Isaiah 27:7

27:7 Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? ¹ 

Has Israel been killed like their enemies? ² 

Isaiah 37:38

37:38 One day, ³  as he was worshiping ⁴  in the temple of his god Nisroch, ⁵  his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ⁶  They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

[27:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Like the striking down of the one striking him down does he strike him down?” The meaning of the text is unclear, but this may be a rhetorical question, suggesting that Israel has not experienced divine judgment to the same degree as her oppressors. In this case “the one striking down” refers to Israel’s oppressors, while the pronoun “him” refers to Israel. The subject of the final verb (“does he strike down”) would then be God, while the pronoun “him” would again refer to Israel.

[27:7]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Or like the killing of his killed ones is he killed?” If one accepts the interpretation of the parallel line outlined in the previous note, then this line too would contain a rhetorical question suggesting that Israel has not experienced destruction to the same degree as its enemies. In this case “his killed ones” refers to the one who struck Israel down, and Israel would be the subject of the final verb (“is he killed”).

[37:38]  ³ sn The assassination of King Sennacherib probably took place in 681 b.c.

[37:38]  ⁴ tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[37:38]  ⁵ sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name Nisroch is a corruption of Nusku.

[37:38]  ⁶ sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.