{"id":65853,"date":"2019-11-19T17:23:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-19T15:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=65853"},"modified":"2023-06-14T07:55:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T04:55:22","slug":"prophets-acting-strangely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/prophets-acting-strangely\/","title":{"rendered":"Prophets Acting Strangely"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter harkens back to 2 Kings 18:17, which names Tartan, along with Rav-Saris and Rav- Shakeh, as emissaries dispatched by Sargon as he launched the earliest Assyrian attack on Judean territory. We learn, here, that at that time God also instructed Isaiah to loosen and then remove his clothes and shoes (2) as a visible sign of mourning over the impending fate of Judah. Rashi, sensitive to the honor of Isaiah, insisted that he did not actually go naked and barefoot for three years; rather, he wore torn and worn out-clothing. Malbim was prepared to accept it literally, but limited the nakedness to \u201ca day, or even just a brief time, in his own home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The matter of this peculiar prophetic behavior also elicited the following observation from Malbim* on the nature of prophecy:<\/span><\/p>\n

I have explained elsewhere that any divine prophecy predicting evil could conceivably be annulled because God is compassionate and gracious and when they repent, He annuls the decree. Witness the prophecy of Jonah to Nineveh, and Jeremiah\u2019s prophecy to Hananiah ben Azur (Jer. 28).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, whenever God reinforces the prophecy by having the prophet conduct some activity, the matter is inevitable, more so if that activity involved something remarkable to the audience. Indeed, the more eccentric his instructions, the more certain its fulfillment, which is why it is called a sign (\u2018<\/span>ot<\/span><\/i>) or wonder (<\/span>mofet<\/span><\/i>): a sign, because it aids memory, and\u00a0 a wonder due to its peculiarity to the audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

This also explains God\u2019s instructions to [the Prophet] Hoshea to \u201ctake a promiscuous woman\u201d (1:2), and similar cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our comments on chapter 11<\/a>, we noted that Malbim explained that optimistic prophecies, such as those predicting the messianic age, could be delayed\u2014albeit not annulled\u2014if the people were found undeserving. Here, he offered the converse: catastrophe might be averted if anticipated by genuine remorse, but prophecies that were accompanied by unusual actions were bound to be fulfilled.<\/span><\/p>\n

*For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":65854,"id":65854,"title":"is20-strange","filename":"is20-strange.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/is20-strange.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/prophets-acting-strangely\/is20-strange\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is20-strange","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":65853,"date":"2019-11-19 15:22:52","modified":"2019-11-19 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