174 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS
Isa 52:13: "Look, my servant shall succeed (yaskfl)." On the success achieved
by David while he was still in the employ of Saul, see I Sam 18:5.
and do justice and righteousness in the land. Another indication that the fu-
ture king will be wholly unlike Jehoiakim. Kings are expected to do justice and
righteousness (see Notes for 21:12 and 22:3). Again, David was remembered as
doing both (2 Sam 8:15). See also Ps 72:1-2.
- In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell in security. A syntactic
chiasmus in the Hebrew, with "Judah" and "Israel" at the center. The parallel
text of 33:16 has "Jerusalem" instead of "Israel," which occurs here in the read-
ing of Gs. Mention of both Judah and Israel indicates that a united Israel-
such as existed under David-will enjoy this future salvation and secure exist-
ence. Jeremiah's early preaching envisioned a return of Northern Israel to
Zion (31:1-20). See also 3:18; 31:27-28, 31-34; 33:23-26. On the theme of
Israel dwelling "in security," see 32:37; Deut 33:28; Isa 30:15; 32:17.
Some Old Babylonian and Assyrian texts from Nineveh and Assur have
turned up purporting to predict the rise of unnamed rulers, stating how long
the new king will reign, and promising for the country either safety and well-
being or a period of major unrest (Grayson and Lambert 1964; ANET^3 606-7;
Beyerlin 1978: 118-22). The texts are dated sometime prior to 650 B.C. (Lam-
bert 1970: 176-77), and there is debate about whether they are genuine predic-
tions or prophecies ex eventu; also whether they are omen apodoses or more
similar to biblical prophecy and/or biblical apocalyptic, e.g., Dan 8:23-25;
11:3-45. Hallo (1966), who does not weigh heavily the predictive element in
biblical prophecy, thinks they are "pretended" predictions, i.e., vaticinium ex
eventu, but Lambert maintains that some, at least, were intended as detailed
predictions of historical events, though not with any overall plan and not lead-
ing to a grand climax in history such as we find in biblical thought. One of the
texts (Text A) from Assur reads:
[A ruler will arise], he [will rule] for eighteen years
The country will live safely, the interior of the country will be happy, the
people will [have abun]dance
The gods will make beneficial decisions for the country, favorable winds
[will blow]
That ruler will be killed in an uprising
A ruler will arise, and he will rule for thirteen years
There will be an attack of Elam against Akkad, and
The booty of Akkad will be carried off
The temples of the great gods will be destroyed, the
defeat of Akkad will be decreed (by the gods)
There will be confusion, disturbance, and unhappy events
in the land, and
