Hezekiah’s sign

Yahweh tells Hezekiah through the prophet that he will have a sign. It’s a sign concerning ascent and descent. The word for “ascent” or “stair” ( ma’alah , from ‘alah , “to go up”) occurs four times (!) in the passage (Isaiah 38:8), and Yahweh promises that the shadow caused by the setting sun will change course on the “ascending thing.” Shadows naturally ascend as the day wears on, but Yahweh will make the shadow go back and light ascend.

It’s a fitting sign for Hezekiah’s cure. As he says in the Psalm he composes after his return to health, he himself was descending toward Sheol (Isaiah 38:10). As king, he is a sun and shield for his people, but the light of his sun was fading. Yahweh promises a longer day, brightness for another 15 years. The sign conjures up sacrificial imagery as well: Sacrifices “go up” in fire and smoke to heaven, and the Lord promises Hezekiah that he will ascend so that he continues to walk before the face of Yahweh (cf. v. 3). Hezekiah is an altar, the fire in his hearth is burning low; but Yahweh promises to stoke it up again.