As yet shall he remain at Nob that day: he shall shake his hand against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

ISAIAH 10:32KJV
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Isaiah 10:32 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 10:32 mean?

Isaiah 10:32 pictures an Assyrian enemy pausing close to Jerusalem and making a threatening gesture toward the city. The verse brings the enemy’s advance to a point where Jerusalem is directly in view and under threat.

After the place names in verse 31, Nob marks another stage in the approach. The gesture is aimed at “the mount of the daughter of Zion,” a way of referring to Jerusalem and its people.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 10:32

  • “shake” — נוּף (nuf): This word can mean to wave or brandish. With the hand directed against Jerusalem, the gesture suggests a threat.
  • “daughter” — בַּת (bat): This word means a daughter, but can also be used as part of a name for a city and its people. “The daughter of Zion” speaks of Jerusalem as a community, rather than identifying one woman.

Why Isaiah 10:32 matters

  • The threat is aimed at Jerusalem itself. “The mount of the daughter of Zion” and “the hill of Jerusalem” point to the same city in two closely related phrases.
  • The hand gesture is part of a larger picture of Assyrian pride. Earlier in the passage, the Assyrian king speaks of his own strength and wisdom as the reason for his victories (Isaiah 10:13).
  • The pause at Nob comes just before a sharp change in the picture. In verse 33, the Lord is pictured cutting down the lofty growth, an image that answers the threat and pride in the passage.

Where else these words appear

“Nob” Hebrew H5011 · used in 6 verses

  • 1 Samuel 21:1 Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee?
  • 1 Samuel 22:9 Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub.
  • 1 Samuel 22:19 And Nob, the city of the priests, smote he with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword.

“shake” Hebrew H5130 · used in 35 verses

  • Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.
  • Leviticus 14:24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD:
  • Deuteronomy 27:5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

“hill” Hebrew H1389 · used in 69 verses

  • Genesis 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
  • Psalms 65:12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
  • Jeremiah 13:27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it once be?