Isaiah 49 — Servant, Gathering, and Remembering

Join this class onlineUse the Zoom meeting link below.

Come, Follow Me alignment: September 28–October 4 covers Isaiah 40–49. This class takes Isaiah 49 as the close-reading chapter for that block.

Hebrew focus

Focus on sound-play, repeated roots, and contrasts. Verse references open the BLB Hebrew interlinear.

מִבֶּטֶן mibbeṭen — from the womb Isaiah 49:1

חֶרֶב חַדָּה ḥerev ḥaddāh — a sharp sword Isaiah 49:2

חֵץ בָּרוּר ḥēṣ bārûr — a polished / chosen arrow Isaiah 49:2

עַבְדִּי ʿavdî — my servant Isaiah 49:3

אוֹר גּוֹיִם ʾôr gôyim — a light to the nations Isaiah 49:6

עֲזָבַנִי ʿazāvanî — has forsaken me Isaiah 49:14

שְׁכֵחָנִי šĕkēḥānî — has forgotten me Isaiah 49:14

לֹא אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ lōʾ ʾeškāḥēkh — I will not forget you Isaiah 49:15

מֵרַחֵם mēraḥēm — from having compassion / showing mercy Isaiah 49:15

חַקֹּתִיךְ ḥaqqōtîkh — I have engraved you Isaiah 49:16

Repeated roots & interpretive tension

Israel / Israel: verse 3 calls the servant “Israel,” yet verses 5–6 describe the servant as restoring Jacob/Israel. The chapter deliberately creates an identity question worth holding open.

Forgotten / not forgotten: Zion says שְׁכֵחָנִי — “he has forgotten me”; the Lord answers לֹא אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ — “I will not forget you.”

The maternal imagery joins womb-language and the root רחם (compassion), then intensifies remembrance with עַל־כַּפַּיִם חַקֹּתִיךְ — “upon [my] palms I have engraved you.”

Rashi on Isaiah 49 — Sefaria Come, Follow Me — Isaiah 40–49

Prepare for Oct 8 — Isaiah 54

Read Isaiah 54 aloud and listen for repetitions and paired phrases.
Mark the sequence barren woman → enlarged tent → restored wife → everlasting covenant.
Pay special attention to verses 7–10: brief/lasting, wrath/kindness, mountains/covenant.

← Isaiah 13 — Babylon and the Day of the Lord Isaiah 54 — Everlasting Kindness →