Bible Commentaries
Isaiah 6

Verse 1

6:1–7 Isaiah’s throne-room vision of Yahweh changes the way he represents God’s sovereignty and glory in the rest of the book. The placement of this account six chapters into the book may indicate that it is not Isaiah’s initial commissioning as a prophet of God (compare Ezekiel’s vision of Yahweh in Ezek 1), but rather his commissioning for a special task or mission. This fits the specific message he is given in Isa 6:9–10.

Alternatively, chs. 1–5 may be a prologue to the book as a whole; those chapters introduce key ideas and themes present throughout chs. 1–66. In that case, the vision in ch. 6 could be an account of Isaiah’s initial prophetic commissioning—a common motif in God’s interactions with the prophets (see Exod 3 or Ezek 1). - FSB

Prophetic Commissioning and the Divine Presence

King Uzziah died. After 52 years of reigning, leprosy caused the death of Uzziah in 739 b.c. (cf. 2 Chronicles 26:16-23). - MSB

6:1 In the year of the death of Uzziah the king --Uzziah probably died around 740 bc. Isaiah 1:1 says Isaiah was active in the reign of Uzziah, but Uzziah may only be included there because Isaiah’s ministry began in the last year of Uzziah’s life. - FSB

sitting on a high and raised throne -- Isaiah sees the heavenly throne room of Yahweh. The Israelites understood the temple in Jerusalem to be Yahweh’s earthly dwelling. Thus, Isaiah’s vision links Yahweh’s heavenly throne with His divine residence in the temple (compare Psalms 11:4; Isaiah 66:1).

high and raised -- Distinctive of Isaiah’s depiction of Yahweh throughout the book as the only one who should be exalted (see Isaiah 2:11) or deserves to be “high and lifted up.” The exact phrasing occurs again in Isaiah 52:13 and Isaiah 57:15.

the hem of his robe -- With God on His throne in heaven, the temple only contains the very bottom of God’s robe. The Hebrew here refers to the edge of the skirt or hem.

Verse 9

Isaiah 6:9

God decrees that the prophet’s ministry will have a hardening effect on his own generation, whose character was laid bare in chs. 1–5.

The NT quotes this text to explain why some reject the good news of the gospel (cf. Matthew 13:14-15 par.; John 12:39-40; Acts 28:25-27).

The unresponsive hearer finds that the message only hardens him to God’s gracious purposes (cf. Isaiah 29:9-10; Isaiah 42:18-25; Isaiah 65:1-7; Luke 2:34; John 9:39; Acts 7:54; Romans 11:7-10, Romans 11:25; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16; 1 Peter 2:8).

Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1251). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.