Texts in Conversation
Psalm 6 appeals for rescue by stressing that in death there is no remembrance or thanksgiving, presenting Sheol as a realm without awareness or consciousness. Isaiah 38 echoes this when Hezekiah laments that the dead cannot know or anticipate God's faithfulness.
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Psalm 6:5
Hebrew Bible
3 I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord—how long will this continue? 4 Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness. 5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death. In Sheol who gives you thanks? 6 I am exhausted as I groan. All night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me. 7 My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Isaiah 38:18
Hebrew Bible
16 O Lord, your decrees can give men life; may years of life be restored to me. Restore my health and preserve my life.’ 17 “Look, the grief I experienced was for my benefit. You delivered me from the Pit of oblivion. For you removed all my sins from your sight. 18 Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness. 19 The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks, as I do today. A father tells his sons about your faithfulness. 20 The Lord is about to deliver me, and we will celebrate with music for the rest of our lives in the Lord’s temple.”
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Not only do the dead in Sheol have no memory of God or know of his faithfulness and salvation, but also they are unable to praise him (Psalms 6:5; 88:4–5, 10–12; 115:17); this final sentiment is echoed by King Hezekiah as he contemplates his own death (Isaiah 38:18). Thus, we find the psalmist’s desperate plea with God for rescue or healing: “What profit is there in my death, / if I go down to the Pit? / Will the dust praise you? / Will it tell of your faithfulness?” (Psalm 30:9). The point is that if God wants the psalmist’s praise, he must prevent the psalmist from dying ..."
Middleton, J. Richard
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology
(p. 133) Baker Academic, 2014
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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