Isaiah 22

Chapters 13–23 of Isaiah form a collection of oracles (burdens) against various nations, and this chapter is one of them. It follows the oracles against Babylon, Dumah, and Arabia in Isaiah 21. The subject of this chapter, however, is not a foreign nation but Jerusalem itself. The following chapter, Isaiah 23, contains the oracle against Tyre.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 An oracle concerning the "valley of vision." The city that has gone up to the housetops, full of tumult and rejoicing, is rebuked, and its rulers are described as having fled only to be bound. The prophet weeps bitterly over the ruin of his people.
• Verses 5–7 The Lord GOD of hosts brings a day of trouble and perplexity. Elam and Kir, with chariots and horsemen, fill the valleys and the gates.
• Verses 8–11 The people make various defensive preparations.
• They look to the armor in the house of the forest.
• They see the breaches of the city of David and gather the waters of the lower pool.
• They tear down houses to fortify the wall and make a reservoir between the two walls.
• Yet the text points out that they did not look to him who had fashioned it long ago.
• Verses 12–14 God calls for weeping and mourning, but the people feast, saying, "Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die." God declares that this iniquity shall not be purged until they die.
• Verses 15–19 God rebukes Shebna, the treasurer, for hewing out a sepulchre for himself on high. He declares that He will toss him like a ball and drive him from his office.
• Verses 20–24 God says He will give Shebna's robe, girdle, and government to Eliakim the son of Hilkiah. He will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder and fasten him as a nail in a sure place.
• Verse 25 Yet even that nail will in the end be broken, and the burden that hung upon it will fall.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 22:11 "Neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago" — exposes the people's preoccupation with defensive preparations while failing to look to God.
• Isaiah 22:13 "Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die" — quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:32.
• Isaiah 22:22 "So he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open" — linked with the "key of David" in Revelation 3:7.

People and Places

• Shebna: An official in charge of the royal household. In Isaiah 36 and 2 Kings 18 he appears as the scribe.
• Eliakim: The son of Hilkiah. In the same passages he appears as the one "over the household."
• Elam and Kir: A people and a region represented in the army that attacks Jerusalem. Elam lay east of Mesopotamia; the location of Kir is uncertain.
• House of the forest: Many interpreters identify it with the "house of the forest of Lebanon" built by Solomon (1 Kings 7:2).
• The city of David in Jerusalem, together with the lower pool and the old pool, forms the setting of the defensive preparations.

Interpretive Considerations

• Background: The text does not state its date.
• Many commentators connect it with the invasion by the Assyrian king Sennacherib during the reign of Hezekiah (701 BC).
• Others see it as anticipating the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon (586 BC).
• The reservoir in verses 9–11 is sometimes associated with Hezekiah's tunnel or the Pool of Siloam.
• Shebna and Eliakim: In chapter 36, Shebna appears as the scribe and Eliakim as the one over the household. For this reason, many read this as a partial fulfillment of the prophecy.
• The key of the house of David (verse 22): Interpretation varies by church tradition.
• Protestants often read Eliakim, in light of Revelation 3:7, as a type, a figure who prefigures Jesus Christ.
• In the Catholic Church, the verse is sometimes read together with Matthew 16:19, where the keys of the kingdom of heaven are given to Peter, and is used to explain ecclesiastical office.
• The broken nail (verse 25): Some interpreters take it to mean that Eliakim too will eventually fall under the weight of his family. Others take it as a statement about Shebna.