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1 In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
The image of the Lord upon a throne is a typical one in the Old Testament. For example, Psalms uses this image of the Lord: Ps. 45:6 6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. The throne is used specifically for its relationship to rule, and note in the passage in Psalms that the throne is connected to "sceptre" which is also associated with kingdom. Both the throne and the scepter are physical manifestations of the right of rulership. Isaiah sees the Lord in his capacity of the ruler of all. The "train" is the edge of the robe of God. The image here is that no matter how high and "lifted up" this throne of God is, yet his very presence, symbolized by the hem of his garment, "fills" the temple. God is powerful, and God is present. Textual analysis: Our current 2 Nephi 16 is the beginning of a new chapter in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. This Book of Mormon "unit" of Isaiah will last until the beginning of our current chapter 23. Thus in the plates, our chapters 16-22 inclusive are given as a whole, with no chapter break in them. Historical information: In this chapter we are introduced to Isaiah as a prophet in a time and place. Specifically, that time is "in the year King Uzziah died," or 740/739 BC. At this time there is a divided kingdom. "The dynasty of David continued to control Judah and a fluctuating area of Benjamin. All the other tribes withdrew to form their own monarchy, which carried the comprehensive national name "Israel" in contrast to the retention of the tribal name "Judah" for the southern kingdom. The two kingdoms ran parallel for 212 years, until the fall of Israel to Assyria in 722 BCE Judah survived another 136 years before succumbing to Neo-Babylonia in 586 BCE (Gottwald, Norman K. The Hebrew Bible - A Socio-Literary Introduction. Fortress Press, Philadelphia. 1985, p. 294) "The combined work of David and Solomon moved Israel a long distance from "chieftainship" to "hierarchic kingship" along a trajectory that catapulted Israel into the forefront of ancient Near Eastern states, facilitated by the lack of any major contender for power at the time. The Solomonic bubble burst at his death when the empire split into two weaker core states after losing most of its extra-Palestinian territories. These weakened states eventually collided with the imperial designs of more powerful states. Nonetheless, the forms of state rule launched by David and maximized by Solomon set patterns that were continued in both kingdoms. It is likely that the later northern rulers Omri, Ahab, and Jeroboam II , as well as the southern rulers Uzziah and Josiah, presided for periods over empires that approached the affluence and security of Solomon’s domain." (Gottwald, p. 323.) Thus Isaiah comes into the picture into the southern Kingdom of Judah at a time of prosperity immediately preceding the calamity of the northern kingdom, where the 10 tribes will become "lost."
2 Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Symbolic analysis: The word "seraphim" is a plural, easily understood when Isaiah notes "each one…". The word comes from a word with the meaning of "burning." It is an important meaning that is lost in our translation, as the burning aspect would certainly have illustrated their glory, and this brightness or burning would have marked them as celestial beings. The wings are clearly related to flight, because "with twain did he fly." However, once again, it is the wing as a symbol of movement or mobility that is more important that the wing itself. This is specifically true with the non-flight-related functions of the other two sets of wings. Gileadi gives a reading for the symbolic covering of the face and feet: Seraphs stood by him overhead, each having six wings - with two they could veil their presence, with two conceal their location, with two fly about. (Gileadi, p. 106.) While "presence" and one’s "face" do appear to have an association in the scriptures, and "feet" and "location" have a logic, they do not appear to fit this context as well as the original. One must remember that Isaiah is seeing the seraphim, and therefore their location is certainly not concealed, nor is their presence veiled. Isaiah clearly sees them in the presence of God, and it is that presence that provides the best context for understanding the wings that cover face and feet. The experience of Moses before the Lord, and then before Israel gives us the best context for this idea: Ex. 34:33 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. Ex. 34:34 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. Ex. 34:35 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. In Exodus 34:35 note the shining of Moses’ face. The "burning ones" or seraphim and the shining face of Moses have their origins in the same concept of the glory of God. Moses receives this, and the people must be protected from it. Thus in Moses’ case, the veil is a protection - a barrier between glory and those who might be harmed by the overwhelming glory of the Lord. Now the question is who is being protected in Isaiah’s case. The symbol is the same, there is a protective covering between someone and glory. In this case, however, it is not Isaiah who is being protected from the seraphim’s glory. Isaiah is already beholding the glory of God, which necessarily is greater than that of the seraphim. The rest of the question lies in the nature of the regions of the body. The head was considered to be a very susceptible part of the body, probably a symbolic extension of the soft spot on the crown of a baby’s head. Thus this part of man is symbolically thin, and power can more easily enter there. For this reasons, blessings and annointings are give on the crown of the head. This is also the reason for the covering of women’s heads in Paul: 1 Cor. 11:7 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. In Paul, however, men have become strong enough (through the priesthood?) that they can withstand the symbolic presence of God in a church gathering. In Paul’s theology, women still require such protection on the crowns of their heads. Thus when the faces of the seraphim are covered, they are covering a vulnerable portion of their body from the glory of God. Whether the feet are significant here of the connection to earthly endeavors (Moses’ has to put off his shoes on holy ground) or whether the protection of the "feet" is the euphemism for genitalia, the concept is the same. While Isaiah is seeing the seraphim, what he is symbolically describing is the overwhelming glory of God.
3 And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
Gileadi (p. 107)has: The threshold shook to its foundation at the sound of those who called and a mist filled the temple. The NIV has: At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Scriptural analysis: In any case, the image is of voices of such power that they resonate through the building, and shake it. The building in this case is the temple, and the temple is filled with the presence of God. In verse 1 we have specifically his robe. Now the temple is filled with smoke (or mist, in Gileadi). There are two possible explanations of the smoke. One would be the symbolic smoke from sacrifices. That smoke is the offering to God, and is in place inside the temple. God is there as is the sacred smoke of the offerings (and offering of obedience) to him. Another possibility is to relate the smoke to the live coal mentioned in verse 6. However, as the live coal comes from the altar, it is quite likely that we are dealing with a sacrifice where the smoke is present, and the burning of the sacrifice produces the live coal.
5 Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; 2 Ne. 16:7 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
This image has two functions. The first is to explicitly cleanse Isaiah so that he is among the pure that are capable of being in the glory of God. It is also a reference to the sacrifice, and the function of the sacrifice. At the same time as Isaiah is purified, he strengthens the connection between sacrifice and the atonement for sin. Thus God, through the sacrifice on the altar, has cleansed Isaiah of his iniquities.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.
Abr. 3:27 27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. Rather than presume that God doesn’t know who is special messengers will be, it is important to see the wording in these calls as an affirmation of the principle of agency. God so fully respects and adheres to agency that the call comes not in emphatic command, but rather in request. The language of the call and acceptance is witness to the willing service of the prophet.
9 And he said: Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not. 2 Ne. 16:10 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes—lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.
Book of Mormon And he said: Go and tell this people— Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not. KJV And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. The change in the Book of Mormon text "fixes" a perceptual problem in the KJV Isaiah. The Book of Mormon text removes the anomalous command from God that people not understand his message. Thus the Book of Mormon takes the approach of created a command/response structure rather than seeing both clauses as part of the command. The potentially problematic reading of the KJV Isaiah is improved in other translations, however, without resorting to restructuring the commands into a command/response sequence. In Gileadi, for instance, he renders verse 9 as: And he said, Go, and say to these people, Go on hearing, but not understanding; Go on seeing, but not perceiving. In this translation, the sense is in a continuous action. Israel has not seen nor heard, and they continue to not see or hear. In the ascription of this blindness to the past, the Book of Mormon agrees with the sense of the text. What is lost is the ironic tone of the text. The message is one of scorn for the unheeding Israel. They have not repented, and the message is essentially "go on doing as you are, and the consequences will come." This reversal of expectation is part of the poetic license of Isaiah, and has been used in other contexts. The reading of verse 10 confirms this as the preferred reading of the text, for even in the Book of Mormon citation, the "command" is a negative one rather than a positive. There is no sense in the Lord’s command to Isaiah to "make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes…" except in the same ironic mode as the previous verse. Just as the Lord is not really desiring that Israel see and not perceive, nor does the Lord really want the people to have their eyes shut so that they have no chance to perceive. The meaning of these two verses is found in the reversal of the meaning, not in the words themselves. God’s desire is the opposite. It is an ironic restatement of Israel’s condition, that they do not repent even with all of the care of the Lord.
11 Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate;
12 And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
13 But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teil-tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
There is some difference in the translation revolving around the concept of the "return." Gileadi: And while yet a tenth of the people Remain in it, or return, They shall be burned… NIV: And though a tenth remains in the land, It will again be laid waste… It appears that the sense should be that the remaining tenth will also suffer "burning" rather than have this refer to a small return that will occur in the future. This also fits with the current known history of the destruction of the northern kingdom, for none "returned" after their dispersal to Assyria as the southern kingdom will after their coming captivity in Babylon. The "tenth" that remains is not a randomly chosen number, but a symbolic one. This tithe of the people will remain after the rest are carried out. While it cannot be certain, it is possible that this "burning" may be related to the poetic burning seen in chapter 15:24. That burning was analyzed as a possible burning of renewal, and perhaps this tenth may also be undergoing a burning of purification, for the next phrases give hope coming from this seen of utter destruction. The ending sentence of verse 13 is also perhaps clearer in other translations: Gileadi: But like the terebinth or the oak when it is felled, whose stump remains alive, so shall the holy offspring be what is left standing. The reference here is much clearer to an ancient world in touch with the natural world around them that for modern man. The terebinth and the oak are referenced because the readers would have understood the message that Gileadi phrases as "whose stump remains alive." Each of these trees, even when felled to a stump, can give off new shoots and grow again. Thus the Lord is telling Isaiah that although this terrible destruction will surely come, there will be a very small remnant that will remain, and will be faithful. While this verse does not describe the regrowth of the trees, the ultimate redemption of Israel is the clear message. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
2
Ne. 16:1
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