Isaiah 38:21–22 and 2 Kings 20:7–8
The fig poultice: two verses out of place
"For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?" In Isaiah these verses follow Hezekiah's psalm; in 2 Kings 20:7–8 they come before the sign. In the Great Isaiah Scroll they were added by a second hand after the first scribe had finished the chapter at v. 20; 1QIsa-b has them in the Masoretic position.
Read Isaiah 38:21–22 and 2 Kings 20:7–8 in every edition
Disputed addition: some witnesses include it, some do not
The family tree
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✓ includes the disputed words · ✕ does not include them · ❝ quotes part of them · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives
- Same line, through lost copies
- Translation
- The oracle as first spoken or written8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
- Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- 1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 11st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
- 2 Kings 20:7–8 (Masoretic Text)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
Every witness, in order
8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
The oracle as first spoken or written
No original survives. The oldest copies of Isaiah are the Qumran scrolls: the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a, about 125 BC, nearly complete), 1QIsa-b (1Q8) and some twenty other fragmentary manuscripts.
c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)
Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 38:21–22. The first scribe ended the chapter with v. 20 (and repeated some words of v. 19 at the start of v. 20). Verses 21–22, the fig poultice and Hezekiah's question, were added afterwards by another hand in the space after v. 20 and down the margin.
1st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)
1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 1
How the site knows this: Described from a published transcription of the manuscript. Described in the site's own words from Martin Abegg's transcription (ETCBC/CACCHT Dead Sea Scrolls dataset v2.0.5); the transcription itself is not reproduced. Photographs and DJD XXXII not yet checked.
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 38:21–22. Has vv. 21–22 in their place after v. 20, agreeing with the Masoretic Text; a few letters are damaged.
Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592
Latin Vulgate (Clementine)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).
Et jussit Isaias ut tollerent massam de ficis, et cataplasmarent super vulnus, et sanaretur. Et dixit Ezechias: Quod erit signum quia ascendam in domum Domini?
Latin numbering: Isaiah 38:21–22. Jerome translated Isaiah from Hebrew (c. AD 400).
AD 1008
Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ יִשְׂא֖וּ דְּבֶ֣לֶת תְּאֵנִ֑ים וְיִמְרְח֥וּ עַֽל־הַשְּׁחִ֖ין וְיֶֽחִי׃ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֖הוּ מָ֣ה א֑וֹת כִּ֥י אֶעֱלֶ֖ה בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃
Isaiah said: Let them take a cake of figs and rub it on the boil, and he will live. And Hezekiah said: What is the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?
Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 38:21–22.
AD 1008
2 Kings 20:7–8 (Masoretic Text)
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְשַֽׁעְיָ֔הוּ קְח֖וּ דְּבֶ֣לֶת תְּאֵנִ֑ים וַיִּקְח֛וּ וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ עַֽל־הַשְּׁחִ֖ין וַיֶּֽחִי׃ וַיֹּ֤אמֶר חִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ֙ אֶֽל־יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ מָ֣ה א֔וֹת כִּֽי־יִרְפָּ֥א יְהוָ֖ה לִ֑י וְעָלִ֛יתִי בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֖י בֵּ֥ית יְהוָֽה׃
Isaiah said: Take a cake of figs. They took it and laid it on the boil, and he recovered. Hezekiah said to Isaiah: What is the sign that the LORD will heal me…?
The parallel, before the sign.
1611
King James Bible
How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).
For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?
What changed, and why
Classification: an addition visible in one manuscript (later hand in 1QIsa-a) and a different order in a parallel book (Kings). Many scholars think the verses were copied into Isaiah from Kings.
The library's Greek file is defective here (it lacks v. 21 and has v. 22 in its place), so the Greek is not shown; a C check needs Ziegler.
The Vulgate has both verses, like the Masoretic Text.
What the evidence shows
- In 1QIsa-a, 38:21–22 is added by a later hand. Described from a transcription; photograph check open.
- 1QIsa-b has 38:21–22 in place. Described from a transcription.
- The verses were copied into Isaiah from 2 Kings 20:7–8.
Sources
Related lessons
- Isaiah 38: The Shadow on the Steps →Hezekiah is mortally ill; Isaiah tells him to set his house in order (38:1). Hezekiah turns to the wall, prays and weeps; God answers: I have seen your tears; I will add fifteen years and deliver this city (vv. 2–6). The sign: the shadow on the steps of Ahaz goes back ten steps (vv. 7–8). Then Hezekiah's written psalm: "I shall go to the gates of the grave… mine age is… removed from me as a shepherd's tent… the grave cannot praise thee… The living, the living, he shall praise thee" (vv. 9–20). Two closing verses, out of order, tell of Isaiah's fig poultice and Hezekiah's request for a sign (vv. 21–22).
- Hezekiah's Illness and the Siloam Tunnel →Hezekiah falls mortally ill; Isaiah tells him to set his house in order. He turns to the wall, weeps and prays; God adds fifteen years. A lump of figs is laid on his boil, and as a sign the shadow goes back ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. Envoys come from Merodach-baladan of Babylon; Hezekiah shows them all his treasures, and Isaiah foretells that everything will be carried to Babylon. Hezekiah's water conduit is noted.
- Investigation: The Great Isaiah Scroll →Found in a cave near the Dead Sea in 1947, the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a) is the only complete book of the Hebrew Bible among the Dead Sea Scrolls, about a thousand years older than the medieval codices behind printed Hebrew Bibles. It agrees with the Masoretic Text in most of its words and differs in thousands of small ways: spelling, grammar, scribal slips, corrections, and a few real variants. This investigation explains what the scroll is, how its differences are classified, and which ones matter.