In the midst of a swirling, fiery description of Yahweh’s appearance as a flame-snorting Warrior, Isaiah refers a few times to Israel’s liturgical institutions (30:27-33). While Yahweh’s Name is taking care of Israel’s enemies, Israel will be singing in their homes as they do on Passover night or as they do in processions toward the temple (v. 29). Yahweh will make war with tabrets and harps (v. 32).
The last phrase of verse 32 might also point to another aspect of liturgical warfare. It can be translated as: “and in battles of tenuphah he will fight with it.” Tenuphah is typically “wave offering” (eg, Ex 29:24, 26-27). Yahweh carries on His war against Assyria through “lifting up” of a wave offering, a Eucharistic sacrifice. Plus, the verb “fight” is lacham , so the last phrase is tenuphah nilcham , which might strike a Hebrew reader as being very close to tenuphah lechem , “wave offering of bread.”
More generally: Would ancient Hebrews have missed the pun on lacham and lechem , David’s hometown a “house of bread” and a “house of battle”?
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
