The first chapter of Isaiah is mostly an extended rebuke of the corrupt elite leadership of the people of Israel in Jerusalem. Our verse is made up of 5 statements calling for social justice. I’d like to raise a number of questions that will help us gain a deeper understanding of the precise lesson Isaiah is teaching.
A Translation problem
First, why does the opening phrase say, “Learn to do good”? Why does it not simply say “Do good”? The second question has to do with the translation of the third instruction in this list, “rebuke the oppressor.” In Hebrew this phrase is made up of two words:
ashru rebuke
chamotz the oppressor
This phrase is difficult to translate. To illustrate the difficulty, here is a sample of a few popular translations of this phrase.
- correct oppression (ESV)
- Correct the oppressor (CSB)
- relieve the oppressed (KJV)
- Defend the oppressed (NIV)
- gladden the oppressed (DARBY)
Let’s start with the second word, chamotz. This verse is the only occurrence of this word in the entire Bible. Most classic commentaries relate it to a similar word in Psalms.
The Hebrew for “cruelly,” i.e, “one who acts cruelly,” is chometz, similar to our word, chamotz. But here is the problem. In the verse from Psalm 71, it is clear from context that the chometz is a person who is wicked or cruel. The psalmist is asking God to save him from the hand of this person who is also described as wicked and corrupt. Despite the meaning of Psalm 71:4, the problem is that in our verse in Isaiah, the word chamotz could mean “oppressor,” “oppressed,” or “oppression,” as we see in the translations I cited above. The rules of Hebrew grammar make the conjugation of this word unclear.
Another translation problem
Which brings us to the first word in our verse – ashru.
We translated ashru as “rebuke,” which makes sense if we are dealing with an oppressor. The problem is that the root of ashru does not usually mean “rebuke.” Just taking the examples from the additional translations we cited, ashru can also mean “correct,” “relieve,” “defend,” or “gladden.” The root of ashru usually means “content,” “satisfied,” “straight,” or “correct.” I will not belabor this point. Suffice it to say that the commentaries over the centuries have had difficulty with this phrase here in Isaiah 1:17.
Leaven and Vinegar
Although the word chamotz appears only once in the Bible, there are quite clearly from the same root; chametz, which means “leaven,” and the word for “vinegar,” chometz. I believe that the relationship between leaven and vinegar may allow us to better understand our verse here in Isaiah.
When the children of Israel left Egypt in the Exodus, they ate unleavened bread. In Exodus 34 we read:
We see from these verses that leavening requires waiting. One way to prevent bread from leavening is to continue to knead it. Allowing the dough to sit unattended causes it to leaven. The vinegar in the Bible (see Numbers 6:3) refers to wine vinegar. Wine that is left alone and not properly preserved, turns to vinegar. The similarity should now be clear. Dough that is left will turn to leaven. Wine that is left will turn to vinegar.
Chamotz = neglected
Based on this, I’d like to suggest that chamotz refers to a particular kind of cruelty or oppression. The subjects of the last two phrases in our verse are the orphan and the widow. The verse calls upon the leadership to hear their cases, to look after them, to defend them. The orphan and the widow are among the most powerless people in society. They are easily and often forgotten. Just as wine turns to vinegar and dough leavens when they are left unattended, chamotz refers to people who have been forgotten and neglected by society.
The first word of the phrase ashru, could then be translated as “bring satisfaction,” or “correct the situation.” The entire verse would thus be read as follows:
Learn to do good, seek justice, correct the state of the neglected; defend the orphan, plead for the widow. – Isaiah 1:17
There are two advantages to translating chamotz as “neglected.” First, as we indicated above, it brings consistency between this phrase and the two phrases that follow it, “defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” The second advantage to translating it this way relates to the first question we asked at the beginning of this teaching. Why does the verse open by calling on the leadership to “learn to do good” and to “seek justice”? Why not simply state, “Be good and just”?
Those who are neglected by the powerful elites of society are not always consciously and intentionally neglected. That’s exactly the problem. The lowest rung of society – the widow and the orphan – are neglected because they are not seen at all. They suffer from a lack of awareness and attention to their plight. Isaiah does not simply call on the powerful elites to take up the cause of the neglected widow and orphan. He tells them that they must transform the way they think.
He tells them to “Learn to do good, seek justice.” In other words, they must reeducate themselves to be sensitive to the needs of the heretofore neglected of society. They must change the way they see others, and the way they understand their own role as wealthy, powerful, elites. Rather than neglecting the poor, the widow, and the orphan, they must reorient their attitude which will lead them to take up the cause of the needy, rather than neglecting them.
It’s not enough for us to simply give charity or say that we will help the needy. First, we must see them. We must educate ourselves to be sensitive to those that society tends to neglect. We must make their cause our own.
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