Third Isaiah Isaiah 56-66 has long been considered the work of a third author This author has been...
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Transcript of Third Isaiah Isaiah 56-66 has long been considered the work of a third author This author has been...
Third Isaiah
Third Isaiah
• Isaiah 56-66 has long been considered the work of a third author
• This author has been labeled Trito Isaiah, or Third Isaiah
• We do not know the name of this author, but he seems to have been a follower of second Isaiah
• Was written between 538-516 BCE
Timeline of Isaiah
7:14
Is. 9:1-6
Isaiah 10 & 11:10References toAssyria5:8-21 9:8-21
5:152:6-213:13-155:1-7
Assyrian Crisis:Is. 7:14Is. 9:1-6
“Do not fear…”Motiff - Is. 40-66
800BC 750BC 700BC 650BC 600BC 550BC 500BC
740 – Syro-Ephraimite
War
723 – Israel f
al ls to Assy
ria
701 – Assyrian Crisis
612 - Rise
of Babylonian Empire
538 - Cyrus’ E
dict
Response to earlier crisis:9:1-6 & 7:20
Isaiah 11:1Isa 7:23-25; 8:19-9:1
Exile
Isaiah 13:17 – Cyrus Insertion41:1-2 & 41:25-29 – Cyrus account
12:1 – Ref. to return
44:24-28 Rebuilding Temple
12:1-6 Restorat ion eschatology
11:2-6 –Eschatological
65:17-25 – Cyrus not Messiah
65:17 - Eschatological
24-27 – So-called Apocalyptic
Uzziah
733 - Isaiah begins m
inistry
AhazHezekiah
Manasseh
681 - Death of Is
aiah
Josiah
586 – Jerusalem destroyed
Babylonian Exile
Mes
sian
ic
Ref
eren
ces
Eve
nts
Jude
anK
ings
Isai
ahic
Intr
usio
ns
Isaiah 1-4
Isa. 45:1 – “Cyrus his anointed”
Jehoiachim
Research on Third Isaiah• The idea of a
third author or Trito Isaiah was first proposed by Bernhard Duhm in 1892
• Many believe Third Isaiah was written in Jerusalem just before the arrival of Ezra and Nehemiah
• Many scholars accept that 56-66 is dependant on 40-55
• The two sections share many of the same concerns
Three Authors ?• Duhm
– in the 1200’s Rabbi Ibn Ezra believed that 40-66 was later than 1-39
• Duhm believed that chapters 1-39 are comprised of judgement oracles written during time of Isaiah
• Chapters 40-55 are mainly words of comfort
• While 56-66 are made up of words of rebuke for those who have returned from exile
Three Authors ?• First Isaiah (1-
39) written during time of Isaiah of Jerusalem
• Second Isaiah (40-55) written during the exile
• Third Isaiah written after the exile
•
Dating of Third Isaiah
• The dating of Third Isaiah is made difficult by two factors
• 1) This material refers to no historical event
• 2) it does not name historical individuals
• There is a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and a prediction of rebuilding the “ancient ruins” (63:18, 64:9-10)
Dating of Third Isaiah• This indicates
that much time may have passed since the Babylonian campaign of 586 BCE.
Third Isaiah
• Third Isaiah
• Prof. Paul Hanson of Harvard has proposed a theory that two groups of people were present among those returning from exile
• The Temple Party• The Visionary Group
Problems addressed
• The relationship of those returning from exile to those who did not leave
• The difference between what was the ‘real life’ experience of the people and the promises made by the prophets
• Issues of rebuilding the Temple
• Some of the themes of 1 and 2 Isaiah are included in 3rd Isaiah especially the idea of a time of trial followed by a time of “prosperity”(1)
Concerns of Third Isaiah
• Restoration of Jerusalem (49:18,22 & 60:4,), admission of proselytes (58:1-8 &44:5)
What does Third Isaiah have to say?• Contains the
oracles of one of second Isaiah’s disciples
• Addressed to those living in Jerusalem in post-exilic period - trying to reestablish their lives
• The author tried to encourage those who had returned from captivity to rebuild lives
• Structure of Third Isaiah
What does Third Isaiah have to say?• A major theme
of Trito Isaiah is salvation for all people
• ch 56 begins this by promising salvation for all those previously excluded
• chapters 61-66 speak of the Day of the Lord
• Chapter 61 begins” The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”
• This brings to mind the theme of the Suffering Servant from 2nd Isaiah
Third Isaiah - What is he telling us ?• The Suffering
Servant of 2nd Isaiah seems to show the Messiah to be just that - suffering
• Third Isaiah shows a different aspect of the expected Messiah
• The Messiah of Third Isaiah is more of a warrior - He is coming to judge
• 61:2 -He proclaims “The day of vengeance of God
• In ch. 63 He is covered in blood and will judge Israel
So, where do we go from here ?• As it seems that
a main theme of third Isaiah is salvation, that will be the focus of the remainder of the presentation - the New Jerusalem to be effected by the Messiah
• Isaiah with two angels
Ch 63- 64• 63:7 Praise for
God’s kingdom- • 10: confession of
sins• 15-16: hope for
mercy• 17-19 prayer to
be restored spite of past sins– return, rend the
heavens and come down, quaking mountains
• 64:1-2: awaiting God’s kingdom
• 5-7: confess unworthiness
• 11: will the punishment continue– what will God
do “
– What will His response to the people be ?
How it will begin• Ch 65-66 seem
to be written as a unit. They parallel each other closely
• Isaiah “Swords into Plowshares
Parallels ch. 65-66
• 65:1-10 66:1 ff
• 65:12 66:4
• 65:17 66:22
• 65:18 ff 66:10 ff
• 65:20-25 66:12-14
CH 65• In CH. 65 -the
wicked are addressed
• They are addressed who refused to answer when God called and offered unworthy worship (vv 3-7)
• verses 8-12 - Not all will be destroyed since there are some Holy people present - Judgment will be delayed for now.
• See Matthew 13:24-30 - parable of wheat and tares
Chapter 65
• 13-16 - The Servants of the Lord who have been faithful will be abundantly blessed
• Those who have not been faithful will be cursed
• The faithful servants will be given a new name
• See 62:2 -”You shall be called by a new name”
• This can be seen as indicative of a new state of happiness (Rev 2:17)
Chapter 65• 17-25 - Creation
of a New Heaven and New Earth
• There is a distinction drawn between the Old creation and the new.
• Old creation was spoiled - the New will set all things right
• This distinction can be see in looking at 2nd Isaiah
• See 43:18-19
Chapter 65• Jerusalem will
still be part of the New Jerusalem (see rev 21:1-2)
• A long life will be restored, just as in the first creation
• Verse 20:No more shall there be in itan infant that lives but a few days,or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
Chapter 65: 24-25• There will be a
close relationship now - The people will call and God will hear, even before they call
• In the New creation, nature will come together also
• The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,the lion shall eat straw like the ox;but the serpent--its food shall be dust!
• This goes back to 1st Isaiah (11:6-9) in a description of the harmony of the coming age of the Messiah
Chapter 66• While ch 65 is
addressed to the unfaithful, 66 is addressed to those who believe and “tremble at His word” (66:5)
• 65:12: “When I called you did not answer
• 66:4: When I called no one answered
• There is a different message for faithful and unfaithful
Chapter 66• 18-24 - the
universal worship of God is brought about
• “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues - and they shall come and see my glory
• V 19 - follows by promising a sign
• The faithful will be gathered - God’s enemies will lie dead outside of the New Jerusalem
• See Rev 21:1
Ch. 65-66 genre• This material has
some of the characteristics of the Day of Yahweh
• The servant of 65-66 is more of a warrior - coming in vengeance
• God is angry about unfaithfulness
• God will come and destroy sinners- God will come in a fire, like a whirlwind to judge
• God is coming - and this will be final
Day of the Lord
• While the term “Day of the Lord” is not specifically used it is clear God is coming to judge and gather the faithful into the New Creation
• In this section we see a number of references used in Revelation - as we learned earlier Apocylyptic literature is based on the Day of the Lord Genre
Genre: Apocalyptic• Some authors
believe that the roots of apocalyptic writing are found in Isaiah 65-66
• previously it had been thought that this type of literature originated in about 200 BCE
• Apocalyptic images of Isaiah
• God as a warrior (59:16-17, 63:1-6)
• He will battle the forces of evil
• the cosmos will be transformed (65:17-18)
• Heaven and earth are to be recreated and suffering eliminated
Genre:Apocalyptic
• It is also thought that apocalyptic literature surfaced during times of difficulty.
• This would make sense in Isaiah 56-66 as the people were returning from exile and relations were tense in the community.
Isaiah’s vision of Heaven
Trito Isaiah in early Christianity• The servant
passages of Isaiah give clues as to the identity of Jesus
• In Mark Jesus begins his public career with reading of Isa. 61:1-3
• Thus, Jesus could then be referred to as the “anointed one” see: Acts 4:27, 10:38)He is also called the “righteous one” in Acts 7;52, 1 John 2:1 (see: Isa 53:1)
Third Isaiah in early Christianity• In the Gospels,
Jesus’ description of a disciple, closely resembles this teaching
• The Beatitudes (Matt.5:3-12, Lk. 6:20-26) use the same theme of reversal as Isa 65:13-15
• The anticipation of Jesus return in Matt. 24:3, 1 Cor 15:23, 2 Thess 2:8, parallels the material in Third Isaiah (59:19-20, 60:1, 62:11, 63:1…)
• The entry into Jerusalem can also be seen in 62:11
Third Isaiah in early Christianity• Apocalyptic
themes are also paralleled
• The idea of a transformation of nature, a new heaven and new Earth as seen in Revelation 21, are all seen in the third section of Isaiah (Day of the Lord)
• The Gospels tell us of Jesus twofold mission: first to the Jews, then the gentiles; same as in Isa.49:6 and the ‘Servant of the Lord’
Third Isaiah in early Christianity• In Matthew
24:14 Jesus speaks of the need to proclaim the Gospel to all nations
• This is necessary for salvation
• Perhaps the most important contribution of Third Isaiah
• See Isa 56;1-8, 66:18-19,21
Bibliography
Isaiah, available on the web at: http://georgeplasterer.tripod.com/BIISAIAH.html
Jones, D.R. Isaiah 56-66, and Joel. London:SCM Press LTD, 1964.
Leupold, H.C. Exposition of Isaiah:Volume II, Chapters 40-66 Grand Rapids:Baker Book House (1971)
Miller, John, W. Meet The prophets: A Beginners Guide to the Books of the Biblical Prophets New York:Paulist Press (1987)
Polan, Gregory, J. “Salvation in the Midst of Struggle.” TBT 23(1985) 91-94
http://www.trinity.toronto.edu/Divinity/Reference/Isaiah2.ppt
Graphics/ Images taken from
• http://www.textweek.com/art/isaiah.htm
• http://www.biblical-art.com/biblicalsubject.asp?id_biblicalsubject=1052&pagenum=1