The Tanakh Podcast

Isaiah contrasts his prophecy with the political prognosis of other religious and political figures in Jerusalem as the Assyrians advance. Isaiah says that God's word is not being "read" by the people; it is indecipherable: 'Like the words of a sealed document. If it is handed to one who can read with a request to read it, the response will be, “I can’t, because it is sealed.”' The people of Jerusalem are not receptive to Isaiah's words; His prophecy is impervious and opaque.

The prophet accuses the people in Samaria and Jerusalem of being drunk - proud and intoxicated - and deaf to the words of the prophet which they compare to nursery rhymes, children's fables. The prophet warns that they are dancing on the precipice, absolutely unprepared for the impending disaster.

Chapter 27 envisions God slaughtering the Leviathan - the sea monsters. What is the Leviathan in Tanakh and the Talmud?

Is Chapter 26 the source for the doctrine of Techiat Hametim?

Chapter 25 depicts a world of universal recognition of God, in which "Death will be swallowed away for ever". What does this mean? Doe sit mean that the death of the Assyrian conquest will end, or is it a reference to a time in which people will live eternally?

"The earth is breaking, breaking; The earth is crumbling, crumbling; The earth is tottering, tottering." Our chapter describes a devastating earthquake, which is visited on society because of its injustice and sin. It leads to a sense of social parity, as high and low are dealt the same fate, and the apocalypse means that all are as vulnerable as the other.

Ch.23 is the final of the Pronouncements against the Nations. This one predicts the fall of Tyre, and bears a striking affinity to the fortunes of Israel and Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is under siege. But the city is partying! What are the people thinking? Why don't they turn to God? Why is there an atmosphere of levity and rejoicing? Are they secure in their defenses, or are they intent on enjoying their final days on earth? Isaiah will pin the blame on a particular politician - Shevna.

Isaiah ch.21 contains no less than three prophecies. Our podcast today addresses two foci: 1. The prophet's traumatic experience at receiving harsh prophecy 2. The usage, in piyut and in modern Israeli song, of vs.11-12: "The morning comes, and then again, the night."

The prophet is told to walk "naked and barefoot" for three years (!) to warn the people not to rely on the power of Egypt. But would God really demand that his prophets debase themselves in this manner?