Yahweh does what He does to demonstrate His uniqueness, both to Cyrus and to everyone else. From the rising to the setting of the sun, men will know “none besides me, I myself Yahweh, and there is none else” (Isaiah 45:6; Heb. ki-‘efes bil’aday ‘aniy yawh v’eyn ‘od ).
Virtually the same claim of uniqueness appears a few verseslater in Isaiah 45, in the same somewhat broken Hebrew: “there is none other, no other God (v. 14; Heb. v’eyn ‘od ‘efes ‘elohim ). But in this second passage, the context is praise for the uniqueness of Israel (or Cyrus?) in whom God dwells: “Surely God is in you” ( ‘ak bak ‘el ). And the parallel of Israel (or Cyrus?) with Yahweh is reinforced by the fact that Eypt, Cush, and the Sabeans will prostrate ( shachah ) themselves before and pray ( palal ) to them (him?). Israel (or Cyrus) become the “graven image” of Yahweh, before whom the nations bow. And this promise is made in the same context where the uniqueness of Yahweh is strongly emphasized.
Israel may be a clay pot molded by the Potter (vv. 9-10), but this pot bears the glory of the one God. One God, one people.
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