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DRAFT: A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 22

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 19 March 2024 *




Isaiah 22 Timeline
Fig. 1


Introduction

This study treats Isaiah 22 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

With this reconfiguration, we show that this prophecy is about Jerusalem, the "Valley of Vision", in 3 distinct periods. We show that a few passages in the text that seem to be about Eliakim - such as, "what he opens no one can shut..." - are really predictions regarding the coming Messiah.



Discussion

1. Presuppositions

We base our parse of Isaiah 22 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:

  1. Eliakim and Shebna of Hezekiah's court (circa 700BC).
  2. The First Half (66AD–70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD). The Roman army began their siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD and completely destroyed the city and its people shortly thereafter.
  3. The start of Christ's Millennial Reign on earth (circa 2027AD).

2. Parsing the chiasmus

We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.

Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the time of Eliakim and Shebna Period 1, the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD Period 2 and the start of Christ's Millennial Reign Period 3.


Categorizing Isaiah 22

Vs 1b-14 belong to Period 2. Although the text does not specify who attacked Jerusalem or when, we take the stand that this is the Roman attack during the First Jewish-Roman war, primarily because we expect to see it in chiastic reconstructions. ( It may appear that this prophecy predicts Sennacherib's aborted siege of the city, but vs. 4,5 indicate a great defeat for Jerusalem, something that did not occur at that time.) At the start of the war, God asks for repentance and mourning from the Judahites in Jerusalem, but instead they engage in revelry, celebration and mockery.

Vs 15a belongs to Period 3. This opening statement seems overly grand for what immediately follows (Eliakim replacing Shebna), and fits better with the crowning of the coming Messiah at the start of the Millennial Reign.

Vs 15b-21 belong to Period 1. Eliakim replaces Shebna as the palace administrator of Jerusalem.

Vs 22-24 belong to Period 3. The coming Messiah will have the keys to the house of David. On a straight-through reading, this passage seems to be about Eliakim's promotion to palace administrator of Jerusalem, but the power and honour accorded to the person in this passage seems rather excessive for that position. So we take the stand that this passage is regarding the coming Messiah, who will rule from David's throne as Christ's representative.

Ch 25 belongs to Period 2. Jerusalem, the firm peg, will be sheared off, i.e., Jerusalem will be destroyed. Although the same metaphor of the peg is used in the previous verses about the Messiah, it is unlikely that this verse predicts the Messiah's or Eliakim's deposition. This technique of applying the same metaphor for different Periods is often used in cryptochiastic passages to obscure subunit boundaries.


Original text

We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.


Isaiah 22 1a A prophecy against the Valley of Vision:
1b What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, 2 you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry? Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together or have been harshly imprisoned. [a] All who are found in you are under siege together; they have fled from afar. [b] 4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people [c].”
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains. 6 Elam takes up the quiver, with her charioteers and horses; Kir uncovers the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates.
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah. You [d] looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest. 9 You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 11 You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool. You [e] did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. 12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”
14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

15a This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
15b “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna the palace administrator: 16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 Indeed, the LORD will hurl you as a warrior would. He will wrap you up tightly. 18 He will whirl you round and round and throw you like a ball into a vast expanse. There you will die alongside the chariots that were your pride, you shame of your master's house. [f] 19 I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position.
20 “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.

22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place. He will become a glorious throne [g] for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his father's house [h] will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.
25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.

Retranslation notes for Isaiah 22
[a] vs 3 "or have been harshly imprisoned" instead of "; they have been captured without using the bow". ( Translation based on the Septuagint. The "bow" is taken to figuratively indicate strength.)
[b] vs 3 "All who are found in you are under siege together; they have fled from afar" instead of "All you who were caught were taken prisoner together, having fled while the enemy was still far away".
[c] vs 4 "the daughter of my people" instead of "my people".
[d] vs 8 ". You" instead of ", and you".
[e] vs 11 ". You" instead of ", but you".
[f] vs 17,18 "17 Indeed, the LORD will hurl you as a warrior would. He will wrap you up tightly. 18 He will whirl you round and round and throw you like a ball into a vast expanse. There you will die alongside the chariots that were your pride, you shame of your master's house" instead of '17 “Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, you mighty man. 18 He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country. There you will die and there the chariots you were so proud of will become a disgrace to your master’s house'.
[g] vs 23 ". He will become a glorious throne" instead of "; he will become a seat of honor".
[h] vs 24 "his father's house" instead of "his family".


3. Building the reconfigured text

From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 22 forms a cryptochiasmus as below:

A1   Vs 1b-14 Period 2. The Roman attack during the First Jewish-Roman war
  B1   Vs 15a Period 3. The introduction to Period 3
    X   Vs 15b-21 Period 1. Eliakim replaces Shebna as the palace administrator
  B2   Vs 22-24 Period 3. The coming Messiah will control the keys to the house of David
A2   Vs 25 Period 2. Jerusalem, the firm peg, will be sheared off


We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (For example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For example, A1,A2 is a unit ) so that we get a list of such units.


The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

X  [A1,A2]  [B1,B2]        (1)

Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:

Vs 15b-21  [Vs 1b-14, Vs 25]   [Vs 15a, Vs 22-24]        (2)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).



4. Isaiah 22 Reconfigured

Eliakim replaces Shebna (circa 700BC) (Vs 15b-21)

15b “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna the palace administrator: 16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?
17 Indeed, the LORD will hurl you as a warrior would. He will wrap you up tightly. 18 He will whirl you round and round and throw you like a ball into a vast expanse. There you will die alongside the chariots that were your pride, you shame of your master's house.
19 I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position. 20 “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.


The First Half (66AD–70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Vs 1b-14, Vs 25)

Chiasmus 1: The Romans besiege Jerusalem

1b What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, 2a you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry?
2b Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle. 3 All your leaders have fled together or have been harshly imprisoned. All who are found in you are under siege together; they have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains.

Chiasmus 2: The Judahites who do not obey Christ will be destroyed

6 Elam takes up the quiver, with her charioteers and horses; Kir uncovers the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates.
8 The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah. You looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest. 9 You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 11a You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool.
11b You did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.
12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” 14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.


The Start of Christ's Millennial Reign on earth (circa 2027AD) (Vs 15a, Vs 22-24)

15a This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
23a I will drive him like a peg into a firm place.
23b He will become a glorious throne for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his father's house will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.


5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.0 Introductory Statement (vs 1a)

1a A prophecy against the Valley of Vision:

Although Jerusalem sits on elevated land, it is called a "valley" here, because it is "encompassed" by mountains. It is a place of "vision", probably because many prophets were based out of the city. We date the prophecy to the time of Eliakim and Shebna, around 700BC. This introductory line lies outside the cryptochiasmus.



5.1 Eliakim replaces Shebna (circa 700BC) (Vs 15b-21)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 15-16 Shebna abuses his power, so he is replaced by Eliakim
    X 17-18 Shebna is later exiled
A2 19-21 Shebna abuses his power, so he is replaced by Eliakim

Subunit A1: Shebna abuses his power, so he is replaced by Eliakim (15-16)

15b “Go, say to this steward, to Shebna the palace administrator: 16 What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock?

Isaiah goes to see Shebna, the palace administrator, as Shebna is setting up a sepulchre for himself in a prominent place ("on the height" and "in the rock"). Apparently Shebna was not entitled to be buried at this location, so Isaiah rebukes him ("who gave you permission?") for this abuse of power towards his own glory.



Pivot X: Shebna is later exiled (17-18)

17 Indeed, the LORD will hurl you as a warrior would. He will wrap you up tightly. 18 He will whirl you round and round and throw you like a ball into a vast expanse. There you will die alongside the chariots that were your pride, you shame of your master's house.

Shebna is deposed (see subunit A2 below) but continues to work at the palace under Eliakim (see Isaiah 36:3). However, later God will humiliatingly expel Shebna from Judea into the wilderness (we assume it is a wilderness because this is a punishment), where he will die alongside his chariots (he must have been sent into exile on his chariots), for his chariots are an expression of his vanity. His unseemly behaviour has brought shame to his master, the good king Hezekiah. Isaiah's language ("throw you like a ball", etc.) is clearly designed to scorn this vain man.



Subunit A2: Shebna abuses his power, so he is replaced by Eliakim (19-21)

19 I will depose you from your office, and you will be ousted from your position. 20 “In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah.

God will replace the vain Shebna with the fatherly Eliakim, his worthy servant, as palace administrator (see also Isaiah 36) - the robe and sash are symbols of his authority as grand vizier. ( This passage continues from vs 16 in the corresponding subunit A1.)



5.2 The First Half (66AD–70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Vs 1b-14, Vs 25)

This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: The Romans besiege Jerusalem

The passage below in vs 1b-5 is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 1b-2a The Romans arrive in Jerusalem (spring of 70AD)
    X 2b-4 The state of the Judahites before the fortifications are breached (summer of 70AD)
A2 5 The Romans arrive in Jerusalem (spring of 70AD)

Subunit A1: The Romans arrive in Jerusalem (spring of 70AD) (vs 1b-2a)

1b What troubles you now, that you have all gone up on the roofs, 2a you town so full of commotion, you city of tumult and revelry?

The people of Jerusalem, a city that is usually full of tumult and revelry (see vs 13 below), have gone up to the roofs of their houses; they watch with fear and distress as the Romans lay siege outside the city. Jesus advised his followers to immediately flee from the rooftops to the mountains at this time, without tarrying to collect their belongings (Matt. 24:17). (See our parse of the 70 weeks of Daniel for historical background on this Period [2].)



Pivot X: The state of the Judahites before the fortifications are breached (summer of 70AD) (vs 2b-4)

2b Your slain were not killed by the sword, nor did they die in battle

The Zealots, one of the several factions in Jerusalem, destroyed food reserves in the city in an effort to induce the Judahites to go out and fight the Romans. As a result, many died of starvation during the siege ("not killed by the sword"), even before the Roman slaughter following the breach of the city walls (see also Isaiah 3:1).



3a All your leaders have fled together or have been harshly imprisoned.

At the start of the war in 66AD, in order to punish a Judahite revolt, the Roman governor Gessius Florus captured may of the Judahite leaders, and flogged and crucified them. Also, many of the righteous leaders of the Judahites heeded Christ's advice to flee to the mountains at the time of the Roman attack (Matt. 24:15-16). So in the ensuing war, the city had to defend itself without its seasoned leadership (see Isaiah 3:1-7).



3b All who are found in you are under siege together; they have fled from afar.

During the campaign leading up to the assault on Jerusalem, the Romans attacked the Judahite centres surrounding the capital, and so the Judahites of these regions fled to the fortified city of Jerusalem ("fled from afar"). Those that did not escape immediately on the Roman arrival at Jerusalem, were trapped in the city.



4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

Isaiah is stricken with sorrow when sees the great suffering that lies ahead for these besieged Judahites, the descendants of his people. He asks that his listeners leave him alone for a while as he grieves.



Subunit A2: The Romans arrive in Jerusalem (spring of 70AD) (vs 5)

5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, has a day of tumult and trampling and terror in the Valley of Vision, a day of battering down walls and of crying out to the mountains.

The Romans arrive in Jerusalem to execute the "Day of the Lord" of this Period. In this "Day of the Lord" (see also Joel 1:14-16), God will use the Romans to massacre His own people and destroy Jerusalem (c. Jul.- Sep. 70AD) as punishment for their many sins, especially that of rejecting Christ. The people of the city will cry in terror and anguish as the Romans break down the walls of the city and viciously attack everyone in it (see also Zephaniah 1:10-12). We take the phrase "crying out to the mountains" to mean that the loud cries of the battle will ring out to the surrounding mountains.



Chiasmus 2: The Judahites who do not obey Christ will be destroyed

The passage below in vs 6-14,25 is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 6-7 The Romans attack Jerusalem (summer of 70AD)
  B1 8-11a The Judahites ignore God's warnings (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD)
    X 11b The Judahites do not look to their God (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD)
  B2 12-14 The Judahites ignore God's warnings (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD)
A2 25 The Romans attack Jerusalem (summer of 70AD)

Subunit A1: The Romans attack Jerusalem (summer of 70AD) (vs 6-7)

6 Elam takes up the quiver, with her charioteers and horses; Kir uncovers the shield. 7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates.

We take this passage to figuratively represent aspects of this Roman attack on Jerusalem:

  • It is unlikely that the Romans extensively used impractical chariots in the rough terrain and narrow streets in and around Jerusalem, so the military equipment mentioned here represents the potent weaponry of the Roman army.
  • The warriors of Elam and Kir, known for their expertise in warfare (see Jeremiah 49:35), represent the skilled Roman soldiers. The "taking up of the quiver" and "uncovering the shield" represent preparations for battle
  • The "choicest valleys" (main roads) and "city gates" represent the strategically important parts of the city, and the presence of the enemy at these locations indicates that the Romans are about to attack the city. ( We believe the "valleys" of vs 7 refers to the thoroughfares of Jerusalem that tended to be between the hills in and around the city.)

Subunit B1: The Judahites ignore God's warnings (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD) (vs 8-11a)

8a The Lord stripped away the defenses of Judah.

At the start of the war (66AD), God removed His divine protection over His people (Michael will stand by - see Dan 12:1) and made a "covenant" with the Romans that enabled them to massacre His own people [2]



8b You looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest.

The Judahites amassed a large quantity of weapons and stored them in the "Palace of the Forest". The "Palace of the Forest of Lebanon" was an armoury built by Solomon (1 Kings 10:16, 17), and is probably so called for the great quantity of cedar from Lebanon used in its construction.



9 You saw that the walls of the City of David were broken through in many places; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 11a You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool.

The Judahites repaired and strengthened the walls of the city of Jerusalem ("City of David"), tearing down houses for the stones. Leading up to the war they completed the Third Wall, for which Herod Agrippa I had earlier laid the foundation. They built up their stores of water, creating a reservoir inside the city walls for the overflow from the Old Pool / Lower Pool. (Note the parallelism in vs 9&10-11a.)



Pivot X: The Judahites do not look to their God (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD) (vs 11b)

11b You did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago.

The Judahites wrongly trusted in their own preparations instead of seeking the advice of their God, the One who had fashioned the city and given it to them (see also 2 Samuel 5:6-10). If they had been faithful to God, they would have believed in Christ and fled the city instead of trying to defend it (Matt. 24:16-20).



Subunit B2: The Judahites ignore God's warnings (fall of 66AD to spring of 70AD) (vs 12-14)

12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”

Through Christ, God called on the Judahites to repent, and to change their ways, but they continued in their wicked ways - they indulged in revelry and celebration instead of weeping in remorse for their sins. Jesus and his disciples had warned that those who do not repent will die (see Luke 13:4-5), but the wicked Judahites mock these warnings ("Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die") (see also Matt 23:37-38).



14 The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

Those who refused to heed Christ's word and mocked him instead will be punished for their sins, and they will not be able to atone for it by performing sacrifices (see also Isaiah 8:14,15).



Subunit A2: The Romans attack Jerusalem (summer of 70AD) (vs 25)

25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.

Jerusalem was like a dependable firm peg (a wall-peg on which things were hung) that sheared off and fell down. It was no longer the capital city, it no longer contained the temple of God, and it was no longer a refuge for God's people (these functions and others were the "load hanging on it") (see also Isa. 29:1-4). The fall of Jerusalem signalled the end of the Old Covenant, and the end of this location as the spiritual centre of Israel (Zech. 11:14) - the New Jerusalem of the Millennial Reign will be located elsewhere.



5.3 The Start of Christ's Millennial Reign (circa 2027AD) (Vs 15a, Vs 22-24)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 15a,22 The coming Messiah will reign on David's throne
    X 23a God will establish the Messiah's reign forever
A2 23b,24 The coming Messiah will reign on David's throne

Subunit A1: The coming Messiah will reign on David's throne (15a,22)

15a This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says:
22a I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David;

As a descendant of David, the Messiah will have the key to the house of David on his shoulder; that is, he will inherit the throne of David (see also Jeremiah 23:5-8).



22b what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

The coming Messiah will be the ultimate authority and will have final say in all decisions in the New Israel, and, as King of Kings, he will also preside over international matters; however, he will work under the supervision of God and Christ (Rev 2:26,27). We have shown in our parse of Rev 3 [3] that Rev. 3:7, which has language similar to this passage (vs 22), also applies to the coming Messiah.



Pivot X: God will establish the Messiah's reign forever (23a)

23a I will drive him like a peg into a firm place.

The Lord will ensure that the Messiah will remain in his role as King of Israel and Ruler of the World throughout the Millennial Reign, with the stability and dependability of a wall peg driven into a firm place (see also Isaiah 9:7).



Subunit A2: The coming Messiah will reign on David's throne (15a,22a)

23b He will become a glorious throne for the house of his father.

The Messiah will represent the royal line of David ("house of his father") as a glorious king (we take the word "throne" to metonymically mean "king") (see also Isaiah 11:10).



24 All the glory of his father's house will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

Others of the line of David ("his father's house"), including the Messiah's own descendants, will also enjoy varying levels of power and honour; but all of them will depend on the Messiah ("hang on him") (see also 2 Samuel 7:16). Pegs driven into the wall were used to hold smaller household vessels ("lesser vessels"), so the sense of the passage is that the coming Messiah ("the peg" of vs 23) will support all those of the line of David, whether great ("jars") or small ("bowls").




Conclusion

With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we have shown that Isaiah 22 contains prophecies on three distinct Periods.

The first Period of this reconstruction is about Eliakim replacing Shebna as palace administrator. This is a relatively minor incident compared to the typical prophecies in cryptochiasmi, but we propose that this event is a type of the start of the Messiah's reign. Just as the vain Shebna was replaced by Eliakim, so also the corrupt, vain world leadership of the time will be replaced by a righteous, fatherly Messiah.



References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Reconfiguration of Revelation 2 and 3
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8





* First version published on 10 March 2020.