Lexical Summary ud: To bear witness, to testify, to warn, to admonish Original Word: אוּד Strong's Exhaustive Concordance firebrand From an unused root meaning to rake together; a poker (for turning or gathering embers) -- (fire-)brand. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition a brand, firebrand NASB Translation brand (1), firebrand (1), firebrands (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs אוּד noun masculine brand, fire-brand (originally perhaps bent stick used to stir fire) מֻצָּל מִשְּׂרֵפָה ׳א Amos 4:11 = מֵאֵשׁ ׳מ ׳א Zechariah 3:2, plural זַנְבוֺת הָאוּדִים הָעֲשֵׁנִים Isaiah 7:4, stumps of smoking firebrands. Topical Lexicon Imagery and symbolism The word אוּד paints the picture of a charred stick—charred enough to smoke, yet not reduced to ash. It is something that has felt the heat of judgment but has been spared complete destruction. In Scripture the image evokes three complementary ideas: (1) impending danger or judgment, (2) miraculous preservation by the covenant-keeping LORD, and (3) the call to repentance or renewed consecration that follows rescue. Occurrences in the prophetic writings Isaiah 7:4 employs the metaphor politically: the “two smoldering stubs of firewood” stand for the coalition of Aram and the northern kingdom, threatening Judah yet already burning out under God’s sovereignty. Amos 4:11 personalizes the image: “You were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you have not returned to Me”. Israel survives catastrophe—comparable to Sodom and Gomorrah—only to persist in rebellion. Zechariah 3:2 moves from nation to individual, depicting Joshua the high priest as “a brand plucked from the fire”. He represents the post-exilic community, rescued from exile but still needing cleansing. Historical setting and literary development 1. Syro-Ephraimite crisis (Isaiah 7). King Ahaz trembles before larger powers; God calls the hostile kings mere smoldering stubs, reminding Judah that the real danger is unbelief, not foreign armies. Theological themes Preservation of a remnant: Each passage underscores divine commitment to keep a remnant alive for His redemptive purposes. Judgment tempered by mercy: The stick is scorched; justice is real. Yet it is not consumed; mercy triumphs. Priestly and messianic hope: Zechariah 3 links the delivered brand to priestly cleansing, foreshadowing the ultimate High Priest who will “remove the iniquity of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:9). Call to repentance: Survival without repentance is hollow. The imagery urges hearers to respond before the flame rekindles. Intertextual echoes Zechariah’s scene feeds into Jude 1:23, where believers are urged to “save others, snatching them out of the fire,” extending the אוּד motif to gospel mission. The pattern—rescued to rescue—runs through Scripture, climaxing in the cross where the righteous One endures the fire of judgment on behalf of the brands He redeems. Ministry application • Assurance for the nearly ruined: However intense previous judgments, God specializes in retrieving lives that appear too charred for use. Summary אוּד crystallizes the gospel pattern inside the Old Testament: a people or person threatened by consuming fire, graciously plucked out, and commissioned to live in covenant faithfulness. The charred brand testifies that judgment is real, mercy is greater, and God’s redemptive plan cannot be quenched. Forms and Transliterations א֖וּד אוד הָאוּדִ֛ים האודים כְּא֖וּד כאוד ’ūḏ hā’ūḏîm hā·’ū·ḏîm hauDim kə’ūḏ kə·’ūḏ keUd udLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 7:4 HEB: מִשְּׁנֵ֨י זַנְב֧וֹת הָאוּדִ֛ים הָעֲשֵׁנִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה NAS: of smoldering firebrands, on account of the fierce KJV: of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce INT: two stubs firebrands of smoldering of these Amos 4:11 Zechariah 3:2 3 Occurrences |
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