Texts in Conversation
Isaiah's language of setting free captives closely resembles ancient Near Eastern traditions such as the Akkadian Surpu tablets, which similarly describe the release of captives among the things ascribed to the god Marduk.
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Surpu IV
Sumerian and Akkadian Incantations
Ancient Near East
with the child in her womb, to deliver the child, to give an heir, to call to be mindful of the lord, to have mercy, to accept prayers, to treat the small child tenderly, to invoke the name of god, to lead a laden ship in the river, to be mindful of the lord, to act correctly, to set free the prisoner, to show daylight, him who has been taken captive, to rescue him, him whose city is distant, whose road is far away, let him go safely to his city, to return the prisoner of war and the captive to his people, that he may see in the presence of his people, to rescue from sin, to wipe out crime, to raise from the sickbed, to rescue from trouble, to forgive sin, to save from hardship, to pull out from a pit,
Date: 1200 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Isaiah 42:7
Hebrew Bible
6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people and a light to the nations, 7 to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons. 8 “I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else or the praise due me with idols. 9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you.”
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Notes and References
"... There are several affinities between Akkadian oracles and prophecies and Hebrew prophecy, such as the command “fear not,” exhortations to believe in the oracle, promises of the enemy being delivered into one’s hands, portrayals of a god caring for the person like a mother for a child, glorification of the god, etc. However, some texts are peculiarly similar to Isaiah 40–48 in particular ... Shurpu, a series of incantation rituals found on seventh century tablets, but possibly composed 1600–1300 B.C.E., contains a list of questions of potential sins. Apparently it is aimed at finding the reason why a person is being afflicted, or punished, with suffering. Has he oppressed anyone, alienated people from each other, used false scales, etc., or has “he failed to set free one in confinement, release one in fetters? Has he refused a prisoner to see the light of the day?” Isaiah 42:7 springs to mind ..."
Nilsen, Tina Dykesteen
Creation in Collision? Isaiah 40-48 and Zoroastrianism, Babylonian Religion and Genesis 1
(pp. 1-20) Journal of Hebrew Scriptures Vol. 13, No. 8, 2013
* 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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