Our passage tonight β the oracle against Babylon β has a chiastic structure:
1. The Coming Day of the LORD against Babylon (13:1-5) 2. The Humiliation of Babylon (13:6-22) 3. The LORD's Decree Regarding the Restoration of Jacob (14:1-2) 2'. The Proverb against the King of Babylon (14:3-21) 1'. The Purpose of the LORD: Assyria β and All Nations β Will Fall (14:24-27)
There is a reason why Isaiah starts with an oracle against Babylon. The Hebrew word for "Babylon" is the word babel. As in the tower of Babel. In English we distinguish between Babylon and Babel. In Hebrew you don't.
So when Isaiah opens his oracles against the nations with an oracle against Babel, it would certainly make people wonder β does this have anything to do with the Tower of Babel?
As we will see throughout these oracles in chapters 13-27, the nations are very much like Babel / Babylon. They may be weaker β but in their hearts, they too are like their big sister.
Chapter 13 starts with a description of the Day of the Lord. The Day of the LORD is a common prophetic theme, which appears to have originated with Amos a century before Isaiah's time. The Day of the LORD is a day of darkness, and not light...
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