Maher-shalal-hash-baz

Maher-shalal-hash-baz, meaning "swift is booty, speedy is prey," was the symbolic name given to Isaiah's son.

Maher-shalal-hash-baz was the name given to the son of the prophet Isaiah. The name, which means "swift is booty, speedy is prey," was a prophetic message about the impending Assyrian invasion of Syria and Israel. God instructed Isaiah to write this name on a large scroll and have it witnessed by reliable people. When Isaiah's wife, the prophetess, conceived and gave birth to a son, God commanded Isaiah to name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz. The child's name was a sign that before he would be old enough to say "father" or "mother," the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria would be carried away by the king of Assyria (Isa.8.1, 3).

Plunder speedeth; spoil hasteth, (Isa. 8:1-3; comp. Zeph. 1:14), a name Isaiah was commanded first to write in large characters on a tablet, and afterwards to give as a symbolical name to a son that was to be born to him (Isa. 8:1, 3), as denoting the sudden attack on Damascus and Syria by the Assyrian army.