Isaiah 66:7 (WEB)
“Before she travailed, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a son.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Isaiah 66:7 (KJV)
Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.
Key words
- בְּטֶרֶם תָּחִיל יָלָדָהbeterem tachil yaladah · Hebrew
- 'before she travailed, she brought forth' — a birth that comes before any labour pain.
- זָכָרzakar · Hebrew
- 'a man child' — a male son. The Septuagint has arsen (ἄρσεν), the same word Revelation 12:5 uses for the Woman's 'male child.'
Why it matters
Zion gives birth without labour pains. Pitre reports that ancient Christians such as Irenaeus and Gregory of Nyssa took this as fulfilled in Mary's painless birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, a sign of the new creation reversing the curse of Genesis 3:16. The very same Fathers taught that her true birth pangs came later, at the cross, where she brought forth the children of God in sorrow.
Fathers and councils · 3
John Damascene
“For, as pleasure did not precede it, pain did not follow it, according to the prophet who says, Before she travailed, she brought forth, and again, before her pain came she was delivered of a man-child.” — editor's note: Is. lxvi. 7.
Read the whole comment
Justin Martyr
“Be glad, all ye that mourn for her, that ye may suck and be filled with the breast of her consolation, that having suck ye may be delighted with the entrance of His glory.’ ”” — editor's note: Isa. lxvi. 5–11.
Read the whole comment
Jerome
“Before Sion travails she brings forth children, and a nation is born at once.” — editor's note: Isa. lxvi. 7, 8.
Read the whole comment
Cross-references · 3
Cited together in Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 85.
Cited together in Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 85.
Cited together in Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 85.