Yeshayahu HaNavi and the Cedar Tree
Fleeing King Menashe, Yeshayahu is swallowed by a cedar tree; Menashe has it sawn apart, and the prophet dies as the blade reaches his mouth.
Shimon ben Azai declared that he found a scroll in Jerusalem that contained a historical fact not otherwise recorded in the Prophets. It was inscribed in the scroll that Yeshayah HaNavi died at the hands of King Menasheh, his own grandson.
King Menasheh was steeped in idolatry and other sins. He wanted to kill Yeshayah HaNavi because Yeshayah represented the Torah and rebuked Klal Yisrael for straying from it, so Menasheh’s soldiers pursued Yeshayah. Yeshayah uttered the Divine Name and was miraculously absorbed inside a cedar tree. Menasheh’s soldiers realized what had happened, and Menasheh ordered that the tree be cut down. He further ordered that the tree be cut to pieces. When the ax reached the place of Yeshayah’s mouth, his soul departed.