Textual analysis: Verses 12 and 13 contain three questions that the Lord asks of Israel:
"Why do you fear mortal man? Have you forgotten your creator? Why fear your oppressors? He then answers them (in reverse order): You will be freed from your oppressors. I am the great creator. You are my people/ I will teach and protect you." (Ludlow, 1982, p. 429)
The reversal of the answers echoes the logic of chiastic literary structures, though the passage itself is not literarily chiastic. That is there is a reversal of logic without a strict reversal of the literary elements that couch the logic. This is a passage where the movement is one of logic, not structured patters of words. That the logic should advance in reverse order, however, emphasizes the mental model of a chiastic structure that must have informed the order of the logic. It is rather that the logical model of emphasis demonstrated here was elaborated into the literary structure than the literary informing the logic.
There is a nice use of parallelism in the response of the Lord. The "man" is paralleled to "son of man" and "who shall die" is paralleled with "made like unto grass." The "son of man" phrase in this case is not a reference to Christ, but a reemphasis of the temporal "man" of the first clause. Not only does this apply to current "men." but their descendants as well. Gileadi translates the pair as "mortal man" and "children of men." (Gileadi 1988, p. 198)
The image "made like unto grass" invokes the visual impermanence of the mortal man. Not only does he die, but soon the earth returns to its normal state, and grass covers and forgets. This image was invoked by Carl Sandburg in his poem, "Grass."
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work -
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
(Carl Sandburg, _The Complete Poems of Carl Sandburg._ 1970. P. 136.)
In both poets, the image is the same. Even death is transitory, and ultimately of little account.
Scriptural analysis: In the Lord's response to Israel's supplication, his first utterance is a recognition that they are not mistaken. It is indeed the same Lord who defeated the sea monster Rahab and opened a path through the water. Having identified himself, the Lord turns the question back to Israel. In effect, he has said, "yes I am He, who are you?"
The question now asked of Israel is one of self-examination. The first question is why Israel is afraid of man. This is most to the point, because it is for the fear of man that Israel has asked the arm of the Lord to awake in their favor. The Lord in the asking of the question hints at the short-sightedness of it. Why fear man, who will die.