Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 19 names an Egyptian city as either the “City of the Sun” or the “City of Destruction,” reflecting divided traditions. The Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan merges both readings, calling it “Beth-Shemesh which will be destroyed.”
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 19:18
Hebrew Bible
18 At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. One will be called the City of the Sun. 19 At that time there will be an altar for the Lord in the middle of the land of Egypt, as well as a sacred pillar dedicated to the Lord at its border. 20 It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.
Jonathan Isaiah 19:18
Targum
18 At that time there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing by the name of the LORD of hosts. The city of Beth-Shemesh, which is to be destroyed, will be called one of them. 19 At that time an altar will be prepared before the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at its border before the LORD. 20 And it will be for a sign and for a witness before the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they pray before the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a Savior and a Judge, and He will deliver them.
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Notes and References
"... The Masoretic Text of Isaiah 19:18, states: “On that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt ... One of these will be called the city of destruction”. The reading of “city of destruction” is found in the majority of the Hebrew manuscripts, but a few Hebrew texts, including the Isaiah Scroll from Qumran, render “city of destruction” as “city of the sun”, an understanding followed by Symmachus and the Vulgate and which corresponds to Josephus’ information that the Leontopolis temple was in the nome of Heliopolis. In an interesting textual variant, the Targum to Isaiah combines these two readings: “the city of Beth-Shemesh which will be destroyed.” ..."
Wardle, Timothy Scott
Continuity and Discontinuity: The Temple and Early Christian Identity
(p. 200) Duke University, 2008
* 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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