Isaiah 7:3

7:3 So the Lord told Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub 1  and meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 2 

Isaiah 36:2

36:2 The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser 3  from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 4  along with a large army. The chief adviser 5  stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 6 

Isaiah 37:27

37:27 Their residents are powerless; 7 

they are terrified and ashamed.

They are as short-lived as plants in the field

or green vegetation. 8 

They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 9 

when it is scorched by the east wind. 10 

1 tn The name means “a remnant will return.” Perhaps in this context, where the Lord is trying to encourage Ahaz, the name suggests that only a few of the enemy invaders will return home; the rest will be defeated.

2 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “the Washerman’s Field.”

3 sn For a discussion of this title see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.

4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the chief adviser) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

6 tn Heb “the field of the washer”; traditionally “the fuller’s field” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

7 tn Heb “short of hand”; KJV, ASV “of small power”; NASB “short of strength.”

8 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.

9 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.

10 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah, “standing grain”) to קָדִים (qadim, “east wind”) with the support of 1Q Isaa; cf. J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:657, n. 8.