Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Walter Mattfeld" <mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com>]

Mr. Gathaus observed:

If  Isaiah 13-14 dates from the 8th century BCE, then the King of Babylon is
likely to have
been Marduk-apal-iddina (Merodach-baladan) who defied Sargon V for a while
until he was
beaten back to the marshlands at the head of the Gulf. Yet, we must ask what
the Medes
have to do with things here. It's more likely that either the statement
about the Medes is
a later addition from after 540 BCE, or the whole thing dates from after 540

The problem with Marduk-apal-iddina being the King of Babylon that Isaiah is
railing about, is the coming up with a scenario to explain why Israel would
feel threatened by the Babylonian King. Like Hezekiah, he was no friend of
the Assyrians, and like Hezekiah, he rebelled unsuccessfully.  An Assyrian
King of Babylon would make more sense as the recepient of Isaiah's wrath.

All the best,

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf  by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg
Germany