Maher Shalal Hash baz
“Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey”
Summary
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, the longest name in the Bible meaning 'swift is the booty, speedy is the prey,' was a prophetic name given to Isaiah's son as a sign that Assyria would soon plunder Damascus and Samaria.
☩The Prophetic Sign
The Lord commanded Isaiah to write this name in large characters upon a tablet with ordinary letters that all could read, then to give it as a name to a son born to him by 'the prophetess.' The name was a prophecy: before the child would know how to say 'My father' and 'My mother,' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away by the king of Assyria. This prophecy was fulfilled when Tiglath-pileser III conquered Damascus in 732 BC and carried away Samaria's wealth.
☩Significance
This child, like his brother Shear-jashub ('a remnant shall return'), served as a living prophetic sign to King Ahaz and the nation of Judah. While Judah feared the alliance of Syria and Israel against them, Isaiah's sons embodied God's message: the enemies would be destroyed, but Judah itself would face Assyrian invasion before eventual restoration. Some scholars connect this child with the prophecy of Immanuel in Isaiah 7:14, seeing them as related signs of both judgment and deliverance.
Related Verses1 mention
Isaiah· 1 verse
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Maher-shalal-hash-baz," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.George Morrish, "Mahershalalhashbaz," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Mahershalalhashbaz," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).