Isaiah 44:5

One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another {e} shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand to the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel. (e) By this diversity of speech he means one thing, that is, that the people will be holy, and receive the true religion from God, as in Ps 87:5.

5. The third clause answers in parallelism to the first, the fourth to the second. I am the Lord's—(Jer 50:5; 1Co 6:19, 20; 2Co 8:5). call himself by the name of Jacob—The Gentiles (as the result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Israel, the Lord's "seed," first) shall join themselves to the children of Jacob, in order to worship their God (compare Isa 43:7; Ps 49:11). Or, "calls," that is, invokes and celebrates the name of Jacob, attaches himself to his nation and religion [Maurer], (Ps 24:6). subscribe … hand unto … Lord—in solemn and public covenant, pledging himself to God's service (compare Ne 9:38), before "witnesses" (Heb 12:1), after the manner of a civil contract (Jer 32:10, 12, 44). So the Christian in the sacraments [Barnes]. Literally, "shall fill his hand with letters (Ex 32:15; Eze 2:10) in honor of Jehovah"; or "shall write upon his hand, I am Jehovah's" (compare Isa 49:16; Re 13:16); alluding to the puncture with ink on the hand, whereby a soldier marked himself as bound to his commander; and whereby the Christians used to mark themselves with the name of Christ [Lowth]. The former view is simpler. surname himself … Israel—Maurer and Gesenius interpret this as the Hebrew sanctions, answering to their rendering of the parallel second clause, "calls blandly (speaks in honorable terms of) the name of Israel." Retaining English Version, we must, from the Hebrew understand it thus, "Surname himself by the honorable name of Israel" (Isa 45:4).

5 . The result of the Divine blessing manifested in Israel’s restoration will be that foreigners shall attach themselves as proselytes to the Jewish community. The promise therefore goes far beyond ch. Isaiah 43:5-7 . It is perhaps barely possible (with Dillmann) to understand this verse also of Israelites by birth, in the sense that they shall esteem it an honour to belong to their own nation; but this is certainly unnatural and scarcely to be reconciled with the second and fourth members of the verse. call himself by the name of Jacob ] The words, strictly rendered, would mean “call on the name of Jacob.” It simplifies the construction greatly if, with Duhm, we vocalize this verb (as well as the last verb of the verse) as a passive:—“shall be called” etc. subscribe with his hand unto the Lord ] Rather: inscribe his hand ‘To Jehovah .’ The allusion is to the practice of branding slaves with the name of their owner, or perhaps to the religious custom of tattooing sacred marks on the person ( Leviticus 19:28 ). See Ezekiel 9:4 ; Galatians 6:17 ; Revelation 7:3 ; Revelation 13:16 . surname himself (or better be surnamed , see above) by the name of Israel ] The verb is connected etymologically with an Arabic word kunya , although it is used here in a wider sense.

The kunya is a sort of household name, which consists in designating a man as the father of a particular child; thus in Nimmer ibn Koblân Abû Faris (N., son of K., father of F.) the last title is the kunya . (Seetzen, Reisen , Vol. ii., p. 327.) Besides this, however, the Arabs make great use of honorific titles, like Nûr-eddîn (“Light of the Religion”) etc.; and it is in a sense corresponding to this that the Heb. verb is always used; cf. ch. Isaiah 45:4 and esp. Job 32:21 f. (A.V. “give flattering titles”). The meaning, therefore, is that in addition to their personal names the proselytes will adopt the name of Israel as a title of honour. Cf. Psalm 87:4 f.

Verse 5. - One shall say, I am the Lord's , etc. There shall be an influx of proselytes. Instead of the heathen nations looking scornfully on, and uttering gibes and jeers ( Psalm 137:7 ) at Israel's fall, on seeing Israel's rise they shall be anxious to have a part in it, and shall hasten to enrol themselves among the worshippers of Jehovah. "One shall say, I am Jehovah's," - while "another shall proclaim the name of Jacob," as that in which he glories; and a third "shall write on his hand, (I am) Jehovah's, and take as a surname the name of Israel." It was usual among the heathen nations to mark the name of a god upon the bodies of persons specially devoted to him (Herod., 2:113; 7:235); and, though the practice was forbidden to Israelites ( Leviticus 19:28 ), it might naturally continue in use among semi-heathen proselytes. Isaiah 44:5

(5) One shall say, I am the Lord’s. —The words paint, like Psalm 87:4-5 , the eagerness of heathen proselytes to attach themselves to Israel. The forms of adhesion rise in emphasis: (1) the convert declares himself to belong to Jehovah; (2) he calls upon the name of Jacob; (3) he writes upon his hand, To Jehovah!—brands himself, as it were, as His servant (comp. Ezekiel 9:4 ), as showing that the prohibition of idolatrous marks ( Leviticus 19:28 ) did not exclude this; and see also Revelation 7:3 ; Revelation 9:4 ; (4) he takes the name of Israel in addition to his own as a title of honour. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary44:1-8 Israel is here called Jeshurun, which means the upright one. Such only are Israelites indeed, in whom is no guile. Those that serve God he will own. He will help them over difficulties, and in their services. Water is the emblem of the Holy Spirit; as water refreshes, cleanses, and makes the earth fruitful, so do his influences the soul. This gift of the Holy Ghost is the great blessing, the plentiful pouring out of which God kept for the latter days. Where God gives his Spirit, he will give all other blessings. Hereby shall be a great increase of the church; thus it shall be spread to distant places. Was there any other Rock, or Protector, that could defend them? None besides could foretell these things to come, of which God by his prophets gave notice. All was set in order in the Divine predictions, as well as in the Divine purposes.

Could any other have done so? Who can compare with Israel's Redeemer and King?Barnes' Notes on the BibleOne shall say - It shall be common to say this, or a profession of religion shall be common. The various expressions in this verse mean substantially the same thing - that there should prevail among the people a disposition to make a profession of attachment to Yahweh in every proper public manner. It is in immediate connection with what is said in the previous verses, that he would pour his Spirit upon them, and especially on their children. The effect would be, that many would make a public profession of religion. This refers, doubtless, in the main, to the period after their return from the captivity, and to the general prevalence of religion then. But it is also true of the people of God at all times - especially under the Messiah. God pours his Spirit like gentle dews, or rains, on the families of his people; and the effect is, that many publicly profess attachment to him.I am the Lord's - I belong to Yahweh; I devote myself to him. This expresses the true nature of a profession of religion - a feeling that we are not our own, but that we belong to God. It is, that we not only feel that we are bound to worship him, but that we actually belong to him; that our bodies and spirits, and all that we have and are, are to be sacredly employed in his service (see 1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).