Professional Documents
Culture Documents
522
Formerly Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
Editors
Claudia V. Camp, Texas Christian University
Andrew Mein, Westcott House, Cambridge
Founding Editors
David J. A. Clines, Philip R. Davies and David M. Gunn
Editorial Board
Richard J. Coggins, Alan Cooper, John Goldingay, Robert P. Gordon,
Norman K. Gottwald, Gina Hens-Piazza, John Jarick, Andrew D. H. Mayes,
Carol Meyers, Patrick D. Miller, Yvonne Sherwood
This page intentionally left blank
THE “WAY OF THE LORD”
IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
Bo H. Lim
Copyright © 2010 by Bo H. Lim
www.continuumbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, T & T Clark
International.
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations ix
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION 1
The Enduring Inuence of Isaiah’s “Way of the LORD” 1
Different Authors, Different Ways 3
One Author, One Way 7
Composite Book, One Message 10
Conclusion 15
Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY 18
Isaiah as a Prophetic Book 19
The Composition of Isaiah 40–66 25
Innerbiblical Interpretation 34
Israelite Religion 35
Literalism, Metaphor, and Typology 37
Imagination, Myth, and Eschatology 40
Chapter 3
THE “WAY OF THE LORD” IN ISAIAH 40:1–52:12 43
Denitions of “Way” 43
The Genre of Second Isaiah 46
A New Exodus in Second Isaiah? 47
The Divine Council in Isaiah 40:1–11 49
The Way as the Reversal of Judgment 52
The Way as Transformation of the Wilderness 53
The Way as Eschatological and Ethical 61
The Way of Cyrus 68
The Way of the Servant 85
Summary and Conclusion 93
Chapter 4
THE “WAY OF THE LORD” IN ISAIAH 52:13–66:24 95
The Death of the Servant as the Beginning of Third Isaiah 95
Isaiah 55 as Conclusion and Continuation of the New Exodus 96
vi The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Chapter 5
THE “WAY OF THE LORD” IN ISAIAH 34–35 131
Chapters 34–35 as a Diptych 131
Chapters 34–35 as a Conclusion to Isaiah 1–33 134
The “Way of the LORD” in Chapter 34 149
The “Way of the LORD” in Chapter 35 151
Summary and Conclusion 156
Chapter 6
THE “WAY OF THE LORD” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT 158
Shorter Treatments of the “Way of the LORD”
and the Isaianic New Exodus 159
Programmatic Treatments of the “Way of the LORD”
and the Isaianic New Exodus 162
Evaluation and Critique 172
Bibliography 175
Index of References 188
Index of Authors 199
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Unless otherwise noted, all English Bible quotations are from the New
Revised Standard Version. Biblical references correspond to the English
Bible, followed by Hebrew Bible versication in brackets when the
numbering differs. All German translations are my own unless otherwise
noted.
Unfortunately, I did not receive Østein Lund’s Way Metaphors and
Way Topics in Isaiah 40–55 (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2/28;
Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007) in time to include its contribution in this
study.
I wish to thank the editors of the LHBOTS series for accepting my
work into this series. While writing my dissertation, I observed that
many of my sources came from this series (or its predecessor, the JSOT
Supplement Series), so it is an honor for my work to be included in such
an important series. My hope is that my work will stimulate others,
biblical scholars and theologians alike, to further reect on the richness
of Isaiah’s vision.
1
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
1. Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream: Writing and Speeches that Changed
the World (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 105.
2. S. Vernon McCasland, “The Way,” JBL 78 (1958): 222–30; George J. Brooke,
“Isaiah 40:3 and the Wilderness Community,” in New Qumran Texts and Studies:
1
2 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
themselves as followers of “the Way” (Acts 9:2; 18:25, 26; 19:9, 23;
22:4; 24:14, 22) and all four Gospel writers quote Isa 40:3 (Matt 3:3;
Mark 1:2–3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23) in reference to John the Baptizer.
Several New Testament scholars have argued that the Way of the LORD
(WOL)/New Exodus (NE) motif functions as the organizing theme of
Mark, Luke, and Acts.3 The programmatic role of this verse and the
WOL theme for Jews and Christians demonstrates the importance of
investigating its role within the book called Isaiah.
For half a century, the WOL/NE has been considered by scholars to be
not only a major motif within Isaiah, but the overarching theme of Isa
40–55.4 Several studies have traced the development of this theme in
Isaiah and there has been one devoted solely devoted to this topic.5
Unfortunately, these studies all precede the re-examination of Isaiah as a
composite book, which began in the 1980s. Given that the WOL theme
spans First Isaiah (FI, chs. 1–39), Second Isaiah (SI, chs. 40–55), and
Third Isaiah (TI, chs. 56–66),6 investigation of this motif requires the
text, full of glosses and additions, and less poetically rened, degenerat-
ing in a prosaic manner. For these chapters Duhm assumes a postexilic
setting in which Yahweh already resides in the temple. In regard to TI’s
concept of the “way,” he writes:
One can argue about whether Trito-Isaiah wants the clearing of the way
to be understood in a literal or gurative sense. Whether the saying refers
to the preparation of the roads on which the diaspora Jew travels to the
temple, or the removal of everything, particularly moral obstacles. For
those coming at that time in the way, in which all “the redeemed of
Yahweh” choose Jerusalem; 57:14 and the following verse rather speak
for the latter.8
8. Bernhard Duhm, Das Buch Jesaia (HKAT 111/1; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1892), 462.
9. J. Skinner, The Book of the Prophet Isaiah Chapters XL–LXVI (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1898), 177.
10. Paul Volz, Jesaia II, Zweite Hälfte: Kapitel 40–66 (Leipzig: Deichert, 1932),
217–18.
11. Zimmerli acknowledges his indebtedness to Duhm, Volz, and Elliger. See
Walther Zimmerli, “Zur Sprache Tritojesajas,” in Gottes Offenbarung, 218 n. 3.
1
1. Introduction 5
The end result is that TI’s prophetic activity departs from SI in language
and concept. TI presents a new message yet utilizes SI’s speech only for
“improper formulaic use” (formelhaft-uneigentliche Verwendung).
Although in many ways Muilenburg’s commentary breaks from previ-
ous form-critical approaches to Isa 40–66, in regards to this topic he
upholds the distinctions between TI and SI in the manner of Zimmerli.
He views TI as homilies that are based upon SI, who more often departs
from SI’s message rather than coheres to it. For Muilenburg, the “way”
of 40:3 alludes to the Exodus road from Egypt, which functions as an
eschatological symbol determined in the heavenly council to be executed
in history as the departure from Babylon. According to him, a different
1
12. Ibid., 224.
6 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
13. James Muilenburg, “The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40–66,” in The Inter-
preter’s Bible, vol. 5 (ed. G. A. Buttrick; New York: Abingdon, 1956), 671.
14. Westermann, Isaiah 40–66, 327, emphasis added.
15. Ibid., 328, from Volz, Jesaia II, 217. Volz also refers to the New Testament
quotations of 40:3 as support for his interpretation.
1
1. Introduction 7
route, a via sacra (cf. 35).”16 SI uses the language of the “way” in literal
and physical terms—a way out of Babylon, through the wilderness, and
back to Jerusalem for the exile. TI, in conscious literary dependence on
SI, reuses the language of the “way” for a different purpose. The “way”
no longer refers to a physical road, but serves as a metaphor for a way of
life, a “way in the direction of redemption.”17 The “way” has now become
spiritualized and eschatologized by the writer of TI. Isaiah 57:14–21 and
62:10–12 now serve as eschatologized versions of processional hymns
for the purposes of cultic worship, much in the same fashion as Exod 15;
Pss 24:7–10; 100:4; 118:19–20.
To summarize, scholars who hold to three Isaiahs also tend to believe
that TI has reinterpreted SI’s concept of the WOL. Yet there is no con-
sensus as to what SI meant by the “way,” nor is there agreement regard-
ing how TI reuses this language. Most of the scholars surveyed above
do follow Zimmerli’s view that what was once a literal journey from
Babylon to Yehud has now been spiritualized by TI. The literal has
become the gurative. Yet for Muilenburg the way began as an eschato-
logical concept in SI and was later spiritualized by TI. Blenkinsopp
believes the way was initially literal in SI, but was later reinterpreted in a
cultic and eschatological manner by TI.
16. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56–66: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AB 19B; New York: Doubleday, 2003), 31.
17. Ibid.
18. It ought to be noted that Delitzsch apparently changed from a one-author
position to a multiple author position as his career progressed. Edward Young traces
this progression in Studies in Isaiah (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1954), 18–22;
29–32. In an appendix to Dreschsler’s commentary on Isaiah published posthu-
mously in 1854, Delitzsch defends the traditional view of Isaianic authorship to the
book of Isaiah; see D. Moritz Dreschsler, Der Prophet Jesaja, Übersetz und Erklärt,
Zweiter Hälfte (ed. F. Delitzsch and A. Hahn; Berlin, 1854), 412. Later in his own
commentary, the fourth and last edition published in 1889, Delitzsch considers chs.
40–66 as a continuation of Isaianic tradition but does not provide a detailed descrip-
tion of how these chapters originated. What is noteworthy is that his agnostic
approach to authorship did little to inuence his interpretation. He concludes the
1
8 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
procession leading the people, but rather coming through the desert
towards Israel, which would place Yahweh initially at the opposite side
of the desert than Babylon. Israel’s responsibility is to clear a way in the
wilderness for Yahweh’s approach to Babylon. This removal of obstruc-
tions is to be understood both literally and spiritually, or as Delitzsch
puts it, “the literal meaning spiritualizes itself in an allegorical way.”19
Thus Israel is to prepare both spiritually and physically for the coming of
Yahweh. They are to clear the road of physical obstacles as well as their
hearts of moral stumbling blocks. Given this interpretation for 40:3,
Delitzsch nds the same exhortation repeated in 57:14 and 62:10. Thus
all three exhortations are addressed to an exilic audience and subsequent
generations. He writes:
Men everywhere, i.e. as far as the earth or the dispersion of Israel extends,
are to say to the daughter of Zion—that is to say, to the church which has
its home in Zion, but is now in foreign lands—that “its salvation cometh,”
i.e. that Jehovah, its Saviour, is coming to bestow a rich reward upon His
church, which has passed through severe punishment, but has been so
salutarily rened.20
introduction to his third edition (Franz Delitzsch and Carl F. Keil, Biblical Commen-
tary on the Old Testament [trans. J. Martin; 10 vols.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerd-
mans, 1949–50], 7/2:138, original emphasis) as follows: “And in relation to this, if
we only allow that the prophet really was a prophet, it is of no essential consequence
to what age he belonged.”
19. Ibid., 7/2:142.
20. Ibid., 7/2:441, emphasis added.
21. The most rigorous defense of Isaianic authorship in the nineteenth century
was set forth by Joseph A. Alexander, The Earlier Prophecies of Isaiah (New York:
Wiley & Putnam, 1846), and The Later Prophecies of Isaiah (New York: Wiley &
Putnam, 1847). Alexander, writing fty years before Duhm, would defend Isaianic
authorship against the likes of Eichhorn and Gesenius, who knew of no TI, yet did
espouse a SI who authored chs. 40–66. Alexander (The Later Prophecies, 410–12)
believes 40:3; 57:14; 62:10–12 all refer to the same message and are addressed not
to exiles in Babylon, but rather Zion or the Church.
1
1. Introduction 9
22. Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah (3 vols.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerd-
mans, 1965–72), 3:28 n. 14.
23. John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40–66 (NICOT; Grand
Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1998), 11, emphasis added. In n. 24 Oswalt goes on to cite
Otto Eissfeldt’s Introduction as support for the impossibility of recreating the setting
for chs. 40–55 and chs. 56–66, yet this is not completely accurate. Eissfeldt (The Old
Testament: An Introduction [trans. P. R. Ackroyd; New York: Harper & Row, 1965],
337) does state, “It is hardly possible to determine exactly the moment to which the
poems belong which give expression to such a hope.” Yet Eissfeldt goes on to date
chs. 40–55 between 550 and 538 B.C.E.
1
10 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
exile. According to him, the way of 40:3 cannot possibility refer to the
road traversed by the exiles returning home, and he denies any allusion
to the exodus in this passage. The language used to describe the return in
SI was intended to be gurative, and it speaks of a return of Israel to God
rather than God’s return to Israel. Thus Oswalt believes that Isaiah ben
Amoz announced both a physical and spiritual way, in varying degrees,
in Isa 40:1–11 as well as 57:14–21. He recognizes three legitimate inter-
pretations for the image in 62:10,24 and ponders why the book contains
seemingly conicting views. Oswalt concludes that all three views are
correct since they bring several themes to a climax within the book.
To summarize, scholars who hold to single authorship assume a unied
message to BI, and by doing so rule out the possibility that the “way”
could be reinterpreted by TI. The “way” is primarily to be understood as
gurative, eschatological, theological, or allegorical. Some allow for a
literal interpretation of the “way” as a road out of Babylon, while others
are completely opposed to such a notion. The theological message of BI
is emphasized and the historical context is minimized. Multiple inter-
pretations of the “way” are considered consistent or even intended when
they cannot be harmonized. Some acknowledge that BI addresses audi-
ences that span from pre- to post-exilic ages, yet they would deny that
the book necessitated various authors to accomplish this phenomenon.25
24. Oswalt (Chapters 40–66, 588) provides the following options for the
interpretation of the image: (1) it could speak of preparing the way for Yahweh to
come and begin to realize his promises among his people (Young); (2) it refers to
the highway over which the redeemed walk to enter the New Jerusalem (Delitzsch);
(3) it could describe the highway over which the nations will ow to Zion as they
come to worship (Alexander).
25. J. Alec Motyer, The Prophecy of Isaiah: An Introduction & Commentary
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993), 31.
1
1. Introduction 11
26. Brooks Schramm, The Opponents of Third Isaiah: Reconstructing the Cultic
History of the Restoration (JSOTSup 193; Shefeld: JSOT, 1995), 25.
27. Charles C. Torrey, The Second Isaiah: A New Interpretation (New York:
Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1928), 379.
1
12 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Smart, then, nds no reason to suggest that the “way” in TI differed from
that of SI.
Even though Michael Fishbane employs an exegetical method similar
to that of Zimmerli, he differs in his conclusions regarding the relation-
ship between SI and TI. His goal is to isolate and identify the traditum,
the content of tradition of biblical texts, from the traditio, the process of
transmission. Whereas interpreters previously sought to uncover the
early stages of this process, Fishbane attempts to understand the dynamic
relationship between the traditum and traditio up to the nal process of
canon formation. He agrees with Zimmerli that TI reused the vocabulary
of SI, but rather than viewing these citations as reinterpretations of the
xed traditum of SI, he believes these quotations merely reect shared
phraseology of a school tradition. He writes, “Rather, a learned vocabu-
lary may simply have been reapplied by later prophetic tradents in
accordance with new tastes and circumstances; so that nothing would be
proved with respect to the existence of deliberate exegetical revision in
the cases in question.”29 At this point Fishbane does not claim whether TI
interprets the “way” spiritually and whether SI does so literally, or vice
versa. He merely states that the reuse of similar vocabulary need not
indicate that TI reinterpreted SI’s prophecy.
The recent prolicacy of scholarship surrounding the complex unity of
BI has spurred several commentators to re-evaluate Zimmerli’s proposal.
Jan Koole makes the unusual assertion that TI originated shortly after the
catastrophe of 587/586 B.C.E. in Judah. In this view TI is composed
before SI. Koole writes:
Yahweh’s (!) way in 40:3 must mean more than remigration from Babylon
and in 57:14 the removal of the obstacles in the life of the people ushers in
the return of the exiles (the way of the people!), who will then be ‘led and
comforted’ (57:18) by their God, and 62:10 can be taken to mean that the
people still living in destroyed Jerusalem should literally go out through
the ruins of the gates to clear away the rubble from the roads to the city, so
that the returning exiles can re-enter and repopulate Zion (62:12). 30
Koole reverses Zimmerli’s argument and asserts that the later passage,
40:3, refers to a spiritual way and 57:14 and 62:10 speak of literal, his-
torical circumstances. For Koole, the “way” was always ethical, and
always demanded a response of faith and repentance. Koole follows
Delitzsch, Smart, and Young by interpreting this way as a return of Yah-
weh to his people in a theophany. This “way” leads to the holy mountain
of Zion spoken of in 57:13 and those who traverse this highway include
foreigners who maintain justice and do what is right (56:3, 6–7). Thus TI
calls attention to the literal, physical road that leads to Jerusalem, yet the
obstacles and response required by the people are ethical and spiritual in
nature.
The nal three proposals to be reviewed were all published in 2001
and demonstrate the wide variety of opinion still existing in regard to
interpreting the book of Isaiah. Klaus Baltzer correctly identies a key
issue in the interpretation of Isa 40:3–4:
In interpretations of the passage, scholars have continually discussed
whether these utterances are to be taken literally. Is this about the building
of a real road connecting Babylon and Jerusalem, or are the statements
meant to be understood metaphorically? I believe that these two possibili-
ties are not necessarily mutually exclusive, if we take into account the
function of the prologue as a summing up of the action of the whole
drama.31
Although Baltzer has correctly identied the key interpretive issue, his
solution to account for the multivalent language of SI, that it ought to
be read as a drama, may not be as convincing.32 Even if one disagrees
with Baltzer’s overall thesis, there still may be much to learn from his
30. Jan L. Koole, Isaiah Part 3, Volume 1: Chapters 40–48 (trans. A. P. Runia;
HCOT; Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1997), 24.
31. Klaus Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah: A Commentary on Isaiah 40–55 (trans. M.
Kohl; Hermeneia; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 54.
32. John Watts’s earlier proposal that BI be read as a drama has met with little
acceptance. See John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 1–33 (WBC 24; Waco, Tex.: Word,
1985), and Isaiah 34–66 (WBC 25; Waco, Tex.: Word, 1987). Baltzer’s commentary
has received a similar response from reviewers.
1
14 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Conclusion
What is the WOL in the book of Isaiah? This survey has identied
several key issues that must be addressed in order properly to answer
this question. Questions regarding the unity of BI as well as the nature of
prophetic quotation must be addressed in order to determine the rela-
tionship between the various references to the “way.” Proper exegesis
will need to account for the dynamics of prophetic speech and prophetic
literature. Simplistic notions of literal vs. gurative fail to account for the
complexities of language. Many of the interpretive differences stem from
differences regarding the use of metaphor, guration and typology, and
views regarding canonical literature. The relationship between biblical
1
1. Introduction 17
this way, as well as its eschatological goal. In Isa 56–66, the “way”
provides a means for all nations to draw near to Yahweh and Zion. With
the addition of chs. 34–35, the “way” theme spans all of BI. In FI, the
cultic and eschatological aspects of the way are emphasized and it is
envisioned as a highway leading to Zion for both dispersed Israelites as
well as the nations. In the nal form of BI, the vision of Isaiah ben Amoz
nds its fulllment in the WOL that began with the end of exile and
leads to the eschatological Zion, known also as the New Jerusalem.
Various redactions of BI emphasize different manifestations of the
“way” throughout Israel’s history, yet this theme maintains a level of
theological unity throughout all major phases of BI’s development.
1
Chapter 2
METHODOLOGY
1. Antti Laato, History and Ideology in the Old Testament Prophetic Literature:
A Semiotic Approach to the Reconstruction of the Proclamation of the Historical
Prophets (ConBOT 41; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1996), 392.
1
2. Methodology 19
2. Ibid.
3. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40–55: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AB 19A; New York: Doubleday, 2002), 58.
4. Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The Prophetic Biography of Isaiah,” in Mincha:
Festgabe für Rolf Rendtorff zum 75. Geburtstag (ed. E. Blum; Neukirchen–Vluyn:
Neukirchener Verlag, 2000), 26, and Isaiah 40–55, 55, 58.
5. Joseph Blenkinsopp, “The Formation of the Hebrew Bible Canon: Isaiah as a
Test Case,” in The Canon Debate (ed. L. M. McDonald and J. A. Sanders; Peabody,
Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002), 62.
1
20 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
privileged their own rather than simply eliminating rival texts? Must a
theological/ideological work such as Isa 56–66 or BI necessarily be
partisan? Could it be possible that the authors of BI resisted total alle-
giance to particular religious-political movements within ancient Israel?
Would they not learn this lesson from reading the prophetic literature?
Perhaps instead the editors preserved prophecies that at times critiqued,
at other times supported, various movements within ancient Israel, all the
while never aligning themselves solely to any single one. Perhaps instead
of a normative theology the prophecies found their cohesion through
their association with Isaiah ben Amoz, albeit remote, involving several
degrees of separation. The lack of a singular portrait of the prophet Isaiah
within the book allows for a diverse set of texts to be associated with
him.
Odil Steck, in his provocative work, The Prophetic Books and Their
Theological Witness,6 promotes a historical-synchronic reading in which
the nal form of the text is prioritized such that the literary reading of the
whole book supersedes diachronic analysis. This reects a reversal of the
trend in historical-criticism which traditionally prioritized the isolation of
original speeches from later editorial updating. According to Steck, the
primary context in which to read individual pericopes is not a Sitz im
Leben external to the text, but rather the Sitz im Text, the literary frame-
work of the book itself. Any type of diachronic analysis must be done
with the entire book in mind since the text’s primary context may be a
network of internal literary references, not an external socio-historical
event.
Ehud Ben Zvi has recently provided a formidable argument for the
legitimacy of “prophetic book” as a literary genre in ancient Israel, espe-
cially prevalent within the Achaemenid period. He provides the follow-
ing denition for this genre:
A book that claims an association with a prophetic personage of the past
and that is presented to its readership as YHWH’s word. As such, the book
claims to communicate legitimate and authoritative knowledge about
YHWH… Prophetic books were not intended to be read only once, but to
be read, reread, and meditated upon.7
6. Odil Hannes Steck, The Prophetic Books and Their Theological Witness
(trans. J. D. Nogalski; St. Louis: Chalice, 2000).
7. Ehud Ben Zvi, Micah (FOTL 21B; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2000),
187–88.
1
2. Methodology 21
After surveying scribal culture in the ancient Near East, Karel van der
Torn casts a very different image of the ancient Israelite scribe. He
believes they were deeply religious, drawn from the priesthood, and
skilled in writing, speaking, interpreting, and teaching the Scriptures.11
From his analysis of Hab 2:1–5, Floyd demonstrates that in some cases
writing was not a secondary activity following oral prophecy, but rather
the principal means of disseminating the prophecy. He goes on to suggest
the possibility of mantic scribal academies committed to the study and
dissemination of prophecy.12 Given this portrait of scribes, it is difcult
to accept the amount of creative license Collins affords his redactor. For
Collins, BI lacks a pre-exilic message. All earlier material was reshaped
to serve exilic or post-exilic interests. While certainly I would agree that
earlier material was adapted to t the literary and theological concerns of
later redactors, I would add that the redactors did not obliterate refer-
ences to the past. If redactors exercised such a heavy editorial hand, one
wonders why the book even continues to possess a Babylonian focus.
Edgar Conrad provides a sustained argument that a prophetic “vision”
() is a semiotic code designating a book written for later audiences.
This vision is received in the temple through hearing and listening (e.g.
Isa 1:2). Conrad distinguishes the prophetic visions of Isaiah, Joel,
Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah from the “words” () of
Jeremiah and Amos, and the “visions” ( ) of Ezekiel. The former
are conventional prophets, announcing comfort and salvation, employing
the formula of salvation oracles (“fear not,”
, e.g. Isa 7:4) com-
monly spoken by prophets in the ancient Near East. The latter are uncon-
ventional in that they call for an end to Israel, do not originate from
temple prophecy, and speak only to their contemporaries. A vision is
written with a future intent, as demonstrated in Hab 2:2–3:
Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision () make it
plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it. For there is still a vision for
the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to
tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
11. Karel van der Toorn, Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew (Cam-
bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2007), 75–108.
12. Michael H. Floyd, “Prophecy and Writing in Habakkuk 2,1–5,” ZAW 105
(1993): 477–80.
1
2. Methodology 23
not lie in the prophet’s historical circumstances. In this case, “the book
of Isaiah is more centrally focused on the Isaiah saw than on the
prophet himself.”13 In fact, BI makes clear that the contemporaries of
Isaiah ben Amoz cannot understand his prophecy (Isa 6:9–10). They are
blind and deaf and it is only a future community who will be able to see,
hear, and understand Isaiah’s “vision.” Joseph Blenkinsopp even sug-
gests that an early version of the BI once existed that contained a sealed
testimony that could only be revealed following the decreed destruction
(10:23; 28:22b). Evidence for this version can be found within FI:
The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed
document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command, “Read
this,” they say, “We cannot, for it is sealed.” And if it is given to those
who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” they say, “We cannot read”… On
that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll, and out of their gloom
and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. (Isa 29:11–12, 18)
13. Edgar W. Conrad, Reading the Latter Prophets: Toward a New Canonical
Criticism (JSOTSup 376; London: T&T Clark, 2003), 185. For a similar view, see
Childs, Isaiah, 297.
14. Blenkinsopp, Opening the Sealed Book, 1–27. Oddly, Blenkinsopp considers
apocalyptic to be at odds with a normative canonical theology because of its minor-
ity status. Yet here he confuses majority with normativeness. Throughout the canon,
“minority” voices, those on the margins of society, have been included so that they
are now normative.
15. Brevard S. Childs, “Retrospective Reading of the Old Testament Prophets,”
ZAW 108 (1996): 373.
1
24 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
represent Israel from the perspective of departure and journey and the
perspective of arrival, respectively.36
Rather than differentiate between Jacob/Israel texts and Zion/Jerusa-
lem texts, Ulrich Berges believes SI is composed to two editions: (1) the
“Transformation of the Wilderness and Nature” version that signaled a
positive change in fortune for Zion and Jerusalem in the postexilic period
(40:3–5, 6–8; 41:17–20; 43:14–21; 44:1–5; 51:1–3); and (2) the “Way–
Departure–Exodus” redaction intended to encourage the homecoming of
the Diaspora exiles (48:20–21; 49:7–12; 51:9–11; 52:11–12; 55:12–13).37
Berges’s scheme results from his observation that many of the purported
NE texts do not describe a literal return to Zion from Babylon. He
believes ch. 35 was designed to bridge these two versions of SI and itself
went through a redaction from a “Transformation of Nature” edition
(35:1–9a) with the addition of a “Return to Zion” (35:9b–10) strata. The
transformation of the desert into paradise theme then became a formative
paradigm in Israel’s interpretation and proclamation.
Mark Smith believes that the traditions represented in Isa 40:1–11 do
not demand the positing of various redactions. He argues instead that one
motif, the pilgrimage paradigm,38 encompasses both a “Way theology”
and “Return theology,” or “Transformation of Nature” and “Departure
and Homecoming” motif. Jeremiah 31:1–14 captures the various com-
ponents of this pilgrimage pattern evident in Isa 40:1–11 and chs. 40–55.
It consists of travel through the wilderness (31:2), the revelation of
Yahweh (31:3), a way for God’s people (31:1, 14), rejoicing and sing-
ing (31:4, 7, 13), the blind and lame as pilgrims (31:8), Zion, the dwell-
ing place of Yahweh, as its destination (31:6), Israel called Jacob (31:7,
11), Yahweh as savior and redeemer (31:7, 11), Yahweh as shepherd and
gatherer of his dispersed people (31:8, 10), Yahweh leading this proces-
sion (31:9) the transformation from wilderness into a watered garden
(31:5, 12), and the announcement of comfort (31:13). It is noteworthy that
this announcement of salvation is referred to in Jer 31:9 as a (cf.
, Isa 40:3). The point to be made is that micro-themes
such as wilderness, Jacob, and Zion need not compete with each other so
as to warrant different redactions for the texts that contain them.
Certainly, as in the case of Jer 31:1–14, these micro-themes may simply
serve a macro-theme representing a unied text.
Numerous scholars consider TI a disparate composition reecting the
remains of competing ideologies in the Second Temple period.39 Yet if
literary coherence can be observed within these chapters, then the need
for a redactional scheme to explain the supposed disparity between the
texts is not necessary. Willem Beuken and Marvin Sweeney have identi-
ed a unied, coherent message within chs. 56–66 that dispels the need
to posit various redactions because of competing perspectives within the
text.40 Likewise, if a coherent message between SI and TI can be demon-
strated, a redactional division between the two books may be unneces-
sary.41 The religiously divided community described in chs. 56–66 is not
unique to TI, since SI already reports of the conict between those who
obey the words of the servant and those who face judgment for their
refusal to do so:
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, who
walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the LORD and
relies upon his God? But all of you are kindlers of re, lighters of
rebrands. Walk in the ame of your re, and among the brands that you
have kindled! This is what you shall have from my hand: you shall lie
down in torment. (Isa 50:10–11)
39. Paul D. Hanson, The Dawn of Apocalyptic: The Historical and Sociological
Roots of Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology (rev. ed.; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979),
201; Schramm, The Opponents of Third Isaiah; P. A. Smith, Rhetoric and Redaction
in Trito-Isaiah: The Structure, Growth and Authorship of Isaiah 56–66 (VTSup 62;
Leiden: Brill, 1995).
40. Willem A. M. Beuken, “The Main Theme of Trito-Isaiah: ‘The Servants of
YHWH’,” JSOT 47 (1990): 68; Marvin A. Sweeney, Isaiah 1–4 and the Post-Exilic
Understanding of the Isaianic Tradition (BZAW 171; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1988), 88.
41. A signicant minority of scholars has rejected the need to posit a separate TI.
See, among others, Torrey, The Second Isaiah; Menahem Haran, “The Literary
Structure and Chronological Framework of the Prophecies in Is. XL–XLVIII,”
in Congress Volume: Bonn, 1962 (VTSup 9; Leiden: Brill, 1962), 127–55; Smart,
History and Theology in Second Isaiah in Second Isaiah; Fritz Maass, “Tritojesaja?,”
in Das ferne und nahe Wort: Fst. Leonhard Rost (ed. by F. Maass; BZAW 105;
Berlin: Töpelmann, 1967), 153–63; Yehezkel Kaufmann, The Babylonian Captivity
and Deutero-Isaiah (trans. C. W. Efroymson; New York: Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, 1970); William L. Holladay, “Was Trito-Isaiah Deutero-
Isaiah After All?,” in Broyles and Evans, eds., Writing and Reading the Scroll of
Isaiah, 194–217; Koole, Chapters 40–48; Sommer, A Prophet Reads Scripture.
1
2. Methodology 31
The end result of this redactional scheme is to privilege chs. 60–62 over
and against the remaining material, as shown in the works of Hanson and
Smith, who both interpret TI in a concentric manner beginning with
these chapters.44 What this structure fails to take into account is the
escalation of apocalyptic within the latter half of TI and the relationship
between TI and the rest of BI, namely chs. 63–66 and chs. 1–2.
Rather than assume a core TI collection, redactional maximalists such
as Vermeylen and Steck propose that TI consists of only a series of
layers.45 Unfortunately this view suffers from speculation regarding the
dates of redactions, the penchant to assume that the least amount of
discontinuity in a text indicates a different layer, and the assumption that
political and social forces dominate the transmission of the text. Brevard
Childs provides a critique of the theories of Fortschreibung as set forth
by Zimmerli, O. Kaiser, and Steck in his article, “Retrospective Reading
of the Old Testament Prophets,”46 in which he takes issue with what they
consider conceptual consistency and their understanding of prophetic
eschatology as a cipher for political empirical history. Nevertheless,
Steck does highlight the important exegetical task of reading TI as part
of BI. That is, chs. 56–66 originated as the extension of the prophecies of
FI and SI rather than as an independent work that was added to BI at a
later stage. Regarding the connection between SI and TI, Clements writes,
“Nevertheless, it is reasonably clear that these eleven chapters [56–66],
with their proto-apocalyptic character, were intended to be understood,
not as a fresh and entirely self-contained declaration from Yahweh to the
postexilic community, but rather as a carrying forward of the divine
word as it had been declared on the eve of the overthrow of Babylon by
the unnamed prophet of chapters 40–55.”47 Chapters 40–66 then provide
a unied message exhorting the people of Jerusalem and Judah to
embrace Yahweh’s eternal covenant with Zion.48
The fact that BI did not end with ch. 52 or ch. 55 demonstrates that its
message at that point was incomplete and therefore any movement
toward an apocalyptic eschatology ought to be viewed as an extension of
SI’s message rather than a divergence from it. What is clear is that FI
was redacted to foreshadow themes developed in SI and TI such that BI
44. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 32–77; Smith, Rhetoric and Redaction, 22–
49. These two scholars depart from Blenkinsopp’s above scheme in that Hanson
considers 57:14–21 to be closely related to chs. 60–62 and Smith believes 63:1–6 to
be an integral part of chs. 60–62.
45. Jacques Vermeylen, Du Prophète Isaïe à l’Apocalyptique (Ebib; Paris:
Lecoffre, 1977); Odil Hannes Steck, Studien zu Tritojesaja (BZAW 203; Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1991).
46. Childs, “Retrospective Reading,” 362–77.
47. Clements, Old Testament Prophecy, 103.
1
48. Sweeney, Isaiah 1–4, 97.
2. Methodology 33
can be divided into rubrics of “Former Things” (chs. 1–39) and “New
Things” (chs. 40–66).49 Only when BI is assumed to be a collection of
three independent sources does the theology of TI appear to differ from
SI. If the redactor of TI arranged its material in conscious dependence
upon both FI and SI, then chs. 60–62 ought not be viewed as the nucleus
of TI’s message since he built upon a tradition of both salvation and
judgment rather than solely unconditional salvation. Oracles of judgment
would be consistent with his literary and theological inuences. Steck
offers the timely reminder that “texts appear to be composites because
one observes them in isolation, and because one does not take into
account a unied redactional text’s diversity of perspective over the
entire revised writing.”50 When TI is read only with SI in mind, then
certainly the non-salvic proportions of TI are going to be ascribed to a
different hand. But if TI is read within the overall context of chs. 1–55,
then the passages within TI usually assigned to later redactors do not
appear to diverge from the previous prophetic tradition.
Unlike SI, which makes historical references to Cyrus and Babylon, TI
lacks any markers to date the text.51 The absence of a clear historical
context and the intertextual connections between chs. 56–66 and 1–55
suggest the primary means of interpreting passages within TI is its Sitz
im Text rather than Sitz im Leben. According to Nurmela, of the 53 allu-
sions or quotations of other biblical material in Isa 56–66, eight of them
refer to Isa 1–39 and fourteen to Isa 40–55. This indicates that the best
means of understanding the message of TI is through its intertextual
connections with the rest of BI, rather than via a hypothetical redactional
scheme or reconstructed historical setting. Schramm concurs:
Many of the concerns that surface in Third Isaiah are the very same con-
cerns that shape the whole of Isaiah. This, in turn, implies that what is going
Innerbiblical Interpretation
Those who posit multiple “ways” in Isaiah assume that the author(s) of
TI quoted an existing text. This assumption ought to be scrutinized
through the exegesis of texts, to determine whether it is justiable.
Although they may differ on whether TI was written by a singular or
multiple authors, scholars following Duhm generally assumed the fol-
lowing view articulated by Odeberg: “But there is no intrinsic relation-
ship between Deut-Isa and Trito-Isa. Almost every term of Deut-Isa,
made use of in Trito-Isa, in the latter has a different shade of meaning.”53
For this reason Volz is compelled to separate SI from TI as he confesses,
“The frequent instances in which Deut-Isa is literally quoted, accompa-
nied by a shift in meaning, provides compelling and conclusive evidence
to separate these chapters, since Deut-Isa would certainly not have
repeated nor contradicted himself.”54 As noted in Chapter 1, Zimmerli
himself acknowledged that in some instances TI’s reuse of SI’s material
contained no shift in meaning, although in his conclusion he emphasized
TI’s freedom to reinterpret SI:
No xed system for using Deutero-Isaiah’s sayings could be observed.
In addition to the word-for-word quotation of entire phrases, we found
roughly equivalent free reminiscences within individual sayings. In addi-
tion to the faithful adoption and analogous reuse of images, whether
developed more fully or broken up from dramatic effect, we also found
completely new associations or merely formulaic-gurative uses.55
Israelite Religion
Whereas composition has been on the forefront of discussions regarding
the interpretation of Isaiah, Israelite religion plays just as important a
role. John Barton offers the timely reminder, “Most biblical historians
turn out to be theologians in disguise.”60 Laato correctly identies the
correlation between these two factors, and the difculty in properly
relating them to each other:
69. K. J. Vanhoozer, Is There a Meaning in This Text? The Bible, the Reader, and
the Morality of Literary Knowledge (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1998), 129.
70. Paul Ricoeur, “Biblical Hermeneutics,” Semeia 4 (1975): 79, original
emphasis.
71. Ibid., 84.
72. Brian D. Ingrafa and Todd E. Pickett, “Reviving the Power of Biblical
Language: The Bible, Literature and Literary Language,” in After Pentecost:
Language and Biblical Interpretation (ed. C. G. Bartholomew, C. Greene, and K.
Moller; SHS 2; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001) 260, quoting P. J. Grifths,
“Seeking Egyptian Gold,” The Cresset 63.7 (2000): 7.
73. Janet M. Soskice, Metaphor and Religious Language (Oxford: Clarendon,
1985), 159.
1
2. Methodology 39
74. Erich Auerbach, “Figura,” in Scenes from the Drama of European Literature
(ed. E. Auerbach; trans. R. Manheim; Gloucester, Mass.: Meridian, 1959), 58.
75. John Goldingay, Models for Interpretation of Scripture (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995), 63–64. Yet in some cases the opposite is true. For example,
the language of “sonship” rst appears in the Old Testament in metaphorical lan-
guage denoting kingship (Ps 2) and later fulllment in Christ is increasingly literal
(Heb 1:5).
1
76. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 352–79.
40 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
85. Hanson, Dawn of Apocalyptic, 17; Michael Fishbane, Biblical Myth and
Rabbinic Mythmaking (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 56–57.
1
Chapter 3
Denitions of “Way”
The difculty with interpreting the reference to in Isa 40:3, and all
other references to a “way” within BI, is the word’s uid semantic range,
its numerous synonyms, and determining the context of each usage.
Within BI, appears fty-eight times,
or
ten times,
eight times, four times, and
twice. Given that appears
most frequently and possesses the broadest semantic range of the “way”
lexemes, the present study will focus primarily on , along with
or
. HALOT provides the following denitions for with its
accompanying Isaianic reference under the following categories: (1) road
(8:23); (2) distance; (3) journey (58:13)—enterprise, business; (4) man-
ner, custom, behavior (55:7; 59:8); (5) divine ways—(a) God’s behavior,
action, (b) conduct required by God; (6) condition, situation (40:27);
(7) strength, power. Markus Zehnder has produced the most extensive
study of the “way” lexemes in the Old Testament to date.2 Of the 696
1. When I present my own views, SI will refer to 40:1–52:12 and TI will desig-
nate 52:13–66:24.
2. Markus Philipp Zehnder, Wegmetaphorik im Alten Testament (BZAW 268;
Berlin: de Gruyter, 1999).
1
44 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
clear references to the noun in the Old Testament, he observes sixty
different uses of the word, dividing them into four semantic groups. He
then assigns each denition a number that also indicates to which of the
following four semantic groups it belongs:
1. Concrete spatial uses—127 references (No. 100–).
2. Emphasis on the aspect of movement—57 references (No. 200–).
3. Emphasis on the moral evaluation of one’s lifestyle—244 refer-
ences (No. 300–).
4. References to the condition or direction of one’s life—34
references (No. 400–).
Zehnder then provides the following denitions for and categorizes
each use of the word in Isaiah accordingly:
101 A road in the spatial static sense with a map reference
(15:5).
110 “Eschatological Miracle Road” (35:8b, 8c; 40:3; 42:16;
43:19; 49:9, 11; 57:14a, 14b; 62:10).3
130 A way in the sea (43:16; 51:10).
150 A geographical area (8.23).
230 Course (58.13).
300 Undertaking/Enterprise (45:13; 48:15).
310 Conduct; course of action (55:8a; 55:9b).
312 Way and manner (10:24, 26).
320 Moral conduct (8:11; 55:7; 57:17, 18; 65:2; 66:3).
322 Life change (59:8).
323 Cultic religious activity (57:10).
330 Conduct commanded by God, explicit form (42:24; 58:2;
63:17; 64:4).
331 Conduct commanded by God, implicit form (30:11, 21;
48:17).
350 Life plan (53:6; 56:11).
360 Work of God (40:14; 55:8b; 55:9a).
362/363 God’s work of salvation; God’s work of work vengeance
(2:3; 58:2).
440 Fate/condition (40:27).
As in the case of the use of in Isa 2:3 and 58:2, Zehnder recognizes
that the word may possess several meanings, what he refers to as a
Bedeutungskonglomerat.
or
occur more times in Isaiah (9×) than any other book in
the Old Testament, thereby signifying its importance within BI. David
Dorsey believes
/
is the most distinct of the “way” words
3. Zehnder believes this use of the word is unique to Isaiah, except for Jer 31:9
and Mal 3:1.
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 45
in BI according to the following denitions:
4. David A. Dorsey, The Roads and Highways of Ancient Israel (Baltimore: The
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991), 228–29.
5. N. L. Tidwell, “No Highway! The Outline of a Semantic Description of
MESILLÂ,” VT 45 (1995): 256.
1
46 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
18. Frank Moore Cross Jr., “The Council of Yahweh in Second Isaiah,” JNES 12
(1953): 274–77.
19. Robert R. Wilson, “The Community of Second Isaiah,” in Reading and
Preaching the Book of Isaiah (ed. C. R. Seitz; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988), 54.
20. Min Suc Kee, “A Study of the Heavenly Council in the Ancient Near Eastern
Texts, and Its Employment as a Type-Scene in the Hebrew Bible” (Ph.D. diss.,
University of Manchester, 2003), 264–65; Patrick D. Miller Jr., “Cosmology and the
World Order in the Old Testament: The Divine Council as Cosmic-Political Sym-
bol,” in Israelite Religion and Biblical Theology: Collected Essays (JSOTSup 267;
Shefeld: Shefeld Academic, 2000), 422–44.
21. R. N. Whybray, The Heavenly Counsellor in Isaiah xl 13–14 (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1971), 80–81.
22. Kee, “A Study of the Heavenly Council,” 24–25; Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40–55,
179. Kee has more recently acknowledges that “Isaiah 40 exhibits a kind of literarily
sophisticated allusion to the ‘heavenly council’ ”; see Min Suc Kee, “The Heavenly
Council and Its Type-scene,” JSOT 31 (2007): 270.
1
50 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
23. See also the similarity between
(Isa 40:6) and
(1 Kgs 22:20).
24. Childs, Isaiah, 295, emphasis added. The point was made earlier by Peter R.
Ackroyd in his “Isaiah 36–39: Structure and Function,” in Von Kanaan bis Kerala:
FS fur Prof. Mag. Dr. J.P.M. van der Ploeg, O.P. zur Vollendung des siebzigsten
Lebensjahres am 4. Juli 1979 (ed. W. C. Delsman and J. T. Neilis; AOAT 211; Neu-
kirchen–Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1982), 6.
25. Following the translation of 1QIsaa, LXX, and Vulgate rather than the MT,
“and he said.” Petersen, following the suggestion of Dean McBride, has argued
be understood as a Qal feminine singular participle, “and she said,” and that the
speaker then is the feminine herald to Zion of v. 9 (
); see David L. Petersen,
Late Israelite Prophecy: Studies in Deutero-Prophetic Literature and in Chronicles
(Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1977), 20. Petersen appeals to 1QIsaa for
support, yet within 1QIsaa this same form appears in 41:9, where it is clearly to be
understood as a rst person common singular form.
1
26. Seitz, “Isaiah 40–66,” 6:246.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 51
1
32. Seitz, “Isaiah 40–66,” 334.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 53
“Listen, you that are deaf; and you that are blind, look up and see! Who
is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is
blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the LORD?”
(42:18–19). The immediate context of these verses is idolatry (42:17),
and 44:18 makes explicit the connection between lack of sight and
knowledge with idolatry: “They do not know (), nor do they compre-
hend (); for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see (), and their
minds (
) as well, so that they cannot understand.” Israel is unable to
recognize the emptiness of their idolatry, and therefore their blindness is
spiritual. Just as 44:18 invokes the language of 6:9–10, 42:20 describes
Israel’s condition using much of the same language:
6:9
42:20
33
33. Here it is better to follow the Kethib than the Qere, . This is supported
by the second masculine singular form in 1QIsaa. The Qere seems to have arisen out
of a desire to form parallel innitive forms.
1
54 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
() and needy of humankind ( ) will rejoice (
; cf.
51:11; 55:12). Since the wilderness transformation is collocated with the
restoration of the poor and needy, this desert may not be physical, but
rather a metaphor for the condition of God’s people.
The mention of thirst (, 41:17), wilderness (, 41:18), and dry
land ( , 41:18) recall the spiritual and political condition of exile
announced earlier in Hosea 2:3 (5): “I will strip her naked and expose her
as in the day she was born, and make her like a wilderness (), and
turn her into a parched land ( ), and kill her with thirst ().”
Wilderness, aridity, and thirst are much more than physical obstacles to
the people of God; they describe Israel’s spiritual condition. Whereas the
poor and needy suffer from thirst, Yahweh will go far and above offering
the mere provision of water. From the heights to the valley, rivers, foun-
tains, and a pool of water will transform the desert into a watery oasis
lled with trees native to Lebanon. According to 41:20, the result is that
the people will be able to do that which they were previously forbidden
in Isa 6:9–10. Now they will see (), know (), and understand the
creative acts of Yahweh. Given the similarities between ch. 29 and
41:17–20, which together elaborate on the announcement of the way in
40:1–11, the fulllment of these prophecies signies a reversal of the
judgment of 6:9–10.
Whereas water represents refreshment or symbolizes a mythic foe in
SI, in 43:1–7 water and re threaten Israel’s welfare. This use of water
and re as a threat appears rst in FI. As demonstrated by Beuken,
in ch. 30 the diplomatic mission to Egypt is likened to Israel’s captivity
in Egypt (vv. 1–17) resulting in a journey home (vv. 18–26) followed
by a theophany on the mountain of Yahweh (vv. 27–33).34 Unlike the
exodus traditions, this return of Yahweh takes place not at Sinai but in
Zion (vv. 19, 27). It is here that Yahweh will judge the nations (v. 28),
specically Assyria (v. 30) by ood (v. 28, 30) and consuming re
(v. 27, 30, 33), yet Israel will be kept safe (v. 29). Although water does
not appear in 33:10–14, here Yahweh rises to judge the nations (v. 12) as
well as sinners in Zion (v. 14) with consuming re and everlasting
burning (vv. 11–12, 14). As in 43:2, the people may pass through the re
unscathed if they die among the righteous inhabitants of Zion (33:15–
16). These prophecies of judgment incite fear among the people of Zion
(33:14), so it is tting that SI reassures Israel not to fear, and reminds her
that she is among God’s redeemed and chosen (43:1). Israel will be
among those mentioned in 30:29 and 33:14–16 who will pass through the
ood and re but are spared from destruction. This event occurs in
conjunction with the ingathering of God’s elect from the far corners of
the earth (43:5–6). The “way” in 43:1–7, then, is exemption from Yah-
weh’s judgment of the nations and the sinners within Zion. This is a
judgment those on the “way” will witness, but not undergo themselves.
Although the exodus motif is not explicit, the mention of Egypt in v. 3
along with the passing through water evokes the Exodus tradition. The
references to water and re have been interpreted as representative of
dangers in general in Ps 66:12,35 yet Sarah Dille demonstrates the that the
context of Ps 66 is also one of exodus.36 Psalm 66 reads:
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him…
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
You let people ride over our heads;
we went through re and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. (Ps 66:6, 10–12)
Given the shared motifs of water, re, and the passage through water, it
appears Isa 43:2 shares in the same exodus tradition as Ps 66. Conse-
quently, the references to water and re in Isa 43:2 function as images of
testing and purication (cf. Isa 48:10). Dille summarizes: “The reading
of Isa. 43.2 as a renement thus depicts the exile itself as a purifying
experience. The sins and impurities of Israel have been burned away and
washed away. YHWH now gathers his now-purged children.”37
Isaiah 43:16–20 clearly has the exodus in view. The reference to a
way through the sea and the destruction of chariot, horse, army, and
warrior, clearly evoke the victory at the Yam Suph (Exod 15:1–21). This
event, in conjunction with creation, would continue to serve as the para-
digm for Yahweh’s foremost cosmic, historical, creative, and redemptive
act for the people of Israel (e.g. Josh 2; Pss 78; 89; 106). The exodus is
tting to serve once again in this function for the exilic generation since
it again involves liberation from a foreign oppressor, deliverance for the
purpose of worship, entry into a good land, and an act of divine warfare
to be celebrated in song. Yet whereas Israel was instructed to remember
continually the rst exodus as its dening moment, now Yahweh com-
mands Israel not to remember this event any more. The rst exodus is
among the former () and ancient () things, as opposed to the
new things springing forth.38 Israel is no longer to trust in the Yam Suph
event, but rather look to the new thing as the dening event for a new
people created from amid exile. This new thing has already been initiated
and ought to be observable by SI’s audience, as indicated in 43:19, “now
it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” In contrast to the rst exodus
where water threatened the existence of Israel at the Yam Suph, this
“way” is set in the wilderness where rivers ow to provide drink for
God’s elect people.39 Claire Mathews observes, “Thus two events—
the crossing of the sea and God’s provision for his people during the
wilderness wanderings—have here, in the new exodus, been conated
into one.”40 Viewed in this manner this description of the “way” is an
elaboration of the transformation of the wilderness in 41:17–20.
Like 43:17–20, Isa 44:3 describes the outpouring of water on a dry
and thirsty land. This imagery appears within the broader context of
Yahweh’s election of Jacob. Rather than provide an extended description
of a transformed wilderness, the motif functions as a metaphor for the
gift of the Spirit and Yahweh’s blessing upon the offspring of Jacob.
This is evident in the following parallelism:
For I will pour water on the and streams on the dry ground;
thirsty land,
38. Childs (Introduction, 328–29) has argued that the “former things” ( )
in SI refer to the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz. Yet, as demonstrated above, they
do not exclusively do so. Benjamin D. Sommer makes the case that the “former
things” refer to older prophecies in general in “Allusions and Illusions: The Unity of
the Book of Isaiah in Light of Deutero-Isaiah’s Use of Prophetic Tradition,” in New
Visions of Isaiah (ed. R. F. Melugin and M. A. Sweeney; JSOTSup 214; Shefeld:
Shefeld Academic, 1996), 184.
39. In SI the other two instances of describe the Servant (42:1; 45:4) and in
TI all three occurrences refer to the Servants (65:9, 15, 22).
40. Claire R. Mathews, Defending Zion: Edom’s Desolation and Jacob’s
Restoration (Isaiah 34–35) in Context (BZAW 236; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1995), 125.
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 57
Clearly the outpouring of water mirrors the outpouring of the Spirit and
the streams mirror the blessing. According to this imagery, water is to be
equated with the Spirit and the land, while dry ground represents the
descendants of Jacob. The blessing () and the reference to Jacob
allude to the patriarchal narratives, and signify that the blessing given to
Abraham (Gen 12:2–3) will continue to live on in the exilic generation.
This blessing to all the families of the earth correlates with the gift of the
Spirit, which earlier had been bestowed upon the Servant (42:1) so that
he might bring justice to the nations. The gift of the Spirit and the bless-
ing in 44:3 are to be understood as a fulllment of the initial Abrahamic
promise.
Klaus Baltzer may be correct in drawing a close comparison between
the activity of the Spirit in Isa 44:3 and Ezek 37.41 In Ezekiel, the valley
of dry bones represents the house of Israel, which has been cut off from
the land (37:11) and which gains new life through the of the LORD
(37:5). When the election of Jacob (, 44:1–2), Yahweh’s role as
creator (44:2), and the naming of the people (44:5) are taken into con-
sideration, it is clear that the outpouring of the Spirit in 44:3 signies the
regeneration of the people of God as Yahweh’s Servant.42 Earlier, SI
lamented the fact that the people wither and fade as in the manner of the
grass when the blows on it. The text makes clear that the
vegetation symbolizes the people (40:7). In 44:3 the LORD once more
extends his . This time it descends upon Jacob, resulting not in fading
and withering, but rather sprouting up (, 44:4) like willows near
owing streams. The two previous uses of in SI (42:9; 43:19) both
refer to the new things () Yahweh is doing in contrast to the former
things (). This revivication of Israel is among the new things and
therefore this prophecy coincides with the previously discussed prophe-
cies of a transformed wilderness in 41:17–20; 43:1–7, and 43:16–20.
Whereas the people remain as but withering grass (40:7), 44:4 indicates
that the offspring of Jacob, this new Israel created from amid exile, will
ourish like willows nourished by water though the outpouring of the
Spirit.43
41. K. Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah, 186. Baltzer attributes this insight to Kutsch, “Ich
will meinen Geist ausgiessen auf deine Kinder,” in Das Wort, das weiter wirkt. FS
K. Frör (1970): 124–25; R. Bartelmus, “Ez. 37,1–14, die Verbform weqatal und die
Anfänge der Auferstehungshoffnung,” ZAW 97 (1985): 366–89.
42. See Koole, Chapters 40–48, 361; Mathews, Defending Zion, 125–27.
43. Here it is better to follow the MT and read the unique compound preposition
as ! or simply : “Therefore the willows sprout up among the grass.”
1
58 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Isaiah 51:3 makes explicit what has been previously argued. That is,
the wilderness separating Israel from Yahweh is not primarily the terra
intermedia between Babylon and Yehud, but it is the physical condition
of Jerusalem as well as the spiritual state of its former and present
inhabitants. The dual mention of comfort () in 51:3 recalls the pro-
logue ( , 40:1) and indicates that Yahweh’s actions described in
this verse fulll the announcement of 40:1–11. Contrary to Westermann,
this verse is not a misplaced fragment from a hymn,44 since it contributes
to the overall message of the larger pericope (51:1–52:12). Zion is the
object throughout 51:3 and described as possessing waste places (),
which are in turn described as a wilderness () and desert ().
Earlier, was used to described the ruins of Jerusalem (44:26;
49:19), yet in 48:21 the word recalls the place of the wilderness wander-
ings.45 Isaiah 51:3 evokes both senses of the word since it follows the
description of Zion’s ruins (49:19), and goes on to describe these ruins as
and —two words that when collocated appear only in the
context of the transformation of the wilderness (40:3; 41:19). Since the
same feminine possessive particle is attached to , , and
in 51:3, it is safe to assume these words are here used interchangeably.
In Isa 51:3 the joy, gladness, thanksgiving, and song are found in
Zion, sounding forth from a redeemed people. Isaiah 51:3 observes that
Zion, both as a city and as a people, in its desolation has become a
wilderness and announces its redemption through the comfort of Yah-
weh. As in 44:3, this passage connects the transformation of the wilder-
ness with the blessing of offspring rooted in the promises to Abraham
(51:2). Like Sarah, who received the blessing of many offspring even
though she was barren, so too Yahweh will revive and repopulate the
desolate city of Zion. An eschatological goal is explicit here since Yah-
weh’s intention is not merely to restore Zion to her former glory, but
to restore her to the glory of the garden in Eden. One need not turn to
so-called proto-apocalyptic passages in TI to nd a utopian vision of a
new creation paradise. Clearly SI had much more in view than a return
from Babylon by Cyrus.
In order for Zion to be redeemed, Yahweh must arise and defeat the
powers of chaos once again in order for the transformation of the wilder-
ness to take place. Cyrus is incapable of completing such a task. The
scope of this redemption is cosmic and therefore Yahweh the divine
warrior is called upon to arise in 51:9–10. In the manner of a communal
lament, he is called upon to rouse himself (, Pss 44:24; 80:3), don
clothing in preparation for war, and awaken his arm of salvation (33:2;
51:5), of strength (40:10), and of battle (48:14). This very arm of the
LORD had previously delivered his people out of Egypt (Deut 4:34).
Since the context in Isa 51:9 is the days of old and generations long ago,
Rahab (; cf. Job 26:12; Ps 89:11), the dragon ( ; cf. Ps 74:13–14;
Isa 27:1), the sea (; cf. Pss 74:13; 89:10), and the great deep (
; cf. Gen 1:2; 7:11) represent the primordial mythic creatures and
foes present at creation. Psalms 74 and 77 convey themes similar to Isa
51:9–10:
Yet God my King is from of old (; cf. 51:9),
working salvation in the earth.
You divided the sea (; cf. 51:10) by your might (; cf. 51:9);
you broke the heads of the dragons ( ; cf. 51:9) in the waters.
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-owing streams…
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long. (Ps 74:12–15, 22)
Not only were these forces of chaos defeated at creation and the ood,
but again at the Yam Suph Yahweh fought against the sea and Pharaoh’s
forces as a warrior (Exod 15:3) and defeated them in the manner he
conquered the forces of chaos at creation.46 Just as the defeat of chaos led
46. See Frank Moore Cross, Jr., Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1973), 112–44; Patrick D. Miller, Jr., The Divine Warrior
in Early Israel (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973), 113–17;
Bernard F. Batto, Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition (Louis-
ville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1992), 102–27; Thomas B. Dozeman, God
at War: Power in the Exodus Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996),
1
60 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
to the creation of Israel at the rst exodus, again Yahweh conquers chaos
to create a new Israel. Furthermore, this time he cares for his ock with
greater tenderness (Isa 40:10–11). Creation, the defeat of chaos, and
redemption are all intertwined.
SI does not merely repeat the exodus tradition. Clearly the exodus is in
view, but it is now applied in a new manner. The sea is no longer the
threat. Chaos now comes in the form of the wilderness. No longer is
Yahweh required to defeat the forces of chaos by a way through the sea,
now Yahweh defeats chaos by means of a way through the wilderness.
Richard Clifford writes:
In Second Isaiah, Yahweh creates by vanquishing Desert (embodying
death-dealing aridity and inertness) as he once did by vanquishing Sea.
Both Desert and Sea were seen as obstacles to human existence because
they blocked the entrance to Yahweh’s land, the only place where people
could truly live. Yahweh vanquished the forces by building a path through
them, so that the people could enter the land. Vanquishing or taming a
primordial foe by putting a road through it is a special Deutero-Isaian view
of creation.47
153–59; Carola Kloos, Yhwh’s Combat with the Sea: A Canaanite Tradition in the
Religion of Ancient Israel (Leiden: Brill, 1986), 127–214. Jeremy Hutton argues that
51:9–10 expresses the exiles’ misguided expectation that Yahweh would enact salva-
tion through outmoded mythological combat and that SI’s intent is to chasten such
disbelief in God’s ability to redeem through more mundane means; see Jeremy M.
Hutton, “Isaiah 51:9–11 and the Rhetorical Appropriation and Subversion of Hostile
Theologies,” JBL 126 (2007): 271–303. Hutton does not address the re-emergence of
the cosmic warrior in TI (59:16–18; 63:1–6). There, a cosmic battle is not the request
of the community, nor is it considered necessary to accomplish Yahweh’s plan.
47. Clifford, “The Unity of the Book of Isaiah,” 8.
1
48. Childs, Isaiah, 403–4.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 61
rough and crooked terrain is leveled and straightened when all esh now
see the . A similar phenomenon occurs in Hab 3:3–6:
God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah
His glory covered the heavens,
and the earth was full of his praise.
The brightness was like the sun;
rays came forth from his hand, where his power lay hidden.
Before him went pestilence,
and plague followed close behind.
He stopped and shook the earth;
he looked and made the nations tremble.
The eternal mountains () were shattered;
along his ancient pathways the everlasting hills () sank low.
The way of Isa 40:3 is rst and foremost Yahweh’s way, his manifesta-
tion of glory. Even though the people are commanded to clear a road, the
whole landscape is leveled and smoothened due to a theophany, and
therefore it is highly unlikely Yahweh requires a paved highway to
traverse.
If the is associated with an ancient Israelite theophanic
tradition, then 40:3–5 or 40:1–8 need not necessitate a postexilic and
Yehudite provenance. Rudolf Kilian, following the studies of Rosario
Merendino and Dieter Baltzer, argues that 40:1–8, particularly vv. 3–5,
must be postexilic since its concept of Yahweh’s glory revealed for all
esh is unrelated to the return of the Judean exiles in 40:9–11.52 Kilian
believes 40:1–11 follows the pattern in Ezekiel where the return of
Yahweh’s glory to Jerusalem is clearly differentiated from a return of the
people, and concludes that these verses must represent a later redaction.
Yet, as demonstrated above, this, is representative of the
ancient Israelite theophanic tradition of Yahweh’s march in the south.
Unlike Ezekiel, in Isaiah Yahweh’s glory does not depart from Jerusalem
to dwell in Babylon during the exile. SI need not correspond or mimic
the tradition history associated with other prophetic books. If the univers-
alism of SI is unique, why not other aspects of its message? In Isaiah,
52. Rudolf Kilian, “ ‘Baut eine Strasse für useren Gott!’ Überlegungen zu Jes
40,3–5,” in Künder des Wortes: Beiträge zur Theologie der Propheten (ed. L. Rup-
pert, P. Weimar, and E. Zenger; Würzburg: Echter, 1982), 53–60; Dieter Baltzer,
Ezechiel und Deuterojesaja: Berührungen in der Heilserwartung der beiden großen
Exilspropheten (BZAW 121; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1971); Rosario Pius Merendino,
Er Erste und der Letzte: Eine Untersuchung von Jes 40–48 (VTSup 31; Leiden:
Brill, 1981).
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 63
Yahweh’s glory emanates from his heavenly temple onto the earth (6:3),
is revealed in a via sacra (35:2), and will extend to the nations from Zion
in the eschatological age (4:5; 11:10; 60:1–2, 13; 61:6; 62:2; 66:11–12,
18–19). For SI, the initial announcement of the revelation of the
, coupled with the people’s return to Zion in 40:9–11, is part of his
rhetorical strategy to convince the exiles to embrace Cyrus’ decree.
Isaiah 40:9–11 elaborates on the military image of this theophany. A
messenger is called upon to go up to Zion and announce this parousia of
Yahweh.53 Heralds were commonly dispatched from the front lines of
warfare to bear the good news of victory (cf. 1 Sam 4:17; 2 Sam 18:19–
31). Yahweh is pictured as a warrior, returning from battle with the
spoils of war. “Might” (), “arm” (), and “rule” (
) in 40:10–11
represent the kingship of Yahweh as a warrior savior (Isa 33:2) who,
through the use of such means, redeems his people in the exodus (Deut
4:34), defeats the forces of chaos (Ps 89:9–10), and liberates his people
from Babylon (Jer 50:34). Although
and
connote wages and
work done for wages, respectively, they can also be used in a more
general sense of recompense or reward (cf. Gen 15:1; Pss 109:20; 127:3;
Isa 61:8; Jer 31:16). Booty and the spoils of war may also serve as the
wages (
) given to an army (Ezek 29:18–20).
What exactly is the reward and recompense that accompany Yahweh
in his procession to Zion? Isaiah 40:11 describes Yahweh’s booty as
none other than his own people. He is portrayed as a shepherd who has
rst gathered his ock, and now gently leads and carries them home to
Zion. Although the title “shepherd” was commonly used to designate
kings in the ancient Near East (2 Sam 5:2), here Yahweh is depicted as a
true shepherd (cf. Ps 23; Ezek 34) who cares intimately for his people.
He has accomplished the task of gathering his people, a motif mentioned
earlier in FI in the form of a new exodus (cf. 11:12). Psalm 78 recalls
how Yahweh in Israel’s past acted as both warrior and shepherd on
Israel’s behalf, leading the people to Zion, which receives this good
news:
54. For an extended description of the various views, see Koole, Chapters 40–48,
58–60.
55. Childs, Isaiah, 160. The poem appears to address the events following the
assaults on Jerusalem in both 701 and 586.
1
56. Koole, Chapters 40–48, 60.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 65
not only to convey the notion of “to lift up.” Given its context,
may
also contain an echo of its alternative denition, “to forgive.” To Jerusa-
lem, the valley of vision to which Yahweh had previously pronounced
no forgiveness until death, 40:1–11 now announces that every valley is
(“lifted up”), all iniquity being
(“forgiven”).
The phrase to follow,
, ought not to be taken
literally since and serve as symbols of pride in FI.57 The key
indication that the mountains and hills function in this manner lies in the
use of the verb
. Eighteen of the thirty occurrences of this verb in the
Old Testament appear in Isaiah, signifying its important function within
the book. Including 40:4, all but one usage of this verb in BI refers to
Yahweh’s threat or promise that the arrogant will be humbled, or func-
tions within the context of the proud brought low.58 Its use is notable in
ch. 2, which contrasts the mountain () of the LORD’s house, highest of
the mountains ( ), raised above the hills ( , 2:2), with the
idolatry of the house of Jacob (2:6–9). To this latter house Isaiah
declares:
For the LORD of Hosts has ready a day
against all that is proud and arrogant (),
against all that is lofty (
)—so that it is brought low (
)59
against all the cedars of Lebanon, Tall and stately,
and all the oaks of Bashan;
against all the high mountains ( )
and all the lofty hills (
). (2:12–14, NJPS)
57. Cf. Zech 4:7: “What are you, O great mountain ()? Before Zerubbabel you
shall become a plain ($).”
58. Isa 57:9 is the exception which speaks of the envoys being sent away
(
). Besides 40:4, HALOT lists 10:33 and 32:19 under the literal denition “to
be (become) low, fall.” Isa 10:33 speaks of the lofty (; cf. 40:4) brought low,
which refer to trees, but the larger context is clearly one discussing the pride of
Jerusalem. In 32:19
is amplied by the use of the innitive construct
%' &! , a
hapax legomenon which together may be translated “utterly laid low” (NRSV) or
“leveled completely” (NIV). There the verb describes the downfall of a city, though
the context is clearly the establishment of Yahweh’s righteousness and justice as
king (32:1–20). In 25:12
describes the bringing down of secure fortications
within the greater context of humbling the pride of Moab (25:10–11).
59. This last adjectival phrase breaks up the parallel structure of the verse, and
BHS suggests deleting it. Other translations replace it with a synonym to “lifted up”
to retain the parallelism (e.g. NRSV reads: “For the LORD of hosts has a day against
all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high”). The LXX appears to
follow this reading, although it retains the phrase, “against every one that is proud
and haughty, and upon every one that is high and towering, and they shall be brought
down.”
1
66 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household
after him to keep the way of the LORD ( ) by doing righteousness
and justice.”64 Similarly, Ps 5:8 (9) states, “Lead me, O LORD, in your
righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me
(
).” Therefore, to “prepare the way of the LORD” is to
practice righteous and justice in response to Yahweh’s parousia. Klaus
Koch traces a linear development of the concept of the divine way that
begins with the patriarchs and continues through the exodus generation
into the Davidic kingdom. As demonstrated from Gen 18:19 and Exod
33:12–14, the physical route from Egypt to Canaan also involves divine
presence and righteous conduct. For Koch, exodus and ethics are con-
joined:
It [(* )* ] begins with the patriarchal period and ends perhaps with the rise
of David’s kingdom. As in Ex. 33, derekh denotes a historical develop-
ment from a fundamental promise to its nal accomplishment in external
reality—a development which is brought about by God and which spans
for centuries. It cannot be abstracted from the conduct of the group of
people concerned.65
In the same manner the Holy One of Israel requires those he encounters
to be holy (cf. 6:1–7), the Just One requires his people to be just and
righteous when he comes in glory. In Isa 2 Yahweh announced that he
would humble the proud and in particular bring low their idols (2:6–9,
17–18). Once again, Israel is called upon in chs. 40–48 to do exactly that.
Viewed in this manner Delitzsch’s own admission of an allegorical or
“spiritual” interpretation is the literal interpretation of the passage:
The command, according to its spiritual interpretation, points to the
encouragement of those that are cast down, the humiliation of the self-
righteous and self-secure, the changing of dishonesty into simplicity, and
of unapproachable haughtiness into submission. In general, the meaning is
that Israel is to take care, that the God who is coming to deliver it shall
nd it in such an inward and outward state as bets His exaltation and His
purpose.66
TI, as well as the New Testament writings, does not allegorize this pas-
sage. In Isaiah, the WOL is to be the way for Israel and the nations in
more ways than one.
66. Delitzsch and Keil, Biblical Commentary, 7/2: 142, emphasis added.
67. Oddly, the NRSV and NJPS have included with the previous clause, “Who
has roused a victor from the east,” yet this reading is unwarranted given the dis-
junctive accent (zaqep qaton) above . However, Marjo Korpel and Johannes
de Moor argue that the Masoretic division seems to have been determined by
rabbinic exegesis which interpreted the conqueror as Abraham and therefore they
include with the rst colon. Korpel and de Moor point out that the disjunctive
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 69
accent is not supported by any of the ancient versions; see Marjo C.A. Korpel and
Johannes C. de Moor, The Structure of Classical Hebrew Poetry: Isaiah 40–55
(Leiden: Brill, 1998), 75.
68. Beuken provides convincing evidence that 40:12–42:17 revolve around the
common concern for +; see Willem A. M. Beuken, “Mišpat: The First Servant
Song and its Context,” VT 22 (1972): 1–30. Note that the repetition of the phrase
(40:31; 41:1) links chs. 40 and 41.
69. Even though possesses different meanings in SI—“order, salvation,
power”—I translate the word as “righteousness” since the word functions in a key
role within SI’s argument. Goldingay and Payne (Isaiah 40–55, 1:143) summarize
the use of the word in SI as “Yhwh’s doing the right thing in the exercise of power in
the world in a way that pays due recognition to Israel’s ‘rights’ as Yhwh’s people.”
70. Cf. “So Jehoahaz was left with an army of not more than fty horsemen, ten
chariots and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Aram had destroyed them and
made them like the dust (; cf. 41:2) at threshing” (2 Kgs 13:7). Note also Isa
29:5: “But the multitude of your foes shall be like small dust (), and the
multitude of tyrants like ying chaff (; cf. 41:15).”
71. Antti Laato, The Servant of YHWH and Cyrus: A Reinterpretation of the Exilic
Messianic Programme in Isaiah 40–55 (ConBOT 35; Stockholm: Almqvist &
Wiksell International, 1992), 57–58.
1
72. Koole, Chapters 40–48, 140.
70 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
73. This interpretation is well attested in the Rabbinic tradition. See Jacob
Neusner, The Talmud of Babylonia (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996), 22:56.
1
74. Seitz, “Book of Isaiah 40–66,” 353.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 71
Beuken has demonstrated that the most natural way to read this text is
within the context of chs. 40–42.75 Laato provides the following chiastic
arrangement for the rst discourse unit of SI.76
a 40:3–11 The new exodus and hymn
b 40:12–20 YHWH is the God of the universe
c 40:27–31 Israel will be restored
d 41:1–7 The chosen one of YHWH
e 41:8–20 Babylonia will be destroyed and the
people will be released
d 41:21–29 The chosen one of YHWH
c 42:1–4 Israel will be restored through the loyal servant
b 42:5–9 YHWH is the God of the universe who calls the loyal
servant to fulll his universal mission
a 42:10–17 Hymn and the new exodus
(, 42:6, 16) to those in darkness (, 42:7, 16). Both act in “leading/
going out” (, 42:1, 3, 7, 13), a term used to describe marching out into
battle. In the Hiphil form, as in the case of 42:1–9, is the most
frequent term used to describe the bringing out of Israelites from Egypt.
Although the explicit declaration of war in 42:13 recalls the conqueror
passages associated with Cyrus in ch. 41, the description evokes the
theophanic Sinai traditions introduced earlier in 40:4. Yahweh’s battle
as a warrior and a man of war is rst and foremost his ancient, mythic
march from Edom, an event which brings judgment through theophany.
Richard Clifford surveys all the “March in the South” passages (Deut
33:2–3; Judg 5:4–5; Ps 68:8; Hab 3:3–6) and concludes that all share
archaic meter, vocabulary, and ideas.79 From these common sources an
ancient Israelite tradition can be reconstructed. Yahweh begins a march
in the mountain country of Sinai, Seir, Paran, or Teman. He leads an
army of (Deut 33:2–3; Ps 68:18) through the desert and mountain-
ous area of Edom, and overturns nature in the process of trampling
nations (Hab 3:3–15). Axelson observes in the case of the theophany in
Hab 3:3, “Here the coming of Eloah is an ongoing phenomenon, that is,
unnished. The prophet is thinking and speaking in the future or the
present, but in doing so he makes use of ‘age-old conceptions of living
and the nature of the divinity’ as his means of expression.”80 Since this
march is on-going or unceasing, Yahweh may reappear in history in a
theophany that is consistent with his ancient march from Edom.
Yahweh’s actions in 42:15 appear to contradict his transformation of
the wilderness prevalent in Isaiah, since in this instance he dries up pools
rather than creates them (cf. 35:7; 41:18). Yet this phenomenon is
consistent with God’s acts of judgment against oppressors and blessing
for the oppressed in Ps 107:
He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
79. Richard J. Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament
(HSM 4; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1972), 119. Lars Axelsson
attributes the origins of this tradition to the Sinai pericope. Lars Eric Axelsson,
The Lord Rose Up from Seir: Studies in the History and Traditions of the Negev
and Southern Judah (ConBOT 25; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International,
1987), 64.
80. Axelsson, The Lord Rose Up from Seir, 53. Axelsson bases his interpretation
on the use of the Qal imperfect form used in Hab 3:3 (," ), which differs from the
Qal perfect form in Deut 33.2 (" ). Similar to Hab 3:3, the Qal imperfect form is
used in Isa 42:13 ( ).
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 73
1
81. Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40–55, 1:246.
74 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Based upon the fact “that almost every concrete statement about Cyrus
has parallels in the servant passages,”86 it is fair to assume that Cyrus and
the Servant are related in some way within the argument of SI. Not only
are Cyrus and the Servant connected through common lexemes, but they
are tied together structurally as well:
1
86. Ibid., 37.
76 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Yahweh holds both the Servant Israel and Cyrus by their right hand, calls
upon them by name, and calls them in righteousness. The mission of the
Servant and the unnamed conqueror fullls the announcement of the end
of exile in the prologue. It is no surprise, then, to observe that the lan-
guage of the prologue is once again alluded to in this commissioning
speech of Cyrus.
Earlier the prologue demonstrated the concern to repopulate and
rebuild Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (40:2, 9–11), which are
assumed to be devastated and uninhabited. Cyrus’s mission is to return
the people to Jerusalem, rebuild the city, and restore the Temple (44:26,
28). It is for these reasons that Cyrus subdues nations and kings and the
mountains87 are leveled before him. In the same manner the prologue
spoke of leveling high or crooked terrain, Yahweh now makes level the
exalted places on behalf of Cyrus in 45:2. For Cyrus, the exalted places
clearly include the powers of Babylon, and their subjugation of Israel-
ites.88 In 45:13 Yahweh makes straight Cyrus’s ways (
).
The choice of and clearly evoke the announcement of a level
way in the prologue as well as the exodus tradition. As in 40:1–11, the
speech involving exalted places and a way may include the literal, but is
89. Speculation upon the reception of SI’s message ought not to dominate the
exegesis of these chapters. Based upon the historical information that Cyrus re-estab-
lished the worship of Marduk, Blenkinsopp concludes that the golah community
grew disillusioned with the Persian king, who they initially viewed as a Messianic
gure (42:1–9). He believes chs. 49–55, with its focus on an individual prophet as
the Servant, results from this disappointment; see Joseph Blenkinsopp, “Second
Isaiah—Prophet of Universalism,” JSOT 41 (1988): 90–91. Rikki E. Watts assumes
that SI intended his prophecies to be completely realized by the golah community
and believes that chs. 40–55 have been written as an apologetic for the failure of the
return from exile. He believes the ambiguity of the Servant’s identity in 42:1–9
results from Israel’s rejection of Cyrus as an agent of Yahweh; see Rikki E. Watts,
“Consolation or Confrontation? Isaiah 40–55 and the Delay of the New Exodus,”
TynBul 41 (1990): 55–59. Blenkinsopp and Watts emphasize the discontinuity
between Cyrus and the Servant and base their interpretations of disappointment on
an argument from silence. Interpretations that suggest disappointment as the primary
motivation behind SI’s prophecy run against the theological grain of the work, since
according to 40:8 and 55:10–11 Yahweh’s plans do not fail.
1
90. See n. 69 for the use of in SI.
78 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
91. The variants—“loves me” (1QIsaa), “because he loves Israel” (Targ.), “out of
love for you” (minus the divine name) (LXX), and “he brings him” (BHS)—all reect
a penchant to preserve orthodoxy, and therefore ought to be considered the emen-
dations of subsequent tradents.
1
92. Westermann, Isaiah 40–66, 202.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 79
very next verse, in 48:18, Yahweh expresses his longing for Israel to
heed his commands (
)93 so that they might receive his
blessings. In this vein Koch writes, “The derekh on which Yahweh will
lead Israel means much more, of course, than the actual road on which
the exiles will return to Palestine. It includes divine commandments
(misvoth) which come from afar and into which salvation comes to be
integrated (48:17–19).”94 Preparation for the parousia of the LORD
requires Torah obedience.
The resulting blessing from obedience includes the Abrahamic prom-
ise of proliferation of descendants (Gen 22:17). The description of a river
and waves of the sea in 48:18 suggests an overowing abundance, a
reversal of Yahweh’s judgment on Egypt to dry up the river and sea
(19:15; 50:2). The association of righteousness with water in 48:18
recalls Yahweh’s moral expectation for his kingdom prior to the exile:
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-
owing stream” (Amos 5:24). Although the imagery differs here, the
blessing of peace and righteousness recalls the eschatological promise of
32:15–18, which tells of the Spirit being poured out:
Until a spirit from on high is poured out on us,
and the wilderness becomes a fruitful eld,
and the fruitful eld is deemed a forest.
Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
and righteousness abide in the fruitful eld.
The effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. (Isa 32:15–18)
In 48:16b Yahweh commissions his Servant along with his Spirit so that
Israel might keep Yahweh’s commandments and in doing so practice
justice and righteousness. Because this emphasis on Torah obedience is
inconsistent with a Wellhausenian form of Israelite religion and the
Duhmian hypothesis, commentators have considered these verses a
93. Whether or not &" ' ! should be understood in the past tense, “O that you
had paid attention to my commandments!” (NRSV, NIV), or the present tense, “If only
you would heed My commands!” (NJPS), the following clause indicates that the
yiqtol expresses “a wish that something expected in the future may have already
happened” (GKC §151e, 477; also Waltke and O’Connor 40.2.2d, 680). Or as
Christopher R. North paraphrases the sentence (The Suffering Servant in Deutero-
Isaiah [2d ed.; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956], 182), “Would that you had
(but you did not), and yet you still may.”
1
94. K. Koch, “derekh,” TDOT 3:290.
80 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
motif common to Cyrus and the Servant. However, rather than originat-
ing from an Akkadian tradition, he believes “the ‘Servant’ of Isaiah 40–
55 can be understood as a complementary portrait to the King of Isaiah
1–39.”98 Gwilym Jones believes that SI draws a typological connection
between Abraham and the Persian king.99 For him, Isa 41:2–4, along with
41:25, contain a double allusion to both Abraham and Cyrus. He believes
the “former things” of SI refer to Israel’s past and ch. 41 is linked typo-
logically with the sacred history of the patriarchs. In a similar manner
Graham Ogden argues that the literary afnities between the Cyrus Song
of 44:24–45:13 and the presentation of Moses in Exod 6–13 demonstrates
that Cyrus functions in a role analogous to Moses.100 Viewed in this
manner the transformation of the wilderness described in Isa 41:17–20
initially refers to the military victories of Cyrus. Craig Broyles suggests
Isa 44:27–28 contain an echo of Ps 77:16–20 (17–21), which then creates
a Moses–Cyrus nexus:101
When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
The very deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows ashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
king in the womb of his mother; (8) the king is the one to whom gods stretched out
their hands; (9) the king walks safely on treacherous ways with the aid of deity; (10)
the deity will be with or walk with the king. See Laato, Servant of YHWH and Cyrus,
47–68.
98. Richard Schultz, “The King in the Book of Isaiah,” in The Lord’s Anointed:
Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Texts (ed. P. E. Satterthwaite, R. S. Hess,
and G. J. Wenham; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1995), 159.
99. Gwilym H. Jones, “Abraham and Cyrus: Type and Anti-type?,” VT 22
(1972): 316.
100. Graham S. Ogden, “Moses and Cyrus,” VT 28 (1978): 195–203. Gordon
Hugenberger views the Servant as a Second Moses and Cyrus as a Pharaoh gure
in “The Servant of the Lord in the ‘Servant Songs’ of Isaiah,” in Satterthwaite,
Hess, and Wenham, eds., The Lord’s Anointed, 105–40. While the Servant may be
a Second Moses gure, Cyrus cannot be equated with Pharaoh in any way. Unlike
Pharaoh, Cyrus does not prevent a new exodus. Rather, he is the initial agent to
bring it to pass.
101. Craig C. Broyles, “The Citations of Yahweh in Isaiah 44:26–28,” in Broyles
and Evans, eds., Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah, 409–10.
1
82 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Since the nature of their tasks varies, the means by which these agents of
Yahweh accomplish their goals differ dramatically. Whereas Cyrus
carries out the will of Yahweh through military conquest, the Servant
accomplishes Yahweh’s will through suffering and death.
The reason for initially withholding the identity of the unnamed
conqueror and the conation of the descriptions of the Servant and Cyrus
is to demonstrate the sovereign will of Yahweh. The repeated refrain,
“I am Yahweh, I am he” throughout the Servant and Cyrus passages
reiterates this fact: Yahweh as creator is free to choose who he so desires
to carry out his redemptive plan. Yahweh’s agents are dispensable. The
similarity between the Servant and Cyrus communicates to Israel that it
does not possess the sole claim as Yahweh’s instrument. Even though
Yahweh in a brief moment announces to Israel that it will be a military
force (41:15–16), quickly this role is reassigned solely to Cyrus rather
than to the Servant. The very task Israel assumed to be uniquely its own,
Yahweh has transferred to another agent. The exile conrms the fact that
Israel has forfeited its privileged status in Yahweh’s plan. In his “new
things,” Yahweh is free to choose new agents for his service. Given that
mention of the “former things” and “new things” end with ch. 48, it is
clear that Cyrus is inextricably linked to the “new things.” For this reason
Cyrus is not a parenthesis in the economy of salvation. The election of
Cyrus is an eschatological event. In a real, yet incomplete sense, Cyrus’s
deliverance is the NE, the transformation of the wilderness.
Why delay the name? Yahweh knew Israel would have difculty
accepting Cyrus as his “servant” so he initially kept him unnamed. By
associating him with such legendary gures as Abraham, Moses, and
David, Israel would have no choice but to accept him once his identity
was revealed. Cyrus embodies the best of patriarchal, Mosaic, and royal
ideals. As a righteous conqueror Cyrus demonstrates a correspondence
with Abraham; as the liberator of a new exodus Cyrus resembles Moses;
and as a temple builder Cyrus follows the pattern of the Davidic king.106
SI in effect is telling Israel that they are being recreated through a New
Abraham, New Moses, and New David/Solomon. A new history has
begun with the astonishing news that the pagan king Cyrus will found
this new Israel. Carol Myers observes that the construction of the First
Temple was linked to creation: “The foundation of the Temple thus
becomes a protological event, going back to the beginnings of time and
established by God, not by either David or Solomon (see Ps 78:69–
70).”107 So too the commission of Cyrus as a temple builder in SI is
prefaced and concluded by Yahweh’s self-assertion as creator (44:24;
45:8, 12, 18). The election of Cyrus is a moment of Urzeit in which he
functions as an agent of creation in forming a new people and new
temple through a new exodus. Yet like David, Cyrus does not complete
the task of temple construction (cf. 1 Kgs 5:1–5). That project is
completed by the faithful servants of the post-exilic generation (cf. Neh
1:4–11) led by Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Nehemiah.
The announcement of Cyrus as a messianic gure is received with
shock and disbelief as evidenced in SI’s rebuke of a stubborn people
(46:8–11; 48:12–16) who hear the conqueror’s name, yet still choose to
disbelieve. This doubt is understandable, as Schoors points out:
To Ezekiel, the expected ‘good’ shepherd is a David redivivus. Thus the
utterance of Dt.-Is. is more shocking. He gives the epithet to a pagan
king, who obtains a place, appointed by God, in his salvic order. The
expected liberator will not be a scion of the Davidic house but the pagan
Cyrus.108
Although much overlap exists between the Servant and Cyrus, and Cyrus
and David, SI makes clear that they are dissimilar as well. SI’s discourse
demonstrates that Yahweh will accomplish his act of redemption ulti-
mately through his Servant, although in an unexpected manner. Not only
will his Servant suffer and die vicariously, but in doing so generate
offspring who will complete Yahweh’s plans.
106. As a temple builder, David/Solomon and Cyrus follow the general pattern
of ancient Near Eastern royal expectations, as noted by Keith Whitelam: “One of the
major responsibilities of ancient Near Eastern kingship was the provision of a temple
for the god of the state. This act of temple building provided the symbolic expression
of the god as the guarantor of the state and the dynasty (2 Sam 5:12)… It [the
temple] was, thereby, a symbolic statement of the king’s relationship with the god
and his divine right to rule.” K. Whitelam, “King and Kingship,” ABD 4:46–47.
107. C. Myers, “Temple, Jerusalem,” ABD 6:360.
108. Antoon Schoors, I am God Your Saviour: A Form-Critical Study of the
Main Genres in Isa XL–LV (VTSup 24; Leiden: Brill, 1973), 270.
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 85
109. Watts, Isaiah 34–66, 186–19; Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 40–55, 300–301; Philip
R. Davies, “God of Cyrus, God of Israel: Some Religio-Historical Reections on
Isaiah 40–55,” in Words Remembered, Texts Renewed: Essays in Honour of John
F.A. Sawyer (ed. J. Davies, G. Harvey, and W. Watson; JSOTSup 195; Shefeld:
Shefeld Academic Press, 1995), 219; Fried, “Cyrus the Messiah?”
1
86 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
The individual prophet who speaks in 48:16 and 49:1–52:12 now func-
tions as the faithful embodiment of the nation of Israel (49:3) that failed
to fulll its role (cf. 48:1–2). Yahweh’s intention to bring forth justice to
the nations will now be realized through an individual. Because of
Israel’s failure and Cyrus’s inadequacies, this prophet is given the addi-
tional task of restoring Israel. Whereas Cyrus’s means of accomplishing
righteousness are the sword and the bow, these weapons are merely
metaphors to describe the prophet’s tools—his speech: “He made my
mouth like a sharp sword (; cf. 41:2), in the shadow of his hand he
hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away”
(49:2). This verse highlights the difference between the two agents of
Yahweh. Both seek political goals (42:1, 6–7; 49:5–6), but whereas
Cyrus accomplishes this feat through military conquest, the prophet does
so through preaching and suffering.
Many have recognized that a signicant transition occurs between
chs. 48 and 49 in the discourse of SI. I believe a change in rhetorical
perspective or setting takes place with the start of ch. 49. Like Cyrus, this
Servant is called upon to bring back Israel. Yet he is also to “apportion
the desolate heritages” (49:8), a role never assigned to the Persian king.
This prophet like Moses leads his people in a new exodus (49:9–11), and
like Joshua divides the land among the tribes (49:8; cf. Josh 13–19).
Given his similarity to Joshua, he stands in a later stage of redemptive
activity than the Servant of ch. 42 who was not assigned this role. The
undertaking of the new exodus still stands, yet it no longer involves
Babylon and is now focused solely on Zion. Kiesow observes a change
in perspective in 49:7–12 from chs. 40–48, and posits a separate redac-
tion for chs. 49–52. He recognizes that 49:7–12 lacks the extent to which
Yahweh miraculously provided for his people in the wilderness and the
radically transformed topography contained in chs. 40–48. Kiesow nds
it signicant that the word “desert” does not appear in 49:7–12, and since
the scope of the return is the diaspora (49:12), he concludes that these
verses function to introduce the “return” texts of chs. 49–52, over against
the “way” texts of chs. 40–48.110 Clearly the focus of chs. 49–52 is no
1
110. Kiesow, Exodustexte, 183–84.
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 87
111. Roy F. Melugin, The Formation of Isaiah 40–55 (BZAW 141; Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1976), 164.
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 89
fullled in the restoration initiated by Cyrus.126 Yet, given that the extent
of the vision in 52:10 (“all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of
our God”) resembles the theophany of 40:5 (“Then the glory of the LORD
shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together”), its fulllment is
extended into the future since the return of the Babylonian exiles did not
produce such far-reaching results. The fact that “every eye shall behold”
(52:8, NJPS) demonstrates that the period of judgment announced in 6:9–
10 has ended, as evidenced by the removal of blindness. Viewed in this
manner, God’s reign has come but yet is also to come in totality. It is
both a historical and an eschatological reality.
Rather than end on the celebratory note of 52:10, this section closes
with an exhortation to ee. The urgency of the commands indicates that
the reign of God depicted earlier in vv. 7–10 has not been fully consum-
mated. Clearly 52:11–12 makes an intentional allusion to 48:20–21:
Go out () from Babylon, ee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it forth () to the end of the earth;
say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water ow for them from the rock;
he split open the rock and the water gushed out. (Isa 48:20–21)
Depart, depart, go out () from there!
Touch no unclean thing;
go out () from the midst of it, purify yourselves,
you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
For you shall not go out in haste,
and you shall not go in ight;
for the LORD will go before you,
and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (Isa 52:11–12)
126. Even though on grammatical grounds 52:8d can be translated, “When the
LORD restores Zion,” the context implies Yahweh’s return to Zion as observed by
virtually all other translations and commentators.
1
3. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 40:1–52:12 93
same (cf. 43:5–7). The NE consists of both the returnees from captivity
as well as a worldwide conversion. The return under Cyrus serves as an
object lesson for those living at the ends of the earth that the eschato-
logical ingathering has begun. Exodus imagery is evoked in 52:11–12 by
the use of the imperative form of , coupled with Yahweh’s promise to
act as both vanguard and rearguard in the manner of the pillar of cloud
and re in the rst exodus (Exod 14:19). Yet in this new exodus haste is
not required, and rather than plundering Babylon, Israel is only to carry
away the vessels of the LORD. Is the exhortation of 52:11–12 to be
understood as literal or metaphorical? The answer is both. The dispersed
are called to return and safe passage is promised to them. However, the
emphasis on purity and holiness indicates that a particular ethical and
cultic manner of life is required. Viewed in this manner, 52:1–12 can be
seen as both a fulllment and continuation of the “way” announced in
40:1–11.
1
Chapter 4
1
1. North, The Suffering Servant of Deutero-Isaiah, 180, original emphasis.
96 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Psalms (cf. 22:6–7; 88:8) and the suffering experienced by the prophet
Jeremiah (cf. 15:17; 20:7, 10). He concludes that the text may function
not in a literal or historical manner, but rather in a typical one.2 The over-
all discourse of SI is eschatological in orientation, such that an idealized
event described in the past tense is now transformed into a prophecy of
the future. The very fact that this Suffering Servant cannot be completely
identied with any person in history3 suggests that the WOL/NE is yet to
come. In Chapter 6 I will discuss how the New Testament authors
understood this gure to be Jesus and how he inaugurates the WOL.
6. Susan Niditch, Oral World and Written World: Ancient Israelite Literature
(Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1996), 21–22; Cross, Canaanite Myth and
Hebrew Epic, 91–111, 144. Cross observes that this pattern mirrors that of Baal’s
victory over Yam in Canaanite religion, as well as Marduk’s triumph over Tiamat in
Babylonian religion.
1
7. S. Wagner, “' )" drash,” TDOT 3:298.
98 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
It is likely that SI drew upon these texts, and based upon these connec-
tions, it appears that the prophet of SI believes that these texts nd their
fulllment in his ministry (Isa 49:8). Deuteronomy 4:29 and Jer 29:10–
14 indicate that Israel can seek Yahweh from exile. Seeking Yahweh can
be done from Babylon or wherever an Israelite would nd him/herself,
and the reward for doing so is return from exile. The verses that follow
55:6 obviously provide the best means of dening what it means to “seek
Yahweh.” Throughout vv. 7–9, ways () and thoughts () parallel
each other:
The wicked and righteous do not seek Yahweh because they reject the
ways and thoughts of Yahweh. The ways and thoughts of Israel are not
those of God because they do not originate from the heavenly council.
Only the ways and thoughts of Yahweh that are announced from the
heavenly council will go forth and succeed (55:10–11). The remaining
verses make clear that the word of God effectually accomplishes divine
ways and thoughts (55:7–11). HALOT denes in 55:7 as “manner,
custom, behavior.” Zehnder denes the word in 55:7 as “a way of life”
and in 55:8a as a “way of acting or course of action.” Although the
“ways of the LORD” in 55:6–13 are clearly not roads or highways, never-
theless they are still related to the theme of the WOL in SI. In 40:27,
Jacob’s complaint is reiterated, “My way is hidden from Yahweh and my
justice ignored by my God” (author’s translation). To Israel’s predica-
ment, Yahweh’s responds with the proclamation of the WOL in SI. The
wicked and unrighteous are characterized by their lack of trust in the
word of Yahweh and their rejection of the way of the LORD (48:22). A
return to Yahweh is called for in 55:7, and since the verb is featured
prominently in the argument of SI (44:22; 49:5–6; 51:11), this return can
be associated with the theme of the WOL. When read in the context of
the prophetic book, the command to seek Yahweh in 55:6 ultimately
calls upon Israel to trust in the message of the WOL in SI.
The collocation of the two divine names, Yahweh and “our God,”
within such close proximity in 55:7 occurs elsewhere in Isaiah only in
40:3 and 52:10, two passages which announce the NE. Based upon this
connection, especially to 40:3, it can be assumed that the command to
seek Yahweh in 55:6–7 is in essence the same command of 40:3 to
prepare for the way of the LORD. Whybray’s interpretation of 55:7,
namely, that the verse is to be seen “as a call to the exiles to prepare
themselves through personal repentance for the awesome approach of the
holy God,”10 could also be said of 40:3. Because Isa 55:7 appears to set
conditions on what some assume to be a message of unconditional salva-
tion, several commentators consider it to be the interpolation of a pious
reader. Bernhard Duhm’s belief that v. 7 cannot be harmonized with its
1
10. Whybray, Isaiah 40–66, 193.
100 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
immediate context, as well as the artistry and theology of SI, is the result
of his belief that law and gospel do not mix.11 Oddly, Muilenburg, using
a similar modus operandi, makes the opposite claim, concluding that
“religious experience supports its retention.”12 It appears that appealing
to constructs of Israelite religion, which is well recognized to be a highly
speculative endeavor, may result in specious interpretations.
Isaiah 55:6–13 provide a more detailed description of the command
given earlier in 55:1: “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and
you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.” H. Spykerboer believes these impera-
tives “are most appropriately understood as an invitation to come to the
new Jerusalem where Yahweh reigns and to share in its wealth.”13 If he
is correct, then Baltzer is correct to interpret this exhortation as a call
to embark on a cultic pilgrimage. Nevertheless, the notions of ethical
exhortation (cf. Amos 5:14) are not lost since the use of carries the
idea of repentance.14 SI has already announced that Yahweh will reveal
his presence to his people in the form of a theophany and therefore a
response of repentance is required. Spykerboer recognizes that if “to
come to Jerusalem or to God is one and the same thing,”15 then cultic and
moral purity is required of God’s people. The references to moral and
cultic obedience in 55:6–13, themes prominent in TI, reect the fact that
ch. 55 functions as a transitional text linking SI with TI.
Klaus Kiesow believes 55:12–13 introduces for the rst time an escha-
tological quality to the NE motif.16 He observes that there is no longer
any mention of a way, a wilderness, the need for protection, or a people
for that matter. According to him, the NE motif no longer refers to ight
from Babylon but beginning here extends to the return of the diaspora.
Claus Westermann considers the return from exile to be still in view and
concludes that vv. 12–13 are an exaggeration of the deliverance under
Cyrus.17 I believe the NE all along possessed an eschatological quality,
and therefore 55:12–13 only highlight its consummation. Viewed in this
manner, vv. 12–13 are not a complete break from previous passages and
18. Jan L. Koole, Isaiah Part 3, Volume 3: Chapters 56–66 (trans. A. P. Runia;
HCOT; Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1998), 445.
19. Cf. Pss 45:14–15 (15–16); 60:9 (11); 108:10 (11). See H. A. Hoffner, “
ybl,” TDOT 5:364–67.
1
102 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
plan announced by SI (48:22). But those who have abandoned their own
way and instead placed their faith in the “way of the LORD” (55:7) will
be led forth in peace (55:12).
Isaiah 55 recapitulates many themes mentioned in SI. Even though
there is no mention of a “way” in this chapter, the transformation from
thorns to forests, the peoples’ joy and singing, and the efcacy of the
word of the LORD carry the net effect of signifying the WOL of SI. The
banquet motif reinforces the image of Yahweh as divine warrior and
signies the climax of his victory as in accordance with the pattern of
other ancient Near Eastern ritual-conquest texts. The post-exilic genera-
tion that has witnessed the death of the Servant-prophet participates in
both the blessings and challenges associated with this eschatological act
of God. The death of the Servant-prophet serves as the means by which
the WOL extends beyond the return from exile to subsequent generations
of returnees. Chapter 55 once again reinforces the fact that the eschato-
logical promises of the WOL will be fullled in the future. The emphasis
on seeking Yahweh demonstrates that the goal of this “way” is not merely
the physical city of Jerusalem. The new creation themes in ch. 55 drawn
from Isa 40–52 anticipate the eschatological orientation of chs. 56–66.
When read as both a conclusion to chs. 40–55 and an introduction to
chs. 56–66, ch. 55 alerts the reader that TI is to be read as the conclusion
to SI.
20. R. J. Clifford, “Isaiah, Book of (Second Isaiah),” ABD 3:498, emphasis added.
21. Robert P. Carroll, When Prophecy Failed: Reactions and Responses to
Failure in the Old Testament Prophetic Traditions (London: SCM, 1979), 151.
1
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 103
Contrary to the views of Zimmerli and von Rad, Steck argues that the
additions to previous prophecy are not creative reinterpretations but
rather the continuation of transmitted writings (Fortschreibung). Viewed
in this manner, existing material remains essentially unaffected through
the transmission process and tradents never intend to correct the text.
Within the purview of the prophetic book, a text originally addressed to a
particular historical situation in the past now functions on a metahistori-
cal level. Contrary to Zimmerli, who believed that speech is limited to its
original context,27 Steck asserts that the tradents knew prophetic words
are not bound by chronology. Steck describes the manner in which
prophecy operates within BI:
For example, for them [the scribes], YHWH speaks the book of Isaiah
through Isaiah in its entirety. For them, Isaiah is not contradictory. He
only continues to speak with respect to different times and aspects. For
them, the entire developing book is a single, continuous self-explication
and self-actualization of Isaiah, or more precisely, a self-actualization of
YHWH through Isaiah.28
Whereas other scholars may only consider human factors in the process
of transmission, Steck believes the prophetic book ultimately coheres
because “God institutes the higher unity of the textual relationships!”29
Yet this last point appears quite deistic since he never elaborates upon
how God institutes this textual unity. Also, his notion of learned scribal
prophecy (Schriftgelehrte Prophetie) is an anachronism from later rab-
binical practice. Yet his observation that individual prophecies primarily
function on a metahistorical level within the context of the prophetic
book, rather than against the backdrop of a reconstructed history of
Israelite religion, is a helpful insight that needs to be explored.
Childs forges a via media between the view that chs. 56–66 are the
product of learned scribes (Steck) and the view that they are the result of
an individual historical personality (Duhm). He believes “it is essential
to maintain them [chs. 56–66] as genuine prophecy that responds to the
divine word.”30 With this in mind, TI need not be viewed as mere scribal
literature, but as prophetic testimony. Furthermore, the primary context
in which to interpret these chapters is within the literary context of
BI. Viewed in this manner, TI is a continuation of SI, which is to be
1
35. Klaus Koch, “Ezra and the Origins of Judaism,” JSS 19 (1974): 184.
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 107
long as the Persians ruled Yehud, the Israelites knew that the eschaton
had not arrived. He likens the role of Persia in Ezra–Nehemiah to that of
Assyria in Isaiah. In both cases a foreign power is an enemy of, and an
instrument for, the people of Yahweh. For McConville, the seemingly
misplaced reference to the king of Assyria in Ezra 6:22 may be explained
as a reference to Isa 10. He observes numerous similarities in theme and
vocabulary between Ezra 7–9 and Jer 31, and concludes that a relation-
ship of prophecy and fulllment exists between them. Jeremiah 31
predicts the return of a remnant from a distant land, and Ezra leads such
a return. The fact that both Jer 31 and Ezra make explicit that repentance
is required in order for restoration to take place indicates, for McCon-
ville, that the fulllment of prophecy “is in the process of happening,
rather than that it has happened once and for all.”41 He goes on and lists
the lexical similarities between Ezra and Isaiah:
Isaiah Ezra
1. 2:3 (
)
7:9
()
2. 11:1242 8:15
3. 40:3 … 8:21
4. 6:13 9:2
5. 10:20 +
9:8, 13 +
6. 49:19; 51:3; 52:9; 9:9
58:12; 61:4
44. H. G. M. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah (WBC 16; Waco, Tex.: Word, 1985),
9–10.
45. Joseph Blenkinsopp, Ezra–Nehemiah (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster,
1988), 74–75, emphasis added. Blenkinsopp on the whole agrees with Williamson’s
thesis, but differs by conating the Isaianic prophecies with Jer 25:11–14; 29:10–14.
1
110 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
46. Goldingay and Payne, Commentary on Isaiah 40–55, 1:26, emphasis added. It
appears that they meant to say, “…to the role played by the Torah in the narrative.”
47. McConville, “Ezra–Nehemiah,” 221–22.
48. Kenton L. Sparks, Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Israel: Prolegomena to
the Study of Ethnic Sentiments and their Expression in the Hebrew Bible (Winona
1
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 111
The joy of this feast, which was celebrated by both Israelites and foreign-
ers, mirrors the joy offered to foreign proselytes in Isa 56:6–7:
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him,
to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the
sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant—these I will
bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful (
) in my house
of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrices will be accepted on my
altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.
Sparks credits SI for this inclusive attitude (cf. Isa 42:6–7; 44:5;
49:1–6), and concludes that this intra-community conict regarding the
inclusion/exclusion of foreigners stemmed from a conict between those
who embraced the message of SI and those who rejected or ignored it.
He writes, “In my view, the core of this debate was the theology of
Deutero-Isaiah and his followers, which was so xed on the religious
Nehemiah (). He wonders, “Is the name a reection of the program represented
in Second Isaiah, or does Second Isaiah play on the name for programmatic
reasons?” K. Baltzer, “Liberation from Debt Slavery,” 484 n. 27. The evidence
seems to suggest the former to be the case.
54. Goldingay and Payne, Isaiah 40–55, 1:27.
55. Peter R. Ackroyd, Exile and Restoration (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster,
1968), 144–45 n. 29. Smith (Religion of the Landless) also holds this view based on
his application of sociological models of forced migration.
56. Ezra–Nehemiah reports that the whole assembly numbered 42,360 (Ezra
2:64; Neh 7:66). Albertz (Israel in Exile, 127–28) estimates that no more than ten
thousand returned between 538 and 520.
1
114 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
57. Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, 20, emphasis added. See the discussion regard-
ing typology in Chapter 2. Blenkinsopp also observes a typological portrayal of
events by the author yet he believes typology to be incongruent with the literal, his-
torical meaning of the events. He recognizes an intentional canonical shaping to the
text but he believes this reading may not be compatible with the historical-critical
reconstruction of the events. See Blenkinsopp, Ezra–Nehemiah, 41–42.
1
58. See Smith, Religion of the Landless, 63–64.
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 115
59. Westermann, Isaiah 40–66, 330–31; Smith, Rhetoric and Redaction, 87–88.
Even though Smith accepts the notion of a core TI nucleus (in his case 60:1–63:6)
surrounded by redactional additions, he believes 57:14–21 to be a coherent and
carefully constructed whole. See Smith, Rhetoric and Redaction, 89–90.
60. Dorsey, Roads and Highways, 231.
61. Schultz, Search for Quotation, 274.
62. Melugin, Isaiah 40–55, 85.
1
63. Tidwell, “No Highway!,” 61.
116 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
case the command “prepare the way” (, 40:3; 57:14; 62:10), is a
signier of a rich tradition.64 Therefore the repetition of the phrase
“prepare the way” in TI calls to mind the whole prophecy of SI since this
theme functions as a root metaphor within chs. 40–52.
Whereas some commentators omit ' " (“and he said”) from 57:14
altogether,65 or else emend it to ' / (“and I said”),66 the MT is to be
maintained since this phrase plays a vital role within the text. The reuse
of ' " recalls the previous voices from within the heavenly council in
6:3 and 40:6 and indicates that the words to follow, like the prophecy of
SI, possess divine authority and efcacy. The reference to “my people”
in 57:14 and the introductory formula to follow,
,
indicate that a heavenly host is speaking on Yahweh’s behalf in 57:14
and beginning in 57:15b Yahweh directly speaks. More difcult to
determine is the audience of this address. Childs, following the proposal
by Klaus Koenen, believes the imperatives are addressed to the heavenly
host of ch. 40, and that therefore the “focus is completely theocentric and
God is at work in removing all obstacles that block his salvation.”67 This
interpretation refutes Zimmerli’s proposal that 57:14 is an exhortation
directed to the people. Jan Koole interprets the audience in 40:1–11 as
prophets and believes this same group of people is addressed here.68
Because of the introductory formula, “And he said” (' " , 57:14), I
agree with Koenen and Childs that the voice originates from the divine
council and that therefore the emphasis of this text is on Yahweh’s act of
salvation. Nevertheless, as in 40:3–4, an ethical response from the com-
munity is implied.69 The people, like Isaiah in ch. 6, are invited to listen
in on the conversation within the heavenly council. That is, as much as
this speech takes place within the divine council, it is by no means secret
deliberation. It is disclosed to the community so that they might respond
to Yahweh’s words of comfort and warning.
Although clear reference is made to 40:3, this verse is not repeated
verbatim. Signicant differences exist between the two texts. Whereas
the preparation for the way in 40:3–4 required the transformation of
uneven terrain, in 57:14 specic obstacles are blocking the establishment
70. C. Barth, “
' 0" kšl,” TDOT 7:358.
71. See Chapter 2 for a discussion on literalism and metaphor.
72. Whybray, Isaiah 40–66, 209.
appears eight times in the book of
Ezekiel (3:20; 7:19; 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 21:20; 44:12), frequently as a synonym for
.
73. Lena-Soa Tiemeyer, “The Watchman Metaphor in Isaiah LVI–LXVI,” VT
55 (2005): 388–89.
1
118 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
To a people who are prone to stumble because they are feeble and weary,
Yahweh orders the removal of the obstacles that are the root of the prob-
lem. Based upon the larger context of Isaiah and the immediate context
of ch. 57,
refers to the sins of the people, particularly idolatry,
injustice, and pride, but also their inability to overcome their sin as
demonstrated in the above uses of
within Isaiah. In order to turn his
people from their iniquity and the backsliding of their hearts, Yahweh in
his anger chastised his people, removed his presence from them, and even
struck them (57:16–17). Although the language probably originates from
cultic lamentations,74 within the context of BI, these words are likely a
reference to the exile since echoes of 54:8 reverberate in 57:16–17:
In overowing wrath (1) for a moment
I hid ( ) my face from you… (54:8)
Because of their wicked covetousness I was angry ( );
I struck them, I hid ( ) and was angry (1)… (57:17)
For those who returned to Jerusalem following the exile, this verse
indicates that Yahweh continues to contend with his people in the same
manner that rst brought about the catastrophe. The idolatry described in
57:3–13 is of a form that rst brought on the exile, and it is these
practices which bar Yahweh from fully dwelling among his people.
Yet more than discipline is required to remedy the people’s problem;
they require revival. The spirit of men grow faint (1+
,
57:16), and their hearts are prone to backsliding (
,
57:17). It is no wonder, then, that Yahweh reveals himself as the one
who comes “to revive the spirit () of the humble, and to revive the
74. Cf. Pss 44:23–24; 74:1; 79:5; 85. Following the suggestion of Whybray,
Isaiah 40–66, 208, and Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56–66, 171.
1
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 119
heart (
) of the contrite” (57:15). God’s people are wounded and di-
sabled and therefore God declares, “But I will heal them; I will lead them
and repay them with comfort” (57:18). The mention of “comfort” ()
certainly invokes the message of SI in which this theme plays a major
role (40:1; 49:13; 51:3, 12, 19; 52:9; 54:11), most notably in its opening
lines:
(40:1). Through comfort and healing
Yahweh seeks once and for all to remedy the people’s proneness to sin,
and their helplessness and transience like grass (40:7). All of Yahweh’s
actions here collectively serve to bring about the promise of 6:10 that the
people would “understand with their hearts (
), and turn and be healed
()” (NIV). Koenen is rightly observes, “The demand to clear the way
for the people corresponds to the message in v. 15ff. that Yahweh will
revive, heal, and lead the suffering.”75 In other words, the “way of the
people” in v. 14 is rst and foremost the “way of the LORD” as it primar-
ily refers to Yahweh bringing redemption to his people.
Still, the change from the “way of the LORD” ( ) in 40:3 to the
“way of my people” ( ) in 57:14 is signicant. This alteration
does not signify that the way of TI is of a different sort, since 40:9–11
indicates that Yahweh will lead his people back to Zion along the way.
As mentioned earlier, functions as a metonymy invoking earlier
passages regarding the theme of the WOL. The change to “way of my
people” is rather one of theological and rhetorical emphasis. The very
denition of “my people” has both expanded and contracted since Isa
40:1. In SI, God’s people comprised all of Israel, including those of the
diaspora.76 TI broadens this denition such that the foreigner and eunuch
are now considered part of God’s people who may worship within a
house of prayer for all nations (56:1–8). At the same, time the demands
for entrance into the community of God’s people have become more
restrictive as well. Not any Jew or returnee, but only the righteous who
observes justice can worship at God’s holy mountain (56:1; 57:13) and
the wicked who practices idolatry will be cut off (57:13). As Koole
observes, “The ‘people’ comprises less and at the same time more than
the nation of Israel. This is not irrelevant to the question whether ‘the
way of my people’ refers only to the return from exile and diaspora, or to
the way of salvation leading to full fellowship with God.”77
Within chs. 56–59 appears a signicant number of times (10×),
and in each instance it possesses an ethical denition, as exemplied in
59:8: “The way () of peace they do not know, and there is no justice
in their paths. Their roads they have made crooked; no one who walks
(( )/ ) in them knows peace.” It is this denition (“course of one’s life”)
that is used in 57:17b–18a: “But he went on backsliding in the way
() of his own heart. I have seen his ways (), but I will heal
him” (RSV). In Isa 40–66, the verb occurs in 40:3; 45:22; 53:6;
56:11; 57:14; 62:10. In 53:6, the people’s problem is that, like sheep,
they go astray and they confess that each turns to his/her own way (
). This problem continues to plague the leaders of Israel in TI,
and in their drunken idolatry and greed they each persist in turning to
his/her own way (
, 56:11). Israel is not to “turn to its own
way”; rather, the way needs to be cleared of obstructions in the manner
announced in 57:14. Isaiah 40:3; 57:14, and 62:10 all contain the same
Piel imperative -2%' , “to prepare,” yet in 45:22 the verb occurs in the Qal
imperative -% , “to turn.” In this case, the turning is not to a way or high-
way, but to Yahweh himself, resulting in salvation: “Turn to me and be
saved (
), all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there
is no other.” The “way” is to be understood as the manner in which the
salvation of Yahweh is received.
Viewed within their larger context, vv. 20–21 need not be considered
a later addition. Since Isa 57:14 already quoted 40:3, it is not surprising
to nd another quotation of SI, in this case a verbatim quotation of 48:22
in 57:21. Just as 48:22 was set in a context in which Yahweh exhorted
his people to live according to the ethical demands of his “way” (48:17),
so too 57:21 appears in a context that speaks of a moral response to the
way of God’s people. In both cases the wicked are granted no peace with
the understanding that they are excluded from Yahweh’s “way.”
The third major difference between 57:14 and 40:3 is that no longer is
there any mention of a desert, sea, or any mythical enemy as was present
in the WOL or NE passages in SI. Usually this change is ascribed to a
change in geographical location: TI is set in Yehud and therefore the
desert no longer poses the threat to God’s people that it did to an audi-
ence about to depart Babylon. In Chapter 3 I argued that the wilderness
primarily symbolizes the spiritual and physical state of Jerusalem and its
inhabitants. Its absence now need not imply that TI possesses a different
theology, but rather a different emphasis. The focus of chs. 56–59 is not
Yahweh’s mighty acts within history and beyond, as in chs. 40–55; these
chapters are concerned about the conduct of God’s people. As argued
above, the exhortation of 57:14 is not a command directed to the people
to repent. Instead, the verses to follow describe what Yahweh will do for
the people, rather than what the people must do for God. While repeating
the language of SI, 57:14–21 revives certain themes within SI but not
others. In this instance the ethical dimension of the WOL is elaborated
1
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 121
upon but the NE theme is ignored. This need not imply that the “way”
has been reinterpreted, but rather that the NE theme may already be
assumed as common knowledge to the author and his audience.
Certainly the theme of repentance is present in 57:14–21, yet it is
implied rather than directly commanded. What is to be the response of
God’s people to the way announced in 57:14? Isaiah 57:15 describes
Yahweh as high and lifted up (
), which should naturally elicit
humility and contrition. These exact words,
, describe Yahweh in
Isaiah’s vision in the temple (6:1). The reference to Yahweh’s name as
holy in 57:15 recalls the refrain, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:3). There is no need for the temple
to be mentioned in 57:15 to link the passage to Isa 6 since Yahweh’s
declaration that he inhabits eternity and dwells in the high and holy place
supersedes any earthly temple (cf. 66:1–2). In fact, in Isaiah’s vision the
earthly temple is so overshadowed by the exalted position of Yahweh’s
abode that it only contains the hem of his robe (6:1). By evoking images
of Isa 6 in 57:15, TI links the “way of the people” to the eternal dwelling
place of Yahweh. That is, the nal destination of the WOL is not an
earthly Jerusalem nor an earthly temple. Rather, the goal of this way is to
dwell in the midst of the Holy One of Israel.
Yet, for all the emphasis on Yahweh’s transcendence, S. Flynn is
correct to recognize that in chs. 56–57 the earthly temple is in view. In
contrast to idolatrous oppressors, Yahweh grants entry to his sacred
mount and house of prayer to the foreigner, the eunuch, the lowly, and
the contrite. Given that the sacred mount () is mentioned in
57:13, the “way” of 57:14 is clearly the road to this temple. The idola-
trous actions described in 57:3–13 are akin to those that brought on the
exile, and such practices now prevent Yahweh from fully dwelling
among his people in the restoration. These chapters then function to
uplift the marginalized and condemn the present leaders in the post-exilic
community. Flynn concludes:
In the context of Trito-Isaiah the road could lead to the temple and
conrm the access granted in Isaiah 56. Also the road can simultaneously
refer to the moral actions of those who are on their way to the temple and
of the community before they can build their temple. The point is that
both the literal and gurative readings can assume that an earthly temple
could be in the mind of the composer of 57,14–15 or in the mind of the
redactor who gave it its place in the text.78
Flynn is correct to recognize that this way is physical and ethical. Yet I
would add that this way is also eschatological given the placement of
chs. 56–57 in BI.79 As argued above, by quoting 40:3 TI appropriates the
whole Wegtheologie of SI, which is eschatological in character. Flynn
correctly observes that the author of 57:14–15 had the earthly temple in
view. Yet the nal form of the prophetic book acknowledges the pro-
visional nature of the earthly temple and recognizes that the WOL is
ultimately eschatological since the imperative to prepare the way
reappears in 62:10–12 and there an eschatological city is clearly in view.
Childs observes, “The historical event of the end of exile serves for Third
Isaiah as only an instance of God’s mercy. However, true salvation is to
enter into the holy presence of God. It is the path to his holy mountain
offered only to those who take refuge in him.”80
Rather than viewing the way of 57:14 as having a nature different
from that of 40:3, the way in 57:14 is a more advanced stage towards
attaining the goal of the way announced earlier in SI. Isaiah 40:1–11
announced the Sovereign Lord coming in glory and power to dwell with
his people in Zion. In 57:14–21, Yahweh as the Holy One draws
extremely near, such that contrition and humility is required lest one be
cut off from his presence along with the wicked. This response to Yah-
weh’s coming is the same one announced by SI in 40:3–4. As described
in Chapter 3, the “mountains and hills” in 40:4 serve as symbols of
arrogance. Similarly, when 57:14 and 57:15 are read together one can
conclude that to prepare the way means to remove the stumbling block of
pride from one’s heart. Since the “way” never primarily referred to a
road from Babylon to Yehud for the exiles, any so-called “spiritualized”
depiction of the way in TI is consistent with that of SI.
Blenkinsopp observes that this course of life is “not just a way of life
in general but a way of life in conformity with prophetic example and
teaching and, in the context of Isa 40–66, the example and teaching of
the Servant-prophet of ch. 53.”81 To be contrite (, 57:15), one then
needs to embrace the example of the Servant who was crushed for our
iniquities ( , 53:5) and who Yahweh chose to crush (
, 53:10). Yet, in doing so there is the hope of being, like the
Servant, high, lifted up, and exalted (
, 52:13).
79. Zehnder (Wegmetaphorik, 470) acknowledges that this use of in 57:14
falls under his ethical semantic categories “life way” or “life change.” Nevertheless,
he recognizes that the use of in 40:3; 57:14; 62:10 ought to be grouped together
under Eschatologische Wunderstrasse texts.
80. Childs, Isaiah, 472.
1
81. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 56–66, 169.
4. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 52:13–66:24 123
entry point for the nations to come and dwell in Jerusalem: “Your gates
() shall always be open; day and night they shall not be shut, so
that nations shall bring you their wealth, with their kings led in proces-
sion” (60:11). Blenkinsopp writes, “The city gate has a religious signi-
cance as the point of entry for the procession that will end in the temple
(62:10), through which ‘the King of glory’ will pass (Psa 24:7–10).”91
If the nations are exhorted to enter into the city, who then are to
prepare the way? This command may be directed to travelers heading
toward Zion or even to the heavenly host. This proclamation is certainly
for the present inhabitants in Zion, yet this proclamation extends “to the
end of the earth” (
, 62:11). The wide scope of the procla-
mation is not unique since earlier SI commanded those eeing Babylon
to proclaim “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!” to the end of
the earth ( , 48:20).
It has been widely observed by commentators that chs. 60–62 conrm
and expand upon previous Isaianic prophecy and biblical material
regarding the fate of Zion. Since the intertextual development between
these chapters, chs. 1–55, and the Zion psalms have been covered else-
where,92 only those passages that directly pertain to the theme of the
WOL will be addressed here. Earlier, Isa 40:5 announced that the revela-
tion of the glory of the LORD would be manifest for all esh to see, now
the reveals itself as light to attract all the nations to Zion (60:1,
3). Such an image recalls the exaltation of Mt. Zion in 2:2–5, in which
the nations stream into Zion to learn of God’s “ways” () and “paths”
() and to “walk in the light of the Lord” ( ). Later, the
Servant is endowed with the role as (42:6, 49:6), and the deliver-
ance offered to Israel in the NE is one in which Yahweh turns the “dark-
ness before them into light” (
, 42:16). In ch. 60, the
glory of God, manifested as light, will be seen within the inhabitants of
Zion (60:2) such that the nations will not only bring tribute but also
return the Israelites to Jerusalem (60:3–9). This is in fulllment of the
prophecy of SI:
Isaiah 60:17–22 makes clear that this city is no earthly city since the
language becomes increasing hyperbolic. As Childs observes, “In vv.
19ff. a new dimension is reached in the eschatological portrayal of Zion
that enters into the realm of the apocalyptic. Zion is not puried and
restored, but takes on the features of the heavenly city.”93 Later this city
is revealed as the “new heavens and earth” (65:17–25) to which people
of all nations and tongues will come to see the glory of God (66:18–22).
In chs. 60–62 the goal or end of the WOL is revealed in greater detail.
The Zion of chs. 60–62 is then not merely the rebuilt Jerusalem follow-
ing the exile, but rather the new heavens and the new earth.
Although I do not accept Steck’s proposal that 62:10–12 is the result
of a Heimkehrredaktion to the Großjesajabuch, he is correct to highlight
the manner in which the theme of the way unies chs. 1–62. Steck
categorizes the following passages as “homecoming” texts: 11:11–16;
27:12–13; 35:8–10; 40:1–11; 62:10–12. Even though a “standard” ()
frequently served as a signal for warfare and judgment (5:26; 13:2; 31:9),
it also can announce victory, or represent a focal point (Num 21:8).94
Clearly the standard raised over the peoples in 62:10 is not of warfare
since its context in 62:10–12, and the context of its other uses in 11:12
and 49:22, contains no elements of such a motif. The signal clearly
announces the start of a great ingathering of the dispersed Jews, and in
some cases assisted by Gentiles:
earth to the New Jerusalem is formed. That is, the initial NE and high-
way in Isaiah extends out of Assyria (11:16), and later provides escape
from Babylon (48:20; 49:22), while in 62:10 no earthly place or foe is
mentioned. Given that 60:17–22 already described the destination of the
way in eschatological terms, and since 62:10–12 serve as a conclusion
for chs. 60–62, “the signal now indicates the beginning of the great
eschatological procession to the city and the temple.”97 The commands
to enter through the gates and to build a highway are now clearly invi-
tations to enter into Yahweh’s eschatological city. SI earlier announced
that the deliverance from Babylon by Cyrus would initiate a worldwide
ingathering of the dispersed (43:5–6); TI is now envisioning its con-
summation.
The fact that 62:10–11 directly quote from 40:9–10 further supports
the idea that the “way” functions as a metonymy. Notably, ch. 62 draws
from not just one verse, but from several throughout the prologue. The
following chart demonstrates the verbal links between the two passages:
40:9–10 62:10–11
9
10
10 11 98
10
11
On that day the LORD will thresh from the channel of the Euphrates to the
Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel.
And on that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in
the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will
come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain ( ) at Jerusalem.
1
99. Childs, Isaiah, 198.
130 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
The humbling of the proud and the exaltation of the humble are then an
integral part of the WOL. The depiction of the righteous in 26:7, “The
way of the righteous is level; O Just One, you make smooth the path of
the righteous,” is not merely a general description of Israelite piety or
simply a Wisdom saying. This way and path are certainly ethical, requir-
ing deep humility. But this way is eschatological as well, since humility
provides access to the gates of Zion and entrance to the holy mountain
where the righteous can dwell with the exalted Yahweh. Only when
Israel and the nations invert the posture of their relationship to Yahweh
can they gain access to the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 62:12 concludes the description of the eschatological city in
chs. 60–62, brings a nale to the theme of the WOL within chs. 1–62,
and anticipates the New Heavens and Earth (chs. 65–66). The immediate
context (v. 10), as well as intertextual references (40:10), suggest that the
procession comprised of both Jews and Gentiles traveling to Zion. It is
this people who are redeemed, holy, sought out, and not forsaken. SI
acknowledges for a short time Israel was forsaken and abandoned as a
bride (49:14; cf. 54:6–7), all the while reminding her that Yahweh would
never truly forsake her (41:17; 42:16). TI announces an eschatological
reversal, so whereas Israel was forsaken in the past (60:15), now Zion
will be called “A City Not Forsaken” (62:12; cf. 62:4). Since within
62:10–12 one verse places an emphasis upon the coming of Yahweh
(v. 11) and another upon the coming of the people (v. 12), a sharp
distinction ought not to be made between the “way of the LORD” and the
“way of my people,” especially since 62:10–12 concludes the “way”
texts of chs. 1–62. In other words, the way of the LORD is the way of the
people.
1
Chapter 5
Within Isaiah 1–39 the theme of the WOL is featured most prominently
in Isa 34–35. The present chapter will be devoted to the interpretation of
chs. 34–35 and how they relate to BI. I have chosen to treat chs. 34–35
after SI and TI because, as stated in Chapter 2, these texts are among the
latest additions to BI. Since this study approaches texts at the level of
how they function within prophetic books, the focus of this chapter will
be upon how chs. 34–35 contribute to the “way” theme within FI and BI
rather than examine the origins of every single “way” text in FI. Isaiah
34–35 serve a strategic role within BI as it both concludes the argument
of chs. 1–33 and introduces the latter half of the book. Therefore ch. 35
cannot be interpreted in isolation from FI or BI, and chs. 34–35 must be
interpreted as a unit since these two chapters are so closely interrelated.
In this chapter I will examine the relationship between ch. 34 and ch. 35,
how they both relate to Isa 1–33, and the manner in which chs. 34–35
anticipate the message of chs. 36–66. In doing so, I argue that the WOL
serves as a metaphor for the reversal of the judgment announced in
earlier in FI. These chapters play a vital role in highlighting the cultic
and eschatological elements of the WOL and help unify BI.
1
132 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
ch. 35 was a displaced work of SI and that ch. 34 was post-exilic addi-
tion.1 Since the graphic destruction of Edom in ch. 34 did not match the
tone, vocabulary, and message of SI, by default it was relegated to a later
period.
Charles Torrey’s study challenged this hypothesis and initiated a
debate that led to a complete re-evaluation of the book as a whole.2 He
considered chs. 34–35 inseparable and believed that they serve as the
beginning of the prophecy of SI, a book that always existed in the form
of an independent work comprising of chs. 34–35 and 40–66 written in c.
400 B.C.E. Unlike SI, FI never circulated as a unied, independent work,
but was conjoined to SI in the third century. When chs. 1–33 were added
to SI, chs. 36–39 were inserted in between chs. 35 and 40 such that the
historical narratives would serve as a bridge for two blocks of material.
What is signicant in Torrey’s proposal is his emphasis upon the unity of
chs. 34 and 35, and his decision to assign them to SI, rather than TI. He
not only considered chs. 34 and 35 indivisible, but he observed a con-
sistent message in chs. 34–35 and 40–66.
In his intricate work, Bereitete Heimkehr,3 Odil Steck denies the unity
of chs. 34–35 and argues that ch. 35 was written as a redactional bridge
to ease the tensions between FI and SI. In contrast to Duhm and early
twentieth-century proposals, in Steck’s schema ch. 34 precedes ch. 35.
He includes ch. 34 (minus vv. 2–4) in the exilic redaction of FI and
assigns ch. 35 to the Persian period. By doing so he breaks from mid-
twentieth-century proposals that argue ch. 35 was the work of SI.4
According to Steck, the correspondence between these two chapters
results not from the same author, but the fact that the author/redactor of
ch. 35 drew upon the material in ch. 32–34 and ch. 40 when he inserted
the chapter. The large time gap between the insertion of these two chap-
ters results in many inconsistencies between the two texts. For example,
he observes that ch. 34 depicts the eternal desolation of creation and
ch. 35 describes its renewal. Thus the similarity and dissimilarity between
these two chapters reveals ch. 35’s redactional origins and purpose.
According to Steck, the conjoining of FI and SI resulted in tensions or
contradictions embedded within the nal form of the text. Chapter 33
speaks of Yahweh’s presence already in Zion, whereas 40:1–11 announce
1. H. Grätz, “Isaiah xxxiv and xxxv,” JQR 4 (1891): 1–8; A. T. Olmstead, “The
Earliest Book of Kings,” AJSL 31 (1915): 169–214; R. B. Y. Scott, “The Relation of
Isaiah, Chapter 35, to Deutero-Isaiah,” AJSL 52 (1935): 178–91.
2. Torrey, Second Isaiah.
3. Steck, Bereite Heimkehr.
4. Smart, History and Theology, and J. L. McKenzie, Second Isaiah (AB 20;
Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1968).
1
5. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 34–35 133
his return to Jerusalem along with those in exile. Chapters 40–55 envi-
sion an eschatological salvation extending to all nations, whereas 34:2–4
speak of the nal destruction of foreign nations. Isaiah 33:24 describes a
guiltless people in Zion, whereas 40:1–2 proclaim forgiveness and an
end to judgment. Chapter 34 describes the devastation of the world’s
mountains, yet 40:1–11 proclaim the leveling of these mountains.
According to Steck ch. 35 and SI possess similarities because ch. 35 was
intended to bridge two xed texts, FI and SI, with each possessing quite
different theological perspectives. What becomes evident from Steck’s
argument is the importance of properly reading metaphors and inter-
textual links within BI since “the ‘little Apocalypse’ was not written for
its own sake, but for its function in the rest of the book.”5
Decisions regarding the composition of the BI frequently dictate how
scholars approach chs. 34–35. Torrey observes that interpretations which
separate ch. 34 from ch. 35 result from a prior decision to detach TI from
SI. This is exemplied in John Barton’s characterization of SI and TI as
distinct personalities, which in turn inuence him to assign ch. 34 to a
later date than ch. 35. He writes, “What is more, whereas Isaiah 35 is so
like Deutero-Isaiah that it could even be by him, Isaiah 34 seems to me
not like him at all, nor like Trito-Isaiah.”6 Redactions are postulated to
solve problems of literary dissonance. Yet if it can be demonstrated that
“Chs. 34 and 35 therefore form a coherent unit that juxtaposes the fate of
hostile powers with the ultimate salvation of Zion, a juxtaposition found
elsewhere in the book, especially in the last eleven chapters (e.g. 59:15b–
20; 62:1–63:6),”7 then the need to assign these chapters to different
redactions evaporates.
I believe chs. 34–35 are a unied work dating to the last stage of the
composition of BI. This view is based upon the literary connections
between ch. 34 and chs. 1; 13; 30; and 63; the links between ch. 35 and
FI, SI, and TI; and the cohesiveness between these two chapters. The
purpose of these chapters is not merely to offer a general conclusion to
the book (Vermelyen) or ease tensions between FI and SI (Steck); rather,
their purpose is to extend the prophecies of chs. 1–33 into chs. 36–66 and
beyond. By their placement within the nal form of BI, they serve as a
conclusion to the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz, prophecies understood
by the redactors to have found fulllment in the ministry of SI and TI.
Chapters 34–35 were written to conclude Isa 1–33 and in doing so
project Isaiah’s vision into the rest of the book. These chapters, then, are
intended to serve as both a conclusion to chs. 1–33 as well as provide a
proleptic vision for chs. 36–66. Because of chs. 34–35, Isa 40–66 can be
viewed as the fulllment of the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz and
considered among the “new things” to pass (42:9; 43:19). Jeffrey Kuan,
who assigns these chapters to Isaiah ben Amoz, asks, “If indeed the
function of chs. 34–35 was to articulate in futuristic terms how YHWH
will deal with Israel’s enemies, with its implied sense of nality, would
not the chapters be more appropriately inserted at the end of the Isaianic
collection?”8 Yet, if these chapters concluded BI, then they might not be
closely identied with Isaiah ben Amoz. In their present position they are
read as the prophecies of the eighth-century prophet, stamping the second
half of the book with Isaianic authority since they introduce chs. 36–66.
Chapters 34–35, with their focus on the abiding and nal comfort-
ing and vindication of Zion, are related to the Hezekiah narratives that
immediately follow. Isaiah 36–39 then function as a “type’ that fore-
shadows God’s nal restoration of Zion and comforting of Jerusalem
spoken of in chapters 40–66.”9 This juxtaposition between a mythologi-
cal vision in chs. 34–35 and a historical interlude in chs. 36–39 provides
the impetus for reading SI as both historical and eschatological. Viewed
in this manner, the fulllment of chs. 34–35 may take place within his-
tory but need not be restricted to it.
12. William H. Brownlee, The Meaning of the Qumran Scrolls for the Bible
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), 255.
13. Bert Dicou, “Literary Function and Literary History of Isaiah 34,” BN 58
(1991): 32.
14. Vermeylen, Du Prophète Isaïe, 1:440.
1
15. Observation by Sweeney, Isaiah 1–39, 443.
136 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
Wilderness, 32:15
35:1
fruitful eld/ 35:2
Carmel
Highway(s) 33:8
35:8
Passing by 33:8 34:10
35:8
Carmel
Desert/Arabah 33:9 35:1
35:6
Rivers/streams 33:21 34:9
35:6
Yahweh’s 33:22 35:4
Deliverance
The Lame 33:23 35:6
Not only do lexical and thematic links exist between chs. 32–33 and
ch. 34, but also between chs. 32–33 and ch. 35. These connections may
indicate that chs. 34–35 are a unied composition written in conscious
dependence on chs. 32–33. Willem Beuken recognizes that “ch. 35
appears in a number of ways, terminology included, to bring closure to
1
18. Steck, Bereite Heimkehr, 24–26.
138 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed docu-
ment. If it is given to one who knows () how to read, with the command,
“Read this,” they he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” And if it is given to
one who does not know () how to read, saying, “Read this,” then he
says, “I do not know () how to read.” (Isa 29:10–12, author’s translation)
Like the judgment of 6:9–10, the seers and prophets are placed in a no
win situation. If they know how to read, the book is sealed to them; and
if it is unsealed, it is given to others who do not know how to read. Yet
the oracle to follow proclaims a reversal of fortune. Isaiah 29:18
announces, “On that day () the deaf () shall hear () the
words of a scroll, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the
blind () shall see ().” This blindness and darkness is not physical
but spiritual in nature. Isaiah announces that a future time will come
when the judgment of spiritual dullness will be removed.
As demonstrated by the table above, chs. 32–33 and 34–35 are linked
through shared vocabulary and images. Isaiah 32:3 connects the reversal
of blindness and deafness with the advent of the righteous king and
princes (32:1–2): “Then the eyes of those who have sight () will not
be closed,22 and the ears of those who have hearing () will listen.”
Gary Stansell observes that here the eyes and ears are opened to allow
for the people to see the king (33:17) and Zion (33:20). Isaiah 32:4 goes
on to describe how the advent of the king will also allow the hasty of
heart (
; cf. 35:4,
) to now understand () and know
(). This king will save (, 33:22) his people and therefore “sight
thus means salvation.”23
More important than determining whether the blindness and deafness
is literal or gurative in Isa 35 is to grasp properly how this theme func-
tions theologically within BI. Clements observes, “Isaiah’s commission
to render Israel blind and deaf have provided a convenient image with
which to describe Israel living under judgment. Only when the judgment
is past will the blindness and deafness come to an end.”24 Blindness and
22. Commentators have long observed that the MT reading “will not see,” the Qal
form of , cannot be correct given that v. 3b speaks of the ears now being able to
listen. Given that the Vulgate (caligabunt, “They will be dark”) and Symmachus
(BNBVSXRITPOUBJ, “they will be in darkness”) both support the reading (BDB:
“be smeared over, blinded”; HALOT: “be sealed tight, pasted together, blinded”).
BHS, HALOT, Wildberger, and Beuken all suggest reading either in the Qal
form "
* ! or the Hophal form
" *
" &! . Viewed in this manner the judgment of
6:10, “shut their eyes,” is reversed.
23. Gary Stansell, “Isaiah 28–33: Blest Be the Tie that Binds (Isaiah Together),”
in Melugin and Sweeney, eds., New Visions of Isaiah, 77.
1
24. Clements, “Patterns in the Prophetic Canon,” 194.
140 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
28. Fohrer solves this difculty by interpreting ' " as a preterit, “and he gave,”
but this goes against normal Biblical Hebrew grammar (see IBHS 32.1; BHRG 21.3).
BHS and Hans Wildberger (Isaiah 28–39 [trans. T. H. Trapp; CC; Minneapolis:
Fortress, 2002], 167) emend the text to read “bread without adversity and water
without afiction” (haplography of ) and Kaiser considers as and
as
glosses—yet this is not necessary. Neither is there need to read the clause as con-
cessive, “though the LORD give you” (RSV).
29. Beuken, Isaiah Chapters 28–39, 172.
30. The verb 1 is a hapax legomenon. BDB translates it as “thrust into a
corner,” which Beuken follows with “shall not be pushed aside any more.” Virtually
all other commentators and HALOT translate the Niphal form as “hide oneself.”
31. 1QIsa reads , which requires to be interpreted as “teachers.” The
LXX similarly understood the plural to be in view.
32. Blenkinsopp interprets the verse in this manner and believes “way” here can
also refer to the specic teaching of a school of prophetic disciples. He observes that
in the Second Temple period great emphasis was placed on the teaching role of the
1
142 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
The way is the salvation-historical exodus which occurred in the past and
continues on in the present, leading to Zion. Out of Egypt this was a
literal trek through a desert, but once in the land this way became a
lifestyle. The “bread of adversity and water of afiction” (30:20) is
therefore an act of grace and the very means of survival (cf. 1 Kgs 22:27;
2 Chr 18:26) for this journey. Since the eyes of the people are xed on
the Teacher (30:20), he is portrayed as a shepherd guiding his ock on
the road. In this instance he leads from behind in the same manner
Yahweh is later portrayed: “For you shall not go out in haste, and you
shall not go in ight; for the LORD will go before you, and the God of
Israel will be your rear guard” (52:12; cf. 58:8). The language of turning
to the right or to the left (
, 30:21) carries a literal
meaning in the context of Israel’s encounter with Edom in their exodus
from Egypt (Num 20:17; Deut 2:27), as well as a metaphorical mean-
ing to convey strict obedience to Torah (Deut 5:32; 17:20; 28:14; Josh
1:7; 2 Kgs 22:2; 1 Macc 2:22). Isaiah 30:22 adds that obedience to the
WOL requires the removal of foreign gods and idols, as previously
mentioned in Josh 23:6–7: “Therefore be very steadfast to observe and
do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, turning aside from
it neither to the right nor to the left (
), so that you may not be
mixed with these nations left here among you, or make mention of the
names of their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow yourselves
down to them.” This imagery of Yahweh as a shepherd (v. 11) about to
embark on a journey (, v. 3), with the eyes of the people beholding
him (vv. 5, 9–10), reappears in 40:1–11. In addition, the removal of idols
serves as a dominant theme throughout chs. 40–48 and resurfaces in TI
as well.
prophet modeled after Moses, the proto-prophet. He believes this sense of the “way”
came into use in early Christianity (PEP K, Acts 9:2; 18:25–26 etc.), Blenkinsopp,
Isaiah 1–39, 421.
1
33. Beuken, Isaiah Chapters 28–39, 142, emphasis added.
5. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 34–35 143
are to live according to the word of the LORD proclaimed from Zion
(2:3). Just as the Israelites were called continually to keep from the “right
or to the left” on their journey to Canaan, as well as when they lived in
the land, so too the WOL signies both a journey and a lifestyle for
Israel within BI.
representing the house of Israel is overrun with briers () and thorns
( ) (5:6; 27:4), so too is Edom under the judgment of Yahweh (34:13).
Prior to ch. 35 the land is in a state of mourning. No travel exists because
“the land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is confounded and withers
away; Sharon is like a desert (); and Bashan and Carmel (
)
shake off their leaves” (33:9). In ch. 35 travel to Zion is restored because
of the transformation of the land. The prophecy in 29:17 of a future
restoration of Lebanon—“Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
become a fruitful eld (
), and the fruitful eld (
) be regarded
as a forest?”—nds its fulllment in ch. 35. The land’s period of mourn-
ing is replaced by joy, singing, and gladness (35:1–2). The glorious
fruitfulness of Lebanon, once disgraced and withered, is now not only
restored but its glory extends to the wilderness, dry land, and desert
(, 35:1, 6). Likewise the majesty of Carmel is renewed not only in
Lebanon but also distributed throughout the wilderness (35:2). The trans-
formation of the wilderness, the extension of healing to the inrm, and
the highway re-established all demonstrate that the period of judgment is
over and salvation has come.
larger context of BI, he/she realizes that the devastation of Edom describes
Jerusalem’s present existence set forth in the opening chapter of the
vision. Both ch. 1 and ch. 34 begin with a call for the heavens and the
earth to hear (, 1:2; 34:1), as well as references to the LORD threatens
vengeance ( 1:24; 34:8; 35:4), and promises to ransom (, 1:27;
35:10) Zion with unquenchable burning (/, 1:31; 34:10). In ch. 1
Yahweh is weary of the blood (, 1:11; 34:6, 7) and the fat (
, 1:11;
34:6, 7) of the bulls (, 11:11; 34:7), lambs, rams (
, 1:11; 34:6),
and goats ( , 1:11; 34:6), and in ch. 34 his sword is lled with the
blood and fat of rams, goats, and bulls such that the mountains ow with
blood (34:3) and the land is saturated with blood and fat (34:6, 7). Dicou
describes the effect of the literary connections: “The desert that will
blossom in ch. 35 is the desert that Israel’s land has become. Secondly,
the changes in the stricken land from ch. 34 reect the devastation of
Israel’s land. ‘The nations’ suffer the same fate as Israel.”48 Israel is not
allowed to gloat over the destruction of Edom in the same manner Edom
did when Jerusalem fell (cf. Ps 137:7). Instead, it needs Yahweh to
deliver them from a judgment similar to that which will befall Edom.
Nevertheless, Edom and Zion are distinct entities. That is, ch. 34 and ch.
35 are not the same vision. A narrative progression does take place
between the two texts in which Edom stands as an obstacle for the deliv-
erance of Zion. Peels writes, “The ‘way to Zion’ (Isa. 35:8ff.) is blocked
as long as the ‘sword over Edom’ (Isa. 34:5ff.) has not cleared the
impediments from the way.”49 In order from the redeemed to walk on
the highway to Zion, Yahweh must remove the obstacle Edom from the
path.
BI, ch. 35 sets the expectation for the WOL to be both a transformation
of the people as well as a transformation of creation.
The revivication of the desert into a swamp, described in 35:6–7, is
portrayed as a recreative act. This creation theme rst appears in 34:11b
when Yahweh stretches a line of confusion ( ; cf. Gen 1:2) and
plummet of chaos (; cf. Gen 1:2) over Edom. As Beuken observes,
such language “implies that YHWH intends to return Edom to the state of
disorder and hostility which existed on earth prior to his creative
intervention.”55 Chapter 35 once again alludes to the Genesis creation
event by recalling the breaking forth of water from the ground. The
Niphal form of in 35:6 appears in the Old Testament in only three
other occasions, two of which refer to how the waters of the great deep
( ) broke forth (cf. Gen 7:11; Prov 3:20). Since Prov 3:20 describes
how the ancient waters broke forth at the time of creation (cf. Gen 2:6), it
appears ch. 35 announces another protological event. The creation motif
does not rule out the presence of an exodus tradition, since the reeds
() and rushes () mentioned in 35:7 are typically plants that grow in
the Nile delta. The reversal of judgment, the wilderness rejoicing, and the
desert rehydrated all function in a metaphorical manner to describe the
people’s return to Zion. The poetic images of chs. 34–35 function to
describe the removal of Israel’s arch-enemy Edom and the glorious
return to Zion as another act by which Yahweh takes that which is
“unformed and unlled” and makes it “good.”
What is the highway of 35:8? In the context of the vision, a road is
imagined that extends through the renewed wilderness leading to Zion.
This is a path set apart only for the redeemed to traverse. The unclean are
not allowed access and every traveler, once on the path, will never stray
from it again. The travelers are kept safe from hostile beasts and their
disposition is one of joy, gladness, and song. Any notion of sorrow has
dissipated. The image presented is one of pilgrimage, one in which the
inrm can now travel because the wasteland has been renewed and a
highway (
) makes travel to Zion possible. Although
is a
hapax legomenon, it almost certainly is another form of the more
common
, signifying a sacred procession since it is immediately
designated the “holy way” ( ).
Chapter 35 emphasizes that this road is for the people, the pilgrims,
and the travellers, whereas other passages in BI place the emphasis on
Yahweh’s passage (cf. 40:3). No preparation is required for the people;
55. Beuken, Isaiah Chapters 28–39, 301. and only appear together in
Gen 1:2 and Jer 4:23.
1
5. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 34–35 153
the highway will simply be “there.” The procession is holy because the
pilgrims are set apart in their religious and ethical behavior. The fact that
the unclean (+) are barred from the way indicates the procession’s
cultic holiness. The blind and the lame who were formerly excluded from
the cult because of their deformities (Lev 21:18) are now healed so that
they can enter into the presence of the glory of Yahweh. The enigmatic
phrase in 35:8, “it is for those who walk on the way” (
,
author’s translation),56 signies the strict requirements for travelers on
this road. Even though the primary motif is one of holy pilgrimage, the
mention of a holy way and those who walk on the way leading to Zion
(v. 8) recalls the formative image in FI of the international pilgrimage to
Zion in which Israel and the nations are called to walk in the ways of
Yahweh. In Isa 2:3 the people are committed to the ethical way of life
proclaimed from Zion (
, 2:3), communicated
through the Torah and the word of Yahweh. Whereas previously the
people departed from the “way” (30:11), now they will be dedicated to it
(cf. 30:21). If this is the same way of 30:21, then this way began in Egypt
and perpetually leads to Zion. One must literally travel on this way to
Jerusalem yet once there continually live according to the ways of
Yahweh.
The travelers’ holiness is dependent upon the redemptive work of
Yahweh. Only because Yahweh has come to save (, v. 4) and because
the pilgrims are redeemed (, v. 10) has the transformation of the
wilderness taken place. Immediately following the announcement of
Yahweh’s salvation (v. 4), the next two verses begin with “then” (,
vv. 5–6), signifying the conditional nature of the transformation. The
need for salvation in ch. 35 sets up an expectation for Yahweh rst to
bring salvation to his people before the holy procession can take place
in BI. That is, only after the “way of the LORD” has taken place is the
“way of the people” a possibility. BI follows this pattern rst with an
announcement of the “way of the LORD” in 40:3 and then with the “way
of my people” in 57:14 and 62:10.
56. This phrase has caused much difculty for translators. BHS proposes replac-
ing this phrase and the one to follow,
, with (
)
(“and the fool going on his way”). Yet the phrase
parallels
+ and forms a chiastic line, meaning that the BHS emendation is unnecessary.
Duhm, Wildberger, and RSV propose deleting
altogether. Alex-
ander, Motyer, NRSV, and NJPS believe the athnach functions to create an antithesis:
“The unclean will not pass over it but it shall be for them. No traveler, not even fools
shall go astray.” The best option is to keep the phrase and ignore the athnach. The
phrase emphasizes the exclusive nature of this road (cf. “But it shall be for them,”
NJPS).
1
154 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
57. The following connections are listed in Scott, “The Relation of Isaiah,
Chapter 35,” 178–91, and Mathews, Defending Zion, 120–56. In addition to com-
mon themes, Scott lists common vocabulary, word-forms, style, and usage between
the two texts.
1
5. The “Way of the LORD” in Isaiah 34–35 155
had become a wilderness, ch. 35 signals the end of this era of judgment
due to the creation of a highway. Whereas before the landscape had
become parched and overrun with thorns and briers, now this “way”
overows with water, resulting in the growth of lush vegetation and
forests. The “way” transforms Israel into persons who will rejoice and
sing for joy because they have been redeemed by Yahweh (35:1, 10).
This transformation involves the recreation of the earth and therefore the
vision of chs. 34–35 is to be understood eschatologically.
The “way” in FI is not merely symbolic, it also refers to the actual
pilgrimage to Zion and the reinstitution of cultic worship in Jerusalem.
Throughout FI the language of “way” is used to signify moral instruction
in the Wisdom/Torah tradition. Therefore the “way” signies obedience
to Torah, the rejection of idolatry, and proper cultic observance. This
“way of holiness” (35:8) is only possible through the redemptive act of
Yahweh who takes a sinful and unclean people and redeems them such
that they can once again return to Jerusalem to worship properly. Those
who were previously excluded from cultic worship—the blind, lame,
deaf, and dumb—are healed so that they too can embark on this journey.
This “way” will take place in a new exodus, an ingathering of God’s
people dispersed among the four corners of the earth. Depicted in this
manner, the WOL summarizes the eschatological vision of FI in which
people from the ends of the earth (11:10–16; 19:23–25; 27:12–13)
stream to Zion in order to learn and live according to the instruction of
Yahweh (2:2–5).
Chapter 34 announces that Yahweh will once again reveal himself in a
theophany as the divine warrior. Edom then serves as a reference to the
origin of Yahweh’s mythical “March in the South” in which he travels
through the toward Zion and in so doing overturns nature and
tramples nations. Within the argument of BI, this prophecy of the coming
of Yahweh as the divine warrior is fullled in chs. 40–66. Cyrus to a
degree fullls this “way” by trampling nations in his conquests. However,
due to Israel’s inability to respond faithfully to the word of the LORD, the
fulllment of the WOL requires Yahweh to march out in vengeance from
Edom in ch. 63. Only through the actions of Yahweh as the divine
warrior will the WOL be fullled.
1
Chapter 6
1. Broyles and Evans, eds., Writing and Reading the Scroll of Isaiah; Steve
Moyise and Maarten J. J. Menken, eds., Isaiah in the New Testament (The New
Testament and the Scriptures of Israel; London: T&T Clark International, 2005);
Claire Mathews McGinnis and Patricia K. Tull, eds., “As Those Who Are Taught”:
The Interpretation of Isaiah from the LXX to the SBL (SBLSymS 27; Atlanta:
Society of Biblical Literature, 2006).
2. Brevard S. Childs (Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theolo-
gical Reection on the Christian Bible [Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993], 85) recognizes
that when viewed as canon, it is not “adequate to understand interpretation as
moving only in the one direction of Old Testament to New.”
3. Exceptions to this would be John F. A. Sawyer, The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in
the History of Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Brevard
S. Childs, The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Eerdmans, 2004); Blenkinsopp, Opening the Sealed Book.
4. For example, Volz, Jesaia II, 217; Muilenburg, “Isaiah 40–66,” 5:671;
K. Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah, 63. All three of these scholars appeal to the New Testa-
ment in support of their interpretation of 40:3, yet they hold different interpretations
of the “way.”
1
6. The “Way of the LORD” in the New Testament 159
Acts 18:25 describes the ministry of Apollos, who only knew the bap-
tism of John, as one who was instructed in “the way of the LORD” (UI=O
PEP=O UPV LVSJPV). He believes Apollos’ understanding of the “way” was
in the manner of Qumran and that he required the instruction of Priscilla
and Aquila to grasp fully the Christian understanding of it.
Klyne Snodgrass traces the various streams of tradition emanating
from Isa 40:1–5 into Judaism and Christianity and concludes that these
groups share a midrashic interpretation of this text. He analyzes the trans-
lation and interpretation of Isa 40:1–5 in the LXX, the Targum, the Dead
Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, Rabbinic literature, and
the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Based upon his examination of these
texts, Snodgrass nds a midrashic interpretation of Isa 40:1–5 common
among these writings. In regards to the Qumran community, Snodgrass
agrees with others that Isa 40:3 serves as a dening text for their whole
movement.7 Concerning this Jewish sect he writes, “It is clear in both
these texts that the Qumran community viewed their right living in the
wilderness as the means of preparation for the soon coming of God.”8
According to Snodgrass, the Synoptics similarly possess this ethical
interpretation of the WOL by emphasizing the theme of repentance,
especially the necessity of good works (cf. Matt 3:8–10; Luke 8–14). The
conation of Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1, and Isa 40:3 in Mark 1:2–3 results
from a common stream of tradition within Old Testament and pre-
Christian Judaism. Thus for Mark the “way” (PEP K) functions as an
important redactional motif to dene discipleship. Jesus not only teaches
the “way of God” (12:14) but his disciples “follow in the way” (10:52).
Snodgrass observes that the use of Isa 40:3–5 is much more subtle as
well as widespread in the Gospel of Luke. He cites the following texts as
owing at least part of their wording to Isa 40:3–5: Luke 1:17, 76–79;
2:30–31; 3:3–6; and 9:52. In addition, the use of “the consolation of
Israel” (QBSBLMITJO UPV ’*TSBIM, 2:25) and “other exhortations” (FUFSB
QBSBLBMXO, 3:18) may be derived from Isa 40:1–11 and its understand-
ing in Judaism. For Snodgrass, Luke’s quotation of Isa 40:4 in Luke 3:5
ought to be understood metaphorically as the humbling of the proud and
crooked men. Viewed in this manner, the preparations for Jesus’ way in
Luke 9:52 and 10:1 have in view the eschatological appearing of Jesus.
7. In addition to McCasland, “The Way,” Snodgrass cites Eero Repo, Der “Weg”
als Selbstbezeichnung des Urchristentums (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia,
1964), in Klyne R. Snodgrass, “Streams of Tradition Emerging from Isaiah 40:1–5
and Their Adaptation in the New Testament,” JSNT 8 (1980): 28.
1
8. Snodgrass, “Streams of Tradition,” 30.
6. The “Way of the LORD” in the New Testament 161
9. Ibid., 31.
10. Watts, “Consolation or Confrontation?,” 31–59.
11. Mark L. Strauss, The Davidic Messiah in Luke–Acts: The Promise and Its
Fulllment in Lukan Christology (JSNTSup 110; Shefeld: Shefeld Academic,
1995), 301.
1
162 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
within the context of the MT. In doing so he observes, “The basic issue is
whether these words point to a highway straight from Babylon, one
traversing the normal Babylonian roads to Jerusalem, or one unrelated to
Babylon.”12 He concludes that Isa 40:3–5 describes a theophany which
takes place at a future time when “God’s glory would appear at the head
of his people and lead them to victory over their enemies.”13 According
to the Gospels, the coming of Jesus is the theophanic presence of God in
a new exodus. This interpretation is supported by his belief that the
“sunrise” (BOBUPMI=) of Luke 1:78 refers to the eschatological visitation
of God in Isa 60:1–2. Davis concedes the possibility that Isa 40:3
referred to a Babylonian captivity, but believes that in the minds of New
Testament writers its ultimate fulllment lay in the ministry of Jesus.
This WOL continues on after Christ’s ascension since the conquest of
nations associated with this new exodus is fullled as Christianity
spreads to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth
(cf. Acts 1:8).
12. Carl Judson Davis, The Name and Way of the LORD: Old Testament Themes,
New Testament Christology (JSNTSup 129; Shefeld: Shefeld Academic, 1996),
63.
13. Ibid., 70. Davis connects the “way of the LORD” with the way of Cyrus (45:2,
13) and concludes, “The idea, then, according to the MT is that God will prepare
Cyrus’s way who in turn is preparing a way and leading Israel along this way.” Ibid.,
82. Unfortunately, Davis does not go one step further and relate this way of Cyrus
and the people to the eschatological “way of the LORD.”
14. Joel Marcus, “Mark and Isaiah,” in Fortunate the Eyes That See: Essays in
Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday (ed. A. B.
Beck et al.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1995), 450.
1
6. The “Way of the LORD” in the New Testament 163
Mark’s Gospel, but Isa 40:9–10 as well. Marcus agrees with Guelich15
that the whole story of “the beginning of the gospel” is to be understood
against the backdrop of Isaian themes.16 Mauser is correct to recognize
that the mention of “the green grass” upon which the people sit at the
feeding of ve thousand signies the eschatological transformation of the
wilderness as part of the INE.17 Mark’s use of SI’s prophecy of an
eschatological manifestation in the wilderness appears against the
backdrop of Jewish hopes for an apocalyptic holy war that begins in the
Judean desert and climaxes in the liberation of Zion. In support of this
view, Marcus adopts Frank Cross’ reading of Isa 40:3–6 as the descrip-
tion of the Divine Warrior engaged in proto-apocalyptic cosmic battle.
Ultimately, the WOL represents “his CBTJMFB, his own extension of
kingly power.”18 The attening of mountains and raising of valleys is the
reaction of creation to the revelation of Yahweh’s glory. John the
Baptizer and Jesus are thus eschatological gures signifying the ful-
llment of eschatological events.
Whereas Snodgrass emphasizes the human response to the WOL,
Marcus prioritizes the LORD’s own creation of his “way,” with only a
secondary emphasis on any human “way.” He agrees with Lohmeyer
that John’s baptism of repentance is not primarily a human action, but
rather an act of divine grace.19 In this view, baptism serves as an eschato-
logical sacrament signifying the forgiveness of sin which leads to repen-
tance. The ethnical response is seen as derivative upon the eschatological
gift of forgiveness of sin. Marcus recognizes that the WOL includes the
healing of the blind (Isa 35:1–7; 42:10–16) and therefore the healing of
Bartimaeus is not an unrelated miracle but an extension of the WOL.
Crucial to Mark’s argument is that Jesus’ journey with his disciples to
Jerusalem in 8:22–10:52 is the WOL of SI. Yet, it results in a strange
reversal of the triumphal entry due to its intersection with Mark’s
theology of the cross. Mark 10:32–34 illustrates this point:
They were on the road (FO UI] PEX), going up (BOBCBJOPOUFK) to Jerusa-
lem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those
who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to
tell them what was to happen to him, saying, “See, we are going up
(BOBCBJOPNFO) to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over
to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death;
then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit
upon him, and og him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise
again.”20
Marcus recognizes that BOBCBJOX (“to go up”) is a technical term for the
festal ascent to the holy city. Like SI, Jesus leads a procession to the holy
city. Yet, unlike SI, Mark does not assume that this victory comes
through the military conquests of the Divine Warrior. For Mark, “the true
fulllment of the prophecy of Yahweh’s triumphant march through the
wilderness lies not in the military campaigns of the revolutionaries but in
the weary trek of Jesus and his disciples up to Jerusalem.”21 Marcus
believes the author of Mark closely aligned Jesus with God, especially in
1:2–3, yet 12:36–37 preserves a distinction between the two. Jesus’
apparent defeat is the occasion for God’s victory. He concludes that in
Mark apocalyptic eschatology collides with the theology of the cross and
results in a new, transformed version of apocalyptic eschatology. He
writes, “The main point of this portrayal is to show that Jesus’ journey
up to suffering and death in Jerusalem is, in the strange logic of a cruci-
form apocalyptic theology, the victorious assault of the divine warrior on
the resistant cosmos.”22 If the WOL is the way of the cross, then the call
to prepare the LORD’s way is not merely a general call to repentance or
baptism, but it is a call to discipleship. This interpretation is supported by
Marcus’ observation that the term “Servant” in SI oscillates between an
individual and collective reference. He writes, “Christian discipleship is
a matter of following Jesus in the way of the cross (8:34; 10:52) or of
being with him (cf. 3:14), not of going before him or of preparing his
way.”23 In this manner the WOL does not end with Jesus’ death and
resurrection. It continues to possess an eschatological import since Jesus
will come again, this time on the clouds of heaven. The Church’s preach-
ing of the gospel “prepares the way” for Jesus’ return.
Instead of using the term WOL, Rikki Watts refers to this same motif
as the INE in his study of Mark. Working independently of Marcus,
Watts comes to similar conclusions concerning the function of this same
theme in Mark. He, like Marcus, believes Isa 40:3 functions in a pro-
grammatic manner, and criticizes previous approaches for seeking
explanations merely in textual terms without giving due attention to the
role of ideology and its inuence upon the shaping of texts. For Watts,
the INE forms the Weltanschauung of Mark. That is, it “is the ideologi-
cally shaped schema of Israel’s history cast in terms of Yahweh’s and
Israel’s relationship in which various texts act as hermeneutical points
evoking sections of this schema.”24 Whereas Marcus looks only to how
the Isaianic texts shape the theme of the INE, Watts goes to great lengths
to include the texts from Malachi (3:1) and Exodus (23:20) as contri-
buting to Mark’s conception of the INE. He believes Malachi not only
had Isa 40:3 in mind, but also 57:14 and 62:10, since these texts share
features with Malachi, in addition to a common post-exilic context. For
him, the INE had already become a unied and pervasive motif of Jewish
hopes by the time of Malachi such that a single key word or phrase such
as (Mal 3:1) might evoke Isaiah’s entire eschatological program.
Mark’s addition of Mal 3:1 and Exod 23:20 serves as a warning to the
people that Yahweh’s coming also requires a right response to John if the
nation is to avoid a purging of the temple. For Watts, the quotation of Isa
40:3 functions in an iconic manner and “suggests for Mark [that] the
long-awaited coming of Yahweh as King and Warrior has begun, and
with it, the inauguration of Israel’s eschatological comfort: her deliver-
ance from the hands of the nations, the journey of her exiles to their
home and their eventual arrival at Jerusalem, the place of Yahweh’s
presence.”25 Within the prologue (Mark 1:1–15), Mark’s use of FVBHHFM-
JPO (1:1, 14) is to be understood in terms of the Isaiah’s announcement of
comfort, which involves Yahweh’s INE coming to his people. Also, the
rending of the heavens and the descent of the Spirit (1:10) over what
Watts deems the delay of the INE in Isa 63:7–64:12 also suggests that
Yahweh’s intervention “in strength” (Isa 40:9) has come. Lastly, 1:11
carries an allusion to Isa 42:1, signifying that Jesus is the Servant and
therefore the true representative of Israel.
1
26. Ibid., 346.
6. The “Way of the LORD” in the New Testament 167
Isa 56:7, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations,”
in Mark 11:17 demonstrates that the INE inaugurated by Jesus is not the
nal consummation of Isaiah’s eschatological hopes. Watts observes:
The Markan Jesus, as Israel’s messianic king and inaugurator of the INE
[Isaianic New Exodus], is neither as many have assumed merely protect-
ing the somewhat minimal access of Gentiles to the house of God, nor is
he against the profanation simpliciter of the Temple, nor is he making a
statement about the eschatological replacement of the Temple. Instead, the
LORD of the Temple having arrived, now orients the Temple toward its
nal goal.27
Isaiah 40:3–5 not only introduces the Gospel of Luke, but it serves to
unify Luke and Acts into a continuous work. In addition to Luke 3:4–6,
Luke 1:17; 2:30; Acts 13:23–26, and 28:28 share allusions to Isa 40:3–5.
These passages do not serve to indicate the fulllment of individual
events, but work together as a means to understand the entire narrative.
Pao interprets the INE as initially a literal reference to the return of exiles
from Babylon followed later by a more metaphorical meaning. Even
then, he recognizes that the cosmic impact of the INE underlies the entire
Isaianic program. He writes, “When the return of the Babylonian exiles
failed to fulll such hopes, the exact denition of ‘exile’ underwent a
transformation. The physical sense was substituted by a moral if not a
the rejection by the Jews and the offer of salvation to the Gentiles. The
quotation of Isa 6:9–10 in Acts 28:26–27 indicates that a dramatic
reversal of Isaiah’s pattern of judgment followed by salvation has taken
place. Pao writes, “In the Lukan writings, therefore, instead of ‘judg-
ment–salvation’ one nds the proclamation of the scheme of ‘salvation–
judgment’ upon the people of God.”33
Pao observes that the restoration of Israel lies at the center of the
Lukan program even though it remains unfullled. The reconstitution of
Israel is an important aspect of the INE (Isa 49:6; 63:17b; also 11:13),
and the election of Matthias signals the beginning of the restoration of
Israel since the twelve apostles symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel.
This eschatological hope is further realized at Pentecost in Acts 2,
fullling the promise of ingathering in Isa 11:11. The conversion of the
Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26–40 corresponds to the inclusion of the
outcasts in Isa 56:3–5 and is therefore another fulllment of the INE. Pao
acknowledges that within the book of Acts the Gentile inclusion has
redened the people of God in a manner that goes beyond what which
was anticipated in Isaiah. Whereas the submission of the nations to Israel
remains a signicant element of the NE in Isaiah, in Acts the narrative
moves in the direction of universal salvation. Pao believes a transforma-
tion of the NE motif here takes place, one that was unforeseen by Isaiah.
So radical is the equality between Jew and Gentile that circumcision is
no longer a requirement for initiation into the people of God. Paul’s
initial call to minister to both Jews and Gentiles, the rejection of the
gospel by the Jews, and the narrowing focus of Paul’s mission to the
Gentiles demonstrates that the narrative of Acts has moved far beyond
the paradigm offered by Isaiah.
A unique element of Pao’s argument is his claim that the anti-idol
polemic in Acts is rooted in Isa 40–55, and therefore these passages
contribute to the notion that the early Christian mission fullls the INE.
He writes, “As in the ancient Exodus traditions, power becomes the
focus of the New Exodus in Acts. The establishment of a new commu-
nity is intricately tied to the denial of the authority and legitimacy of
other competing communities and sovereign bodies.”34 Pao follows the
interpretation of Clifford,35 arguing that Isa 46:13 should be understood
in light of the beginning of the chapter, with this nal verse conrming
44. As discussed in Chapter 3, I disagree with Watts’s contention that the INE
was delayed due to the unbelief of the exilic community.
45. Pao, Isaianic New Exodus, 145. Pao’s favorable references to Hanson’s work
throughout his monograph appears to conrm this.
1
174 The “Way of the LORD” in the Book of Isaiah
1
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INDEX OF REFERENCES