Replies

From: Isaiah 62:1-5

Names of the new Jerusalem

[1] For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
[2] The nations shall see her vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
which the mouth of the Lord will give.
[3] You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
[4] You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate.
but you shall be called My delight is in her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
[5] For as a young man marries a virgin,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

62:1-2. The new city of Jerusalem is now explicitly named; it is “Zion” (v. 1). It
will be praised in this new hymn placed on the prophet’s lips, in which he plays
poetically with the names given the city. The depiction of Zion as the spouse of
the Lord became popular among prophets from Hosea onwards.

The first stanza (vv. 1-9), addressed to the city, describes the new situation that
awaits her in terms of a series of names: no one will any longer feel alone or un-
protected, for God has shown Jerusalem the tenderness of a young husband (he
calls her “My delight and “Married”: v. 4). The advantages that derive from spou-
sal covenant can be seen (as in Hosea: cf. Hos. 2:11-15) in metaphors to do with
rich harvests (vv. 8-9).

The second stanza (vv. 10-12), spoken to those living in the city, is an exhorta-
tion to be prepared for when the Saviour will enter in glory in the last days (vv 10-
11; cf. 40:3). The poem ends (v. 12) with further plays on the names given the
city and its inhabitants.

Since the sixth century, Christian tradition has used this poem in the liturgy of
Christmas Day. The birth of Jesus has brought about the joyful union of God and
mankind in a way that surpasses that described in terms of spousal union. A
monk of the Middle Ages makes this beautiful comment: “Like the bridegroom
who comes out of his chamber the Lord came down from heaven to dwell on earth
and to become one with the Church through his incarnation. The Church was ga-
thered together from among the Gentiles, to whom he gave his dowry and his
blessings — his dowry, when God was made man; his blessings, when he was
sacrificed for their salvation” (Fausto de Riez, “Sermo 5 in Epiphania”).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.