{"id":66992,"date":"2019-12-16T11:31:19","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T09:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66992"},"modified":"2023-07-11T11:25:05","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T08:25:05","slug":"merodach-baladan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/merodach-baladan\/","title":{"rendered":"Merodach-Baladan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The \u201cking of Babylon,\u201d Merodach-Baladan, came to visit. As it turns out,<\/span> he wasn\u2019t exactly a \u201cking<\/span><\/a>.\u201d He was a rebel leader of the Babylonians, who \u2013 along with Hezekiah \u2013 was plotting the demise of the mighty Assyrian empire. While our chapter tells that the visit was primarily social, it was certainly politics that were the topic of conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is why Hezekiah \u201cshowed them his treasure house… all his armory, and everything that was to be found in his storehouses\u2026.\u201d The point was to demonstrate his strength, to assure Merodach-Baladan that the Judeans would be formidable allies, and to seal the anti- Assyrian alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Merodach-Baladan\u2019s career ended in 704 BCE, this story must have taken place c. 705-704, after the accession of Sennacherib and in the heady days of a new Assyrian king, whose strength and mettle had not yet been tested.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this helps the end of the story make sense. Isaiah is furious at Hezekiah\u2019s actions, and threatens him with a future exile, and the suffering of his descendants: \u201cAnd some of your sons, your own issue, whom you will have fathered, will be taken to serve as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.\u201d But Hezekiah stays strong: \u201cThe word of the Lord that you have spoken is good, as long as there is peace and security in my day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Hezekiah a monster? How could he be so callous regarding the fate of his descendants? Isaiah\u2019s criticism was in line with what the prophet has been saying throughout the book: walls, treaties, and alliances are not needed to protect against the Assyrians. All that is needed is faith in God! So Hezekiah\u2019s negotiations with Merodach-Baladan are a betrayal of faith, and must be punished. Hezekiah\u2019s response is not callous; it\u2019s realistic and pragmatic. \u201cAs a king,\u201d he tells the prophet, \u201cI can\u2019t rely on God to save the people without doing my part. Defenses must be planned, storehouses must be stocked, soldiers need to be stationed. And allies need to be secured! And if you tell me that this will all work, but in a few generations there may be repercussions \u2013 well, I\u2019ve done my job. As long as there is peace and security in my day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The clash between Isaiah and Hezekiah here is, then, a clash between the prophet and the king. Their viewpoints are irreconcilably different, and they part at the end of Chapter 39, never again to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, as noted, this chapter is out of order, as it must have taken place some years before the events of Isaiah 36-37, of 701 BCE. But its placement here is no accident. Tomorrow, we will begin Isaiah 40, the second half of the book, about the return from the Babylonian exile. That exile is mentioned only here. Chapter 39 was moved down to this point to introduce the exile that is about to end in the next chapter. More on that \u2013 tomorrow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Merodach-Baladan, King of Babylon, enfeoffs (makes a legal agreement with) a vassal. 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