A.L.H.M. van Wieringen, «The "I"-Figure's Relations in the Poem in Isa 38,10-20», Vol. 96 (2015) 481-497
This article offers a close reading of the Writing of Hezekiah (Isa 38,10-20) and describes the development of both the relation between the "I"-figure and the Lord and that between the "I"-figure and the community. An "ellipsis" between vv. 14 and 15 plays a prominent role. Furthermore, the article demonstrates that the developments in the "I"-figure's relations in the poem fit well within the poem's context (chapters 36–39). The ellipsis in the poem is connected to the open ending of chapter 38, to the happy conclusion of chapters 36–37, and to the open ending of chapter 39.
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rest of his years (v. 10c, ytwnv rty). In vv. 15-20, it is not death but
rather life that is conveyed by the “I”-figure’s words. The new situ-
ation in the second half of the poem stands in contrast to the pre-
vious situation found in the first half of the poem. This is already
expressed in v. 15: the new situation is yvpn rm-l[ (“contrary to the
bitterness of my soul”), because of which ytwnv-lk hdda (“I stroll
all my years”). The noun rm can be considered as a synonym for
the noun hqv[, whereas the word ytwnv is repeated, including the
first person singular suffix, but now it is constructed with the word
lk instead of rty.
Secondly, the “I”-figure is no longer central. Verse 15 is crucial
to this aspect of the development. The “I”-figure states that he ac-
tually cannot speak a word: rbda-hm (“what can I speak?”). He has
said a lot in vv. 10-14, but this has not resulted in full contact with
the Lord. The relation appears to be established not by the “I”-fig-
ure but rather by the Lord. This is the reason why the “I”-figure
subsequently testifies that it is the “he”-figure who has spoken,
namely yl (“to me”, v. 15b). The statement is formulated in the third
person, but without identifying this third person with the Lord. In
this way the “I”-figure emphasizes that it is not he himself but the
other who is able to initiate the relation. The success of this contact
becomes clear in the use of the separate personal pronoun hta (v. 17b),
which is introduced by the Aufmerksamkeitserreger hnh 8, contrast-
ing the separate personal pronoun yna in v. 10a and resuming the
double hy in v. 11.
To indicate this change, the text uses a special figure of speech:
ellipsis 9. Even though in v. 15 the “I”-figure says that the “he”-per-
son, the Lord, spoke to him, nowhere in the poem does the “I”-fig-
8
Cf. W. SCHNEIDER, Grammatik des biblischen Hebräisch. Völlig neue
Bearbeitung der »Hebräischen Grammatik für den akademischen Unterricht«
von Oskar Grether (München 1974, 71989) 56 [§ 14.1]. Consequently, the
best translation of hnh in v. 17b would be “yes”.
9
Concerning ellipsis in general see J.L. SKA, “Our Fathers Have Told
Us”. Introduction to the Analysis of Hebrew Narratives (SubBib 13; Roma
1990) 12, 14; cf. M. STERNBERG, Poetics and Biblical Narratives. Ideological
Literature and the Drama of Reading (The Indiana Literary Biblical Series;
Bloomington, IN 1985) 235-240. Regarding the two types of ellipses (“si-
lence” and “omission”), as J.L. SKA, “De quelques ellipses dans les récits
bibliques”, Bib 76 (1995) 63-71, here 64-65, has pointed out, the ellipsis in
Isa 38,10-20 could be considered as a form of the type “silence”. On the other
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