Part 45
(26:1—6) Another Psalm-like poem follows, with the city now a matter of pride. Here there can be no doubt that a purified Jerusalem is in mind, with v. 2 reminding us of the 'entrance liturgies' found in some Psalms, where only those who are righteous are allowed through the gates to the holy place beyond (cf Ps 15; 24). The entry may be that of the ark, symbolic of the divine presence, and it is possible to envisage this as an example of the 'divine warrior hymn' held by some to have accompanied such a procession (Millar 1976: 82—90, summarizes the issues involved). More widely it is possible to see in this one of the Songs of Zion referred to in Ps 137:3, and exemplified by Ps 48; 76. Links with the Psalms are also provided by the themes of faith and trust, salom (peace), and confidence in the overthrow of enemies.
(26:7—19) Again the extent of the next passage is not very clear, but it is probably artificial to attempt any division within this section, characterized as a 'community lament' (D. G. Johnson 1988). A feature of such laments is the entreaty of YHWH's favour at a time of distress (e.g. Ps 74; 79) and that is certainly appropriate for the climax of the passage in w. 16-18. The picture is of the faithful community under alien rule, but still expressing its confidence that deliverance will come. If we are strict in applying logical criteria, then further subdivision within the section will be necessary, for some verses are expressed in first person singular, some in first person plural forms. We may notice, however, that this alternation occurs elsewhere in Isaiah (e.g. 63:7—T will recount... all that the Lord has done for us'), w. 14-15 clearly express the conviction that though individuals die the whole community survives to glorify God. The anguish of childbirth, used as a threat against enemies in 13:8, here too symbolizes human inadequacies, but this time inadequacies which will be gloriously trans-
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(28:5—6) Characteristic of these chapters is the interspersing of the predominant note of threat with short passages of a much more hopeful tenor. Historical critics have for the most part taken the hopeful interludes as later insertions; those concerned with the final form of the book will see this as a literary device, maintaining the tension between threat and promise so characteristic of the book of Isaiah. Here the key words from the earlier passage ('garland', 'glory', 'beauty') are picked up and applied to the faithful remnant—here clearly a hopeful symbol. The stress on 'judgement' and 'justice' (the same word, mispat, in the original) recalls a frequent theme of the Isaianic tradition.
God's 'fierce blast' (v. 8) implies that he will not have compassion on them or show them favour (v. n). Our ignorance of the divisions within the community precludes us from being more precise about who is thus excluded. (27:12-13) This section of the book ends with another eschatological passage looking forward to 'that day'. Here the imagery is of a harvest being gathered, those exiled in the diaspora being gathered to their own land. The symbol used is that of a trumpet-blast, which would become a favoured symbol in later apocalyptic writings (cf the trumpets of Rev 8—n), but there may be a closer link here with the trumpet blast for the Day of Atonement prescribed in Lev 25:9. In the Second Temple period this day took on increasing significance in the life of the community.
(28:7—13) We return now to the announcement of judgement using language closely comparable to w. 1-4; some commentators have seen this passage as a continuation of those verses, but they were complete in themselves. The earlier theme of drunkenness is taken up again and made the basis of a divine judgement speech condemning the nation through its leaders. Priests and prophets are condemned together. This should warn us against setting the two groups over against one another as natural opponents; as noted earlier it may suggest that at some stage in the tradition Isaiah was regarded as opposed to, rather than an integral part of, the prophetic movement. At v. 9 NRSV provides quotation-marks. This is speculative, for there is no equivalent in Hebrew, but it seems to make best sense of the passage to understand what follows as the imagined response of the priests and prophets, the 'he' being Isaiah. If this is so it is natural to see here, as often in chs. 56—66, dispute between rival claims to access to the divine will, a dispute carried on in strongly polemical terms. The 'priests and prophets' sarcastically ask whether the Isaianic group has any sure basis for imparting the wisdom of the tradition. NRSV then rightly says of v. 10 that its meaning is uncertain. It is very doubtful whether the words saw and qaw, translated 'precept' and 'line' are intended to have any formal meaning. They may be a suggestion of drunken muttering, with the implication that I saiah is no better than they are; or of prophetic glossolalia; or of teaching children their equivalent of the ABC, as may be implied in v. 9. If this is right, then saw and qaw would simply be forms of successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. If what has preceded is the challenge, v. n provides the Isaianic response to it. The right language has been one of the basic concerns of Judaism through history, and here an ominous challenge to that concern is set out. God's will is to be achieved through those of an 'alien tongue'. If we wish to envisage an 'original' setting for this threat, then the Assyrian invaders of the eighth century would fill the bill. But this was a threat which continued to exercise the community as it lived first in the Persian and then in the Hellenistic world (cf. Neh 13:23-5). YHWH's control of the nations might have the unpalatable consequence that the community might have to learn God's will by very strange means. But in the first instance that control has threatening implications. True rest lay in confidence and trust in YHWH, which the community had refused—hence the inevitability of desolation, spelt out in v. 13 by a repetition of the terms in v. 10. This idea of rest given by God to his people is a basic theological theme of much of the HB (von Rad 1966/7).
(Chs. 28—31) In this section we turn from the obscurities and allusions of chs. 24—7 to a much more straightforward series of oracles, mainly of woe against a series of offenders. As noted earlier NRSV 'Ah' at 28:1 and elsewhere is too bland a translation for the force of the Hebrew hoy. (REB has 'Alas' at 28:1 and 'Woe' in later occurrences of the same word.) For historical critics this section has been the one part of the book where a significant body of material is held to go back to Isaiah himself in the eighth century BCE, though these chapters make no direct reference to him.
There are, however, some structural problems. The difference from what precedes has to be inferred from the different content; there is no heading to indicate a fresh start. Nor is it clear how far the passage extends. Certainly chs. 28—31 belong together, but whether the section should be extended further is not clear; chs. 32, 32-3, and 32-5 have all been proposed as integral elements of this section. Nor is there any obvious reason why these chapters should be placed at just this point in the book as a whole. Both in assumed dating and in content they are close to much of the material in chs. 2-12.
One helpful way of looking at the organization of this material has been suggested by Williamson (1994: 184—7). He notes that there is no separate heading for this section, which invites us to read it as a continuation of what has preceded, and suggests that the best analogy may be, not the self-contained bodies of 'Oracles against Foreign Nations' found in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but the collection in Am 1—2, which uses condemnation of foreign nations to lead up to even sharper condemnation of Judah and Israel. Here that final order is reversed: Israel (the northern kingdom) is condemned in 28:1—4, men follows material directed against Judah and Jerusalem. (28:1-4) The form of this oracle is clear, with its statement of wrongdoing followed by an announcement of judgement introduced by hinneh ('behold' in the older Eng. versions; NRSV 'see'). Less clear is the meaning of'the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim'. If it is simply an accusation of drunkenness the punishment seems remarkably severe! In fact it is the garland rather than the fact of drunkenness which seems to be condemned, and there is surely some symbolism here, which largely escapes us. Kaiser (1974) suggested that the wearing of garlands was a Hellenistic custom and that we are introduced here to the tension between traditional Judaism and the spread of Hellenistic culture.
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using farming techniques as a model for bringing out the significance of God's work in creation. There is no suggestion that it is a divine oracle; the 'my' of v. 23 refers to the human author. It has a markedly didactic character, which may remind us of wisdom literature rather than of the prophetic writings. While in general terms it is not difficult to see the various operations described as symbolizing God's dealings with his people, it is less certain that each of the particular tasks is intended to relate to the varying fortunes of Israel as it experienced now success and now humiliation. Several of the agricultural terms are of uncertain meaning; what is clear is that the poem is claiming a meaningful rhythm in God's dealings with his created world. (28:29) Another of the summary-appraisals (Childs's term; see above on 14:26) scattered through the book, offers a kind of reassurance that all that is being revealed is indeed in accordance with God's overall plan. (29:1-4) One of the most basic themes running through the whole book of Isaiah is the fate of Jerusalem, the place of greatest promise and of greatest hope. Whereas 28:16—17 envisaged Zion as inviolable, here we have a threat of utter destruction. 'Ariel' seems to stand for Jerusalem; the word means 'altar-hearth' (cf. Ezek 43:15), but, divided into two words, Ari El, it would mean 'lion of God', and there may well be a deliberate wordplay here, with God's destructive power in mind. That is still further strengthened by the imagery of a siege. Jerusalem was under siege at the very beginning of the book (1:8); here it is made clear that it is YHWH himself who is besieging the city. The reference to David in v. 3 is not in the Hebrew text (cf. NRSV marg.), and REB T shall encircle you with my army' makes it more explicit that YHWH himself is the besieger. In v. i the allusion is to David's capture of Jerusalem described in 2 Sam 6; now in v. 3 it is YHWH himself who is the city's enemy, reducing its inhabitants to ghostly status.
(28:14-22) offers a very clear example of the way in which a basic message of threat has a hopeful element interwoven with it. v. 16 in that sense differs from the surrounding material, but as the passage stands it provides an important indication of a basic theme of hope beyond disaster, v. 14, the application to Jerusalem and its rulers is now made explicit. Even the word 'scoffers' is very similar to the name 'Zion' and is probably intended as a wordplay. The expression 'this' (rather than 'my') alerts us that a threat is imminent, v. 15, we have noted that specific covenant language is rare in the early chapters of Isaiah, and this verse may provide part of the reason. The only covenant that the leaders understand is actually one made with death (mawet). There was a Canaanite divinity called Mot, but such worship is probably not in mind here. Isaiah's opponents' words are certainly not accurately reported on this occasion, but the underlying theme seems to be of false trust; they are held to suppose that the power of death can be set to one side—Isaiah is confident that the hollowness of such claims will soon be exposed.
w. 16-170, into this threat has been incorporated an oracle of salvation promising YHWH's lasting protection of Jerusalem. There is dispute whether the 'stone' is the foundationstone or the headstone, but perhaps we need not suppose Isaiah to have been concerned with architectural niceties. The phrase 'One who trusts will not panic' is placed in quotation-marks by NRSV, and we may follow its implication that this will have been an inscription on the stone. Here as elsewhere in Isaiah we are very close to the language of the Zion Psalms (e.g. 46; 48). Those who put their trust in YHWH could be confident that Zion was a place of true safety. There is also a close link with 7:9, the words addressed to Ahaz, with the same demand for trust. The connection is closer in Hebrew than appears from NRSV, which translates the same Hebrew verb (the one from which the word 'Amen' is derived) as 'stand firm' at 7:9, but 'trust' here. The idea of the 'inviolability of Zion', if not explicit here, is clearly not far removed from the thought of the passage, which ends with a reiteration of the characteristic Isaianic themes of mispat and seddqd. A link with the previous oracle is provided by the word qaw
(29:5—8) As so often in these chapters the picture is miraculously reversed. Even in these verses the theme of threat is not wholly lacking, for the theophany described in v. 6 would normally imply God's displeasure with his people, as if he were waging war against them. But in its present context that potential threat has been overridden; it is not Jerusalem but its enemies who will be scattered like dust. As elsewhere (cf. 10:32), the passage ends with the expression of frustration by Jerusalem's opponents. Dreams in the HB are often thought to have religious significance; v. 8 reminds us that, as in the modern world, they can be simply an illustration of frustration. (29:9-10) It is not clear whether this passage is to be taken as self-standing, or as a continuation of the words of threat in w. 1—4. In any case the threat is now once again directed to the community itself. The references to 'prophets' and 'seers' may well be a later addition, making the general threat of incomprehension even more specific. In any case we see once again the hostility of much of the Isaianic tradition to these religious groups. (29:11-12) A brief prose section interrupts the sequence of poetic oracles. The breakdown of the established structures of the community is reminiscent of 4:1 and 8:16—20. Those who
(line). As against the false trust mockingly set out there the basis of true trust is now shown.
w. 17/7—22, the remainder of the oracle of threat spells out its implications, in the first part by making much use of the same phrases as have already been used—another characteristic Isaianic technique. The last two verses introduce new points of comparison. Two episodes from the Former Prophets are alluded to: David's victory over the Philistines at 2 Sam 5:20, and Joshua's defeat of the Amorites in Josh 10. Now, however, the holy war which YHWH had earlier waged on his people's behalf will become a war against Jerusalem itself—a 'strange' and 'alien' work. This theme of YHWH as the divine warrior, normally expected to fight on Israel's behalf against its enemies, but quite capable of turning against his own people, plays a prominent part in the Isaiah tradition. There is clearly an acute tension between that understanding and the theme of the inviolability of Zion which we found in w. 16-170. (28:23-8) What follows in these verses has no close formal parallel elsewhere in the book of Isaiah. It is a kind of parable,
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(30:6—7) This passage looks to have been misplaced. Its formal structure, introduced by the word masse? (oracle) is reminiscent of the oracles against foreign nations in chs. 13—23. The Negeb is probably not the specific area south of Judah, but rather evokes any distant and little-known southern land. The passage has presumably been placed here because of its thematic links with the preceding verses, stressing that supposed help from Egypt is useless. It brings out a theme which will be taken up again at 51:9. Egypt is identified with the chaosmonster Rahab. The exact force of the comparison is not clear, but Clements (19800) proposes a minor emendation to the Hebrew to achieve the translation 'Rahab that is stilled', the implication being that the powers of chaos have been rendered powerless by YHWH's creative act. Ps 87:4 suggests that the identification of Egyptas Rahab was a well-known one. (30:8-11) The next unit extends to v. 17, but is readily divisible into three smaller sections, of which this is the first. Taken as a whole it may well be one of the most important basic elements in the book. Historical-critical scholars have been almost unanimous in seeing material here which goes back to the eighth century BCE. In v. 8 there is little point in speculating what may have been inscribed on the tablet; more fruitful is a comparison with 8:16—18, which shares with this passage the concern that the words of God through his messenger should be inscribed and handed down to future generations. The theme of YHWH as 'father' of Israel, touched on in v. i, is then further developed in a way strikingly similar to Deut 21:18—21, where a 'stubborn and rebellious (sorer umoreh: both terms used to describe Israel in this chapter) son' may receive the punishment of death (Pfisterer Darr 1994: 61). We are reminded that the situation described in 1:2 shows as yet no signs of improvement. The tora (instruction) of YHWH, here as so often the touchstone of obedience, is still being ignored. As we have noted seers and particularly prophets are often condemned in Isaiah. Here the blame for their inadequacies is placed on the community as a whole. (30:12-14) Two announcements of judgement follow, each introduced by the characteristic 'therefore'. In the first the recurring theme of trust, true and false, reappears. In the second two vivid similes are used to picture the inevitable break-up of the community: first an insecurely built wall whose weakness causes it to collapse; secondly, a pot smashed into fragments.
shaped the book of Isaiah continued to proclaim their faith in God's continuing power, but there were those in the community who either could not or would not read the signs of the times. (29:13-16) w. 13-14, the placing of the prose section is surely deliberate to bring out the ironic contrast with this poetic oracle. There the problem was ignorance; here it is assumed wisdom. The people claim to have access to the mind of God, with their pattern of festivals and the alleged wisdom and discernment of their 'experts'. It will all be shown to be a false claim, w. 15—16, this theme of false claims to wisdom is carried further. Excessive self-belief has led the wise among the people, falsely so-called according to Isaiah, into turning the truth upside-down. The theme of the thing made disowning its maker occurs again in 45:9, and this verse may well underlie Paul's argument in Rom 9:19—21.
(29:17—21) In this rather fragmentary section we find another oracle of promise, very different from what has preceded. Now the picture is of a complete transformation of earthly conditions into a restoration of paradise. Not just Jerusalem, but the whole created order is here transfigured. Lebanon had previously (2:13) been regarded as the first victim of the impending 'day of YHWH'; now it will become a fruitful field. Similarly the deaf and the blind of v. 18 remind us of the deaf and blind people of 6:10. There is a hope beyond that threat. In w. 20-1 we cannot be certain whether those condemned reflect a general aspiration towards justice, or whether particular groups in a divided society are targeted. (29:22-4) In the Judaism of the Second Temple period the patriarchs, who played little or no part in earlier traditions, come to increasing prominence. To be children of Abraham and of Jacob was an important theological claim as is amply illustrated in the New Testament. In these verses we find a more generous hope than in the previous oracle. Even those who err and grumble may now, it is hoped, come to a true understanding.
(30:1—5) We return to another passage of threat, on a theme which may have been relevant in the eighth century BCE, and thus go back to the earliest traditions embodied in Isaiah, but which continued to raise important issues at different times in the people's history. In the face of threats from elsewhere was Egypt to be a valued resource, or was trust in Egypt no more than an illusion? w. 1-2 are an accusation put in the mouth of YHWH himself. The plans of those who rely on Egyptian support are rebellion, a human plan which it is claimed is a vain attempt to thwart the larger divine plan. NRSV 'against my will' in v. i gives the sense, but obscures the fact that a more literal translation would be 'not of my spirit' (so RSV) with the sense that conformity with the spirit of YHWH is far more important than human counsel. To 'go down into Egypt' was an exact reversal of the divine action in bringing the people up out of Egypt in the Exodus. This accusation leads by way of a characteristic 'therefore' into an announcement of judgement showing that the very forces which the people hope will offer them protection will lead to their greater discomfiture. In v. 4 'Zoan' may stand for Egypt (cf 19:11, 13), but 'Hanes' is otherwise unknown.
(30:15—17) A further accusation and announcement of judgement follows, with an important statement of a basic Isaianic theme. God had laid down how they might be saved from their troubles, and they had refused. There are two Hebrew verbs some forms of which are very similar: "sub, to turn or return; yasab, to sit or dwell. Most translations take the verb here as the first (thus NRSV 'in returning'), but various Jewish scholars have put forward a case for supposing that it might be the second, which would involve only minor changes and give a better parallel: 'in stillness' (Uffenheimer 1994: 179). In the light of the community's failure to offer such trust the remnant theme reappears in v. 17 as an undisguised threat. (30:18) is printed in NRSV as a poetic conclusion to what has preceded, but it can also be taken as introducing the very varied material which follows. It points forward to the latter part of the book in its emphasis on God's saving justice
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'spirit', apparently in parallelism with 'human' and 'God' in the previous line. What is stated here as simply a warning about human inadequacies came, in the New Testament and elsewhere, to be formative of a complete anthropology that is a doctrine of human nature.
(mispat), while the last phrase provides a link back to 25:9. These links are important warnings against dividing the book into small isolated fragments.
(30:19—26) These verses are held together by the common element of promise, but their detailed content is very varied. Vermeylen (1977-8: 418) proposes that they are intended as a 'relecture' of the preceding material in this chapter offering a much more hopeful future. Thus instead of blinding their seers (v. 10) the people will see for themselves (v. 20). The deafness of v. 9 will give way to the ability to hear the message in v. 21; instead of straying from the way (v. n), they will walk securely in it (v. 21). The condemnation of idolatry is less prominent in these chapters than attacks on the false worship of YHWH, but here (v. 22) the community are assured that idols will be a thing of the past: a sharp contrast with 1:27—31 on a similar theme. The last verses of the section introduce once more the vision of'that day', now expressed in eschatological terms as a restoration of paradise, when the anxieties of an agricultural community living a marginal existence will be totally dispelled. These pictures of an ideal future constantly recur throughout the book of Isaiah.
(31:4—5) The thrust of this passage is difficult to determine. As translated in NRSV it is a promise, with YHWH coming down 'to fight upon Mount Zion', that is, on behalf of his people. But this then offers a curious set of images: YHWH is pictured as a lion fighting for his people against their shepherds. While this is not impossible—leaders as unworthy shepherds is a common idea in the HB—it is unusual, and the more natural sense of the preposition translated 'upon' would be adversative: 'against'. Perhaps this passage originated as a threat, with YHWH pictured as a lion intent upon attacking his own people for their faithlessness. Only in later tradition has it been transformed to allow an element of promise, which becomes explicit in v. 5.
(31:6—9) A prose passage follows. It begins with something unexpectedly rare in the book of Isaiah: a call to repentance
('turn back', using the characteristic verb sub). Then it looks forward to the destruction of all idols, as in 30:22; this is a point which will be elaborated in greater detail in the 'Babylonian chapters', especially 44—7. It leads into a renewed threat against the Assyrians (cf. 30:31), making clear that it is the Divine Warrior and not any human agency that overthrows alien powers.
(30:27-33) There are a number of textual problems in these verses, which account for the variety within modern translations, w. 27—8 seem to be a powerful description of a theophany, but whereas in other such passages God's anger is directed against his own people, here 'the nations' and 'the peoples' are the victims of his anger. This is the language of YHWH as divine warrior. The prose passage that follows this warning first offers reassurance to the people of God that Zion
(32:1—8) These verses return to a theme last found in ch. n— the hope of an ideal king. Though less widely used as a messianic prophecy than the passages in chs. 7, 9, and n, this section puts the hope of an ideal ruler in the context of other Isaianic themes. The plural 'princes' in v. i indicates that the hope is not of a specific ruler but rather an idealized picture of the true nature of monarchical rule. It embodies sedeq (righteousness) and mispat (justice), two recurrent Isaianic concerns. When these are present, the ruler will provide true protection for his people (v. 2). As in 30:20—1, the blindness and deafness imposed upon the people for their stubbornness in ch. 6 and elsewhere will now be removed; a well-ordered and properly structured society will be inaugurated. There are links with the wisdom literature in the condemnation of the fool (w. 5, 6) and the stress on proper planning (the verb ya'as (plan) in v. 8). (32:9-14) Unexpectedly there follows another attack upon women. The presentation of women in those usually counted as the 'eighth-century prophets' (Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah) is by and large not an attractive one. In these verses the condemnation is in juridical style, inviting witnesses to come forward (cf. 1:2). But what begins as a taunt, apparently aimed against the women, gradually changes character, and the women come to be seen as examples of those who will be forced to mourn the imminent disaster. Instead of a vintage festival, rites of mourning will be the order of the day. The image of'thorns and briers' (v. 13) is reminiscent of the two songs of the vineyard in 5:1-7 and 27:2-6, though the word here translated 'thorns' is different from that used in the other passages. As the following verses will show this is one more example of the recurrent Isaianic pattern of inevitable and imminent disaster to be followed by restoration.
(the 'mountain of the LORD') will remain inviolable, and then identifies the enemy to be overthrown as the Assyrians. It is doubtful whether we should take this as a historical reference with a specific eighth-century setting, when the Assyrians were attacking Israel and Judah; rather it should be grouped with other passages (Jon; Ezra 6:22) which see Assyria as the typical oppressive force—a role which came to be taken over by Babylon. The chapter ends with a highly unattractive, but no doubt understandable, picture of the community gloating over the ruin and degradation of a hated enemy. The picture of a triumphant cultic occasion here should dispel any notion, based on such passages as 1:10-17, mat the book of Isaiah is opposed to cultic worship, v. 33 seems to embody a pun; the Assyrian king (mdek) will meet his end in the Topheth, or burial place where human sacrifice was alleged to have been carried out in honour of the god mollk (Molech). (31:1-3) The theme of the futility of turning to Egypt for help, found already in 30:1-5, is resumed. The reference to 'chariots and horsemen' is evocative of the accounts in Exodus, where 'Pharaoh's chariots and his army were cast into the sea' (Ex. 15:4). v. 2 interrupts the condemnation for a brief hymnic fragment in praise of God. 'He too is wise' has been interpreted by some as a claim that wisdom, previously primarily understood as human shrewdness, was a characteristic that was also to be attributed to God. However that may be, the claim is clearly being made that purely human skills were not enough to see the whole truth of any situation. An idea is developed in v. 3 which was to have momentous consequences in the history of theology: the contrast between 'flesh' and
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confronted with a real dread of the whole inhabited order breaking down, returning to its original chaos, w. 10—12, as in the Song of Deborah, the threatened breakdown into chaos is the preliminary to a reassertion of the exalted status of YHWH (cf v. 5). The language used to assert the fate of all enemies seems shocking, but it may be appropriate if those condemned to destruction are envisaged as supernatural beings threatening order.
(32:15-20) As so often in Isaiah words of warning suddenly give way to a promise which radically transforms the thrust of the whole passage. Conventional historical criticism has taken most of these hopeful sections to be later additions. This may be true, though we have no sure means of knowing. In any case to dismiss some material as 'secondary' in this way is to weaken the thrust of the message in the form in which we now have it. Here the expectation of justice and righteousness is taken up once more, as a means of transforming the desolation described in the preceding verses. Now righteousness will lead to salom, peace or wholeness, and a picture of paradise is offered, analogous to that found in 11:6-9. Th£ whole passage ends with a 'beatitude', comparable in form with those found in the New Testament, in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5).
(33:13-16) The cosmological threat of the preceding verses is now applied to a more domestic situation. The community is summoned to acknowledge the effective power of YHWH. As so often in Isaiah it appears that the Jerusalem community is divided; some ('the godless') express their anxiety as to their fate. But the terms of admission to the true fellowship are spelt out in ways reminiscent of such Psalms as 15 and 24. Those who satisfy such terms can look forward to security and the assurance of food and drink.
(Ch. 33) is one of the most disputed chapters in Isaiah. It fits into no obviously recognizable category, and has been interpreted in a variety of ways. Some have seen it as reflecting a particular historical crisis; others, following an influential article of 1924 by Gunkel, have characterized it as 'liturgical', though that description has itself led to further dispute as to what the term should mean. A coherent analysis on the basis of form is almost impossible. The chapter contains an initial 'woe', a lament by the community addressed to God in w. 2—9, interrupted by a prophetic oracle addressed to the community in w. 3-6. Further oracular material is in its turn interrupted by a question-and-answer passage in w. 14—16 enquiring who may properly live in God's presence, and offering an answer closely analogous to Ps 24:3-6. (Childs (1967) offered an analysis of the chapter in terms of a possible historical development; Murray (1982) notes previous discussions and makes his own proposals.) As elsewhere in Isaiah there are important links with the Psalms in language and theme. (33:1-6) The introductory 'woe' in v. i is aimed at a 'destroyer' and a 'treacherous one'. The two roots are each used four times in one verse: NRSV brings this out but at the expense of a very ponderous rendering (42 words in Eng. as against 16 in Heb.). The repetition may be intended as a curse-formula (Murray 1982); it is certainly powerfully allusive, though many of the allusions now escape us. We seem to be in the presence here of more than human enemies, w. 2—6, however powerful the enemies the confidence is expressed that YHWH's power is greater. In 'the morning', so often the time of hoped-for salvation from the powers of darkness, God will offer protection. The passage which follows in w. 3-6 offers reassurance in the by-now familiar terms of justice and righteousness; these will be the basis of lasting stability.
(33:17-22) Another passage put in the mouth of the prophet offers reassurance to Jerusalem. The 'king in his beauty' might be a reference to YHWH as king, but it is also possible that there is a linkage with the ideal ruler depicted in 32:1—2. In any case the basic theme is of deliverance from oppression, symbolized by the use of an alien, barely understood language (v. 19; cf. 28:11, where the same rare root l-f-g, translated 'stammering', is found; it will appear again in 37:22, there translated 'scorns'). The passage reaches a climax with the promise of the restoration of the proper liturgical round and the assurance of continuing divine protection.
(33:23—4) v. 21 had used the image of a ship, and this brief appendix takes that image further, though in a very obscure way. The spacing in NRSV suggests a link with the following chapter, and this is possible, but it may be that the passage is misplaced (so Clements 19800; cf. REB, which places 230 in square brackets). If this is so of 230, the remainder of the passage may be read as a continuation of the picture of restoration set out in the preceding verses. The 'spoil' and 'plundering' remind us of the child Maher-shalal-hash-baz of 8:1—3, f°r the same words salal and baz are here used.
(Chs. 34—5) Most scholars argue that these two chapters originated as a pairing (though for a contrary view see Steck 1985). Certainly they develop a theme found several times elsewhere in the HB. The glorification of Mount Zion corresponds with the punishment of Edom. This point is made in summary form in Am 9:11-12, Ob 21, and Mai 1:2-5; it is
developed more fully both in our present chapters and in Ezek 35:1—36:15. No doubt the course of historical events contributed to this theme, but it goes beyond the historical, so that Edom becomes symbolic of the enemies of God. We shall see a further development of this theme in ch. 63. In ch. 35 in particular we shall also see close links with later chapters in the book.
(33:7—12) There are close similarities in w. 7—9 with 24:4—8 (Murray 1992: 16—25). m each passage the 'covenant' is 'broken' (NRSV obscures this rare reference to bent by translating 'treaty' here in v. 8); in each the inhabited land 'mourns and languishes'; in each normal human activity has ceased (NRSV at 33:8 'left' for the verb translated 'ceased' in 24:8). Whether or not we follow Murray's view of the breakdown of a cosmic covenant it seems clear that the disorder here described is more than the usual damage imposed by human enemies. There are links with the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:6), a passage which celebrates the victory over Sisera but expresses in cosmic terms the threat which he posed. Here again we are
(34:1—7) The horrifying picture of w. 1—4 offers no suggestion that Edom is to become the focus of attention. After an introductory summons which recalls Ps 49:1, a picture of cosmic disaster is set out in a way that has led to this chapter being described as an apocalypse. Not just the enemy nations but also the very 'host of heaven' and the skies themselves are to be brought to an end. In w. 5-7 the judgement is made specific to
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tainly be aware that themes and actual expressions used in this chapter will come to greater prominence in what follows. But there are important links also with earlier chapters; thus in 29:17-18 Lebanon is restored, the deaf hear, the blind see— the central motifs of w. 2—5 here.
Edom, in terms which show the bitter hatred which developed between the two communities who, according to the tradition of Gen 25:29—34, should have seen one another as brothers. Instead of the kind of banquet envisaged by God for his own people in 25:6, we have the horrors of a community described as the potential sacrificial victims. No polemic is as bitter as religious polemic.
(35:1—4) Whereas at 33:9 Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon had faced destruction, in w. 1—2 they are typified as those who will see the glory of YHWH. It is important to recognize this literary link between two chapters which historical critics usually treat as quite separate. The threat posed in the preceding chapters is now to be reversed. Occasionally in the HB the wilderness is pictured as a place where Israel enjoyed a kind of honeymoon period (Hos 2:14), but the usual theme is of the wilderness as a place of threat. To transform that into fertility was a sure sign of restoration. 55:12 shares this motif, and the universal revealing of God's glory is found also at4o:5. w. 3-4, another theme found very frequently in chs. 40-55 is that of restoration of health and strength, though the promise of salvation is accompanied by the warning of vengeance and recompense. (35:5-7) A riot of imagery runs through these verses. The basic concern is for restoration of wholeness, whether (5~6a) to those human beings who were deprived of the fullness of their humanity—the blind, the deaf, the lame, the speechless—or (6/7-7) to th°se parts of the natural world which seemed comparably to be deprived. This 'good news' was seen by the Gospel writers as an obvious pointer to the good news which they wished to proclaim, and so it is no surprise to find that this chapter as a whole and these verses in particular are alluded to in the NT (e.g. Mt 11:5). In the Isaiah context we remember that the blind and the deaf are the community themselves (6:10), so that this section plays an important part in proclaiming the restoration of that community to full humanity. (35:8-10) As in 40:3 and 62:10 a highway through the desert is promised. Chs. 40—55 are sometimes spoken of as 'universalist', but they display a strong concern for ritual purity (e.g. 52:1), and that is also expressed here. Indeed the very title 'the Holy Way' implies separateness from that which is unclean; it is specifically for those who are 'redeemed'. The final verse is virtually identical with 51:11; the two uses may be seen as a kind of refrain, in each case bringing a hymn of triumph to a joyful conclusion in the restoration of Zion and its community.
(34:8—15) The preceding theme is now elaborated in terms of'day of the LORD' language, used so often with reference to the Jerusalem community, but now gloatingly reapplied, while Zion itself is triumphantly vindicated. The Septuagint Greek translation (LXX) introduces here the idea of a 'day of judgement', an expression not found in the HB but characteristic of later Jewish literature, including the NT. 'Zion's cause' (rib) has the same legal term which is often used against YHWH's disloyal followers. At v. 9 the NRSV footnote should be borne in mind; there is no specific mention of Edom in the Hebrew text, and there is a sense in which the reference to Edom in w. 5—7 is only a more specific application of the general theme of radical destruction of all alien forces. The word 'alien' is deliberately chosen; we are in a world comparable to that of modern science fiction, with hostile forces barely kept at bay. Thus in v. n 'confusion' and 'chaos' are tohu wabohu, the 'formless void' of Gen 1:2. In the same verse the animals are part of a bestiary rather than those familiar from daily encounters. There are links here with 13:21—2 where several of the same creatures were invoked in the description of the destruction of Babylon. Indeed Vermeylen (1977: 440) went further and, drawing attention to similarities of structure, suggested that this chapter is modelled on the eschatological destruction of Babylon portrayed in ch. 13. (Williamson (1994: 216—17) adds further details of linguistic similarities.) v. 14 reminds us that below the surface of belief in one God there lurked fears of demons. 'Lilith' seems to have been an aggressive female demon known also from Mesopotamian incantations; she was not a 'night hag' (so RSV, a rendering based on false etymology). She has been brought to life again in recent years in some radical feminist work.
(34:16-17) These verses are very different in tone from what has preceded, and the linkage with the rest of the chapter is widely regarded as minimal. The reference to 'the book of the LORD', more properly a 'scroll', suggests a period when the gathering of particularly valued texts had begun, a process which would lead to the formation of'Scripture'. The chapter ends with a word of reassurance for those for whom the divine lot had fallen favourably.
(Chs. 36—9) These chapters have often been somewhat neglected in commentaries on Isaiah. They are substantially identical with 2 Kings 18-20, with one significant addition (38:9-20) and two omissions (2 Kings 18:14-16 and2o:6fc-8), and the usual assumption has been that the redactors of the book of Isaiah utilized this material from 2 Kings, in which Isaiah himself is named, as an important element in the tradition about 'their' prophet. Only very conservative scholars, anxious to hold Isaiah himself responsible for the whole of chs. i—66, have rejected this approach. Detailed commentary, and an exploration of the considerable historical problems here raised, has therefore usually been undertaken in the context of 2 Kings.
(Ch. 35) This chapter poses a major problem for the view of a threefold division of Isaiah outlined in the introduction. Though part of Isa 1—39 it displays very close links with chs. 40-55. Some have supposed that it must have originated with those chapters, became detached and 'by some roundabout way reached the collection of First Isaiah independently'
(McKenzie 1968: 12). Others regard it as a much later development: 'a later development, probably separated from (Deutero-Isaiah) by centuries' (Kaiser 1974: 362). The greater concern with Isaiah as a book that we have tried to develop in this commentary means that these historical issues will be less important though they cannot be ignored. We must cer-
In recent years, however, this situation has changed, and a number of scholars have argued that these chapters were first
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the Assyrians are a mockery of the truth. Of course the gods of the nations had not delivered their lands from the Assyrians, for they were no-gods, powerless to achieve anything. In the catalogue in w. 18-19 me inclusion of Samaria may be a thrust against the alleged apostasy of the northern kingdom of Israel. The only appropriate response to such arrogance is silence (v. 21) (Ackroyd 1987: 112). (37:1-4) Hezekiah's response is a model of correctness. He acknowledges his human weakness, he enters God's temple, he turns to the prophet of YHWH, Isaiah, asking for his prayers. The description of Isaiah as a 'prophet' here is the first of its kind; the few previous references in the book to prophets have been of a very disparaging nature. It may well be that Isaiah was 'enlisted' as a prophet only in much later tradition, when prophetic words were perceived as the way in which God guided the people. (37:5-20) As at 7:4 the word of YHWH to the king conveyed through Isaiah is 'Do not be afraid' (7:4 has 'do not fear' for the same Heb. expression). Ahaz had failed to stand firm; Hezekiah is pictured as putting his trust in divine protection. (Conrad 1991: 36-40 draws out the parallels between the two narratives.) We need to remember, here as elsewhere, that this is the verdict of a particular religious tradition. It would not be difficult in political and historical terms to praise Ahaz for coming to a successful modus vivendi with the Assyrians and to condemn the foolhardiness of Hezekiah which led to an extended period of vassalage.
composed within the Isaiah tradition and then taken into 2 Kings. Williamson (1994: 189—211) offers a lengthy discussion'. Whatever the circumstances of composition it is clear that these chapters play a very important part in the structure of the book of Isaiah as a whole. The community was under threat. That arose first of all from the Assyrians. God in his graciousness had destroyed that threat. But that did not mean that the people were henceforth out of danger. God might raise up another and greater threat—the Babylonians. These chapters tell of the overthrow of the Assyrians and warn of the greater danger lying ahead. Chs. 38—9 can therefore legitimately be seen as, in the title of Ackroyd's essay, 'An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile' (Ackroyd 1987: 152-71).
In what follows attention will primarily be directed to that material in these chapters which seems to have played a significant role in the shaping of the Isaiah tradition. For more general considerations, see the commentary on these chapters in 2 Kings.
(36:1—3) We know of Sennacherib's exploits from his own records, e.g. the 'Taylor Prism' in the British Museum (DOTT. 67); the campaign here referred to took place in 701 BCE. 2 Kings 18:14-16 describes Hezekiah's admission of defeat and payment of substantial reparations. The absence of those verses here gives a radically different picture, both of Hezekiah himself and of the fate of the community. Hezekiah, unmentioned by name since 1:1 but perhaps hinted at in the oracles looking to an ideal Davidic ruler, will be portrayed in idealistic terms contrasting markedly with the description of Ahaz his father (Ackroyd 1987: esp. 175-6). The 'fortified cities of Judah' may fall and Jerusalem be confronted 'with a great army', but YHWH has yet to reveal his will for his own city. The confrontation takes place at the same place as that between Isaiah and Ahaz in 7:3. We are being prepared for the great contrast between the renegade behaviour of Ahaz and the appropriate response from Hezekiah.
The promise in v. 7 is not taken up again until w. 36—8, and it is often held that a second account of the same events is inserted between the promise and the account of its fulfilment. If this is correct the break comes after 'fight against you' in v. ga. Childs (1967: 69—103) discusses the historical and literary problems; Clements (1980/7) offers a theological appraisal of the two narratives. For discussion of the historical problems, in particular those relating to Tirhakah, see the commentary on 2 Kings. Many of the themes of the first narrative recur again in w. 9/7-20, with stronger theological emphasis. In particular Hezekiah's prayerful response is brought out (w. 14—20). Though it is prose it has many of the characteristics of a psalm of lament. The uniqueness and the creative power of YHWH are stressed, along with the impotence of other so-called gods, in a way that clearly anticipates chs. 40-8.
(36:4—10) With a nice irony the Assyrian king's envoy, the Rabshakeh, is pictured as echoing Isaiah's words (cf chs. 30— i): to rely on Egypt is to put one's trust in a broken reed. There has been no reference in Isaiah to the removal of'high places and altars', but it is entirely consonant both with Isaiah's stress on Jerusalem and with the idealization of Hezekiah. Again there is irony in the words put into the Rabshakeh's mouth, 'The LORD said to me, Go up against this land', for we know that Assyria is nothing more than a rod in God's hand sent against a godless nation (10:5—6).
(37:21—9) Hezekiah's prayer is followed by words put into the mouth of Isaiah, but they are scarcely an 'answer'. Instead, they are addressed to the king of Assyria. They bear comparison with the divine response to Assyrian boasting in 10:15-19, and also (NB v. 26 in particular) with the recurrent motif in chs. 40—55 that contemporary events are the fruition of what has been the plan of YHWH for long generations. (37:30-5) Like Ahaz (7:11), Hezekiah is offered a 'sign'. Ahaz had refused it; that possibility is not even envisaged for Hezekiah. The land is to undergo a kind of Sabbath year (cf. Lev 25:5). Then in language closely reflecting earlier passages in the book (cf. esp. 4:2-6; 27:6 and the earlier usage of 'remnant' language) the survival of the city is promised. The certainty that this will happen is underlined in the same way as the enthronement oracle in 9:2—7; v. 32/7 is identical with 9:7/7.
(36:11—12) We have seen already that the issue of proper language is a concern of the book of Isaiah (28:9-13). Aramaic and Hebrew are closely related languages, and some parts of the 'Hebrew' Bible, particularly of Daniel and Ezra, are written in Aramaic. If the words here quoted had actually been spoken by Eliakim it would suggest that he and his colleagues were extraordinarily poor diplomats, revealing in this way the weakness of their position. Much more likely we have here a concern that the sacred language should not be heard in the mouth of the hated Assyrians. (36:13-21) As in ch. 10 the Assyrians do not know the real truth of the situation. Their words are a blasphemous parody of the real situation. Hezekiah will be able to deliver the city through his trust in YHWH's deliverance. The promises of
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once more at its holy place after the disaster of exile. 'The illness of Hezekiah and the death sentence upon him become a type of judgment and exile' (Ackroyd 1987: 165). The 'stringed instruments' of v. 20 are unexpected; such a reference is more usually found in the heading of Psalms (e.g. Ps 4:1) and may serve the same purpose here.
The ideal picture of Jerusalem's security in w. 33-5 seems somewhat to outrun historical fact. It is by no means clear that Jerusalem was as immune from attack as is suggested here. YHWH is pictured as asserting that this is to be done 'for my own sake', a phrase characteristic of the later chapters of Isaiah (e.g. 43:25).
(37:36—8) For the historical issues arising from these verses, see the commentary on 2 Kings. In their context in Isaiah they fulfil the warnings against the proud boastings of the Assyrians in 10:5-19 and elsewhere. One threat against the community has been removed, but it is not yet the time for unthinking rejoicing. Another threat is looming. (38:1-6) The introductory 'in those days' is very imprecise; we need not suppose that the events described in this chapter occurred later than the Assyrian attack just described. More important is the picture of Hezekiah that is conveyed. Modern ideas of modesty and self-control admired in some parts of the West should be set to one side; Hezekiah can announce his own virtues and can also weep. He asserts his own 'faithfulness', a word from the same root as the warning to Ahaz to 'stand firm' in 7:9, and in the response is recognized as a true son of David. The tradition asserts that Hezekiah reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:2), so that the promised addition of 15 years to his life and the promise of freedom from the Assyrian threat invite us to consider this event in close association with the deliverance already described. The relatively rare verb ganan, to defend, links v. 6 here with 31:5 (NRSV 'protect') and 37:35. (At this point there are significant differences between Isaiah and 2 Kings, both in what is contained and in the order of the material; Sweeney (19880:14-15) and Williamson (1994: 202-8) offer comments on these divergences.) (38:7-8) Whereas God's own words were reported in the preceding verses, now Isaiah speaks. Once again a sign is given to Hezekiah. In 2 Kings he bargains with God for a more convincing form of the sign; here that form is directly offered. Presumably what is described was regarded as in some way remarkable or even miraculous, but problems of translation (cf. NRSV fn.) make this uncertain. The mention of Ahaz makes us wonder whether some comparison is again intended, but it seems likely that 'the dial of Ahaz' was a recognized feature of the palace—temple complex.
(38:21—2) In the 2 Kings parallel these verses, in substantially identical form, appear earlier, and REB has placed them after Isa 38:6 (cf. also BHS, which makes the same proposal). NRSV resolves the tension by translating the verbs as pluperfects ('had said'). But, awkward though it may be for translators, it is likely that the present order is intentional. Hezekiah had been shown to be faithful even before the sign of healing had taken place. The motif is similar to that expressed in the words of Jesus to Thomas (Jn 20:29). Again, Hezekiah's request for a sign that he 'may go up to the house of the LORD' relates now not to the sundial (as in 2 Kings 20) but to the hope for restoration of its true place of worship to the whole community. The king may legitimately be seen as representative of the larger community. (39:1-4) A Babylonian theme is now introduced. Merodachbaladan (Marduk-apla-iddina) is known to have been a longstanding threat to Assyria's assured control of Babylon, but he functions here in effect as a symbolic figure. His envoys come 'from a far country, from Babylon', which is surely symbolic of the threat of exile. Similarly the emphasis on their seeing all that is in the storehouses—a quite unnecessary detail in historical terms—is a clear hint of the despoliation of palace and temple by the Babylonians. (39:5-8) The forewarning of the exile becomes even more explicit. Hezekiah's response has often been taken as a deplorably complacent reaction, washing his hands of any responsibility for such a disaster, but it seems most unlikely that that is how we should read v. 8. It begins with the obedient king acknowledging that all that will happen is within God's providence. Then he asserts his confidence in God's salom (peace). It is likely that a deliberate contrast is being made here between the salom of Hezekiah with the repeated assertion in the following chapters (48:22; 57:21) that 'there is no peace for the wicked' (Williamson 1994: 210).
Traditionally, historical-critical studies of Isaiah have made a sharp division at this point, with commentaries often assigned to two different authors working independently. On any showing it seems an unusual place for a division, with ch. 39 ending as it does with a look forward to the threat of the Babylonian exile in the context of the book as a whole which sees hope beyond that threat. (Chs. 40-55) In critical orthodoxy these chapters are regularly referred to as Deutero-Isaiah, with the underlying assumption that there was a prophet who could be referred to in that way who was active among a group of exiles from Judah in Babylon in the 5403 BCE. Attempts have been made to reconstruct some of the obscure details of Babylonian history on the basis of these chapters (see esp. Smith 1944). In German scholarship in particular one comes across references to the 'book of Deutero-Isaiah'; thus Kratz (1991), and, regrettably, Albertz (1990) in an otherwise very perceptive article concerned with the whole book of Isaiah. Kratz is also one of several scholars who have attempted to discern different
(38:9—20) This 'Psalm of Hezekiah' has no parallel in the 2 Kings account. It is of a form readily recognizable in the Psalms: the Individual Thanksgiving, v. 9 provides the context of recovery from illness, and this may well have been one of those settings for which Psalms of Thanksgiving were provided, w. 10-15 are in ^e form of a lament, spelling out with a variety of imagery the ill fate which has befallen the psalmist. Up to that point there are close similarities with Ps 88, but that psalm has no happy ending, whereas here the plea for deliverance in v. 16 is followed by the confident cry of those who have recovered from their troubles. The assumption in v. 18 is that death cuts one off from the opportunity to praise God; Sheol and the Pit are isolated from the presence of God. This is a different picture from that which we found in chs. 25 and 26, but, like the closely related Ps 115:16-18, it makes important theological assertions about the value of this life. But this is more than a purely individual thanksgiving. The restoration can be seen as that of the whole community, able to worship
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style and in theological viewpoint, which must not be neglected. While the historical arguments for isolating these chapters as a separate unit dating from the 5403 may be less strong than has sometimes been supposed, the distinctive features which led to the postulating of a 'Deutero-Isaiah' remain and should not be ignored. (40:1-2) The end of ch. 39 has supplied the geographical context: Babylon. The next few chapters will retain their concern for Jerusalem, as v. 2 makes clear, but the immediate setting is Jerusalem in exile. By the time that these poems were brought together it had become clear that the punishment brought about by the Babylonians, including the deportation of many of Jerusalem's leading citizens, had not been the end of the story; some at least of their descendants had been able to return. And since that return had taken place during the period of Persian rule, the Persians here as elsewhere in the HB are looked upon with favour. Presumably they were still ruling the community when this material reached its final form.
redactional levels within these chapters, so that the picture of this material as one coherent block is no longer part of the scholarly consensus. In particular, attention is paid to differences between chs. 40-8 and 49-55 (Merendino (1981); see also the notes in this commentary at the end of ch. 48).
There is certainly no book of Deutero-Isaiah, only some anonymous chapters within the larger collection which we are studying. Attempts to structure history on the basis of poetry are notoriously difficult. But does the substantive point remain? Was there really a poet-prophet among a community of Jews in Babylon in the last years before its overthrow by Cyrus? It may be so. But we should recognize that the evidence is much less secure than is often supposed. In the first place the existence of a substantial community of Jewish exiles, living and presumably worshipping together, is assumed. But it is surely a very unlikely assumption. All that we know of ancient imperial practice in such matters suggests that they would have been dispersed, particularly if they were regarded as posing any kind of threat to good order. The idea of the massive deportation of a community which was able to remain together and in due course to return together owes more to ideology than to the known facts of history.
The message of comfort in these verses and the clear intimation that the time of punishment is over suggests a comparison between this chapter and ch. 6. There the prophet had been summoned to make clear the extent of forthcoming judgement; here the equivalent announcement is that the time of punishment is past. 'Double for all her sins' sounds unjust, and has often been taken as no more than a deliberate exaggeration; Phillips (1982) suggests thatthe 'doubling' may refer to an innocent generation of those who had undergone exile. In this way the idea of suffering on behalf of others, which plays a prominent part in these chapters, is already introduced. There are uncertainties in these first verses as to who is speaking. What begins as a divine word (v. i) refers to YHWH in the third person in v. 2, and this uncertainty persists through much of ch. 40, beginning with the unidentified 'voice' of v. 3.
Secondly, there are very few historical allusions in these chapters which allow us to place them with confidence. In effect they amount to the two specific references to Cyrus (44:28; 45:1), and several less certain but likely allusions to him. Cyrus is a known figure of history whose career reached its climax with the seizure of Babylon in 539 BCE. This only establishes that these chapters (if they are taken as a unity) cannot have been written before that date; they could perfectly well be later. In fact so much attention has been given to the task of showing that these chapters cannot be earlier than the sixth century that little attention has been paid to the possibility that they could be later. (Two scholars who have explored this possibility are Torrey (1928) and
(40:3-5) Each of the first three Gospels saw in this passage a prefiguration of John the Baptist, and applied it accordingly, though at the expense of the parallelism, for they have the voice 'crying in the wilderness' (Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:3). But there are also important links within Isaiah: the expression qol qore (NRSV 'a voice cries out') is virtually identical with 6:4 ('the voices of those who called'). Just as in 6:3 'the whole earth is full of his glory', so here the glory of YHWH is to be revealed so that 'all people shall see it together'. As elsewhere in these chapters there is an ambiguity in the interpretation of such a phrase. It can be construed universalistically, with the God of Israel being known by all the world, and much Christian theology has favoured this understanding. But it can also be interpreted in terms of YHWH as the triumphant warrior, putting all his enemies to rout.
Simon (1953); their views have won little support among more recent studies.) This is not the context to explore in detail an alternative reading; we should at least be open to the possibility that, in the context of the whole book of Isaiah, Cyrus is mentioned in the same way as Sennacherib, as a figure from the distant past who was perceived as having played a significant role as God's will for his community took shape. Cyrus is given favourable attention in 2 Chr 36:22—3 and in Ezra i—6; those references, or the source on which they were based, may provide the origin of the similarly favourable attention to Cyrus here. There is no independent historical evidence to support the view that Cyrus knew anything of YHWH and his worshippers, or that he singled out a Judahite group for favourable treatment. In this context it may also be worth noting that specific references to Babylon in these chapters are very few; indeed, Duhm, who did so much to establish modern study of 'Deutero-Isaiah', gave these chapters a Phoenician rather than a Babylonian setting
The transformation of the wilderness also played an important part in ch. 35. Underlying these allusions is the tradition of the Exodus and wilderness wandering, when God had led the people to the promised land. The deliverance from Babylon will frequently be pictured in these chapters as a new and greater Exodus. (40:6-8) A further reference to a voice suggests that the setting of this whole section may be the divine council, and this would provide another link with ch. 6, a link which is still
(Schramm 1995: 22).
We shall look at these chapters as poetry which continues to explore the mystery of God's dealings with his worshippers. There are important links and parallels with what has preceded, but also some characteristic new developments, both in
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(40:18—20) The questions continue, addressed now to a 'you' who will be identified in v. 27 as 'Jacob' and 'Israel'. They take up a theme which was already raised in the Hezekiah narrative (37:18-19) and will recur several times. Whenever these poems were composed, they have as part of their background a community tempted by the worship of human-made representations of the divine. Such 'idols' are fiercely condemned as no more than human workmanship. There is no recognition that they might stand for something greater than themselves. Given the prominence of artistic representation in the Christian tradition it is surprising that these chapters, with their harsh denigration of such representation, have been esteemed as highly as they have. w. 19-20 have been widely held to be an interpolation (Whybray 1975: 55), but there is no textual evidence to support their omission. (40:21-4) The address to Jacob/Israel becomes more specific, with a note of accusation. The community should have recognized the creative power and achievement of YHWH. Another motif already touched upon in 37:26 is reapplied: the mysterious and apparently meaningless development of history is in God's control. More specifically, and relevant to the overall thrust ofthe book, those 'princes' and 'rulers ofthe earth' who imagine that they control the world's destinies are 'as nothing', v. 24 sees a reuse ofthe imagery already employed in v. 7. (40:25-6) By a kind ofindusio the questions here are closely similar to those in v. 18, strongly implying that God's creative power is beyond any comparison. The use ofthe characteristic Isaianic phrase 'the Holy One' binds this section into the larger structure of the book. We notice also the use of the verb bara', 'created', a word virtually confined in its usage to the divine as creator and rare outside the Priestly account of creation in Gen i. It is used 19 times in Isa 40—66; its one usage in 1-39 (at 4:5) seems not to offer any special link. (40:27-31) The series of questions reaches a climax, being now directly addressed to the community. The overarching power of God in no way implies that he has no concern for his own worshippers, and this is shown by the way in which the same form of question, already put to the Assyrian ruler (37:26), is used both at v. 21 and here, v. 28. The complaint of Jacob/Israel that they are neglected or ignored by God is answered with the twofold assertion, ofthe universal creative power of God, and of his continuing concern for the faint and powerless. (41:1^7) These verses take up a literary form which we have seen to be characteristic of Isaiah from 1:2 onwards: the trial scene. But whereas in that first poem it was the people of YHWH who were themselves accused, now it is rival gods whose claims are under scrutiny. The trial begins with the summons to universal silence, and the invitation to the witnesses to come forward for judgement (mispat, a typically Isaianic word, as we have frequently seen). Then with v. 2 the first main speech, setting out YHWH's claim, begins
further strengthened when we note that the phrase qol 'omcr ('a voice says') is found in 6:8. Only here and in ch. 6 in the whole Bible are the two expressions, 'a voice cries out' and 'a voice says' juxtaposed (Williamson 1994: 38). In the light of these similarities it is natural to interpret 'the word of our God' (v. 8) as referring to the book of Isaiah itself. 'I said' might seem to contradict what has been said of the anonymity of these chapters, but (though unacknowledged by NRSV) this is an—admittedly very widely followed—emendation ofthe Hebrew text, which has 'and he said' (Albertz 1990: 247).
The basic theme of these verses is human transitoriness. In the Near East the summer heat quickly withers the grass, and that is the image used here. But there may also be a literary cross-reference. At 28:4 the people were described as a 'fading flower'; here an almost identical expression is used ('the flower fades') to remind the people of their parlous state before the divine rescue had been undertaken. The word translated 'constancy' is Hebrew hesed, usually 'steadfast love' or the like. There is much dispute whether that meaning is acceptable here, or whether an emendation should be made (cf RSV 'beauty').
(40:9-11) Jerusalem is now directly addressed, a warning against giving too specifically 'Babylonian' a setting to this section. As frequently in Isaiah (and, of course, in the Psalms), Jerusalem is the place ofthe divine self-revelation. Though different imagery is used, this passage is strongly reminiscent ofthe promise to Zion in 2:2-4 and ofthe return ofthe dispersed in 11:11—12. Here it is clear that God is pictured as a conquering king; the image ofthe king as shepherd of his people is a common one (cf. Ps 23; 78:70-2).
(40:12-17) A series of questions follows, a form characteristic of these chapters, especially the early ones. They are legal in character, based on the questions in a trial as to the truth of a disputed issue. Each set of questions is followed by an answer. For the poet the answers are not really uncertain; the answer is of course that YHWH is responsible for the whole order of creation. This will become a fundamental claim in the chapters that follow, and provide the basis for the often-made claim that these chapters are legitimately described as 'monotheistic'. This is an issue to which we shall need to return.
In w. 12—14 me answer to all the questions is clearly 'Nobody'. YHWH himself is responsible for the ordering of creation, seen as a supreme example of skilful planning. This concern for creation, though not absent in the earlier chapters ofthe book, is one ofthe distinctive features of this section, especially chs. 40—5. Underlying the questions may be the idea of a divine council, with the implication that YHWH, who achieves all by his own power, is superior to the Babylonian gods who needed the advice of others (Whybray 1971); as we have seen, however, the idea of a divine council in attendance upon YHWH is also found in this chapter.
The questions are rhetorical and are not directly answered, but w. 15—17 balance them by making statements which assert that all the nations are as nothing by comparison with the power of YHWH. Lebanon may be chosen as a specific example because of its fertility and the richness of its forests, but we should also remember the reference to Lebanon when a similar but false claim was put into the mouth of the Assyrians (37:23-5).