01_van Wieringen_481-497_481-497 10/12/15 10:10 Pagina 492 492 ARCHIBALD VAN WIERINGEN 492 The Assyrian threat and the deliverance from it are narrated in Isaiah 36–37 in two stages: 36,1 – 37,9a describes the first stage, and 37,9b-38 the second stage 25. After the Assyrian threats, an ascent by Hezekiah to hwhy tyb is mentioned in both stages (Isa 37,1 and 37,14). In both accounts of the ascents, the theme of praying is mentioned: in Isa 37,3-4 the noun hlpt is used in v. 4, and in 37,15-20 the verb llp is used in v. 15. In both stages, an answer by God follows upon this praying, expressed via the prophet Isaiah respectively in 37,6-7 and 37,21-35, and the realization respectively in 37,9a and 37,36-38. The second stage is an intensification of the first stage. Whereas in the first stage Assur’s defamatory language is repeatedly present in 36,1-10.12-22, in the second stage Assur’s defamatory language is only found in a small number of verses, namely 37,9b-13. Com- pared to the second stage, the presence of Assur’s defamatory speech in the first stage is emphasized using several literary fea- tures. Assur uses biblical semantics in an incorrect way. In vv. 16- 17, Assur promises a land, depicted as a “blessing” (hkrb), which seems to be even more beautiful than the biblical land flowing with milk and honey (cf. Deut 33,28; Jer 5,17; Mi 4,4). Assur makes use of various communication strategies to reach as many listeners as possible: he changes from the lingua franca Aramaic to the regional language of Judea (see especially Isa 36,11 which contains the re- action of Eliakim and his colleagues), and alternates from the sin- gular (v. 5, txjb), referring to King Hezekiah, to the plural (v. 7, wnxjb), apparently referring to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem 26. This intensification concerns not only Assur but also Hezekiah. Whereas, in the first stage, the movement to the house of the Lord is indicated by using the neutral verb awb (“to come”, 37,1), in the second stage the technical verb hl[ (“to go up”, 37,14) is used 27. 25 Cf. R.H. O’CONNELL, Concentricity and Continuity. The Literary Struc- ture of Isaiah (JSOTSS 188; Sheffield 1994) 114, although with different sub- elements. See also BLENKINSOPP, Isaiah 1–39, 468. Pace BEUKEN, Isaiah, 341-344; BEUKEN, King Diseased and Healed, 372-374, who does not ob- serve the two stages, but instead distinguishes five dialogue scenes (36,4- 10.11-21; 36,22 – 37,7; 37,8-13.14-35). 26 See also L.J. DE REGT, Participants in Old Testament Texts and the Translator. Reference Devices and their Rhetorical Impact (SSN 39; Assen 1999) 46. 27 The word-play with the prepositions la (“to”) and l[ (“against”) in Isa 36,10 should probably be understood against this background as well. Only