Who is the figure coming from Edom in Isaiah 63:1? Canonical Passage “Who is this coming from Edom, in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah—this One who is glorious in His apparel, striding in the greatness of His strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’” (Isaiah 63:1) Immediate Literary Setting Isaiah 63:1–6 closes the “Servant / Anointed Conqueror” section begun in Isaiah 59:15b–21 and developed through chapters 60–62. The speaker of verse 1 is an observing sentinel; the answer comes from the approaching Warrior. Verses 2-6 describe His trampling of the nations and His singular role in redemption. Historical-Geographical Backdrop Edom lay south-southeast of Judah; Bozrah, its principal city (modern Buseirah, Jordan), has yielded Late Iron Age fortifications, Edomite inscriptions, and cultic high places confirming an established Edomite kingdom in Isaiah’s era. Excavations (e.g., Khirbat en-Nahas copper mines) demonstrate Edom’s 13th–8th-century B.C. activity, matching the prophet’s chronological context and validating the text’s historical realism. The Warrior-Redeemer Motif in Isaiah Isaiah presents a single Servant-Messiah who: 1. Suffers (ch. 53), 2. Proclaims Jubilee (61:1-3), 3. Returns in glory to judge (63:1-6). The crimson garments answer the blood of the nations, contrasting the earlier crimson sins washed white by grace (1:18). Retribution and redemption are two phases of the same Messianic mission. Old Testament Intertextuality • Genesis 49:10-12 pictures Judah’s ruler with garments washed in wine—proto-imagery for Isaiah 63. • Psalm 60:8; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah 8-10 brand Edom as a perennial enemy, making Edom an apt representative of all anti-Yahweh powers. • Isaiah 34’s “sword bathed in heaven” over Edom is recapitulated here. Early Jewish and Patristic Interpretation Second-Temple writings (e.g., 1 Enoch 90:19) apply the blood-sprinkling conqueror motif to the awaited Messiah. Church Fathers—Justin Martyr (Dial. 40), Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 4.33.10), and Augustine (Civ. Dei 18.32)—consistently identify Isaiah 63’s figure with Christ in His second advent. New Testament Fulfillment in Christ Revelation 19:11-16 explicitly mirrors Isaiah 63: • Rider’s robe “dipped in blood” (v. 13) parallels crimson garments. • He “treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God” (v. 15) quotes Isaiah 63:3 LXX verbatim. • Title “King of kings” affirms messianic royalty (cf. Isaiah 9:6-7). Hebrews 1:8-12, quoting Psalm 102 alongside Isaiahic language, equates the enthroned Son with Yahweh, eliminating any possibility that the Conqueror is merely angelic. Systematic Identification: The Divine-Messiah, Jesus Christ 1. He declares exclusive righteousness and salvific power—attributes Isaiah elsewhere reserves for Yahweh alone (45:21-22). 2. He acts solo (63:3,5), prefiguring the Christus Victor theme: only Christ’s atonement successfully “treads” sin, death, and hostile powers (Colossians 2:15). 3. The same Person who “speaks in righteousness” (first advent proclamation) now “tramples in wrath” (second advent judgment), maintaining scriptural coherence (John 5:22-27). Prophetic Timeline Alignment A straightforward reading harmonizes: creation (Genesis 1), fall, Abrahamic covenant (ca. 2000 B.C.), Exodus (1446 B.C.), monarchy, exile, first coming of Christ (ca. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30), church age, yet-future return depicted in Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19. The young-earth framework places Isaiah’s prophecy roughly 2,700 years after creation, underscoring the precision of God’s redemptive chronology. Concise Answer The figure “coming from Edom” in Isaiah 63:1 is the Lord Jesus Christ—Yahweh incarnate—appearing as the victorious Warrior-Messiah at His future return to judge evil and consummate salvation. |
    |