The power that
comes from ancient scripture often seems to be much more bold than any words we
hear today; maybe our hearts are more tender, or maybe more people would become
offended and distort others’ views to make it offensive, or maybe writing and
rhetoric is just not the same as it used to be. For whatever reason,
Isaiah has no fear or shame in speaking of things as they really are and will
be. In these verses, of what I understood, Isaiah is speaking of how the
Lord will call forth His people, and how those who are ready will respond.
26 ¶And he will
lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end
of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like
flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar,
and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the
sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
In verses 26 we find an onomatopoeia: “And will ‘hiss’ unto
them from the end of the earth”. It’s interesting that this word is used,
because there is quite a negative connotation with the word “hiss”. It’s
a sound that isn’t the most pleasing to the ear. After more studying, I
found out that hiss can mean “to whisper something in an urgent way”. It
shows an expectation of quick reaction when the Lord calls for His people, and
it’s in a bit of a whisper so only those who are really listening will hear.
Another is found in 29 and 30- “Their ‘roaring’ shall be like a
lion…” In 30 “like the ‘roaring’ of the
sea”. Both instances demonstrate power
and strength. The sound of “roar” is intimidating and adds to the verses
in that those who come unto the Lord when He calls them will have that power.
The second topic of invention, although clearly not the only
other, is alliteration. It’s spaced out throughout the verses and comes
up more often than I first noticed: in verse 26: end of the earth, speed
swiftly; 27: slumber nor sleep, loins be loosed; 28: bows bent, horses’ hoofs,
wheels like a whirlwind. At first it’s a bit trickier to catch the
alliterations because they are only two words, rather than more words with the
same beginning, but as you continue to read, the more prominent the alliterations
become. So many short alliterations side by side help the flow of
the passage to just slide off the tongue as one is reading it. Isaiah
definitely knew the art of rhetoric.
I like the points that you make here. However, I think some of the rhetorical devices you caught, like alliteration, probably didn't exist in the language Isaiah was writing in. That doesn't make it any less impressive, it just means that the translators deserve some of the credit for making Isaiah sound as eloquent as it is.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the relevance and connection made between the present day issue of freedom of speech and expression and Isaiah's style of writing. As well, the analysis of rhetoric brought clarity to the meaning of the scriptures stated specifically the point made about the word "hiss"
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