Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <Peter_Kirk AT sil.org>]

Good questions. I suppose by "eschatological", I mean those things which
refer to the distant future, rather than the current generation. The
Shear-Jashub prophecies of 10:20-23 must refer to a relatively distant
future, a time when Israel will return after being struck down or exiled
(see also 11:10-12). Presumably this restoration after disaster is parallel
to the shoot from the stump of 11:1. So the prophet contrasts the present
Israel, under corrupt leadership and destined for destruction, with the
future restored Israel under a perfect and endless leadership (9:2, 11:2-5).
This eternal aspect of the promise also gives it an eschatological flavour
i.e. it is something predicted which goes beyond current experience. I
suppose chapter 2 also refers to this time of future restoration (compare
2:4 with 11:6-9), but I am not sure how this passage relates to chapters
6-12.

Peter Kirk

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan D. Safren [mailto:yon_saf AT bezeqint.net]
Sent: 02 February 2001 16:55
To: Peter Kirk; Biblical Hebrew
Subject: Re: Child theme in Isaiah 6-12


That;s a beautiful analysis of Isaiah 6-12, Peter, and it also increases my
understanding of the way Matthew understood and used these prophecies.
Question: Are you saying that it is the Shear-Yahsub prophecies that
"suggest a further fulfilment which can only be eschatological"? If so, what
do you mean by eschatological in this context? When Isiaiah describes the
"end of days" or the "latter time" in Ch. 2, he's referring to events which
will happen in the near future, as in his prophecies about Hezekiah's son.
Would you describe this as eschatology?
Yours,
Jonathan D. Safren
Chairman
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
44905 Israel