Discovery BoxIsaiah 14:13-17 
Context“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El 2
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 3
14:14 I will climb up to the tops 4 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!” 5
14:15 But you were brought down 6 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit. 7
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking: 8
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its 9 cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’ 10
1 tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”
2 sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.
3 sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.
4 tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.
5 sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.
6 tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.
7 tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.
8 tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him.
9 tc The pronominal suffix is masculine, even though its antecedent appears to be the grammatically feminine noun “world.” Some have suggested that the form עָרָיו (’arayv, plural noun with third masculine singular suffix) should be emended to עָרֶיהָ (’areha, plural noun with third feminine singular suffix). This emendation may be unnecessary in light of other examples of lack of agreement a suffix and its antecedent noun.
10 tn Heb “and his prisoners did not let loose to [their] homes.” This really means, “he did not let loose his prisoners and send them back to their homes.’ On the elliptical style, see GKC 366 §117.o.
