How I found Hephzibah
While researching Isaiah’s family, I began to notice the name “Hephzibah” again, this time in Isaiah’s prophecy describing the restored Jerusalem. As a young believer, I remember thinking this odd. Why would Isaiah use the name of Judah’s queen to personify the glorified city of Jerusalem? Many years later, while scouring rabbinic literature about Isaiah’s life, I discovered that Isaiah’s daughter Hephzibah is well documented in Jewish tradition. When I kept in mind that Hephzibah was Isaiah’s only daughter, this Scripture took on new meaning. The words Yahweh gave Isaiah to speak over Jerusalem become even more tender when we realize they were given by the Father to Hephzibah’s father to describe restoration in such loving terms.
Zibah’s (Hephzibah’s) Journey
Zibah, called Ishma in her early years, is the fictional expression of Isaiah’s daughter. Some have asked if her adoption was fact or fiction. It was completely fiction. Nothing in Jewish tradition pointed to adoption, but I felt it was necessary for Zibah to experience that level of desolation spoken of in Isaiah 62 so she could realize the full restoration she experienced when Yahweh answered in such miraculous ways. Zibah seeks security and peace throughout the book, hoping to find it in a place, a thing, a person, a role. Ultimately, she reaches the conclusion that many of us spend our whole lives seeking: our only peace comes by focusing on eternal things rather than this temporary life we lead.
Reader Takeaway
What I hope readers take away is this. Our only true security rests in the eternal love and life Jesus provides. And when we get confused or discouraged in our faith, all we do know about Him can help us trust Him for all we don’t know about Him.
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