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Isaiah 10:27 English Standard Version

And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”

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Here is my very literal translation of Isa 10:27 -

And it shall com to pass in that day his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because [of] the oil.

Almost all version try to interpret this verse by translating the last phrase with something like:

  • NIV: because you have grown so fat.
  • BSB: because your neck will be too large
  • KJV: because of the anointing
  • CSB: because your neck will be too large
  • ISV: because you've become obese
  • YLT: because of prosperity

None of these words actually exist in the Hebrew.

The key to understanding this verse is the context begun in V12 where Isaiah utters a prophecy about:

  1. The destruction of Assyria and its army in one day (V16, 17, 25, etc)
  2. the survival of the remnant of Israel after Assyria's menace (V20, 21, etc)

The "remnant" will be saved because God loves them as His special people. The oil is a reference to Israel being anointed and chosen of God. Note the comments of Benson -

The yoke shall be destroyed, because of the (oil, unction, or) anointing — That is, out of regard to the holy unction, which God had established among his people. Or, for the preservation of the priesthood and kingdom, priests and kings being both initiated into their offices by the ceremony of anointing. The Jews, therefore, and some others, apply this to Hezekiah, who was the anointed of the Lord, an active reformer, and very dear to God, and in answer to whose prayers, as we read, (Isaiah 37:15,) God gave this deliverance. But possibly it might be better understood of David, who is often mentioned in Scripture by the name of God’s anointed; and for whose sake God gave many deliverances to the succeeding kings and ages, as is expressly affirmed 1 Kings 11:32; 1 Kings 11:34. And, which is more considerable, God declares that he would give this very deliverance from the Assyrian for David’s sake, 2 Kings 19:34; 2 Kings 20:6. But the Messiah is principally intended, of whom David was but a type; and who was in a particular manner anointed above his fellows, as is said Psalm 45:7.

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  • +1 This makes a lot of sense. Messianic connections in the Old Testament make me happy. I think you could really strengthen your argument if you actually quoted some of the several passages where this word is used precisely in an anointing context, especially that of David.
    – Austin
    Aug 7, 2021 at 14:58
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    + 1 because very useful. However, I'm beginning to think that "fat" may be original intent. Not in the sense of unhealth obesity but of richness.
    – Dan Fefferman
    Nov 6, 2022 at 16:22
  • +1 @DanFefferman for mentioning "fat" can be interpreted as "richness" which can infer to mean "financially wealthy". Furthermore, it might a bit of a stretch but we could deduce that being "financially wealthy" could have made Judah sort of militarily strong enough to revolt or rebel against Assyria at the time of Isaiah 10:27 being declared.
    – user1338998
    Jun 3, 2023 at 15:46
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I’m under the impression that this is simply a corruption in the Hebrew text.

Answers that try to explain the text from the NT occurrences of the word “fat” or "oil" are to me non-starters because the NT authors were all Greek speakers and their “Bible” was the Greek translations, which read like this:

Brenton Septuagint Translation [Isaiah 10:27] And it shall come to pass in that day, that his yoke shall be taken away from thy shoulder, and his fear from thee, and the yoke shall be destroyed from off your shoulders.

The DSS has this, though:

[Isaiah 10:27] It will happen in that day, that his burden will depart from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing oil.

See also:

[Isa 9:4 NLT] (4) For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor's rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian.

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The word שמן means simply oil and fat. Anointing is a very odd translation because that’s a totally different word in Hebrew.

Yoke is a token of forced labor or slavery.

Being fat was a sign of prosperity and abundance. Hence, abundance shall cancel slavery. When the God of Israel deals with our enemies and bless his people.

It’s a common Christian mistake to adjust the biblical text to match Christian theology. That’s how you end up confused over simple statement like this.

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    – agarza
    Nov 26, 2021 at 1:25
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One interpretation must be rejected at the outset, namely that of "fatness" in the sense of unhealthy obesity. As @Dottard points out, the context is that Assyria's yoke will one day be broken. However, I do not think that "fat" in the sense anointing oil is correct either because in that case the yoke would slip off rather than breaking.

The best interpretation would therefore carry the connotation wealth. Anointing is also a possibility since Isaiah often speaks of Judah/Israel being restored due to its status as God's chosen one. However, here, the idea of wealth makes even more sense since the yoke does not slip off but breaks because of the figurative ox's neck has grown too large. The problem is that for us moderns, being so fat can't be a good thing. For the ancients, a strong, fat ox was infinitely preferable to a scrawny one.

I'd recommend using the word "fat" with an asterisk or adding a modifier in brackets -- something like this

  • The yoke will be torn away because you have grown so fat [wealthy].
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  • Several commentaries I consulted agree with you, such as ESV Study Bible: "Rather than being subdued under the yoke of Assyria, Israel will break the yoke by the fatness of its neck, just like a healthy ox." and Nelson's commentary: "The meaning of anointing oil here is uncertain. If it means “fat,” the image may be of a strong, fattened ox breaking its yoke."
    – GratefulDisciple
    Nov 7, 2022 at 23:51
  • Strong's says שֶׁמֶן shemen, sheh'-men; from H8080; grease, especially liquid (as from the olive, often perfumed); figuratively, richness:—anointing, × fat (things), × fruitful, oil(-ed), ointment, olive, pine. I think the figurative meaning makes the most sense here, given the verb חָבַל [destroyed] to describe what happens to the yoke.
    – Dan Fefferman
    Nov 8, 2022 at 0:04
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I think it doesn't matter if other translations say fat or anointing. If you read the whole chapter, you'll understand that the verse actually describes or shows the power that Israel will poses.

Truth be told, the yoke cannot be broken by being fat, but when we talk about being anointed, yes, the yoke definitely will break because now we are talking about the power of God or the power of the anointing.

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His burden shall be taken off your shoulders. And his yoke from off your neck and it (Your neck shall be healed, because of the anointing oil that is prayed over. 🙏 )

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When the the Word is interpreted too literally it usually ends up void of power black words on white paper, lifeless and incapable of conveying the power of God through His Living Word

In my opinion,The anointing oil conveys the power of God while fatness diminishes the intention of the Holy Spirit.

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