Go to Related Reading
About this book

Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 20

1 The Lord revealed the following message during the year in which King Sargon of Assyria sent his commanding general to Ashdod, and he fought against it and captured it. 2 At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.⁠ 3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated. 5 Those who put their hope in Cush and took pride in Egypt will be afraid and embarrassed. 6 At that time those who live on this coast will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 20:3 and Amos 2:16

Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

Amos and Isaiah both echo a similar tradition that describes military defeat as nakedness. Amos says the bravest soldiers will strip and flee for their lives, while Isaiah sees whole nations marched into exile stripped and barefoot.

Passages

Isaiah 20:3

Hebrew Bible
2 At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. 3 Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush, 4 so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, both young and old. They will be in undergarments and barefoot, with the buttocks exposed; the Egyptians will be publicly humiliated.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Amos 2:16

Hebrew Bible
13 Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. 14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives. 15 Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. 16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The Lord is speaking.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

References

"... The translation 'with naked buttocks' is undisputed; the only question that remains is whether ערוה should be understood metaphorically as 'the disgrace of Egypt' or literally as the Egyptians' private parts. If it is the latter, then the complete nudity of a body region that is otherwise carefully protected from sight would be meant. Accordingly, the audience reacts with consternation and embarrassment (verse 5). For having to flee naked is a peculiar threat, as the climax in Amos 2:13-16 or the humiliation of Yhwh's unfaithful wife in Hosea 2:5 show drastically. ..."
Andrea Beyer, “Nudity and Captivity in Isa. 20 in Light of Iconographic Evidence,” in Clothing and Nudity in the Hebrew Bible, ed. Christoph Berner, Manuel Schäfer, Martin Schott, Sarah Schulz, and Martina Weingärtner (London: T&T Clark, 2019), 494.

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

Your feedback

Isaiah 20:3 and Amos 2:16

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library