Scriptural Mormonism: Notes on Isaiah 40:8

Isa 40:8 is a passage that some pop-level Protestant apologists and critics of the Church abuse to support Sola Scriptura and/or perfect (or at least near-perfect) preservation of the biblical texts. However, this is eisegesis. As one conservative Protestant wrote against this naïve interpretation:

[T]here is a difference between the Word of God, which is eternal (Psalm 119:89, 152, 160), and the Bible, which is not. The Bible is the Word of God written. If one were to destroy one paper Bible, or all paper Bibles, he would not have destroyed the eternal Word of God. One such example is given in Jeremiah 36. The prophet was told by God to write His words in a book, and to read it to the people. Wicked king Jehoiakim, not comfortable with what had been written, had the written Word destroyed. God then told the prophet to write the Word down again. The king had destroyed the written Word, but he had not destroyed God's Word. God's Word is eternal propositions that find expression in written statements. (W. Gary Crampton, By Scripture Alone: The Sufficiency of Scripture [Unicoi, Tenn.: The Trinity Foundation, 2002], 156; this book was endorsed by Dr. Robert L. Reymond, a “heavy-hitter” in Reformed theology)

Notice the following sampling of commentaries (ranging from liberal to conservative) on Isa 40:8 that echo this sentiment:

40:6-8

⁶A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower in the field. ⁷The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people is grass. ⁸The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.

The prophet hears a voice telling him to announce the futility of all humanity in the face of the eternal word of God. At the time, Babylon seemed to be a mighty human power and tiny Israel appeared to be in a hopeless situation because of its obvious defeat and smallness. However, the Lord assures the prophet that all human beings fade like grass and that God’s word determines history. A scan of history indicates that every great empire has been destroyed and has faded into obscurity. Until nineteenth-century explorers and archaeologists from Christian lands learned to read ancient languages, the literature of these great civilizations was lost. However, the Word of God was proclaimed throughout them and continues its spread, and will do so long after modern philosophers have become footnotes to history. (Mitchell Pacwa, Commentary on the Book of Isaiah: An In-Depth Look at the Gospel of the Old Testament [Gastonia, N.C.: TAN books, 2023], page 214 of Kindle edition)

In this second instance the seer is told to proclaim or preach (the term preferred by Smart 50, following Luther) the message that, expressed in many different ways, is at the heart of biblical prophecy: the transforming power of the prophetic word (“the word of our God”) contrasted with, or pitted against, the political powers and principalities, which appear to be indestructible but are in reality impermanent. In this sense, at least, the seer can be considered the heir of Isaiah of Jerusalem.

But the message is not a vague, moralizing statement about human frailty, as the combination “grass” and “flower” might suggest (cf. Ps 37:2; 90:5–6; 103:15), and even less is it a lament for the helpless situation of the Babylonian diaspora from which the seer is speaking. It takes aim at the Neo-Babylonian Empire, then under terminal threat from the victorious progress of Cyrus II. It therefore prepares for the (literally) central theme of chs. 40–48—namely, a new impulse delivered to the stalled historical process with the commissioning of Cyrus as the instrument of Yahveh’s designs for his people. (Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40-55: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary [AYB 19A; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008], 183-84)

The voice contrasts the weakness of men with the power of Yahweh. The fierce blast of the desert wind withers vegetation when it is prolonged; the change from life to death is sudden and unexpected, and it is no wonder that biblical writers have so often seen in the desert wind an image of the judgments of God. Man is no more enduring than grass; the only enduring reality is his experience of the word of Yahweh. The “word” here is used in the pregnant sense usual in Hebrew—the word and the deed it signifies are taken as a single reality. It is not only the spoken word of Yahweh, but the deed it accomplishes which has enduring reality. Man cannot annul Yahweh’s word. (John L. McKenzie, Second Isaiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes [AYB 20; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008], 18)

In this context the divine “word” specifically refers to his decreed promise assuring Jerusalem that her suffering is over and his glorious return imminent (vv. 1–5). (Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes [Biblical Studies Press, 2006] Is 40:8)

The explanation of the striking simile commences with ’âkhēn (surely); and then in the repetition of the words, “grass withereth, flower fadeth,” the men are intended, resemble the grass and the flower. Surely grass is the human race; such grass withereth and such flower fadeth, but the word of our God (Jehovah, the God of His people and of sacred history) yâqūm l^e’ōlâm, i.e., it rises up without withering or fading, and endures for ever, fulfilling and verifying itself through all times. This general truth refers, in the preset instance, to the word of promise uttered by the voice in the desert. If the word of God generally has an eternal duration, more especially is this the case with the word of the parousia of God the Redeemer, the word in which all the words of God are yea and amen. The imperishable nature of this word, however, has for its dark foil the perishable nature of all flesh, and all the beauty thereof. The oppressors of Israel are mortal, and their chesed with which they impose and bribe is perishable; but the word of God, with which Israel can console itself, preserves the fields, and ensures it a glorious end to its history. Thus the seal, which the first crier set upon the promise of Jehovah’s speedy coming, is inviolable; and the comfort which the prophets of God are to bring to His people, who have now been suffering so long, is infallibly sure. (Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, 10 vols. [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1996], 7:394)

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Whatsoever God hath said shall infallibly come to pass. (Matthew Poole, Annotations Upon the Holy Bible, 3 vols. [New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853], 2:413)

TDOT on קוּם:

1. God’s Decisions. An ancient wisdom schema juxtaposes the many plans and concerns of human beings with God’s will and intentions, the latter of which alone endure (Prov. 19:21; cf. 16:1, 9; 20:24; 21:30; Job 8:15; 22:28; 25:3 cj.).³⁸ A secondary wisdom addendum in Isa. 32:8 uses qwm qal + ʿal positively and parallel with yʿṣ qal to point out how the nāḏîḇ “stands by noble things,” the underlying idea probably being that of respect and success. By contrast, the alleged special relationship (b^erîṯ and ḥāzûṯ) between the wicked and death and Sheol will not stand when things get serious (Isa. 28:18 par. to kpr pual).

a. Prophetic writings sometimes apologetically ascribe such thoughts to God without adducing any concrete “speech”: “As I have designed, so shall it be; and as I have planned, so shall it come to pass” (qûm, Isa. 14:24b). God’s “word” never ceases to be; it stands (qûm) forever and is fulfilled (40:8). Hence Isaiah counters the enemies’ plan quite without supporting arguments: “It shall not stand (qûm), and it shall not come to pass (hyh)” (7:7; cf. 8:10). Jer. 28:6–7 summarizes formulaically the dispute concerning conflicting messages as dāḇār against dāḇār, a notion then developed more fundamentally and thoroughly in a messenger oracle: “They will know whose words will stand (qûm), mine or theirs!” (Jer. 44:28; cf. v. 29: “my words against you will surely be carried out [qôm yāqûmû]”; but cf. BHS and LXX). God’s anger will allegedly not deviate “until he has executed (ʿāśâ) and accomplished (hēqîm) the intents of his mind” (Jer. 23:20, suffixes referring to God; 30:24). A late oracle finds this demonstrated in the fall of Babylon, “for Yahweh’s purposes against Babylon stand (qûm)” (Jer. 51:29). According to the expansion in Ezk. 13:6b, those of Ezekiel’s colleagues whom Yahweh has not sent will wait in vain for Yahweh to fulfill their words (l^eqayyēm).

b. In Deutero-Isaiah (46:10b) two additional participial self-predications articulating God’s exclusivity and uniqueness are joined by the assertion, “My purpose (ʿēṣâ) shall stand (qûm), and I will fulfill (ʿākâ) my intention” (cf. without qwm in 41:21–26; 43:9–12; 44:7–8; 48:5). Despite a considerable number of related nouns and verbs to choose from, the only term Deutero-Isaiah uses with qwm is ʿēṣâ, a term he uses in a consistent fashion, only in the singular, and never in reference to individual events.

In a kind of definition, Nu. 23:19bβ asserts that God does not vacillate as do human beings. What he promises (ʾāmar), he does (ʿāśâ), and what he speaks (dibber), he fulfills (hēqîm) (cf. also Neh. 9:8; 1 S. 15:29; Isa. 31:2; Hos. 11:9). In substance this statement closely resembles the Dtr expression lōʾ nāp̱al dāḇār (Josh. 21:45; 23:14; 1 K. 8:56; influencing 2 K. 10:10; 1 S. 3:19; independently: Ps. 89:35[34]) and is probably associated with dynastic thinking (2 S. 7:25; 1 S. 3:12; 1 K. 6:12; 8:20).(J. Gamberoni, “קוּם,” in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, 17 vols. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2003), 12:598–599)

HALOT on קוּם:

—6. to endure, cf. qaÒmat Canaanite loanword in Mari, ARM 10: text 10:15: endures, see above; see also von Soden UF 1 (1969) 198; Römer AOAT 12 )1971( 26: 1S 13₁₄ 24₂₁ Am 7₂ Nah 1₆; דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים Is 40₈ Jr 44_28f; to remain valid )a vow, (נֵדֶר Nu 30₅.₁₂, the vow )made by a widow or divorcee( is binding upon her, with עַל, 30₁₀.

TDNT on μενω:

In the OT the abiding of God and the things and persons relating to God is of religious and theological significance. As distinct from the mutability and transitoriness of everything earthly and human, God is characterised by the fact that He endures. To speak also of eternity simply gives strength to the thought (ψ 9:7; 101:12). Perishing is partly a characteristic of what is earthly or less than divine (Is. 10:8; ψ 101:12), partly a consequence of divine judgment (Job 15:29; Ιερ. 26[33]:15; Da. 11:6). God is θεὸς ζῶν καὶ μένων εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. He is thus superior to false gods (Da. 6:27, קום). God’s counsel remains (Is. 14:24, קום), while all the plans of His enemies are bound to fail and to be broken by Him (ψ 32:11, עמד; Prv. 19:21; Is. 7:7, קום). His Word, especially His Word of address and promise, abides (Is. 40:8, קום). In eschatological expectation the wealthy among men, who perish, stand contrasted with the dominion of God, which endures (Da. 4:26, קים). The new heaven and the new earth will also remain (Is. 66:22, עמד). The new Jerusalem is the city which will know no destruction (Zech. 14:10, ישׁב). Divine wisdom remains, and will make all things new (Wis. 7:27). The righteous and their generation will share in God’s abiding (Sir. 44:13). Their δικαιοσύνη endures (ψ 111:3, 9). Their counsel stands in face of the ungodly (Is. 32:8, קום). (Friedrich Hauck, “Μένω, Ἐμ-, Παρα-, Περι-, Προσμένω, Μονή, Ὑπομένω, Ὑπομονή,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, 10 vols. [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1964–], 4:575)