Isa 41:3 – “by the way that he had not gone with his feet”

He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. Isa 41:3 (KJV)

The reference to “by the way that he had not gone with his feet” is a puzzle to commentators. The RSV has “by paths his feet have not trod” and the NASB has “By a way he had not been traversing with his feet”. The Hebrew is singular “a way/path” and the verb is very common and translated mostly as a variant of “come” (KJV, 1435x), although a variant of “go” is also used (KJV, 123x). The verb is Imperfect, but the tense is determined by the opening verb of this passage, “Who raised up righteousness from the east…” which is Perfect. Hence, the KJV is to be preferred which translates the Hebrew verbs that follow “raised” as past tense. The claims of Isa 41:2-3 are about something that has been done by Yahweh,

Who hath wrought and done it… Isa 41:4 (KJV)

The verbal form changes back here to the Perfect. We can therefore translate v. 3 as,

He pursued them, and passed safely; even by a way that he did not go with his feet. Isa 41:3 (KJV revised)

A conqueror had gone but not with his feet; he had pursued kings but not with his feet. A common suggestion is that he made his pursuit on mounted cavalry, but since cavalry and infantry were common in the armies of the day, it hardly seems something worthy for notice in an oracle. Furthermore, given that we have a “pursuit” being mentioned, one would expect cavalry. A text from Sennacherib’s Annals casts light on the oracle:

I led the way like a fierce wild bull with my picked bodyguards and merciless battle troops. I traversed wadis, torrents, ravines, and dangerous slopes in my sedan chair. Where it was too hard going for my sedan chair, I took to my feet and went on in pursuit to the high peaks, like a gazelle.[1]

This text coincidently has the same ingredients as the oracle: a way; a pursuit; and not using the feet. The boast of Sennacherib is that he pursued his prey at a sedate pace in a sedan chair; it was measured and certain because it was safe to do so – his troops controlled the area. This connection is one of the many indications that the oracles of Isaiah 40-48 relate to the days of Hezekiah rather than that of the Babylonian Exile.

[1] Cited from H. W. F. Saggs, The Might That Was Assyria (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1984), 254.