Holy One of Israel

Alec Motyer ( The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary ) observes that “Isaiah is the prophet of holiness.  In the Isaianic literature the adjective ‘holy’ ( qadosh ) is used of God more frequently than in all the rest of the Old Testament taken together.”  That’s intriguing in itself: Ezekiel would seem to be the most priestly of the major prophets, but Isaiah gives him a run for his money.

In a footnote, Motyer tallies up the stats: Yahweh is called “holy” “thirty-three times in Isaiah compared with twenty-six times in the rest of the Old Testament.”  Those numbers look familiar.  33 is the number of years David ruled in Jerusalem.  33 uses of “Holy One of Israel” conjures up the rule of David, appropriate for a prophet so concerned about the death and resurrection of the city.

From the perspective of the Song of Songs, the numbers are even more interesting.  33 is the number of times that “beloved” ( dod ) is used in the Song of Songs, 26 the number of times “beloved” is used with a first-person suffix ( dodi ).   Dod has the same consonants as the named “David.”  And, as I pointed out in a post a few weeks ago, 26 is also the numerical value of the name “Yahweh.”  Outside Isaiah, the numerology of “Holy One” points to the name Yahweh, who is the Holy One; within Isaiah, though, the numerology points to a “divine Messiah” motif, a hint of a divine-human David.