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New Defender's Study Bible Notes
39:1 At that time. Isaiah 39 is essentially the same as II Kings 20:12-19. No explanation is given as to why the compiler of II Kings simply copied in his chapters 18–20 most of Isaiah’s account in Isaiah 36–39. Whatever may have been the practical reasons for this duplication, as well as many similar duplications in the parallel accounts in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, the Holy Spirit was ultimately responsible because all of it was given by inspiration (II Timothy 3:16). Perhaps His reasons were more applicable to the ancient readers of the as-yet-incomplete Scriptures than to us. There is also pedagogical merit in repetition in different settings. In any case, we can rest assured that the divine Author has good reason, whether or not we understand it yet.
39:8 in my days. This is supposed to be the end of the writings of the “first Isaiah,” with the “second Isaiah” being the author of the later chapters. However, this idea is a humanistic invention, with no warrant in the Hebrew text itself. Even the Dead Sea Scrolls, in common with other extant texts of the Hebrew Scriptures, show no break at all between Isaiah 39 and 40.