Isaiah 19:25

Question

Isaiah 19:25

Which the Lord of Hosts blessed them, saying, “Blessed is My People Egypt, and the work of My hands Assyria, and My heritage Israel.”

Christians say this verse implies that gentiles will be the People of God through Jesus. Is it true? What is the proper interpretation of this verse?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    The Christians are wrong. The timeline is given by our Talmudic Sages and quoted by our classical commentary – Rashi – on this chapter and these verses. It was fulfilled at the time of Chizkiyahu, the king of Judah during the time of the First Temple.

    At first – Sancheriv, who was a ruler and general of Assiyria and conquered many nations, including Egypt. He laid siege to Jerusalem as well, but God miraculously killed his entire army overnight. After this, King Chizkiyahu of Israel freed other nations and taught them to worship the God of Israel, which they did. They built altars to help do this and there was free travel from Egypt to Assyria and from Assyria to Egypt, and they all were joined in worship of the God of Israel.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team