Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 50 recalls the first plague in Exodus by describing dried rivers and dead fish, echoing the Nile’s disaster. This imagery fits Isaiah’s pattern that points to a second exodus where earlier signs of judgment and rescue shape the exile.
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Exodus 7:18
Hebrew Bible
17 This is what the Lord has said: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood. 18 Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their gathered waters43—so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 20 Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. He raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Isaiah 50:2
Hebrew Bible
1 This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s divorce certificate by which I divorced her? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold because of your sins; because of your rebellious acts I divorced your mother. 2 Why does no one challenge me when I come? Why does no one respond when I call? Is my hand too weak to deliver you? Do I lack the power to rescue you? Look, with a mere shout I can dry up the sea; I can turn streams into a desert, so the fish rot away and die from lack of water. 3 I can clothe the sky in darkness; I can cover it with sackcloth.” 4 The Sovereign Lord has given me the capacity to be his spokesman, so that I know how to help the weary. He wakes me up every morning; he makes me alert so I can listen attentively as disciples do.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In Isaiah 50:2-3 the drying up of the sea, the turning of rivers into a desert, and the resulting stink of dead fish is a rather more elusive reference to the story of those founding events (Exodus 7:18, 21; 8:10; compare Isaiah 51:10). The frequent reference in these chapters to Yahvehs arm (40:10; 48:14; 51:5, 9; 52:10; 53:1) and hand (41:10, 20; 48:13; 49:22; 50:2) brings to mind the canonical phrase for divine action in the Exodus, 'with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm' (Deuteronomy 4:34). ..."
Blenkinsopp, Joseph
Isaiah 40-55: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(p. 112) Doubleday, 2002
* 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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