My latest at Theopolis Institute
Isaiah 21 can only be understood in the light of its placement in the architecture of the second “volume” of the prophecy (chapters 13–27). The contents are arranged in twin sevenfold “columns” that represent the great bronze pillars of Solomon’s Temple: Jachin and Boaz, priest and king.
The priestly first column slaughters the nations whose gods have been adopted by Israel and Judah, and the kingly second column re-establishes the kingdom of Israel through a tumultuous ritual cleansing of the Land. Together, they form a death and resurrection narrative. The first sequence “ends the world”—at least, the world as everyone knew it. The second sequence quakes the now-barren earth to raise Israel from the grave of captivity.
