The Meaning of Isaiah 30:33 Explained

Isaiah 30:33

KJV: For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

YLT: For, arranged from former time is Tophet, Even it for the king is prepared, He hath made deep, He hath made large, Its pile is fire and much wood, The breath of Jehovah, As a stream of brim stone, is burning in it!

Darby: For Topheth is prepared of old; for the king also it is prepared: he hath made it deep and large; its pile is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

ASV: For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For Tophet  [is] ordained  of old;  yea, for the king  it is prepared;  he hath made [it] deep  [and] large:  the pile  thereof [is] fire  and much  wood;  the breath  of the LORD,  like a stream  of brimstone,  doth kindle  it. 

What does Isaiah 30:33 Mean?

Study Notes

Tophet
See Jeremiah 7:31 ; Jeremiah 19:6 ; 2 Kings 23:10
Historically a place in the valley of Hinnom where human sacrifices were offered. The word means "place of fire." The symbolic reference is to the lake of fire and the doom of the Beast. Revelation 19:20 .

Verse Meaning

Topheth refers to a funeral pyre. The Hebrew word means a disgraceful "burning place" or "fireplace." The Lord had prepared it long ago for the king of Assyria (cf. Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10; Revelation 21:8). Sennacherib met his defeat in Jerusalem when the Lord slew many of his soldiers there, but he personally died in Nineveh shortly after that. Topheth was an area in the valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem where the Israelites sometimes sacrificed their children to the Ammonite idol Molech ( 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31).
"When the OT speaks of burning bodies it is taken as a sign of vengeance or degradation (cf. 1 Samuel 31:12; Amos 6:10; Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9; Joshua 7:25; ISBE 1:812; IDB 1:475)." [1]

Context Summary

Isaiah 30:18-33 - The Goodness Of God's Severity
Jerusalem refused God's invitation to return to Him and rest; they preferred to trust in Egyptian cavalry. Their Almighty Friend knew that this would end in disappointment, but He said that He would wait till they had exhausted every expedient and returned to Him. Then would He be gracious and have mercy. The results of repentance and forgiveness are set forth with singular beauty: no more tears; great grace; answered prayer; divine teaching; guidance in the right way; no more idols; good harvests and rich pasture-lands; the dumb creation benefiting by man's repentance; and thus, in Isaiah 30:26, we come to the light of the millennial dawn.
In Isaiah 30:27-33 Jehovah is represented as coming to avenge His people and to judge their enemies. Their welcoming gladness is compared in Isaiah 30:29 to the songs of the Hebrew festivals. What a magnificent description in Isaiah 30:30-31 of Jehovah as a man of war! Every stroke He inflicted on the foe would awaken the music of tabrets and harps in the temple at Zion. Tophet, near Jerusalem, was the place where refuse was burnt. The spiritual counterpart of its fire is ever burning up the waste-products of men and nations. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 30

1  The prophet threatens the people for their confidence in Egypt
8  And contempt of God's word
18  God's mercies toward his church
27  God's wrath and the people's joy, in the destruction of Assyria

What do the individual words in Isaiah 30:33 mean?

For [was] established from prior [time] Tophet Yes it it for the king is prepared He has made [it] deep and large Its pyre [is] fire and with wood much the breath of Yahweh like a stream of brimstone Kindles it -
כִּֽי־ עָר֤וּךְ מֵֽאֶתְמוּל֙ תָּפְתֶּ֔ה גַּם־ [הוא] (הִ֛יא) לַמֶּ֥לֶךְ הוּכָ֖ן הֶעְמִ֣יק הִרְחִ֑ב מְדֻרָתָ֗הּ אֵ֤שׁ וְעֵצִים֙ הַרְבֵּ֔ה נִשְׁמַ֤ת יְהוָה֙ כְּנַ֣חַל גָּפְרִ֔ית בֹּעֲרָ֖ה בָּֽהּ ס

עָר֤וּךְ  [was]  established 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: עָרַךְ  
Sense: to arrange, set or put or lay in order, set in array, prepare, order, ordain, handle, furnish, esteem, equal, direct, compare.
מֵֽאֶתְמוּל֙  from  prior  [time] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: אֶתְמֹול  
Sense: yesterday, recently, formerly.
תָּפְתֶּ֔ה  Tophet 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תָּפְתֶּה  
Sense: a place in the southeast end of the valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem.
גַּם־  Yes 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
לַמֶּ֥לֶךְ  for  the  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
הוּכָ֖ן  is  prepared 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.
הֶעְמִ֣יק  He  has  made  [it]  deep 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָמַק  
Sense: to be deep, be profound, make deep.
הִרְחִ֑ב  and  large 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רָחַב  
Sense: to be or grow wide, be or grow large.
מְדֻרָתָ֗הּ  Its  pyre  [is] 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מְדוּרָה  
Sense: pile (of fuel), pyre, pile (of wood).
אֵ֤שׁ  fire 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֵשׁ  
Sense: fire.
וְעֵצִים֙  and  with  wood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
הַרְבֵּ֔ה  much 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Infinitive absolute
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
נִשְׁמַ֤ת  the  breath 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: נְשָׁמָה  
Sense: breath, spirit.
יְהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כְּנַ֣חַל  like  a  stream 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נַחַל 
Sense: torrent, valley, wadi, torrent-valley.
גָּפְרִ֔ית  of  brimstone 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: גָּפְרִית  
Sense: brimstone.
בֹּעֲרָ֖ה  Kindles 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: בָּעַר 
Sense: to burn, consume, kindle, be kindled.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation