Israel’s New Language
The twenty-eighth chapter of the Book of Isaiah is that prophet’s only message specifically given to Ephraim, the Ten Tribes of the House of Israel. Commentaries declare it to be primarily a latter-day prophecy that was only partially fulfilled during the period of the Old Testament. Eighteenth-century theologian John Gill indicated, “[Jewish 13th century Rabbi David] Kimchi says their Rabbins expound this [chapter] of the King Messiah, in time to come, when both the kingly and priestly glory should be restored.” Lutheran theologian, John Peter Lange said, “…the Prophet always draws the most remote Messianic future into the sphere of his vision.” The Annotated Bible says, “The prophecy here and in the subsequent chapters was not by any means fulfilled when the Assyrian came into Israel’s land. Its greater fulfillment is in the future.” Dr. Harry Ironside concluded, “These [chapters 28-33] all have to do particularly with Israel and the surrounding nations in the last days. That the passage has an application to the future, surely no instructed student of prophecy can question.” The Amplified Bible translation also points out its futuristic fulfillment. Isaiah 28:5 is rendered, “[But] in that [future Messianic] day the Lord of hosts shall become a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the [converted] remnant of His people.”
This understanding of a future fulfillment sheds light on an often-overlooked verse foretelling a new language for Israel: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people”(Isa. 28:11, KJV). This translation, however, raises questions: Since the “he” is the Lord, is God a “stammerer?” John Calvin’s Commentary asserts, “I therefore view these words as relating to God, who became, as the Prophet tells us, a barbarian to a people without understanding.” Is God a “barbarian?” Commentaries usually relegate this verse to the Old Testament period, with the prophetic language being Assyrian. Does God speak Assyrian?
The word “stammerer” is a translation of the Hebrew, la’eg (law-ayg), meaning either “buffoon, foreigner, or mocker.” (Strong’s #H3934). It appears only one other place in the Scriptures, in Psalm 35:16: “With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.” Reformation scholar, Matthew Poole, interprets the meaning as, “In way of judgment.” The Lord would give a mocking judgment upon the House of Israel for their sins.
The word, “another,” appears 166 times in Scripture, and is a translation of the Hebrew, ‘acher (akh-air’) (#H312) meaning “to hinder, next, other, or strange.” Taking all of this into account, Isaiah 28:11 could be properly interpreted, “With mocking speech and using a different language God would speak to Israel.” This prophecy of a new language was concerning the ten tribe House of Israel, but Judah also adopted a different language after as little as 70 years in Babylon (Neh. 8:8). Israel in exile additionally was to be given a new name (Isaiah 62:2).
Isaiah was actually foreseeing a second change of language for the House of Israel. Dr. Fritz Hommell in “The Ancient Hebrew Tradition as Illustrated by the Monuments,” page 218, says: “For it becomes clearer every day that the Hebrews of the patriarchal period, and even down to the time of Moses and Joshua, did not use the Canaanite speech—a fact which may be readily proved by a careful examination of their personal names: it was not until after the conquest of the region west of Jordan that they adopted the language of the subjugated Canaanites.” History confirms that the Hebrews had already changed their language once in early times. Why should it be thought incredible that they would later change it again, as Isaiah 28:11 foretold? Barnes Notes says, “God says that he will teach them, but it should be by another tongue – a foreign language in a distant land.”
One of the lessons to be learned in their sojourn in a distant land was that they were to be God’s ambassadors to spread true religion throughout the earth. We read this promise in Isaiah 49:6, “And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Nations, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” There was indeed a reason for Israel’s prophetic change of language. What better way could there be to reach the world’s unevangelized nations than utilizing a language used or understood by most of mankind! What was that new language?
Professor Max Mueller’s genealogical table of the Indo-European family of languages includes old Armenian, among whom a significant portion of Israel was mingled and lost; while other Israel exiles went to Indo-European Media (2 Ki. 17:6; 1 Chron. 5:26). In the British Museum a monument of Tiglath-Pileser, Ephraim’s conqueror, reads: “There fell into my hands altogether, between the commencement of my reign and my fifth year, forty-two countries and their kings. I brought them under one Government; I placed them under the Magian religion.” (BOI 27:244) The Magian religion was monotheistic and their language Indo-European, in contrast to the Semitic language and polytheism that Israel had assimilated to a large extent in the land of Canaan. The latter days would therefore find Israel with a new name—not known as Israel, a new religion—monotheism, a new language—Indo-European, and engaged in world-wide evangelism.are the people exhibiting these “marks of Israel” in the world today?
Barnes Notes (Isa. 28:13) says, “They would be carried away to a distant land, and long abide among strangers; they would have ample time there to acquire instruction.” Israel was to have a new language, and it would of practical necessity be Indo-European, the language of the Medes among whom they lived and acculturated during the “ample time” they were there in exile. All of this was according to the Divine plan of God’s hand in history. As a result, a seemingly outlandish prediction of over a century ago has proven to be quite visionary. The Age Journal, Melbourne, Australia, November 22, 1902, reported, “Statisticians tell us that by the end of the present [20th] century our mother tongue will be spoken by 600 million human beings, and that it contains within itself the promise and the potency of becoming the universal language of mankind. Today [1902] it is the daily speech of upwards of 130 million, so that the foregoing estimate is more likely to be under than over the mark. So impressive a fact as this seems to connote that the race which speaks this dominant language must become in time the paramount people of the globe.”
The Concordant Literal Version of Deuteronomy 28:1 says, “…Yahweh your Elohim will give you supremacy over all the nations of the earth.” (KJV: “high above”). In fact, today the English language is spoken as a first or second language in virtually every land on earth. Most Bibles and Gospel literature are in the English language now spoken by the latter-day House of Israel, seen spiritually reborn as a Christian people in Hosea 1:11 as the Amplified Version clarifies: “Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel [for the spiritually reborn Israel, a divine offspring, the people whom the Lord has blessed.] [Isa. 11:12, 13; Ezek. 37:15-28.]”
The Kelly Commentary summarizes, “The ten tribes were swept away at an early day, and later on the two tribes were carried to Babylon, whence emerged only an inconsiderable remnant of Judah. The prophecy therefore has not yet been accomplished; and that which has not been must be fulfilled. Surely no canon of interpretation can be surer or plainer than this. Scripture cannot be broken: the word of God must be verified sooner or later. The end of this age is the ripe season for making good the bulk of prophecy. Therefore, the one question here is whether anything has occurred really and fully corresponding with these judgments to fall on the ten tribes…” We answer, yes indeed, it is certain that Isaiah’s prophecy has been perfectly fulfilled!
