Texts in Conversation
Isaiah describes Israel professing to be loyal but inwardly far from God, based on ancient Near Eastern tradition such as the Akkadian Surpu tablets, which uses the same language to describe the people saying one thing but inwardly doing another.
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Surpu II
Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
Ancient Near East
He ousted a well-to-do young man from his family, scattered a gathered clan, used to stand by the …, His mouth is straight, but his heart is untrue, when his mouth says “yes”, his heart says “no”, altogether he speaks untrue words. He who is …, shakes and trembles of rage, destroys, expels, drives to flight, accuses and convicts, spreads gossip, wrongs, robs and incites to rob, sets his hand to evil his mouth is …, lying, his lips confused and violent, who knows improper things, has learned unseemly things, who has taken his stand with wickedness, transgressed the borderline of right, committed things that are not proper, set his hand to sorcery and witchcraft.
Date: 1200 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Isaiah 29:13
Hebrew Bible
11 To you this entire prophetic revelation is like words in a sealed scroll. When they hand it to one who can read and say, “Read this,” he responds, “I can’t, because it is sealed.” 12 Or when they hand the scroll to one who can’t read and say, “Read this,” he says, “I can’t read.” 13 The Lord says, “These people draw near to me with their mouth; with their lips they say wonderful things about me, but their hearts are far from me26. Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual. 14 Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people—an absolutely extraordinary deed. Wise men will have nothing to say, the sages will have no explanations.”
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Notes and References
"... Isaiah puts emphasis on the uncleanness of lips for two reasons. In the first place, it underscores the shallowness of both Isaiah’s and his people’s commitment to Yahweh. If Isaiah’s vision occurred during communal worship in the temple as we have suggested, both the future prophet and his people were involved in an outward display of devotion to Yahweh, but Isaiah’s vision enabled him to see that display for what it really was. As he says of Yahweh in a later oracle, “This people draw near to me with their mouth and with their lips they honor me, but their heart is far from me” (Isaiah 29:13). Public worship that does not lead on to a transformed life and the everyday pursuit of God’s will for justice is an abomination to God (Isa 1:10-17) and leaves one with lips stained unclean by hypocrisy ..."
* 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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