Isaiah 57:15’s declaration of Yahweh’s compassion for the lowly is memorable, and a good bit of its power comes from the structural and rhetorical patterning of the verse. It begins with a standard prophetic “thus says,” but quickly deviates from expectation. The speaker is not Yahweh or Yahweh of hosts or the God of Israel but a speaker identified as ram wnissa’ , “high and lifted.” The elaborate introduction of Yahweh emphasizes His exalted majesty, reinforced with a neat pattern of repetitions:
A. High ( ram , from rum ) and lifted
B. He dwells ( shakan ) forever
C. Holy ( qadosh ) His name
A’. High ( marom , from rum )
C’. Holy ( qadosh )
B’. I dwell ( shakan )
Halfway through this introduction, Yahweh takes over as speaker, though we don’t know that until we get to the second use of shakan , in the first-person singular. A declaration about Yahweh imperceptibly becomes personal address from Yahweh, and at that point the text takes another unexpected turn.
After six or seven phrases/words emphasizing Yahweh’s height, He suddenly declares that He dwells not only in a “high and holy” place but “with the contrite and the lowly of spirit.” The latter half of the verse is neatly symmetrical:
A. And with the contrite
B. And the lowly of spirit
B’. To revive the spirit of the lowly
A’. And to revive the heart of the contrite.
The pattern is even more intricate because the words of B/B’ section are arranged chiastically: lowly/spirit/to revive/spirit/of lowly.
This isn’t a statement of omnipresence. It’s not just a statement that Yahweh is everywhere, both high and low, in heaven and in the depths of Sheol. It’s a statement about where the high and exalted and holy one is determined to dwell. He makes His mishkan , His tent, among the downtrodden. And He pitches His tent there to bring new life to low spirits and contrite hearts. This isn’t a statement of omnipresence but incarnation, the great good news that the Holy One is God with and for us. He comes to those crushed to powder and dust, and breathes new life into them.
