The opening verses of Isaiah 40 record a conversation. God instructs some unidentified group to “comfort” and “speak” and “call” the people, and gives them the message they are to speak (vv. 1-2). In verse 3, a voice from an unidentified source instructs the people to make a way and a smooth path for Yahweh’s glory, which is coming back to Zion (vv. 3-5). Verse 6 reintroduces the voice, this time conversing with an “I,” presumably Isaiah. “What shall I call out?” is Isaiah’s question, and verse 6b-8 is the answer. The message is about flesh, Spirit, and the word.
Using the imagery of grass and flowers, the message is arranged in a spiral fashion:
A. Flesh is grass
B. Its loyalty ( hesed ) like the flower of the field
A’. Grass dries
B’. Flower withers
C. When Yahweh’s Spirit ( ruach ) blows on it
A”. People are grass
A”’. Grass dries
B”. Flower withers
C’. Word of God rises ( qum ) forever
The structure obviously places the Spirit and word of Yahweh in the climactic ending position. The first two AB cycles climax with teh declaration that the Spirit of Yahweh blows to dry up the people, and the second modified double cycle (AAB) ends with a statement about the word of God.
A couple of other literary details: First, the word “grass” appears four times in these verses, reinforcing the four-cornered totality of the statements about flesh and people. “Flower” appears three times, and thus together flesh + grass is a seven. Israel is a four-sided field of grass and flowers; Israel is a seven-fold botanical creation. Yet, the Spirit moves and Israel fades; Israel withers and dries, while the Word of Yahweh rises up forever. The hesed , the loyalty and faithfulness of flesh is temporary. Yahweh’s Word can be depended on.
Second, the word “flower” ( tzytz ) is the same word for the plate of the high priest’s golden head plate (Exodus 28:36; 39:30), as well as the blossoms on Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17:8). The temple too has “flowers” carved into its walls (1 Kings 6:18, 29, 32, 35). Grass is teh people as a whole; the adorned grass, the flowered grass, refers to the priests and temple. But flowers wither too. The glories of priest and temple are no more permanent than the grassy people.
Finally, there is a pun in the following verse. “Flesh” is basar , and the verb in verse 9 “to bear good news” is also basar . The message of good news is about the fading and withering of all fleshly grass and glory; it is also the good news of the Spirit and Word of Yahweh, which are forever.