Isaiah 27

As usual even a short chapter of Isaiah is a challenge. Unique word forms and hard to find stems are the issue. The prophet uses language uniquely. Verse 4, אציתנה who would guess the stem is יצת (The Latin concordance had it.) verse 9 גר chalk, verse 10 סעף fissure.

There are, at my current tentative counts (excluding names), 35 unique stems and over 2000 unique word forms used in Isaiah. The Song has the highest percentage of unique stems at .99%. Then Job at .42. Habakkuk is .31, Esther .26, Isaiah .25 and 1 Kings last at .02%. If one looks at word forms that occur only once, the range is from nearly 20% in the Song, Isaiah at 13%, and 1 Kings last at 3%.

How did our friend Leviathan become a snake?

Isaiah 27		Fn		Min	Max	Syll
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יִפְקֹ֣ד יְהוָה֩ בְּחַרְב֨וֹ הַקָּשָׁ֜ה וְהַגְּדוֹלָ֣ה וְהַֽחֲזָקָ֗ה עַ֤ל לִוְיָתָן֙ נָחָ֣שׁ בָּרִ֔חַ וְעַל֙ לִוְיָתָ֔ן נָחָ֖שׁ עֲקַלָּת֑וֹן וְהָרַ֥ג אֶת־הַתַּנִּ֖ין אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּיָּֽם	1		In that day Yahweh will visit with his sword, the intransigent, and the great, and the courageous, against Leviathan, the snake that runs away, and against Leviathan, the snake of crooked ways, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.	3e	4C	43 11
בַּיּ֖וֹם הַה֑וּא כֶּ֥רֶם חֶ֖מֶד עַנּוּ־לָֽהּ	2		In that day, a coveted vineyard, answer her.	3e	4A	4 7
אֲנִ֤י יְהוָה֙ נֹֽצְרָ֔הּ לִרְגָעִ֖ים אַשְׁקֶ֑נָּה פֶּ֚ן יִפְקֹ֣ד עָלֶ֔יהָ לַ֥יְלָה וָי֖וֹם אֶצֳּרֶֽנָּה	3		I, Yahweh preserve her at every moment. I irrigate her lest any visit against her. Night or day, I preserve her.	3e	4C	12 14
חֵמָ֖ה אֵ֣ין לִ֑י מִֽי־יִתְּנֵ֜נִי שָׁמִ֥יר שַׁ֙יִת֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה אֶפְשְׂעָ֥ה בָ֖הּ אֲצִיתֶ֥נָּה יָּֽחַד	4		Heat is not of me. Who will give me spike, wild growth in the battle? I would attack it. I would char it together.	3e	4B	4 22
א֚וֹ יַחֲזֵ֣ק בְּמָעוּזִּ֔י יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה שָׁל֖וֹם לִ֑י שָׁל֖וֹם יַֽעֲשֶׂה־לִּֽי	5	C	Or let him be resolute with my strength to make peace for me. Peace he will make for me.	3e	4C	14 6
הַבָּאִים֙ יַשְׁרֵ֣שׁ יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב יָצִ֥יץ וּפָרַ֖ח יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמָלְא֥וּ פְנֵי־תֵבֵ֖ל תְּנוּבָֽה	6		Those to come of Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and flourish, and fill the face of the world with profit.	3e	4B	16 9
הַכְּמַכַּ֥ת מַכֵּ֖הוּ הִכָּ֑הוּ אִם־כְּהֶ֥רֶג הֲרֻגָ֖יו הֹרָֽג	7		As the striking of the one who struck him, has he struck him? Or as the slaying of the one slaying him, has he slain?	3e	4A	9 9
בְּסַּאסְּאָ֖ה בְּשַׁלְחָ֣הּ תְּרִיבֶ֑נָּה הָגָ֛ה בְּרוּח֥וֹ הַקָּשָׁ֖ה בְּי֥וֹם קָדִֽים	8		In its utmost, when it extends, you will strive with it. He mutters in his intransigent spirit in the day of the east wind.	3d	4B	11 12
לָכֵ֗ן בְּזֹאת֙ יְכֻפַּ֣ר עֲוֺֽן־יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְזֶ֕ה כָּל־פְּרִ֖י הָסִ֣ר חַטָּאת֑וֹ בְּשׂוּמ֣וֹ ׀ כָּל־אַבְנֵ֣י מִזְבֵּ֗חַ כְּאַבְנֵי־גִר֙ מְנֻפָּצ֔וֹת לֹֽא־יָקֻ֥מוּ אֲשֵׁרִ֖ים וְחַמָּנִֽים	9		So in this the iniquity of Jacob will find a cover-price, and this is all the fruit to put aside his sin, when he renders all the stones of the altar as stones of smashed chalk. Fetishes and sun-pillars will not arise.	3e	4B	22 27
כִּ֣י עִ֤יר בְּצוּרָה֙ בָּדָ֔ד נָוֶ֕ה מְשֻׁלָּ֥ח וְנֶעֱזָ֖ב כַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר שָׁ֣ם יִרְעֶ֥ה עֵ֛גֶל וְשָׁ֥ם יִרְבָּ֖ץ וְכִלָּ֥ה סְעִפֶֽיהָ	10	B	For the fortified city is isolated, the home dismissed and forsaken as a wilderness. There a calf will pasture, and there will recline, and will faint in a fissure.	3d	4C	19 16
בִּיבֹ֤שׁ קְצִירָהּ֙ תִּשָּׁבַ֔רְנָה נָשִׁ֕ים בָּא֖וֹת מְאִיר֣וֹת אוֹתָ֑הּ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א עַם־בִּינוֹת֙ ה֔וּא עַל־כֵּן֙ לֹֽא־יְרַחֲמֶ֣נּוּ עֹשֵׂ֔הוּ וְיֹצְר֖וֹ לֹ֥א יְחֻנֶּֽנּוּ	11		When her harvest is dried up, it will be broken. Women will come to reveal it, for it is not a people of understanding, so its maker will not have compassion on them, and its fashioner will not be gracious to them.	3e	4C	18 25
וְהָיָה֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא יַחְבֹּ֧ט יְהוָ֛ה מִשִּׁבֹּ֥לֶת הַנָּהָ֖ר עַד־נַ֣חַל מִצְרָ֑יִם וְאַתֶּ֧ם תְּלֻקְּט֛וּ לְאַחַ֥ד אֶחָ֖ד בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל	12		And it will happen in that day, Yahweh will beat out from the floods of the river to the wadi of Egypt, and you will be gleaned, one by one, O children of Israel.	3c	4B	24 16
וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִתָּקַע֮ בְּשׁוֹפָ֣ר גָּדוֹל֒ וּבָ֗אוּ הָאֹֽבְדִים֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ אַשּׁ֔וּר וְהַנִּדָּחִ֖ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲו֧וּ לַיהוָ֛ה בְּהַ֥ר הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם	13		And it will happen in that day, the great shophar will sound, and those who were perishing in the land of Ashur will come, and the banished in the land of Egypt, and they will worship Yahweh on the holy hill in Jerusalem.	3c	4B	37 16