Isaiah Among The Ancient Near Eastern Prophets: A Comparative Study of the Earliest Stages of the Isaiah Tradition and the Neo-Assyrian Prophecies (Supplements to the Vetus Testamentum)

537 Pages·2007·3.1 MB·English

by  Matthijs J. De Jong

Isaiah among the Ancient Near Eastern Prophets
VTS-117-deJong_CS2.indd i 12-9-2007 16:56:20
Supplements
to the
Vetus Testamentum
Edited by the Board of the Quarterly
h.m. barstad – r.p. gordon – a. hurvitz – g. knoppers
a. van der kooij – a. lemaire – c.a. newsom – h. spieckermann
j. trebolle barrera – h.g.m. williamson
VOLUME 117
VTS-117-deJong_CS2.indd ii 12-9-2007 16:56:21
Isaiah among the Ancient
Near Eastern Prophets
A Comparative Study of
the Earliest Stages of the Isaiah Tradition and
the Neo-Assyrian Prophecies
By
Matthijs J. de Jong
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2007
VTS-117-deJong_CS2.indd iii 12-9-2007 16:56:21
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISSN 0083-5889
ISBN 978 90 04 16161 0
Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
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Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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To Elske

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements .......................................................................... xi

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One Introduction .............................................................. 3
1.1 Recent Developments in the Study of First Isaiah .................. 5
1.1.1 Shifts of Focus.................................................................. 5
1.1.2 Approaches to the Book of Isaiah .................................... 7
1.1.3 Approaches to the Prophet ............................................... 13
1.1.4 The Current State of Affairs ............................................. 19
1.2 Recent Developments in the Study of Prophecy ..................... 25
1.2.1 The Rise of the Comparative Study of Prophecy ............. 25
1.2.2 Recent Study of Biblical Prophecy .................................. 28
1.2.3 Recent Comparative Study of Prophecy .......................... 30
1.2.4 The Classical Prophets Revisited ..................................... 36
1.3 Aim and Focus of the Present Study ....................................... 38
1.3.1 Question of Research ....................................................... 38
1.3.2 Analytical Part .................................................................. 39
1.3.3 Comparative Part .............................................................. 47
1.3.4 Conclusion........................................................................ 50

PART ONE

Chapter Two The Isaiah Tradition in the Assyrian Period ........... 53
2.1 Isaiah 6-8 ................................................................................. 54
2.1.1 Isaiah 6:1-8:18 as a Literary Composition ....................... 54
2.1.2 Isaiah 7:1-17 ..................................................................... 58
2.1.3 Isaiah 8:1-18 ..................................................................... 67
2.1.4 Isaiah 6:1-11 ..................................................................... 73
2.1.5 Evaluation ........................................................................ 80
2.2 Isaiah 28-32 ............................................................................. 83
2.2.1 Isaiah 28-32 as a Literary Complex ................................. 83
2.2.2 The Woe-Words in Isaiah 28-31 ...................................... 89
viii CONTENTS
2.2.3 Further Prophetic Material in Isaiah 28-31 ...................... 103
2.2.4 Isaiah 28-32 and the Seventh-Century Revision .............. 115
2.2.5 Evaluation ........................................................................ 122
2.3 The Rest of First Isaiah ........................................................... 123
2.3.1 The Woe-Sayings in Isaiah 5:8-23* and 10:1-2 ............... 123
2.3.2 Isaiah 10:5-11:5 ................................................................ 126
2.3.3 Isaiah 9:1-6 ....................................................................... 136
2.3.4 Isaiah 14* ......................................................................... 139
2.3.5 Isaiah 17* ......................................................................... 146
2.3.6 Isaiah 18-22* .................................................................... 148
2.3.7 The Later Perspective: Isaiah 1:4-8.................................. 158
2.4 The Format of the Isaiah Tradition in the Assyrian Period ..... 160
2.4.1 Material from the Eighth and Seventh Century ............... 160
2.4.2 The Format of the Isaiah Tradition .................................. 162
2.4.3 Conclusion........................................................................ 169

Chapter Three The Assyrian Prophecies ....................................... 171
3.1 Sources of Assyrian Prophecies .............................................. 171
3.1.1 The Corpus of SAA 9 ....................................................... 171
3.1.2 Oracles Reported in Letters .............................................. 176
3.1.3 Oracles Quoted, Paraphrased, or Referred to in Letters .. 177
3.1.4 Other Messages from Deities ........................................... 179
3.1.5 Oracles in Ashurbanipal’s Royal Inscriptions.................. 179
3.2 Characteristics of Prophetic Oracles ....................................... 180
3.2.1 Terms indicating Prophetic Activity ................................ 180
3.2.2 Oracles as Spoken Divine Words ..................................... 181
3.2.3 Characterisation of the Assyrian Prophecies.................... 184
3.3 Literary Texts bearing a Resemblance to Prophecy ................ 186

PART TWO

Chapter Four Prophecy in its Historical Setting ........................... 191
4.1 Historical Events in Judah and Prophecies from First Isaiah .. 191
4.1.1 The Historical Events of 734-732 BCE ........................... 193
4.1.2 Prophetic Words relating to 734-732 BCE ...................... 202
4.1.3 The Historical Events of 723-720 BCE ........................... 210
4.1.4 Prophetic Words relating to 723-720 BCE ...................... 214
4.1.5 The Historical Events of 716-711 BCE ........................... 221
4.1.6 Prophetic Material relating to 716-711 BCE ................... 223
CONTENTS ix
4.1.7 The Historical Events of 705-701 BCE ........................... 224
4.1.8 Prophetic Words relating to 705-701 BCE ...................... 233
4.1.9 Evaluation ........................................................................ 249
4.2 Historical Events in Assyria and Assyrian Prophecies ........... 249
4.2.1 Esarhaddon’s Rise to Power (681 BCE) .......................... 251
4.2.2 Esarhaddon’s Accession to the Throne and First Regnal
Years ................................................................................ 260
4.2.3 External Threat and Internal Instability (c. 675 BCE) ..... 264
4.2.4 Ashurbanipal’s Appointment as Crown Prince (672
BCE) and the War against Egypt ..................................... 266
4.2.5 The Presumed Conspiracy of Sasî (671/670 BCE) .......... 271
4.2.6 Ashurbanipal’s War against Mannea (c. 660 BCE) ......... 275
4.2.7 Ashurbanipal’s War against Elam (653 BCE) ................. 275
4.2.8 The War against Šamaš-šum-ukin (652-648 BCE) .......... 278
4.2.9 Evaluation ........................................................................ 282
4.3 Conclusion .............................................................................. 283

Chapter Five Functions of the Prophets ........................................ 287
5.1 Prophets in Assyria ................................................................. 287
5.1.1 Terms and Concepts ......................................................... 287
5.1.2 Prophets within the Cultic Order...................................... 294
5.1.3 Prophets within the Political and Social Order ................ 300
5.1.4 Prophetic Claims and Criticism ....................................... 307
5.1.5 The Prophets among the Diviners .................................... 313
5.2 Isaiah among the Prophets in Judah and Israel ....................... 318
5.2.1 Terms and Concepts ......................................................... 319
5.2.2 Prophets in the Old Testament ......................................... 323
5.2.3 Prophets in Judah and Israel ............................................. 333
5.2.4 The Prophet Isaiah............................................................ 345
5.3 Conclusion .............................................................................. 351
5.3.1 Limitations ....................................................................... 351
5.3.2 Essential Similarity .......................................................... 352
5.3.3 Significant Difference ...................................................... 354

Chapter Six From Prophecy to Literature ..................................... 357
6.1 The Development of the Isaiah Tradition in the Seventh
Century .................................................................................... 358
6.1.1 The Hypothesis of a Seventh-Century Revision .............. 358
6.1.2 The Story of Hezekiah and Sennacherib .......................... 361