The Early Reception of the Book of Isaiah

Kristin De Troyer, Barbara Schmitz, Kristin De Troyer, Barbara Schmitz

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9783110599046
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

This volume brings together a lively set of papers from the first session of the Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature program unit of the Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in 2016. Together with a few later contributions, these essays explore a number of thematic and textual issues as they trace the reception history of the Book of Isaiah in Deuterocanonical and cognate literature.

Marvin A. Sweeney

An Intertextual Dialogue between the Book of Isaiah and the Book of 1 Maccabees: On Judean Leadership

Intertextuality has opened the door to an important conversation on the interrelationships between texts that have little apparent relationship with each other.1 Although the field of biblical studies originally understood intertextuality to entail the deliberate or authorial citation of or allusion to one text by another, intertextual theorists have expanded the discussion to point to the intertextual relationships between texts that are related by context or between texts that share no obvious interrelationship. And so intertextuality is well positioned to open an intertextual dialog between texts that have no clear authorial interrelationship, but which are placed into dialog with each by the interests of their readers.

My task is to discuss the reception of the Book of Isaiah in the Book of 1 Maccabees. Isaiah is one of the most widely cited texts in the Hebrew Bible, both by other books in the Hebrew Bible and by Jewish and Christian texts from well beyond the biblical canon. In the case of the Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical books, it makes eminent sense to trace that interrelationship as Isaiah is well positioned to exert considerable influence on these books of variegated canonical status. Goldstein’s commentary on the Book of 1 Maccabees points to extensive citation of Isaiah and potential influence on the composition of the book and the thinking of its authors.2

1 Different Genres and Different Historical Settings

The Books of Isaiah and 1 Maccabees are of entirely different genres and were written in entirely different historical settings. The Book of Isaiah is a prophetic book, composed over the course of some four hundred years from the late-eight through the late-fifth or early-fourth centuries B.C.E.3 It functions as a vision that presents YHWH’s plans for the revelation of world sovereignty from the time of the prophet through a time beyond the Babylonian Exile. The Book of 1 Maccabees is a narrative, historical work, likely composed during the reign of the Hasmonean High Priest, John Hyrcanus, which chronicles the rise of the Hasmonean priestly house from the time of Alexander’s conquest through the inauguration of John Hyrcanus’s reign.4 And yet the Book of Isaiah and the Book of 1 Maccabees share similar agendas, viz, to point to a new model of leadership for Israel or Judah following a time of cataclysmic change. Isaiah ben Amoz is an adherent of the Davidic-Zion tradition as a prophet, whereas as a prophetic book, Isaiah points to the rise of the Persian monarch, Cyrus the Great, as YHWH’s Messiah and Temple builder while Israel is designated as the recipient of the Davidic promise.5 The Book of 1 Maccabees points to the transition in the priestly leadership of Judah in the aftermath of Alexander’s conquest of the Near East. Although the Hasmonean priestly family was originally a marginal family in the Zadokite priestly line living outside of Jerusalem in Modein, beginning with the leadership of Mattathias and his five sons, the Hasmonean family rose to leadership in Judah, ultimately to claim the high priesthood of the Jerusalem Temple. As readers of Jewish history well know, the Hasmonean family ultimately claimed the kingship of Judah as well during the brief reign of Hyrcanus’s son, Aristobulus I (104 – 103 B.C.E.).6

Such an interrelationship in literary-political agendas demands examination. This paper proceeds first with an examination of Isaiah’s treatment of kingship for Israel and Judah and second with an examination of 1 Maccabee’s treatment of the rise of the Hasmoneans from an important priestly family self-exiled to Modein to the high priesthood of the Temple. The paper concludes that the Book of Isaiah has some impact on the issue of leadership in the Book of 1 Maccabees, but one must turn to the Book of Numbers and the Masoretic Version of the Book of Jeremiah to see the full impact of intertextual dialog on the issue of Judean leadership.

2 A Synchronic Reading of the Book of Isaiah

Most interpreters read the Book of Isaiah according to its diachronic compositional structure, including the works of Isaiah ben Amoz or First Isaiah in Isaiah 1 – 39, Second Isaiah in Isaiah 40 – 55, and Third Isaiah in Isaiah 56 – 66 or some variation thereof. But research throughout the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries demonstrates that Isaiah appears as a coherent literary work, even though it is the result of a complex compositional process that shaped the diachronic elements of the book into its present synchronic form. Analysis of the synchronic literary form of the book points to a very different formal structure for Isaiah.7

My own analysis of the present, synchronic, literary form of the Book of Isaiah points to its character as the Vision of Isaiah ben Amoz, which functions as a prophetic exhortation to Jerusalem and Judah to adhere to YHWH. The Vision of Isaiah ben Amoz comprises two major segments. The first appears in Isaiah 1 – 33 and concerns YHWH’s plans for the revelation of world-wide sovereignty at Zion, and the second appears in Isaiah 34 – 66 and concerns the realization of YHWH’s plans for the revelation of world-wide sovereignty at Zion. Key to understanding this structure is the portrayal of future judgment against Assyria and Babylon as the oppressors of Jerusalem and Judah in Isaiah 1 – 33 and the realization of the downfall of Babylon (and Assyria) and the call for the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah to return home in Isaiah 34 – 66. A second key issue is the contrasting introductions for each section, including the paraenesis concerning YHWH’s plans to purify Jerusalem in Isaiah 1 and the instruction concerning YHWH’s power to return the redeemed exiles to Jerusalem in Isaiah 34 – 35. A third key issue is the contrasting portrayals of Isaiah’s encounter with King Ahaz in Isaiah 7 – 9, which results in the Assyrian invasion of Judah and Isaiah’s encounter with King Hezekiah in Isaiah 36 – 39. Isaiah 36 – 39 demonstrates YHWH’s capacity to deliver Jerusalem but projects the Babylonian exile at the conclusion of the narrative as a means to introduce the call to return to Jerusalem from Babylonian Exile beginning in Isaiah 40.

Throughout the first portion of the Book in Isaiah 1 – 33 it is clear that Isaiah and his tradents adhere to the Davidic-Zion tradition, which posits YHWH’s commitment to defend Jerusalem and the House of David forever. Much of this portrayal is derived from the diachronic or historical dimensions of the book. First are the oracles of the eighth century prophet, Isaiah ben Amoz, who viewed YHWH’s protection of Jerusalem as central to his world-view and posited that ultimately a righteous Davidic monarch would ascend to the throne in Jerusalem. Second is the seventh-century redaction of the book, which posited that King Josiah ben Amon of Judah was the ideal monarch that Isaiah had anticipated.

Several key texts exemplify Isaiah’s commitment to the Davidic-Zion tradition in Isaiah 1 – 33:

The first is Isaiah 2 – 4, which begins with a portrayal of the nations streaming to Zion to learn YHWH’s Torah so that the nations would no longer learn war and would turn their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks to bring about world peace.8 Following the invitation to Jacob to join in the procession, the passage portrays world-wide judgment against the arrogant on the Day of YHWH and judgment against the men and the women of Jerusalem and Judah that would ultimately result in a purified Jerusalem with its holy Temple at the center of creation.

The second is a portrayal of judgment and restoration for Israel and Judah that will ultimately lead to the emergence of an ideal Davidic King in Isaiah 5 – 12.9 This passage portrays Isaiah’s encounter with King Ahaz of Judah, who is portrayed in the narrative as refusing to believe in YHWH’s promises and power to protect Jerusalem and the House of David in a time of crisis. Following the scenario of judgment that will follow Ahaz’s refusal to trust in YHWH, the passage portrays a scenario of restoration. The royal oracle in Isaiah 9:1 – 6 portrays the future ideal Davidic monarch who will presumably replace the unbelieving Ahaz; the oracles in Isaiah 9:7 – 10:34 portray YHWH’s judgment against the Assyrian empire; and Isaiah 11 – 12 portrays once again the wise and ideal Davidic King who will reunite Israel and Judah and lead them against their enemies in an ultimately successful bid to protect Jerusalem and the House of David much as YHWH delivered Israel during the Exodus from Egypt.

The third is a portrayal of judgment against the nations, beginning with Babylon, which culminates in a banquet on Mt. Zion that will celebrate the impending recognition of YHWH’s world rule.10

The fourth is the announcement of YHWH’s plans to deliver Jerusalem in Isaiah 28 – 33 that culminates in the appearance of a royal figure who will serve as YHWH’s agent for saving the nation from its oppressors.11

Commitment to the Davidic/Zion tradition appears throughout Isaiah 1 – 33, including commitment to the city of Jerusalem and the royal House of David.

Turning to Isaiah 34 – 66, commitment to the David/Zion tradition continues, albeit with a major change.12 Whereas commitment to Jerusalem continues throughout these chapters, commitment to the Davidic King does not. Instead, Isaiah 34 – 66 maintains that YHWH’s chosen Messiah and Temple builder is King Cyrus of Persia, and that the people of Israel—not the Davidic King—are the recipients of YHWH’s fidelity originally promised to the Davidic King (see esp. Isaiah 55). There is good historical reason for such a shift. In the aftermath of the Babylonian Exile, Jerusalem and the Temple were restored and rebuilt as the exiles returned to Jerusalem under Persian patronage. But no Davidic monarch ever regained the throne in Jerusalem following the Babylonian Exile, even though there was a potential attempt by Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel, the grandson of King Jehoiachin of Judah, at the time of the building of the Second Temple in 522 – 517 B.C.E.; cf. Haggai). Indeed, no Davidic monarch has ever sat upon the royal throne of David since the onset of the Babylonian exile.

Following the above-noted instruction concerning YHWH’s power to return the redeemed exiles to Jerusalem in Isaiah 34 – 35, the royal narratives concerning YHWH’s deliverance of Jerusalem and King Hezekiah appear in Isaiah 36 – 39.13 These narratives deliberately contrast the faithless King Ahaz of Isaiah 7 – 9 with the faithful King Hezekiah, who turns to YHWH to ask deliverance for Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s efforts are successful, but the narrative concludes with an account of Hezekiah’s reception of a Babylonian embassy from his ally, Merodach Baladan. Isaiah condemns Hezekiah for receiving the Babylonian embassy and states that Hezekiah’s sons will serve as eunuchs in the palace of the Babylonian king, thereby signaling the onset of the Babylonian Exile.

A lengthy segment of prophetic instruction follows in which the prophet asserts that YHWH is maintaining the covenant and restoring Zion then follows in Isaiah 40 – 54.14 Several key points are made, viz., YHWH is the master of creation in Isa 40:12 – 31; YHWH is the master of human events ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• An Intertextual Dialogue between the Book of Isaiah and the Book of 1 Maccabees: On Judean Leadership
• The Concept of the City in the Book of Isaiah and in the Deuterocanonical Literature
• Divine and Divinely Sanctioned Violence in the Book of Isaiah and the Deuterocanonical Literature
• The Messiah and the ‘End of Days’ in the Book of Isaiah and in the Deuterocanonical Literature
• The Temple in the So-Called Jewish Romances in the Deuterocanonical Literature: Judith, Tobit, and Esther
• Old Greek Isaiah 1:13: Early Evidence for the “Great Day” as a Name for Yom Kippur?
• The Book of Isaiah, the Wisdom of Solomon and the Fathers: An Exploration of the Textual History and Concepts
• List of Contributors
• Indices