Isaiah 63:2
Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The "redness" of the apparel isn't just a visual detail; it’s a deliberate image comparing God’s triumphant return to the stained garments of someone who has been treading grapes in a winepress. This highlights that God's victory is not a conventional battle, but a forceful crushing of His enemies under His wrath.
The prophet Isaiah is witnessing a vision of someone returning from a distant land, described as "red in his apparel." This isn't just a simple question about clothing; it's a profound inquiry into the meaning behind this striking imagery, following the immediate preceding verses where God's actions and power are described. The vivid metaphor of treading in a winepress, with its implied blood-splattered garments, sets the stage for God's powerful declaration of judgment and redemption that follows.
Imagine a triumphant warrior returning from battle, their clothes stained and colored by the struggle. The prophet Isaiah poses this very image, but the subject isn't just any warrior; it's the Lord Himself.
The question, 'Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treads in the winepress?' isn't just about a striking visual. It's a theological statement.
The Imagery of the Winepress
The prophet doesn't just ask why the garments are red, but also from where this victorious figure comes. The answer carries significant weight.
The passage strongly suggests that this triumphant figure is returning from Edom, specifically the city of Bozrah. This is no random detail; it's laden with meaning.
The Significance of Edom
Understand the original words
gat · Hebrew Noun
A common biblical metaphor for divine judgment. The imagery depicts the crushing of grapes as a picture of God pouring out His wrath upon those who oppose Him or His people.
The vivid imagery of stained garments, like those of a wine-press worker, powerfully symbolizes God's triumphant, yet costly, victory over His enemies, assuring His people of His protective power and eventual vindication, especially in the context of their return from Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of their nation.
c. 740 BC
Isaiah's Prophetic Ministry Begins
Isaiah begins his prophetic ministry in Judah, during a time of political upheaval and approaching Assyrian dominance.
Late 8th Century BC
Assyrian Empire's Dominance
The Assyrian Empire, under rulers like Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II, exerted significant military and political pressure on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
c. 701 BC
Sennacherib's Invasion of Judah
The Assyrian king Sennacherib invades Judah, besieging Jerusalem. While Jerusalem is miraculously spared, many other Judean cities are destroyed.
586 BC
Babylonian Conquest of Jerusalem
The Neo-Babylonian Empire, under Nebuchadnezzar II, destroys Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling much of the population to Babylon.
This passage describes Christ returning with a name written on His robe and thigh, 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords,' and clothed in a robe dipped in blood, directly echoing the imagery of Isaiah's vision of stained garments.
Revelation 14:19-20Here, an angel swings his sickle to harvest the grapes of the earth, and their juice is trodden in the great winepress of God's wrath, directly paralleling Isaiah's imagery of treading the winepress and the resulting red garments.
Genesis 49:11This verse speaks of Judah binding his foal to the choice vine and his donkey to the choicest stock, washing his garments in wine and his covering in the blood of grapes, which offers a precursory image of bloody garments associated with a fruitful, though violent, outcome.
Isaiah 63:3The immediate continuation of Isaiah's vision clarifies the meaning, stating 'I have trodden down the peoples in my anger... and their blood has spurted on my garments,' explicitly linking the red garments to divine judgment and wrath against His enemies.
Ezekiel 25:12-17This passage details God's judgment against Edom for their perpetual enmity and vengeance against Israel, showing a historical precedent for the divine wrath directed at Edom that Isaiah's vision seems to allude to and expand upon.
gillIsaiah 63:2: "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"
Wherefore art thou red in thy apparel,.... Christ having satisfied the church as to her first question, concerning his person, who he was; she puts a second to him, about the colour of his garments, which was red, and the reason of it. His garments at his transfiguration were white as snow, whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten them; his robe of righteousness is fine linen, cle…
pulpitIsaiah 63:2: "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?"
Verse 2. - Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel? The prophet resumes his questioning. What means the redness of thine apparel? Whence the stains? Are they wine-stains consequent on treading the winepress? Among the Hebrews, as among the Egyptians (Wilkinson, 'Ancient Egyptians,' vol. 1. p. 46), the juice of the grape was trodden out by the feet of men, who often splashed some upon…
The "redness" of the apparel isn't just a visual detail; it’s a deliberate image comparing God’s triumphant return to the stained garments of someone who has been treading grapes in a winepress. This highlights that God's victory is not a conventional battle, but a forceful crushing of His enemies under His wrath.
The prophet Isaiah is witnessing a vision of someone returning from a distant land, described as "red in his apparel." This isn't just a simple question about clothing; it's a profound inquiry into the meaning behind this striking imagery, following the immediate preceding verses where God's actions and power are described. The vivid metaphor of treading in a winepress, with its implied blood-splattered garments, sets the stage for God's powerful declaration of judgment and redemption that follows.
The prophet Isaiah is witnessing a vision of someone returning from a distant land, described as "red in his apparel." This isn't just a simple question about clothing; it's a profound inquiry into the meaning behind this striking imagery, following the immediate preceding verses where God's actions and power are described. The vivid metaphor of treading in a winepress, with its implied blood-splattered garments, sets the stage for God's powerful declaration of judgment and redemption that follows.
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c. 540 BC
Rise of the Persian Empire
Cyrus the Great unites the Medes and Persians, establishing the Persian Empire, which would eventually conquer Babylon.
c. 539 BC
Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylon
Cyrus the Great captures Babylon, opening the way for the return of Jewish exiles to their homeland.
c. 538 BC— this verse
Edict of Cyrus and Jewish Return
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to Judah and rebuild their Temple. This marks the beginning of the post-exilic period.
"Why is your apparel red, and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?" — The "redness" of the apparel isn't just a visual detail; it’s a deliberate image comparing God’s triumphant return to the stained garments of someone who has been treading grapes in a winepress. This…
