"A Scent" of the Spirit: Exegesis of an Enigmatic Verse (Isaiah 11:3)

While Jews and Christians might offer differing interpretations of Isaiah as a religious text, both would agree on the intense beauty and power of its poetry. Translating the meanings and subtle nuances of a poetic work written in ancient Hebrew can present formidable obstacles to linguists and biblical scholars alike. One such passage that has traditionally represented an interpretive challenge is the first three Hebrew words of Isa 11:3, והריחו ביראת יהוה. Outside of scholarly discourses on Hebrew texts, this verse is seldom translated literally because scholars tend to view its meaning as having been irreparably obscured by time, as well as by language and cultural changes.

Most interpreters have traditionally employed various techniques to render the text meaningful both to the phrase in question and to the verse as a whole. In this article I will review the various interpretive approaches used by scholars over the centuries to derive spiritual meaning from this challenging passage.

I. Literal Interpretations

Isaiah 11 opens with the emergence of a shoot out of the stem of Jesse, and the prophecy continues with "the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him" (KJV). This is a completely passive act related to the "shoot of Jesse." The textual imagery then progresses to the highly active performance of slaying the wicked with the breath of his lips (v. 4). In this respect, the word והריחו stands as a transition between the active and passive acts. The dilemma arising from the form והריחו (which is a hiphil infinitive construct with pronominal suffix) is whether is derives from the noun רוּחַ ("spirit," "wind") or from the noun רֵיחַ ("smell," "scent"). The former derivation fits perfectly with the occurrence of the word רוּחַ in this context (see v. 2: four times). But if this is the case, then this verbal derivative would be a hapax legomenon. On the other hand, the latter derivation of והריחו (from רֵיחַ) is well attested in Biblical Hebrew in the hiphil form (ten times). Moreover, it constitutes, together with the remainder of v. 3, the three senses: smell, sight, and hearing. The main question for scholars is how to deal with this word (והריחו) in a meaningful context. In English, for example, the "scent/smell" of perfume is often called the perfume's "essence"; in this case, "scent/smell" and "essence" are synonyms. Translating the phrase והריחו ביראת יהוה as "and essence in fear of God will fill him" is a literal interpretation of "scent/smell" with profound implications, because the word "essence" can also mean the ultimate or elemental nature of a thing or being. Thus, the intrinsic meaning of such a translation would be "and his elemental nature in fear of God will fill him." However, such a literal, English-linked interpretation has not hitherto been used.

Interpreters who view the use of "scent/smell" as linguistically and textually incomprehensible, tend to omit the word and render the phrase thus: "and he will fear God (ויירא יהוה). Other interpreters have taken the position that "the scent/smell" (הריח) is actually a copyist error that crept into the MT during its compilation. Some have even speculated as to what the original Hebrew word was, and offered minor orthographic emendations to correct והריחו to something more intelligible, such as (i) "and shall shine forth" (והזריחו),¹ (ii) "saturated him" (והרוהו),² (iii) "instructed him" (והרהו),³ (iv) "was guided" (והנחהו),⁴ (v) "benefited from" (והרוחו),⁵ (vi) "he will reprove him" (והוכיחו) (underlined Hebrew letters indicate emendations made by some biblical commentators). Some interpreters view the first three Hebrew words of v. 3 as a reiteration or even as corrupt dittography of the preceding verse and, therefore, disregard them.⁶ Such attempts to correct purported copyist errors seem unfounded,⁷ however, in view of the fact that the MT of Isaiah has been validated as being substantively in agreement in the verse under discussion with the great Isaiah text of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsa^a), which dates from approximately 100 B.C.E. and is the oldest known copy of the book of Isaiah.⁸ Therefore, at least from this date, the text can be accepted.

II. Figurative Interpretations

Ancient translations, such as the Septuagint...