Shear-jashub

Biblical Record

Shear-jashub is named only once in Scripture, in Isaiah 7:3. When Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, joined forces to threaten Judah, King Ahaz and his people were greatly afraid. God then commanded Isaiah to go out with his son Shear-jashub and meet Ahaz "at the end of the conduit of the upper pool." There Isaiah delivered the message that the threat posed by the two kings would not come to pass (Isaiah 7:4–9).

Scripture says nothing about his age, his later life, or his death. He appears in the narrative less because of anything he did than because of the meaning carried by his name.

Significance in Scripture

The name Shear-jashub (Hebrew She'ar Yashuv) means "a remnant shall return." Isaiah declared that his children were signs and portents (marks foreshadowing what was to come) in Israel: "Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel" (Isaiah 8:18). Isaiah's other son, Maher-shalal-hash-baz (meaning "the spoil comes speedily"), was named in the same vein (Isaiah 8:1–4).

The same expression reappears in the prophecy of Isaiah 10:20–22: "The remnant shall return." This passage is regarded as a key text for the remnant theme that runs throughout the Book of Isaiah.

The New Testament does not mention Shear-jashub by name. However, Romans 9:27 quotes Isaiah 10:22 in stating that a remnant of Israel shall be saved, and Hebrews 2:13 applies the words of Isaiah 8:18, "Behold I and the children which God hath given me," to Christ.

Interpretation and Debate

• The tone of the name: Some interpret the name as a warning of judgment ("only a remnant will return"), while others read it as a promise of hope ("yet a remnant will return"). Many scholars hold that it carries both meanings.
• The meaning of "return": The Hebrew verb shuv can mean both returning to a place and turning back to God (repentance). The name can therefore be read either as a prophecy of return from exile or as a call to repent and turn to God.
• Relation to the Immanuel prophecy: Because the Immanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 follows in the same chapter, views differ on how Isaiah's children relate to it. Christian tradition, following Matthew 1:22–23, reads the prophecy as a messianic prophecy concerning Jesus Christ. Some scholars hold that the prophecy was first fulfilled in Isaiah's own day. The view that Shear-jashub himself was Immanuel, however, has not gained wide acceptance.

In the Korean Church

Korean churches refer to him as "Seualyasup" (스알야숩), the spelling used in the New Korean Revised Version. He is rarely the main subject of a sermon. He is usually mentioned, along with the meaning of his name, in sermons and Bible studies on Isaiah 7 or on faith in the "remnant."