Isaiah 38 Footnotes

38:1 The introductory phrase “in those days” was probably a general time marker covering the earlier reign of Hezekiah; v. 6 seems to indicate that Hezekiah’s illness occurred shortly after Sennacherib’s attack on Jerusalem, although the text had already narrated the Assyrian withdrawal (37:37). Isaiah’s narrative followed the same order as 2 Kings.

38:1,5 The Lord’s word to Hezekiah, that “you are about to die; you will not recover,” was modified by his later word, “I am going to add fifteen years to your life.” It is not always easy in Scripture to distinguish between conditional and unconditional predictions or promises. However, Jr 18 indicates (as does the story of Jonah) that God will sometimes have compassion and not carry out his threats if people repent and intercede for divine mercy. A prophet’s announcement of judgment was often intended to motivate people to avoid that judgment by correcting their disobedient behavior.

38:8 The text does not say that the sign involved the stopping of the sun or the interruption of the earth’s rotation. The sign involved the reversing of the shadow on the sundial built onto the palace steps. No explanation is given for how this occurred. Today one can only speculate about a miraculous interference in the refraction of the sun’s rays, or the introduction of a new source of light in a location different from that of the sun. Whatever the cause, that which seems physically impossible is not so for God.

38:21 Was Hezekiah’s healing from this sickness really a miracle or was it just the result of some common ancient medicinal practices? Both Isaiah and Hezekiah understood that it was the Lord who spared the king’s life. The application of a common remedy to heal the skin did not undercut the miraculous nature of the deed any more than Jesus’s application of mud on the eyes of the blind man (Jn 9:6) reduced the nature of that miracle.