The Prophets

Fortress Commentary on the Bible

Gale A. Yee, Hugh R. Page Jr., Matthew J. M. Coomber

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781506415857
• eBook ISBN: 9781506415864
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

This concise commentary on the Prophets, excerpted from the Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, engages readers in the work of biblical interpretation. Contributors from a rich diversity of perspectives connect historical-critical analysis with sensitivity to current theological, cultural, and interpretive issues.

Introductory articles describe the challenges of reading the Old Testament in ancient and contemporary contexts, relating the biblical theme of "the people of God" to our complex, multicultural world, and reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, followed by a survey of "Themes and Perspectives in the Prophets: Truth, Tragedy, Trauma." Each chapter (Isaiah through Malachi) includes an introduction and commentary on the text through the lenses of three critical questions:

The Text in Its Ancient Context. What did the text probably mean in its original historical and cultural context?

The Text in the Interpretive Tradition. How have centuries of reading and interpreting shaped our understanding of the text?

The Text in Contemporary Discussion. What are the unique challenges and interpretive questions that arise for readers and hearers of the text today?

The Prophets introduces fresh perspectives and draws students, as well as preachers and interested readers, into the challenging work of interpretation.

Isaiah 1–39

Marvin A. Sweeney

Introduction

Isaiah 1–39 is part of the larger sixty-six-chapter book of Isaiah, which is attributed to the prophet Isaiah ben Amoz, in Isa. 1:1. Isaiah was a Jerusalemite prophet who spoke during the reigns of the Judean kings Uzziah (783–742 BCE), Jotham (742–735), Ahaz (735–715), and Hezekiah (715–687/686).

The late eighth century BCE saw a number of events that had a major impact on the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. First was the Syro-Ephraimitic War in 735–732, in which Israel and Aram invaded Judah in an effort to force Judah to join their anti-Assyrian alliance. When King Ahaz of Judah appealed to Assyria for assistance, the Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser III destroyed Damascus, reduced Israel, and subjugated Judah. Second was the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 724–721, following its revolt against the Assyrian Empire. Third was Hezekiah’s revolt against Assyria in 705–701, which saw the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem. Although the book of Isaiah claims a great victory for YHWH and Hezekiah, Assyrian records and archaeology confirm that Judah was devastated, although Jerusalem remained intact and Hezekiah remained on the throne.

Throughout this period, Isaiah advised against military confrontation with Assyria. Isaiah’s theological worldview was heavily informed by the Davidic/Zion stream of ancient Judean thought, which posited an eternal covenant between YHWH, the royal house of David, and the city of Jerusalem. According to the Davidic/Zion tradition, YHWH would defend the house of David and the city of Jerusalem forever (see 2 Samuel 7). Isaiah therefore viewed political and military alliances between Judah and other nations as unnecessary and potentially dangerous. He consistently argued for reliance on YHWH as the best course for Judah’s security.

Although the superscription attributes the book to the prophet Isaiah, interpreters since antiquity have recognized that major portions of the book were composed by other writers. Isaiah 40–66 appears to presuppose the conclusion of the Babylonian exile and the rise of King Cyrus of Persia in 539 BCE (see Isa. 44:28; 45:1), as well as later periods.

The Babylonian Talmud (c. 600 CE) attributes the book of Isaiah to King Hezekiah of Judah and his colleagues (b. B. Bat. 14b). The medieval commentator Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089–1167 CE) hints at the possibility of a different author beginning in Isaiah 40. By the late eighteenth century, modern critical scholars recognized Isaiah 1–39 as a work based on the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz and Isaiah 40–66 as the work of later prophets from the exilic period and beyond. Bernhard Duhm’s 1892 commentary first argued that the book of Isaiah presented the work of Isaiah ben Amoz in Isaiah 1–39, an anonymous prophet known as Deutero-Isaiah in Isaiah 40–55, and a third prophet known as Trito-Isaiah in Isaiah 56–66. Subsequent interpretation recognizes Trito-Isaiah as the work of multiple writers.

More recent scholarship focuses on reading the various components of the book of Isaiah as a literary whole. When Isaiah 1–39, 40–55, and 56–66 are read as a single work, they present the vision of Isaiah ben Amoz that spans some four to five hundred years of Judah’s and Jerusalem’s history and YHWH’s activity in the world from the time of the Assyrian invasions in the late eighth century BCE through the anticipated recognition of YHWH as the sovereign ruler of all creation from the Jerusalem temple, the holy center for creation.

The process of the formation of the book over this period of time points to efforts in ancient Judaism to read Isaiah as a book that addresses later times as well. Second Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah both contain extensive intertextual citations of texts from Isaiah 1–39 that indicate reflection on the meaning of Isaiah’s prophecies in relation to the end of the Babylonian exile and the early Persian or Second Temple period when the temple was rebuilt. Indeed, the final form of the book of Isaiah appears designed to persuade later generations of Jews that YHWH is indeed the true G-d of creation and that they should return to Jerusalem to acknowledge YHWH as the true sovereign of a restored Israel and Judah and the world at large.

The final form of the book of Isaiah is therefore designed to demonstrate YHWH’s role as the true sovereign of creation and G-d of Israel/Judah. The first half of the book, in Isaiah 1–33, presents YHWH’s plans to reveal worldwide sovereignty at Zion. These chapters argue that failure to recognize YHWH results in disaster, such as that realized by King Ahaz of Judah during the Assyrian invasions of Israel and Judah, whereas adherence to YHWH will result in security and restoration. The second half of the book, in Isaiah 34–66, argues that the time of restoration is at hand. Based on the model of King Hezekiah during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem, the people need to turn to YHWH, who will return them to Jerusalem at the center of a restored creation.

The book of Isaiah is preserved in two major manuscripts from Qumran. The iconic 1QIsaa, which dates to the late second century BCE, presupposes a proto-Masoretic text, although it includes many exegetical variations, including a clear division between Isaiah 33 and Isaiah 34 to mark the two halves of the book. 1QIsa^b, which dates to the first century BCE, preserves a proto-Masoretic text. Isaiah appears in some twenty-one other manuscripts from Qumran as well.

Jewish tradition reads the book of Isaiah as a book of comfort (b. B. Bat. 14b–15a) that anticipates the restoration of Jerusalem in the aftermath of disaster and exile. Selections from Isaiah are read throughout the year in the Jewish worship service as Haftarah readings, that is, readings from the Prophets that accompany the reading of the Torah portion at the center of the Jewish worship service. Many of the Haftarah readings from the ninth of Av, the Jewish day of mourning for the loss of the temple and other disasters, in the late summer through Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish Near Year, in the early fall, are drawn from Isaiah to anticipate divine restoration and blessing at the beginning of the New Year. According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah was put to death by Hezekiah’s evil son Manasseh, who sawed Isaiah in half after accusing him of being a false prophet (b. Yev. 49b; see also the pseudepigraphical work The Martyrdom of Isaiah).

Christianity also views the book of Isaiah as a key text in articulating Christian theology. Isaiah is quoted extensively throughout the New Testament, especially as a book that anticipates the coming of Christ. Indeed, Isaiah holds out a vision of an ideal world that Christianity understands to be realized through Jesus Christ. The reference to the birth of Immanuel in Isa. 7:14; the portrayal of the ideal king as the “Prince of Peace” in Isa. 9:1-6; and the Suffering Servant in Isa. 52:13—53:12 all play key roles in Isaiah’s anticipation of Christ in the New Testament and Christian thought. The first part of Handel’s Messiah (Dublin 1742) is based largely on texts from Isaiah.

Both Judaism and Christianity employ elements from Isaiah’s commissioning vision in Isaiah 6, particularly the song of the Seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy, is the L-rd of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with [G-d’s] glory” (6:3), as part of their respective worship services.

In the aftermath of the Shoah (Holocaust), both Jewish and Christian interpreters have begun to rethink the meaning of Isaiah. Isaiah’s commission in Isaiah 6 to render the people blind, deaf, and dumb without the possibility of repentance, for instance, implies that G-d deliberately punishes innocent humans to reveal divine glory. Some maintain that Isaiah’s commission calls not for acceptance of evil even when it comes from the highest authority, but instead for human beings to exercise moral responsibility in their own right to bring about the ideal world that Isaiah holds forth.

Isaiah 1: Prologue to the Book of Isaiah:
YHWH’s Intention to Purify Zion

The Text in Its Ancient Context

Isaiah 1 begins with the superscription for the book in 1:1. The superscription identifies the book as “the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz,” and states that his focus is on Judah and Jerusalem. It places the prophet in the reigns of the Judean kings Uzziah (783–742 BCE), Jotham (742–735), Ahaz (735–715), and Hezekiah (715–687/668). Major events during this period include the Syro-Ephraimitic War (735–732), the fall of northern Israel to the Assyrian empire (722/1), and the Assyrian invasion of Judah and siege of Jerusalem (701).

Isaiah 1:2-20 constitutes the speech of the accuser in which the prophet lays out YHWH’s charges that the people of Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel act like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah by not following divine guidance. Isaiah 1:21-31 constitutes the speech of the judge in which the prophet likens Jerusalem to unrefined ore that must be smelted to purge the city of its alleged sins. Once the process of punishment is complete, the prophet looks forward to Zion’s restoration.

The Text in the Interpretive Tradition

Most modern scholars maintain that Isaiah 1 consists primarily of oracles by Isaiah son of Amoz, but it has been edited to serve as the prologue both to the book of Isaiah as a whole and to the first portion of the book in either Isaiah 1–39 or Isaiah 1–33 (Fohrer; Tomasino). It can function in this role because it presents an overview of the major concerns of the book, namely, YHWH’s judgment against Jerusalem and Israel and the ultimate restoration of Jerusalem and Israel. Interpreters have noted its parallels with Isaiah 34, which opens the second half of the book of Isaiah, and Isaiah 66, which closes the book of Isaiah as a whole (Evans).

Christian tradition reads Isaiah 1 as a summary of the sins of Israel that calls for the coming of Jesus. Paul quotes Isa. 1:9 in Rom. 9:29 as part of his larger argument for justification by faith. Protestant Christian interpretation generally reads Isa. 1:10-17 as an indictment of temple ritual practice, although Jewish interpreters generally note that it condemns ritual practice that is not accompanied by proper moral and spiritual outlook (see Leviticus 19).

Jewish tradition reads Isa. 1:1-27 as the Haphtarah, or Prophetic Reading, for Shabbat H.azon, “the Shabbat of Vision,” the first Shabbat after Tisha b’Av, “the ninth of Av,” in late July or early August that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The passage rehearses the theme of judgment that explains the destruction, but it points to restoration at the end.

The Text in Contemporary Discussion

Isaiah 1 is an indictment of human wrongdoing and rejection of G-d, but it looks forward to restoration once the people have been purged by divine punishment. In the aftermath of the Shoah or Holocaust, contemporary theologians recognize such statements as a form of theodicy, that is, they defend G-d against charges of divine wickedness, absence, and impotence by asserting that human beings—and not G-d—must be responsible for evil in the world.

Isaiah 2–4: YHWH’s Plan for Worldwide Sovereignty at Zion

The Text in Its Ancient Context

Isaiah 2–4 begins with its own superscription in Isa. 2:1, which identifies the following material as “the word which Isaiah ben Amoz envisioned concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (author trans.). The unit presents the prophet’s announcement concerning the preparation of Zion/Jerusalem for its role as the center for YHWH’s worldwide sovereignty.

The Jerusalem temple was considered the holy center of creation. The portrayal of Jerusalem here as the site of the holy temple of YHWH, to which the nations would flock to learn divine instruction and bring an end to war, appears to presuppose the role that major temples played in Mesopotamian culture. During the Babylonian Akitu or New Year’s festival, representatives of the nations subject to Babylonian rule would carry idols of their national gods in procession through the streets of Babylon to honor the Babylonian king. When the procession reached the temple of Marduk, the king would climb the steps to the top of the temple. There he would be granted the tablets of destiny, which gave him the right to rule the Babylonian Empire—and thus all creation—for another year on Marduk’s behalf.

Following Isa. 2:2-4, the prophet presents three addresses that outline how the ideals expressed in this passage will be achieved. The first, in Isa. 2:5-9, begins with an invitation to the house of Jacob to join the nations’ pilgrimage to Zion. But the passage quickly turns to accusations that the people have abandoned YHWH to follow foreign gods. As an adherent of the Davidic-Zion tradition, which maintains that YHWH alone protects the royal house of David and the city of Jerusalem, Isaiah opposed foreign alliances.

The second address, in Isa. 2:10-21, presents the prophet’s announcement of the coming day of YHWH, when YHWH will punish foreign nations that threaten Israel (e.g., Isa. 13:6, 9; Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; Obad. 15) or those within Israel who allegedly oppose YHWH (e.g., Amos 5:18-20; Zeph. 1:7, 14; Mal. 4:5). The oracle focuses on the downfall of all who are high, mighty, and arrogant, and holds that YHWH alone will be aggrandized on the coming day of punishment.

The third address, in Isa. 2:22—4:6, focuses on the purging of Jerusalem and Judah. Following the plea in Isa. 2:22 to abandon human self-reliance, the passage turns to the punishment of the male leaders of Jerusalem and Judah in Isa. 3:1-11. The address then focuses on the leading women of Jerusalem and Judah in Isa. 3:12-4:1 who will be judged, stripped of their fine clothing, and left bereft of their husbands once the men have been killed or exiled. The passage concludes with an idyllic portrayal of a restored Jerusalem following the purge of the city.

The Text in the Interpretive Tradition

Many modern interpreters maintain that Isa. 2:2-4 (cf. Mic. 4:1-5) dates to the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE, because of the analogy with the Akitu festival and the passage’s many affinities with Second Isaiah. Like Second Isaiah, the passage envisions peace among the nations who will recognize YHWH as the sovereign deity of all creation and the nations of the world. Isaiah 2–4 summarizes the message of the book of Isaiah as a whole, which envisions a process in which YHWH will bring punishment upon Jerusalem as a means to purge and restore the city, thereby to reveal YHWH’s role as sovereign of all creation and the nations at large.

When read as part of the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz, the portrayal of judgment in Isaiah 2:5—4:6 functions as Isaiah’s means to explain how the Assyrian Empire will be able to overrun Israel and Judah; namely, because the king and people do not place their faith in YHWH’s promises of protection, YHWH brings the Assyrians to punish them for infidelity.

In both Jewish and Christian tradition, the passage is read as an eschatological portrayal of t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Publisher’s Note
• Abbreviations
• Series Introduction
• Reading the Old Testament in Ancient and Contemporary Contexts
• The People of God and the Peoples of the Earth
• Reading the Christian Old Testament in the Contemporary World
• Themes and Perspectives in the Prophets: Truth, Tragedy, Trauma
• Isaiah 1–39
• Isaiah 40–66
• Jeremiah
• Lamentations
• Ezekiel
• Daniel
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi