“When Yahweh has washed away
The filth of the daughters of Zion,
When he has cleansed
The bloodstains of Jerusalem
From its midst
By a spirit of judgment,
When the cleansing
By a spirit of burning
Is complete,
Then Yahweh will create
Over the whole site of Mount Zion.
He will create over its places of assembly
A cloud by day with smoke,
By night the shining of a flaming fire.
Indeed over all the glory
There will be a canopy.
It will serve as a pavilion.
It will be a shade by day
From the heat.
It will be a refuge from storms.
It will be a shelter from rain.”
Many of these oracles of Isaiah may come from the period of the exile, when there was the hope for a future Jerusalem. Once all the filth of the daughters of Zion and all the bloodshed in Jerusalem had been cleared out by judgment and burning, then Yahweh could create a whole new site at Zion. This new place for a religious assembly at Jerusalem would have a cloud or smoke during the day. At night, there would be a bright burning flame. Over all this glory, there would be a canopy that would act as a pavilion to provide shade from the heat and shelter from storms and rain. This was obviously a less ostentatious undertaking than a whole new temple.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 