The Intertextual Rhetoric of the Apostrophe to Zion (11QPsa XXII, 1–15)

Considerable agreement has existed concerning the intertextual relations between the Apostrophe to Zion (Ap Zion) and Third Isaiah. But I propose to reread Ap Zion as a literary and theological response to the most famous lament over Zion, exemplified in the book of Lamentations. The common acrostic feature and leitmotif of Zion shared by Lamentations and Ap Zion clearly reflect the latter’s deliberate attention to the former. In this reconsideration, I argue that the much-acclaimed intertextuality between Ap Zion and Third Isaiah is the consequence of the pre-established Isaianic inner-biblical allusion (Second Isaiah) to Lamentations. To expand on this proposal, the paper will explore the multilayered intertextuality between Lam 2, Isa 49, and Ap Zion through classifying their lexical, thematic, structural, and theological associations.

Isaiah 56–66

This chapter discusses the redaction history and theological message of Isa 56–66 (Third Isaiah). It makes a case for essentially two core compositions that each contains a theologically consistent message of prophetic criticism and future promise. The first composition—comprising Isa 58:1–59:21 (prophetic criticism) and Isa 60:1–62:12 (messianic age)—depicts the salvation that the people of Israel may obtain if they heed God’s voice. In many ways this is reminiscent of the prophetic criticism that one finds in the Book of the Twelve (Amos and Hosea in particular). Likewise, the second core composition—comprising Isa 63:7–64:11 (self-accusation) and Isa 65:1–25; 66:1–24 (new heaven and earth)—promises salvation to those who remain faithful to God’s commands.

Isaiah

Isaiah is the most literarily complex of the prophetic books, and the one with the richest afterlife in both Jewish and Christian traditions. First Isaiah asserts the radical implications of YHWH’s sovereignty—a core political concept for Judah and “many peoples.” The canonical “vision of Isaiah” expands vastly in Second and Third Isaiah, which differ drastically in their tones. Second Isaiah represents a new mode of prophecy, designed specifically to counter the despair of the Judean exiles. Third Isaiah, addressed to the disillusioned and divided community that is reestablishing itself in Judah and Jerusalem under Persian oversight, is prophecy for the in-between times, and that may be its value for contemporary preachers.

Who is the True Israel? Community, Identity, and Religious Commitment in Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66)

Who is the true Israel? The topic of this essay indicates that, following the Babylonian exile and the return to what was now the Persian province Yehud, there was more than one way of being “Israel.” Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66) is a particularly intriguing place to explore the different notions of identity and community. In these eleven chapters, one finds an array of answers, ranging from what today we might call “liberal” to “conservative.” There are two aspects in particular that spark the controversy: the varying views of the relationship between Israel and other nations and the competing claims among different Jewish groups to being the true Israel. It is not only historically but also ethically relevant that Third Isaiah accommodates all these views within one textual framework. There is a sense that in matters of identity, every voice deserves to be heard.

Prophecy and Apocalyptic

Chapter 5 describes the rise in exilic and post-exilic Israel of a new prophecy about God’s end-time reign. This prophecy (in Third Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi) exhibited significant shifts in genre and patterns of revelation and intermediation. It envisioned mythic images and archetypes, known from across the ancient Near East, powerfully resurfacing to reveal transcendence interrupting human history and establishing millennial peace incontestably. It forged vibrant, urgent worldviews from allusions to Israel’s emerging corpus of authoritative, sacred writings. Each new apocalyptic imagination reflected the traditions of its originating group, often a priestly sect of Aaronides, Zadokites, or Levites. Thus, Isaiah 26 forges a prophecy of bodily resurrection from images of fecundity found in Isaiah 54. Zechariah 3 and 6 rework Ezekiel 21 and Genesis 49 into expectations of a humble Messiah. And Malachi’s warnings of end-time purgation recapitulate God’s judgment on priests in 1 Samuel 2:27–4:1.