The Hyperlinked Bible
Intertextuality Pair
Echo
Later text
Now this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Earlier text
Isaiah 43:1-2 applies Genesis 1's creation vocabulary to Israel's national identity: "He who created you (בֹּרַאֲךָ, bor'akha)... He who formed you (יֹצֶרְךָ, yotserkha)." These same verbs describe God's original creative acts in Genesis 1-2 (בָּרָא in Gen 1:1, 21, 27; יָצַר in Gen 2:7). The passage through waters (43:2) also echoes God's separation of waters in Genesis 1:6-10, where creating habitable order required mastery over chaotic waters. Isaiah's message is that Israel's God — the same one who ordered chaos into creation — will order the chaos of exile into a new beginning for His people.