While the book of Isaiah regularly appear in lectionary readings, it is virtually impossible to get a sense of the 66-chapter book’s complex historical background from single passages taken out of context. As a result, one might be inclined to skip over references names that, shockingly, did not catch on as popular modern baby names, like “Uzziah” and “Hezekiah.” Lines like “Is not Calmo like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad?” (Isaiah 10:9) are not likely to land on many bumper stickers.
The natural impulse is to skip over unfamiliar names and places, and take whatever meaning one can. When I first read Isaiah as a girl, my main takeaway was that God is not a fan of make-up and jewelry but prefers the natural look: “In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the ankles, the headbands, and the crescents; the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets”. . . (Isaiah 3:18-19).
Yet questions that the book of Isaiah puts forward are extremely relevant in today’s political landscape. The first section, written during the 8th century BC, is a record of a prophet’s advice in a country continuously under attack. Isaiah, a court prophet in the city that is modern-day Jerusalem, gives advice on foreign policy to a series of four rulers on how to deal with military attacks.
The narratives provoke the reader to face questions like the following: to what extent should political rulers in charge of a kingdom’s military be influenced by spiritual principles in decision-making? When your kingdom is invaded, is it better to seek protection from a foreign power whose policies threaten religious freedom? Or is it better to maintain autonomy, accepting the risk that, in the case of defeat, the civilians one is charged to protect will be at worst slaughtered and at best deported?
In this week’s entry, I am making a glossary of sorts for the book of Isaiah: a list of major names and places with explanations of why they are important. I draw information from The Prophets, by Abraham Heschel; The People Called, by Paul J. Hanson; and the New Oxford Annotated Bible (NOAB). The lectionary readings for this week are Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; and John 3:1-17.
Judah/Israel/Ephraim: When Isaiah was written, modern day Israel was divided into a “Northern Kingdom,” also called “Israel” or “Ephraim,” after its major tribe. The Southern Kingdom, containing Jerusalem, was called Judah.
Zion: another name for Jerusalem. The centrality of Jerusalem is a major theme in the book. Connecting Isaiah’s concept of the Messiah, which will later be picked up in the Gospels, to Jerusalem, Paul Hanson writes, “In the righteous, faithful city, the anointed representative of God, the Davidic king, would . . . draw() veneration not to himself, but to God . . . from this grounding in worship of the one true God he would foster righteousness and compassion in the land” ‘(Hanson, 182-183).
Describing how, in Isaiah’s judgment, Jerusalem was not fulfilling its covenant responsibility, Hanson quotes the opening chapter:
“Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves” (Hanson, 183).
Sections of the first chapter are written from the perspective of God’s voice:
“cease to do evil, learn to do good,
seek justice, rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-17).
In chapter 6, the speaker describes the prophet receiving his calling in the year of the death of Uzziah, which was 733 BC; however, chapters 40-66 refer to events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Jerusalem being conquered by the Babylonians, its population deported into exile, is considered one of the great crises in Judaism.
In earlier entries, I discussed tension in biblical texts between those that portray undeserved suffering, such as the book of Job, and those that portray suffering as punishment for sin. Isaiah definitely comes down in the second category: the book portrays the invading Assyrians and Babylonians as instruments of divine wrath. However, the book ends with a vision of God intervening in the future to bring about justice. In the closing inclusive prophecy, God is worshipped, not just in Jerusalem, but by all of humanity.
“First,” “Second,” or “Third” Isaiah: Chapters 1-39, 40-55, and 56-66, respectively. The events described in the book span about 200 years, including the rise of the Assyrian, Babylonian, and most likely Persian empires. The editors of NOAB write that this “should not leave the impression that it is simply a collection of fragments, or an anthology whose parts have no organic relation to each other. The unity of the book comes in large part from the development and deepening of major themes: the centrality of Jerusalem; the importance of the ‘anointed’ ruler; and the contrast between God’s people and the political and military machinations of the great world empires” (977).
King Uzziah: A king of Judah, the southern in this week’s passage, Isaiah describes the vision that constitutes his calling as a prophet: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Uzziah was quarantined during his reign, probably of leprosy, and let his son reign in his stead.
Ahaz: Uzziah’s grandson. Ahaz is king of Judah during what is called the Syro-Ephraimite war. In the leadup, Assyria aggressively starts expanding its empire and tries to conquer Israel, Syria, and Judah. Israel and Syria form an alliance to resist. Imagine California attacking New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas: New Mexico and Arizona comb forces to fight back, but Texas maintains autonomy.
When Ahaz refuses to join the alliance, Israel and Syria both attack Ahaz, in an attempt to replace him with a ruler in favor of a military alliance. The modern word for this would be “regime change.” Ahaz responds by appealing to Assyria, the enemy, for help, sending the message, “I am your servant and your son. Come up, and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me” (II Kings 16:7) (Heschel, 80).
Assyria: the Middle East superpower of the 8th century BC. They accept Ahaz plea for protection, but in return, Judah becomes a vassal of Assyria, paying high tribute and being forced to give military support. Heschel quotes Isaiah describing this treaty as a “covenant of death” (Isaiah 28:15). According to Isaiah, Judah was trusting in a foreign power for protection rather than in God alone.
This submission threatened religious autonomy in Judah. Heschel writes, “The Assyrians were fanatically devout. In military campaign the king assumed the role of the deputy of god. The prowess and victories of the army were thought to reflect the power of the god Ashur. Assyria imposed the recognition of her gods as the overlords of the gods of the conquered peoples. Political subservience involved acceptance of religious institutions” (Heschel, 90-91).
Heschel quotes Isaiah’s warning against alliances, : “In returning (to God) and in rest you shall be saved; In quietness and trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Elsewhere, Isaiah condemns violence and projects a vision of the future in which peace will prevail. Isaiah 2:4 offers a vision of the cessation of violence whose imagery is still used in political rhetoric in modern times:
“. . . they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.”
--Elizabeth Fels
Sources:
Coogan, Michael, Ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible (3rd ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Hanson, Paul J. The People Called: the Growth of Community in the Bible. Lousiville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1986.
Heschel, Abraham. The Prophets. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.
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