Isaiah 38:9-20 is a poem found in the book of the prophet Isaiah, and is part of the narrative about Hezekiah’s reign over Judah. Although the story of Hezekiah’s reign can also be found in 2 King and 2 Chronicles, this poem is only found in Isaiah’s version of the story. Prior to this poem, Isaiah 36:1-38:8 describes how during Hezekiah’s reign, Assyria defeated the kingdom of Israel and exiled its people. When Assyrians began to attack Judah, Hezekiah sends his officials to the prophet Isaiah, who promises the king that God will protect them from the Assyrians. The Assyrians then withdraw from Judah to fight the king of Cush but promise to return and take the land. Hezkeiahs prays to God in the temple, asking for deliverance. Isaiah makes a prophecy against the Assyrians after which an angel of God destroyed the Assyrian army and the Assyrian king is betrayed and murdered by his sons. After this, Hezekiah’s contracts a mysterious illness which gives him a boil and he comes to the point of death. The prophet Isaiah foretells the king’s death, but Hezekiah prays to God, asking him to remember his pious acts and devotion. God tells Isaiah to report to Hezekiah that he will live 15 more years and that God will keep Assyria from destroying Jerusalem. A …show more content…
It seems to indicate that the poem was written after Hezekiah recovered from his illness, but at this point in the narrative he had only been told he would recover. No mention is made in this chapter or the next of Hezekiah recovering. Verses 21 and 22 only record Isaiah giving instructions on how to heal the king and Hezekiah’s rejoinder, asking Isaiah for a sign he will go up to the temple. If Hezekiah could not recover without the cake of figs (v. 21), this poem is seemingly out of place in the narrative. This along with the poem’s ambiguous authorship seems to indicate that the poem was inserted into the
They were set apart; they had no earthly king and their history was one filled with miracles and impossible victories. Yet Israel’s people were still human; their failures were nearly equal to their victories and their frequent disobedience towards God had cost them greatly. They were hardly a unified nation, and despite a history rich in God’s provision, they were rebellious.
It is believed that Tecumseh was born in 1768 in central Ohio. He was the second son of a Shawnee warrior who was killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant. In his dying breaths, his father commanded his eldest son Cheesuaka, to train Tecumseh as a warrior and to never make peace with the whites. Cheesuaka was good to his word and became an excellent warrior and a teacher. He grew close with his younger brother, and after their mother moved to Missouri he acted as a foster parent as well. Tecumseh was a model child, and although it is claimed that he ran in terror from his first battle, his courage never faltered from then on. Tall, muscular, intelligent, and highly charismatic, Tecumseh proved to be a master battle tactics and an excellent speaker. (Edmunds)
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
Rashi interprets the phrase with verbs of continuous action. Rather than Isaiah being ordered to keep the Jewish people from repenting, this phrase is the explanation of why they were destroyed.
The concept of redemption is pretty much the same in both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. However, the writers of both testaments had their own interpretation as to this particular concept. This is the case of a concept that is as similar it is different as depicted by the different biblical authors because of the different settings.
Correspondingly, other canonical prophetic books interpret Yahweh’s will during periods of social or political crisis.4 Many minor prophets wrote during one of the three critical periods: the Assyrian Crisis, the Babylonian threat, or the postexilic readjustment.5 During the Babylonian threat of the late-seventh century, Habakkuk served as a link between God and humanity. The Assyrian kingdom, led by Shalmanasar V, forced the people of Judah into harsh conditions through a heartless deportation. In time, political drama spread throughout the region. After 612 B.C.E. when Assyria fell to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Habakkuk wrote his prophetic book, focusing on the agony of humankind’s struggle to progress in such a wicked world. His message of faith and morality transcended the evil within society, ultimately revealing to the Israelites that justice would prevail.
it all went downhill. All of his brothers and sisters had been recaptured except for Isaiah.
In order to understand what sets Hezekiah apart as a leader, it is important to understand the state of affairs when Hezekiah inherited the throne from his father Ahaz. The kingdom of Judah was living in the constant fear of the Assyrian invasion from the north. In an effort to save the city of Jerusalem from destruction, Ahaz...
About 742 BCE the most known prophet, Isaiah comes on the scene. Now this far out guy walks the streets naked for three years telling the King not to ally with the Assyrians. He also speaks of how Jerusalem will be saved from the Assyrians. The Assyrians don’t invade Jerusalem but the Northern Kingdom is destroyed just as Amos predicted fifty years earlier.
Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal died. Right after the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and they established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this Judea allied with the Babylonians and with this Judea kept her independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed it was ruled by four rulers and of those rulers, all but Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. All the others did not heed the warnings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to rebel against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar’s army to crush the nation of Judea and flatten the city of Jerusalem.
Although, I wished that the poem included more about the resurrection. It was good that it discussed Jesus return and the Day of Judgment, to encourage man’s repentance and salvation in Christ. I wondered if this poet who must have lived sometime in the Early Middle Ages actually had a dream where he imagined a tree speaking to him about the death and resurrection of Christ and then he wrote it down. If that was the case, then I can understand why the poem is not perfectly accurate and somewhat jumbled, when compared to scripture. Often our thoughts are jumbled, when we dream. The order of events seems to be a little offset. For example, the earth did not tremble, until after Jesus spirit left Him. The poem appears to put the trembling ahead of Jesus death. However, there is a lot of the good, the true, and the beautiful in this poem. It celebrates the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross and it encourages us to look to Him on the cross, so we don’t forget how much He loves us. Also, it encourages us in our faith and knowing that Jesus will return someday, to take us into eternal glory with Him. It was good that the poem concluded with the Dreamer feeling enthusiastic about the cross, looking forward to eternal glory, and desiring to share the good news with others. This is the way that
The Taylor Prism of Sennacherib or The Bible 2 Kings 18-19. Each martial is from the views of either Sennacherib or Hezekiah written under their stories of divine proof of their own gods. Now the Taylor Prism of Sennacherib is pretty much a record of Sennacherib’s accomplishments. It describes all the territories, cities and anything in between that he conquered and brought under the “yok of Ashur”. His version tells of how he conquered Judah and took all the treasure there and took people from the towns back to his home and he cut Judah off from any help from any surrounding territories. The Bible is the Jewish and Christin document proof and word of their God. The story in 2 Kings 18-19 is the same story described in the Taylor Prism, however it’s ending is different it states that the angel of the Lord went and slewed many of the Assyrians soldiers. With the slaughter of his army Sennarch’erib king of Assyria left and went back to his home and was praising his own god when his sons killed him with a sword. With two different records of the same event can lead to a lot of confusion and many
The Sennacherib Prism and The Book of Kings present such contrasting versions of the siege because they are told from different viewpoints with different goals. Sennacherib wants to show how much military power he has and how easy it was to conquer the Hebrews. He wants to show how he humiliated their king and became rich from their tributes. “I made Hezekiah a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage,” (The Sennacherib Prism). The Hebrew’s perspective from The Book of Kings says that they asked for a tribute to pay. It doesn’t put very much emphasis on being conquered or the battle itself like The Sennacherib Prism does. It goes on to say that once they had paid the tribute the Lord came down and killed 185,000 soldiers and forcing Sennacherib to retreat. The Sennacherib Prism has no mention of this devastating defeat at all.
Cindy Pereyra The Pentateuch Dr. Luther 5 May 2014 Deuteronomy Study Assignment 1. Read Deuteronomy 16:18-20. a. Describe the requirements of judges in Israel based on this passage. In this passage, the requirements of judges in Israel are shown. The people are told to appoint judges and officers for themselves in all the towns that the Lord is giving to them according to their tribes.
Jeremiah 31:1-6 is the announcement of restoration, giving rest to Israel. Jeremiah 31:1, “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” (NIV). “While the return from captivity is a good thing, it was a very difficult time, a time when the Jews, where threatened by those who occupied that land during the captivity and later by the Greeks and Romans. This restoration includes al the clans of Israel. Historically the Northern kingdom ceased to exist nearly 200 years prior to prophecy.” “Jeremiah’s great contribution to our understanding of messianic prophecy and how the New Testament relates to the Old Testament is that he explicitly describes a coming glorious “new” covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) that will replace the old one that Israel/Judah has shattered and annulled” (Pg. 174). “Chapters 30 and 31 contain no historical dates or ties to the reign of a king. This absence of dates or specific historical ties gives these first two chapters a certain timelessness. Also, in chapters 30-33 Jeremiah does not connect the future restoration to the downfall of Babylon. Instead, the restoration is tied theologically to the fulfillment of both the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenants-the new covenant and the associated blessings of restoration come as a fulfillment of those prior covenants (which are not broken)” (Pg. 174).