Chapter Twelve

1–6. A hymn of praise of Israel to God for the salvation received from Him.

Isa 12:1-6. The chosen remnant of Israel, having returned to their homeland from captivity, will sing praise to God their Savior, and the prophet places this very hymn of praise into the mouth of the future generation of the Hebrew people.

Isaiah 12:1. And you will say in that day: “I give thanks to You, O Lord; though You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away and You comfort me. Isaiah 12:2. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. “In that day,” that is, when the final salvation of the chosen remnant is accomplished. The words of verse 2 are very close to the expressions found in the hymn of praise sung by Moses upon the crossing of the Hebrews through the Red Sea (Exod 15:2).

Isaiah 12:3. “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation; “Drawing water.” Water is the most essential condition for the well-being of an Eastern man, who especially needs water in summer, when rains do not fall in Palestine. Therefore, in order to designate the future happiness which the redeemed remnant of Israel will enjoy, the prophet proclaims that Israel will have an abundance of water, and moreover water obtained from springs that do not dry up even in summer, as often happens to Palestinian rivers. At the same time, the prophet foretells the abundance of grace which the Messiah who is to come into the world will give to all humanity (see John 14:18).

Isaiah 12:4. “And in that day you will say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples; proclaim that His name is exalted; Isaiah 12:5. “Sing to the Lord, for He has done excellent things; let this be known in all the earth. Isaiah 12:6. “Rejoice and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst. The Jews in the days of the Messiah will invite other nations as well to praise the Lord. Does the prophet not point here to the preaching of the Apostles of Christ, who proclaimed salvation to all the world? The prophet himself invites the inhabitant of Zion, that is, the population of Jerusalem, to rejoice, who should respond first of all to the great joy which the Messiah will bring with Him. Of course, the prophet conceives of this population as Christian, which would form the first Church of Christ (Acts 2:44). Biblical criticism expresses strong suspicion regarding the authenticity of chapter 12. Even such cautious scholars as Dillmann and Skinner refuse to acknowledge Isaiah as the author of these six verses. But it seems to us that the grounds upon which this denial is based are not sufficiently firm. They say that Isaiah does not express himself as the author of this song expresses himself, that the thoughts and tone of the song remind one of the song of Moses and later psalms. But what follows from this? Is it not the case that the prophet Isaiah could use phrases from earlier songs? And the expressions found in this song do not appear particularly strange in the mouth of Isaiah. In conclusion, it must be said that this song is a beautiful, brief, and powerful afterword to the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah contained in chapters 7–11. Verses 3–6 of this chapter are read as a lesson on the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, because they mention “water from the wells of salvation,” and consequently contain a foretelling of the water which was sanctified by the descent of Christ the Savior into it during His Baptism.