Visitation

So. The word “visit” ( paqad ) is also used seven times in the “little apocalypse” of Isaiah (24:21, 22; 26:14, 16, 21; 27:1, 3). Again, if nothing else, we have a numerical link with the days of creation, appropriate to a passage concerning the destruction and reconstruction of a world.

The correlation with specific days is even less clear than with the phrase “in that day,” but there are some general links. The first use (24:21) speaks of the Lord’s visitation on the kings of the earth, imagined as heavenly lights. The sixth usage refers to the visitation of Leviathan, the serpent who enticed Adam to fall, and the last describes Yahweh’s diligence in guarding His vineyard from those who would “visit” (27:3).

However this shakes out, the fact that we have at least two key words/phrases that occur seven times in this section is suggestive. Not only does it confirm that Isaiah 24-27 functions as a unit, but it hints at the kind of unit it is. (By my count, “Yahweh” or “Yah” occurs 28x, 4 x 7).