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ISAIAH

(Heb. yĕšaʿyāhû, yĕšaʿyâ),

BOOK OF

The first and longest book of the Hebrew prophets. Essentially a hopeful book, Isaiah addresses questions of justice, righteousness, and power — its use, abuse, and limits, as well as courage, patience, and hope.

The Prophetic Scroll

Historical Questions

Questions about the unity of the Isaiah scroll have dominated scholarship for the past century. With only a few modifications, the proposals set forth by Bernard Duhm in 1892 have prevailed into our own era. Building on earlier proposals of J. G. Eichhorn (1783) and J. C. Doderlein (1789) as well as the 11th-century Jewish scholar Ibn Ezra, Duhm argued both on literary and historical grounds that chs. 40-55 must be viewed as the work of a later author, Deutero-Isaiah (Second Isaiah), who wrote after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 b.c.e. He contended that only chs. 1-39 may be viewed as source material for discerning the work of the prophet Isaiah, who lived and worked in Jerusalem in the latter half of the 8th century (750-700). Duhm did not suggest a Babylonian setting for chs. 40-55; he contended only that Second Isaiah was written from a foreign land such as Lebanon or Phoenicia. He also saw Isa. 56-66 as the work of a third author, Trito-Isaiah (Third Isaiah), who wrote in the 5th century, when exiles had returned from captivity in Babylon.

This three-part division of Isaiah has received widespread support until recent years. The only major modification has been that scholars have generally affirmed a Babylonian setting for chs. 40-55, late in the exilic era when the fall of Babylon seemed imminent and when the promises of Cyrus gave rise to new hopes for a return to Jerusalem and Judah.

In 1927 Theodore H. Robinson summarized the development of prophetic literature in terms of three stages. First, small independent oracles were collected and preserved by disciples of a prophet. Later, disciples gathered the individual oracles into collections, adding new material and arranging the oracles into new thematic arrangements. Still later, these collections were reorganized and expanded into what today is the final form of the text. This understanding was developed from the important form-critical work of Hugo Gressmann (1914) and the concerns of Hermann Gunkel (1928) for careful attention to genre analysis. Building on the research of Gressmann and Gunkel, a generation of 20th-century scholars focused on Robinson’s first stage, attempting to rediscover the actual words of the original prophetic author, Isaiah ben Amoz. Inevitably, this quest involved the distinction between what is “authentic” in the text and what is “later redaction.”

More recently, the focus of Isaiah research has changed dramatically. Emphasis has moved from the quest to discover the original author to questions about the literary development and final shape of the scroll (Robinson’s second and third stages). New research has focused on the work of the redactors, who are understood not just as collectors or organizers but as creative theologians who expanded earlier writing for people of faith in later eras. The redaction work is understood to be equally as “authentic” and important as earlier layers of the text.

Canonical Criticism

To a large degree, recent scholarship on Isaiah has been influenced by the work of Brevard S. Childs (Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, 1979) and his concern for canonical criticism. Childs has raised important questions about the final literary form of the biblical text as received and preserved within Jewish and Christian communities of faith. Childs contends that Isaiah is the classic example of an extended redactional process, involving repeated revisions and additions over a long period of time. But he notes that Isa. 1-39 clearly contains some material that is equally as late as material in chs. 56-66. These postexilic texts, consciously represented as the writing of the 8th-century prophet, have been purposely disconnected or “divorced” from their original historical settings precisely so that they may be held up and preserved as the living word of the Lord given to the prophet Isaiah in his vision but preserved for a new audience. Rather than simply testimony about past events, this “sacred Scripture” is a word about judgment and salvation for people in any age. Equally committed to a canonical approach, James A. Sanders focuses on the dynamic realities of those specific historical communities in which the text was preserved, examining the relationships between the text and its context, between traditions and their particular historical situations.

Some scholars have focused even more on the synchronic dimensions of Isaiah, building on their understandings of the “implied reader” of the text.

Rolf Rendtorff contends that the literary text of Isa. 40-55 is the starting point or basis for understanding the growth of the Isaiah scroll. Chs. 1-39 and 56-66 are both oriented to chs. 40-55. Various thematic and theological concepts such as the motifs of “Zion-Jerusalem,” “the Holy One of Israel,” and the concepts of righteousness (ṣdq/ṣdqh) unite the three parts and call us to consider the synchronic dimensions of the scroll. Ronald E. Clements, Christopher R. Seitz, and H. G. M. Williamson have suggested that an earlier redaction of Isaiah can be discerned within chs. 1-39, which was then enlarged and edited during the exilic and postexilic eras. Marvin A. Sweeney argues for a fourfold redactional history, working backwards from the completed scroll in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, to a 6th-century redaction at the end of the Exile, to a collection dating from the time of Josiah, and to a collection dating from the end of Isaiah’s lifetime. He contends that the final form should be understood in two parts, chs. 1-33 and chs. 34-66, each focused around a peculiar vision of Yahweh’s plans for a world-wide sovereignty at Zion in a future time of restoration after the pending judgment. Chs. 1-33 anticipate such events in a future time; chs. 34-66 suggest that the process by which Yahweh’s sovereignty will appear in the world has already begun.

Primary Historical Setting

There seems little doubt that the final redaction of Isaiah (chs. 1-66) should be understood against the background of the postexilic era, possibly in the era of Ezra and Nehemiah (450-400) as presupposed by chs. 56-66. At the same time, there is evidence that the present text of chs. 1-55 dates from the last years of the Exile (550-539) and that chs. 56-66 should be recognized as a postexilic addition. It seems probable that there were earlier redactions of an Isaiah scroll dating from the era of Josiah (640-609) or even from the lifetime of the prophet (cf. 8:16; 30:8-11). Certain texts within chs. 1-39 are set against the background of the era of the prophet, Isaiah ben Amoz. But because Isa. 1-39 has been so heavily redacted, the quest for an earlier edition is both problematic and difficult. What does seem certain is that those who collected and redacted these chapters believed deeply that their additions were consistent with Isaiah’s prophetic vision. It is the vision that is central, not the original author.

Three factors from the late exilic era seem to have influenced the formation of chs. 1-55 in decisive ways. First, these chapters offer a response and interpretation of the painful memories of the destruction of Jerusalem in 598 and 587. There may in fact have been some within the late exilic audience who remembered the devastation of Judah, the 18-month siege of Jerusalem, the degrading feelings of humiliation at the capitulation of the city, and the forced emigration to Babylon (2 Kgs. 24-25). Undoubtedly there were others in that original audience for whom questions about faith in Yahweh seemed remote, preposterous, or irrelevant. In a very profound way, Isaiah addresses the crisis of religious faith in the aftermath of destruction (cf. Lam. 1-5). Amid the loss of family and loved ones, villages, city, temple, priesthood, and king, the vision of Isaiah still speaks of faith in a loving God and the election of Israel to a particular calling.

A second factor was the decline of Babylonian power. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar in 562, no successor emerged who could hold the empire together. Without internal stability, the throne passed to three different members of the royal family in just seven years. An old world order was crumbling. Amid the turmoil, the redactor included Isaiah’s words about empires and his warnings that the arrogant abuse of power would eventually lead to judgment (10:5-19; 13:1–14:32).

The third factor was the rise of Cyrus of Persia, whose tolerant policies toward captive peoples gave hope to some within the community (44:24–45:13). The author of chs. 1-55 clearly discerned in Cyrus a sign of a new era and the basis for hope of a return to Jerusalem.

The political realities of the late exilic era inform and undergird the hopeful poetry of chs. 40-55, particularly the opening words: “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God” (40:1). In a world dominated by futility and frustration, a world where nations and empires rise and fall, the prophetic word is set forth: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever” (40:8).

It is from this historical perspective that the theology of chs. 1-55 comes into focus. Judah has come through a time of judgment. She has experienced and survived a “day of Yahweh,” a decisive moment of judgment that is now cited as evidence of the sovereignty of God. This is grounded in the memory that Isaiah warned beforehand of such an event (2:6-22). From the exilic perspective, Isaiah’s vision about judgment for Judah and Jerusalem has been fulfilled. But Isaiah is remembered as one who also spoke words of hope.

Message

Memories of Isaiah’s Vision (Chs. 1-39)

A People in Revolt (Ch. 1). Three superscriptions in chs. 1-35 shape the memories preserved in the opening chapters. In 1:1 the scroll is introduced; parallel superscriptions in 2:1; 13:1 mark the opening of the two major sections of this portion of the scroll. Ch. 1 presents a portrait of the people of Israel lost in their own pursuits, a people who have forgotten their own identity (1:3). The dominant theme of this chapter is that Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, has been forsaken by his people (1:4-9). Religious rituals and sacrifice are carried out without sincerity while the poor, oppressed, orphan, and widow are neglected (1:10-17). In place of Yahweh, people have created little gods shaped from the earth or have made themselves into gods by their arrogance and self-centered conduct, thus inviting certain judgment upon themselves (1:18-31).

But there is hope. Humans have the capacity to change. The fundamental message of social justice which is at the heart of the Isaiah scroll is sounded in 1:16-17: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

Judgment for Judah and Jerusalem (Chs. 2-12). Faced with repeated human rebellion, what is Yahweh to do? The question is posed in dramatic fashion in the “parable of the vineyard” (5:1-7): people are to be “fruitful,” caring for the earth and one another. But how long does one wait to see “good grapes,” and what does a vinekeeper finally do with “bitter grapes”?

According to the “day of Yahweh” oracle (2:6-22), judgment is coming for Judah and Jerusalem. Nevertheless, words of promise for the faithful (2:1-5; 4:2-6) frame the opening judgment oracles (2:6-22; 3:1-12, 13-15; 3:16–4:1). A collection of memories of Isaiah (6:1–9:7) is framed by new judgment words, with 5:8-24, 25-30 structured as a preface and 9:8–10:4; 10:5-19 as a supplement. In 10:5-19 the Assyrian Empire is remembered as an “instrument” by which Yahweh will bring judgment; yet because of her own arrogance, Assyria herself will be punished. The judgment speeches in chs. 6-11 involve memories of northern Israel: ch. 7 recalls events related to the revolt of Syria and northern Israel against Assyria in 735-734. These chapters cannot be read apart from the reality that those kingdoms were destroyed and deported by the Assyrians in 721.

This section offers insight about the prophet. Isaiah ben Amoz was married to a person known as the “prophetess” (8:3), and had at least two and possibly three sons with prophetic names: Shear-jashub (“A remnant shall return,” 7:3), Maher-shalal-hash-baz (“The spoil speeds, the prey hastens,” 8:1-4), and perhaps Immanuel (“God with us,” 7:14); all three “sign-children” lead to words of hope for Judah amid the turmoil and threats of war. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and had personal dealings with both Ahaz (7:1-9, 10-17) and Hezekiah (cf. 37:1–39:8). His life as a social critic and as a man of conscience is confirmed not just by the words attributed to him but also by his actions, including encounters with Ahaz or walking naked in Jerusalem as a warning of impending doom (20:1-6).

Also in chs. 6-11 Isaiah speaks of an “ideal Davidic king,” both in terms of his disillusionment with Ahaz and in his lofty expectations for a future “anointed One” (Messiah) (9:2-7[MT 1-6]; 11:1-9; cf. 32:1-8) who will provide wise and just leadership. In a coming era, exiles who survive the judgment will be a “remnant” community and a witness to the faith of Israel (10:20-23).

Isaiah’s “call vision” (6:1-13) comes into focus when remembered from the vantage of the later exilic era. Out of a rebellious people “laden with iniquity” (1:4), Yahweh summoned one whose life he touched with a vision of heaven and with live coals (6:7). Isaiah was commissioned as a herald to speak for the living God. Later generations remembered him as a faithful servant who continued to proclaim Yahweh’s word, even when the people’s response had been only greater deafness and blindness. Isaiah is remembered as one whose vision remains true, even amidst the realities of the Babylonian captivity (6:9-13).

The catechetical character of Isa. 2-12 is reinforced by the doxology in ch. 12. The audience, which is to understand itself as a “remnant community of faith,” is to consider the events of the past with sober reflection but also with words of thanksgiving and praise. Seen in conjunction with the opening vision of peace in 2:1-5, ch. 12 provides the concluding and hopeful framework (or inclusion) for the poetry preserved in 2:6–11:16.

Judgment for Babylon and the Nations (Chs. 13-35). Isa. 13:1 opens a second major section, declaring judgment for Babylon and the nations. Drawing on themes set forth in 10:5-19, the scroll now boldly proclaims that Yahweh is not just the “Holy One of Israel” but also the sovereign of all nations. Judah has had her “day” of judgment, but similar “days” are to come for all arrogant and boastful nations, including Babylon. “Day of Yahweh” poetry frames this section (chs. 13-14, 34-35). Many have contended that its center (chs. 24-27), the “little apocalypse,” comes from a much later era, but the poetic themes here have striking similarities with other “day of Yahweh” poems and should be viewed as prophetic response to the horrors of war, not apocalyptic literature. These chapters affirm that proud rulers of the earth will be brought low (26:5) while the faithful who “wait for the Lord” (26:8) will find security and hope. In chs. 34-35 impending judgment is announced for Edom and a new word of encouragement given to the community of faith (35:10).

Isaiah and Hezekiah (Chs. 36-39). The historical prose narrative in chs. 36-39 recalls an era of military crisis from the lifetime of Isaiah ben Amoz. Dated “in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah” (701), this was a time when the Assyrian Sennacherib captured the fortified cities of Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem (36:1). These chapters preserve a positive portrait of King Hezekiah as a man of faith (in contrast to Ahaz), and describe the sudden departure of Sennacherib as a miraculous deliverance of the city (37:36-38). The deliverance results from Hezekiah’s sincerity in repentance and prayer (37:1-13, 14-20), his visit with Isaiah, and his response of faith (38:9-20).

Scholars are divided about what actually happened during this crisis. In the parallel narrative in 2 Kgs. 18:13-27, three additional verses (18:14-16) suggest that Hezekiah surrendered unconditionally to the Assyrians. This is supported by the Assyrian “Prism of Sennacherib” and also Isa. 22:1-14; 1:4-9. Regardless of what actually happened, Jerusalem is remembered as surviving a close call with destruction at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion in 701.

Recently, new attention has been given to chs. 36-39, particularly in connection with the references to envoys from Babylon in 39:1-8 . Read from the perspective of the Exile, this is another memory confirming that Isaiah’s words have come to pass. Hezekiah is remembered as a good king; the crisis that arose during his era was averted, but Isaiah proclaims that “days are coming” when the wealth of the palace will be carried off to Babylon (39:5-8). This chapter provides a bridge from the memories of Isaiah to the new era presupposed throughout chs. 40-55.

The Basis for Hope (Chs. 40-55)

The author of Isaiah now boldly summons people to a life of faith. In these central chapters we sense the author’s confidence based both on the memories of earlier times and the political events of his own time. In 46:1-4 specific references are made to Babylonian gods, Bel and Nebo; only Yahweh, the sovereign creator and redeemer, can bring salvation (v. 4). The lengthy debates about the folly of idols (40:18-20; 41:6-7; 44:9-20), the vision of a new exodus and a highway leading back to Jerusalem (40:3-7), and the lament and taunt song over proud “daughter Babylon” (47:1-15) all complement the specific references to Cyrus (44:21-28; 45:1-8), and locate this poetry in the era between 550-539.

The exodus from Babylon has not yet come. But Yahweh is about to do something dramatically new. A new world power will bring down the might and arrogance of Babylon. Isaiah’s words of judgment now apply to the realm of Nebuchadnezzar, as well as to other empires and their leaders. The new emperor, Cyrus of Persia, has declared that in a coming era captive peoples may return to their homelands. From these world events, the prophetic writer can speak anew of a “day of Yahweh”; in the same event, a proud power will be brought low and reality will be restored, vindicating Yahweh’s power as sovereign over all nations. The prophet’s earlier announcements of judgment now come to pass (42:9; cf. 41:22; 43:9, 18; 46:9; 48:3), evidence that the prophetic word is reliable. Even the world of nature vindicates Yahweh (42:10). The renewal of the world offers signs that Yahweh will also renew the hopes of a covenant community (41:19; 55:13).

Leadership for the community is a critical concern throughout Isaiah. The primary vision of leadership is articulated in the vision of an “ideal messianic king” (11:1-9). That portrait is shaped now by words about “servanthood” and an “ideal servant” (41:8-10; 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-11; 52:13–53:12). Even Cyrus, a foreign king, shares in this vision; in 45:1 he is referred to specifically as “Yahweh’s anointed one,” who performs Yahweh’s will by bringing liberation to captive people.

Themes in ch. 55 suggest that this hymn of triumph was at one time a conclusion for an exilic redaction of the Isaiah scroll. Echoing the plea of 2:5, the author of 55:6 charges: “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.”

Maintaining the Vision (Chs. 56-66)

A different tone marks much of the concluding 11 chapters. Chs. 56-66 evidently were written and appended to the Isaiah scroll at a time after 539 when people had returned to settled life in Judah and Jerusalem. Work on the city walls had begun and temple restoration was under way (60:10-14; 62:6-7; 66:1). These chapters suggest that the community experienced overwhelming physical hardships and economic challenges when they returned to Jerusalem, rather than the glorious journey envisioned by earlier poetry.

With considerable skill, the writer draws from earlier traditions and themes in Isaiah to renew or maintain the vision of God’s sovereignty, seeking to inspire a new generation of people with a vision of how Yahweh wants the community to be: free of “weeping and distress” (65:19), a city without violence and terror. As part of the vision, the author expresses prophetic concerns for some very practical and earthy matters: sabbath observance (56:2-6; 58:13-14), apostasy (56:1-2, 4; 57:3-4, 5, 7-8; 58:1-14; 59:1-8), syncretism (57:3; 65:2), upright leadership (56:9-10, 11-12). The author now speaks of “servants of the Lord,” suggesting that the postexilic community is called to be the “servant” doing the work envisioned in earlier chapters.

Like earlier sections, these chapters center around the poetic motif of the “day of Yahweh.” New days of judgment are announced: in 61:1-11 the prophet announces a day of favor for Zion; in 63:1-6 Yahweh is envisioned returning from battle as a holy warrior; the wicked have been defeated, and the cause of the righteous has been vindicated for all to see (63:1).

The fundamental theme of the Isaiah scroll is sounded once again: God is sovereign over the covenant community and over all nations of the world, calling all people to responsible life. New “days” will continue to come, bringing judgment for the ruthless and the arrogant; new “days” of joy will come for those who trust and live by their faith in the vision. In 65:17-25 the summons to faith is recast as a vision of a “new heaven and a new earth” which people can anticipate by their actions in the world. Throughout this final section the words of 61:1-4 capture a fundamental aspect of the meaning of the Isaiah scroll: the people are to “provide for those who mourn in Zion,” to give “a garland instead of ashes,” “oil of gladness instead of mourning,” to wear the “mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit,” and to live as “oaks of righteousness” in the world (v. 3). This is clearly what it means to “walk in the light of the Lord.”

Bibliography. R. F. Melugin, The Formation of Isaiah 40–55. BZAW 141 (Berlin, 1976); Melugin and M. A. Sweeney, eds., New Visions of Isaiah. JSOTSup 214 (Sheffield, 1996); R. Rendtorff, “The Composition of the Book of Isaiah,” in Canon and Theology. OBT (Minneapolis, 1993), 146-69; C. R. Seitz, Zion’s Final Destiny (Minneapolis, 1991); M. A. Sweeney, Isaiah 1–39. FOTL 16 (Grand Rapids, 1996); H. G. M. Williamson, The Book Called Isaiah (Oxford, 1994).

A. Joseph Everson

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ISAIAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)