Isaiah 8:1–4, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Isaiah 8:1–4
Maher-shalal-hash-baz Becomes a Timed Sign
A tablet and two witnesses make the child's name public before birth
The LORD said, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz. Isaiah took faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. He went unto the prophetess; she conceived, and bare a son. Then said the LORD, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
Speed-spoil-hasten-prey is written large, witnessed, then born. The prophetess is a partner in the sign, not a silent instrument. The act is a dated public warning, not a model for forcing symbolic pregnancies or for speculative miracles.
The clock is ordinary childhood speech, and the prey is Damascus and Samaria
For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
The sign is timed to a toddler's first words, not to a later messianic calendar. Assyria will take the two northern threats. The unit does not invite date-setting of modern wars, and it does not treat the child's name as a repeatable command.
How this should shape us
Let public truth be witnessed and dated when fear wants rumor. Do not turn a child's name into a code for later headlines, and do not imitate prophetic sign-acts as a technique.
Teach it back
Explain Isaiah 8:1–4 in your own words. Name its place in Isaiah, one source-controlled observation, one uncertainty, one enduring truth, and one harmful use the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
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Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do responsible readings differ?
Best judgment: Maher-shalal-hash-baz Becomes a Timed Sign does not authorize date-setting, speculative miracles, forced Christological shortcuts, or treating a symbolic act as a repeatable command.
How certain? strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Isaiah 8:1–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 8:1–4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 8:1–4 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 8:1–4
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 8:1–4
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Isaiah 8:1–4, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Isaiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology at the exact unit, without treating morphology as apparatus, lexicon, composition history, or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Isa.xml, OSIS 8:1–4 with Hebrew/KJV versification difference checked
Open the fixed Hebrew Isaiah file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Isaiah
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2016; current official PDF
Supports: Verse-level controls for Hebrew, syntax, poetry, older KJV language, chronology, names, textual issues, and material translation alternatives.
Exact location: Official NET Isaiah PDF, translator, study, and textual notes attached to Isaiah 8:1–4 in the complete 205-page book PDF
Open the official NET Isaiah PDF ↗open university study guide series
First Isaiah study-guide course
John J. Collins and Joel S. Baden
Yale Bible Study, 2020; current public course
Supports: Eighth-century Assyrian setting, Isaiah traditions, later growth, justice, Zion, signs, royal language, nations, and policy, with proposals kept visible.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, First Isaiah course, Isaiah's Call Vision and Immanuel guides; applied to Isaiah 8:1–4
Open the Yale First Isaiah course ↗modern scholarly book course
Isaiah course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, themes, and reception
Fred Gaiser; revised by Michael Chan
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised August 2024
Supports: Whole-book historical, literary, theological, ethical, and reception synthesis across Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and postexilic horizons.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Isaiah course, Summary, Background, Introductory Issues, Outline Book 1A, and Theological Themes; applied to Isaiah 8:1–4
Open the Enter the Bible Isaiah course ↗