Egypt’s promises are worthless! Therefore, I call her Rahab— the Harmless Dragon.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Egypt helps in vain, and to no purpose; therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still.
- KJV For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Their strength is to sit still.
- BSB Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.
- NKJV For the Egyptians shall help in vain and to no purpose. Therefore I have called her Rahab-Hem-Shebeth.
- NASB Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called her “Rahab who has been exterminated.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Egypt's help is empty and useless, so God names her 'Rahab who sits still.' It matters because the mighty ally is exposed as all bluster and no action.
Overview
The LORD declares Egypt's aid vain and gives her a mocking title, Rahab (a name for a proud sea-monster) who merely 'sits still'—all reputation, no rescue. Egypt looks fearsome but will do nothing. The verse strips away the illusion of human power, redirecting trust to the God who truly acts to save His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 2:22Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
- Lam 3:26It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
- Isa 31:1–5Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they don’t look to the Holy One of Israel, and they don’t seek Yahweh!
- Ps 118:8–9It is better to take refuge in Yahweh, than to put confidence in man.
- Hos 5:13“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.
- Isa 7:4Tell him, ‘Be careful, and keep calm. Don’t be afraid, neither let your heart be faint because of these two tails of smoking torches, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and of the son of Remaliah.
- Exod 14:13Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again.
- Isa 51:9Awake, awake, put on strength, arm of Yahweh! Awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Isn’t it you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the monster?
- Isa 28:12to whom he said, “This is the resting place. Give rest to weary”; and “This is the refreshing”; yet they would not hear.
- Jer 37:7“Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
- Isa 30:15For thus said the Lord Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, “You will be saved in returning and rest. Your strength will be in quietness and in confidence.” You refused,
- Ps 76:8–9You pronounced judgment from heaven. The earth feared, and was silent,
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 30:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.