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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 11

1 A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.⁠ 2 The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—a⁠ Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans,⁠ a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord.⁠ 3 His smelling is in the fear of the Lord7.⁠ He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth.⁠ He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed.⁠ 5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.⁠ 7 A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. 8 A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand.⁠ 9 They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.⁠ 10 At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations.⁠ Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic. 11 At that time the Lord will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts.⁠ 12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth. 13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects. 15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals.⁠ 16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people,⁠ just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 11:15 and Zechariah 10:11

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Isaiah describes a future rescue where the seas and rivers are dried, recalling the exodus to describe a new passage for the people. Zechariah repeats this imagery, depicting the drying of water as a part of Israel’s new exodus and return from exile.

Passages

Isaiah 11:15

Hebrew Bible
13 Ephraim’s jealousy will end, and Judah’s hostility will be eliminated. Ephraim will no longer be jealous of Judah, and Judah will no longer be hostile toward Ephraim. 14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects. 15 The Lord will divide the gulf of the Egyptian Sea; he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River and send a strong wind; he will turn it into seven dried-up streams and enable them to walk across in their sandals. 16 There will be a highway leading out of Assyria for the remnant of his people, just as there was for Israel, when they went up from the land of Egypt.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Zechariah 10:11

Hebrew Bible
9 Though I scatter them among the nations, they will remember in far-off places—they and their children will survive and return. 10 I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be enough room for them. 11 The Lord will cross the sea of storms and will calm its turbulence. The depths of the Nile will dry up, the pride of Assyria will be humbled, and the domination of Egypt will be no more. 12 Thus I will strengthen them by my power, and they will walk about in my name,” says the Lord.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

References

"... Many Jewish writers included the event of Moses' striking the sea, taking for granted that he divided the sea with his rod. Jacobson's close studies of the Jewish texts show that some texts underline the role of Moses' rod while others minimize it. In addition to Ezekiel, the hitting of the sea is mentioned in Artapanus, Philo, Pseudo-Philo Biblical Antiquities and Josephus. Jacobson correctly notes that Isaiah 11:15 and Zechariah 10:11 also suppose that the sea was hit, although in these cases it was God who did it. Jacobson considers the detail important. His answer to why Ezekiel preferred one tradition to another is that, contrary to the Hebrew tradition and similarly to most Jewish Hellenists, Ezekiel wanted to emphasize Moses' role in the miracle ..."
Erkki Koskenniemi, The Old Testament Miracle-Workers in Early Judaism (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 76.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 11:15 and Zechariah 10:11

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