"Sargon II speaks of razing, destroying, and burning cities in his conquests."

For example:  "I razed, destroyed, and burned Raphia."

     Sargon II, Annals, ll. 53-57, as translated (?) by K. Lawson Younger, Jr., in The context of Scripture, edited by William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Jr., vol. 2:  Monumental inscriptions from the biblical world (Leiden:  Brill, 2000), p. 293.

Heavenly court

"In the A[ncient ]N[ear ]E[ast], a common metaphor for describing the world of the divine was the 'divine assembly' or 'divine council.'  These descriptions of gods and goddesses gathered together under the leadership of a senior deity were derived, in all probability, from the activities of the royal court.  The O[ld ]T[estament] provides a number of descriptions of this heavenly assembly that closely resemble descriptions in the literature of the surrounding cultures. . . ."

     E. Theodore Mullen, Jr., "Divine assembly," in The new interpreter's dictionary of the Bible (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon, 2007), vol. 2, p. 145 (pp. 145-146).

missionary, i.e. sent

mission (the noun):  from "classical Latin missiōn-, missiō sending, dismissal, sending of ambassadors, . . . in post-classical Latin also ‘sending of Christ into the world’ (4th cent.), ‘sending of the Holy Spirit into the world’ (4th or 5th cent. in Augustine)", which is from classical Latin "miss- , past participial stem of mittere to send".

     "mission, n." OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/119999 (accessed September 21, 2012).

apostolic, i.e. sent

apostle (the noun):  from the Latin apostolus; which derives from the Greek ἀπόστολος, a messenger, one sent forth;  which derives from the Greek ἀποστέλλειν, to send away.

     "apostle, n." OED Online. September 2012. Oxford University Press. http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/9427 (accessed September 21, 2012).

Zion Theology

". . . three elements emerge in any discussion of Zion:  the city, Yahwistic religion[,] and kingship.  The relationship between these constitutes . . . what is known as the 'Zion tradition' or . . . 'Zion theology'. . . .
     "It is common to identify [five] central tenets of this tradition. . . . From these elements, scholars arrive at two central conclusions that impinge upon a Zion theology in the prophets:  first, God has chosen Zion for his holy abode; second, Zion is protected by God by virtue of his presence there. . . ."

     H. A. Thomas, "Zion," in Dictionary of the Old Testament prophets, ed. Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville (Downers Grove, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 2012), 907 (907-914).

Cult

     "The 'cult' is understood to be any setting of worship, whether an official institutional site, such as a royally sponsored temple, . . . a temporary altar or shrine, . . . or a private household. . . . 'Liturgy' pertains to words and actions performed by cultic officials or laity in the course of worship. . . ."

     ". . . The writing prophets can easily be misunderstood as being antiritualistic, but consideration of their broader message indicates that they were deeply concerned that the cult function properly, and their visions often portray a promising future for temple worship. . . ."

     J. W. Hilber, "Liturgy and cult," in Dictionary of the Old Testament prophets, ed. Mark J. Boda and J. Gordon McConville (Downers Grove, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 2012), 514, 513 (513-524).

Ariel

". . . Ariel means something like 'altar hearth' and may designate the altar of burnt offering as a symbolic reference to Jerusalem. . . . [Thus] Jerusalem . . . will become a place for sacrifice or slaughter (Isa 29:2).  Ariel . . . may also be related to the etymology of ʾari ʾel (lion of God) since Judah is called a lion's whelp in Gen 49:9.  Others detect an allusion to . . . har ʾel . . . that is, Jerusalem as the 'mountain of God.' . . ."

     Ralph W. Klein, "Ariel," New interpreter's dictionary of the Bible (Nashville, TN:  Abingdon Press, 2006), vol. 1, p. 259.