Discovery BoxIsaiah 38:12
Context38:12 My dwelling place 1 is removed and taken away 2 from me
like a shepherd’s tent.
I rolled up my life like a weaver rolls cloth; 3
from the loom he cuts me off. 4
You turn day into night and end my life. 5
Isaiah 63:11
Context63:11 His people remembered the ancient times. 6
Where is the one who brought them up out of the sea,
along with the shepherd of 7 his flock?
Where is the one who placed his holy Spirit among them, 8
[38:12] 1 tn According to HALOT 217 s.v. דּוֹר this noun is a hapax legomenon meaning “dwelling place,” derived from a verbal root meaning “live” (see Ps 84:10). For an interpretation that understands the form as the well-attested noun meaning “generation,” see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:679, n. 4.
[38:12] 2 tn The verb form appears to be a Niphal from גָּלָה (galah), which normally means “uncovered, revealed” in the Niphal. Because of the following reference to a shepherd’s tent, some prefer to emend the form to וְנָגַל, a Niphal from גָלָל (galal, “roll”) and translate “is rolled [or “folded”] up.”
[38:12] 3 tn Heb “I rolled up, like a weaver, my life” (so ASV).
[38:12] 4 sn For a discussion of the imagery employed here, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:684.
[38:12] 5 tn Heb “from day to night you bring me to an end.”
[63:11] 6 tn Heb “and he remembered the days of antiquity, Moses, his people.” The syntax of the statement is unclear. The translation assumes that “his people” is the subject of the verb “remembered.” If original, “Moses” is in apposition to “the days of antiquity,” more precisely identifying the time period referred to. However, the syntactical awkwardness suggests that “Moses” may have been an early marginal note (perhaps identifying “the shepherd of his flock” two lines later) that has worked its way into the text.
[63:11] 7 tn The Hebrew text has a plural form, which if retained and taken as a numerical plural, would probably refer to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite tribal leaders at the time of the Exodus. Most prefer to emend the form to the singular (רָעָה, ra’ah) and understand this as a reference just to Moses.
