The Great Isaiah Scroll, the best preserved of the biblical scrolls found at Qumran from the second century BC, contains all the verses in this chapter.
Isaiah 48 is the forty-eighth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the ChristianBible. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets. Chapters 40-55 are known as "Deutero-Isaiah" and date from the time of the Israelites' exile in Babylon. According to John Skinner, this chapter, which is "largely a recapitulation of certain outstanding themes of the prophecy", consists of "exhortations addressed to the exiles in the near prospect of deliverance".[1]
The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[4] Isaiah 48 is a part of the Consolations (Isaiah 40–66). {P}: open parashah; {S}: closed parashah.
Hear ye this, O house of Jacob,
which are called by the name of Israel,
and are come forth out of the waters of Judah,
which swear by the name of the Lord,
and make mention of the God of Israel,
but not in truth, nor in righteousness.[5]
The community of Israel is accused of falsity in their commitment to YHWH and appears to be the cause of complaint in this passage.[6]
Deliverance Promised to Israel {48:12–22)
Verses 20–21
The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split open the rock and the water gushed out.[7]