ISAIAH 33-34

Isaiah 33

The New Bible Commentary notes, “This chapter...seems designed for public use in a national emergency.”

33:1 The Destroyer is not identified.

33:2 There is some disagreement as to whether the translation should read “their arms (i.e., army)” or “our arms.”

33:14 The “devouring fire” may represent self-destructive activities as well as God's actions, according to NBC.

33:17a “Your eyes will see the King in his beauty.” (RSV) NBC calls this the “focal point of the passage.”

33:19 The Assyrians are mainly being referred to here and in Isaiah 28:11. (NRSV Study Bible)

33:21 Jerusalem of the time cannot be the reference, but it may fit the New Jerusalem. This would be consistent with the lack of sickness mentioned in verse 24.

33:23a There is much discussion in the literature regarding this half verse. Chisholm (Handbook on the Prophets) feels that it refers to Jerusalem's inability by herself. Oswalt (Isaiah 1-39) mentions this as a possible interpretation and cites the seemingly misplaced nature of this verse if it refers to Assyria. Because of this presumed misplaced nature, Blenkinsopp (Isaiah 1-39) places it in brackets as “an addition to an addition.

Resolution of this issue may hinge on a literary analysis of the structure of the chapter. One such attempt is made below. Besides the changes in topics, the section divisions are confirmed by (a) the regularly alternating pattern between “destroy” and “treacherous” in Section A and (b) the use of “king” to bracket Section C'. And the parallel nature of the various sections is confirmed by the presence of “spoil” in B and B' as well as the images of fire in D and D'.

A. Doom on the Destroyer (v. 1)

        B. Prayer to God (vv. 2-6)

                C. Present desolation (vv. 7-9)

                        D. Judgment on the enemy (vv. 10-13)

                        D'. Judgment on the enemy (vv. 14-16)

                C'. Future restoration (vv. 17-22)

A'. Doom on the Destroyer (v. 23a)

        B'. Answer to Prayer (vv. 23b-24)

According to this scheme, verse 23a is not displaced at all.

Isaiah 34

Elsewhere in Scripture and in this chapter, “Edom symbolizes...the profane and the persecutor, the opposite and adversary of the church.” (New Bible Commentary) Raabe (Obadiah, p. 35) concurs with this opinion.

34:1 The whole world is called as a witness to what has been called a divine lawsuit.

34:4 “All the stars...will be dissolved” may mean “the reordering or realigning of the composition of the universe.” (Harvey and Towner, 2 Peter and Jude, p. 120) The universal scope of this language definitely indicates an apocalyptic event.

34:9-11 The language reminds one of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, whereas the language in vv. 11-17 is a reminder of the coming destruction of Babylon described in Isaiah 13:20-22.

34:11 The two Hebrew words tohu and bohu translated as “confusion and chaos” appear together in two other places in the OT. One is in Genesis 1:2 referring to the situation before the days of creation and the other in Jeremiah 4:23 where it expresses judgment on Israel. Most commentators note that this pictures creation reverting to its original condition. Cogan and Tadmor (II Kings, Anchor Bible, p. 269) additionally point out that the measuring line and plummet usually employed for construction are now used by God to carefully and deliberately destroy instead.

34:14 Lilith can also be translated as owl, which was felt to have otherworldly characteristics. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, p. 580) Later rabbinical writings identify Lilith as Adam's first wife.

34:16 “Book of the LORD” may actually refer to Isaiah's own writings, according to one commentator.

34:17 “V. 17 shows God allotting Edom as a sort of promised land for wild creatures.” (International Bible Commentary)