Isaiah 6:1

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 6:1 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
Isaiah 6:1 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 6

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“In the year that King Uzziah died, &c.] Which was the fifty second year of his reign, and in the year 3246 from the creation of the world; and, according to Jeromf108, was the year in which Romulus, the founder of the Roman empire, was born: some understand this not of his proper death, but of his being stricken with leprosy, upon his attempt to burn incense in the temple; upon which he was shut up in a separate house, which was a kind of a civil death: so the Targum, “in the year in which King Uzziah was smitten;” that is, with leprosy; and so Jarchi and others interpret it, from the ancient writers; but the first sense is the best. Some, as Aben Ezra, would have this to be the beginning of…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“VISION OF JEHOVAH IN HIS TEMPLE. (Isa 6:1-13) In . . . year . . . Uzziah died--Either literal death, or civil when he ceased as a leper to exercise his functions as king [Chaldee], (Ch2 26:19-21). 754 B.C. [CALMET] 758 (Common Chronology). This is not the first beginning of Isaiah's prophecies, but his inauguration to a higher degree of the prophetic office: Isa 6:9, &c., implies the tone of one who had already experience of the people's obstinacy. Lord--here Adonai, Jehovah in Isa 6:5; Jesus Christ is meant as speaking in Isa 6:10, according to Joh 12:41. Isaiah could only have "seen" the Son, not the divine essence (Joh 1:18). The words in Isa 6:10 are attributed by Paul (Act 28:25-26) to…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“In the year - This naturally denotes a period after the death of Uzziah, though in the same year. The mention of the time was evidently made when the prophecy was composed, and it is to be presumed that the death of Uzziah had occurred at the time when the prophet saw this vision. If so, it is clear that this was not the first of his prophecies, for he saw his visions ‘in the days of Uzziah;’ Isaiah 1:1. The Chaldee, however, reads this: ‘in the year when Uzziah was smitten with the leprosy;’ and most of the Jewish commentators so understand it; 2 Chronicles 26:19-20. The rabbis say that the meaning is, that he then became “civilly” dead, by ceasing to exercise his functions as a king, and…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“I saw - In a vision. The Lord - The Divine Majesty as he subsisteth in three persons. His train - His royal and judicial robe; for he is represented as a judge. Isaiah 6:2”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“6:1-13 Isaiah’s marvelous vision of God as King on his throne served as a pivotal event in the life of the prophet. The historical circumstances surrounding this event can be interpreted in two ways: (1) Some see ch 6 as Isaiah’s original call to ministry, meaning that chs 1–5 and 7–12 fit into the reign of Ahaz, who came to rule after the death of Uzziah (6:1). If this were so, why was Isaiah’s call not at the beginning of the book? Perhaps his call was put in ch 6 for literary reasons, serving as a conclusion to chs 1–5 and an introduction to chs 7–12. The prophet’s own transformation and commissioning symbolizes the entire nation’s need for conversion if it wants to fulfill its mandate to…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“am 3245, bc 759 the year: Kg2 15:7, Azariah, Ch2 26:22, Ch2 26:23 I saw also: Exo 24:10, Exo 24:11; Num 12:8; Eze 1:1, Eze 1:25-28; Joh 1:18, Joh 12:41; Ti1 6:16 sitting: Isa 66:1; Kg1 22:19; Eze 10:1; Dan 7:9; Mat 25:31; Rev 3:21, Rev 4:2, Rev 4:10, Rev 5:1, Rev 5:7; Rev 6:16, Rev 7:15-17 high: Isa 12:4, Isa 57:15; Psa 46:10, Psa 108:5, Psa 113:5; Eph 1:20, Eph 1:21 his train: or, the skirts thereof filled: Kg1 8:10, Kg1 8:11; Rev 15:8 Isaiah 6:2”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“The time of the occurrence here described, viz., "the year that king Uzziah (Uzı̄yahu) died," was of importance to the prophet. The statement itself, in the naked form in which it is here introduced, is much more emphatic than if it commenced with "it came to pass" (vay'hi; cf., Exo 16:6; Pro 24:17). It was the year of Uzziah's death, not the first year of Jotham's reign; that is to say, Uzziah was still reigning, although his death was near at hand. If this is the sense in which the words are to be understood, then, even if the chapter before us contains an account of Isaiah's first call, the heading to chapter 1, which dates the ministry of the prophet from the time of Uzziah, is quite…”
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Sources and verification