Zombie Branch

Isaiah famously prophesies about the Branch ( netzer ) that will spring from Jesse’s root, life from the dead tree of the Davidic line.

There is another branch in Isaiah: The king of Babel who tries to climb above the clouds but then falls to earth is never going to find a glorious resting place. Other kings have their pyramids, but the king of Babel will “be cast out of your tomb like an abominable branch” ( netzer ; 14:19). The idea seems to be that the king’s body will be exhumed and cast out on the ground, “like a trampled corpse” (v. 19). Abominable things are spewed out, and the king of Babel is so abominable that even the earth will reject him, even Sheol will refuse him rest.

It looks a little like resurrection, this Babelic body coming from the grave, but it is a faux resurrection. Like the beast who has a fatal wound and gets healed, the king of Babel’s return is only a parody of resurrection. Not a Branch, but an abominable zombie branch.