Isaiah 11 Footnotes

11:6-7 Some interpreters view this prophecy as an exaggeration of the peaceful times under the rule of “the stump of Jesse” (v. 1), meaning the rule of Hezekiah. Since nothing close to these conditions ever characterized Hezekiah’s reign, these critics allege that Isaiah’s prophecy failed. But it was not uncommon in the ancient Near East to expect the rise of a new political leader to produce an idyllic time of peace (e.g., the Egyptian Prophecy of Nefer-Rohu, and certain Mesopotamian documents) and a return to garden-of-Eden- like conditions. Such a vision for an eventual restoration of paradise is consistent with Hosea’s claim that in the last days God will make a covenant with the animals (Hs 2:18), or with the original covenant blessings predicting peace with animals (Lv 26:6). Ps 36:6-9 speaks of the Lord’s preserving both “people and animals” in the context of the “refreshing stream” of God’s presence, a phrase that could be translated “Your Edenic streams.” Similar promises of restored Eden-like conditions appear in Is 51:3; Ezk 34:25; 36:35.