Exodus 19:6

Hebrew Bible

4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, 6 and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.” 7 So Moses came and summoned the elders of Israel. He set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him, 8 and all the people answered together, “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” So Moses brought the words of the people back to the Lord.

Isaiah 61:6

Hebrew Bible

4 They will rebuild the perpetual ruins and restore the places that were desolate; they will reestablish the ruined cities, the places that have been desolate since ancient times. 5 “Foreigners will take care of your sheep; foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards. 6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests, servants of our God.’ You will enjoy the wealth of nations and boast about the riches you receive from them. 7 Instead of shame, you will get a double portion; instead of humiliation, they will rejoice over the land they receive. Yes, they will possess a double portion in their land and experience lasting joy. 8 For I, the Lord, love justice and hate robbery and sin. I will repay them because of my faithfulness; I will make a permanent covenant with them.

 Notes and References

"... in this passage, the prophet unambiguously describes the whole nation as priestly. (A similar notion is found in Exodus 19:6, which may influence Duetero-Isaiah here. Indeed, Isaiah 61:6 may represent a literalization of the verse from Exodus) Thus, the Israelites receive the status that was limited to Aaronites in Numbers 18 ..."

Sommer, Benjamin D. A Prophet Reads Scripture: Allusion in Isaiah 40-66 (p. 146) Stanford University Press, 1998

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.