Isaiah / Chapter 20

Isaiah 20

6 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

Isaiah 20 is a brief prose narrative — one of the few in the book — describing a dramatic prophetic sign-act. In the year that the Assyrian commander-in-chief captured Ashdod (711 BCE), the LORD commanded Isaiah to remove his sackcloth and sandals and walk naked and barefoot for three years as a living sign against Egypt and Cush. Just as Isaiah walked stripped and exposed, so the king of Assyria will lead away Egyptian and Cushite captives — young and old — naked and barefoot, with buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt. The chapter closes with the inhabitants of the Judean coastland expressing dismay: if mighty Egypt and Cush cannot withstand Assyria, what hope is there for us?

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

We find this chapter remarkable for several reasons. First, it anchors a specific prophetic act to a datable historical event — the Assyrian capture of Ashdod in 711 BCE under Sargon II — giving us one of the most precise chronological markers in Isaiah. Second, the sign-act is among the most extreme in prophetic literature: Isaiah walks publicly in a state of nakedness (or near-nakedness) for three years, enduring personal shame to embody a message about national shame. Third, the chapter functions as a sharp political warning: Judah's coastal cities were tempted to join anti-Assyrian coalitions backed by Egypt and Cush, and Isaiah's body becomes the argument against this policy. The prophet does not merely speak — he becomes the message. Fourth, the closing question from the coastland inhabitants ('How shall we escape?') is left unanswered, hanging in the air as a challenge to trust the LORD rather than human alliances.

Translation Friction

The key question is whether 'arom ('naked') means completely unclothed or stripped to a minimal loincloth. Ancient Near Eastern deportation reliefs show captives in various states of undress, and prophetic sign-acts typically push boundaries of social convention. We render 'naked' as the text reads while noting in the notes that the degree of exposure is debated. The phrase 'eved YHWH ('the servant of the LORD') does not appear in this chapter, but Isaiah's obedient submission to an extreme divine command effectively portrays servant theology in action. The Tartan (tartanu in Akkadian) is a military title, not a personal name — we render it as 'commander-in-chief' with the Hebrew term noted. The three-year duration has prompted debate about whether Isaiah maintained the sign continuously or performed it periodically; we note this without resolving it.

Connections

The sign-act genre connects to Ezekiel's elaborate sign-acts (lying on his side for 390 days, Ezekiel 4; shaving his head, Ezekiel 5) and Jeremiah's symbolic actions (the linen belt, Jeremiah 13; the yoke, Jeremiah 27-28). The capture of Ashdod is confirmed by Sargon II's own inscriptions and by archaeological evidence at Tell Ashdod. The warning against Egyptian alliance echoes Isaiah 30:1-5 and 31:1-3, where trust in Egypt is condemned as folly. The nakedness of captives as a sign of shame connects to Isaiah 47:3 (Babylon's exposure) and Nahum 3:5 (Nineveh's exposure). The coastland's despairing question in verse 6 anticipates the 'coastlands' (iyyim) theme in Second Isaiah (41:1; 42:4; 49:1).

Isaiah 20:1

בִּשְׁנַ֨ת בֹּ֤א תַרְתָּן֙ אַשְׁדּ֔וֹדָה בִּשְׁלֹ֣חַ אֹת֔וֹ סַרְג֖וֹן מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֑וּר וַיִּלָּ֥חֶם בְּאַשְׁדּ֖וֹד וַיִּלְכְּדָֽהּ׃

In the year that the commander-in-chief came to Ashdod — when Sargon king of Assyria sent him — and he fought against Ashdod and captured it,

KJV In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

תַרְתָּן tartan
"commander-in-chief" — Tartan; Akkadian turtanu; the highest military officer under the Assyrian king

An Akkadian military title (turtanu), not a personal name. The office held supreme field command. The same title appears in 2 Kings 18:17 during Sennacherib's campaign against Jerusalem.

סַרְגוֹן Sargon
"Sargon" — Sargon II; Assyrian king 722-705 BCE

The only mention of Sargon by name in the Hebrew Bible. His existence was confirmed by the discovery of his palace at Khorsabad in 1843. He completed the conquest of Samaria begun by his predecessor Shalmaneser V.

Translator Notes

  1. This is one of the most historically precise datings in Isaiah. The Tartan (Akkadian tartanu/turtanu) was the highest-ranking military officer after the king — we render it 'commander-in-chief' to convey the rank while noting the Akkadian title. Sargon II (reigned 722-705 BCE) is the only Assyrian king mentioned by name in Isaiah. The capture of Ashdod in 711 BCE is confirmed by Sargon's own royal inscriptions discovered at Khorsabad, which describe the campaign against Ashdod and its ruler Yamani. Ashdod was a major Philistine city on the Mediterranean coast, and its fall demonstrated Assyria's ability to project power into the coastal plain — directly threatening Judah's western flank.
Isaiah 20:2

בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֗יא דִּבֶּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ בְּיַד֙ יְשַׁעְיָ֣הוּ בֶן־אָמ֔וֹץ לֵאמֹ֕ר לֵ֥ךְ וּפִתַּחְתָּ֖ הַשַּׂ֣ק מֵעַ֣ל מָתְנֶ֑יךָ וְנַעַלְךָ֖ תַחֲלֹ֥ץ מֵעַ֥ל רַגְלֶֽיךָ וַיַּ֣עַשׂ כֵּ֔ן הָלֹ֖ךְ עָר֥וֹם וְיָחֵֽף׃

At that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying: "Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

KJV At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

שַׂק saq
"sackcloth" — sackcloth, coarse goat-hair garment, mourning cloth

A rough fabric worn as a sign of mourning, repentance, or prophetic protest. That Isaiah had been wearing it suggests he was already performing a mourning sign before this more extreme act was commanded.

עָרוֹם 'arom
"naked" — naked, stripped, unclothed, exposed

The degree of nakedness is debated — the word can range from completely unclothed to partially stripped. In the context of prophetic sign-acts, even partial nakedness would have been deeply shocking in ancient Israelite society.

Translator Notes

  1. The divine command is stark and the obedience immediate: 'And he did so' (vayya'as ken). The sackcloth (saq) indicates that Isaiah had been wearing the garment of mourning and prophetic protest — perhaps mourning the nations' doom or protesting Judah's alliance policies. The verb patachta ('loosen, remove') and chalots ('take off, strip') are direct commands. The result — 'walking naked and barefoot' ('arom ve-yachef) — is extreme. The word 'arom can mean completely naked or stripped to a loincloth; either way, this was a profound act of social humiliation for a prophet of standing in Jerusalem. The narrative formula 'the LORD spoke through' (dibber beyad) identifies Isaiah as the instrument through whom God acts.
Isaiah 20:3

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר הָלַ֜ךְ עַבְדִּ֤י יְשַׁעְיָ֙הוּ֙ עָר֣וֹם וְיָחֵ֔ף שָׁלֹ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים א֣וֹת וּמוֹפֵ֑ת עַל־מִצְרַ֖יִם וְעַל־כּֽוּשׁ׃

Then the LORD said: "Just as my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,

KJV And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

עַבְדִּי 'avdi
"my servant" — my servant, my slave, my commissioned agent

The possessive form 'my servant' is a title of high honor in the Hebrew Bible, reserved for figures in intimate covenant relationship with God: Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. Isaiah's suffering obedience here prefigures the Servant Songs later in the book.

אוֹת וּמוֹפֵת ot u-mofet
"a sign and a portent" — sign and wonder/portent; divinely authenticated symbolic act

This paired formula is used for the Exodus plagues (Deuteronomy 4:34; 6:22) and for prophetic sign-acts (Ezekiel 12:6, 11; 24:24, 27). It indicates that the act carries divine authority and reveals future events.

Translator Notes

  1. God interprets the sign-act: Isaiah's three years of nakedness and barefoot walking are an ot u-mofet ('sign and portent') — technical terms for divinely authenticated prophetic symbols. The title 'avdi ('my servant') is loaded with covenantal significance: it identifies Isaiah as God's commissioned agent, willingly subordinating his dignity to divine purpose. The three-year duration indicates sustained, costly obedience — this was not a one-day demonstration but a years-long embodied message. The sign is directed against both Egypt and Cush (the 25th Dynasty was Cushite, so the two are politically intertwined).
Isaiah 20:4

כֵּ֣ן יִנְהַ֣ג מֶֽלֶךְ־אַ֠שּׁוּר אֶת־שְׁבִ֨י מִצְרַ֜יִם וְאֶת־גָּל֣וּת כּ֗וּשׁ נְעָרִים֙ וּזְקֵנִ֔ים עָר֥וֹם וְיָחֵ֖ף וַחֲשׂוּפַ֣י שֵׁ֑ת עֶרְוַ֖ת מִצְרָֽיִם׃

so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush — young and old — naked and barefoot, with buttocks bared, to the shame of Egypt.

KJV So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Notes & Key Terms 3 terms

Key Terms

שְׁבִי shevi
"captives" — captives, prisoners of war, those taken captive

From the root sh-b-h ('to take captive'). Refers specifically to those seized in military conquest and marched away as prisoners.

גָּלוּת galut
"exiles" — exile, deportation, those sent into exile

From the root g-l-h ('to uncover, depart, go into exile'). The word that will later define Israel's own experience — the Babylonian galut — is here applied to Egypt and Cush.

עֶרְוָה 'ervah
"shame" — nakedness, shame, exposure, indecency

The same word used for forbidden sexual exposure in Leviticus 18. Applied to a nation, it denotes total public disgrace — the stripping of all dignity and honor.

Translator Notes

  1. The interpretation of the sign is brutally explicit. The phrase shevi Mitsrayim ve-galut Kush ('captives of Egypt and exiles of Cush') uses two distinct terms for prisoners — shevi (war captives) and galut (deportees, exiles). The merism 'young and old' (ne'arim u-zeqenim) indicates that no one is spared. The phrase chasufai shet ('with buttocks bared') adds a detail of specific humiliation — Assyrian deportation practices included forced nakedness to degrade captives and strip their identity. The final phrase 'ervat Mitsrayim ('the nakedness/shame of Egypt') plays on the dual meaning of 'ervah: physical nakedness and national disgrace. Egypt's humiliation will be total and public — exactly as Isaiah's sign-act portrayed.
Isaiah 20:5

וְחַתּ֖וּ וָבֹ֑שׁוּ מִכּוּשׁ֙ מַבָּטָ֔ם וּמִן־מִצְרַ֖יִם תִּפְאַרְתָּֽם׃

They will be dismayed and put to shame because of Cush, their hope, and because of Egypt, their boast.

KJV And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory.

Notes & Key Terms 2 terms

Key Terms

מַבָּט mabbat
"hope" — expectation, hope, the object one looks to, confident gaze

From the root n-b-t ('to look, regard'). The noun identifies Cush as the object of Judah's political 'looking' — the power they expected would save them from Assyria.

תִּפְאֶרֶת tif'eret
"boast" — glory, beauty, boast, source of pride

From the root p-'-r ('to glorify, beautify'). Egypt was the source of Judah's political pride — the prestigious superpower whose alliance they boasted of. That boast is now exposed as empty.

Translator Notes

  1. The 'they' refers to the inhabitants of the Judean coastland (identified in verse 6) who had placed their political hopes in an Egyptian-Cushite alliance against Assyria. The verb chattu ('be dismayed, shattered') indicates that their confidence collapses. The verb boshu ('be put to shame') adds the dimension of public humiliation — they will be shown to have trusted foolishly. Cush is called mabbatam ('their looking, their hope') — the object to which they looked for security. Egypt is called tif'artam ('their boast, their glory') — the source of their confidence. Both terms are now exposed as empty: the alliance on which they relied has been humiliated by Assyria.
Isaiah 20:6

וְאָמַ֞ר יֹשֵׁ֣ב ׀ הָאִ֣י הַזֶּ֗ה בַּיּ֤וֹם הַהוּא֙ הִנֵּה־כֹ֣ה מַבָּטֵ֔נוּ אֲשֶׁר־נַ֥סְנוּ שָׁ֖ם לְעֶזְרָ֑ה לְהִ֨נָּצֵ֔ל מִפְּנֵ֖י מֶ֥לֶךְ אַשּֽׁוּר וְאֵ֥יךְ נִמָּלֵ֖ט אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃

The inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day: "Look — this is what happened to those we looked to, where we fled for help, to be delivered from the king of Assyria. How then shall we ourselves escape?"

KJV And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אִי i
"coastland" — island, coastland, maritime region, distant shore

The word can mean 'island' or 'coastland' — here it refers to the Mediterranean coastal region of the Levant. This term becomes important in Second Isaiah where the 'coastlands' (iyyim) represent the distant nations that await God's instruction (Isaiah 42:4; 49:1; 51:5).

Translator Notes

  1. The chapter closes with a despairing question from the coastland (i, 'island' or 'coastland') — likely the Philistine coastal plain including Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza, which bordered Judah and were most exposed to both Assyrian aggression and Egyptian alliance politics. The word mabbatenu ('our looking, our hope') echoes verse 5: the object of their political looking has failed. The verb nasnu ('we fled') implies that they sought refuge in the Egyptian alliance. The final question — ve-ekh nimalet anachnu ('how shall we ourselves escape?') — is devastating in its open-endedness. Isaiah provides no answer, leaving the audience to draw the implication: if mighty Egypt and Cush cannot withstand Assyria, the only remaining refuge is the LORD Himself. The question hangs unanswered, forcing the hearer into the theological conclusion that chapters 30-31 will make explicit: trust in the LORD, not in horses and chariots.
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