Second Deutero Isaiah

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Second (Deutero) Isaiah

• Isaiah 40-55

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Questions

• Who was Second Isaiah? When did II Isaiah live?
• Who is the Cyrus to whom he refers?
• What are some important literary themes/images in
  II Isaiah, and
• How do they relate to the story of Gods people?

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Who was Second Isaiah?

• 6th century BCE
• Lived during or just after the Babylonian
  captivity
• Time of great hope Babylonian hold on power was
  crumbling.

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Who was Cyrus?

• Cyrus the Persian -- Persian ruler who conquered
  Babylon in 539.
• Independently corroborated in Cyrus Cylinder,
  in which Cyrus attributes his victory to
  Babylonian god Marduk.
• Restored Babylonian worship, and adopted a
  similar policy toward Jews.

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Important Themes

• 1. Words of comfort to Gods people Jerusalem
  has received a double punishment for sin, and
  will now receive forgiveness. (Is. 401)

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(Important themes, continued)

• 2. Another Exodus
• A voice calls out, "In the wilderness prepare
  the road for YHWH, make straight in the desert a
  highway for our God. Every valley will be lifted
  up, and every mountain and hill will be
  flattened. The irregular ground will be level and
  the rough areas even. The glory of YHWH will be
  revealed so all humanity will see it. It will
  happen because YHWH's mouth has spoken. (403-5)

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(Important themes, continued)

• 3. This Exodus will outshine the Egyptian
  Exodus (expressway image)
• Thus says YHWH--the one who makes a path in the
  sea, a path through the raging water, who brings
  down chariot and horse, army and soldier. They
  lie down, they cannot get up, they are snuffed
  out, put out like a wick. Remember not earlier
  events. Do not dwell on the past. Indeed, I am
  doing a new thing. It is springing up right now,
  do you not see it coming? I will make a path
  through the wilderness, rivers in the desert.
  (4316-19)

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(Important themes, continued)

• 4. This Exodus will approach the magnitude of
  creation itself
• Rouse up, rouse up, put on strength, O arm of
  God! Was it not you who cut Rahab (chaos) to
  pieces? Did you not pierce the Sea Monster? Was
  it not you who dried up Sea, the Great Deep? Did
  you not make the depths of Sea a road for the
  redeemed to cross? Now, the redeemed of YHWH will
  return and come to Zion with singing. Eternal joy
  is on their head. They will obtain joy and
  gladness. Sorrow and sighing will leave.
  (519-11)

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(Important themes)

• 5. Cyrus as messiah
• "I am YHWH, who made all things. . . who says of
  Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, he shall carry out all
  my plans.'" (4424, 28)
• Thus says YHWH to his mashiach, to Cyrus, whose
  right hand I have grasped to subjugate nations
  before him, . . . 'I am YHWH, there is no other.
  Except for me there is no god. I equip you,
  though you do not know me.'" (451, 5)

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(Important themes)

• 6. Servant songs
• 421-6 He will bring justice to the nations
• 491-6 I make you a light to the nations
• 504-9 My back to those who beat me
• 5213-5312 Bruised for our iniquities
• 504-9 is generally recognized as a later
  insertion intended to identify the servant with
  the nation (Bandstra).

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Who is the Suffering Servant?

• Metaphor for Judah, who suffered terribly under
  the exile (Deutero-Isaiahs audience)? By
  suffering, Judah made the sacrifice that pleased
  God.
• An individual - possibly a prophet? Jeremiah,
  who was socially outcast?
• Intentionally left vague by Second Isaiah?
• Later christological identification?

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Relation to the rest of the story of Gods people?

• Gods mercy and Gods justice
• God sending a messiah who doesnt know or worship
  the true God?
• Replacement of animal sacrifice, with the
  sacrifice of the suffering servant?

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(No Transcript)
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Possible Alternatives to the Final Exam

• Theology conference, undertaken by the class
• Theology journal, produced by the class

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Theology Conference

• Call for Papers, that describe the kind of work
  sought.
• Groups/con sultations, made up of people who
  review the presentations and decide which are
  accepted.
• Sessions/Panels, in which the accepted papers are
  presented usually all concerning a particular
  theme.
• Respondent Usually a senior person in the field
  who gets drafts of the presentations ahead of
  time and writes a response.

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Theology Journal

• Authors submit articles - Usually at least 30
  pages, but would be shorter for our purposes.
• Double-blind review process with feedback.
• Journal editorial board makes final decisions and
  organizes into a thematically-unified whole.
• Respondents, where appropriate.
• Book Reviews - both long and brief.

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Instructional Needs

• Would have to involve everyone fairly, even if
  people had different roles.
• Cant be overly difficult for me to grade
• Cant be a complete replacement of course
  content
• Still need to be able to assess whether students
  have learned the material in New Testament and
  Church Practices from the second half of the
  semester. (Could move this to the paper?)