Yesaya 6:2

6:2 Seraphs ¹  stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, ²  and they used the remaining two to fly.

Yesaya 8:21

8:21 They will pass through the land ³  destitute and starving. Their hunger will make them angry, ⁴  and they will curse their king and their God ⁵  as they look upward.

Yesaya 14:13

14:13 You said to yourself, ⁶ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ⁷ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ⁸ 

Yesaya 45:8

45:8 O sky, rain down from above!

Let the clouds send down showers ⁹  of deliverance!

Let the earth absorb it ¹⁰  so salvation may grow, ¹¹ 

and deliverance may sprout up ¹²  along with it.

I, the Lord, create it. ¹³ 

[6:2]  ¹ tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.

[6:2]  ² sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.

[8:21]  ³ tn Heb “he will pass through it.” The subject of the collective singular verb is the nation. (See the preceding note.) The immediately preceding context supplies no antecedent for “it” (a third feminine singular suffix in the Hebrew text); the suffix may refer to the land, which would be a reasonable referent with a verb of motion. Note also that אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) does appear at the beginning of the next verse.

[8:21]  ⁴ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[8:21]  ⁵ tn Or “gods” (NAB, NRSV, CEV).

[14:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ⁷ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ⁸ sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[45:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “let the clouds drip with”; KJV “let the skies pour down.”

[45:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “open up” (so NASB); NIV, NLT “open wide.”

[45:8]  ¹¹ tc The plural verb should be emended to a singular form. The vav (ו) ending is probably virtually dittographic (note the yod at the beginning of the following word).

[45:8]  ¹² tc The Hiphil verb form (תַצְמִיחַ, tatsmiakh) should probably be emended to a Qal (תִצְמַח, titsmakh). The יח sequence at the end of the form is probably due to dittography (note the following יַחַד, yakhad).

[45:8]  ¹³ tn The masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers back to יָשַׁע (yasha’, “salvation”).