The Tanakh Podcast

The prophet accuses the people in Samaria and Jerusalem of being drunk - proud and intoxicated - and deaf to the words of the prophet which they compare to nursery rhymes, children's fables. The prophet warns that they are dancing on the precipice, absolutely unprepared for the impending disaster.

Chapter 27 envisions God slaughtering the Leviathan - the sea monsters. What is the Leviathan in Tanakh and the Talmud?

Is Chapter 26 the source for the doctrine of Techiat Hametim?

Chapter 25 depicts a world of universal recognition of God, in which "Death will be swallowed away for ever". What does this mean? Doe sit mean that the death of the Assyrian conquest will end, or is it a reference to a time in which people will live eternally?

"The earth is breaking, breaking; The earth is crumbling, crumbling; The earth is tottering, tottering." Our chapter describes a devastating earthquake, which is visited on society because of its injustice and sin. It leads to a sense of social parity, as high and low are dealt the same fate, and the apocalypse means that all are as vulnerable as the other.

Ch.23 is the final of the Pronouncements against the Nations. This one predicts the fall of Tyre, and bears a striking affinity to the fortunes of Israel and Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is under siege. But the city is partying! What are the people thinking? Why don't they turn to God? Why is there an atmosphere of levity and rejoicing? Are they secure in their defenses, or are they intent on enjoying their final days on earth? Isaiah will pin the blame on a particular politician - Shevna.

Isaiah ch.21 contains no less than three prophecies. Our podcast today addresses two foci: 1. The prophet's traumatic experience at receiving harsh prophecy 2. The usage, in piyut and in modern Israeli song, of vs.11-12: "The morning comes, and then again, the night."

The prophet is told to walk "naked and barefoot" for three years (!) to warn the people not to rely on the power of Egypt. But would God really demand that his prophets debase themselves in this manner?

Isaiah prophecies the chaotic demise of Egypt. But he also imagines that "Israel shall be a third partner with Egypt and Assyria as a blessing on earth." Isaiah seems to be proposing that from Egypt to Assyria, all nations will recognize God, thus fulfilling the Abrahamic promise: "Through you all nations will be blessed"

Chapter 18 is a cryptic chapter that imagines the mighty kingdom of Ethiopia, and the destruction that will befall them, leading to the recognition of God, and the tribute to Him, in Jerusalem. It has been interpreted to be refrring to messianic times.

Our chapter is entitled "Pronouncement against Damascus" but what it really describes is the Assyrian advance of Tiglat Pilesser in 732 BCE which devastated and destroyed 1. Damascus, 2. The Israelite tribes in the Transordan and 3. The Galilee panhandle. Yishayahu also addresses the spiritual causes and effects of this blistering attack.

The prophecy of ch.15-16 closes with the words: "That is the word that God spoke concerning Moab LONG AGO." (16:13) To what does the prophet refer? We shall bring the traditional approach of Rashi, followed by an archeological suggestion by Prof. Yehudah Elitzur. We end with a line which was incorporated into a song penned by Israeli songwriter - Naomi Shemer.

Ch.15 and 16 articulate a lament for the destruction and demise of Moav, their cities ravaged and their landscape devastated. Is this a sympathetic reflection or a vindictive one?

Chapter 13 and 14 - the Pronouncement against Babylon - depicts the fall of a superpower and its leader who has "fallen from the heavens" to Sheol, whose body has been strewn like the war-dead, and not brought to royal burial. These events correspond to a very real event in history. The death in war of Sargon, the Assyrian king, in 705 BCE. So is this the "Pronouncement against Baby...

Ch.13-23 gives us a succession of prophecies that predict the demise of Israel's adversaries. This is a phenomenon found in other prophetic books. What is the nature of this genre of prophecy?

The victories against Ashur (or possibly the Messianic triumph) will mirror the Exodus from Egypt. Just as after the miracle of the Red Sea, Israel will burst into praise to God.

Seen by many as the vision of Messianic times, chapter 11 imagines: 1. God's defeat of Assyria 2. The restoration of a monarchy of Justice and awareness of God, 3. Peace with our enemies, 4. Ingathering of the exiles, 5. Harmony between the two kingdoms of Israel - Ephraim and Judah.

On the one hand, Assyria is the "rod" of God's anger. On the other hand their conceit and vanity, their rapacious penchant for power and conquest, will end in ruin as they too will be punished for their pride and violence. This chapter foresees the fall of Assyria, after they have acted as God's instrument of punishment and retribution.

Two prophecies. The first - to Judah - heralds relief and a return to sovereign rule, justice and religion. The second - to the Northern Kingdom - warns that God's hand is outstretched for destruction, and we see an inventory of sins: Pride, compromised leadership, political violence, and perversion of Justice.

Isaiah has invested every effort to convince Ahaz to retain his independence and not to succumb to alliances. Ahaz rejects his advice. What now?

The mighty Assyrian empire are on their way. King Ahaz has three choices: 1. Resist and Rebel, 2. Ally with Assyria, 3. Retain independence and resist alliances. The prophet Isaiah is strongly against alliances. Why"

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne." So begins this awesome prophecy. Isaiah hears the angels proclaiming: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” But what was God communicating through this vision?

The Song of the vineyard is a classic prophetic technique of disguising a rebuke in a parable or a fable. There is no good news in this chapter. In short, Isaiah is warning a wealthy, pleasure-filled high society that war is not far away. Will they be ready?

after the apocalypse, Jerusalem will purged, renewed and restored, and God will restore His protection of the city and its Temple.