Discovery BoxIsaiah 27:1
Context27:1 At that time 1 the Lord will punish
with his destructive, 2 great, and powerful sword
Leviathan the fast-moving 3 serpent,
Leviathan the squirming serpent;
he will kill the sea monster. 4
Isaiah 64:7
Context64:7 No one invokes 5 your name,
or makes an effort 6 to take hold of you.
For you have rejected us 7
and handed us over to our own sins. 8
[27:1] 1 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:1] 2 tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”
[27:1] 3 tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”
[27:1] 4 tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)
[64:7] 5 tn Or “calls out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “calls on.”
[64:7] 6 tn Or “rouses himself”; NASB “arouses himself.”
[64:7] 7 tn Heb “for you have hidden your face from us.”
[64:7] 8 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “and you caused us to melt in the hand of our sin.” The verb וַתְּמוּגֵנוּ (vattÿmugenu) is a Qal preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the root מוּג (mug, “melt”). However, elsewhere the Qal of this verb is intransitive. If the verbal root מוּג (mug) is retained here, the form should be emended to a Polel pattern (וַתְּמֹגְגֵנוּ, vattÿmogÿgenu). The translation assumes an emendation to וַתְּמַגְּנֵנוּ (vattÿmaggÿnenu, “and you handed us over”). This form is a Piel preterite 2nd person masculine singular with a 1st person common plural suffix from the verbal root מִגֵּן (miggen, “hand over, surrender”; see HALOT 545 s.v. מגן and BDB 171 s.v. מָגָן). The point is that God has abandoned them to their sinful ways and no longer seeks reconciliation.
