Bible Strands
Isaiah 7:2
When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports to the house of David that the allied forces of Aram and Ephraim have positioned themselves against Jerusalem during the reign of King Ahaz. This event follows immediately after Rezin and Pekah's military campaign fails to capture the city.
The words — וַיֻּגַּד (va-yuggad) literally means "it was told" or "it was reported," marking the transmission of political news. לְבֵית דָּוִד (le-bêt dāwîd) translates to "to the house of David," identifying the ruling dynasty that receives the intelligence.
The thread — The tension between hearing threats and the house of David's response recurs in Isaiah 7:13, where Isaiah addresses the same royal line, and Isaiah 8:12, which commands against fearing what others fear. Proverbs 28:1 contrasts this trembling with the boldness of the righteous.
Why it lands — The text records a historical moment of political anxiety before drawing any theological conclusion from it. It requires the reader to acknowledge how external threats trigger internal panic and to evaluate whether leadership responds to divine instruction or human dread.
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
And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 7:13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
- Isaiah 8:12 “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
- Isaiah 9:9 All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
- Leviticus 26:36 As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. And they will flee as one flees the sword, and fall when no one pursues them.
- Numbers 14:1 Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept.
- Deuteronomy 28:65 Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
- 2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me, and your throne will be established forever.”
- 1 Kings 11:32 But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
- 1 Kings 12:16 When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home,