Isaiah 39 in the early church
[Vulgate: Isaias]
13 passages quote, allude to, or echo Isaiah 39, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Isaiah 39:1
At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 39:1 | Commentary on Daniel 1.4-10 · Hippolytus of Rome | allusion, high confidence | ca. 202-204 |
| Isa 39:1–7 | Against Marcion 4.28 · Tertullian | allusion, high confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
Isaiah 39:2
And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 39:2 | Exposition of Psalm 118 2.28.1 · Ambrose | allusion, high confidence | ca. 386-397 |
Isaiah 39:6
The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 39:6 | Against Marcion 4.15 · Tertullian | quotation, high confidence | 207/208 (third edition, completed later) |
Isaiah 39:7
And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 39:7 | Homilies on Ezekiel 4.5 · Origen | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) |
| Isa 39:7 | Homilies on Ezekiel 4.8 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 238–250 (Jerome's translation in the 380s) |
| Isa 39:7 | Letter to Africanus 15 · Origen | allusion, low confidence | ca. 240–245 |
| Isa 39:7 | Commentary on Matthew 15.5 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 246–248 |
| Isa 39:7 | Oration II Against the Arians 4 · Athanasius of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 339–346 |
| Isa 39:7 | Exposition of Psalm 118 2.27.2 · Ambrose | quotation, high confidence | ca. 386-397 |
| Isa 39:7 | Against Jovinianus 1.25 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | 393 |
Isaiah 39:8
But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isa 39:8 | Dialogue with Trypho 50.3 · Justin Martyr | quotation, high confidence | ca. 155–160 |
| Isa 39:8 | On Jacob and the Happy Life 1.36 · Ambrose | quotation, high confidence | ca. 386-390 |