Isaiah 7:8

“For the head of Syria [is] Damascus, &c.] Damascus was the metropolis of Syria, the chief city in it, where the king had his palace, and kept his court; of which (see Gill on “<011502>Genesis 15:2”) (see Gill on “<440902>Acts 9:2”): and the head of Damascus [is] Rezin; he was king of it, as of all Syria; the meaning is, that Syria, of which Damascus was the principal city, was the only country that Rezin should govern, his dominion should not be enlarged; and Ahaz, king of Judah, might assure himself that Rezin should never possess his kingdom, or be able to depose him, and set up another; and as for Ephraim or Israel, the ten tribes, they should be so far from succeeding in such a design…”

“head--that is, in both Syria and Israel the capital shall remain as it is; they shall not conquer Judah, but each shall possess only his own dominions. threescore and five . . . not a people--As these words break the symmetry of the parallelism in this verse, either they ought to be placed after "Remaliah's son," in Isa 7:9, or else they refer to some older prophecy of Isaiah, or of Amos (as the Jewish writers represent), parenthetically; to which, in Isa 7:8, the words, "If ye will not believe . . . not be established," correspond in parallelism. One deportation of Israel happened within one or two years from this time, under Tiglath-pileser (Kg2 15:29). Another in the reign of Hoshea,…”

“For the head of Syria - The “capital.” The “head” is often used in this sense. Is Damascus - For an account of this city, see the notes at Isaiah 17:1; compare the notes at Acts 9:2. The sense of this passage is, ‘Do not be alarmed as if Rezin was about to enlarge his kingdom, by taking Judea and making Jerusalem his capital. The revolution which these kings contemplate cannot be accomplished. The kingdoms of Syria and Israel shall not be enlarged by the conquest of Judah. The center of their power shall remain where it is now, and their dominion shall not be extended by conquest. The capital of Syria is, and shall continue to be, Damascus. The king of Syria shall be confined within his…”

“Damascus - Damascus shall still continue the capital of the kingdom of Syria; and therefore Jerusalem shall not become a part of Rezin's dominion: but he shall keep within his own bounds, and be king of Damascus only. Isaiah 7:9”

“7:8 The Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal had Israel resettled with people from other places within sixty-five years (by 670 BC; see 2 Kgs 17:24-34). • Damascus was crushed and completely destroyed by 732 BC, and Samaria was crushed by 722 BC.”

“For the head: Dr. Jubb transposes the former part of Isa 7:9, and renders, "Though the head of Syria be Damascus; and the head of Damascus Retzin; and the head of Ephraim be Samaria; and the head of Samaria Remaliah's son; yet within threescore and five years Ephraim shall be broken, that he be no more a people." This renders the passage perfectly clear; and the prophecy received its full accomplishment when Esarhaddon carried away the remains of the ten tribes. Sa2 8:6 within: Isa 8:4, Isa 17:1-3; 2Kings 17:5-23; Ezr 4:2 that it be not a people: Heb. from a people, Hos 1:6-10 Isaiah 7:9”

“"For head of Aram is Damascus, and head of Damascus Rezin, and in five-and-sixty years will Ephraim as a people be broken in pieces. And head of Ephraim is Samaria, and head of Samaria the son of Remalyahu; if ye believe not, surely ye will not remain." The attempt to remove Isa 7:8, as a gloss at variance with the context, which is supported by Eichhorn, Gesenius, Hitzig, Knobel, and others, is a very natural one; and in that case the train of thought would simply be, that the two hostile kingdoms would continue in their former relation without the annexation of Judah. But when we look more closely, it is evident that the removal of Isa 7:8 destroys both the internal connection and the…”