E. The Reign of Hezekiah
23. The Oracle on the Sealand (21:1-17)
1(1900)583-92; C. Boutflower, “Isaiah XXI in the Light of Assyrian History,” JTS 14(1913)501-15; J. A. Brinkman,
“Merodach-Baladan II,” Studies Presented to A. Leo Oppenheim (ed. R. D. Biggs and J. A. Brinkman; Chicago: Oriental Institute, 1964)6-53; Brinkman, “Elamite Military Aid to
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Isaiah Isaiah’s Preaching and the lsaianic Narratives
Sargon moves, as does Isaiah 20-21, from speaking of the battle against Ashdod (ARAB II 0 30) to describing his struggles against the Aramean and Chaldean tribes in general and against Marduk-apal-iddina (Merodach- baladan) in particular (ARAB II 00 31 following). The Babylonian Chronicles inform us that the Chaldean chieftain, Merodach-baladan, had seized the throne of Babylon shortly after the death of Shalmaneser V (ABC 73). He became king in Babylon almost simultaneous to Sargon’s accession to the throne in Assyria. The Babylonian Chronicles report that
“from the accession year of Merodach-baladan until the tenth year, [Assyria or Sargon] was belligerent towards Merodach-baladan” (ABC 75).
In about 713/12, Merodach-baladan went on the offensive against Assyria. (The visit of his ambassadors to Jerusalem, reported in Isaiah 39/E Kings 20:12-19, probably preceded this action.) The Babylonian Chronicles note this offensive;
unfortunately, the text is broken: “The tenth year [712]:
Merodach-baladan ravaged . . . and plundered it” (ABC 75).
Sargon describes matters from the Assyrian point of view:
Merodach-baladan II,” JNES 24(1965)161-66; F. Buhl, “Jesaja 21:6-10,” ZAW 8(1888)157-64; W. H. Cobb, “Isaiah XXI l-10 Re@xamined,“IBL 17(1898)40-61; I?. Dhorme, “Le desert de la mer (Isai’e, XXI),” RB 31(1922)403-6; I. Eph‘al, The Ancienf Arabs: Nomads on the Borders of the Fertile Crescent 9th-5th Centuries B.C. (Jerusalem/Leiden: Magnes Press/E. J. Brill, 1982); K. Galling, “Jes. 21 im Lichte der neuen Nabonid- texte,” Tradition und Situation (Festschrift A. Weiser; ed. E.
Wiirthwein and 0. Kaiser; Gettingen: V a n d e n h o e c k &
Ruprecht, 1963)49-62; I’. Lohmann, “Das Wachterlied Jes 21, 11-12,” ZAW 33(1913)20-29; Lohmann, “Zur strophischen Gliederung von Jes 21, l-10,” ZAW 33(1913)262-64; A. A.
Macintosh, Isaiah XXI: A PaZimpsest (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980); E. Sievers, “Zum Jesaja 21:1-10,”
Vom Alten Tesfument (Festschrift K. Marti; Giessen: Alfred Topelmann, 1925)262-65.
The years 714 and following saw Sargon and the Assyrian forces battling on several fronts. (In ARAB II 00 42 and 71, Sargon mentions conducting simultaneous campaigns in various areas.) One area of conflict was eastern Anatolia, the northwestern frontier of the empire. In this region, the legendary King Midas of Phrygia had organized opposition for some time. The Phrygian king had gained allies as far south as Carchemish, which Sargon had moved to subdue and provincialize in 717 (ARAB II 0 8). Beginning in 715, Sargon took the offensive against rebellious states in eastern Anatolia, recapturing several towns in Que, which had been taken by Midas. In 713, a major campaign was conducted against Tabal and, in 711, against towns on the borders of Phrygia and Urartu.
A second front was against persistent Urartu to the north of Assyria proper. Eventually, in 714, Sargon led a major and dangerous campaign against the Urartians, who had plagued Assyria for over a century. Several Urartian strongholds were levelled, and the countryside was looted and burned (ARAB II O§ 19-22; 140-78). A third front was created by the anti-Assyrian coalition in southern Syria-Palestine, which we noted in discussing Isaiah 20.
The fourth front was against Aramean and Chaldean tribes in southern Mesopotamia and adjacent areas. In his annals,
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Merodach-baladan, son of Iakin, king of Chaldea, seed of a murderer, prop of a wicked devil, who did not fear the lord of lords, put his trust in the Bitter Sea, with its tossing waves, violated the oath of the great gods and withheld his gifts. Humbanigash, the Elamite [here Sargon errs since this ruler had died in 717; see ABC 741, he brought to his aid and all of the Sutu, desert folk, he caused to revolt against me; he prepared for battle and made straight for Sumer and Akkad. Twelve years [here Sargon jumps ahead to the outcome of the struggle] he ruled and governed Babylon, the city of the lord of the gods, against the will of the gods. (ARAB II 0 66) Sargon details his attack against Merodach-baladan and his allies, the flight of Merodach-baladan, and the Assyrian capture of Babylon and other cities (ARAB II 00 31-41, 66-69). Eventually, in 709, Sargon assumed the throne in Babylon.
Into Babylon, the city of the lord of the gods, joyfully I entered, in gladness of heart, and with a beaming countenance. I grasped the hands of the great lord Marduk, and make the pilgrimage to the
“house of the New Year’s Feast” (ARAB II 8 70).
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lsaiah
Even after the takeover of Babylon, efforts to subdue the Aramean tribes continued for some time.
Isaiah’s speeches, or pronouncements, on “the wilderness of the sea” (probably a reference to what the Assyrians called mat tam-tim, “the Sealand” or Lower Mesopotamia) and Dumah and Arabia have Sargon’s attack on southern Mesopotamia and Merodach-baladan and his allies as their background. The interest in Babylon by the prophet was based on the fact that Babylon (Merodach-baladan) had enticed Judah to participate in anti-Assyrian action over Isaiah’s protests only shortly before. The announced fall of Babylon was confirmation of Isaiah’s position.
The following is an outline of the chapter’s contents:
Isaiah’s Preaching and the lsaianic Narratives
announce that he has brought an end to the sighing in the southland. Interestingly, Sargon also described his campaign as relieving the suffering and injustice of Chaldean and Aramean oppression: “The people of Sippar, Nippur, Babylon, Borsippa, who were imprisoned therein through no fault of theirs,-1 broke their bonds and caused them to behold the light. Their fields, which since days of old, during the anarchy in the land, the Sutu had seized, I returned to them” (ARAB II 0 40).
Isaiah describes his reaction in the typical terms used to speak of one’s response to bad news or a dreadful situation (w. 3-4). Whether the prophet here speaks in empathetic or sarcastic tones is not completely clear. Given his opposition to the anti-Assyrian movements of the time and Merodach- baladan’s role, the latter was probably the case.
The people being attacked are described as going on about their normal routines until the enemy is upon them (v. 5).
Here Isaiah, perhaps, draws on a widespread pattern of speaking about the overthrow of the enemy: They feast before they fall (see Dan. 5). The celebration is shattered by the call to arms.
(1) (2)
(3) I;;
(6)
A description of the attack on the south (lb) The prophet’s vision of the affair (2-5) A Yahweh oracle (6-7)
The watchman’s report (8-9) Conclusion (10)
Oracles on Dumah, Arabia, and Kedar (H-17) Isaiah 21:lb
The prophet opens with a comparison of the viciousness of the attack on the Sealand to a whirlwind from the desert.
Sargon describes this move, perhaps long prepared for, in the following fashion: “At the command of Assur, father of the gods, and the great lord Marduk I made ready my chariot, set my camp in order and gave the word to advance against the Chaldean, the treachous enemy” (ARAB II § 66).
Isaiah 21:2-S
In verses 2-5, Isaiah describes the vision he has seen (v. 2), his reaction to the scene (w. 3-4), and the fate of those attacked (v. 5). The vision takes the form of a divine oracle, consisting of three lines. The first portrays the plundererjde- stroyer (Sargon) at work. The second calls upon Elam and Media to join the attack-probably a reference to troops from regions dominated by the Assyrians who had been com- mandeered into the Assyrian army. The third has Yahweh
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Isaiah 21:6-7
The oracle of Yahweh (w. 6-7) orders that a watchman be posted to pick up some word of the progress and outcome of the battle from travelers from the region. Isaiah here depicts himself as either the watchman or the one to whom the sentry reports.
lsaiah 21 S-9
Isaiah has his imaginary sentry (or himself as sentry) express his faithfulness at the task (v. 8) and ultimately report the word that arrives: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon, and all the images of her gods are shattered to the ground.”
Isaiah 21:ZO
Isaiah closes his prophetic presentation on the Assyrian attack by declaring to his audience that his message is from
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lsaiah’s Preaching and the lsaianic Narratives God; he has announced only what he has heard (v. 10). The
Judean population, recently threshed and winnowed by Sargon’s troops (see below, chap. 4, sect. 24) and hoping against hope that Sargon would fail and Merodach-baladan be victorious, is told what will happen. The watchman can only bear the news of what he sees and hears, disappointing as it may be.
Isaiah 21:11-17
The oracles on Dumah (w. ll-12), Arabia (w. 13-15), and Kedar (16) all refer to regions and groups in the Arabian Desert, stretching from Sinai to Babylonia. At the time of Merodach-baladan’s aggressive expansion, numerous Chal- dean tribes in Lower Mesopotamia, south of Babylon, and Aramean tribes in the desert south and west of Mesopotamia were in league with him. Sargon refers to many of these tribal groups in describing his southern campaign, but none of the names in Isaiah 21:11-17 appears in his inscriptions. In the next century, references to Arabia and Kedar become common in Assyrian inscriptions.
In the oracle on Dumah, a desert oasis (see Gen. 25:14), the question and answer seem to imply that no clear perception of events can be expected for a while. Or perhaps the sense is that Dumah should not expect good times (“morning”) to come, since bad times (“nighf’) are not yet past.
The oracle on Arabia plays on the theme of military danger and flight from battle. Caravans must guard their where- abouts, and fugitives, overcome with hunger and thirst, must be cared for as they make their way to the oases, fleeing the weapons of battle.
Finally, Isaiah issues a prediction over Kedar, which, like Arabia, may have been an inclusive term for much of the Arabian desert. The prediction, formulated as a divine oracle, declares that Kedar, after a long, burdensome year, will lose its glory, and its warriors will practically cease to exist-that is, within a year, Sargon and the Assyrians will have completed their job of suppressing revolt in the Sealand and the adjacent desert regions.
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24. HE TOOK AWAY THE COVERING OF JUDAH