Isaiah 34
Isaiah 34 | |
---|---|
Book | Book of Isaiah |
Hebrew Bible part | Nevi'im |
Order in the Hebrew part | 5 |
Category | Latter Prophets |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 23 |
Isaiah 34 is the thirty-fourth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.[1] This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Isaiah, and is one of the Books of the Prophets.[2] The Jerusalem Bible groups chapters 28-35 together as a collection of "poems on Israel and Judah",[3] although this chapter is addressed to all nations and to Edom in particular.
Text
[edit]The original text was written in the Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 17 verses.
Textual witnesses
[edit]Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., the Isaiah Scroll (1Qlsaa; complete; 356-100 BCE[4]), and of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes Codex Cairensis (895 CE), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[5]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Sinaiticus (S; BHK: S; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century).[6]
Parashot
[edit]The parashah sections listed here are based on the Aleppo Codex.[7] Isaiah 34 is a part of the Prophecies about Judah and Israel (Isaiah 24–35). {S}: closed parashah.
- {S} 34:1-17 {S}
Judgment on the nations (34:1–4)
[edit]Verses 1—4 give a horrifying picture of cosmic disaster that brings to an end not just enemy nations but also the 'host of heaven' and the skies.[8]
Verse 1
[edit]- Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people:
- let the earth hear, and all that is therein;
- the world, and all things that come forth of it.[9]
- let the earth hear, and all that is therein;
This introductory summons recalls Psalm 49:1, painting a picture of cosmic disaster in a way of an apocalypse.[8]
Judgment on Edom (34:5–17)
[edit]Starting verse 5, the judgment is specifically for Edom, who according to the tradition of Genesis 25:29–34, should have seen with Israel as brothers, but ending up having a bitter hatred with one another.[10]
Verse 10
[edit]- It shall not be quenched night nor day;
- the smoke thereof shall go up for ever:
- from generation to generation it shall lie waste;
- none shall pass through it for ever and ever.[11]
- "Quenched": from the Hebrew root: k-b-h (כבה, kabah, "to be quenched or extinguished, to go out"[12]), is also used in Isaiah 1:31 and 66:24 for: "the fire that shall not be quenched"; of the servant in 42:3, that "a dimly burning wick ('smoking flax') he will not quench"; as well as in 43:17: 'those who oppose the LORD'S path are "quenched like a wick"'.[13]
Verse 14
[edit]- The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals,
- And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
- Also the night creature shall rest there,
- And find for herself a place of rest.[14]
- "Jackals" (KJV: "the wild beasts of the island"): literally, "howling creatures"[15]
- "Night creature" (KJV: "screech owl"): translated from Hebrew: לִילִית, lilith,[16] in this context certainly refers to 'some type of wild animal or bird', and appears to be related to לַיְלָה, laylah (meaning "night"). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified "Lilith" as a demon.[17]
See also
[edit]- Edom
- Zion
- Related Bible parts: Isaiah 63:1-6, Hosea 9, Nahum 1, Matthew 24, Revelation 6, Revelation 16, Revelation 19, Revelation 20
References
[edit]- ^ Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.
- ^ Theodore Hiebert, et al. 1996. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume VI. Nashville: Abingdon.
- ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), Isaiah section E: Poems on Israel and Judah
- ^ Jull, Timothy A. J.; Donahue, Douglas J.; Broshi, Magen; Tov, Emanuel (1995). "Radiocarbon Dating of Scrolls and Linen Fragments from the Judean Desert". Radiocarbon. 37 (1): 14. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 35–37.
- ^ Würthwein 1995, pp. 73–74.
- ^ As implemented in the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 edition of the Hebrew Bible in English.
- ^ a b Coggins 2007, p. 461.
- ^ Isaiah 34:1 KJV
- ^ Coggins 2007, p. 462.
- ^ Isaiah 34:10 KJV
- ^ Strong's Concordance 3518. כָּבָה kabah
- ^ Coggins 2007, p. 436.
- ^ Isaiah 34:14 NKJV
- ^ Note [a] on Isaiah 34:14 in NKJV
- ^ Note [b] on Isaiah 34:14 in NKJV
- ^ Note [c] on Isaiah 34:14 in NET Bible
Sources
[edit]- Coggins, R (2007). "22. Isaiah". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 433–486. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.