myBibleHistory

Journey of a Passage

Isaiah 39:1–2

Merodach-baladan's envoys: "recovered" or "lived"

"At that time Merodach-baladan… king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered." The Masoretic Text and 1QIsa-b say "and had become strong"; the Great Isaiah Scroll says "and had lived" (compare 38:21 "and he will live"). 2 Kings 20:12 has the name as Berodach-baladan; Isaiah has the correct Merodach (Marduk-apla-iddina).

Manuscript variant: witnesses differ in wording

The family tree

Each row is a language or text tradition. Witnesses in the same row may share ancestry, revise one another, or have an uncertain relationship; the line under each box says which. A solid arrow appears only where direct copying or a documented revised edition is established. Order by date never implies copying. Scroll sideways on a phone.

✓ contains it · ✕ does not · ❝ quotes part of it · ⓘ reports on manuscripts · ▢ pages lost · – no copy survives

  • Same line, through lost copies
  • Translation
Hebrew
  1. The oracle as first spoken or written8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)
  2. Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
  3. 4QIsa-b (4Q56), Qumran Cave 41st century BC (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
  4. 1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 11st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
  5. Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)AD 1008Descends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written
Greek
    Latin
    1. Latin Vulgate (Clementine)Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592Translated from the Hebrew text Jerome used
    English
    1. King James Bible1611Translated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

    Every witness, in order

    1. 8th–6th century BC (by section; debated)

      The oracle as first spoken or written

      – No copy survives

      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.

    2. c. 125 BC (palaeography; reported)

      Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa-a), Qumran Cave 1

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written

      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 39:1–2. Reads "for he heard that he had been sick and had lived" (va-yechi) where the Masoretic Text has "and had become strong" (va-yechezaq). Otherwise the differences are of spelling (fuller use of vowel letters) and small grammatical forms.

    3. 1st century BC (reported)

      4QIsa-b (4Q56), Qumran Cave 4

      ◐ Contains part of itDescends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written

      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 39:1–2. A fragmentary copy: only parts of these verses survive, and in the transcription much of the passage is restored by the editors. The surviving words include "for he heard that he had been sick."

    4. 1st century BC – 1st century AD (reported)

      1QIsa-b (1Q8), Qumran Cave 1

      ◐ Contains part of itDescends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written

      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 39:1–2. Reads "and had become strong," like the Masoretic Text; parts are restored.

    5. Jerome c. AD 400, from Hebrew; edition 1592

      Latin Vulgate (Clementine)

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from the Hebrew text Jerome used

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Clementine Vulgate (1592 edition).

      In tempore illo misit Merodach Baladan, filius Baladan, rex Babylonis, libros et munera ad Ezechiam: audierat enim quod ægrotasset et convaluisset. Lætatus est autem super eis Ezechias, et ostendit eis cellam aromatum, et argenti, et auri, et odoramentorum, et unguenti optimi, et omnes apothecas supellectilis suæ, et universa quæ inventa sunt in thesauris ejus. Non fuit verbum quod non ostenderet eis Ezechias in domo sua, et in omni potestate sua.

      Latin numbering: Isaiah 39:1–2. Jerome translated Isaiah from Hebrew (c. AD 400).

    6. AD 1008

      Masoretic Text (Leningrad Codex)

      ✓ Contains this passageDescends, through lost copies, from The oracle as first spoken or written

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: Westminster Leningrad Codex, a digital transcription of the Leningrad Codex.

      בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֡וא שָׁלַ֡ח מְרֹדַ֣ךְ בַּ֠לְאֲדָן בֶּֽן־בַּלְאֲדָ֧ן מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֛ל סְפָרִ֥ים וּמִנְחָ֖ה אֶל־חִזְקִיָּ֑הוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֕ע כִּ֥י חָלָ֖ה וֽ͏ַיֶּחֱזָֽק׃ וַיִּשְׂמַ֣ח עֲלֵיהֶם֮ חִזְקִיָּהוּ֒ וַיַּרְאֵ֣ם אֶת־בֵּ֣ית נכתה נְכֹת֡וֹ אֶת־הַכֶּסֶף֩ וְאֶת־הַזָּהָ֨ב וְאֶת־הַבְּשָׂמִ֜ים וְאֵ֣ת ׀ הַשֶּׁ֣מֶן הַטּ֗וֹב וְאֵת֙ כָּל־בֵּ֣ית כֵּלָ֔יו וְאֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִמְצָ֖א בְּאֹֽצְרֹתָ֑יו לֹֽא־הָיָ֣ה דָבָ֗ר אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹֽא־הֶרְאָ֧ם חִזְקִיָּ֛הוּ בְּבֵית֖וֹ וּבְכָל־מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ׃

      At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered (v. 1)

      Hebrew numbering: Isaiah 39:1–2.

    7. 1611

      King James Bible

      ✓ Contains this passageTranslated from printed Masoretic Hebrew

      How the site knows this: Read in the site's library text: King James Version (1769 text).

      At that time Merodach–baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.

    What changed, and why

    Classification: manuscript variant (one verb) between 1QIsa-a and the other Hebrew witnesses; a spelling difference in the parallel book.

    The library's Greek file has an empty slot at 39:1, so the Greek is not shown (D register).

    Merodach-baladan ruled Babylon 722–710 and briefly 703 BC.

    What the evidence shows

    • Independently documented1QIsa-a reads "and had lived" in 39:1. Described from a transcription.
    • Independently documented2 Kings 20:12 reads Berodach-baladan.

    Sources

      Related lessons

      • Isaiah 39: Envoys from Babylon →Merodach-baladan, king of Babylon, sends letters and a gift to Hezekiah on hearing of his recovery (39:1). Hezekiah, pleased, shows the envoys everything in his storehouses and armory (v. 2). Isaiah asks who they were; Hezekiah says, "from a far country… even from Babylon" (vv. 3–4). Isaiah: everything will be carried to Babylon, and some of your descendants will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon's palace (vv. 5–7). Hezekiah: "Good is the word of the Lord… For there shall be peace and truth in my days" (v. 8).
      • 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.