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THE HEBREW PROPHETS Farley Snell

(2013)

The Nature and Time and of Hebrew Prophesy

The word “prophet” generally suggests one who predicts or foretells the future, and this is one function of the Hebrew prophets. Christian scriptures, for example, interpret promises by the prophets of a future messianic figure as applying to Jesus. But typically when the prophets foretell the future it is related to a circumstance in their own time. It is an announcement of a future calamity resulting from some contemporary failure of the people, or some future saving act in spite of their failure. Most often, however, “prophecy” and “prophet” are related to a specific and present ethical or religious situation. In practice, as we shall see, the prophets are social or religious critics for the most part, and their work is time-bound in nature. Moses, who is certainly not listed among the prophets, is called one by retrojection: “Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34.10). This is presumably because Moses addressed the Egyptian king on the matter of Israelite slavery, or the Israelites themselves on issues arising in the wilderness sojourn. One thinks of the prophet Nathan challenging King David on the Bathsheba affair (2 Samuel 11.27b-12.15), or the prophet Elijah confronting King Ahab (1 Kings 16.29-21.29) on several distinguishable issues, or Micaiah predicting defeat in a war situation (1 Kings 22.1-28). Amos speaks out on issues of social and economic injustice as he witnessed them. Hosea addresses the loss of social focus in his day. It is this usage people have in mind when they speak of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a prophet. This is the more appropriate meaning in discussing the Hebrew prophets. Given these observations, we can suggest several distinctive characteristics of Hebrew prophesy. (1) As already noted, the focus is on specific time-bound issues, and is a message of judgment or of hope. (2) It is addressed to the people or nation, not individuals (though kings are an exception). (3) It claims to be of divine origin, not human imagination, and challenges human authority. (4) It often involves a special call to its messenger, the prophet, and sometimes visionary experience and ecstatic utterance. The first prophet this type appeared during the reign of David. Prior that time, no such prophets appear. To be sure, in the first eight books of the Protestant Bible (that is, Genesis through 1 Samuel) there are fourteen sections in which the term is used or discussed, but none of these reflect the characteristics listed above. If fact, if you expect to find this kind of prophet before David began ruling the united kingdom of Israel in 1000 BCE, you are out of luck. There were none. There were no prophets from the beginning of it all through the tower of Babel. There were no prophets during the period of the ancestors (Abraham and Sarah through Jacob and his two wives and Joseph into Egypt). No prophets during the four hundred years of slavery, the exodus and the forty years in the wilderness. None during the period of the conquest and settlement of the land of Palestine. None during the time of the judges (who are not judges as we think of them, but leaders of the tribal confederacy, replaced by the kings). Actually none during time of the first king Saul. In fact the prophets appeared only during the time of the kings—and disappeared for the most part with the demise of the monarchy. It seems that the acts and words of the prophets were called for when power became more concentrated and centralized in the king, the monarchy brought with it major socio-economic changes in the structure of Israelite society, and Israel became less a people and more a nation among nations.

The Prophetic Books

In the main, the work and words of the Hebrew prophets are recorded in the second of three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible—called the Neviim or Prophets. The first division is the Law (or Torah). The third is the Writings (or Kethuvim).

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The Torah (or Law) is made up of five books (hence, sometimes called the Pentateuch): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In them, there is as much story as law. This is particularly true of Genesis and Exodus. The story is about primeval history (the creation and flood, and such) and about the deity’s relation to a special people (from Abraham and Sarah through Moses). In the midst of that story, laws are provided to prescribe proper behavior of the people toward the deity (given various names, but most often “God” or Elohim or “the LORD” or Yahweh or Adonai) and among themselves. The deity does things and speaks directly with humans (especially Abraham and Moses). In the third part, the Writings, we find the Psalms, which contain a wide variety of types of hymns, including communal and personal laments. The remainder of the books can be called Wisdom (for example, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes). Things are quite different there. There is little or no story and no law. With the exception of the Book of Job, the deity does not act or speak. In these the focus is no longer on the community, but on the individual. And instead of divinely given laws or pronouncements, there is common wisdom (Proverbs) or probing human questions (Job and Ecclesiastes). Our attention is on the second division, the Prophets. To call this division the Prophets is a little strange, because a good bit of it is more like history than prophecy: Joshua, Judges, the Books of Samuel and of Kings—a section sometimes called “the former prophets.” This is largely because the work of four early prophets (Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah) is interwoven with the larger narrative. But it is in this division of the Bible that we also find the books we are studying: the Hebrew prophets (sometimes called “the latter prophets”). This literature differs from the Torah or Law in that the deity does not act and gives no general laws. Here the deity speaks (“Thus says the LORD” is a frequent refrain), but only to and through emissaries or messengers, and to specific historical situations. The prescriptions of the law (for example, the so-called Ten Commandments) are rarely referred to. The principle reference to the Torah is to the Exodus and wilderness experience. The responsibilities of the people are not defined by laws, but by general principles, such as “covenant loyalty,” “righteousness” and “justice,” and these are applied to specific historical situations. But as compared with the Wisdom literature within the Writings, the focus with the prophets is still on the community or people, not the individual. The prophets we study are the great biblical source for those interested in social justice, rather than individual morality.

Modern Scholarship and the Hebrew Prophets

New ways of reading and understanding historical texts such as the Bible came to full flower in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In part these resulted from archeological findings in the Near East, principally legal and religious texts from cultures other than Israel. But the greatest results came from new historical and literary methodologies. For example, since the “Latter Prophets” are written almost entirely in verse, a related form of literary analysis has been applied. Here the identification of specific units and a study of their poetic structure have been accomplished. Of special interest has been the appearance of parallelism (when a similar reality is portrayed in two ways). An example is Isaiah 40.1-2, given here first in the prose of the King James Version, then the poetry of the New Revised Standard Version:

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. (KJV)

Comfort, O comfort my people,

says your God. 2Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and cry to her that she has served her term,

that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand

double for all her sins. (NRSV)

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Form or genre analysis has been able to identify wide variety of genres within the poetry: threats, promises, assurances (“Fear not”), indictments, elegies. An oft cited example of the latter is an elegy applied to Israel in Amos 5.1-2:

5 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 2Fallen, no more to rise,

is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land,

with no one to raise her up. Tradition analysis has been used largely to show how such formulas are recast to address a situation in Israel. Also, it illustrates how themes or motifs from earlier times are given new meaning in prophetic oracles—examples are creation and exodus in Isaiah of the Exile. 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. (Isaiah 43.16-21)

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD!

Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago!

Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?

Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep;

who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over? (Isaiah 51.9-10)

Source (literary-historical) analysis, best known for its use in distinguishing the underlying documental sources in the Torah or Law, has also been applied to the prophetic books. Perhaps the most important conclusion is that the so-called “Former Prophets”(Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) constitute a single work initially composed at the time of King Josiah’s reform (late seventh century BCE) to present the history of Israel in light of a set of criteria espoused by the Book of Deuteronomy (D). These criteria—that Israel is rewarded and punished according to its faithfulness to Yahweh—operate under what is called a “conditional” (Mosaic) covenant, as distinguished from the “eternal” or “unconditional” covenant underlying the royal (Davidic) theology. Another interesting and somewhat related achievement of source analysis is the disentanglement of two traditions in the story of the selection of Saul as king (1 Samuel 7-12). One version (1 Samuel 9.1-10.16 and chapter 11), called by some the “Saul” tradition, portrays the monarchy in a positive light. The other (1 Samuel 7.3-8.22, 10.17-27, and chapter 12), called the “Samuel” tradition, pictures the monarch negatively. In the case of the “Latter Prophets,” literary-historical analysis was able to identify within each of the prophetic books an earlier and a later version—the latter usually being an optimistic addition or revision

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from the time of the Exile. The most dramatic instance is the work on the book of Isaiah. Here at least two distinct works, authors, and time of composition were delineated. Chapters 1-39 (with a few exceptions) are attributed to Isaiah of Jerusalem; Chapters 40-66 to Isaiah of the Exile, living some 150 years later. Some even suggest a “Third Isaiah.” Perhaps the major achievement of literary-historical analysis has been to place the books within their historical context, and to see how each is addressing a specific set of social, political, economic and religious issues. It is the fruit of this inquiry that we use in looking at the Hebrew Prophets.

The Historical Context of the Hebrew Prophets

Since the claim is that these divine messengers addressed specific historical situations, this may be a good place to indicate something of what was going on during the time of the Hebrew prophets (principally 750-540 BCE). The setting is the Fertile Crescent, the arch of land reaching from Egypt to Mesopotamia through the land claimed by Aram (present day Syria) and the two kingdoms of Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah resulted from a division of the united kingdom of David and Solomon (1000-922 BCE) following the death of Solomon. It was a division that conceivably reflected the distinction between the sons of Jacob’s two wives (Leah and Rachel) and their maids. In any case it was a rejection by the northern tribes of David and Solomon’s reigns (and their policies, as continued by Solomon’s son Rehoboam). The two kingdoms were under constant threat, sometimes from Egypt, but mainly from whatever empire was controlling Mesopotamia (principally the Assyrians who conquered Israel in 721/722, then the Babylonians who defeated Judah in 597). Judah’s king and its elite population were exiled to Babylon beginning in 597; the Exile ended in 538 with the decree by Cyrus of Persia, who had defeated the Babylonians. Prior to 597, these threats led to a crisis in confidence in the national deity, which in turn led to attempted alliances with other nations. Simultaneously, there was an ongoing religious crisis reflected in the dual loyalties to Yahweh (the LORD or Adonai) and Baal, an agricultural god. At the same time, there were issues of economic inequities, concerning the poor and the oppressed in times of general prosperity. Overlaying all this was the experience of the Exile. It was on this critical stage that the Hebrew prophets appeared.

THE FORMER PROPHETS: NATHAN, ELIJAH, ELISHA, MICAIAH The so-called “Former Prophets”—Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah”—are known more for instances in their lives and what they said, than for any oracles or long poetic speeches, typical of the “Latter Prophets.” And, with possible exception of Elisha (who, in any case, is more of a wonder worker than a prophet), these early prophets function primarily vis-à-vis kings. Indeed, it appears that the office of prophet appeared and developed concurrently with that of king. (One thinks of the modern claim that as government assumes greater power, there is need for a more vigilant free press.) Samuel the judge had warned that moving from a tribal confederacy to a monarchy would bring forms of tyranny.

10 So Samuel reported all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11

He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take

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one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8.10-17)

And so it came to pass. In securing and expanding Israel’s borders, David and Solomon restructured the national life. Royal districts replaced tribal territories. Conscripted labor was initiated to complete royal buildings. The king’s abuse of power was epitomized in David’s affair with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband Uriah. Nathan “the prophet,” with easy access to the king (so easy, in fact, that it can be concluded that he is part of the Davidic court), but with a voice other than his own, confronts David:

But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD, 12 1 and the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds; 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. He brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his meager fare, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was loath to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb, and prepared that for the guest who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; 6 he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 11.27b-13.7a)

This act, with the prophet challenging the king on a matter of abuse of power, was repeated 150 years later when the prophet Elijah indicts King Ahab (c 869-850 BCE) of the northern kingdom Israel. The incident involved Naboth’s vineyard, which sat next to the palace and was desired by the king. Ahab makes an offer to trade for or buy the vineyard, which is rebuffed by Naboth. In response to Ahab’s consequent morose, Queen Jezebel achieves the death of Naboth by false witness, and the king takes possession.

17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 18 Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 You shall say to him, “Thus says the LORD: Have you killed, and also taken possession?” You shall say to him, “Thus says the LORD: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.” (1 Kings 21.17-19)

On an unrelated but highly important issue, Elijah opposed the worship of the Phoenician deity Baal, brought into Israel by Ahab’s Queen Jezebel—not only a different god, but probably a different kind of god. This opposition reached a climax in the contest on Mt. Carmel between the prophets of Baal and Elijah over which god controlled rain.

20 So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. 22

Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets number four hundred fifty. 23 Let two bulls be given to us; let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it; I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the LORD; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” 25

Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. 29 As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.

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***** 36 At the time of the offering of the oblation, the prophet Elijah came near and said, “O LORD,

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38

Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and even licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The LORD indeed is God; the LORD indeed is God.” 40 Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” Then they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon, and killed them there. (1 Kings 18.20-29, 36-40)

THE LATTER PROPHETS

AMOS

Amos is the first of the prophets we study to whom a written book is ascribed. He worked in the North (Israel), even though he was from the South (Judah), during the reign of Jeroboam II (c 786-746 BCE). The reign of Jeroboam II was marked by peace and prosperity. Assyria, Israel’s perpetual threat was in a period of internal turmoil and lethargy, and Jeroboam had been able to extend Israel’s borders to approximate the old empire of Solomon. In this time of expanded tranquility, Israel had benefited from the increased trade made possible by the Phoenicians. It was a time of economic expansion and wealth. But, as in often the case, the prosperity was limited to the upper and merchant classes, and there was a large population suffering poverty and legal mistreatment. This was not the result of individual moral failure, either on the part of the wealthy, privileged, and powerful, or of the poor, the disenfranchised and weak. This situation had resulted from a shift in the way society was structured. It was, as they say, systemic. The shift had been going on since the time of David and Solomon, who had undercut tribal and family values in favor of an efficient royal government. In addition, Solomon had enhanced international relations (all those foreign wives!) and in so doing expanded his empire’s economic base. By the time of Amos, the society had been restructured from a larger community of tribes and families, to be one characterized by individual wealth and privilege and concomitant poverty and powerlessness—class. It was a situation that required a voice from outside the establishment, and Amos makes clear that he cannot even be called a prophet, but rather a layperson called by Yahweh to this specific task. “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’” (7.14) It was to this situation that Amos addressed his stinging critique. Using an interesting rhetorical device in which he claims Yahweh’s authority and power over all nations, he indicts the surrounding nations (Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, even Judah, 1.3-2.5), then turns to Israel:

For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—

they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way; (2.6-7a)

Elsewhere:

Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain,

you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them;

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you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine.

For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—

you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate. (5.11-12)

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,

and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over

so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath,

so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,

and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver

and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” (8.4-6)

His attack is principally against the wealthy:

Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their couches,

and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall;

who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music;

who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!

Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away. (6.4-7)

I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house;

and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,

says the LORD. Hear this word, you cows of Bashan

who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!” (3.15-4.1) Amos was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees (in the latter case he may have followed available work and this may explain his presence in the northern kingdom, away from his home in the south). As such he would have been familiar with the underside of the emergent economic system. But his was more than social criticism; since he saw this social situation as a rejection of Yahweh, who had marked this people for a special destiny by delivering them from Egypt, leading them through the wilderness, and giving them the land on which they now lived.

… I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. (2.10)

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

You only have I known.

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of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities. (3.1-2) He is more than a spokesman for the poor. His critique is in the form of proclamations from Yahweh, based on the memory of values that grew out of the Exodus and wilderness experience, memories of communality. The terms Amos uses to indicate this communality, and what it is that Yahweh expects and finds lacking, are “righteousness” (Hebrew zedaqah) and “justice.” (Hebrew mishpat).

…let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (5.24)

Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood,

and bring righteousness to the ground! (5.7)

…you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood. (6.12)

These words have connotations in our usage that are different from those in Hebrew. We tend to think of “righteousness” as a moral category, and “justice” as a term of retribution (hence, in present parlance, “retributive justice”). Gene Tucker, in his Harper-Collins Study Bible notation on 5.24 says, “Justice is the establishment of the right, and of the person in the right, through fair legal procedures (3.15)…Righteousness is that quality of life in relationship with others in the community that gives rise to justice.” Put another way, “righteousness” refers to the cohesiveness of the community in which each party plays an equally important role; “justice” is the concrete manifestation of righteousness in establishing what is due or appropriate for each participant. Not only, for Amos, are persons treated unjustly (the question of justice); the very fabric of society has been corrupted (the question of righteousness). In this setting, to “afflict the righteous” (5.12) or “sell the righteous for silver” (2.6) is the mistreatment of a legitimate member of society. But social injustice, even as seen as an affront to Yahweh, is not all Amos attacks. What he finds even more offensive is the assumption that religious practice will legitimatize wealth and privilege. And more: the cynical attitude that underlies religion. It is instructive that his work was done at Bethel and Gilgal, religious centers, and not the capital Samaria.

“When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain;

and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?

We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,

buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.” (8.4-6)

Come to Bethel—and transgress;

to Gilgal—and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning,

your tithes every three days; bring a thank offering of leavened bread,

and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel! (4.4)

I hate, I despise your festivals,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

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I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals

I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs;

I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters,

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

(5.21-25) To the idea that Yahweh will bring a day of even greater wealth and well-bring, Amos says,

Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD?

It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion,

and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light,

and gloom with no brightness in it? (5.18-20) This is a harsh and unblinking book, indicting the privileged and predicting in repeated and varying ways absolute catastrophe. Examples:

“ See, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by;

the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” (7.7b-9)

Thus says the LORD: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed. (3.12)

The book ends (9.11-15) with promise of a new day, but since these verses assume the destruction

Amos prophesized and are so out of character with the rest of the book, scholars conclude they are a later addition (from the period of the Exile). The tension between judgment and hope is more explicit in later books, especially in Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

HOSEA

Hosea was a contemporary of Amos, also prophesying in the northern kingdom (Israel) during the reign of Jeroboam II, about 745 BCE. But there the similarities with Amos end. The interest of Hosea lies with religious issues, rather than those of social justice. He never mentions the poor and oppressed, and he rarely speaks of “righteousness” and “justice,” the basic vocabulary of Amos. Hosea addresses religious infidelity. This is partly explained by what was happening internationally. Assyria, after a period of weakness, was reasserting itself in the region, and was a threat to Aram (Syria), Israel and Judah. The predictions of exile by Amos were about to be fulfilled (the northern kingdom fell within thirty years). In Israel, this led to political instability and a way of dealing with Assyria—sometimes by paying tribute, at other times seeking alliances with other nations (principally Egypt) against the Mesopotamian empire.

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Hosea specifically addresses Ephraim’s (that is, Israel’s) venture into tributes to or alliances with other nations.

When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound,

then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. (5.13)

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

Ephraim is a cake not turned. Foreigners devour his strength,

but he does not know it…(7.8-9)

Ephraim has become like a dove, silly and without sense; they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria. (7.11)

For they have gone up to Assyria,

a wild ass wandering alone; Ephraim has bargained for lovers. (8.9)

they make a treaty with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt. (12.1)

The irony is, according to Hosea, that Israel will be absorbed by Assyria or Egypt, rather than saved by them.

Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

Foreigners devour his strength, but he does not know it; . (7.8-9)

Now he will remember their iniquity,

and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. (8.13b)

They shall not remain in the land of the LORD;

but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food. (9.3)

For even if they escape destruction, (Jewish Translation Society has “[With] the silver they treasure” at this point.)

Egypt shall gather them, Memphis shall bury them. (9.6)

They shall return to the land of Egypt,

and Assyria shall be their king, (11.5) If anything, Israel will need to be rescued from Egypt and Assyria, rather than saved by them.

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD. (11.11)

There was something else. When the Hebrew tribes settled or conquered the land, they encountered an indigenous religion that promised a more predictable way to obtain sustenance. This was the religion of

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Baal. Baal was an agricultural god who operated according to the rhythms of nature. The religion of Baal called for set of seasonal cultic performances that when carried out would awaken the divine fecundity in dependable ways. (It was, by the way, this awakening that occasioned temple prostitution.)

She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for Baal. (2.8)

Like grapes in the wilderness,

I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree,

in its first season, I saw your ancestors.

But they came to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved. (9.10)

While the international tributes and alliances were prudent measures, given the threat, those who remembered that Yahweh had defeated Pharaoh saw them as a lack of confidence in Yahweh. And while the worship of Baal made sense in an agricultural setting, this too seemed like a rejection of Yahweh who had provided food as a daily gift in the wilderness. The contest between Baal and Yahweh was of long standing, reflected in the time of Elijah a century earlier. So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the prophets at Mount Carmel. Elijah then came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people did not answer him a word. (1 Kings 18.20) It was Hosea who first used the metaphor of marriage as a way of portraying these perceived rejections of Yahweh. He accused Israel of being an adulteress and a whore. Most commentators claim these terms are synonyms (and a number of passages with the words used in parallel suggest this) but I think they suggest different meanings. By adultery he meant that Israel was seeking its assurance from and giving its loyalty to multiple deities. It was, to use the words of the first of the Ten Commandments, “having other gods beside [Yahweh].” And this caused, in Elijah’s words, a “limping with two different opinions.” But his more consistent charge was that Israel was “playing the whore” (a phrase that appears nine times). Whoredom suggests selling oneself for desired result, and by extension the ability to manipulate. Whatever the meanings, it is the charge Hosea brings.

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” (1.2)

Plead with your mother, plead— for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband—

that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts,

or 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.

Upon her children also I will have no pity, because they are children of whoredom.

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For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”

Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns; and I will build a wall against her, so that she cannot find her paths.

She shall pursue her lovers, but not overtake them;

and she shall seek them, but shall not find them. (2.2-7)

The LORD said to me again, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the LORD loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” (3.1)

They shall eat, but not be satisfied;

they shall play the whore, but not multiply; because they have forsaken the LORD

to devote themselves to whoredom. (4.10)

My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles.

For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. (4.12)

Therefore your daughters play the whore, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery;

for the men themselves go aside with whores, and sacrifice with temple prostitutes; thus a people without understanding comes to ruin. (4.13b-14)

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me;

for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled.

Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.

For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they do not know the LORD. (5.3-4)

Do not rejoice, O Israel!

Do not exult as other nations do; for you have played the whore, departing from your God.

You have loved a prostitute’s pay on all threshing floors. (9.1) The temptation of Israel, given that “the spirit of whoredom is within them” (5.4), is to think that it can relate to Yahweh in the same way as to Baal—quid pro quo. It doesn’t work.

What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah?

Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.

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Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offering. (6.4-6)

When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin, they became to him altars for sinning.

Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions, they are regarded as a strange thing.

Though they offer choice sacrifices, though they eat flesh, the LORD does not accept them. (8.11-13)

They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the LORD, and their sacrifices shall not please him.

Such sacrifices shall be like mourners’ bread; all who eat of it shall be defiled;

for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the LORD. (9.4)

Whatever it is that Yahweh is looking for, two things are certain. It is the opposite of adultery and whoredom, and it is not principally the righteousness and justice of which Amos spoke. Hosea uses two words: “knowledge” and “steadfast love” (Hebrew hesed). “Knowledge” is informed by ideas of closeness, familiarity, intimacy, devotion, even participation. Hesed is variously translated “loyalty,” in 4.1, “steadfast love” in 2.19 and 10.12, and “love” in 6.4,6 and 12.6). Both terms, in this setting, are correlates of the marriage metaphor.

Hear the word of the LORD, O people of Israel; for the LORD has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or loyalty (Hebrew hesed), and no knowledge of God in the land. (4.1)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge. (4.6)

For I desire steadfast love (Hebrew hesed) and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (6.6) So the consequences are not so much material or military in nature, though there is some of that. The

result of adultery and whoredom is a change in the relationship of Israel to Yahweh.

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. And the LORD said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.” She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the LORD said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.” When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people and I am not your God.” (1.2-9)

for she is not my wife,

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and I am not her husband—(2.2) For their mother has played the whore;

she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, “I will go after my lovers;

they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.” (2.5) But Yahweh is determined that that is not the final word. Yahweh does not, according to Hosea,

change Israel’s circumstances so much, but rather rescues Israel from its propensity for adultery and whoredom.

How can I give you up, Ephraim?

How can I hand you over, O Israel? …

My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. …

for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.

… his children shall come trembling from the west.

They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD. (11.8-11)

Therefore, I will now allure her,

and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

From there I will give her her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she shall respond as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD, you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me, “My Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. I will make for you a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.

On that day I will answer, says the LORD, I will answer the heavens and they shall answer the earth;

and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel;

and I will sow him for myself in the land. And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah,

and I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are my people”; and he shall say, “You are my God.” (2.14-23) It is the being allured into the wilderness that is the key. The wilderness and with it the deliverance

from Egypt are the setting for the creation of community in the midst of the vicissitudes of history and of nature. It is there, where history and nature cannot be predicted or managed, but only received as a gift, that a mysterious form of familiarity or knowledge replaces the attractive illusion of management or control, and

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a kind of steadfastness or loyalty called love sustains, that existence can be lived out at a more profound and satisfying level..

ISAIAH OF JERUSALEM

Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are often referred to as the major prophets, not because they are the most important, but because the books attributed to them are the longest. In the case of Isaiah, critical analysis of the book in the modern era has shown there are as many as three distinct books within it: Chapters 1-39, Chapters 40-55, and Chapters 56-66. Within Chapters 1-39, there are several sections (some large) that are considered later additions. The remainder of Chapters 1-39 is credited to Isaiah of Jerusalem, who prophesied in the southern kingdom (Judah) in the years 742-700 BCE, just a little later than Amos and Hosea in the north. On what we may call domestic issues, there are some similarities between Isaiah of Jerusalem and the two northern prophets. There are fewer similarities with Hosea. Isaiah never mentions Baal, though like Hosea he mocks idols (which Hosea had identified with Baal worship).

Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. (2.8)

For on that day all of you shall throw away your idols of silver and idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. (31.7) The greater similarities are with Amos. Like Amos with Israel, Isaiah predicts a dire future for Judah.

Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.

For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.

…

Therefore my people go into exile without knowledge; their nobles are dying of hunger,

and their multitude is parched with thirst. (5.9b-10, 13)

“Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’

Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes,

so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears,

and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste

without inhabitant, and houses without people,

and the land is utterly desolate; until the LORD sends everyone far away,

and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land. Even if a tenth part remain in it,

it will be burned again,

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like a terebinth or an oak whose stump remains standing. when it is felled.” (6.9-13) Also like Amos, Isaiah condemns the treatment of the poor and the oppressed.

The LORD rises to argue his case; he stands to judge the peoples.

The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people:

It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord GOD of hosts. (3.13-15)

Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes,

to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right,

that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey! (10.1-2) And the principle on which this critique is made is “righteousness” and “justice,” as it was with

Amos. Isaiah concludes his well-known “Song of Vineyard” in Chapter 5:

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel,

and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting;

he expected justice (Hebrew mishpat), but saw bloodshed (Hebrew mispach);

righteousness (Hebrew zedaqah), but heard a cry (Hebrew ze’aqah)! (5.7) But there the similarities end. Importantly, there is no mention by Isaiah of the deliverance from

Egypt or of the wilderness experience. Instead of what scholars term the Mosaic theology, Judah embraced what is called a royal theology, based on Yahweh’s everlasting covenant with the Davidic dynasty (which, unlike the multiple dynasties of Israel, survived intact until the Babylonian Exile). Yahweh was seen as the universal and cosmic king. David and the Judean kings were Yahweh’s earthly vice-regents, and Jerusalem and the temple were Yahweh’s chosen earthly residence.

Yahweh the king of the universe is repeatedly characterized as other than human, awesome, “holy”

(Isaiah calls Yahweh the “Holy One” twelve times). At the death of Uzziah, who had reigned for forty years, Isaiah sees the true king:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (6.1-5)

As for Yahweh’s earthly vice-regents, the Davidic kings, they are commissioned in ideal terms.

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For a child has been born for us,

a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders;

and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually,

and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom.

He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness

from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (9.6-7)

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him,

the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see,

or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,

and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,

and faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with the lamb,

the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together,

and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze,

their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (11.1-9) As with Hosea in the north, however, it is international events that garner much of Isaiah’s attention.

The threat to Judah is Assyria, and the temptation is to attempt to appease it or to enter alliances against it. There were two specific crises, one during the reign of King Ahaz and the other during the time of King Hezekiah.

The threat to Ahaz was only indirectly that of Assyria. During 735-732 BCE, the kingdoms of Aram

(Syria) and Israel sought to conquer Judah as part of an effort to mobilize against the Assyrian Tiglath-pileser III. Ahaz was young and not up to the situation, and out of fear of Syria and Israel, turned to Tiglath-pileser for help. Isaiah counsels and chastens Ahaz, largely for his lack of faith in Yahweh, who has promised the permanence of the Davidic line and the imminent defeat of Syria and Israel.

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Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, Let us go up against Judah and cut off Jerusalem and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it; therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass.

For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.) The head of Ephraim is Samaria,

and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in faith,

You shall not stand at all. (7.4-9)

Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (7.14b-16)

After Ahaz turned to Assyria for help and subsequently became a vassal state of Assyria (complete

with an Assyrian altar in the Temple), Isaiah appears to have retreated to the circle of his disciples and out of the political realm. He returned at the time of a second crisis, during the time of King Hezekiah (715-786 BCE).

During the reign of Hezekiah, the Assyrian king Sargon died (in 705), and the various provinces of

Assyria, encouraged by Babylon and a resurgent Egypt, saw an opportunity to free themselves. Judah was courted by both Babylon and Egypt. Hezekiah, an outstanding reform king with ambitions of his own, pondered whether to join the revolutionary movement, which he finally did. Isaiah reappeared to counsel the king, in the much the way he had advised Ahaz, against any alliances.

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel:

In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. (30.15)

Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses,

who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong,

but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD! (31.1)

As it turned out, Sennacherib of Assyria crushed the rebellion and finally laid siege to Jerusalem itself, only mysteriously to withdraw.

Isaiah was convinced that Judah as he knew it must be destroyed, so that a new Judah could emerge,

made up of those who rely solely on Yahweh and Yahweh’s will for the people. The destruction would occur because Yahweh used Assyria for that purpose, even though Assyria in its arrogance itself would ultimately be crushed.

Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger—

the club in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him,

and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder,

and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (10.5-6)

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When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride. (10.12)

Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it,

or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it? As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,

or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood! Therefore the Sovereign, the LORD of hosts,

will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors, and under his glory a burning will be kindled,

like the burning of fire. The light of Israel will become a fire,

and his Holy One a flame; and it will burn and devour

his thorns and briers in one day. The glory of his forest and his fruitful land

the LORD will destroy, both soul and body, and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.

The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can write them down. (10.15-19) Indeed, the Assyrian yoke will be lifted:

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: O my people, who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. The LORD of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. On that day his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck. (10.24-27)

All of this is to allow a new people to emerge from the old. They will “return” to Yahweh. Here

Isaiah uses the image of the remnant (the name of Isaiah’s first child, Shear-jashub [“A remnant will return”], 7.3):

On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on the one who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.. (10.20-21)

In that day the LORD of hosts will be a garland of glory,

and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people; and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,

and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. (28.5-6)

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward; for from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out, and from Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (37.31-32)

See, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a covert from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,

and the ears of those who have hearing will listen.

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The minds of the rash will have good judgment, and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly. (31.1-4)

MICAH

Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah and also prophesied in Judah, possibly as long as from 750 BCE until 687 but more likely from the fall of the northern kingdom in 721 through Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem in 701. Perhaps the most well-known words in all of the prophets are found in Micah:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (6.8)

Many consider these words to be the summation of the whole prophetic message. For example, the editors of the New Jerusalem Bible in their marginal notes on this passage suggest that it contains the major themes of Amos, Hosea and Isaiah of Jerusalem. In the case of Amos, Micah’s phrase “to do justice (Hebrew mishpat)” uses one of the signature terms of Amos in his emphasis on social justice.

But let justice (Hebrew mishpat) roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5.24)

Micah uses a favorite word of Hosea in the line “to love kindness” (also traditionally translated “mercy.”) The Hebrew word is hesed, which Hosea uses six times in important passages. The editors cite Hosea 2.19-20, where it is translated “steadfast love.”

And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love (Hebrew hesed), and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness and you shall know the LORD.

Hesed in Micah 6.8 is translated several different ways. The New Revised Standard Version (NSRV) has “kindness.” The Jewish Publication Society’s rendering is “goodness.” The New Jerusalem Bible (NJB, Catholic) translates “loyalty.” The King James Version (KJV) reads “mercy,” as does the New International Bible. The Good News (American Bible Society) has “constant love,” which is close to “steadfast love” of Hosea 2.19. Finally, they view Micah’s language “to walk humbly with your God” as reminiscent of the message of Isaiah 7.9 and 30.15.

If you do not stand firm in faith, you shall not stand at all.

In returning and rest you shall be saved;

in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. There is another famous passage in Micah, because the first part of it is used by the Gospel of

Matthew to explain the birthplace of Jesus:

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,

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whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth;

then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;

and he shall be the one of peace.

But Micah is making a different and important point: the future leader of Judah will come from one of the “little clans of Judah” “whose origin is from old, from ancient days,” and specifically not from Jerusalem. In this Micah departs from Isaiah, who espoused the royal theology of the dynasty of David, ensconced in Jerusalem and in the Temple. Indeed, Micah sees the leadership identified with the two capital cities as being the problem, not the solution:

What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria

And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? (1.5)

Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel,

who abhor justice and pervert all equity,

who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong!

Its rulers give judgment for a bribe, its priests teach for a price, its prophets give oracles for money;

yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Surely the LORD is with us! No harm shall come upon us.”

Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field;

Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. (3.9-12)

But while Micah can bemoan the perversion of justice, he does not follow Amos in protesting the treatment of the poor and oppressed. Indeed, he makes no mention of them, much less the widows and orphans. Nor does he refer primarily to the mercantile class, as Amos had done, as the purveyors of injustice. What Micah attacks is the landed aristocracy who, under the royal system, has taken land from its original stewards.

Alas for those who devise wickedness and evil deeds on their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in their power.

They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them away;

they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance. (2.1-2)

What he protests is the loss of the Mosaic way of life.

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O my people, what have I done to you?

In what have I wearied you? Answer me! For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and Miriam. (6.3-4)

The prophets combine judgment and hope, and Micah is no exception. In fact, his book is organized with alternating oracles of doom and oracles of salvation (King, Introduction to Micah, HarperCollins Study Bible). And even though Micah shares with Amos and Hosea the perspective of the deliverance from Egypt, and does not embrace with Isaiah the royal theology of the Davidic dynasty, he does agree with Isaiah that there will be a redeemed remnant (though he omits the “shall return” to Yahweh in Isaiah’s usage):

I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people. (2.12)

Then the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples,

shall be like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass, which do not depend upon people or wait for any mortal. And among the nations the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples, shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. (5.7-8)

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and unswerving loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from the days of old. (7.18-20)

Jeremiah prophesied in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from 626 until 580, during the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah, and until after the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the beginning of the Exile in Babylon. His work was done during periods of religious reform, periodic

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nationalism, and complex international crises. Also, more than any other prophet, his personal crises—intertwined with his prophetic work-- are revealed. It needs to be said in passing that the present Book of Jeremiah evolved over his long career and then was reworked and added to by editors who lived during and after the Exile, and who reflect back from the experience of the Exile. Their version of Jeremiah vindicated the Exile and promised a redemption following it. While something like this is true of all the prophetic books we have studied, the result in the case of Jeremiah is that it is very difficult to determine what is the work of the prophet and what the work of the later editors. Most recent commentators simply take the book as it now stands. Jeremiah’s work began during the reign of Josiah (640-609). The Northern Kingdom had fallen to the Assyrians in 721, but the international situation again was favorable for Judah to exercise its independence from Assyria and expand its borders into the former Northern Kingdom. This renewed nationalism was assisted by a religious reformation that provided a focused ideology. Josiah removed from the cultic life of Judah every evidence of foreign influence (which had flourished under his grandfather Manasseh). This reform was intensified in 621 BCE with the discovery, made during repairs to the Temple, of the book of law (“Torah”)—which most scholars conclude was some form of the biblical book Deuteronomy (from the Greek for “Second Law”). This book insisted that the people “have no other god before” Yahweh. Its mention of exclusive worship at a central sanctuary led Josiah to close all centers of worship other than the Temple in Jerusalem. Jeremiah appears to have supported Josiah’s Deuteronomic Reform, partly because it dealt with his concerns for social justice (following Amos and Isaiah of Jerusalem) and partly because it espoused Yahweh to the exclusion of Baal and other gods (following Hosea). But by 609 BCE, the year Josiah was killed by the Egyptians at Megiddo, the prophet had turned on the reformation and its emphasis on the centrality of the Temple as a symbol of Yahweh’s presence and protection.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.”

For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.

Here you are, trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are safe!”—only to go on doing all these abominations? (7.1-10)

What Jeremiah had seen, I think, is that Josiah (however sincerely) was using religious reform to further his nationalistic goals, which were grounded in the royal theology of the Davidic line. At the heart of the royal theology was the promise of Yahweh to establish an unbreakable covenant with the house of David, symbolized by the Temple and Jerusalem, the earthly domicile of Yahweh, and as such eternal. Jeremiah saw this promise as “deceptive words.” On that day, says the LORD, courage shall fail the king and the officials; the priests shall be appalled

and the prophets astounded. Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how utterly you have deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ even while the sword is at the throat!” (4.9-10)

Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation, an uninhabited land. (6.8)

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I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals; (9.11)

In this Jeremiah opposed the royal theology and the Davidic covenant. He viewed things from within the Mosaic covenant, rooted in the Exodus and wilderness tradition, which demanded religious faithfulness (Hosea) and social justice (Amos and Isaiah of Jerusalem) as a condition of continuity of the covenant with Yahweh.

For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked backward rather than forward. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did. (7.22-26)

Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. (11.3b-5)

You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror; and you gave them this land, which you swore to their ancestors to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; and they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or follow your law; of all you commanded them to do, they did nothing. (32.21-23)

Like Amos, Jeremiah saw this stubborn disobedience in terms of social justice:

To the house of the king of Judah say: Hear the word of the LORD, O house of David! Thus says the LORD: Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn, with no one to quench it, Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. (22.3) they do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. (5.28b-29a)

Also, like Hosea, the prophet attacked the religious infidelity of Judah, using the metaphors of adultery and whoredom:

For long ago you broke your yoke and burst your bonds, and you said, “I will not serve!” On every high hill and under every green tree you sprawled and played the whore. (2.20)

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The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and played the whore there? And I thought, “After she has done all this she will return to me”; but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom so lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense, says the LORD. (3.6-10)

As with the other prophets, the result of this persistent disobedience will be total devastation. With Jeremiah, this forecast occupies Chapters 4 through 10, and one feels the destruction is going on just outside the window.

My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent; for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Disaster overtakes disaster, the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment. How long must I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? (4.19-21)

Several of his oracles identify the instrument of destruction as “evil from the north,” by which he may be referring to Babylon.

Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, do not delay, for I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction. (4.6)

As the Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem, in a very turbulent time, Jeremiah advises King Zedekiah to surrender.

Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If you will only surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.” (38.17)

Needless to say, this advice and others like it, leads to the charge that Jeremiah is a traitor. At one point he is placed by other royal officials in a pit to die, only to be rescued by influential friends. He ends in prison, to be released by the conquering Babylonians. Subsequently he advises the exiles:

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (29.4-7)

Jeremiah was, as a result of his prophecies, alienated from his own people. This was evidenced by his imprisonments, but subjectively given expression in a series of seven laments that occur throughout

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Chapters 11-20. These are powerful and even angry self-reflections. In one (15.1-10) he accuses Yahweh of deceiving him:

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts. I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation. Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail. (15.16-18)

In another, in language that anticipates Job, he curses the day of his birth:

Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, “A child is born to you, a son,” making him very glad. Let that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon, because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb forever great. Why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame? (20.15-18)

In a sense this was all imbedded in his call, which he resisted:

Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.” Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” (1.4-10)

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There remains the promise, not only to “pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow,” but “to build and to plant.” First, the land will be restored (there are prophecies to that effect throughout, e.g. Chapter 30). There is a wonderful story, told in Chapter 32. Jeremiah was in prison and the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem. He receives an offer to buy a piece of family land, already in the hands of the invaders. He buys it as an act of confidence in the future of the land. Then there are the predictions of a future king in the line of David:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.” 7 Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the LORD, when it shall no longer be said, “As the LORD lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the LORD lives who brought out and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” Then they shall live in their own land. (23.5-7; cf.33.15-16)

Finally, there is the well-known prediction of a new covenant:

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. (31.31-34)

Jeremiah lived in a time of great international tumult, but saw in it an occasion of national self-reflection and transformation. More than any other prophet he identified with his people and suffered with them.

EZEKIEL

Ezekiel prophesied from 593 until 571 BCE during the Exile in Babylon. With King Jehoiachin and other upper echelon personages from Judah, he was exiled in 597 and was in Babylon when Jerusalem fell again, the Temple was destroyed, and another group from Judah arrived in the Mesopotamian capital in 587. Prior to 587 and after 593, Ezekiel wrote to discourage any hope of a quick restoration of Judah, which those who remained in Judah and the exiles in Babylon held. His indictments were severe and his predictions of utter destruction dire. Once Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple had been destroyed, however, Ezekiel turned to a message of hope. Judgment is the theme of Chapters 1-24 and restoration the message of Chapters 33-39. The Book of Ezekiel is extreme and strange, so much so that in some Jewish circles the book was only to be read by those over thirty years of age. There is much violence by the deity, outpacing any other prophet (e.g., Chapters 5-7). There are symbolic acts by the prophet (4.1-5.4). There is a mysterious transport of the prophet back to Jerusalem (8.1-11.25). The language is esoteric. There is the well-known passage on the resuscitation of the dry bones in Chapter 37. And then Ezekiel’s call in 1.4-28. A sample:

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As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. 5 In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. 6 Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9

their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved. 10 As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; 11 such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12 Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 In the middle of the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire. 14 The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning. 15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. 18 Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. (1.4-21)

One thinks of the Revelation to John in Christian scriptures and longs for a code book to make sense of its symbolism—though in the case of Ezekiel none seems to work well. One wonders whether the food in Babylon agreed with Ezekiel. Be that as it may, Ezekiel’s first task, prior to 587, was to deflate the false hopes of those remaining in Jerusalem and those exiles who were confident of a quick restoration. These hopes hinged in part on the fact that King Jehoiachin was alive and well in Babylon. In the face of this fact and these hopes, Ezekiel persistently predicts total devastation. For example,

9 And because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Surely, parents shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their parents; I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to every wind. 11 Therefore, as I live, says the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations—therefore I will cut you down; my eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. 12 One third of you shall die of pestilence or be consumed by famine among you; one third shall fall by the sword around you; and one third I will scatter to every wind and will unsheathe the sword after them. 13 My anger shall spend itself, and I will vent my fury on them and satisfy myself; and they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken in my jealousy, when I spend my fury on them. 14 Moreover I will make you a desolation and an object of mocking among the nations around you, in the sight of all that pass by. 15 You shall be a mockery and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious punishments—I, the LORD, have spoken— 16 when I loose against you my deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will let loose to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you, and break your staff of bread. 17 I will send famine and wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children; pestilence and bloodshed shall pass through you; and I will bring the sword upon you. I, the LORD, have spoken. (5.9-17)

As with Hosea and Jeremiah, these are the consequences of Judah’s unfaithfulness to its distinctive god Yahweh, stated in terms of marriage infidelity and whoredom. Ezekiel has a slightly different reading:

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Jerusalem was an abandoned orphan of Amorite and Hittite parentage, rescued by Yahweh and eventually married to Yahweh, only to play the whore. These are verses from a long discourse on this (totaling 58 verses in Chapter 16; cf. Chapter 23):

Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite, and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you out of compassion for you; but you were thrown out in the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born. 6 I passed by you, and saw you flailing about in your blood. As you lay in your blood, I said to you, “Live! 7 and grow up like a plant of the field.” You grew up and became tall and arrived at full womanhood; your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare. 8 I passed by you again and looked on you; you were at the age for love. I spread the edge of my cloak over you, and covered your nakedness: I pledged myself to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord GOD, and you became mine. 9 Then I bathed you with water and washed off the blood from you, and anointed you with oil. 10 I clothed you with embroidered cloth and with sandals of fine leather; I bound you in fine linen and covered you with rich fabric. 11 I adorned you with ornaments: I put bracelets on your arms, a chain on your neck, 12 a ring on your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown upon your head. 13 You were adorned with gold and silver, while your clothing was of fine linen, rich fabric, and embroidered cloth. You had choice flour and honey and oil for food. You grew exceedingly beautiful, fit to be a queen. 14 Your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of my splendor that I had bestowed on you, says the Lord GOD. 15 But you trusted in your beauty, and played the whore because of your fame, and lavished your whorings on any passer-by.16 You took some of your garments, and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore; nothing like this has ever been or ever shall be. (16.3-16)

Ezekiel speaks of restoration, and portrays Yahweh as a shepherd who will gather the people from afar (34.11-31) But like Hosea, Isaiah of Jerusalem and Jeremiah, Ezekiel knows that any restoration of Judah and Israel will not depend solely on a reversal of circumstance (a return to the land). It will involve a change of heart. Moreover, the people are incapable of change; it must be an act of Yahweh. Thus, in the famous resuscitation of the dry bones, the important ingredient is the bestowal of spirit (Hebrew ruach, like pneuma in Greek, translated variously as “wind” and “breath”).

The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath (or spirit) to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath (or spirit) in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath (or spirit) in them. 9

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath (or spirit), prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath (or wind or spirit): Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath (or wind or spirit), and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath (or spirit) came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit (same word as for breath or wind) within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.‘ (37.1-14)

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A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. (36.26-27)

There was another problem the people in Babylon faced. Since Yahweh was thought of having earthly residence in Jerusalem and the Temple, how could they worship Yahweh in a strange land? As Psalm 137 puts it:

How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! (Psalm 137.4-5)

The answer was the formation of Judaism, a faith that was mobile. It was perhaps during the Exile that the synagogue came into being as a substitute for the Temple. In any case it was then that the dietary restrictions took on new meaning as a way of preserving the distinctive heritage of the people. Various traditions telling the origin and the characteristics of the people were drawn together into the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). The books of the prophets, along with Deuteronomy and related books (Joshua-2 Kings), were edited. But underlying all this was the rediscovery that Yahweh was not bound to any place, but rather to a people wherever they were. Some have seen this as reflected in Ezekiel’s vision, and especially the “wheels” that part of the divine manifestation:

As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. 18 Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. (1.15-21)

Finally, commentators have paid special attention to Chapter 18, another long discourse (32 verses), extended from these opening words:

The word of the LORD came to me: 2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”? 3 As I live, says the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die. (18.1-4)

Some claim that this means that one generation cannot blame it disposition and behavior on previous generations. But the majority point to this chapter (anticipated by Jeremiah 31.29-30) to suggest that a shift in thought is going on, from corporate to individual accountability. To this point in the prophetic literature, it is the people as a whole who are guilty. Now it is the individual. Is it the Exile itself, when social communalism is eroded, that creates the individual? It is certainly true that a whole body of literature, from the individual laments in the Psalms, to the book of Job, appears to focus on the dilemmas of the individual. Ezekiel prophesied in a time of transition. The nation was a thing of the past, as was Jerusalem and the Temple. He saw new possibilities for the people as a people, signified in the development of Judaism.

ISAIAH OF THE EXILE (“Second Isaiah”)

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Second Isaiah is the name given to the brilliant but anonymous poet whose work comprises Chapter 40-55 of the Book of Isaiah. These poems are among the most beautiful in all of literature. They are songs of deliverance and new beginnings. They were composed during the latter years of the Exile, presumably around 540 BCE. During their sixty years in Babylon the Jews preserved their cultural identity by creating a form of Diaspora Judaism—with gathered stories and laws (principally dietary), genealogies, a defining calendar of observances, and belief in their god Yahweh (who had always shown an inclination to move around), which did not require their own land or temple. Jeremiah had advised them:

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (29.4-7)

And they did. Then something happened. Just when they were making this adjustment, they were told by the conquering Persians that they could go home—return to Palestine and rebuild the Temple. (Many did, by the way, but most did not.) The poet wrote that it was reminiscent of the Exodus.

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, (43.16-17)

Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (51.9-11)

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (40.3-5)

I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar,

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the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, so that all may see and know, all may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. (41.18-20)

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. (43.19b-21)

Acting in the Exodus, wilderness and conquest are not all that Yahweh can do. Yahweh is a specialist at acting in history. Already the other Isaiah had proclaimed that Assyria was the rod of Yahweh’s anger (Isaiah 10.5). Second Isaiah announces:

Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet. (41.2-3)

I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name. He shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay. (41.25)

The LORD goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foe. (42.13)

Of course, the liberator of the exiles is not Yahweh but Cyrus the king of the Persians, one of the most enlightened and humane rulers in history. His defeat of the Medians, the Lydians, and finally in 539 the Babylonians raised hopes high throughout the region. This is because, in addition to other things, he permitted and facilitated the return of conquered peoples to their homeland. To this Second Isaiah makes a startling claim: Cyrus actually works for Yahweh. Indeed, Cyrus is the anointed one of Yahweh, Yahweh’s messiah (Greek, Christos):

Thus says the LORD to his anointed (or messiah), to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes, to open doors before him— and the gates shall not be closed: I will go before you

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and level the mountains, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. (45.1-3)

I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his paths straight; he shall build my city and set my exiles free. (45.13) Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:

… who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,” and of the cities of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins”; … who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd, and he shall carry out all my purpose”; and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” (44.24a, 26b, 28

Apparently Cyrus did not know this. According to the Cyrus Cylinder, it was the Babylonian God Marduk who called and supported Cyrus (and to whom Cyrus prayed). For Second Isaiah, this is no problem, since for him there is only one God, Yahweh.

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. (44.6) For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): I am the LORD, and there is no other. (45.18)

I am He; I am the first, and I am the last. (48.12)

This too is quite a claim, for even earlier biblical texts admit that there are other gods, though for Israel there is only one. The commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” suggests such a view. Elijah’s taunt to the prophets of Baal, “If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” assumes as much. With Second Isaiah, there are no longer other gods with whom Yahweh contends, as in the case of Baal. Yahweh alone is the power that can create and use nature, and that can act in history. Marduk, and all like him, are simply the fabrication of human hands.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol? —A workman casts it,

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and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood —wood that will not rot— then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. (40.18-20) The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine. He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I can feel the fire!” The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god!” (44.13-17)

There is something else. If we compare Second Isaiah to the other prophets, one thing that stands out is the emphasis on creating and ordering the natural world. Yahweh doesn’t do that in the other prophets. Even in the Pentateuch (Torah), when Yahweh identifies itself, it is in terms of history rather than creation. For example, in the preface to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20.1; Deuteronomy 5.6): “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Again, when something like a credo is called for, it is Yahweh the deliverer, not Yahweh the creator, who is included:

“A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.” (Deuteronomy 26.5-10a)

There are exceptions to this observation, but most of them date from the time of the Exile. The most apparent is the creation account in Genesis 1, which many scholars think dates from the Exile and have seen as a Jewish adaptation of the Babylonian creation myth, enûma eliš—the story about Marduk. In it the god Marduk is involved in a cosmic conflict with Tiamat, defeats her, and out of her carcass creates and orders the material world. But Genesis 1 claims that it is Yahweh, without any conflict, who created (rather than domesticated) the natural world. In any case, something about the exposure to Babylonian culture ignited an interest in creation, and Yahweh’s involvement in it.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? (40.12-13)

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. (40.28) Thus says God, the LORD,

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who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: (42.5)

I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth. (44.24)

I made the earth, and created humankind upon it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host. (45.12)

For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): I am the LORD, and there is no other. (45.18)

I am He; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand at attention. (48.12-13)

There are two passages in which Second Isaiah assumes that Yahweh is active in both creation and history:

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. (40.22-23)

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago! Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (51.9-11)

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Second Isaiah, confronted with Babylonian culture and Persian policy, weaves together themes of the Exodus and wilderness with an affirmation of creation to announce “something new.”

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? (43.18-19)

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.” (48.6-7) It is not clear what this “new thing” is. One phrase that has caught attention is “light to the nations.”

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people a light to the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. (42.4-9)

Listen to me, my people, and give heed to me, my nation; for a teaching will go out from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples. I will bring near my deliverance swiftly, my salvation has gone out and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. (51.4-5)

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (49.6)

If this universal ethos is an important characteristic of what Second Isaiah sees as an innovation in Yahweh’s activity, it is consistent with what was happening to the Jewish psyche during and after the Exile.

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In some ways in tension with their particularism, they began to see themselves as part of a larger story, acted out on a larger stage. Two biblical books, composed during the Exile or afterwards, suggest this move toward universalism. The Book of Jonah (listed as one of the minor prophets, “The Twelve”) tells the story of a unwilling prophet sent to Ninevah to address a non-Jewish people. The Book of Ruth reveals that David is the descendant of a Moabite woman. Whatever the nature of the “new thing,” Yahweh is determined that nothing in the past will be an encumbrance.

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. (40.1-2) Elsewhere Yahweh says that these sins are being forgiving for the sake of Yahweh’s name, which implies that it is Yahweh’s “new thing” that brushes over the past:

I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (43.25)

He goes farther: Actually, Yahweh’s people did nothing to bring about their oppression.

For thus says the Lord GOD: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause. Now therefore what am I doing here, says the LORD, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? (52.4-5)

Is it their “oppression without cause” or innocent suffering that is a major ingredient in their being a “light to the nations”? There are several poems by Second Isaiah that suggest as much (the so-called Servant Songs).

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. (42.1-4)

Another poem, famous because Christian tradition has adopted it to refer to Jesus, gives this picture of the servant:

See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at him —so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,

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and his form beyond that of mortals— so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper. Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (52.13-53.12)

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In many ways Second Isaiah broke new ground. He dealt with innocent suffering as vicarious and redemptive. He saw his people’s experiences on a broader stage, and within creation as well as history. He advocated a radical monotheism that transcended old dualities. Picking up on Jeremiah’s announcement of a new covenant, the heavy emphasis on the people’s disobedience is swept away in the announcement of Yahweh’s determination to make all things new. What the prophets said and did is so time bound that it is often difficult to appropriate it for any other. But that they spoke to their time out of and beyond their past is highly applicable to any time.