The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary
The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary The Prophet and His Day: Isaiah 1-39 - Free Bible Commentary
Also note that the Babylon of Hezekiah’s visitors is not the same Babylon that caused the fourexiles. Much of Isaiah’s poetry is ambiguous enough to relate to1. Assyria2. Babylon3. Neo-Babylon4. end-time events} “shall be taken away” This happened to King Jehoiachin (cf. II Kgs. 24:15).} “officials” The term (BDB 710) literally means “eunuchs,” but it came to refer to high court officials(cf. Potiphar was married, Gen. 39:1). In this context the term must refer to1. a token symbol of Babylonian power2. a ward of the state39:8 “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good” This is a startling statement. It eithermeans that Hezekiah realizes his pride was the source of God’s just judgment and, therefore, is fair, or itmay imply, as in v. 8b, that he is just glad that the judgment will not occur in his day. Some scholarshave asserted that the reason for the king’s happiness is that this means he will have a son.DISCUSSION QUESTIONSThis is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretationof the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priorityin interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this sectionof the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.1. How is this concept of trust related to the Assyrian official’s haunting message in Isaiah 36 and37?2. Did Hezekiah pay tribute to Assyria and did he have a military alliance with Egypt?3. Why is Isaiah 37:20 so significant?4. Why does God give two signs to Hezekiah?5. Why is Hezekiah judged so severely for showing the Babylonian officials his treasure?375
APPENDIX ONEINTRODUCTION TO HEBREW POETRYI. INTRODUCTIONA. This type of literature makes up 1/3 of the Old Testament. It is especially common in the“Prophets” (all but Haggai and Malachi contain poetry) and “Writings” sections of the Hebrewcanon.B. It is very different from English poetry. English poetry is developed from Greek and Latinpoetry, which is primarily sound-based. Hebrew poetry has much in common with Canaanitepoetry. There are no accented lines or rhyme in Near East poetry (but there is a beat).C. The archaeological discovery north of Israel at Ugarit (Ras Shamra) has helped scholarsunderstand OT poetry. This poetry from the 15 th century B.C. has obvious literary connectionswith biblical poetry.II.GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POETRYA. It is very compact.B. It tries to express truth, feelings or experiences in imagery.C. It is primarily written not oral. It is highly structured. This structure is expressed in:1. balanced lines (parallelism)2. word plays3. sound playsIII. THE STRUCTURE (R. K. Harrison, Introduction To The Old Testament, pp.965-975)A. Bishop Robert Lowth in his book, Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (1753) wasthe first to characterize biblical poetry as balanced lines of thought. Most modern Englishtranslations are formatted to show the lines of poetry.1. synonymous - the lines express the same thought in different words:a. Psalm 3:1; 49:1; 83:14; 103:13b. Proverbs 19:5; 20:1c. Isaiah 1:3,10d. Amos 5:24; 8:102. antithetical - the lines express opposite thoughts by means of contrast or stating thepositive and the negative:a. Psalm 1:6; 90:6b. Proverbs 1:29; 10:1,12; 15:1; 19:43. synthetic - the next two or three lines develop the thought - Ps. 1:1-2; 19:7-9; 29:1-24. chiasmic - a pattern of poetry expressing the message in a descending and ascendingorder. The main point is found in the middle of the pattern.376
- Page 350 and 351: WORD AND PHRASE STUDYNASB (UPDATED)
- Page 352 and 353: } “locusts” Locust invasions we
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APPENDIX ONEINTRODUCTION TO HEBREW POETRYI. INTRODUCTIONA. This type of literature makes up 1/3 of the Old Testament. It is especially common in the“<strong>Prophet</strong>s” (all but Haggai <strong>and</strong> Malachi contain poetry) <strong>and</strong> “Writings” sections of the Hebrewcanon.B. It is very different from English poetry. English poetry is developed from Greek <strong>and</strong> Latinpoetry, which is primarily sound-based. Hebrew poetry has much in common with Canaanitepoetry. <strong>The</strong>re are no accented lines or rhyme in Near East poetry (but there is a beat).C. <strong>The</strong> archaeological discovery north of Israel at Ugarit (Ras Shamra) has helped scholarsunderst<strong>and</strong> OT poetry. This poetry from the 15 th century B.C. has obvious literary connectionswith biblical poetry.II.GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POETRYA. It is very compact.B. It tries to express truth, feelings or experiences in imagery.C. It is primarily written not oral. It is highly structured. This structure is expressed in:1. balanced lines (parallelism)2. word plays3. sound playsIII. THE STRUCTURE (R. K. Harrison, Introduction To <strong>The</strong> Old Testament, pp.965-975)A. Bishop Robert Lowth in his book, Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (1753) wasthe first to characterize biblical poetry as balanced lines of thought. Most modern Englishtranslations are formatted to show the lines of poetry.1. synonymous - the lines express the same thought in different words:a. Psalm 3:1; 49:1; 83:14; 103:13b. Proverbs 19:5; 20:1c. <strong>Isaiah</strong> 1:3,10d. Amos 5:24; 8:102. antithetical - the lines express opposite thoughts by means of contrast or stating thepositive <strong>and</strong> the negative:a. Psalm 1:6; 90:6b. Proverbs 1:29; 10:1,12; 15:1; 19:43. synthetic - the next two or three lines develop the thought - Ps. 1:1-2; 19:7-9; 29:1-24. chiasmic - a pattern of poetry expressing the message in a descending <strong>and</strong> ascendingorder. <strong>The</strong> main point is found in the middle of the pattern.376
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