Barren Zion Vindicated (54)

Barren woman (54:1). Children ensured the continuity of the clan and family and provided support for aging parents. Fertility was a matter of pride, while a barren woman was of lower socioeconomic status and thus felt shame. Even though Israel was not to worship the dead (see sidebar on “Cult of the Dead” at 57:6), they were remembered and venerated by future generations, a legacy lost through barrenness.

Barrenness was also a serious economic problem in a society where labor-intensive agriculture placed a high demand on finding sufficient helpers. Where descendants were a blessing, their lack is a problem; no one was childless by choice. A Sumerian myth includes barrenness among other infirmities such as blindness, crippling, and incontinence.1294 Some texts from Alalakh in Syria dating from the last half of the second century B.C. allow a man to remarry if his wife is barren.1295

Tent (54:2). Tents, as portable accommodation, were often used by nomads or people on the move, while settled folk dwelt in more permanent houses. The earliest listed kings in the Assyrian King List are designated as “those who live in tents.”1296 Here the tent does not symbolize transience and hardship, but rather that which is easily expandable, allowing gathered abundance. Such royal tents are mentioned in Mesopotamia as well. Speaking of Merodach-Baladan, Sargon writes: “I took away his royal tent and his golden royal umbrella.”1297

Bedouin tent

David Bivin/www.LifeintheHolyLand.com

Reproach of your widowhood (54:4). Widows were marginalized in ancient Near Eastern society, having no one to provide for and protect them and placing them low in the socioeconomic hierarchy.1298 A Sumerian proverb acknowledges that “poverty is the widow’s lot.”1299 One of Hammurabi’s laws indicates that she is not entrusted with her late husband’s property. “If a widow with small children has come to a decision to enter the house of a second man, she shall not enter without legal authority.”1300 Her rights are inferior to those of her children.1301

An early Hebrew text reflects a widow’s concern for her lot, but also her ability to petition an official for protection: “My husband died childless, so may your hand be with me, and may you place into the control of your servant the inheritance of which you spoke.”1302

Your Maker is your husband (54:5). God is metaphorically Israel’s husband.1303 The Hebrew term baʿal can mean “husband” but also “owner, master.” Two separate words fulfill these functions in Akkadian. The cognate bēlu has the latter meaning only and is used of gods.1304 “Husband” (mutu) rarely refers to a deity, though in an Old Akkadian text a king is designated “husband of (the goddess) Ishtar.”1305

Israel’s God Yahweh is the true “Baal” (1 Chr. 12:5), providing for the once widowed wife, Israel. This intimate and exclusive metaphor does not seem to be used among Israel’s neighbors. Though tongue in cheek, a Sumerian proverb shows the expectation of a husband’s support for his family: “He who does not support a wife or child, his nose has not borne a nose-rope.”1306

God of all the earth (54:5). A pyramid text of Pepi I praises the sky goddess: “You are strong and you are mighty, you fill every place with your beauty, the whole earth is beneath you, you possess it.”1307 Similarly, a hymn to the sun god Aten attests: “When you dawn, their eyes observe you as your rays light the whole earth; every heart acclaims your sight.”1308 The universality of the natural manifestation of these deities supported their universal sovereignty.

A Hebrew cave inscription from Khirbet Beit Lei, probably from the sixth century, shows what apparently an Israelite layperson’s theology is: “Yahweh is the god of the whole earth.”1309 Even though he is not tied to a universal natural phenomenon such as the sun or moon with their global manifestations as are many of the gods of Israel’s neighbors, Yahweh still reigns over all.

Servants of the LORD (54:17). See comment on 42:19.