{"id":64969,"date":"2019-10-30T16:59:29","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T14:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64969"},"modified":"2023-05-25T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T09:30:00","slug":"holy-holy-holy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/holy-holy-holy\/","title":{"rendered":"Holy Holy Holy!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[612,478,480],"acf":{"old_id":"64969","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"340","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Seeing, hearing and understanding the religious experience","content":"

Our chapter possesses several singular features. One, is that this is Isaiah\u2019s prophetic initiation. Another, is that it contains a description of the heavenly court and its attendant angels whose exchange of greetings (\u201choly, holy, holy,\u201d v. 3) is enshrined in the liturgical passage known as <\/span>kedushah<\/span><\/i> (holiness).<\/span><\/p>\n

The threefold repetition of \u201choly\u201d was the cause for some consternation in the Middle Ages since it was cited by Christians as support for the Trinity. Ibn Ezra adduced other textual evidence (Jer. 7:4, 22:29) to indicate that it represents frequent or constant repetition, while Radak equated the three instances of \u201choly\u201d with three realms: the supernal realm of angels and souls; the medial realm of planets and constellations; and the lower realm of our world. <\/span><\/p>\n

Malbim,* basing himself on the Aramaic Targum\u2019s rendition of the verse (\u201cHoly\u2014in heaven, His place of residence; Holy\u2014upon Earth, where His mighty deeds are performed; Holy\u2014forever and for all eternity\u201d), explained that God is holy in heaven because He has no form; Holy on Earth, because He is apart from matter; and Holy forever because He is excepted from absence.<\/span><\/p>\n

After his initiation, Isaiah was instructed to deliver the following message, which, according to some medieval exegetes, was also his very first prophecy:<\/span><\/p>\n

“And He said, \u201cGo, say to that people: \u2018Hear, indeed, but do not understand; See, indeed, but do not grasp.\u2019 Dull that people\u2019s mind, stop its ears, and seal its eyes\u2014 lest, seeing with its eyes and hearing with its ears, it also grasp with its mind, and repent and save itself\u201d (9-10).<\/span><\/p>\n

While other exegetes treated sight and sound here as parallel and, hence, repetitious, Malbim saw the sequence of sight, sound, and comprehension as highly suggestive:<\/span><\/p>\n

“First of all, we come to recognize the Creator through the sense of sight on account of His myriad deeds and creations. Then, by means of ongoing tradition [which is transmitted orally], and, finally, by intellectual proofs (cf. Isaiah 40:21)\u2026”<\/span><\/p>\n

These three ingredients\u2014sense perception, tradition, and reason\u2014are the standard medieval foundations of religious belief. Malbim implied that they have to be exercised in a particular order in order to produce the best results. Neither sense perception nor tradition is reliable without passing the test of reason.<\/span><\/p>\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64970,"id":64970,"title":"is6-holy-holy-holy","filename":"is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/holy-holy-holy\/is6-holy-holy-holy\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is6-holy-holy-holy","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64969,"date":"2019-10-30 14:59:15","modified":"2022-07-20 19:38:22","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":428,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-423x420.jpg","home_baner-width":423,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Holy Holy Holy!","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Seeing, hearing and understanding the religious experience","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":{"ID":64970,"id":64970,"title":"is6-holy-holy-holy","filename":"is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/holy-holy-holy\/is6-holy-holy-holy\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is6-holy-holy-holy","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64969,"date":"2019-10-30 14:59:15","modified":"2022-07-20 19:38:22","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":428,"height":425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","medium_large-width":428,"medium_large-height":425,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","large-width":428,"large-height":425,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","1536x1536-width":428,"1536x1536-height":425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","2048x2048-width":428,"2048x2048-height":425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy.jpg","post_full_size-width":428,"post_full_size-height":425,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/is6-holy-holy-holy-423x420.jpg","home_baner-width":423,"home_baner-height":420}},"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64969"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65462,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64969\/revisions\/65462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}