Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 19 begins with a vision of a divine figure coming on a swift cloud, introducing a judgment against Egypt. This image echoes Deuteronomy 33, where the same cloud-riding imagery is used, itself drawn from ancient Near Eastern literature where Baal is first described as the Cloud-Rider.
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Deuteronomy 33:26
Hebrew Bible
25 The bars of your gates will be made of iron and bronze, and may you have lifelong strength.” 26 “There is no one like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the sky to help you, on the clouds in majesty. 27 The everlasting God is a refuge, and underneath you are his eternal arms; he has driven out enemies before you, and has said, ‘Destroy!’ 28 Israel lives in safety, the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, in a land of grain and new wine; indeed, its heavens rain down dew.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Isaiah 19:1
Hebrew Bible
1 This is an oracle about Egypt: Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud and approaches Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him; the Egyptians lose their courage. 2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt: brothers will fight with one another, as will neighbors, cities, and kingdoms. 3 The Egyptians will panic, and I will confuse their strategy. They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead, from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The second strophe (verses 4-6) is a call to praise that continues what is said earlier and presents YHWH as the Champion of the oppressed, who exercises His office of a Father and an Advocate from His “holy habitation.” There is an interpretive issue in verse 4 in relation to the phrase. If taken as “He Who of the clouds,” as opposed to “He Who rides the deserts,” which is strongly favored due to verse 33, which depicts God as the one who “rides on the sky,” this title has vast intertextual connections extending all the way through the Old Testament canon (Deuteronomy 33:26; Psalm 18:10; 68:33; Isaiah 19:1; Daniel 7:13) into the New (Matthew 24:30; 26:64 compare Mark 13:26, 14:62; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:9) ..."
Leliovskyi, Mykola
Biblical Intertextuality: Explained and Illustrated
(p. 17) European Bible Training Center, 2015
* 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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