Militant meals

Isaiah uses the verb lacham seven times. The verb is related to the noun bread ( lechem ) and can mean “eat.” It is also used in military contexts, and this is the way Isaiah uses the word every time. This is not insignificant; other words were available to Isaiah – strike, smite, make war against – and he uses them all. But in various contexts, he describes war as cannibalism.

Aram and Israel cannot “eat” Jerusalem (7:1). Egyptians will eat every one his brother (19:2). The Assyrians have an appetite for Ashdod too (20:1), and in the narrative at the center of Isaiah, the king of Assyria is busy cooking Libnah for a meal (37:8-9).

Yahweh’s battles are meals too. Yahweh breathes fire to stoke up Topheth as an oven, and He sends the Asyrians to “eat” it (30”32-33). When His people rebel and vex His Spirit, moreover, He becomes their enemy and “eats” them up (63:10).