What Does Isaiah 29:23 Mean?
But when he sees the ones he begot, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will set apart my nature, and set apart the Set-Apart One of Jacob, and stand in awe of the God of Israel.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.THE KEY
When the children are seen as the work of God’s hands, God’s nature stands apart in their sight.
THE MEANING
When you see the people in your midst as the work of God’s hands, God’s nature becomes distinct to you. That recognition gathers into awe before the God of Israel.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the idea that your recognition makes God holy: the repeated verb sets apart the One already named as holy.
THE ROOT
יַקְדִּישׁוּ
yaqdîshû
GROWS FROM
קדשׁ
q-d-sh
To be set apart; to mark as distinct or sacred.
“set apart my nature” in this verse is yaqdîshû. The verb repeats for both God’s name and the Holy One of Jacob, joining God’s nature to the One named. The children’s response recognizes what is already set apart; it does not make God holy.
ALSO GROWS
qādōsh: Set apart; holy.
קָדוֹשׁ
The same root names the Holy One they recognize.
miqdāsh: Sanctuary; a set-apart place.
מִקְדָּשׁ
The root reaches from setting God apart in speech to places marked as set apart.
qōdesh: Holiness; what is set apart.
קֹדֶשׁ
This branch makes clear that sanctifying God’s name is recognizing its distinct nature.
בְּקִרְבּוֹ
beqirbô
GROWS FROM
קרב
q-r-b
To approach or draw near; the related noun qerev means the interior or midst.
The children are described as being in his midst, using the q-r-b word family. That family joins what is inward and close with the act of drawing near, placing God’s handiwork within the scene where his nature is recognized.
ALSO GROWS
qerev: Interior; inward part; midst.
קֶרֶב
This is the word behind the verse’s description of the children in his midst.
qārav: To approach; draw near.
קָרַב
The same consonants connect being in the midst with nearness.
qorbān: A drawing-near offering.
קָרְבָּן
This branch carries the same movement of nearness found in the verse’s inward setting.
יַעֲרִיצוּ
yaʿărîṣû
GROWS FROM
ערץ
ʿ-r-ts
To dread or regard as formidable; to inspire awe.
“stand in awe of the God of Israel” in this verse is yaʿărîṣû. This verb names the people’s awed regard for God. Its root carries the sense of what makes a person tremble or recognize overwhelming power, giving the verse’s final response weight beyond a simple label.
ALSO GROWS
ʿāraṣ: To dread; be terrified.
עָרַץ
This verbal form reveals the force carried by the verse’s response of fear.
ʿārîṣ: Formidable or violent one; tyrant.
עָרִיץ
The related word describes a force that commands dread, illuminating the awe in their regard for God.
THE PATTERN
What God makes visible becomes a witness that turns recognition back toward God.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens recount the weight of God; and the expanse sets forth the work of his hands.Let your light shine like this before people, that they may perceive your good works and give weight to your Father in the heavens.For we are his making, created in the Anointed One, Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that in them we might walk.THE THREAD
And one called out to another, and said, Set apart, set apart, set apart is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is filled with his weight.Isaiah 6:3 repeats the same q-d-sh root in “Holy,” the set-apart nature named in this verse. The children’s recognition echoes the cry that God’s distinct nature fills the scene.
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