Biblical Hebrew Forum

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

Dear Cynthia,

Your observation that Isaiah 36-39 might be drawing from literature rather
than historical facts of the 8th century BCE "set off alarm bells" and
reminded me that several months ago, that I had noted the amazing parallel
accounts of Sennacherib, Merodach-Baladan and Hezekiah found in 2 Kings
18:13-20:21.

Last night I re-read those accounts more carefully. At times they are
literally word for word. This suggests one is drawing from the other, but
who has the priority ?  I note that 2 Kings appears to possess more details.
Is Isaiah 36-39 an "abridged" paraphrase of 2 Kings ? Or is it an
"expansion" of Isaiah 36-39 ?

If Isaiah 36-39 is drawing from 2 Kings then the book of Isaiah would appear
to be an amalgum of three different compositions. The original Isaiah being
1-35, Deutero-Isaiah being 39-66, with a later Post-Exilic account, 36-39,
inserted between them.

There are some "mysteries" for me if Isaiah 36-39 is younger than 2 Kings.
Why state that Hezekiah's sons, "of his own body," are to be lead off into
exile ? Either the narrator thought this had happened, when it didn't, or
this is some kind of "a metaphor," suggesting he didn't literally mean
Hezekiah's sons, but his future descendants (of ca. 597-587 BCE).

I noted in a previous post that the King of Babylon appears to be an
Assyrian king (Isa. 14:22, 24-25). Did later generations of Jews get
confused and think that the King of Babylon was a Chaldean instead of an
Assyrian, thus inserting the Isaiah 36-39 block from 2 Kings ? In the 8th
century the throne of Babylon passed back and forth between Assyrian and
Chaldean hands, perhaps causing confusion for later generations who may have
edited these texts ?

Thanks Cynthia, for the note of caution-

All the best,

Walter

Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld
Walldorf by Heidelberg
Baden-Wurttemburg
Germany