Bible Strands
Isaiah 40:14
Whom did He consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the paths of justice? Who imparted knowledge to Him and showed Him the way of understanding?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses Israel regarding God’s supreme wisdom and power, contrasting divine self-sufficiency with human limitation. The rhetorical questions emphasize that no counselor or instructor exists for the Creator.
The words — מִ֤י (mi) = whom? and נוֹעָץ֙ (no.'Atz) = did he take counsel. These terms frame the verse’s core inquiry into whether any external source guides or instructs God.
The thread — Job 21:22 repeats the rhetorical question of who can teach God, while Colossians 2:3 identifies Christ as the repository of all wisdom and knowledge. The motif traces God’s unteachable nature from the prophetic text to the New Testament revelation.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that God operates without external instruction or correction. Readers must accept divine wisdom as self-originated and cease demanding proof of its validity.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
Cross-references
- Job 21:22 Can anyone teach knowledge to God, since He judges those on high?
- Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- 1 Corinthians 12:4 There are different gifts, but the same Spirit.
- James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.