Isaiah 38 Study Notes

38:1-3 In those days should not be taken to mean that chap. 38 follows chap. 37 chronologically. Hezekiah’s illness occurred before God delivered Jerusalem, as v. 6 makes clear.

38:4-5 God heard the prayer of Hezekiah and increased his lifespan by fifteen years. Interestingly, God is described as the Lord God of your ancestor David. Hezekiah was the descendant of David, who had been promised a son on the throne in Jerusalem forever. Hezekiah may not have had an heir at this time (his heir, Manasseh, was twelve years old when Hezekiah died, 2Kg 21:1). This meant that if he died prior to the fifteen-year extension, the Davidic dynasty would come to an end.

38:6 The reference to the deliverance of the city from the king of Assyria may indicate that this episode took place during the Assyrian threat described in chaps. 36-37.

38:7 Hezekiah’s sign brings to mind the sign offered to his father Ahaz in chap. 7. While Ahaz was not interested in receiving a sign, probably because he had other plans in mind, Hezekiah did not try to refuse the sign. Their contrasting responses reveal the difference between Ahaz, who trusted in other nations, and Hezekiah, who trusted in God.

38:8 The return of the sun’s shadow on the stairway indicated a lengthening of the day that would be comparable to God’s lengthening of the life of Hezekiah. The parallel account in 2Kg 20:9-11 indicates that Hezekiah was allowed to choose whether the shadow would go ahead or go back ten steps. Hezekiah chose the latter since he considered that the more difficult feat.

38:9 The introduction to Hezekiah’s poem states that it was written after he had been sick and had recovered. In this respect, the poem is like the thanksgiving songs in Psalms. In the first part of this poem, Hezekiah spoke as if he were going to die, but from the second half of the poem it is clear that it was written after he was healed.

38:10 Sheol refers to the grave and in some contexts signifies the ancient concept of an underworld.

38:11 The land of the living refers to this world and leaves open the question about Hezekiah’s belief in the afterlife.

38:12 Hezekiah used multiple metaphors to describe the fragility and brevity of life.

38:13 On God as a lion, see Lm 3:10; Hs 5:14; Am 3:8.

38:14 The groans of Hezekiah’s lamentation sound like the chirping of a bird.

38:15-16 God had spoken, and King Hezekiah had been delivered from a premature death.

38:17 Hezekiah’s bitterness (see also v. 15) refers to his mournful reaction to news of his impending death. This bitterness is what led him to seek God in prayer and ultimately to God’s relenting from his death sentence. The king referred to the grave (and the afterworld) as a Pit of destruction. After all, in the grave the body rots and turns to dust.

38:18 Sheol (see note at v. 10) and Death are personified. The implication, as made clear by the phrase those who go down to the Pit, is that the dead can no longer praise God.

38:19 God benefits from keeping his saints alive. The living can praise God, and they can share that praise with the following generations.

38:20 To sing the songs of the redeemed is a typical response of God’s people.

38:21-22 These verses are an appendix that fills in some facts from earlier in the story.