Table Of ContentClaire R. Mathews
Defending Zion
W
DE
G
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von
Otto Kaiser
Band 236
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1995
Claire R. Mathews
Defending Zion
Edom's Desolation and Jacob's Restoration
(Isaiah 34-35) in Context
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1995
® Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
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Libraty of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mathews, Claire R.
Defending Zion : Edom's desolation and Jacob's restoration
(Isaiah 34-35) in context / Claire R. Mathews.
p. cm. - (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft, ISSN 0934-2575 ; Bd. 236)
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral) — Yale
University.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 3-11-014665-7
1. Bible. Ο. T. Isaiah XXXIV-XXXV - Criticism, inter-
pretation, etc. I. Tide. II. Series : Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ; 236.
BS410.Z5 vol. 236 BS1515.2
221.6 s - dc20
[224M066] 95-40558
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — Cataloging-in-Publication Data
[Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft / Beihefte]
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. —
Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter.
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Bd. 236. Mathews, Claire R.: Defending Zion. - 1995
Mathews, Claire R.:
Defending Zion : Edom's desolation and Jacob's restoration (Isaiah
34-35) in context / Claire R. Mathews. — Berlin ; New York :
de Gruyter, 1995
(Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ;
Bd. 236)
Zugl.: New Haven, Conn., Yale Univ., Diss., 1994
ISBN 3-11-014665-7
ISSN 0934-2575
© Copyright 1995 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permis-
sion in writing from the publisher.
Printed in Germany
Printing: Werner Hildebrand, Berlin
Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer-GmbH, Berlin
Preface
This study was presented as a doctoral dissertation in the Department of
Religious Studies at Yale University. The topic was first suggested to me
by my advisor, Chris Seitz. Anyone familiar with his work will recognize
his influence on my thought. I am grateful for his counsel, his kind
encouragement, his generous accessibility to me throughout the research
and writing process, and for his allowing me the freedom (for better or for
worse) to make this project my own. I am likewise indebted to my other
professors at Yale, each of whom shaped my thinking in very important
ways: Brevard Childs, Robert Wilson, Ellen Davis, Saul Olyan and Mark
Smith.
I also thank my colleagues at Loyola College for their support, and
confidence in me from beginning to end; Dean David Roswell and the
administration of Loyola College for their support; the members of the
Catholic Biblical Association Hebrew poetry section for their insights and
lively conversation; my family for their good humor, and interest in what
must have seemed like an obscure topic; my friends for the same; and
most of all my dear husband Colin, who has helped me with this project
in every way imaginable.
Baltimore, Maryland, May 13, 1994 Claire R. Mathews
Table of Contents
Preface ν
List of Abbreviations xi
1. An Introduction to the Problem 1
1.1. The Unity of the Book of Isaiah 1
1.2. Isaiah 36-39: Placement and Function 3
1.3. Reassessing Isaiah 34-35: Problems of
Composition, Interpretation, and Function 6
2. An Introduction to Isa 34, 35
and the History of their Interpretation 9
2.1. An Overview 9
2.2. Unity 11
2.3. Dating and Authorship 20
2.4. Edom 27
2.5. The Role of Chs. 34-35 Within the Larger Work 30
2.6. Summary 32
3. Edom and the Nations in Isaiah 34:
Form-critical Arguments 34
3.1. Form-critical Analyses of Isa 34:1 35
3.1.1. Summons to Witnesses 37
3.1.2. Summons To Receive Instruction 41
3.2. Micah 1:2 as a False Analogy to Isa 34:1 42
3.2.1. Excursus: Micah 1:2
and the Structure of the Book as a Whole: 46
3.3. Conclusion 49
4. The Universal and the Particular in Isaiah 13:
An Analogue for Edom and the Nations 55
4.1. Isaiah 13: An Overview 56
4.2. The Language of Isa 13 58
4.3. Babylon, Edom and the Nations 60
4.4. "As...Sodom and Gomorrah":
Stock Comparison or Intentional Analogy? 62
4.5. Isa 13, 34 as Structural Pillars 64
4.6. Conclusion 67
viii Table of Contents
5. Edom in Poetry and Prophecy 69
5.1. Edom and Israel: A Brief History 70
5.2. Edom in Poetry and Prophecy 75
5.2.1. Isaiah 63 77
5.2.1.1. Isaiah 63:1-6 in Context 80
5.2.2. Obadiah 86
5.2.3. Jeremiah 49:7-22 91
5.2.4. Ezekiel 95
5.2.4.1. Ezekiel 25:12-14 96
5.2.4.2. Ezekiel 35-36 97
5.2.5. Amos 103
5.2.5.1. Amos 1:11-12 103
5.2.5.2. Amos 9:12 107
5.2.6. Psalm 137 108
5.2.7. Lamentations 4:21-22 110
5.2.8. Malachi 1:2-5 113
5.2.9. Joel 4:19-21 115
5.3. Conclusion 116
6. Isaiah 35: Context and Interpretation 120
6.1. Isa 35: An Overview 120
6.2. Isaiah 35 and 40-66 123
6.2.1. Transformation of the Wilderness 124
6.2.1.1. Summary 128
6.2.2. "They shall see the glory of the Lord" 129
6.2.3. "Be strong! Do not fear!" 130
6.2.4. The Healing of Infirmities 132
6.2.5. The Holy Way 132
6.2.5.1. Summary 134
6.3. Isaiah 35: Context and Interpretation 135
7. The Redactional Role of Isaiah 35:
A Recent Theory 140
7.1. Steck's Analysis of Ch. 35: Overview and Critique .... 141
7.1.1. Summary 148
7.2. Isaiah 35 in the Context of the Book as a Whole 150
7.3. Conclusion 152
Table of Contents ix
8. Chs. 34-35: Placement and Function 157
8.1. The Nations in Proto-Isaiah 157
8.2. The Representational Significance of Edom 159
8.3. Ch. 34-35's Contribution to
the Message and Structure of Isaiah 161
8.3.1. Isaiah 34-35 Looking Forward:
40-55 and 56-66 163
8.3.2. Parallel Features in Ezekiel and Isaiah 168
8.3.3. Isa 34-35 in Relation to 36-39 171
8.4. Envisioning the Whole 178
Bibliography 180
