Departure of Ships? An Investigation of ‭יצ‬ in Numbers 24.24 and Isaiah 33.23

Abstract

This article argues that Hebrew ‭יצ‬ is not an Egyptian loanword for ‘ship’ but a verbal noun with the base meaning ‘coming forth’, hence ‘(military) expedition’ or the like. This new understanding requires reinterpretation of two important passages in which this word appears, namely, Num. 24.23-24 and Isa. 33.21-22. It is suggested that Num. 24.23-24 is a reference to the fall of Assyria to the Chaldeans, which both gives the passage geographical sense and marks it as a late addition to the original text. Isaiah 33.21-22 is a miniature hymn in which, it is argued, Yahweh is described as an inaccessible place of rivers and streams, a rather odd metaphor, but one expressing the concept of transcendent godhead in its original formulation.