HEBREW WORD STUDY – NEW THINGS CHADESH חדשׁ
Isaiah 52:4: “Behold the former things have come to pass and new things do I declare, before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
In the literal meaning what Isaiah is saying is that now that his prophecies of the past have come to pass, then what he is about to say should also come to pass. This is God speaking through Isaiah and He is giving an illustration of how He operates.
The word declare is negad and means to tell or speak out in clear and straightforward terms. The word is in a Hiphil participle form, so he is presently declaring a new thing and he is making it very clear as to what this new thing will be. The words new thing in Hebrew is chadesh which means to restore and/or renew.
The 19th Century Jewish linguist and Hebrew master Rabbi Samson Hirsch saw a relationship between the word chadesh and ‘atash which means to sneeze. Perhaps it has to do with the ancient belief that when you sneeze you are blowing out evil spirits. But more than likely the ancients believed as we do today that a sneeze is eliminating something from your body that doesn’t belong there. The fact that chadesh is also in a Hiphil form suggest an excitement or anticipation on the part of God. In other words it is God’s sense of anticipation that is declaring this new thing or this new relationship with Him will be purified of all that does not belong in out relationship with Him.
As I said this is an illustration on how God operates. I sense many Christians are waiting and anticipating something new to come into their spiritual life. I believe Isaiah 52:4 is meant to show us that once He removes ‘atash sneezes out that which is not compatible with Him, He will then introduce you to that new thing He has planned.
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