LORD,” (2 Kings 15:34, 2 Chronicles 26) and fortified his kingdom (2 Chronicles 27:4). He was successful in his wars against Judah’s enemies (2 Chronicles 27:5). But Jotham failed to remove the high places, places of pagan worship (2 Kings 15:35). Compared to his son Ahaz, Jotham’s rule was marked by relative prosperity and stability, but the seeds of rebellion and invasion were sown in his day.

Uzziah, also called “Azariah,” was the grandfather of Ahaz and he reigned over Judah before his son, Jotham, became king. The Biblical record of Uzziah’s reign can be found in 2 Kings 15:1-7, 2 Chronicles 26.

Uzziah was king of Judah for 52 years and initially did what was right in God’s sight (2 Kings 15:3). However, in his pride, he unlawfully entered the temple to burn incense and was struck with leprosy and spent the remainder of his life secluded with his son Jotham reigning on his behalf (2 Chronicles 26:16-21).

Isaiah writes that during the days of Ahaz king of Judah-that Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not conquer it.

Rezin king of Aram
Rezin was the king of Aram.

Aram was the kingdom that bordered the kingdom of Israel. It was located to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Aram’s capital city was Damascus. Its people descended from Aram, son of Shem (Genesis 10:22-23). King David defeated the Arameans and forced them to pay him tribute (2 Samuel 8:5-6, 1 Chronicles 18:5-6).

But beginning with King Solomon, the kingdom of Aram was a source of affliction on God’s people (1 Kings 11:23-25). After Solomon’s reign when Israel divided into two kingdoms, Aram allied with either Judah or Israel to attack the other (1 Kings 15:18-20, 2 Kings 16:5) or attacked and besieged Israel (1 Kings 20:1-34, 2 Kings 6:8-7:20).

Here in Isaiah 7:1, the kingdom of Aram was aligning with Pekah king of Israel to wage war against Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah. This alliance and attack is also recorded in 2 Kings 16:5.

Pekah king of Israel
Pekah was king of Israel. The Biblical record of Pekah’s reign can be found in 2 Kings 15:27-31.

Pekah was an officer of King Pekahiah of Israel. Pekah usurped Pekahiah’s throne when he assassinated his king (2 Kings 15:25). Pekah was the son of Remaliah who was not a king. In keeping with Israel’s customs, Remaliah’s name is given as a marker for Pekah’s identity. Pekah was later assassinated himself (2 Kings 15:30).

Rezin and Pekah’s attack upon Ahaz and Judah
The kingdom of Aram under King Rezin and the kingdom of Israel under King Pekah allied together to attack King Ahaz and the kingdom of Judah. The LORD allowed these attacks to discipline Ahaz for his idolatry (2 Chronicles 2:4-5).

Isaiah says they went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it.

Jerusalem was the capital city of the southern kingdom of Judah and the seat of Ahaz’s throne.

2 Kings 16:5-6 and 2 Chronicles 28:5-15 describe this war.

Rezin captured the port city of Elath for Aram (2 Kings 16:6). Elath was located at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, which is part of the Red Sea. It became an important source of wealth and trade for Judah under King Solomon (1 Kings 9:26) and was rebuilt by Ahaz’s grandfather, Uzziah (2 Kings 14:22).

Not only was the city of Elath lost to Rezin and its source of trade lost, but also “a great number of captives were carried away and brought… to Damascus” the capital city of Aram (2 Chronicles 28:5

Around the time Rezin king of Aram was capturing Elath, Pekah king of Israel was also attacking Judah and his apparent goal was to conquer Jerusalem. Rezin’s capture of Elath diminished Ahaz’s capacity to defend Jerusalem from Pekah. And Pekah’s assault against Jerusalem solidified Ahaz’s capacity to thwart and/or retake Elath.

The devastation Pekah wrought was terrible. His assault inflicted heavy casualties on Judah (2 Chronicles 28:5b).

“For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men.”
(2 Chronicles 28:6a)

These losses were personal to Ahaz. They included the death of his own son and also his second in command (2 Chronicles 28:7). In addition to the loss of his son and loyal officer, and much of his army, Ahaz had many captives and much wealth taken from his lands:

“The sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.”
(2 Chronicles 28:8)

Samaria is another name for the northern kingdom of Israel. In terms of total losses, Ahaz lost the port city of Elath and many prisoners to Rezin king of Aram, and he lost 120,000 valiant men to Pekah king of Israel who took an additional 200,000 captives and a great deal of spoils-money, food, animals, etc. These were terrible losses, but for the time being, Jerusalem remained in Ahaz’s hands. Rezin and Pekah had not been able to take the city. They could not conquer Jerusalem.

When it was reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have camped in Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind (v 2).

Ephraim was the largest tribe in the kingdom of Israel. It’s tribal area bordered the kingdom of Judah. That the Arameans had camped in Ephraim indicates that the Arameans had allied with Israel and were mustering to attack Judah. This is why the hearts of the Judeans shook with fear.

It is significant that Isaiah describes Ahaz and his administration as the house of David. This expression harkens back to the Davidic Covenant and the promise that the LORD made to David.

“Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
(2 Samuel 7:16)

Because of the LORD’s promise to David, Judah could not be completely annihilated. And Ahaz belonged to the house of David; he was in the lineage of King David. That meant the lineage would remain, but that did not mean Ahaz himself was safe. The amassing of the enemies on his border caused the hearts of Ahaz and those in his administration, the house of David, to shake like trees in the wind, indicating great fear.

The promises of this chapter-including the memorable prophecy of Isaiah 7:14-are not merely for King Ahaz; they are also prophetic for the dynasty of the house of David.

“Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
(Isaiah 7:14)

Interestingly, the “you” in Isaiah 7:14 is not singular in Hebrew text. The “you” (Isaiah 7:14) is plural. Therefore, the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is not spoken to King Ahaz alone. Its prophetic promise that “a virgin will be with child and bear a son [who will be called] Immanuel” is given to you-the entire house of David (Isaiah 7:14).

Everything that the LORD promises to Ahaz in this chapter is not for his own sake. (Ahaz was a bad king). The LORD makes these promises to Ahaz because he is a son of the covenant and descendant of the house of David.

Following Rezin and Pekah’s attacks on Judah when it was reported to King Ahaz that the Arameans had camped in Ephraim-that is, when he heard that Rezin’s army had united with Israel’s army against Judah-Ahaz’s heart and the hearts of his people in Jerusalem shook with fear, as the trees in the forest shake with the wind.

Ephraim was located in the south of Israel, in Samaria. Ephraim bordered the kingdom of Judah. This meant the danger was close to the city of Jerusalem and that an imminent attack was likely.

It is interesting that Isaiah describes Ahaz and his administration as the house of David (2 Samuel 7:16).

Because of the LORD’s promise to David, Judah could not be completely annihilated. And Ahaz, who belonged to the house and was in the lineage of King David, seemed to have forgotten the LORD’s promise and that he was under the protection of the LORD of hosts-for Ahaz’s heart shook like trees in the wind at the report of his encamped enemies.

The image of trees in the forest shaking with the wind is a metaphor expressing deep and widespread fear among the people of Judea. The reason they were so afraid was because they felt certain that they would be overpowered, defeated, and that their doom was upon them.

Given the crushing defeats they had recently suffered and how their enemies were uniting against them, from a human perspective their fear was not irrational.

2 Chronicles 28 reveals that many of the Judean captives from the recent battles had also been taken to Ephraim, which was in southern Samaria (2 Chronicles 28:8) and it reveals something that would have been encouraging to King Ahaz and his people.

A prophet of the LORD named Oded warned the army of Israel that they were incurring the fierce wrath of God for subjugating His people to themselves (2 Chronicles 28:9-11). Several of the leading men repented and gave their captives clothing and food and then returned them to Jericho (2 Chronicles 28:12-15).

Neither Chronicles nor the book of Isaiah indicate that Ahaz or his people in Jerusalem were presently aware of this prophetic event. Rather, they trembled with fear as trees shake with the wind.

The next section of scripture-Isaiah 7:3-9-describes the LORD’s offer of salvation for Ahaz and his people, communicated through Isaiah the prophet. Deliverance would come from the LORD as long as Ahaz would believe God’s promise.