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Isaiah 58:7 New American Standard Bible 1995

7 (a) “Is it not to divide your bread [a]with the hungry (b) And bring the homeless poor into the house; (c) When you see the naked, to cover him; (d) And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Isaiah 58:7 New King James Version

7 (a) Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, (b) And that you bring to your house the poor who are [a]cast out; (c) When you see the naked, that you cover him, (d) And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Isaiah 58:7 English Standard Version

7 (a) Is it not to share your bread with the hungry (b) and bring the homeless poor into your house; (c) when you see the naked, to cover him, (d) and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

58:7

The Westminster Leningrad Codex

7 הֲל֨וֹא פָרֹ֤ס לָֽרָעֵב֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וַעֲנִיִּ֥ים מְרוּדִ֖ים תָּ֣בִיא בָ֑יִת כִּֽי־תִרְאֶ֤ה עָרֹם֙ וְכִסִּית֔וֹ וּמִבְּשָׂרְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תִתְעַלָּֽם׃

It would be interesting to delve into the contextual meaning behind

Isaiah 58:7(d) And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/58-7.htm

Many of the commentaries on biblehub seem to suggest that said verse is stating that one should Not hide oneself from

  1. Either kinship as in blood relatives
  2. Or the more general view of people belonging to mankind

Could someone please read the Hebrew translation of Isaiah 58:7 , and provide an exegesis on Isaiah 58:7(d) ?

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Ellicott offers this remark:

From thine own flesh.—Usage, as in Genesis 29:14; Nehemiah 5:5, leads us to refer the words primarily to suffering Israelites, but those who have learnt that “God hath made of one blood all the nations of the earth” (Acts 17:26) will extend its range to every form of suffering humanity.

Jesus also answered the OP's question when He told the story of the good Samaritan - one's neighbor is anyone in need.

Thus, hiding from one's own flesh is, in this context, ignoring the needs of the needy, whether immediate family or anyone else.

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The idea here is that one should clothe the naked and not turn away (hide oneself) from one's "own flesh" in the sense of one's own "flesh and blood." But this is not limited to one's relatives alone. It is meant to be seen through the lens of the teaching of Leviticus 19:34:

You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself.

Seen this way, hiding oneself from his own flesh signifies turning away from one's neighbor, including foreigners.

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Leviticus 20:4 shows what the Hebrew idiom is talking about. Here in this chapter it mentions the sin of a man sacrificing their children to molech, and that this sin should not go unpunished - nor should anyone ‘hide their eyes from this man’ …. The idiom is basically saying don’t hide yourself (don’t turn your eyes away) from your own sins - look in the mirror and confront your sin, Seek forgiveness, & turn away from the sin. We often see others sins clearly but forget to examine our own selves, ‘hiding from our own flesh’ the sins that so easily entangle us. You will see that right before this saying in Isaiah 58 , ‘you shall cover the naked’ - considering nakedness as a display of sin seen in the prophets, here too the Lord is saying to cover their sins and not put them on display. Cover them pray for them and loose them from their sin so they too would be covered. Yes the passage can also mean clothing - but there is a much deeper spiritual meaning that matters more than clothing that the Lord wants us to see.

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  • As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. Commented Feb 6 at 19:17
  • Relevant, clear, and insightful, with a thoughtful interpretation of the phrase. It could be further improved with additional textual analysis to support the argument along with scholarly citations. This site can have a steep learning curve. Please note that this forum is unique in that it emphasizes the importance of substantiating any claims with specific scriptures, expert opinions, contextual analysis, historical sources, logical reasoning, etc. Also, you can edit your answer to include these things and any new supporting evidence you come across. Commented Feb 10 at 8:46
  • By the way, welcome Lisa. We are glad you are here. Please take a moment to take the site tour and check out what we are looking for in answers and the FAQs. We're passionate about high quality answers. Also consider going through the Help Center's sections on asking and answering questions. Commented Feb 10 at 8:47

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