Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 51 describes divine commissioning and protection. The Aramaic Targum expands this with a reference to Abraham, interpreting the founding of the nation as fulfilling the promise that his descendants would be as many as the dust, echoing Genesis 13.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 51:16
Hebrew Bible
14 The one who suffers will soon be released; he will not die in prison, he will not go hungry. 15 I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves surge. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! 16 “I commission you as my spokesman; I cover you with the palm of my hand to establish the sky and to found the earth, to say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’” 17 Wake up! Wake up! Get up, O Jerusalem! You drank from the cup the Lord passed to you, which was full of his anger. You drained dry the goblet full of intoxicating wine. 18 There was no one to lead her among all the children she bore; there was no one to take her by the hand among all the children she raised.
Jonathan Isaiah 51:16
Targum
14 Vengeance hastens to be revealed, and the righteous will not die in the pit, nor will they lack their food. 15 For I am the LORD your God, who rebukes the sea though its waves roar; the LORD of hosts is His name. 16 I have put the words of my prophecy in your mouth, and with the shadow of my power I have protected you, to raise up the nation concerning which it has been promised that they will be as many as the stars of heaven, and to establish the congregation concerning which it has been promised that they will multiply like the dust of the earth, and to say to the inhabitants of Zion, “You are my people.” 17 Magnify yourself, magnify yourself; arise, O Jerusalem! you who have received from the LORD the cup of His wrath; the bowl of the cup of cursing you have drunk, and you have drained it. 18 There is no one to comfort her of all the sons she has brought forth, nor is there one to take hold of her hand of all the sons she has raised.
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Notes and References
"... Rava’s striking exegetical theology is followed by Rav Joseph, who further mitigates the divine disfavor and facial aversion. He claims that God’s hand rests upon the Jews, even if his face is averted, citing Isaiah 51:16, in which God covers Israel in “the shadow of his hand” and goes on to reassure them, “You are my people.” ... Compare Targum of Jonathan to Isaiah 51:16 ..."
Neis, Rachel
The Sense of Sight in Rabbinic Culture: Jewish Ways of Seeing in Late Antiquity
(p. 65) Cambridge University Press, 2013
* 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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