Shear-jashub

Overview

• Testament: Old
• Role: Son of the prophet Isaiah; a living sign-name to the house of David
• Family: Son of Isaiah; brother of Maher-shalal-hash-baz
• Key Books: Isaiah

Biography

Shear-jashub appears once by name, but at a decisive moment. When the LORD sent Isaiah to meet King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis — as Aram and Israel besieged Jerusalem — Isaiah was told to take his son with him: “Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son” (Isaiah 7:3). The boy’s presence was itself part of the message. His name means “a remnant shall return,” a compressed prophecy carried in a child: however severe the coming judgment, God would preserve and bring back a remnant of his people. He stands alongside his brother Maher-shalal-hash-baz (“speed the spoil, hasten the prey”) as one of Isaiah’s children who, as the prophet says, are “for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 8:18).

Key Events

• The Remnant — Shear-jashub’s name embodies the remnant promise Isaiah proclaimed; he accompanied his father to confront Ahaz (Isaiah 7:3)

Relationships

• Isaiah — his father, the prophet who named him as a walking sign
• Ahaz — the king to whom Isaiah brought his son and the sign of the remnant

Important Verses

• Isaiah 7:3 — “Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shearjashub thy son.”
• Isaiah 8:18 — “Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel.”

Cross-References

• Mentioned in: Isaiah

Notes

Shear-jashub is a striking example of prophecy embodied in a person: his name holds together both judgment and hope. “A remnant shall return” can be read as warning (only a remnant) or as promise (a remnant will indeed return), and Isaiah’s ministry sounds both notes at once. The remnant theme his name announces runs through the rest of the book and into the New Testament’s teaching on the faithful remnant preserved by grace.