THEOSISJohn Chrysostom
Why only these individuals and not everyone? The intention was for all to experience goodness. Observe that the miracles were performed for everyone's benefit, yet they only truly helped those specific people.
Isaiah 10:21Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
The remnant shall be converted, the remnant, I say, of Jacob, to the mighty God.
שְׁאָ֥ר יָשׁ֖וּב שְׁאָ֣ר יַעֲקֹ֑ב אֶל־אֵ֖ל גִּבּֽוֹר׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
4 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Cyrill of Alexandria
There will remain a faithful portion of Israel devoted to a mighty God; they will no longer place their faith in wood and rock, but they will rely on Him who has perpetually been their assistance and protection, their source of strength and their unwavering fortress.
Basil the Great
This clearly pertains to the remnant referred to by the Apostle in the chosen of grace, as demonstrated in the subsequent context.
Jerome of Stridon
When the Light of Israel and the Holy One of Israel brings destruction upon the forests and thorns of Carmel, and when the king of Assyria flees with his few troops, the remnant of Israel, who alongside King Hezekiah endured the siege of Jerusalem after the fall of other cities in Judah, will no longer place their trust in the king of Assyria as they did under King Ahaz. Ahaz had sent envoys to the king of Assyria, declaring, "Thy servant and thy son am I, come up and deliver me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who have risen against me" (4 Sam. 16:7).
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He had taken gold and silver from the treasures of the house of the Lord and from the royal palace to offer gifts to the king of Assyria, who listened to him and subsequently attacked Damascus, capturing it and executing its king. However, once freed from the oppression of the Assyrian who transitioned from ally to adversary, they will depend on the Lord of Hosts of Israel genuinely, unlike the deception of previous rulers. It is noted that during Hezekiah's reign, the people forsook idols and committed themselves to the worship of God (4 Kings 18:1-5). After proclaiming that the remnant will be saved, the passage shifts to future times, affirming that ultimate salvation will come through Christ. The Apostle Paul comprehends this, writing to the Romans: Isaiah laments for Israel, stating, "But if the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. And as Isaiah said, If the Lord of hosts had not left us seed, we would have been as Sodom, and like Gomorrah" (Rom. 9:28-29). Thus, when the authority of such a caretaker is recognized, all other interpretations must concede to his. If we examine Josephus (chap. 10:2) and consider the vast population of Jerusalem and Judea during the time of the Lord's suffering, it becomes apparent that only a small number of Jews were saved, represented by the apostles and their companions. The concise and perfect message of the Gospel replaces the complex rituals of the law with the simple command of love and faith: to treat others as we wish to be treated. This is why the Lord declares in the Gospel that "on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40). Some connect this passage to the period when, under Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, alongside Ezra and Nehemiah, a portion of the people returned to Judah. However, we assert that these events do not occur in the correct historical context, especially since the subsequent verses do not address the Babylonians, under whose king Nebuchadnezzar reigned, but rather refer to Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
Cross references
Passages read together with this verse.
- Isa 9:6For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace.
- 2 Cor 3:14But their senses were made dull. For, until this present day, the selfsame veil, in the reading of the old testament, remaineth not taken away (because in Christ it is made void).
- 2 Cor 3:16But when they shall be converted to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
- Hos 14:1Let Samaria perish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness: let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be dashed, and let the women with child be ripped up.
- Hos 7:16They returned, that they might be without yoke: they became like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword, for the rage of their tongue. This is their derision in the land of Egypt.
- Isa 19:22And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal it, and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pacified towards them, and heal them.
- Isa 55:7Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive.
- Isa 7:3And the Lord said to Isaiah: Go forth to meet Achaz, thou and Jasub thy son that is left, to the conduit of the upper pool in the way of the fuller's field.