part of the world that Yahweh’s gathering of Israel is already taking place as a historical reality. The text assumes that the fulfillment of God’s promise to bless all the families of the earth through Abraham (Gen 12:3) rests on God’s restoration and salvation of Israel from its exile and their continued existence in the world as participants in God’s plan of salvation and blessings for the whole world. Israel’s comfort that is anticipated here may be seen as the prelude to the comfort of all the