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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 63

1 Who is this who comes from Edom, dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? Who is this one wearing royal attire, who marches confidently because of his great strength? “It is I, the one who announces vindication, and who is able to deliver!” 2 Why are your clothes red? Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat?⁠ 3 “I have stomped grapes in the wine press all by myself; no one from the nations joined me. I stomped on them in my anger; I trampled them down in my rage.⁠ Their juice splashed on my garments and stained all my clothes.⁠ 4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance, and then payback time arrived. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help;⁠ I was shocked because there was no one offering support. So my right arm accomplished deliverance; my raging anger drove me on. 6 I trampled nations in my anger; I made them drunk in my rage; I splashed their blood on the ground.”⁠ 7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness. 8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer. 9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them.⁠ In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times.⁠ 10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.⁠ 11 His people remembered the ancient times. Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea, along with the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed his Holy Spirit among them,⁠ 12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,⁠ 13 who led them through the deep water? Like a horse running through the wilderness they did not stumble.⁠ 14 As an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.⁠ In this way you guided your people, gaining for yourself an honored reputation.⁠ 15 Look down from heaven and take notice, from your holy, majestic palace!⁠ Where are your zeal and power? Do not hold back your tender compassion! 16 For you are our father,⁠ though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, Lord, are our father; you have been called our Protector from ancient times.⁠ 17 Why, Lord, do you make us stray from your ways and make our minds stubborn so that we do not obey you? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance! 18 For a short time your special nation possessed a land, but then our adversaries knocked down your holy sanctuary. 19 We existed from ancient times, but you did not rule over them; they were not your subjects.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 63:9 and Tobit 12:15

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

Tobit 12 identifies Raphael as one of the angels who stand in front of God, reflecting a Jewish practice of adding details to earlier angel traditions such as Isaiah 63, where a messenger from God’s presence delivers Israel.

Passages

Isaiah 63:9

Hebrew Bible
7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness. 8 He said, “Certainly they will be my people, children who are not disloyal.” He became their deliverer. 9 Through all that they suffered, he suffered too. The messenger sent from his very presence delivered them. In his love and mercy he protected them; he lifted them up and carried them throughout ancient times. 10 But they rebelled and offended his Holy Spirit, so he turned into an enemy and fought against them.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Tobit 12:15

Deuterocanon
13 And when you did not delay to rise up, and leave your dinner, but did go and cover the dead, 14 then I was sent to you to try you; and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord. 16 And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; and they were afraid. 17 And he said to them, Do not be afraid, peace be to you; bless God to all eternity.
225–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tobit

References

"... Another important exalted heavenly figure that clearly influenced the development of the warrior-angel Michael is the 'Commander of the Army of Yahweh' - Joshua 5:13-15 - who converses with Joshua during the conquest of Canaan. Further, Isaiah's 'Angel of Yahweh's Presence', while not distinct from Yahweh, is clearly a major basis for the development of the elite group of distinct angels, including Raphael, who are able to enter the presence of the Lord (Tobit 12:15) and for Jubilees 'Angel of the Presence' who clearly acts in distinction from Yahweh. Lastly, the grouping of four archangels is almost certainly influenced by Ezekiel’s reference to the 'four living creatures' in Ezekiel 1 or 'Cherubim' in Ezekiel 10 who stand under the throne of God ..."
Deane Galbraith, “The Origin of Archangels: Ideological Mystification of Nobility,” in Class Struggle in the New Testament, ed. Robert J. Myles (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2019), 209–240.

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 63:9 and Tobit 12:15

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