Today I received this question via Twitter:
I read the text of Isaiah 26 and several points seemed to parallel Romans 8, so I spent a few hours going over both texts, takings notes. I haven’t come across any grand discoveries, but I thought I’d share my observations with readers of this blog. Let me know if anything stands out to you.
Resurrection pericope in Is. 26 (vv. 14-21):
– The wicked: “The dead will not live (מתים בל־יחיו), the departed spirits will not rise (רפאים בל־יקמו)” in v. 14.
– The righteous: “Your dead will live (יחיו מתיך); their corpses will rise
(נבלתי יקומון)” in v. 19a-b.
– The wicked will be destroyed, forever (annihilated? v. 14).
– The land: experiences God’s judgements in order to teach the righteous (v. 9c-d); the unrighteous dealing unjustly in the land (v. 10c); the boarders of the land expanded (v. 15); the land could not be delivered/saved (v. 18); the land will give cause the the departed spirits to fall (v. 19, תפיל, most trans. (see NASB, NRSV, NIV (?), LEB, etc.) see this as metaphorical for birth, cf., v. 18; the ESV is inconsistent trans. v. 18 more literally “fallen,” then metaphorically in v. 19 as “give birth”).
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Other observations:
Righteous/Righteousness in Is. 26: vv. 2, 7 (2x), 9d, 10b.
Ruach: vv. 9, 18.
Pregnancy: in vv. 17-18 the people are depicted as a woman who cannot give birth.
Resurrection and Renewal in Rom. 8:
– Those who have the Spirit of Christ will be resurrected (vv. 9-13). Does Paul have Isaiah 26 in view? If so, what does this mean for Paul’s doctrine of resurrection?
– In vv. 18-23 creation (ἡ κτίσις) is waiting to be set free from its current state. Creation waits for the children of God to be revealed, does this echo the confession of Is. 26.18c that the people could not accomplish the deliverance/salvation for the land? Does Paul see the resurrection as the event wherein the people of God are empowered to deliver/save the land?
– Does the “redemption of our body” (which I understand to mean the human body) in v. 23 connect w. Is. 26:19d, where the earth drops (gives birth?) to the departed spirits (רפאים, lit. the ghosts or shades of the people)?
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Pneuma: vv. 2, 4, 5 (2x), 6, 9 (3x), 10, 11 (2x), 13, 14, 15 (2x), 16, 23, 26 (2x), 27.
Pregnancy: in v. 22 creation “groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now (συνωδίνει ἄχρι τοῦ νῦν)” Some understand συνωδίνει as depicting the sort of pain suffered during childbirth (e.g., NASB, ESV, NIV).
Greek Isaiah:
In Is. 26:17 the analogy of childbirth ἡ ὠδίνουσα and “in the pain of childbirth cries out (καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ ὠδῖνι αὐτῆς ἐκέκραξεν).” Paul writes in Rom. 8:22 that creation συνωδίνει, or suffers together in childbirth. In Is. 26 it is the people groaning. In Rom. 8 the people (children of God) groan with creation.
In 26:18 the Hebrew phrase רוח ישׁועת בל־נעשׂה ארץ is translated as πνεῦμα σωτηρίας σου ἐποιήσαμεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, “a spirit-wind of your salvation we made upon the earth.” Does the LXX here influence Paul’s thoughts on S/spirit?
In 26:19 “The dead will raise, and those in the tombs will be stood up/woken up, and those who are in the earth will rejoice (ἀναστήσονται οἱ νεκροί, καὶ ἐγερθήσονται οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις, καὶ εὐφρανθήσονται οἱ ἐν τῇ γῇ),” again, this connect the dead, their resurrection, and the land/earth itself.
the archives near Emmaus 
Nice analysis. I think you’re on to something noting that the Greek LXX closely matches elements of [Romans 8] (specifically the connection between [Isa 26:17-18] and [Rom 8:22]). I’m surprised you didn’t draw [Rev 12] into this too!
The inspiration for [Rom 8] is elusive because its only direct influence seems to be [Rom 8:36] -> [Ps 44:22]. However your suggested connection with [Isa 26] is more than reasonable given how often [Isa 26] is used in new covenant scripture ([Isa 26:11] cited in [Heb 10:27], [Isa 26:13] cited in [2 Tim 2:19], [Isa 26:19] cited in [Matt 11:5][Luke 7:22], [Isa 26:20] cited in [Heb 10:37]), so it appears [Isa 26] was well regarded, likely because it is messianic, [Isa 26:7-9] “… Oh YHWH, we wait for you …”
However [Isa 26] is also a fragment of a larger text (the same part of the scroll), and so only part of an argument. [Isa 25] begins to lay out how death will be conquered. [Isa 25:8], cited in [1 Cor 15:54][Rev 7:17] and [Rev 21:4], says as much. If we see [Revelation 12] as eschatological starting with the birth of the Messianic dispensation, we must also see [Isa 25-26] the same way then, so [Isa 25-26] would appear to be a description of the coming of the bridegroom (the Messiah) and His relationship to the bride (the Kingdom of God, AKA ‘the righteous nation’ [Isa 26:2]), the defeat of sin and death. Resurrection is pretty clear, however the question I would raise is ‘Which resurrection’?
Although the bible, and Paul talk about bodily resurrection, I believe baptism as spiritual resurrection is the resurrection spoken of most frequently. People say ‘resurrection’, but think eschatology, and suppose ‘bodily resurrection’. God isn’t interested in our animal selves, He’s interested in our Christ-Image Imago Dei selves. [Romans 8] alludes to this in [Rom 8:2] “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in the anointed one Yehshua from the law of sin and death” and in [Rom 8:9] “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.” etc. In [Isa 26] it is alluded to in [Isa 26:8-9].
Other observations, other resonances:
The chambers with shut doors in:
[Isa 26:20-21] “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. For behold, YHWH is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain.”
Is the same as the wilderness in:
[Rev 12:5-6] “She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.”
In [Isa 26:20] the “for a little while” is clarified in [Rev 12:6] as “for 1260 days” meaning 1260 years.
From [Eze 4:4-6] we see a principle at play: [Num 14:34] ‘year for a day’ is applied to Ezekiel lying on his side 390 days signifying 390 years. So from [Rev 11:9] we see that three and one half times described here, is really the same 1260 days described in [Rev 12:6] . These same 3.5 times or 1260 days are also describe in [Rev 12:14] as ‘time (1), and times (2) and half a time (0.5)’ ( or 3.5 times from 1+2+0.5=3.5). So, if each prophetic day is an actual year (from the standard prophetic symbol of ‘a year for a day’ [Num 14:34] and [Eze 4:5-6]). The 3.5 prophetic times is 1260 actual years . This same [Num 14:34] principle applies to [Daniel 9:24-27] and [Luke 13:31-33] as a description of Jesus 3 year ministry.
This period of hiding and being persecuted are the trials and hardship Paul speaks of in [Rom 8:18-20] and the dragon waging war against her offspring in [Rev 12:17]. Paul awaits the chamber to be opened [Isa 26:20], or the ending of the 1260 years [Rev 12:6], or the ‘time, times, and half a time’ of [Rev 12:14], which is why Paul says in [Rom 8:18] “I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”. Paul knows that the fury will pass by [Isa 26:20] and that YHWH will come out from his place [Isa 26:21] to punish the inhabitants of the earth. Daniel says it most clearly [Dan 9:26] “And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood (also mentioned in [Rev 12:15] and [Isa 26:20] as fury) , and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.”
“From [Eze 4:4-6] we see a principle at play: [Num 14:34] ‘year for a day’ is applied to Ezekiel lying on his side 390 days signifying 390 years. So from [Rev 11:9] we see that three and one half times described here, is really the same 1260 days described in [Rev 12:6] . These same 3.5 times or 1260 days are also describe in [Rev 12:14] as ‘time (1), and times (2) and half a time (0.5)’ ( or 3.5 times from 1+2+0.5=3.5). So, if each prophetic day is an actual year (from the standard prophetic symbol of ‘a year for a day’ [Num 14:34] and [Eze 4:5-6]). The 3.5 prophetic times is 1260 actual years .”
Andrew
The 390 days each day a year is the punishment of the Northern kingdom of which LEVITICUS 26:18-28 imposes 7 times punishment for not heading to the first punishments and refusal to return to true worship. This equals 2730 years that Israel would be blinded of their true heritage. Judah punishment was 40 years if they would return to true worship which a remnant did in 542bc after 40 years ,those that didnt return we given 360 years blinded of their true heritage times 7 . 722bc was the start of Israel’s punishment with 2730 years bring us to 2008 -09. In 512bc when Judah did not return to dedicate the temple was the start of the 360 years blinded of their true heritage times 7 which also brings us to 2008-09. During this time the would be called” not my people” or GENTILES amongst the gentiles.
Btw your math did not add up to your conclusion
The 1260 years the church was protected in the wilderness are from the edicts of 325 ad to 1585 ad where the church of which was Unitarian sabbatarians split into trinitarian sabbatarian and unitarian sabbatarian under the pressure of the Beast ( RCC) and the trinitarian protestants ( False prophet) then force to scatter in fear of being thrown in prison or very,very cruelly executed. This was the final scattering that would push them to all 4 corners of the earth.
Robert, thanks. Not sure which math I goofed though …
Andrew
My mistake ,misread what you were trying to connect .