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 . . . . Continue Reading »
“Of whom were you anxious and whom did you fear when you lied and did not remember me or set me on your heart? Was I silent for a long time so you do not fear me?” Thus Yahweh asks through his prophet Isaiah (57:11). It’s a sharp insight into psychology of sin. Fear induces . . . . Continue Reading »
As the Angel of death went through Egypt, Israelites were protected because of the blood on the doorposts and lintels of their houses (Exodus 12:7, 22-23). Once Israel settled in the land, they were to post the Torah on their doorposts, not only a memorial of Sinai but a permanent memorial of . . . . Continue Reading »
God’s authority empowers. Does ours? . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 57:7 contains a neat and tiny theory of sacrifice. It’s set up in a parallel structure: A. On a mountain high and lifted up B. You set your bed A’. Even there B’. you ascended to sacrifice. Or a little chiasm: A. On a mountain high and lifted up B. You set your bet . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah (or Yahweh) issues an ironic invitation to “draw near” (57:3). It’s an invitation to liturgical approach ( qarab , regularly used in Exodus and Leviticus), immediately undercut by the identification of Israel as “sons of the diviner, seed of adulteress and . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 57:1 is a convoluted sentence in Hebrew, beginning and ending with the same word ( tsadiq , “righteous one”) and stuttering all along the way. But the parallel of the first two clauses makes an essential point clear: A. The righteous one perishes B. And there is no man unto heart . . . . Continue Reading »
In his recently published Paul and the Synagogue: Romans and the Isaiah Targum , Delio DelRio attempts to explain the force of Paul’s unique phrase “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). He explores the use that Paul makes of Isaiah, and the interpretation of the prophecy found in the . . . . Continue Reading »
Yahweh is going to bring a day of vengeance and recompense on behalf of Zion, Isaiah prophesies (Isaiah 34). He will take up Zion’s complaint, her case ( rib ) against the Edomites, and will devastate that nation. Nothing is left standing when the Lord’s sword has finished its slaughter . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 53 is not just about the trials and death of the Messiah. It’s also about the exaltation/vindication of the Messiah and the contrite acknowledgment of the Messiah by the people who had rejected Him. It’s not just about the cross but about the resurrection and ascension, and about . . . . Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
