Intertextuality Pair

Luke 2:34 → Isaiah 8:14-15

Allusion

Later text

Luke 2:34BSB

Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

Earlier text

Isaiah 8:14-15BSB

And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare. Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured."

Significance

Simeon declares that Jesus is "appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against" (Luke 2:34), directly evoking Isaiah 8:14-15 where Yahweh himself will become "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (eben negep uĕ-ṣûr mikšôl). Isaiah 8 depicts the LORD as simultaneously sanctuary and stumbling stone, and the New Testament repeatedly applies this dual function to Jesus (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). Simeon's prophecy is striking in its early placement: before Jesus has spoken a word or performed a miracle, the aged prophet announces his divisive destiny. The verb translated "appointed" (keimai, "is set") echoes the deliberate divine purpose behind the Isaianic stone — not accidental offense but covenantal confrontation. Those who trust in him rise; those who reject him fall.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Promise-Fulfillment + Longitudinal Theme

▸ A Stone of Stumbling

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