God’s Angry Vengeance (63:1–6)

Edom . . . Bozrah (63:1). See comments on 21:11–12; 34:6.

Trodden . . . trampled . . . stained (63:3–6). See sidebar on “God as a Warrior” at 42:13.

Prayer for God’s Love and Mercy (63:7–64:12)

You, O LORD, are our Father (63:16). God as Father highlights his watchful care over his offspring. In addition to Mesopotamian and Egyptian examples of a god being called “father” (see comments on 41:13; 49:18), the Zukru festival at Emar in Syria describes ritual activities, including “they bring out in procession Dagan the very father.”1409

No one has seen any God besides you (64:4). See comments on 37:20; 40:28–29; 46:9.

O LORD, you are our Father (64:8). See comment on 63:16.

Dispensing Judgment and Salvation (65:1–16)

Offering sacrifices in gardens (65:3). See comments on 1:29–20.

Who sit among the graves, and spend their nights keeping secret vigil (65:4). An Aramaic text in Demotic script also associates a grave with a vigil. As is said in a description of a sacred marriage ceremony, “Harps keep you awake in the evening; in the grave of my ancestor, a dirge. A sound of lyres from the grave keeps you awake in the evening.”1410 Night vigils were accompanied by music. The vigil mentioned here appears to hold some sacred function, beyond simply mourning by a grave. The Hebrew shows it is being done inside the grave. Secrecy indicates that it is not a generally acceptable practice, probably part of a funerary cult (see sidebar on “Cult of the Dead” at 57:6).1411

Eat the flesh of pigs (65:4). A distinctive element of orthodox Israelite religious practice was avoiding pork; thus, eating pork shows the people’s religious deterioration. Even though banned, archaeological evidence indicates numerous Israelite sites with a small amount of pig remains.1412 Pigs are rarely depicted in the ancient Near East, though there is a fourth millennium seal from Luristan showing a wild pig.1413 There is textual evidence for Egyptian abomination of pork, even for the gods,1414 but it was by no means universally followed.

Even in Egypt and Mesopotamia, where pigs were raised and eaten, they were not part of the regular offerings.1415 An eighth-century Assyrian wisdom saying collection states: “The pig is not fit for a temple . . . an abomination to the gods, and abhorrence, accursed by Shamash.”1416

It stands written before me . . . I will pay it back into their laps (65:6). Economic texts are frequent in the ancient Near East, among them numerous loan documents. Akkadian loan documents may contain any of several elements: repayment date, repayment medium, interest rate.1417 Usually such records are written in the third person, but some are in the first person. A letter to a Kassite king reads: “Let us settle our accounts with each other and I will collect and pay you in full.”1418 Hebrew ostraca from Arad concerning supply allocations order that the transaction be written down.1419

Spread a table (65:11). A table is prepared for honored guests (2 Sam. 9:7).1420 Ptah-Hotep is instructed on how to behave in such a situation: “If you are one among guests at the table of one greater than you, take what he gives.”1421 This is unacceptable for Israel since here they are entertaining pagan deities. Part of the ritual for installing the high priestess at Emar involved table preparation: “They set four tables before the gods. They set one table for the storm god, one table for ( . . .), and (two tables) on the ground for the underworld gods.”1422

Fortune . . . Destiny (65:11). “Fortune” or “luck” (gad) is the name of a Syrian deity worshiped widely. The term appears often in Ugaritic and Phoenician names, though whether having in mind the deity or simply good fortune is not clear.1423 A common Israelite name is “Gad/Fortune is Yahweh.”1424 “Destiny” or “Fate” (menî) is another deity.1425 Several Egyptian stele and papyri combine Egyptian and Canaanite deities, including a list “to the Ennead (nine-gods) of the House of Ptah, to Baalat, to Qedesh, to Meni, Baal-Zaphon, to Sodpu.”1426

Egyptian god Min

Manfred Näder, Gabana Studios, Germany

In Egypt, Min is a fertility and creation god. The root meaning of the Hebrew term is “assign, determine, destine,” a play here, since God will “destine” the sword for Israel (v. 12). In the Gilgamesh Epic, Enlil is snubbed from feasting at a sacrifice because “my people he destined for catastrophe.”1427 Both gods are rivaling Yahweh, the one who truly determines Israel’s fate. It appears that a banquet is held here in honor of them, ignoring the rightful God.

God of truth (65:16). An important attribute for the divine, “truth” is also a personal name found on several seals: “Hananiah (son of) Truth”1428 and “Belonging to ‘the true one.’ ”1429 Koole suggests a wordplay here on truth (ʾmn) and the god Meni (65:11).1430