Yesaya 51:9-10
Konteks51:9 Wake up! Wake up!
Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord! 1
Wake up as in former times, as in antiquity!
Did you not smash 2 the Proud One? 3
Did you not 4 wound the sea monster? 5
51:10 Did you not dry up the sea,
the waters of the great deep?
Did you not make 6 a path through the depths of the sea,
so those delivered from bondage 7 could cross over?
Yesaya 63:11-15
Konteks63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. 8
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of 9 his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, 10
63:12 the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, 11
who divided the water before them,
gaining for himself a lasting reputation, 12
63:13 who led them through the deep water?
Like a horse running on flat land 13 they did not stumble.
63:14 Like an animal that goes down into a valley to graze, 14
so the Spirit of the Lord granted them rest.
In this way 15 you guided your people,
gaining for yourself an honored reputation. 16
63:15 Look down from heaven and take notice,
from your holy, majestic palace!
Where are your zeal 17 and power?
Do not hold back your tender compassion! 18
[51:9] 1 tn The arm of the Lord is a symbol of divine military power. Here it is personified and told to arouse itself from sleep and prepare for action.
[51:9] 2 tn Heb “Are you not the one who smashed?” The feminine singular forms agree grammatically with the feminine noun “arm.” The Hebrew text has ַהמַּחְצֶבֶת (hammakhtsevet), from the verbal root חָצַב (khatsav, “hew, chop”). The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has, probably correctly, המחצת, from the verbal root מָחַץ (makhats, “smash”) which is used in Job 26:12 to describe God’s victory over “the Proud One.”
[51:9] 3 tn This title (רַהַב, rahav, “proud one”) is sometimes translated as a proper name: “Rahab” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). It is used here of a symbolic sea monster, known elsewhere in the Bible and in Ugaritic myth as Leviathan. This sea creature symbolizes the forces of chaos that seek to destroy the created order. In the Bible “the Proud One” opposes God’s creative work, but is defeated (see Job 26:12; Ps 89:10). Here the title refers to Pharaoh’s Egyptian army that opposed Israel at the Red Sea (see v. 10, and note also Isa 30:7 and Ps 87:4, where the title is used of Egypt).
[51:9] 4 tn The words “did you not” are understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line). The rhetorical questions here and in v. 10 expect the answer, “Yes, you certainly did!”
[51:9] 5 tn Hebrew תַּנִּין (tannin) is another name for the symbolic sea monster. See the note at 27:1. In this context the sea creature represents Egypt. See the note on the title “Proud One” earlier in this verse.
[51:10] 6 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Are you not the one who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made…?”
[51:10] 7 tn Heb “the redeemed” (so ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “the ransomed.”
[63:11] 8 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
[63:11] 9 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
[63:11] 10 sn See the note at v. 10.
[63:12] 11 tn Heb “who caused to go at the right hand of Moses the arm of his splendor.”
[63:12] 12 tn Heb “making for himself a lasting name.”
[63:13] 13 tn Heb “in the desert [or “steppe”].”
[63:14] 14 tn The words “to graze” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[63:14] 15 tn Or “so” (KJV, ASV), or “thus” (NAB, NRSV).
[63:14] 16 tn Heb “making for yourself a majestic name.”
[63:15] 17 tn This probably refers to his zeal for his people, which motivates him to angrily strike out against their enemies.
[63:15] 18 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “the agitation of your intestines and your compassion to me they are held back.” The phrase “agitation of your intestines” is metonymic, referring to the way in which one’s nervous system reacts when one feels pity and compassion toward another. אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) is awkward in this context, where the speaker represents the nation and, following the introduction (see v. 7), utilizes first person plural forms. The translation assumes an emendation to the negative particle אַל (’al). This also necessitates emending the following verb form (which is a plural perfect) to a singular jussive (תִתְאַפָּק, tit’appaq). The Hitpael of אָפַק (’afaq) also occurs in 42:14.
