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In the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon, the gods are asked to shame an oath-breaker to make them appear as a woman in front of his enemy. Isaiah echoes this tradition, describing the Egyptians as like women trembling in fear of God in defeat.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
The Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon §§90–93
Esarhaddon's Succession Treaty (SAA 2 6)
Ancient Near East, Assyrian
612A ([If you should sin against] this [treaty] of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, [and of] his sons and grandsons,) ditto; just as this chariot is drenched with blood up to its base-board, so may your chariots be drenched with your own blood in the midst of your enemy. 616A May all the gods who are called by name in this treaty tablet spin you around like a spindle-whorl, may they make you like a woman before your enemy. 618A May all the gods who are mentioned by name in this treaty tablet make you, your brothers, your sons, and your daughters go backward like a crab. 621 May they make evil and wicked things surround you like fire.
Isaiah 19:16
Hebrew Bible
14 The Lord has made them undiscerning; they lead Egypt astray in all she does, so that she is like a drunk sliding around in his own vomit. 15 Egypt will not be able to do a thing, head or tail, shoots or stalk. 16 At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies brandishes his fist against them. 17 The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is planning to do to them.
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Notes and References
“... Wildberger (2:732) finds this notice surprising, because the OT otherwise knows nothing about women being especially fearful, but the feminization of warriors is a standard feature in treaty curses in the ancient Near East, as a passage from the treaty between Ashurnirari V of Assyria and Mati'ilu of Arpad indicates: "If Mati'ilu sins against this treaty . . . may Mati'ilu become a prostitute, his soldiers women, . . . may Mati'ilu's (seed) be that of a mule, his wives barren, may Ishtar, the goddess of men, the lady of women, take away their "bow," cause their [steri]lity . . . (ANET, 3rd ed., 533). Note also from Esarhaddon's treaty of succession: "May all the gods who are called by name in this treaty tablet spin you around like a spindle-whorl, may they make you like a woman before your enemy" (S. Parpola and K. Watanabe, Neo-Assyrian Treaties and Loyalty Oaths [SAA 2; Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, 1988] 56, lines 616-17). Moreover, the disparagement of warriors as fearful "women" is still present in the Middle East in contemporary Arab culture. ...”
* 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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