Exegesis of the Book of Isaiah 61:1–11: Redaction Criticism and Inquiry into the Identity of the Prophet Known as Trito-Isaiah

The exegesis of Isa 61 demonstrated that the chapter is a separate composition, which comprises a framing device in vv. 1–3.10.11, and a middle section in vv. 4–9. This section did not have to originate as a single fragment. From the literary-critical standpoint, the suspect element is v. 3aa, which currently serves to connect Isa 61 with the adjacent chapters 60, and 62. However, it is best to interpret the pericope as a single whole, with the speaker being the prophetic “I,” stylised after the servant-prophet from the Deutero-Isaiah’s Songs of the Servant of the Lord. Behind this “I,” there are probably the tradents of Deutero-Isaiah’s traditions, updating his promises and adding new ones. In that case, the prophet Trito-Isaiah, who was to be reminiscent of the earlier prophets, speaking before the people, never existed. That, however, does not alter the fact that the tradents did consider themselves to be the servant of the Lord, and regarded their mission to be a prophetic one.

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A Sermon on the National Fast-Day

Jewish Preaching in Times of War, 1800 - 2001 ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9781906764401.003.0007 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 165-177

Author(s):

Sabato Morais

Keyword(s):

Body Politic ◽

The Body ◽

Major Theme ◽

Book Of Isaiah ◽

Introductory Section ◽

The People ◽

The Cost ◽

Made In

This chapter takes a look at a sermon by Sabato Morais. Its structure is fairly straightforward. An introductory section focuses on what may appear to be a relatively minor issue but was apparently one that Morais considered to be of symbolic significance: the wording of the presidential proclamation of the national fast-day (made in response to a request by the Senate, possibly in response to the Southern day of prayer on 27 March). The body of the sermon presents two major themes. The first is introduced by the celebrated verses from the fifty-eighth chapter of the Book of Isaiah in which the prophet, speaking in God's behalf, castigates the people for the insincerity of their observance of a day of fasting and prayer. The chapter then turns to the second major theme: the repudiation of a dishonourable, ignominious peace that would come at the cost of dissolution of the American body politic.

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EIN UNWETTER IN JERUSALEM Beobachtungen zu BJ 4:286-288

Journal for the Study of Judaism ◽

10.1163/157006303321043147 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 34 (1) ◽

pp. 28-38

Author(s):

Peter Höffken

Keyword(s):

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The People ◽

Stormy Weather ◽

The City

AbstractIn BJ 4:286-288 Josephus is presenting an episode of the war: an inner-Jewish conflict between the people of Jerusalem and the Zealots. In this conflict the Idumeans join the party of the rebels. A stormy weather with earthquake is interpreted by both parties as a sign of an imminent action of God, who rescues Jerusalem and beats the enemies outside the city. The article argues for an interpretation of this theme on the background of the Zion-tradition with strong influences from the book of Isaiah (chap. 29 and 30).

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Post-Shoah Readings of Isaiah

The Oxford Handbook of Isaiah ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190669249.013.34 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 541-558

Author(s):

Marvin A. Sweeney

Keyword(s):

World War Ii ◽

Fourth Century ◽

Eighth Century ◽

World War ◽

Persian Empire ◽

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The People ◽

The World ◽

Failure To Protect ◽

Modern Experience

The book of Isaiah takes on new meaning when read in the aftermath of the Shoah in which some six million Jews were deliberately murdered, along with six million Gentiles, by Nazi Germany and its European sympathizers during World War II. The book of Isaiah attempts to interpret the period from the late eighth century bce through the early fourth century bce, when both Israel and Judah were destroyed respectively by the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and Judah was ultimately restored as a subject province of the Persian Empire. In the aftermath of this experience, the ideals articulated in Isaiah are not realized by the end of the book. Isaiah’s failure to realize its ideals raises questions concerning Yhwh’s power, presence, and righteousness in relation to Yhwh’s own failure to protect Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel from invasion and destruction by foreign empires. Insofar as such questions arise in relation to the modern experience of the Shoah, it is appropriate to raise critical questions about Yhwh’s fidelity to the covenant with Israel analogous to those raised in relation to the Shoah. This chapter therefore proceeds by examining several key features of the book that raise such questions, including Isaiah’s commission account in Isa 6; the portrayal of King Ahaz of Judah in relation to the Syro-Ephraimitic War and the hiddenness of Yhwh in Isa 7–12; the identification of Yhwh with the Persian Empire in Isa 13–27 and 40–55; and the attempts to blame the people of Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel in Trito-Isaiah and elsewhere in the book rather than Yhwh for the failure to ensure national security. Overall, this essay argues that humans cannot depend upon G-d for protection. Instead, humans must take their share of responsibility for ensuring the righteousness, holiness, and integrity of the world in partnership with G-d.

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A Redactional Study of the Book of Isaiah 13-23

10.1093/oso/9780198816768.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jongkyung Lee

Keyword(s):

The Other ◽

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The People ◽

The Future ◽

Future Return ◽

Two Sides ◽

Underlying Theme ◽

Whole Earth

This study argues that a series of programmatic additions were made to the oracles concerning the nations in Isa 13-23 during the late-exilic period by the same circle of writers who were responsible for Isa 40-55. These additions were made to create continuity between the ancient oracles against the nations from the Isaiah tradition and the future fate of the same nations as the late-exilic redactor(s) foresaw. The additions portray a two-sided vision concerning the nations. One group of passages (14:1-2; 14:32b; 16:1-4a; 18:7) depicts a positive turn for certain nations while the other group of passages (14:26-27; 19:16-17; 23:8-9, 11) continues to pronounce doom against the remaining nations. This double-sided vision is set out first in Isa 14 surrounding the famous taunt against the fallen tyrant. 14:1-2, before the taunt, paints the broad picture of the future return of the exiles and the attachment of the gentiles to the people of Israel. After the taunt and other sayings of YHWH against his enemies, 14:26-27 extends the sphere of the underlying theme of 14:4b-25a, namely YHWH’s judgement against boastful and tyrannical power(s), to all nations and the whole earth. The two sides of this vision are then applied accordingly to the rest of the oracles concerning nations in chs 13-23. To the nations that have experienced similar disasters as the people of Israel, words of hope in line with 14:1-2 were given. To the nations that still possessed some prominence and reasons to be proud, words of doom in line with 14:26-27 were decreed.

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The Notion of God Reflected in the Lion Imagery of the Book of Hosea

Vetus Testamentum ◽

10.1163/15685330-12341311 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

pp. 149-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yisca Zimran

Keyword(s):

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The People ◽

Theological Perspective ◽

Biblical Sources ◽

Absolute Control

Abstract This article is concerned with Hosea’s political counsel in 5:12-15, and explores the content and unique meaning of the lion imagery presented in this unit. The prophet’s words and their theological root are clarified through a discussion of the meaning of the lion imagery in the book of Hosea, as well as through comparison with similar imagery found in the book of Isaiah and extra-biblical sources. This analysis illuminates the unique theological perspective that Hosea wishes to impart to the people: Through the image of a lion, Hosea conveys that God exercises full, absolute control over Israel. He emphasizes, however, that God’s power is not extended over other nations. Hosea’s worldview, as will demonstrate in the article, challenges biblical notions of the God of Israel’s universality, as well as certain extra-biblical notions of the power of other deities and authorities.

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Spiritual renewal and the healing of creation

Missiology An International Review ◽

10.1177/0091829619869951 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (4) ◽

pp. 360-371

Author(s):

Allan Effa

Keyword(s):

Animal Species ◽

Spiritual Renewal ◽

People Of God ◽

Environmental Challenges ◽

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The People ◽

Fruit Of The Spirit ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Environmental Distress

This article is a biblical exploration of the interplay between spiritual renewal of the people of God and the spirit’s work of renewing and healing creation. On the flip side, it highlights the biblical theme of environmental distress as a consequence of human disobedience. Beginning with God’s social covenant with Israel, the article moves to a primary focus on ecological texts in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah’s vision encompasses climactic catastrophes, the plight of animal species, the integrity and pollution of the soil, deforestation, and the languishing and flourishing of the entire created order. Isaiah’s pneumatology uniquely portrays the work of the Creator Spirit as one of renewing and breathing new life into a suffering world. This article offers a fresh exegesis of the ecological texts of Isaiah and considers a number of practical implications for mission in light of the environmental challenges particularly unique to Canada’s province of Alberta. It concludes by charting some of the ways people who exhibit the fruit of the spirit might alter their lifestyles and contribute to the spirit’s work of healing creation.

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Strategies of Concentration and Diffusion in Isaiah 61

Biblical Interpretation ◽

10.1163/156851599x00245 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 58-86

Author(s):

Francis Landy

Keyword(s):

Reading Process ◽

Rhetorical Strategies ◽

Book Of Isaiah ◽

The Third ◽

The People ◽

Convergence And Divergence ◽

Vision Of God ◽

The Moment ◽

Directing Attention ◽

And Diffusion

AbstractThis article analyses the rhetorical strategies of Isaiah 6 and their relationship to the paradoxical commission to speak so that the audience should not understand. In particular, I look at strategies of concentration and diffusion, how the chapter directs attention to the prophet and his initiatory experience, and directs attention away from the vision of God, the moment of encounter, and the consciousness of the people. I divide the chapter into three parts (w. 1-4, 5-8, 9-13), respectively characterized by divergence, convergence, and divergence again. In the third part, the rhetorical technique is more complicated, in that the centrifugal dynamic is reinforced by failed attempts at focus. Throughout, synecdoche is the preeminent instrument both for directing attention to the participants and away from them. In the last verse, there is a shift from metonymy to metaphor as the principal poetic device, and thus a transference from a narrative, historical paradigm to a diffused alterity. The chapter is thereby decentred; since it is generally regarded as a key chapter in the book of Isaiah, the book itself is unstable. I conclude by discussing the commission as a model for the reading process, and wondering whether the metaphorical equivalence of fullness and emptiness subverts the entire rhetorical structure I have delineated.

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