At that time, Hezekiah fell deathly sick. He prayed to the LORD, who responded to him and gave him a sign\u201d (II Chronicles 32:26).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n II Kings 20 talks not only about the illness, but also relates Hezekiah\u2019s plea to Isaiah, Isaiah\u2019s response from God, and the sign. But only Isaiah 38 includes Hezekiah\u2019s prayer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Why does the prayer only appear in Isaiah? Kings is the neutral account. Perhaps the prayer of Hezekiah did not add anything to the general narrative of the story, which is why it was left out. Chronicles is the royal spin, making it the logical place to include the prayer, for it\u00a0 shows Hezekiah\u2019s gratitude to God. Perhaps the editor made the strategic decision to avoid this story as much as possible, since falling ill was seen as a punishment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The story was also followed by the arrival of Babylonian emissaries, which was also a low point for Hezekiah. These two incidents are mashed together in II Chronicles:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Hezekiah made no return for what had been bestowed upon him, for he grew arrogant; so wrath was decreed for him and for Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah humbled himself where he had been arrogant, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and no wrath of the LORD came on them during the reign of Hezekiah\u2026So too in the matter of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who were sent to him to inquire about the sign that was in the land, when God forsook him in order to test him\u2026 (II Chronicles 32:27-29, 31).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Chronicler knows that these last two incidents are important to the general narrative of the Southern Kingdom, but they involve punishment and doom as well. Combining these stories was the best way to avoid too much attention, even if positive details were left out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaiah is the prophet\u2019s perspective. If Isaiah had been the one who prayed here, it would have made sense to include it, so it seems odd that Hezekiah\u2019s prayer is included. Perhaps there is a twofold reason. The first is the negative reasons given why it is not included in Kings and Chronicles. It should have been part of the story for all three but was deleted from the other two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Isaiah did not delete it because it shows something unique in Isaiah, that is, responses to Isaiah\u2019s prophecy. The entire book is made up of Isaiah\u2019s pronouncements against Israel as well as other nations but does not include responses from these parties until now. Hezekiah\u2019s thanksgiving prayer to God is what Isaiah wants to hear in response to his prophecies. Moreover, the prayer is written in the poetic format of Isaiah\u2019s book, so it also fits in structurally.<\/span><\/p>\r\n <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66815,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Hezekiah\u2019s Prayer","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"His illness might indicate punishment, but his prayer of gratitude is to his credit","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66815,"alt":"","title":"is36-hezekiah1","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","width":622,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-300x289.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":289,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","medium_large-width":622,"medium_large-height":600,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","large-width":622,"large-height":600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","1536x1536-width":622,"1536x1536-height":600,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","2048x2048-width":622,"2048x2048-height":600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1.jpg","post_full_size-width":622,"post_full_size-height":600,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is36-hezekiah1-435x420.jpg","home_baner-width":435,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"437","name":"Prayer","old_id":"837"},{"term_id":"520","name":"Gratitude","old_id":"920"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"},{"term_id":"939","name":"Chronicles","old_id":"1339"}]},{"order":3,"id":"66945","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Hezekiah v. Isaiah ","post_title":"Hezekiah v. Isaiah","slug":"hezekiah-v-isaiah","old_id":"66945","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":65182,"post_title":"Benny Lau & Yoel Bin Nun","slug":"benny-lau-yoel-bin-nun","old_id":"65182","first_name":"Benny Lau","last_name":"and Yoel Bin Nun","description":"Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau is the founder and head of the Israeli initiative 929 and is a community leader, activist, author, and public speaker.\r\nRabbi Yoel Bin Nun, PhD. is a religious Zionist rabbi who was among the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion and who emphasized the importance of the study of Tanach, and not just Talmud, in yeshiva. \r\nTogether they are the authors of \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\" (Maggid Books, 2019)","short_description":"Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau is the founder and head of the Israeli initiative 929. Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun, PhD. is a religious Zionist rabbi who was among the founders of Yeshivat Har Etzion. Together they are the authors of \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\" (Maggid Books, 2019)\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":65183,"alt":"","title":"lau bin nun","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun.jpg","width":1054,"height":691,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun-300x197.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":197,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun-768x503.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":503,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun-1024x671.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":671,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun.jpg","1536x1536-width":1054,"1536x1536-height":691,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun.jpg","2048x2048-width":1054,"2048x2048-height":691,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun.jpg","post_full_size-width":1054,"post_full_size-height":691,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/lau-bin-nun-641x420.jpg","home_baner-width":641,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Two righteous ones, in conflict","post_main_content_content":" Hezekiah was struck by severe illness, described in both Kings and Isaiah... [I]t may be assumed that this episode took place during the regional rebellions against Assyria, while Isaiah was trying to dissuade the king from joining the rebel alliances.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The tension between the prophet and the king is immediately obvious from this passage. Isaiah went to visit the suffering patient bearing a death sentence: \u201cGive command to your household, for you are dying, and you shall not live.\u201d The sages sketch out the story behind Isaiah\u2019s visit to the king:<\/span><\/p>\r\n Hamnuna said, \u201cWho is like the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who knows how to effect compromise between two righ\u00adteous ones, between Hezekiah and Isaiah. Hezekiah said: Let Isaiah come to me, as in Elijah, who went to Ahab, as it is stated: \u201cAnd Elijah went to appear to Ahab\u201d (I Kings 18:2). And Isaiah said, Let Hezekiah come to me, as in Jehoram son of Ahab, who went to Elisha. What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do? He brought suffering upon Hezekiah, and told Isaiah, Go and visit the sick\u2026 What is the meaning of \u201cYou are dying and you will not live\u201d? You are dying \u2013 in this world, and you will not live [you have no share] \u2013 in the World to Come.<\/p>\r\n ...He said to him: The decree has already been decreed against you. Hezekiah said to him: Son of Amoz, cease your prophecy and leave. I have received a tradition from the house of my father\u2019s father. Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person\u2019s neck, he should not prevent himself from [praying for] mercy. (Berakhot 10a\u2013b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n The tension between Isaiah and Hezekiah is evident in this pas\u00adsage. When Isaiah entered with his tidings of death, Hezekiah did not reply, but rather turned his face to the wall and prayed. The prophet left, but immediately returned to announce that the king\u2019s prayers had been answered. Like Isaiah, the king had communicated directly with God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n This episode, like the \u201cnaked and barefoot\u201d prophecy of chapter 20, can be explained by the ideological-political struggle between Isaiah and Hezekiah. As long as Hezekiah had been engaged in restoring the Sanctuary, purifying and expanding Jerusalem, and absorbing refugees from Ephraim, the prophet had revered him as if he were the Messiah. However, once the king began to show signs of interest in the rebellion against Assyria, the prophet turned against him. The king pursued power, and the prophet protested against his actions. This is what tore the \u201ctwo righteous ones\u201d apart, in the words of R. Hamnuna.<\/span><\/p>\r\n image: Ben Schachter<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66958,"alt":"","title":"Is38-LauBinNun","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","width":1277,"height":633,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-300x149.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":149,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-768x381.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":381,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-1024x508.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":508,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","1536x1536-width":1277,"1536x1536-height":633,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","2048x2048-width":1277,"2048x2048-height":633,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-1200x595.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":595,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-847x420.jpg","home_baner-width":847,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Excerpts from \"Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice\"","tile_main_caption":"Hezekiah v. Isaiah","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Two righteous ones, in conflict","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66958,"alt":"","title":"Is38-LauBinNun","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","width":1277,"height":633,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-300x149.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":149,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-768x381.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":381,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-1024x508.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":508,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","1536x1536-width":1277,"1536x1536-height":633,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun.jpg","2048x2048-width":1277,"2048x2048-height":633,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-1200x595.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":595,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Is38-LauBinNun-847x420.jpg","home_baner-width":847,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"390","name":"Prophets","old_id":"790"},{"term_id":"455","name":"Illness","old_id":"855"},{"term_id":"503","name":"Power","old_id":"903"},{"term_id":"835","name":"King","old_id":"1235"},{"term_id":"898","name":"Hezekiah","old_id":"1298"},{"term_id":"940","name":"Isaiah","old_id":"1340"}]},{"order":4,"id":"66962","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"2","name":"When Life Hangs By A Thread ","post_title":"When Life Hangs By A Thread","slug":"when-life-hangs-by-a-thread","old_id":"66962","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"My dwelling is pulled up and removed from me Like a tent of shepherds","post_main_content_content":" In chapter 38 of Isaiah, we read the poem that King Hezekiah composed after he recovered from his life-threatening illness. In the beginning of the poem, he describes his feelings when he thought he would surely die. He uses poetic imagery to depict this feeling of dread. For example:<\/span><\/p>\r\n My dwelling is pulled up and removed from me<\/span> He uses these metaphors \u2013 of a tent, a web, a thrum \u2013 to paint a picture of something on the edge of conclusion. When the shepherds get ready to move to a new place, they pack up their tents. The second image describes a weaver, who when finishing the tapestry (the \u201cweb\u201d), cuts the string. That string is the \u201cthrum\u201d \u2013 the strings of threads hanging on the loom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The Hebrew word here for thrum is <\/span>dalah<\/span><\/i>. The root <\/span>D-L-H<\/span><\/i> and its related root <\/span>D-L-L<\/span><\/i> give us words that have meanings connected to hanging or suspending. So in addition to the threads hanging from a loom, the verb <\/span>dalah<\/span><\/i> means \u201cto draw water from a well\u201d, and the tool used to draw the water is a <\/span>dli<\/span><\/i>, \u201cbucket\u201d, which hangs in the well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n A poor person is in a low state, and so the word <\/span>dal<\/span><\/i> \u2013 \u201cpoor, weak\u201d, can be seen as someone hanging low. From here we get the verb <\/span>dalal<\/span><\/i> \u2013 \u201cto thin out, dilute.\u201d The latter is no relation to the Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n One more word we get from these roots is <\/span>delet<\/span><\/i> \u2013 \u201cdoor\u201d. With our modern doors that might seem like a strange connection, but if we think about how doors were in tents, dangling from a roof pole, it makes more sense. Just like the <\/span>dalah<\/span><\/i> threads hanging from the loom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The word <\/span>delet<\/span><\/i> gives us the name for the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, <\/span>dalet <\/span><\/i>(not \u201cdaled\u201d as is frequently heard today \u2013 that pronunciation likely has Yiddish influence).<\/span><\/p>\r\n The shape in ancient texts very much resembles the door of a tent:<\/span><\/p>\r\n And even today, the letter still maintains the sense of hanging:<\/span><\/p>\r\n Dalet<\/span><\/i> became \u201cdelta\u201d in Greek, where it had more of a triangular shape:<\/span><\/p>\r\n That shape provided the word \u201cdelta\u201d, meaning the triangular tract of sediment at the mouth of the river. The letter continued to travel, eventually becoming the letter \u201cD\u201d in English.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n Letter images - courtesy of wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"When Life Hangs By A Thread","tile_main_caption":"My dwelling is pulled up and removed from me Like a tent of shepherds; My life is rolled up like a web And cut from the thrum. Only from daybreak to nightfall Was I kept whole","tile_main_caption_size":"2","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"361","name":"Hebrew language","old_id":"761"},{"term_id":"854","name":"Metaphor","old_id":"1254"},{"term_id":"876","name":"Greek","old_id":"1276"}]},{"order":5,"id":"66956","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Prayer Of Hezekiah And Textual Criticism ","post_title":"The Prayer Of Hezekiah And Textual Criticism","slug":"the-prayer-of-hezekiah-and-textual-criticism","old_id":"66956","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":36147,"post_title":"Aaron Koller","slug":"aaron-koller","old_id":"36147","first_name":"Aaron","last_name":"Koller","description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, where he is chair of the Beren Department of Jewish Studies. His last book was Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought (Cambridge University Press), and his next is Unbinding Isaac: The Akedah in Jewish Thought (forthcoming from JPS\/University of Nebraska Press in 2020); he is also the author of numerous studies in Semitic philology. Aaron has served as a visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and held research fellowships at the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research and the Hartman Institute. He lives in Queens, NY with his wife, Shira Hecht-Koller, and their children.","short_description":"Aaron Koller is professor of Near Eastern studies at Yeshiva University, and chair of the Department of Jewish Studies there.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36148,"alt":"","title":"AJ Koller headshot","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","width":5184,"height":3456,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1365,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/AJ-Koller-headshot-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"They wrote it differently in Qumran","post_main_content_content":" Our chapter tells of the sickness of Hezekiah, who was about to die, followed by his miraculous recovery and a prayer that he offers as a result. There are many difficulties in this chapter, including figuring out where it belongs chronologically. There are also many difficult lines, and perhaps none more difficult than verses 16-17.<\/span><\/p>\r\n One of the harder phrases here is the beginning of verse 17, <\/span>hinneh le-shalom mar li mar<\/span><\/i>, literally, \u201clook, for peace, bittered me bitter,\u201d or something of the sort. Sometimes, the reason a text is very difficult to understand is that there is a mistake in it, a typo of sorts. In this case, we get some help from the copy of Isaiah from Qumran, from among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The \u201c<\/span>Great Isaiah Scroll<\/span><\/a>\u201d from Qumran is our earliest copy of Isaiah. That does not mean it\u2019s the most accurate, in hundreds of details, it is clearly secondary compared to the traditional text (called \u201cthe Masoretic text,\u201d or MT).<\/span><\/p>\r\n In this case, the reading of the Qumran text is <\/span>\u05de\u05e8 \u05dc\u05d9 \u05de\u05d0\u05d5\u05d3\u05d4<\/span>, a writing of <\/span>mar li me\u2019od<\/span><\/i> \u201cit is very bitter for me!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n This seems to be a better reading. The previous word, <\/span>shalom<\/span><\/i>, would be the opposite of this illness and bitterness, and the prayer is presumably for <\/span>shalom<\/span><\/i>, the opposite of his current state, when things are quite bitter for him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n image: Great Isaiah Scroll \/ wikiwand<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66960,"alt":"","title":"is38-dss","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","width":640,"height":701,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-274x300.jpg","medium-width":274,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":701,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":701,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":701,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":701,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":701,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-383x420.jpg","home_baner-width":383,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Prayer Of Hezekiah And Textual Criticism","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"They wrote it differently in Qumran","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66960,"alt":"","title":"is38-dss","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","width":640,"height":701,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-274x300.jpg","medium-width":274,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","medium_large-width":640,"medium_large-height":701,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","large-width":640,"large-height":701,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","1536x1536-width":640,"1536x1536-height":701,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","2048x2048-width":640,"2048x2048-height":701,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss.jpg","post_full_size-width":640,"post_full_size-height":701,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dss-383x420.jpg","home_baner-width":383,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"575","name":"Interpretation","old_id":"975"},{"term_id":"721","name":"Text","old_id":"1121"}]},{"order":6,"id":"116594","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah38","post_title":"The Tanakh Podcast-Isaiah38","slug":"the-tanakh-podcast-isaiah38","old_id":"116594","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33692,"post_title":"Alex Israel","slug":"33692-2","old_id":"33692","first_name":"Alex","last_name":"Israel","description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem. His first book \"I Kings - Torn in Two\" was published in 2013. See his website www.alexisrael.org, and his podcasts at https:\/\/elmad.pardes.org\/ and https:\/\/tanachstudy.com\/ \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Alex Israel teaches Tanakh at the Pardes Institute, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi and Matan, Jerusalem.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33693,"alt":"","title":"alex israel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","width":1657,"height":2500,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":679,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-679x1024.jpg","large-width":679,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1018,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1357,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-795x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":795,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/alex-israel-278x420.jpg","home_baner-width":278,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"4","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Tanakh Podcast","tile_main_caption":"Isaiah 38: The Power Of Prayer","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Hezekiah is struck by a life-threatening illness. He is told he will die, but he appeals to God, and 15 years are added to his life. We look at Hezekiah's beautiful prayer of thanks (which is omitted from the parallel accounts in Kings and Chronicles).","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":108885,"alt":"","title":"-635baf915f04f--635baf915f050tanakh podcast - Alex Israel.JPG","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","width":350,"height":352,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG-298x300.jpg","medium-width":298,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","medium_large-width":350,"medium_large-height":352,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","large-width":350,"large-height":352,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","1536x1536-width":350,"1536x1536-height":352,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","2048x2048-width":350,"2048x2048-height":352,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","post_full_size-width":350,"post_full_size-height":352,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2022\/10\/635baf915f04f-635baf915f050tanakh-podcast-Alex-Israel.JPG.jpg","home_baner-width":350,"home_baner-height":352}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/4munnw8yugbg3FGw0GCghE","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"589","name":"audio","old_id":"989"},{"term_id":"857","name":"podcast","old_id":"1257"}]},{"order":7,"id":"66967","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Hezekiah\u2019s Health ","post_title":"Hezekiah\u2019s Health","slug":"hezekiahs-health","old_id":"66967","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"And how Isaiah helped him recover\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":" In those days Hezekiah fell dangerously ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came and said to him, \u2018Thus said the LORD: Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die; you will not get well.\u2019 (1)<\/span><\/p>\r\n While to all superficial appearances, Hezekiah\u2019s illness was an ordinary physical malaise, Malbim,* characteristically, drew distinctions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Man has three adversaries.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Hezekiah was set upon by the two external adversaries. Three days before Sennacherib, the foreign enemy, arrived at his gates, the innermost adversary\u2014the maladies of disposition and illnesses of [physical] composition\u2014combined to set upon him and to do him in\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n However, if man overcomes his most internal adversary\u2014by improving his conduct\u2014and restores peace and verity to his soul and his intellect, then even his two external foes will submit to him. Therefore, Isaiah came to point out to [Hezekiah] that he would die and not live because he was lacking the internal matter that is the source of true and eternal life\u2026 whereupon [Hezekiah] understood what was incumbent upon him to do.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Malbim\u2019s valuable insight may explain why the sign that Isaiah enacted (7-8) consisted of the recession of both the sun and the shade. The former represents the physical dimension while the latter is its spiritual complement.<\/span><\/p>\r\n *For the significance of Malbim\u2019s commentary to the Book of Isaiah,<\/span> see our introduction to chapter 1.<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":66968,"alt":"","title":"is38-Hezekiah's Recovery","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","width":566,"height":387,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery-300x205.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":205,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","medium_large-width":566,"medium_large-height":387,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","large-width":566,"large-height":387,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","1536x1536-width":566,"1536x1536-height":387,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","2048x2048-width":566,"2048x2048-height":387,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","post_full_size-width":566,"post_full_size-height":387,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","home_baner-width":566,"home_baner-height":387}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Hezekiah\u2019s Health","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"And how Isaiah helped him recover","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":66968,"alt":"","title":"is38-Hezekiah's Recovery","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","width":566,"height":387,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery-300x205.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":205,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","medium_large-width":566,"medium_large-height":387,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","large-width":566,"large-height":387,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","1536x1536-width":566,"1536x1536-height":387,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","2048x2048-width":566,"2048x2048-height":387,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","post_full_size-width":566,"post_full_size-height":387,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-Hezekiahs-Recovery.jpg","home_baner-width":566,"home_baner-height":387}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"455","name":"Illness","old_id":"855"},{"term_id":"616","name":"Spirit","old_id":"1016"}]},{"order":8,"id":"66948","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Sundial Of Life ","post_title":"The Sundial Of Life","slug":"the-sundial-of-life","old_id":"66948","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":54356,"post_title":"Robert Alter","slug":"robert-alter","old_id":"54356","first_name":"Robert ","last_name":"Alter","description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has written over twenty books, focusing on such topics as the European novel from the 18th century to the present, contemporary American fiction, and modern Hebrew literature. He has also written extensively on the literary aspects of the Bible. His most recent work is his monumental three volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019 - from which the selections in 929 are taken. ","short_description":"Robert Alter is the Class of 1937 Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley, and author of the three-volume translation of the entire Hebrew Bible - The Hebrew Bible, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54357,"alt":"","title":"robert alter","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","width":184,"height":275,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium-width":184,"medium-height":275,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","medium_large-width":184,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","large-width":184,"large-height":275,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","1536x1536-width":184,"1536x1536-height":275,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","2048x2048-width":184,"2048x2048-height":275,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","post_full_size-width":184,"post_full_size-height":275,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/robert-alter.jpg","home_baner-width":184,"home_baner-height":275}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"372","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Hezekiah gets a new lease on life","post_main_content_content":" 38:8 \u201cI am about to turn back the shadow on the steps that has gone down on the Steps of Ahaz with the sun ten steps backward.\u2019\u201d And the sun turned back ten steps on the steps where it had come down.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n What is evidently in question is a kind of sundial, but one that is not a horizontal disk but rather a series of steps set into a wall, ten on the left side to show the shadow of the ascending sun and ten on the right side for the descending sun. A device of this sort has been found in Egypt. The King James Version and modern Hebrew understands ma\u2019a lot as \u201cdegrees,\u201d but these were probably actual steps, which is what the word usually means in biblical Hebrew.<\/span><\/p>\r\n From: Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible<\/em>, vol. 2: Prophets, W. W. Norton & Co., 2019, ad loc. By permission of the author.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"From Robert Alter's Bible Translation and Commentary","tile_main_caption":"The Sundial Of Life","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Hezekiah gets a new lease on life","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":54890,"alt":"","title":"Alter-Cover","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","width":1200,"height":693,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-300x173.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":173,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-768x444.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":444,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1024x591.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":591,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","1536x1536-width":1200,"1536x1536-height":693,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover.jpg","2048x2048-width":1200,"2048x2048-height":693,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-1200x693.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":693,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Alter-Cover-727x420.jpg","home_baner-width":727,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Isaiah","chapter":"38","chapter_main_number":"372","date":"20270201","wall_id":"372"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"420","name":"Time","old_id":"820"}]},{"order":9,"id":"66646","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 38 ","post_title":"Sefaria Source Sheets - Isaiah 38","slug":"sefaria-source-sheets-isaiah-38","old_id":"66646","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42228,"post_title":"Sefaria","slug":"sefaria","old_id":"42228","first_name":"","last_name":"Sefaria","description":"Sefaria is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the future of Jewish learning in an open and participatory way. 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\r\n<\/span>Like a tent of shepherds;<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>My life is rolled up like a web<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>And cut from the thrum.<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Only from daybreak to nightfall<\/span>
\r\n<\/span>Was I kept whole (Isaiah 38:12)<\/span><\/p>\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-tent.png\")
<\/p>\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is38-dalet-244x300.png\")
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/uploads\/2019\/12\/isaiah38-delta.png\")
alpha<\/p>\r\n\r\n\t
\r\n\t