The Meaning of Isaiah 51:2 Explained

Isaiah 51:2

KJV: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

YLT: Look attentively unto Abraham your father, And unto Sarah -- she bringeth you forth, For -- one -- I have called him, And I bless him, and multiply him.

Darby: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for I called him when he was alone, and blessed him, and multiplied him.

ASV: Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you; for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him, and made him many.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Look  unto Abraham  your father,  and unto Sarah  [that] bare  you: for I called  him alone,  and blessed  him, and increased  him. 

What does Isaiah 51:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Consider Abraham and Sarah, God counseled. From old Abraham and his barren wife, God had made a whole nation of people.

Context Summary

Isaiah 51:1-11 - "awake, O Arm Of Jehovah!"
This chapter is extremely dramatic. We are conscious that we are nearing a revelation of unparalleled sublimity. As we hear the thrice Hearken in Isaiah 1:1-8, and the thrice Awake, Isaiah 51:9, which follows, we realize that we are traversing the entrance portico of a noble temple. When God says, Hearken, it is for us to ask Him to fulfill-Awake!
Recall the loneliness of Abraham. "He was but one!" Terah died, Lot dropped away, Hagar was thrust out, Isaac was laid on the altar, but the fire that burned in his heart only grew brighter. Do not despair if you are alone in your stand for God. One acorn, when the life of Nature touches it, may become parent to a forest. These exiled Jews hardly dared to hope that they could escape from their foes. The air was heavy with their revilings, but compare Isaiah 51:8 with Isaiah 50:9. With such assurances we may face a world in arms. The forces of evil are strong, but God is stronger. The clouds threaten, but the sun is shining. Don't forget the Lord thy Maker, thy Redeemer, thy Father! He cannot fail or forsake! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 51

1  An exhortation after the pattern of Abraham, to trust in Christ
3  By reason of his comfortable promises,
4  Of his righteous salvation
7  And man's mortality
9  Christ by his sanctified arm defends his from the fear of man
17  He bewails the afflictions of Jerusalem
21  And promises deliverance

What do the individual words in Isaiah 51:2 mean?

Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah [who] bore you for [when only] one I called him and blessed him and increased him -
הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙ אֶל־ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אֲבִיכֶ֔ם וְאֶל־ שָׂרָ֖ה תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶ֑ם כִּי־ אֶחָ֣ד קְרָאתִ֔יו וַאֲבָרְכֵ֖הוּ וְאַרְבֵּֽהוּ ס

הַבִּ֙יטוּ֙  Look 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נָבַט  
Sense: to look, regard.
אַבְרָהָ֣ם  Abraham 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַבְרָהָם  
Sense: friend of God and founder of Hebrew nation via God’s elective covenant.
אֲבִיכֶ֔ם  your  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person masculine plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וְאֶל־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
שָׂרָ֖ה  Sarah 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׂרָה  
Sense: wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac.
תְּחוֹלֶלְכֶ֑ם  [who]  bore  you 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person feminine singular, second person masculine plural
Root: חוּל 
Sense: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained.
אֶחָ֣ד  [when  only]  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
קְרָאתִ֔יו  I  called  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
וַאֲבָרְכֵ֖הוּ  and  blessed  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: בָּרַךְ 
Sense: to bless, kneel.
וְאַרְבֵּֽהוּ  and  increased  him 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, first person common singular, third person masculine singular
Root: הַרְבָּה 
Sense: be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation