Late Pre-Exilic and Exilic Prophecy

When we flip the page from Isaiah 39 to Isaiah 40, we leapfrog some 150 years: from the late-8th century when Isaiah predicted the Babylonian exile (Isa 39:5–8) to the mid-6th century when the exiles hear words of “comfort” that their “term” in exile is about to come to an end (Isa 40:1–2). Isaiah 40–55 is addressed to a later generation living in Babylon. Yahweh had given Israel three gifts that marked them as the people of God. Through the land God gave his people a home and blessed them. Through the temple he mediated his presence. Through the king he established his righteous kingdom. But Babylon's sacking of Jerusalem brought an end to these means of grace. The only sacrament remaining was “the word of our God,” which is foregrounded in the opening and closing chapters (Isa 40:8; 55:10–11) God’s “word,” however, does not denote Mosaic Torah or the Scriptures, but the prophetic word that foretold the exile and now promises restoration back home. Once we flip the page to Isaiah 56, we leapfrog again to the late 6th century when the second temple in Jerusalem had been completed.

 

 

Info Box: The Authorship of Isaiah 40–55

​

While it is clear that three generations are reflected in the book of Isaiah, scholars have debated whether we should imagine one, two, or three different prophets, which they call (First) Isaiah, (Second or) Deutero-Isaiah, (Third or) Trito-Isaiah. Which view is most consistent with the phenomenon of prophecy exhibited in the Bible? As already noted, the book of Isaiah uniquely addresses at least three different generations over 230 years. Although all the biblical Prophets may contain messages that impinge on later generations, they maintain their “predictive” perspective, that is, the prophet retains his present standpoint in history as he foretells future consequences. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel predict both the Babylonian exile and the later return home, but both events are presented as future.

​

In Isaiah 40–55, however, the prophet speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction as past (Isa 44:26; 52:9) and the departure from Babylon as imminent (Isa 48:20; 52:11). The prophet’s historical standpoint between the past and the future is made clear by phrases that he uniquely uses: “former things” and “new things.”

​

See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them (Isa 42:9, NRSV).

​

The former things I declared long ago,
they went out from my mouth and I made them known;
then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.
You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?

From this time forward I make you hear new things,
hidden things that you have not known.

They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
so that you could not say, “I already knew them” (Isa 48:3, 6–7, NRSV).

​

As “the former things” are described as “suddenly brought to pass” within living memory of this generation, they likely refer to the fulfillment of the pre-exilic prophecies about Jerusalem’s destruction and the people’s exile. He is explicit that these “new things” were previously unknown to his audience and that this exilic prophet is the first to make them known. In another passage he identifies the new event:

​

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert (Isa 43:16–19, NRSV).

​

This oracle alludes to the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt through “the sea,” only to turn the audience’s attention to a future exodus through “the wilderness,” that is, from Babylon back to the promised land. Since the beginnings of this event should be perceptible to the audience, this migration should take place within their lifetime. This promise became a reality in 538 BCE when Cyrus king of Persia issued his decree allowing deported populations to return to their homelands.

​

In other oracles that point to the pivotal moment between “the former things” and “the things to come” (Isa 41:22; 45:11), it becomes clear that Cyrus will precipitate these “things to come.” This conqueror (Isa 41:25) “will build my city and my exiles he shall set free” (Isa 43:13). Yahweh presents Cyrus as his chief piece of evidence that he alone among the so-called gods has orchestrated Cyrus’s rise to power. So plainly, Cyrus must have been a contemporary known not only to the prophet, but also to his audience.

​

Elsewhere the prophet responds to the laments of the Babylonian exiles as a contemporary (Isa 40:27; 49:14). He engages his audience with rhetorical questions as a form of debate (scholars call these “disputations,” Isa 40:12–31; 42:18–25).

​

As both prophet and audience reside in exile in Babylon, as Cyrus is a known historical figure, and as his decree of liberation lies within their lifetime, we should probably date Isaiah 40–55 between 550 BCE, when Cyrus became known by his conquest of Media, and 539 BCE, when he conquered Babylon. (The issue of predictive prophecy is not the decisive criterion for deciding whether or not Isaiah of Jerusalem composed Isaiah 40–55 in the late eighth century BCE. A prophecy that the invading conqueror Cyrus the Great would prove to be a liberator for the Judahites would have been equally predictive and surprising for an exilic audience in 550 BCE.)

​

Another indication that this unnamed prophet is not to be identified with Isaiah lies in their diverging use of traditions, such as their perspectives on Zion and David, the two principal traditions found in Isaiah 1–39. Key to Isaiah’s future hope is God’s agent, the Davidic “messiah,” who will establish justice and righteousness (Isa 9:6–7; 11:1–6). But in Isaiah 40–55, the prerogatives of David are “democratized,” that is, made available to the all the exiles (Isa 55:3–5). Most striking, however, is that Yahweh identifies Cyrus as “my shepherd” and “anointed/messiah” (Isa 44:28–45:1)—epithets that should belong to the Davidic line (2 Sam 5:2–3; 7:8; Ps 72:70–72; and 1 Sam 16:12–13; 2 Sam 12:7; 23:1; Pss 2:2; 18:50; 89:20; 132:10, 17). Another agent of salvation in Isaiah 40–55 is the Servant, who “will bring forth justice for the nations” (Isa 42:1) and suffer dearly to accomplish this (the so-called Servant Songs are listed and discussed below). Ultimately, however, it is Yahweh who “reigns” in these events (Isa 52:7), not a human agent.

​

In Isaiah 1–39 “Zion” denotes the sacred mountain and city, where he dwells (Isa 2:3; 8:18; 18:7) and which he defends as inviolable against foreign attackers (Isa 10:24; 14:32; 31:4; 33:5–6, 20; 37:33–35). But in Isaiah 40–55 physical Zion/Jerusalem lies in ruins. Instead, the city of Zion/Jerusalem becomes a metaphor for an estranged wife (Isa 50:1; 54:4–8) or for a mother bereft of her children (Isa 49:20–23; 54:1–3).

The exodus tradition is notably absent in Isaiah 1–39 (see §17.3.7), but is pivotal in Isaiah 40–55. As Yahweh had liberated the Hebrew slaves Egypt, so he will now liberate the Judahites exiles from Babylon (Isa 43:16–21; 48:20–21; 52:11–12).

​

Most significantly, the theological perspective develops considerably in Isaiah 40–55. In the first 39 chapters Yahweh is clearly sovereign over the nations (see esp. the oracles against the nations). But in Isaiah 40–55 we hear repeatedly the first explicit claims of monotheism in the Hebrew Bible: Yahweh alone is God. Isaiah 40–55 is supremely a theological vision, focusing on God and his people, with little attention to the institutions of the king and the temple.

​

A consequence of this theological development is a more positive view of the nations. Following the Cyrus Oracle (Isa 44:24–45:7), where Yahweh claims, “apart from me there is no God,” he offers this “altar call,” so to speak, to all peoples:

​

“Turn to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth,
for I am God, and there is no other” (Isa 45:22).

​

Because Yahweh alone is God, the nations no longer have their own patron deities, so Yahweh must now become their deity. Yahweh assures the Israelites regarding the nations,

​

“To you they will pray,
‘Surely God is with you,
and there is none yet besides God’” (Isa 45:14).

​

The nations appear in their most positive light in the Servant Songs, where the Servant appears as “a light for the nations” (Isa 42:6; 49:6).

The differing literary styles found in Isaiah 1–39 and 40–55 also suggest that we are reading two different authors. One example lies in Deutero Isaiah’s fondness for introducing pronouncements by identifying Yahweh with a series of descriptors (usually relative clauses in English translations, but participial clauses in Hebrew):

​

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth.

(Isa 44:24, NRSV, non-italics mark the Hebrew participles)

​

These participial descriptors continue throughout Isaiah 44:24–28 (see also Isa 42:5; 43:1; 44:2; 45:18–19; 48:17). Further examples of Deutero Isaiah’s distinctive vocabulary and phrasing can be found in S.R. Driver’s An Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament (pp. 238–242).

​

​

​

Outline and Key Passages

 

 

Situation and Message: What’s at Stake?

 

 

Comfort (Isaiah 40)

​

​

Discussion Box: What words would you have for the exiles?

In Old Testament studies the term “exile” can simply be a label we used to designate a historical period. But if we wish to be sympathetic readers we must try to imagine the Israelites’ situation of being forced to abandon their homes in the promised land and settle in the land of their conquerors. What would become of their faith, knowing Yahweh’s temple had been leveled and his appointed king imprisoned? The logic of their wider Semitic culture might seem compelling: Yahweh had been overcome by Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon. Or, he simply didn’t care anymore. Despair over these losses and intimidation by the Babylonian Empire may have been overwhelming.

• Why should they not simply assimilate into the victorious culture of Babylon? Why would they remain loyal to Yahweh?

• What words of hope can you imagine offering in this crisis?

• What groups in today’s world have experienced similar displacement?

• What experiences in your own life resonate with the exiles? How could Deutero-Isaiah’s message be an encouragement to you?

​

​

​

Discussion Box: What would you expect Yahweh to say to his people?

​

To appreciate the surprise of a biblical text it can be helpful for the reader to construct a “countertext,” which expresses what one might have expected the speaker/writer to say.

• Given Yahweh’s threats elsewhere in the OT, what might you expect Yahweh to say through this prophet? Consider this question especially in light of the curses in Deuteronomy 28, which climax in exile.

​

​

​