01_van Wieringen_481-497_481-497 10/12/15 10:10 Pagina 494 494 ARCHIBALD VAN WIERINGEN 494 is not something obvious. In Isaiah 36–37, two ascents by Hezekiah are necessary, and only the second one contains Hezekiah himself praying. The final words hwhy tyb-l[ (v. 20) place the poem outside of the temple. In this way, the open ending of the narration in chap- ter 38 is confirmed by the conclusion to the poem 30. Hezekiah’s poem and prayer in Isaiah 38 are prepared for by Hezekiah’s prayer in Isaiah 36–37. What Hezekiah, in the poem, fears may happen to him, in fact happens to the King of Assur. The verb [sn (“to break off”), which the “I”-figure uses in the poem in v. 12 to indicate the end of his life, indicates Assur’s withdrawal in Isa 37,37 31. The use of the noun rqb (“morning”) should be men- tioned here as well. Whereas the “I”-figure in the poem fears there will be no morning for him (v. 13; cf. v. 12), it appears that there is no morning for the King of Assur (37,36). In the prayer in Isa 37,15-20, Hezekiah uses some words which are also used in the poem in 38,10-20. He indicates God by using the word yx (“living”, 37,17), which is actually a core lemma in the poem indicating the life both of the “I”-figure and of the group sur- rounding him (38,11.12.16.19). This group is further indicated by the similar words ~ybvwy (37,16 and 38,11) and ~da (37,19 and 38,11). In his prayer, Hezekiah asks God to see, using the word ~yny[ (37,17), which is used in the same way in the prayer in 38,3 (used also in the poem, v. 14). The same verb {[vy (“to rescue”) is used in 37,20 and 38,20 to indicate the deliverance. All these semantic similarities also support the function of the poem within the context of Isaiah 36–37. On the one hand, they prepare for the contact between the Lord and the “I”-figure and for his rescue by the Lord. On the other hand, they continue the non- direct contact between Hezekiah and the Lord, leaving a direct con- tact between the “I”-figure, indirectly identified with Hezekiah in 38,9, and the Lord to be expressed only by the use of ellipsis 32. 30 For the contrast between King Hezekiah and the King of Assur, see W.A.M. BEUKEN, Jesaja 28–39 (HThKAT; Freiburg 2010) 374. 31 The verb [sn (“to break off”) in Isa 37,8 can be considered to be a prepa- ration for its use in 38,12. 32 Cf. J.W. WATTS, “Biblical Psalms outside the Psalter”, The Book of Psalms. Composition and Reception (eds. P.W. FLINT – P.D. MILLER) (OTS 99; Leiden 2005) 288-309, here 291, 293, who has pointed out that so-called “insert hymns” are often used to highlight divine support in favour of the “I”- figure in the “insert hymns”.