2 Isaiah
Richard J. Clifford, SJ
Introduction
Date and Setting
In the middle of the sixth century BCE, some three
decades after the Babylonian Empire destroyed Jerusalem
and the temple, imprisoned the Davidic king, and expelled
numerous inhabitants, an Israelite whose name and family
are unknown to us came to an important conclusion.
(Given the culture of the period, he was probably a male.)
To judge from his preaching in Isaiah 40–55, he was
convinced that the divine judgment of Israel, a process
begun in the mid-eighth century BCE and interpreted
especially by Isaiah of Jerusalem and Jeremiah, was the
beginning of a purifying of Israel that continued into
his own day. So strong was his conviction that he felt
commissioned to announce that the process had at last
attained its aim—restoration (Isa 40:1–11).
This prophet, Second Isaiah, may have been led to
this belief by the stunning victories of the Median and
(later) Persian king Cyrus over Babylon and Cyrus’s
policy of allowing exiled peoples like Israel to return to
their native lands. Just as First Isaiah asserted that the
Assyrian king was Yahweh’s instrument of wrath (10:5–
19), so Second Isaiah asserted that Cyrus was Yahweh’s
instrument of favor (Isa 44:24–45:13). The prophet may
have also felt authorized to speak by First Isaiah’s writing
his message for a later time: “Bind up my testimony, seal
the instructions with my disciples. I will trust in the Lord,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, yes, I
will wait for him” (Isa 8:16). Some scholars even credit
Second Isaiah for editing First Isaiah’s writings.
Second Isaiah heard the divine decree, “Comfort,
give comfort to my people” (Isa 40:1) and embraced the
commission to announce it. Israelites, however, had as
much difficulty accepting the good news as they had two
centuries earlier accepting First Isaiah’s threatening phase
of the process. Chapters 40–55 record Second Isaiah’s
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 1
laborious efforts to disenthrall fellow Israelites from their
reluctance to trust Yahweh and their awe of Babylon’s
might and grandeur.
Isaiah 40–55 reflect the prophet’s successive strategies
of persuasion. Chapters 40–48 unmask the Babylonian
Empire’s polytheism and worship of images (“idols”)
and point out its military weakness in the face of Cyrus’
might (chapters 40–48). Chapters 49–55 reflect a later
stage, when some people had returned to Jerusalem. These
chapters no longer focus on the exclusiveness of Yahweh
and the folly of image worship; they contain no mock
trials nor mention of Babylon and Cyrus as God’s agent.
Instead, Yahweh consoles and challenges Zion/Jerusalem
to receive the good news and rise to the challenge of being
Yahweh’s beloved people. These chapters contain three of
the four famous Servant Songs (49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–
53:12), which suggest that the prophet (presuming he is
the servant) is reflecting on his dual role of being not only
a member of servant Israel but also of being a servant-
prophet modeling what Israel is called to do. Moses
played a similar role in Exodus. The Servant Songs evoke
Jeremiah, anguished and disappointed (Jer 12–20) that his
own people did not fully grasp the divine purpose of their
exile (cf. Jer 24, 25, and 29). In the key verse Isaiah 54:17,
“This is the lot of the servants [plural] of the Lord, / their
vindication from me—oracle of the Lord,” we hear for
the first time a sentiment that will grow stronger in later
chapters (56:6; 65:8–9, 13–15): the individual servant
stands for a larger group (“servants”). The servants
begin to regard themselves as a separate group within the
community.
Theology
Second Isaiah had a single goal—to persuade exiled Israel
to journey back to Zion. But for him the people’s return
was not merely a political opportunity, but a requirement
of national vocation. As he saw matters, the people had
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 2  2 Isaiah
ceased to be Israel removed as they were from Yahweh’s
land and dwelling. To become Israel in the full sense,
they must do now what Israel had done in the past to
become a people: obediently take part in an exodus from
the land of bondage to the land of promise. In Babylon
(and other places of exile), Israel was like the Hebrews of
old in Egypt; they had to pass through the desert as their
ancestors had passed through the Reed Sea; Zion is the
new Canaan; and the servant who would lead them had
a Moses-like task. Israel would have to act, and that act
would advertise to the nations that Yahweh, the God of
Israel, was God alone and Lord of all the nations. As was
common in Hebrew poetry, the new exodus was depicted
with mythic as well as historical traits as in Exodus 15,
Psalms 77:11–20, and 114. Mythic coloring enlarged
earthly events and lent them cosmic significance. Isaian
examples of such mythicizing are 43:16–21 and 51:9–11.
A concise way of presenting Second Isaiah’s theology
is to list his five “polarities” or contrasts in the chapters:
(1) former and latter things, (2) Babylon and Zion, (3)
Yahweh and the gods, (4) Israel and the nations, (5) the
individual as servant of Yahweh and the people as servant
of Yahweh. In the first polarity (cf. 41:22; 42:9; 43:9, 18;
46:9; 48:3), the “former things” are events predicted in the
past and coming true now. Yahweh’s predictions, unlike
those of the other deities, come true because Yahweh has
caused them, proving true divinity.
The second polarity contrasts Zion and Babylon,
personified as consorts of the deity and mothers of the
cities’ citizens. The rebuilding of Zion (45:14–25) contrasts
with the collapse of Babylon (chapter 47). The third and
fourth polarities—Yahweh and the gods, Israel and the
nations—are closely related. As Yahweh is supreme in
the heavens, so Israel, Yahweh’s people, is (theoretically)
supreme among the nations of earth. Normally in the
ancient Near East, images represented gods. This practice
is the basis for Second Isaiah’s ridicule of divine images
and their makers (cf. Isa 44:9–20; 46:5–7; Jer 10:1–16):
Wood and stone images represent these “gods” all too
well, for the gods are just as inert as their images, having
to be manufactured and carried about by human beings.
Israel, on the other hand, is the living image of Yahweh.
Its return from the dead witnesses perfectly to the nations
that Yahweh did not suffer defeat, but only withdrew
temporarily because of Israel’s sin (54:7).
The fifth polarity, the servant of Yahweh and the
people, requires discussion. The word “servant” occurs
twenty-one times in chapters 40–55, in all but eight
instances clearly referring to the people Israel. Several
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 2
occurrences of the term, however, seem to refer to an
individual rather than to a group. Scholars in the early
days of modern critical scholarship in the late eighteenth
century singled out four such passages: 42:1–9, 49:1–7,
50:4–11, and 52:13–53:12. The nineteenth and twentieth
centuries saw many suggestions regarding the identity
of this individual. Today most scholars rightly regard
the servant as the prophet. This commentary adds a
qualification that the prophet as servant has a dialectical
relationship with the people—a member of the people, yet
(like the prophets of old) embodying what the people are
called to be.
The New Testament Interpretation of
Isaiah 40–55 for Today
Influenced by Jewish apocalypticism with its belief in
the imminent end of the ongoing struggle between good
and evil and an announcement of a divine intervention,
Jesus enacted a new and final exodus that re-founded
Israel. For example, he chose Twelve apostles (Luke
6:13) in imitation of the twelve tribes, fed people in the
wilderness (recounted in all four gospels), reinterpreted
the Torah on his own authority, and sealed a new covenant
with his blood. His early followers, all Jews, turned to
their Scriptures to find the meaning of these extraordinary
events. They turned to Isaiah more than to any prophet.
The first gospel, Mark, opens by blending three texts,
Malachi 3:1, Exodus 23:20, and Isaiah 40:3, and attributing
them all to Isaiah in the belief that Isaiah spoke directly
about Jesus. All four gospels begin by quoting Isaiah
40:3, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord”
(Matt 3:3; Mark 1:13; Luke 2:27; John 1:23) in order to
make clear that a new exodus was underway. The seven-
letter corpus of Paul contains about thirty-one allusions
to Isaiah 40–55. Some interpreters have assumed Paul’s
interest in Isaiah was primarily Christological, while
others have recently argued Paul’s primary interest was
ecclesiological, that is, the renewal of Israel. This later
group contends that Israel’s sins had separated them from
God (cf. Isa 59:7–8 and Rom 3:15–17; Isa 52:5 and Rom
2:24), but God remained faithful, preserving a remnant
(Isa 1:9 and Rom 9:29) and bringing eschatological
salvation even to the Gentiles (Isa 49:8 and 2 Cor 6:2; Isa
65:1 and Rom 10:20). Isaiah 40–55 invite Christians of
every era to see themselves engaged in an exodus from
slavery to freedom. The prophetic word summons them
to put aside their distrust and fake deities and journey to
Zion, where the sovereign God dwells.
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Outline
Announcement of Salvation (40:1–11)
Strength for an Exhausted People (40:12–31)
Verdict in Favor of Israel in the Mock Trial (41:1–42:9)
The Creator Enables the People’s Return and Rebukes
Them for Their Disbelief (42:10–43:8)
Israel Is the Lord’s Witness in the Mock Trial (43:9–44:5)
Who Can Be a Truthful Witness of Yahweh? (44:6–23)
Yahweh Appoints Cyrus as His Anointed (44:24–45:13)
The Nations Offer Homage and Yahweh Offers Them
Salvation (45:14–25)
Yahweh Dethrones the Babylonian Gods (46:1–13)
Yahweh Defeats the Babylonian Empire (47:1–15)
Openness to the Interpreting Word (48:1–22)
Yahweh Gives Servant Israel a Saving Role (49:1–13)
The Restoration of Yahweh’s Relationship with Zion
(49:14–52:12)
(a) Yahweh Reassures Grieving Zion (49:14–26)
(b) 
Yahweh Rebukes Israel for Disobedience. The
Third Servant Song (50:1–11)
(c) Proclamation of Salvation for Zion (51:1–8)
(d) Apostrophe I. Rise up, Arm of Yahweh! (51:9–16)
(e) Apostrophe II. Stand Erect, Jerusalem! (51:17–23)
(f) 
Apostrophe III. Rise Up Zion! A Messenger
Announces Good News (52:1–12)
The Fourth Servant Song. My Servant Bears the Sins of
the People (52:13–53:12)
Apostrophe Addressed to Zion (54:1–17)
Come to the Banquet and Enter into the Davidic Covenant
(55:1–13)
Commentary
Announcement of Salvation (40:1–11)
Isaiah 40:1–11 begin the second section of the Isaiah scroll,
which ends in chapter 55. The section opens with God’s
word announcing a new phase of the judgment process
(40:1–2, 8) and concludes with a confirmation of that
same word in 55:11. In 40:1–2, God announces a decree to
the assembly of heavenly servants that the servitude of his
people Israel has ended and that the servants must see to
it that the decree is announced on earth and steps be taken
to implement it. The divine assembly is a common feature
of ancient Near Eastern (ANE) religions. In the biblical
understanding of the assembly, the Lord, Yahweh, held
supreme power, while the other heavenly beings served in
roles that varied from prominent as in 1 Kings 22:13–23
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 3
Commentary  3
and Job 1–2 to communal as in Isaiah 6. In verse 3, “a
voice” is that of a servant who commands a subordinate
to build a road through the wilderness separating Babylon
from Zion. “Wilderness” in verse 3 is not a Sahara-
like sandy desert, but barely navigable terrain, hot, and
waterless. When Israel arrives home in Zion, “then the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed,” for the nations will
recognize that Yahweh is the sole God, having defeated
Babylon and its gods by bringing Israel back to life (v. 5).
In verse 6, a heavenly servant orders the prophet
to proclaim the good news to Israel. The prophet is
somehow present in the assembly; no explanation is
given how he got there. As in the earlier commission of
Isaiah of Jerusalem in Isaiah 6 (which influenced this
scene), the prophet hesitates, for a prophet must speak
honestly on behalf of the people as well as on behalf of
God. Suffering has so traumatized the people, the prophet
reports, that they cannot fully comprehend what the
divine decree means for them. First Isaiah in the eighth
century likewise found himself in the heavenly assembly
and spoke with similar honesty (6:5–7; cf. 40:6–8) in
solidarity with his beleaguered people (6:11; cf. 40:6–7),
yet agreeing to announce the grim divine decision to his
compatriots (6:8–10; cf. 40:6–8). Isaiah’s request, “How
long, O Lord?” in 6:11, was a genuine question; it occurs
frequently in laments. It seeks to know in advance how
long the people must endure their chastisement. In Isaiah
40, Deutero-Isaiah does what Isaiah did almost two
centuries earlier except that the message this time is not
doom, but restoration.
In 40:6–8, most translations do not convey accurately
the conversation between the prophet and the heavenly
servant. In verse 6a, the servant commands the prophet
to communicate the message of forgiveness to Israel. In
verses 6c–7, the prophet explains why he cannot glibly
announce salvation. Solidarity with the people compels
him to express their shattered state, which will make
it hard for them to believe the decree and take on the
responsibility it entails. The prophet borrows the language
of laments, comparing broken humans to the short-lived
flowers of the field (cf. Job 14:2; Pss 37:2; 90:4–6;
102:11). Verse 5, “all their loyalty (ḥesed) like flowers
of the field” will fade like grass, asserts that the people’s
devotion to the Lord has faded. Verse 7b explains why
the people are demoralized: “because the breath of the
Lord has blown upon it.” Nearly all translations except
the Vulgate make verse 7b a general truth, expressing
what happens to any plant when a fierce wind strikes it,
e.g., NABR, “the flower wilts, when the breath of the Lord
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 4  2 Isaiah
blows upon it.” But verse 7b is specific, explaining why
the people are devastated now: “because the breath of the
Lord has blown upon it.” Verse 8 is the heavenly servant’s
confident answer to the prophet’s report of the people’s
state; it can be paraphrased: “I concede that the Lord’s
wind has devastated them, but now that same wind will
restore them. The word of our God is powerful enough to
overcome any human weakness!” The phrase “Our God”
may suggest that the heavenly beings know God’s power
firsthand.
Verses 9–11 continue the orderly implementation of
God’s command. Exercising his newly acquired prophetic
authority in verse 9, the prophet directs Zion personified
as a woman to announce the decree to the cities and towns
of Judah. If Isaiah 40:9 is imagined as a single scene, an
impossible picture emerges—a city going up to a high
mountain to make an announcement. But like juxtaposed
images in some biblical poetry, e.g., Psalm 84:4
(NABR) and Song 4:1–5, the images—city, messenger,
mountain—are meant to be discrete symbols, not parts
of a single scene. A mountain is visible for miles around
(cf. Isa 2:1–5; Ps 48:2–3); biblical messengers bring
life-changing news (cf. Isa 52:7–10; Mal 3:1); and a city
can be personified as a woman. Isaiah 40:9 reverses the
announcement of thorough destruction in 6:11: “Until the
cities are desolate, without inhabitants, / Houses without
people, and the land is a desolate waste.” But now Zion
the devastated city will herself stand up and proclaim to
its inhabitants and to those in the surrounding cities and
towns that the Lord is coming like a shepherd leading his
flock (vv. 10–11).
Though the divine shepherd tenderly cares for
his flock (vv. 11), he also comes with power, ruling
with a strong arm. Ancient hymns such as Judges 5,
Deuteronomy 33, and Habakkuk 3 picture the Lord at the
head of the heavenly army marching from his southern
mountain dwelling to rescue Israel. One Mesopotamian
inscription describes a king: “The shepherd who gathers
the dispersed (people)” (Paul, 137). “Here is his reward
with him” refers to the redeemed nation, the Israelites, for
the Hebrew word rendered “reward” can refer to the fruits
of one’s labor (Lev 19:13).
Strength for an Exhausted People
(40:12–31)
The prophet declared that the demoralized state of the
people keeps them from responding to God’s decree of
restoration (40:6b–7). In 40:12–31, the prophet turns to
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 4
the people to persuade them to place their confidence
in their creator rather than in the pseudo-deities of
Babylonian religion. The speech has three sections of
progressively increasing length: (1). verses 12–17 (18
paired verses), God created the universe with ease and
wisdom; (2). verses 18–24 (22 paired verses), neither
images nor kings can ever represent Israel’s God; and (3).
verses 25–31 (26 paired verses), the God who created the
stars that control human destinies will give you strength.
The rhetorical questions are meant to refute contrary
ideas, and encourage the people.
The setting of this speech may be the Akitu Festival
held to celebrate the New Year in Babylon. The Festival
honored Marduk, the city god of Babylon, whose rise to
supremacy was told in the venerable poem Enuma elish,
“When from on high,” its opening sentence in the Akkadian
language. The poem tells how Marduk defeated the forces
of chaos represented by the sea monster Tiamat. Splitting
her body in two, the upper half forming the heavens and
the lower half the earth, Marduk brought order into the
world, and established Babylon as his city for ruling the
world. The Festival included a procession in which the
Babylonian king and images of other cities’ gods were
paraded through the city with the aim of installing an
image of Marduk in his temple, Entemenanki. The king
was brought before Marduk who designated him as his
regent to rule the empire. The speech in 40:12–31 attacks
those beliefs.
Section I (vv. 12–17). Creation of the three-tiered
world (earth, sea, and sky) was especially significant in
ANE and biblical thought, for creation established the
authority of the creator god. To Deutero-Isaiah, Yahweh
is so effortlessly powerful that he measures out like a
merchant the raw material of the universe—a cupped
hand for the waters, an extended hand to measure out the
sky (“span,” the distance from thumb to the little finger),
and a scale to weigh out earth (a balance with two pans).
“Mountains” and “hills” (v. 12de) were often included in
lists of creation acts (Pss 65:7; 89:12–13; Prov 8:25). In
extra-biblical cosmogonies, the god of wisdom created
or advised the creator god, but 40:13–14 make clear that
Israel’s God needed no such help, already possessing full
wisdom.
Creation in the Bible included the creation of human
society. Verse 15 develops verse 12. “Drop (of water)”
corresponds to “waters” in verse 12; “wisp of cloud” to
“heavens” of verse 12, and “speck” (of dirt) to “earth” of
verse 12. The nations in verse 15 are literally lightweights
and should not intimidate Israel. “Lebanon” also alludes
18/09/20 10:52 PM

to verse 12, exalting the Lord by asserting that no human
offering is fully adequate for Yahweh.
Section 2 (vv. 18–24) asks what likeness can possibly
represent God? No humanly made image can represent
the living God, Israel’s Lord. Scholars have sometimes
questioned whether polemics against idols such as
40:18–20, 41:5–7, 44:9–20, and 46:5–7 were original
or added later to the prophetic book. This commentary
views them as authentic, because they fit the prophet’s
polemic against other gods (R. Clifford, CBQ 42 [1980]
450–464). In 40:18–20, the prophet ridicules images like
those used in Babylonian ceremonies because they are
incapable of movement. Self-movement is a sign of life in
the Bible; the Hebrew idiom for running water is “living
water.” Inert images are not living and cannot represent
Yahweh “enthroned above the vaults of the earth …
who stretches out the heavens like a veil” (v. 22). Verses
23–24 demythologize another common image of a god in
Babylonian religion—the king. When the Lord blows on
them, kings collapse and blow away. In this section, the
prophet destroys the Babylonian myths and the earthly
power based upon them.
Section 3 (vv. 25–31) begins with another rhetorical
question. A common way of praising a high god was to
exclaim, “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord?” (e.g.,
Exod 15:11). The prophet tells people to look at the stars
in the sky, which in popular religion represented deities
who influenced human destinies. But Yahweh, the God of
Hosts, commands the heavenly army, knows its soldiers
by name, and calls them to duty; Israel has nothing to fear
from Babylonian astral forces.
Section 3 ends differently from the previous two
sections (vv. 12–17 and 18–24). Though the two sections
emphasize Yahweh’s power, the third section is even more
insistent. That power is now available to Israel who might
understandably feel weak in comparison to the might of
Babylon. Verse 31 speaks eloquently of waiting in hope.
“Biblical Hebrew differentiates between waiting as a
neutral activity, something to be endured (stem ḥkh Qal
and Piel) and waiting with hope and anticipation of a
positive outcome (qwh), which is what is meant here by
waiting for Yahweh” (Blenkinsopp, 194).
Verdict in Favor of Israel in the Mock
Trial (41:1–42:9)
This lengthy section continues the previous speech’s
concern to delegitimize the gods of the nations and
encourage Israel. Differently from 40:12–31, however,
this section addresses the nations as well as Israel in an
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 5
Commentary  5
imaginary trial to which Yahweh invites all the nations
of the world including Israel. Yahweh is prosecutor as
well as judge, hailing the parties into court, questioning
them about what god has made Cyrus’ victories possible,
and pronouncing the verdict. The verdict is that Yahweh
enabled Cyrus to defeat the Babylonian Empire and allow
subject peoples (including Israel) to return to their native
lands. The gods of the nations are represented on earth by
images of wood plated with gold and silver, whereas the
“image” of Yahweh is his people Israel. The aim of the
trial is the same as 40:12–3—to convince Israel that its
sins have been forgiven and people should act as a nation
reborn.
The section forms a unit (so, among others, Sweeney,
63–69, who extends the unit to 42:13). Yahweh addresses
the court twice (41:5–20 and 41:21–42:4; Sweeney,
63–69). This commentary extends the second address to
42:9 and proposes that the two addresses are deliberately
parallel. Parallelism of verses is of course a well-known
feature of Hebrew poetry, but personalities and entire
scenes can also be parallel, e.g., Isaiah 49:1–13//14–26,
and Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly in Proverbs
1–9. Ancient readers would be sensitive to the interplay
between the two halves.
A. 41:1–20 B. 41:21–42:9
Summons and approach
to the trial 41:1, 5–7 41:21–22b
Legal questioning of the
nations/their gods 41:2–4 41:22c–29
Verdict on the nations
and on Israel 41:8–20 42:1–9
in verses 1–20, Yahweh summons the nations to the trial.
Can any of them prove they empowered Cyrus to conquer
Babylon (v. 1)? Can they cite ancient oracles predicting
Cyrus’ astonishing victories? (Their failure to bring
forward such predictions will be condemned explicitly
in Section B, 41:22c–29). In 41:2–4, Yahweh summons
and questions them, giving a preliminary answer that it
was he who empowered Cyrus (41:2–4). As the nations
come to the assembly, they congratulate each other on the
images they have made (vv. 5–7). In verses 8–20, Yahweh
turns away from the nations to address Israel directly
with consoling words, assuring them that he has chosen
them and enabling them to make a road through the
wilderness by leveling the rugged mountains (vv. 15–16)
and making the waterless desert verdant (vv. 17–19).
In speaking to Israel in verses 8–20, Yahweh employs
the same vocabulary that the nations had employed in
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 6  2 Isaiah
speaking about their images: “fear” (v. 10; cf. v. 5), “ends
of the earth” (v. 9; cf. v. 5), “say” (vv. 9, 12; cf. vv. 6,
7), “encourage” (Hebrew ḥāzaq; v. 13; cf. 4 times in vv.
6–7), and “helps” (vv. 10, 13; cf. v. 6). The repetition
of words creates an ironic contrast between the nations
chattering away to their silent and ineffective gods (41:5–
7) and Israel silent before the powerful God who speaks
abundant words of consolation (41:8–20).
Yahweh’s tender speech in 41:8–20 commissions Israel
to become instruments of the divine power that makes
straight in the wasteland a highway for our God (40:3).
Verse 14 calls Israel a “worm,” and “maggot,” which
probably allude to the language of laments such as Psalm
22:7, “But I am a worm, not a man.” To regain the trust
of a traumatized people, Yahweh promises to hold their
hand (41:10, 13) as ancient gods sometimes promised to
hold the hand of a client king. The transformation of the
hostile desert is equivalently a new creation, for taming
the wilderness defeats sterility and death and makes the
world habitable. The aim is that “all may see and know
… that Holy One of Israel has created (bārā’) it” (41:20).
This verse reverses the frightening divine command given
to First Isaiah in Isaiah 6:10: “Make the heart of this
people sluggish, / dull their ears and close their eyes; /
Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, /
and their heart understand, / and they turn and be healed.”
Moreover, “Holy One of Israel” reprises a favorite divine
epithet of First Isaiah.
The second section, 41:21–42:9, parallels 40:1–20 in
its sequence of summons to trial, questioning, and verdict,
and its asserting that the nations’ gods had nothing to
do with the victories of Cyrus (41:22c–29). Yahweh
asks the nations which of their gods controls history by
their word. The assumption is that if a god predicted an
important event then the god must have brought it about.
But the gods are silent, leading Yahweh to pronounce his
verdict in verse 24, repeated in verse 29, which can be
paraphrased, “I find that you are nothing, you belong to
pre-creation chaos. Your influence in the world is null.”
In the ancient Near East, people’s questions about God
centered on their power to save rather than their existence.
The gods’ silence before the divine questioner shows they
are not gods; they cannot save their clients.
After a vehement denunciation of the gods in 41:22c–
29, Yahweh turns to Israel (42:1–9). Isaiah 42:1–4 (some
extend the Song to 1–6 or 1–9) contains the first Servant
Song. As noted in the introduction, all occurrences of
Hebrew ‘ebed, “servant,” outside of the four “Servant
Songs” (42:1–6; 49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12) refer
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 6
to the nation Israel. This passage (and the other Songs),
however, seems too specific to refer to the people. A
servant is one who obeys his master, but obedience can
vary from total to partial. Moses, for example, served the
Lord unreservedly and could inspire fellow Israelites and
even on occasion rebuke them as in Exodus 32–34. That
fluidity is displayed here. Like Moses, this servant is a
member of Israel but far more willing than his compatriots
to obey the Lord without reserve, the very definition of a
servant. In this sense the servant in 42:1–4 is Israel, but
Israel as it is called to be, not as it is currently.
In 42:1, “spirit” is the charism given to people to
enable them to carry out a mission as in 48:16, “Now
the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.” Moses had
this spirit (Num 11:25). In Isaiah 42:1, “He shall bring
forth justice to the nations,” “justice” has the meaning it
has in 42:4 where it is parallel to “teaching”; the servant
will promulgate the true teaching that it was the Lord
who made Cyrus an instrument to restore his people.
The statements about not crying out and not quenching a
dimly burning wick (vv. 2–4) express the depleted state of
Israel mentioned in 41:8–20. Israel will “speak” through
its weakness, its frailty showing dramatically that it was
Yahweh who made them an instrument of divine justice.
The phrase, “Until he establishes justice on the earth,” in
42:4 is an inclusio (deliberate repeat) of the similar phrase
in 42:1. “He shall bring forth justice to the nations.” As
Paul points out (187), the phrase “bring forth/establish
justice” “is a calque [loan translation] on the Akkadian
phrase … ‘to establish truth and justice in the land.’” Paul
continues, the phrase “appears in contexts of acts of social
justice ordered by the king following his inauguration”
(these acts include the freeing of prisoners, see v. 7; cf.
61:1).
Isaiah 42:5–9 conclude the trial with a hymn fragment.
Yahweh is the creator of a vast universe (v. 5), yet has
grasped Israel’s hand—a reassuring gesture of a god
supporting a king in royal inscriptions of the period—and
has made Israel a covenant people and light of nations.
“Covenant people” (v. 8) is preferable to NABR (and
most translations) “a covenant for the people.” As Paul
points out, the Hebrew phrase bĕrît ‘am, lit. “covenant of
people,” in verse 6 is a reversed construct phrase like “salt
of covenant” in Leviticus 2:13 and “covenant of salt” in
Numbers 18:19. Here “covenant of people” simply means
“people of the covenant.” Israel has therefore a dual task:
a national one, to be a covenant people, a people faithful
to the covenant, as well as a universal task, to be a light
of nations. Other cultures did not confine royal missions
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only to the king’s own people as the Assyrian royal titles
of Tiglath-Pileser (c. 745–727 BCE) and Esarhaddon
(680–669 BCE) attest, for example, “the light of all
humankind” and “the light of the world.” Israel too has a
mission to people everywhere (Paul, 189). The trial scene
ends appropriately with Yahweh insisting that the entire
universe recognize that true glory belongs only to him; it
should not be ascribed to lifeless images.
The Creator Enables the People’s
Return and Rebukes Them for Their
Disbelief (42:10–43:8)
Blenkinsopp (212–222) divides the segment into three
units, 42:10–17, 18–25, and 43:1–7. For Sweeney (81–
91), the section is a subsection of a larger unit: 42:14–
44:23, which he entitles “The Account of Yahweh’s
Announcement That Yahweh Is the Redeemer of Israel.”
The best proof that 42:10–43:8 is a unit is its genre—a
hymn similar to Psalms 93 and 97, which give praise by
simply describing God’s masterful creation of the world.
Like the Isaian passage, Psalm 96 is a “new song,” praising
God for defeating chaotic Sea and bringing a new world
into being. “New” apparently refers to creation rather than
to the song itself. In Psalm 97, a fiery theophany similar
to that in Isaiah 42:15 melts mountains and moves the
heavens to proclaim God’s justice (Psalm 97:3–6), shame
idol worshipers, and rescue Israel. Psalm 97 tells the same
story as Isaiah 42:10–25, though Isaiah 42:13–14 have
details not in Psalm 97 such as God awaking from silence
and resolving to act (42:13–14) and Israel’s condition
as blind, deaf, and plundered. For the comparison of a
warrior waking up and springing into action, see Psalm
78:65. For comparisons of the emotions of battle with
those of a mother in labor, see Isaiah 13:8, 21:3 and Psalm
48:7. The healing of blind people reverses the command
to First Isaiah in 6:10 to doom the people by blinding
them and making them deaf to calls for the repentance that
might have saved them. Blindness is a stock description of
Israel under judgment (29:9; 35:5) and especially of Israel
in exile, unwilling to heed God’s call to return (42:7, 16,
18, 19. 29).
Isaiah 42:17 is an idol passage like 40:18–20 and 44:9–
20. Though regarded as a later insertion by some scholars,
it is as relevant here as it is in Psalm 97:7. Isaiah 42:17
compares the unheeding people to worshipers of inert
images because they are unwilling to believe Yahweh is
active on their behalf. The images in 41:1–42:9, which
represent the Babylonian gods, are not able to move on
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 7
Commentary  7
their own and thus are unable to come to the aid of their
devotees. Isaiah 42:18–21 assert that servant Israel, though
currently blind and deaf as if still under the doom uttered
in Isaiah 6:10, are nonetheless servants of the Lord. God’s
inscrutable choice is to use humble instruments like Israel
to announce his glory to the world. Isaiah 42:22–25 make
the important point that it was Yahweh who punished
Israel for its sins, not the Babylonian Empire and its gods.
The opening words of 43:1, “But now,” introduces a
change in tone, not a separate section, for it presupposes
a previous assertion that will now be reversed or revised.
Isaiah 43:1–8 explain why Israel can now feel confident
that God will redeem them. First, God calls the people
“Jacob” and “Israel,” designations of the patriarch Jacob
whom God once summoned to return to Canaan from his
exile in Paddan-aram. Secondly, God’s claim rests on
creating and redeeming them. A redeemer is a powerful
relative who stands up for a beleaguered relative, for
example, paying a ransom on behalf of a weaker family
member as in “I give Egypt as a ransom [kōper] for you.”
As Paul observes, “Since God is Israel’s redeemer, He
is responsible for releasing them from indenture to their
Babylonian overlords” (207). Paul goes on to say that “the
Israelites were widely dispersed in Assyria, Babylonia,
Egypt (cf. Jer 41:3) and Elephantine (Isa 49:12),” hence
Egypt is equivalent to Babylonia (208). In Mesopotamian
inscriptions, the deity usually expresses love for the
monarch, but here God expresses love for the people.
In summary, the prophet, obedient to his commission
in 40:1–11, continues the task of encouraging Israel to
participate in their own salvation by unmasking their
excuses and assuring them of God’s unconditional love
and power.
Israel Is the Lord’s Witness in the Mock
Trial (43:9–44:5)
As in 41:1–42:9, the prophet imagines a worldwide trial
of the nations of the world including Israel to determine
which of the nations’ gods is empowering Cyrus to
reshape the world. The god that predicted the victories
must be the true god, for to predict an event implies
the god will make that event happen. In this trial scene,
Yahweh announces that he is the only God who makes
things happen, and therefore must be behind Cyrus’
victories. Cyrus’ victories have overturned the Babylonian
conquest of Yahweh’s people Israel to which Israel is the
witness. Their witnessing will not be by their words (cf.
42:1–4) but by their actions—engaging in a new exodus.
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 8  2 Isaiah
The exodus was the way in which the people came into
existence and the second exodus will be how they will
come back to life. Participating in the exodus from
Babylon to Zion will prove to the nations that Yahweh is
the only god (43:10–13), for he promised long ago to be
faithful to Israel.
In Isaiah 44:9, the nations are also witnesses but to
a totally different reality: “They [the idols] are their
witnesses: they see nothing, know nothing.” In ANE
religion, images represented the gods to their earthly
worshipers. Israelite religion, however, forbade images.
Jeremiah 10:14–16 put it well: “Every artisan is put
to shame by his idol: He has molded a fraud, without
breath of life …. Jacob’s portion is nothing like them:
for [Yahweh] is the maker of everything! Israel is his
very own tribe, Lord of hosts is his name.” In biblical
thinking, life consists in self-movement. Images are
inert; they witness only to the ineffectiveness of the gods
they represent. In contrast, Israel actively engaged in the
exodus is an effective image of its God.
Isaiah 43:14–21 define who Yahweh is for Israel—
their creator and their redeemer. “Creator” because
he defeated the power of Sea to keep Israel from its
homeland by opening a path through it, and “redeemer”
by defeating the pharaoh’s army that blocked their route
(43:15–17). Now Yahweh is renewing that act—creating
by defeating the power of sterile Desert to keep Israel
from its homeland (43:18–21). Despite these benefits,
Israel is still unresponsive, withholding their worship
and burdening Yahweh with their sins (43:22–26). Their
resistance is not surprising, for their ancestor Jacob was
sinful and rebellious (43:27–28).
Yahweh issued a rebuke to the people in 43:22–28, but
now promises to transform them from within (44:1–5).
Just as Yahweh poured water upon the thirsty desert, so
“I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring” (44:3).
Like the abundant vegetation of the transformed desert,
the people will flourish and be eager to declare publicly
that they are Yahweh’s people.
Who Can Be a Truthful Witness of
Yahweh? (44:6–23)
Though many commentators excise 44:9–20 as an
insertion that supposedly break up an original unit 44:6–8
+ 21–23, excising the verses is not justified. Other biblical
passages similarly affirm the unique divinity of Yahweh
by declaring Yahweh superior to other divinities, e.g.,
Exodus 15:11; Psalm 89:6–9, or by ridiculing images
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 8
of those divinities, e.g., Psalm 97:7. Like the other “idol
passages” in Isaiah, this passage is not simply an attack
on images, but part of a mock trial. The trial is meant
to determine which deity is all powerful—Israel’s God,
Yahweh, or the gods of the Babylonian Empire, Bel (=
Marduk) and Nebo (= Nabu). This and similar passages
play on the link between deities in heaven and their
images on earth, which is why idol passages often occur
in mock trial scenes. Among the Isaian idol passages, this
one is the most satirical, highlighting the obtuseness of
the image-makers who use half the wood to cook or warm
themselves and the other half to make the image. Idol-
maker vignettes underline the frenetic human activity and
the inertness of the images—exactly the opposite of Israel
passive and Yahweh active. Implied in this and similar
passages is the idea that Israel is the “image of God,”
that is, it makes Yahweh visible on earth and invites the
adoration of the nations.
Isaiah 44:6–8 link to the previous trial scene when
Yahweh asserts in the strongest possible terms not having
a “before” or an “after” (v. 6). Such an assertion places
Yahweh apart from Babylonian myths in which a god and
its nation could rise and fall. In the Babylonian creation
myth, Enuma elish, the god Ea eventually has to yield his
supremacy to Marduk.
Verses 9–19, the satirical sketch of the idol makers,
are sometimes printed as prose in Hebrew and English
editions, but the most recent Hebrew edition as well as
NABR rightly print the text as poetry. (Obscure Hebrew
words make translations of some verses uncertain.) Verse
20 is probably a gloss, one of the very few in the text; its
judgmental tone, heavy-handedness, and general style are
out of keeping with the rest of the text. In verses 21–23,
Yahweh turns to Israel, and assures them of love and the
strength to fulfill her mission.
With supreme confidence in Yahweh’s easy mastery and
unquestioned divinity, the prophet tries to communicate
confidence and trust to diffident Israel. Their mission is
clear—to give witness that Yahweh is the only God.
Yahweh Appoints Cyrus as His
Anointed (44:24–45:13)
In favor of this demarcation of verses is this passage’s
agreement with ANE and biblical accounts of creation:
the other gods build a palace for the victorious creator on
his return (e.g., Enuma elish vi.45–10; Ps 94:5) and they
celebrate his arrival with festivities (e.g., Ps 89:20–38).
The same features characterize Yahweh’s creating in
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Isaiah 44:24–45:13. In addition there are three references
to Isaiah 10:5–15: Yahweh calls the unwitting Cyrus
(45:5) as he called the unwitting Assyrian king (10:7);
the Hebrew interjection hôy, “ho!” “alas!” in 10:1 and
45:9, 10 (NRSV and NABR incorrectly translate hôy,
“woe to,” as if it were ’ôy lĕ); and both Isaiah 10 and 45
compare refusal to believe that Yahweh commissioned
a pagan king to a tool rebuking its user or raw material
protesting against the one who shapes it (10:15; 45:9–10).
When First Isaiah announced the Lord’s choice of a pagan
king to carry out his plan, he had to defend it vigorously
against denials (10:13–15) and Second Isaiah must do
the same (45:9–10). Second Isaiah, however, adds new
motives for acceptance: Yahweh’s tender regard for Israel
(44:24; 45:4) and the sovereign freedom that belongs to
the only God.
With the above remarks in mind, readers can readily
follow the logic of the speech. Yahweh begins by
addressing Israel in loving words (44:24; cf. 45:4ab) as if
to assure them that the choice of a pagan king, Cyrus, as
“his anointed” (45:1) in no way lessens his commitment
to them. The emphatic personal pronoun “I” introduces
a series of ten participles declaring that the Lord created
heaven and earth, nullifying the words of pagan seers
and confirming “the words of my messengers” (44:25–
26), which refer to past and present prophecies that the
Lord will intervene on behalf of Israel. In 44:26cd–45:3,
Yahweh announces he will create, making anew the
holy city and installing a king who will do the creator’s
will. Isaiah 45:4–8 detail the mandate of Cyrus whose
outstanding military success is owed entirely to his
divine patron. Isaiah 45:9–13 rebuke those who cannot
believe Israel’s Lord is behind the success of Cyrus. As
noted, NRSV and NABR “woe to” for verses 9 and 10
is inaccurate. One should adopt NJPS, “Shame on him
who argues with his Maker … Shame on him who asks
his father.”
The Nations Offer Homage and Yahweh
Offers Them Salvation (45:14–25)
Chapter 46, on one side of our passage, is a separate unit,
and 44:24–45:13 are a coherent unit on the other side. Is
the passage in between, 45:14–25, likewise a unit? Yes,
one reason is its resemblance to the structuring of other
units in Deutero-Isaiah, i.e., sections of approximately
the same stanza count (vv. 14–17, 18–19, 20–21, 22–25)
that are logically connected. In Section 1 (vv. 14–17),
the nations (three African nations apparently stand for
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 9
Commentary  9
all) bring tribute to the Lord as in Isaiah 60:5–7. 9, 11
and Psalm 72:10–11. The tribute-bearers confess they
mistakenly thought Israel and its patron God Yahweh had
fallen into nothingness. As they approach the victorious
Lord (vv. 14–15), they express their astonishment, “Truly,
you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the
savior” (v. 15, NRSV). The first Hebrew word in verse
15,’ākan, NABR “Truly,” denotes cognizance of an
unexpected and surprising reality contrary to expectations
(Paul, 266). In verse 17, the nations again acknowledge
that Yahweh has brought Israel back to life.
In Section 2 (vv. 18–19), Yahweh asserts that he never
gave vain assurances to Israel, but only reliable promises
to be faithful (v. 19cdef, NABR “justice,” “what is right”).
The “resurrection” of Israel should therefore surprise no
one. Section 3 (vv. 20–21) returns to the familiar Isaian
theme of putting the nations on trial, demanding to know
which of them predicted and caused the world-changing
military successes of Cyrus. Yahweh, not the nations’
gods, powered Cyrus (v. 21).
Instead of further rebuking the nations, Section 4 (vv.
22–25) invites “all you ends of the earth,” to acknowledge
the sole divinity of Yahweh. The section emphatically
declares there is only one deity, Israel’s Lord, who has
proven his unique divinity by bringing Israel back to life
in opposition to Babylon’s gods. Every knee must bend to
this God. Even those initially refusing to do so will find
themselves worshiping God (v. 23). Israel can bask in the
Lord’s glory.
Yahweh Dethrones the Babylonian Gods
(46:1–13)
For background on the Babylonian gods, see under 40:12–
31. In Isaiah 46, the prophet takes a satirical look at the
solemn processions that were part of Babylon’s religious
life, reimagining them as panic-stricken attempts to keep
the gods from perishing along with the city (v.2bc). A
god’s status was measured by his or her influence over
earthly events. The Babylonian gods, however, presented
by their images, are not even able to move themselves, let
alone move historical events. The famous Cyrus Cylinder
(ANET 315–316), written about the same time as this
chapter, describes the god Marduk leaving the city that
had ceased to worship him and shifting his favor to Cyrus.
In utter contrast to the gods leaving the city, Yahweh
effortlessly stirs up “from the east a bird of prey” (v.
11), Cyrus, who reshaped the Middle East by defeating
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 10  2 Isaiah
Babylon and allowing the Israelites and other displaced
populations to return home.
In this chapter, Second Isaiah’s primary concern is not
the Babylonians, but fellow Israelites. He tells them what
the flight of the Babylonian gods from the city means for
them. In two speeches of approximately equal length,
each beginning with a masculine plural imperative verb
(vv. 3–7, 65 Hebrew words, and vv. 8–13, 63 Hebrew
words), the prophet urges the people to acknowledge
that their own sinfulness has made them a burden that
Yahweh must carry (vv. 3–4). The prophet then demands
that the people acknowledge that Yahweh is incomparable
and active everywhere, unlike the immobile gods of the
Babylonians (vv. 5–7). The second speech, even stronger
that the first, similarly has two unequal parts (vv. 8–11,
12–13), each introduced by an imperative verb; it demands
that the people recognize that Yahweh is the only god who
controls the course of history. Yahweh predicted the rise
of Cyrus, summoning him as a bird of prey to swoop down
upon Babylon. As often, to predict means to determine.
Verses 12–13, the final part of the second speech, insist
that salvation is to be found in Zion, nowhere else.
It would have been easy for the prophet simply to
gloat over Babylon’s humiliation and unmask its claims of
world dominance, but the prophet chose to focus instead
on what the Lord demands of Israel. Their Lord exercises
worldwide dominance and expects obedience and
faithfulness from his people. Let the downfall of Babylon
enkindle in them faith and hope, and remind them that the
Lord is still active in world history!
Relevant to both chapters 46 and 47 is the historical
fact that Cyrus and his army did not sack or humiliate
Babylon when they took the city in 539 BCE. Cyrus had
defeated the Babylonian army in the field, in part because
of the defection of the Babylonian general Gobryas. His
relationship with Gobryas played an important role as
Cyrus negotiated with the priests of Marduk to accept him
as the next Babylonian king. Babylon opened its gates to
him, parading him through the city as part of the Akitu
festival, and naming him as the monarch chosen by the
god Marduk.
Yahweh Defeats the Babylonian Empire
(47:1–15)
Isaiah 47, addressed to Babylon, is a companion piece
to Isaiah 46, which is addressed to Israel. This chapter
resembles other prophetic oracles concerning the nations
such as those in Isaiah 13–23. Yahweh, as Lord of the
world as well as of Israel, has the authority to address the
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 10
nations especially regarding the nations’ relationships to
Israel.
Scholars differ regarding the structure of chapter 47.
Paul (287) and other scholars detect two sections (vv. 1–7,
8–15), partly on the basis of a Hebrew phrase in verse 8
that often signals a fresh beginning, wĕ‘attāh, lit., “and
now” (NABR “now”). Sweeney (115–118) arranges the
verses according to other indications, verses 1–5, 6–11,
and 12–15. Verses 1–4 command Babylon to strip off her
queenly robes, perform the tasks of a slave, and live with
the possibility of rape, a frequent fate of captured females.
Yahweh takes on the role of redeemer of Israel, allowing
no appeal from his task. A “redeemer” was someone who
redressed an injustice done to another family member.
Verses 5–7 begin with imperative verbs addressed to
the personified city, “go” and “sit,” making it clear that
Israel’s humiliation resulted from Yahweh’s punishment,
not Babylon’s superior armies. Babylon was the instrument
of the punishment, but exceeded its mandate by its cruelty
especially toward the elderly. Unable to understand the
true situation (v. 7b), Babylon misinterpreted the outcome
of its actions. “Outcome” (’aḥărît) is a word especially
significant in Wisdom literature where it asserts that the
value of an action must be judged by its result.
In verse 8, “and now” marks a turning point. From
this point forward, the text asserts that Babylon, despite
its vaunted expertise in divination, never foresaw the
foolish outcome of its actions. It assumed that it would
never suffer what other conquered peoples suffer. It
must now endure bereavement (loss of its “children,”
the inhabitants of the city) and widowhood (loss of its
god, Marduk, v. 9). Verses 10–11 are another sketch of
the wealthy and supposedly well-informed Babylonians
unable to stave off the terrifying consequences of their
actions. Verses 12–15 are a third sketch of a city that did
not understand the outcome of its actions. Verse 15 tells
how the diviners themselves, the ones who should have
known where Babylon’s actions would lead it, stagger off
into the distance.
Babylon stands for any arrogant empire and city, be it
Egypt, Assyria, Persia, Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Asia,
or Rome. The New Testament book of Revelation uses
Babylon as code for arrogant Rome.
Openness to the Interpreting Word
(48:1–22)
In the first half of the chapter (vv. 1–11), Yahweh speaks
harshly to Israel, challenging them to believe that he is
ultimately responsible for the realignment of political
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power in the Near East. It was necessary that Yahweh
predict those events before they happened because Israel
would not otherwise believe the change was owed to his
intervention. Verses 1–2 accuse the people of not living
up to the obligations implied in their name. How can a
people who are named after the holy city Zion and who
boast of relying on the Lord not join in the new exodus
to Zion, the Lord’s city! Verses 3–11 berate the people
for refusing to acknowledge Yahweh is behind the events
that are so beneficial to Israel. A people so resistant almost
forces God to demonstrate his faithfulness. The people’s
sufferings came from God refining them (vv. 10–11).
The second speech (vv. 12–21), approximately the
same length as the first, has a softer tone, reminding the
people that his power should not surprise them, since he
is the one who created the world. If Israel would only
hearken to his voice, “your peace would be like a river /
your vindication like the waves of the sea” (v. 18). More
explicit than the first speech, the second speech names the
agent of change, Cyrus, underlining the truth that Yahweh
chose him and urgently invites the people to take part in
the new exodus. In verse 14, “The Lord loves (‘āhab)
those who do his will” implies Israel has a vocation.
Hebrew ‘āhab can mean to single out, to choose, as well
as to love.
The final line in the chapter, verse 22, comes from an
editor who correctly saw this unit as marking the end of
the first of the three major divisions in Isaiah (chapters
40–48; 49–55; 56–66). Imported without change from
57:21, it functions as a warning to anyone refusing to
return to Zion. Thus ends the chapters addressed to exiled
Israel. Chapters 49–55 will reflect the situation of Israel
after their return from Babylon and other places of exiles.
Yahweh Gives Servant Israel a Saving
Role (49:1–13)
Chapters 49–55 presume a different context than Isaiah
40–48. The intended audience seems now to be in
Jerusalem. Several central issues of the earlier chapters
are no longer treated—Yahweh as unique, the polemic
against image worship and those who worship them, the
worldwide trial indicting the nations, and arguments for
Yahweh’s omniscience and omnipotence based on his
predictions of events. Neither Babylon nor Cyrus as God’s
agent is mentioned, and “Jacob/Israel” as a name for Israel
appears only in 49:5, 6. In the following chapters, Israel
will be addressed frequently as “Jacob/Israel.”
Isaiah 49 begins with the servant’s bold announcement
to the nations of his commission as Yahweh’s servant in
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Commentary  11
the present crisis (vv. 1–13) and ends with the hymnic
verse 13. It is helpful to recognize that the Bible contains
two types of call narratives. In one type, the person called
resists and his resistance is overcome by conversation
and signs. Examples are Moses in Exodus 3–4, Gideon
in Judges 6, and Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:4–10. In the
other type, the commissioned one, present somehow in
the divine assembly, on hearing the divine word agrees
immediately to announce it, e.g., Isaiah 6 and 40:1–11.
Isaiah 49:1–7 combine elements of both types: servant
Israel alludes to Jeremiah’s commission in Jeremiah 1:4–
10, marked out at birth (vv. 3, 5–6, 7b), but the servant
honestly acknowledges the travails the commission has
brought with it (vv. 4, 7a). Mixing of the language of
suffering and exaltation has occurred before in the prophet
(40:6–11; 41:8–16; 42:1–10; and 43:1–8).
Several verses in 49:1–13 require comment. In verse
3, lit., “You are my servant, / Israel in whom I will be
glorified” (NRSV), makes clear the “servant” is the people
Israel, yet verse 6 states that this servant is commissioned
to “raise up the tribes of Jacob, / and restore the survivors
of Israel.” How can Israel have a mission to Israel? To
this much debated question, this commentary suggests the
answer lies in the fluidity in the notion of biblical servant,
noted under 41:1–42:9. Applying the concept of fluidity to
Isaiah 49:3–6, “Israel” designates obedient Israel, which
is tasked with showing forth the Lord’s sovereignty to the
nations by allowing themselves to be “brought back” to
Zion and “gathered” to the Lord (v. 5b). (As regards the
larger structure of chapter 49, it is difficult to say whether
verse 7 ends this section or begins the next one [vv. 8–13].)
In Isaiah 49:8–13, the Lord calls Israel, assuring
them that they will return, traveling safely through the
dangerous wilderness and, further, that the tasks Moses
or his assistants carried out (Num 26:52–56; 34:1–15;
32:28–32; 34:16–29) will occur again—distributing
allotments of lands to families. “Devastated heritages” (v.
8b) refers to the plots of land to be parceled out when the
people arrive; “inalienable” presumes the land belongs
ultimately to Yahweh and is to be kept within families.
The journey itself is a liberation from the prison of exile
(v. 9a). In the wilderness, those journeying will enjoy the
protection and gifts of their creator (vv. 9–12). Before
such wonders, earth itself breaks into cheers (v. 13). The
translation of bĕrît ‘am in verse 8b is usually rendered
“covenant for (or to) the people” (NABR, NRSV), but
Paul (189) plausibly argues the phrase is a reversed
construct chain and should be understood as ‘am bĕrît, “a
people of the covenant.” See under 42:6 for discussion.
The phrase “covenant people” implies that Israel will be
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 12  2 Isaiah
blessed and successfully return home because their God is
faithful to the covenant relationship.
The Restoration of Yahweh’s
Relationship with Zion (49:14–52:12)
The literary units in this section are closely related to each
other. For convenience and to make clear the coherence
of the chapters, I will follow Sweeney’s arrangement of
the subsections in 49:14–52:12 and borrow his title for
the section (157).
(a) Yahweh Reassures Grieving Zion of
Salvation (49:14–26)
Ancient Near Eastern people sometimes imagined the
relationship of a male god to his city as that of a husband
to his wife. The inhabitants of the city were sometimes
regarded as children of the personified city. Isaiah 47
viewed the fall of Babylon as Babylon’s loss of her
husband and her children. In 49:14–26, Zion, the widowed
wife and bereft mother, expresses her grief at her sad state
citing maxims that express unalterable fate. “The Lord has
forsaken me” (49:14), she cries, and “[Can] captives [be]
retrieved from a victor?” (v. 24, NJPS, Hebrew ṣaddîq can
mean “victor”). Quietly and tenderly, Yahweh reassures
Zion in memorable images of his love and fidelity: “Can
a mother forget her infant … even should she forget, I
will never forget you.” Her children will return in such
great numbers that there will not be space enough to
accommodate them. Then Yahweh signals to the nations
to bring back her scattered children (vv. 20–23).
Toward the end of the chapter, in verse 26, the gentle
tone turns grim as Yahweh promises Zion “to make
your oppressors eat their own flesh, / and they shall be
drunk with their own blood.” References to such acts of
cannibalism appear elsewhere in the Bible, for example,
Jeremiah 19:9; Leviticus 26:29; Ezekiel 5:10; 39:18;
and Zechariah 11:9, where they presuppose a siege that
impels starving townspeople to cannibalism. Blenkinsopp
suggests these shocking verses express “the fantasy of the
oppressed,” which “can perhaps be understood only by
those who themselves have been subject to oppression”
(313). According to the biblical principle of condign
punishment—the acts of evildoers come back upon
themselves—the degrading cruelties visited by Babylon
upon Jerusalem will come upon Babylon. A modern
proverb expresses it well: What goes around comes
around.
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 12
(b) Yahweh Rebukes Israel for Disbelief.
The Third Servant Song (50:1–11)
The section begins with two questions that turn into
rebukes. How could Israel assume that ever-faithful
Yahweh had divorced them definitively or let creditors
(the Babylonians) take them as the spoils of war? The first
question presumes a marital relationship between Yahweh
and Israel, which is implied in the first commandment,
“for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God” (Exod 20:5;
Deut 5:9). According to Deuteronomy 24:1, a “bill of
divorce” is required when a man divorces his wife. But
no such document exists, for Yahweh withdrew from
Israel only for a time, he did not divorce her. The same is
true for the belief that Yahweh gave the people up as the
spoils of war. No document proves such a total surrender.
Yahweh issues a further rebuke. If the relationship
between people and God was not ruptured, why was it that
no one answered when I called? The theme of Yahweh
calling and no one answering recurs throughout the book:
58:9; 65:1, 12; and 66:4. Israel therefore has absolutely
no grounds for doubting that Yahweh is their Lord and
has total power over all their enemies, human (v. 2cd) and
cosmic (v. 2e–3).
The mention of Israel’s unwillingness to believe that
Yahweh is saving them (50:1–3) is a fitting background to
the third servant song in verses 4–11 (a few commentators
do not consider vv. 10–11 a part of the song). As in the three
other Servant Songs (42:1–6; 49:1–7; 52:13–53:1–12),
“servant of the Lord” here has more than one reference.
The people Israel of course are servants of the Lord as in
Leviticus 25:55, but because servants are measured by the
quality of their obedience to their master, there are degrees
in servanthood. The immediately preceding verses,
50:1–3, judged Israel woefully lacking in its service, but
as this text shows, not every Israelite was lacking. The
servant in 50:4–11, speaking in the first person, is totally
obedient and so can stand over against the people as a
model for them. In Exodus 32–34, Moses performed this
very function. Perfectly obedient himself, he rebuked the
people and led them in repentance. Blenkinsopp points out
that the servants songs are linked to each other: “We are
hearing the same voice in 50:4–9 [as in 40:6 and 48:16b],
belonging to the same speaker, whose mission among his
own people is meeting increasingly vehement opposition.”
Blenkinsopp continues, “There is good reason to identify
the voice here in 40:1–6 and 50:1–9 with the voice of the
author” (320). The servant’s unwavering confidence is
truly remarkable given the culture, which assumed that
insults and public shaming diminished honor and thus
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“called for immediate and drastic action of some kind to
restore honor” (321). But the servant holds steady and
refrains from immediate retaliation: “Therefore I have
set my face like flint, / knowing that I shall not be put to
shame.” One way of restoring honor in a measured way
is recourse to the law, and not surprisingly legal language
appears in verses 8–9. The Hebrew phrases in verses
8–9 can be transposed into modern legal terminology:
find someone innocent, bring a lawsuit, appear in court,
bring a charge, approach (i.e., initiate legal proceedings,
NABR, “confront”). The prophet’s vigorous self-defense
against detractors brings to mind Jeremiah (Jer 1:18) and
Ezekiel (Ezek 3:8–9) both of whom had to face hostility
from those to whom they preached.
Verses 10–11 are part of the servant song. Verse 10
refers to those willing to listen to the prophet though
they are fearful and uncertain (“in darkness, without any
light”). Verse 11, somewhat unclear, probably refers to
Israelites who refuse to listen, preferring instead to walk
by their own lights, which will lead to their death. In verse
11, the phrase “the light of your own fire” seems to have a
negative connotation, referring to lights devised by those
who reject the light of the prophet’s announcement.
(c) Proclamation of Salvation for Zion
(51:1–8)
Isaiah 51:1–52:12 are a subsection in of the larger unit
49:14–52:12. I will give an overview of this subsection
before analyzing its parts. Isaiah 51:1–8 exhort the timid
hearers of the servant’s third song (identified as such in
50:10) to greater courage and obedience. Isaiah 51:9–
52:6 are linked by three apostrophes, each beginning
with the tri-consonantal Hebrew root ‘wr, “to wake up,”
in the imperative mood: ‘ûrî ‘ûrî, “Awake! Awake!” An
apostrophe is an exclamatory passage in a speech or
poem addressed to a person (typically dead or absent)
or a thing (typically personified). The first apostrophe
awakens Yahweh to fight for Israel (51:9–16); the second
awakens Jerusalem to assure her that her sufferings will
be shifted onto her persecutors (51:17–23), and the third
awakens Zion to celebrate her victory and put on victor’s
robes (52:1–6). Concluding the three apostrophes is the
dramatic sketch in 52:7–10 of a messenger arriving on
the mountains surrounding Zion announcing good news.
Immediately following the appearance of the messenger
in Isaiah 52:9–10 is the command to march confidently
in a new exodus. The command reprises the similar
exhortation in 48:20–21.
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Commentary  13
Having surveyed 51:1–52:12 as a whole, I now look
in detail at 51:1–8. As already noted, the audience for the
threefold exhortation in 51:1–8 is the timid and hesitant
Israelites mentioned in 50:10, who are hesitating before
the challenge of the third Servant Song (50:4–11). Three
imperative verbs of approximately equal length mark
out the exhortation in 51:1–9: “Listen to me,” verse 1,
“Be attentive to me,” verse 4, and “Hear me,” verse 7.
The first part of the exhortation (vv. 1–3) encourages
reluctant Israelites by the example of the founding
couple, Abraham and Sarah. Despite being overage and
only “one,” they were blessed with many descendants.
Indeed, God summoned Abraham from Mesopotamia to
Canaan where he and his wife became fruitful beyond
their expectations. In the second exhortation (“Be
attentive to me,” vv. 4–6), Yahweh mentions the teaching
(tôrāh) God will proclaim, borrowing vocabulary and
concepts from the famous passage about the nations of
the world streaming to Zion to hear God’s word (Isa
2:1–4). God also assures listeners that victory will not
be long in coming. The third part of the exhortation
(“Hear me,” vv. 7–8) urges hearers to pay no heed to
naysayers among the people, for ultimately they will rot
away. Behind the positive exhortations lies an ominous
element. A line is beginning to be drawn through the
community, a separation within Israel that Blenkinsopp
calls “an incipient sectarian viewpoint that we will
observe gathering strength through subsequent chapters”
(325). The separation of Israelite from Israelite will reach
its climax in the great judgment scene in Isaiah 65.
(d) Apostrophe I. Rise Up, Arm of
Yahweh! (51:9–16)
This is the first of three apostrophes, which are addresses
to a person or thing—51:9–16, 17–23, and 52:1–10. In
this first one, verses 9–11 demand that the Lord awake
from slumber and perform anew the mighty acts of
creation and salvation that brought Israel into existence.
The sleeping divine warrior who must be awakened may
seem strange to modern ears, but the motif was common
in Mesopotamian literature and occasionally appears in
the Bible, e.g., Psalms 7:7; 35:23; 44:24; and 59:4 (B.
Batto, Biblica 68.2 [1987] 153–177). To understand this
apostrophe, one must attend to the ancient understanding
of creation. Ancients imagined creation on the model of
human making or various processes in nature, and their
creation accounts focused on the origin of human society
rather than on the origin of the physical universe. This
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 14  2 Isaiah
Isaian passage imagines creation as the defeat of the
cosmic forces that made civilization impossible. Here anti-
creation chaos is represented by the primeval sea dragon,
Rahab (cf. Job 9:13; 26:12; Ps 89:10 [Hebrew 11]). When
Yahweh defeated Rahab, an orderly and habitable world
came into being. The exodus from Egypt through the Sea
could be regarded as an act of creation, for a people was
created when Israel left Egypt and settled in the promised
land. Isaiah 51:9–16 constitute a single prayer: verses
9–11 are the petition and verses 12–16 are God’s answer
that reminds the people of his defeat of Rahab and control
of Sea (v. 15). People can therefore feel confident their
prayers will be answered.
(e) Apostrophe II. Stand Erect,
Jerusalem! (51:17–23)
The second apostrophe addresses Jerusalem and urges
her to stand firm despite her sufferings, for her bitter cup
of suffering is about to be shifted onto her persecutors.
The passage makes use of the literary motif of a suffering
parent requiring guidance home by his or her children (v.
18). Zion’s dependence on her children is impossible in
this case, for they have been struck down (v. 20). That
dire situation is ending, however, for God will intervene
directly. The passage is notable for God’s deeply felt
sympathy for the city personified as a woman, prostrate
and helpless. In verse 20, “like antelopes caught in a
net” evokes the picture of beautiful wild animals, hunted
down, exhausted, and lying helpless in the trapper’s net.
In verse 22, “the cup of my wrath” is a metaphor for a cup
of poison forced on a victim. The metaphor is found also
in Jeremiah 25:15–26 and Lamentations 4:21.
(f) Apostrophe III. Rise Up Zion! A
Messenger Announces Good News
(52:1–12)
This passage is the climax of the three apostrophes—the
first is addressed to Yahweh’s arm and the next two to
the holy city. The last apostrophe is more insistent than the
prior two, for it calls upon Zion to cast off her prisoner’s
garb once for all and don garments symbolizing holiness
and joy. It reverses the humiliation of Babylon in chapter
47: Babylon must step down from her throne, strip off her
royal garments, and sit in the dust (47:1), whereas Zion
shakes off the dust, dons royal attire, and ascends to the
throne (52:1–2). “Bereavement and widowhood” come
upon Babylon (47:9), whereas Zion sees the return of her
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 14
Lord and children (inhabitants; 52:7–10). The highpoint
of chapter 52 is the Lord’s return to Zion in verses 7–10,
sketched as a messenger announcing the news (v. 7), a
sentinel in Zion relaying it to the city (v. 8), and the city
erupting in joy (vv. 9–10).
Isaiah 52:1–2, “For nothing you were sold,” implies
that the Lord did not sell Israel for financial gain, but had
a different cause—Israel’s own sins that caused the Lord
to chastise her. But now Israel’s sins have been atoned and
she can be redeemed without payment. Israel’s redemption
has been done because of God’s love and favor. Verse 4
mentions three phases of oppression—Egypt, Assyria,
and Babylon (implied in “Assyria”). In verse 5, the Lord
asks “What am I to do here?” means I gain nothing by
remaining in Babylon with the exiles, for to do so would
legitimize Babylon as conqueror. Yahweh declares it is
time to return to my city—Zion.
The dramatic scene of the announcement of the
Lord’s arrival in 52:7–10 is the climax of the series of
apostrophes. The Hebrew verb, announcing good news, is
mĕbaśśēr. LXX (Greek) translates mĕbaśśēr, “to announce
good news” by the verb euaggelizomai. The noun form
of the tri-consonantal root bśr is “good news, victory,”
which LXX translates by euaggelion (from eu, “good,
beneficial” and aggelia, “message”). English “gospel” is
a literal translation of euaggelion: Old English gōdspel,
gōd, “good,” and spel, “news, a story.” Euaggelion is
frequent in the New Testament as the good news preached
by Jesus, e.g., Mark 1:15; 8:35; 10:29; Romans 1:16. The
series started with, “Awake, awake… arm of the Lord,” in
51:9 and concludes in 52:10, “he has bared his holy arm
in the sight of the all the nations.”
Complementing the exaltation of Zion through
Yahweh’s victorious return is the command to depart from
Babylon in 52:11–12. “Touch nothing unclean,” those
departing from Babylon are told, for your destination is
a “holy city,” where “the uncircumcised or the unclean”
may not enter (52:1). The emigres are to bring back the
sacred vessels seized by the Babylonian army in 586
BCE. Unlike the people’s hasty and confused departure
from Egypt in the first exodus (Exod 14:5; Deut 16:3),
those leaving Babylon this time do so in an unhurried and
dignified way (52:12).
The Fourth Servant Song. My
Servant Bears the Sins of the People
(52:13–53:12)
The fourth and last Servant Song is the climax of the
series of the Songs (42:1–6; 49:1–6; 50:4–11), though
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it has two speakers and a different structure. Two divine
pronouncements (52:13–15 and 53:11–12) frame a
confession uttered by a group (not identified in the text)
that the servant’s suffering and (possibly) death has saved
them from the punishment due their sins (53:1–11b).
Like the first Servant song (though not the second and
third), the servant here is silent, spoken about rather than
speaking.
Divine speech opens the passage, declaring that
nations and kings are astonished that “my servant,” once
lowly and devastated, has been so exalted (52:12–15).
A group confesses with heartfelt emotion that they have
been saved by the servant’s suffering (53:1–11b), “He
bore the punishment that makes us whole, / by his wounds
we were healed” (53:5). Divine speech comes in again at
the conclusion (53:11c–12), “My servant, the just one,
shall justify the many” (53:11c).
The passage raises three questions that scholars
still debate: (1) Which group speaks in 53:1–11b? (2)
How can the servant take away the sins of others, that
is, suffer vicariously? (3) What kind of reward does the
servant receive in verses 11–12? In answer to the first
question, traditional Jewish exegesis proposes that the
Jewish people (or a righteous remnant of them) are the
speakers; their sufferings at the hands of the Babylonians
and other oppressors have brought salvation to the world
at large. One argument against this view is the role the
nations play elsewhere in chapters 40–55—onlookers
rather than protagonists. Another argument against
Israel as the speaker is expressed by Blenkinsopp: “the
empathic language of 53:1–12 also renders it unlikely
that the speaker represents the nations and their rulers …
The eulogist is an individual, almost certainly a disciple
… and one who speaks on behalf of those who ‘revere
Yahweh and obey the voice of his servant’ (Isa 50:10)”
(351). In Isaiah 53:1–11, the group narrates the career of
the servant, from unlikely beginnings (v. 2) to the isolation
and suffering that proved redemptive for them. Verses
8–9 speak of his death (“He was given a grave among the
wicked, / a burial place with evildoers”), though “death”
may be hyperbole for desperate plight as in Psalms 18:5–
6, 30:4, and Jonah 2:2, 8.
The second debated question is how to understand the
servant’s vicarious suffering? There is no other example
of vicarious suffering in the Hebrew Bible. Several
proposals are unsatisfactory: the servant suffered along
with the guilty, an instance of corporate guilt, but the
text is clear that “He bore the punishment that makes us
whole” (v. 5) and “the Lord laid upon him the guilt of
us all” (v. 6). Others have suggested intergenerational
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 15
Commentary  15
guilt as an analogy: “Parents eat sour grapes, / but the
children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezek 18:2), but Ezekiel
merely states the commonplace that later generations
must endure the consequences of earlier generations’
misdeeds. A third proposal adduces the Day of Atonement
in Leviticus 16, but that rite does not involve vicarious
suffering, for the goat sent to the demon Azazel does not
“have the effect of a sacrifice in providing purification,
expiation, and the like. The goat is simply the symbolic
vehicle for dispatching Israel’s sins to the wilderness
(16:21–22)” (J. Milgrom, Leviticus: Book of Ritual and
Ethics. [CC. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2006] 10). A
better analogy is God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis
16:18–32 to spare Sodom for the sake of a small group of
righteous people in the city; the presence of a righteous
few can save the unrighteous many. But the righteous few
do not bear the sins of the many.
This commentary suggests the following tentative
solution: for Israel to be reborn as a nation, it was
necessary that someone (or some group) enact the exodus,
that is, journey through the wilderness to Zion. A small
number of people, even an individual, making the journey
would be enough to restore the entire people of Israel, for
Israel’s founding deed would have been enacted. We need
to remind ourselves that ancient religion was primarily
a matter of performance—what you did rather than
what you thought. Someone had actually to perform the
difficult act. The sufferings of the servant in this passage
are a reminder of how costly the journey to Zion turned
out to be.
The third question is the meaning of the servant’s
reward in 53:11–12. Tentatively, this commentary
suggests that God rewards the servant with life in the
land. Such a reward is appropriate for the servant who
has risked everything by urging his reluctant compatriots
to return to Zion. Verses 11–12 contain four possible
allusion to Isaiah 9:1–6, which predict the restoration of
the people: “he shall see light” (53:11, cf. 9:1, “the people
who walked in darkness have seen a great light”); “I will
give him his portion (root ḥlq) among the many, and he
shall divide (root ḥlq) the spoils (šālāl) with the mighty”
(Isa 53:12, cf. 9:2), “when dividing the spoils” (ḥlq šālāl);
and “their iniquity he shall bear (sābal),” (53:11, cf. 9:3),
“for the yoke that burdened (sōbel) them.”
Apostrophe Addressed to Zion (54:1–17)
Chapter 54 resumes the series of three apostrophes in
51:9–52:12, which was interrupted by the fourth Servant
Song (52:13–53:12). Like the latter two apostrophes, this
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 16  2 Isaiah
fourth one is addressed to Zion, though the reassurance
here is longer and more detailed. Scholars differ on the
structure of chapter 54. This commentary proposes three
stanzas of approximately equal cola (lines), each with a
different emphasis: verses 1–5, 21 cola, Zion’s children
will again be many; verses 6–10, 20 cola, an affirmation
of prior promises; and verses 11–17, 22 cola, protection
from attacks on the city. Each stanza concludes with a
verse highlighting an aspect of God’s fidelity.
The first stanza (vv. 1–5) remedies Woman Zion’s
childlessness, which in that culture would have caused
profound shame. The remedy is the return of her husband
who as creator (v. 5) will bestow on his wife more
children than ever. In the second stanza (vv. 6–10), the
Lord explains the delay in returning to Zion; the delay
was caused by divine anger at the people’s infidelity.
Withdrawal was temporary, however, for God held onto
the anger only briefly. Yahweh assures Zion he never
actually divorced her (cf. 50:1); the marriage still endures.
Then God alludes to another covenant, the covenant with
Noah in Genesis 6:18 and 9:9–17. Here God extends
the post-Flood assurance given to Noah in Genesis 9:11
(“never again shall all creatures be destroyed by the
waters of flood”) to the Sinai covenant, which many in
Israel had apparently concluded was no longer in force.
In Genesis 9:16, God made with Noah an “everlasting
covenant” (bĕrît ‘ôlām) between God and every living
creature, but in Isaiah 54:10, God makes with the people
a bĕrît šālôm (NABR “covenant of peace”), better
translated by NJPS as “covenant of friendship,” because
it restores the covenantal relationship God and Israel that
had been broken.
In the third and final stanza in chapter 54 (vv. 11–17),
God turns tenderly to Zion, “afflicted one, storm-battered,
and unconsoled” and, blending the practical with the
poetic, promises to build her fortifications (battlements,
gates, walls) with sapphires, rubies, jewels, and precious
stones. Yahweh will never again permit an attack on Zion,
for he controls the manufacture of all weapons of war (vv.
16–17). This promise elaborates the assurance given to
Noah (v. 9) that never again will a flood destroy the earth.
The final bi-colon, “This is the lot of the servants of
the Lord,” contains the only plural instance of “servant” in
chapters 40–55. In chapters 56–66, the plural of “servant”
occurs more frequently (56:6; 65:8–9, 13–15). One can
conclude with many commentators that this passage
is a transition to chapters 56–66. It expresses what has
been implied in the later chapters—a minority among the
exiles, those who have obeyed the servant’s command to
9781474248853_txt_Ch_32_rev.indd 16
return to Zion, now regard themselves as a separate group
within the community, perhaps the group described as
“those who tremble at his word” (66:5). So Blenkinsopp
(366).
Come to the Banquet and Enter into the
Davidic Covenant (55:1–13)
At first glance, chapter 55 with its invitation to a
banquet and extension of the Davidic covenant to all
the people seems far removed from the concerns of the
preceding speeches. The chapter makes better sense as an
“interchange” between chapters 55 and 56; neither chapter
should be considered an absolute end or an absolute
beginning (Beuken, 126–132; cf. Blenkinsopp, 369). Both
chapters summarize previous material and prepare hearers
for a fresh stage in God’s actions.
Chapter 55 invites people to a banquet that offers more
than food and drink—a new way of living and life in a
sacral sphere. Similar invitations to banquets occur in the
pre-1200 BCE Ugaritic texts (CTU 1.23.6–7; 1:17.6.2–5,
17–23) and in Proverbs 9:1–6 + 11. In Proverbs 9, Woman
Wisdom invites the young person to put aside unworthy
conduct (“foolishness”) and enter her house for a banquet:
“Forsake foolishness that you may live … For by me
your days will be multiplied / and the years of your life
increased” (vv. 6, 11).
This commentary suggests that the invitation to put
aside unworthy conduct and enter the sanctuary where
new life is offered to those all who enter is a perfect finale
of the exodus. All through previous chapters, Deutero-
Isaiah has invited Israelites to embark on a new exodus
journey to Zion. Now the prophet invites them to enter
the sanctuary that lies at the end of the exodus journey.
The prophet follows the narrative sequence in the classic
poem, Exodus 15, which describes the people’s escape
from the pharaoh through the Reed Sea (Exod 15:1–12),
their journey through Canaan (Exod 15:13–16), and their
entry into Yahweh’s dwelling (Exod 15:13, 17). The latter
verses in Exodus 15 make clear that the exodus comes to
its proper conclusion when Israel enters Yahweh’s palace
on the holy mountain: “In your love, you led the people
you redeemed; / in your strength you guided them to your
holy dwelling … you led them and planted them on your
own mountain, / the place You made to dwell in, O Lord,
/ the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands made. / May
the Lord reign forever and ever” (author’s translation).
The same concern to enter God’s dwelling is implied by
the verb “Seek the Lord” in Isaiah 55:6. The verb is used
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of visiting a sanctuary (Gen 25:22; Amos 5:5). Psalms 15,
24, and Isaiah 33:14–16 warn people entering the sacred
precincts to purify themselves before they enter. Hence,
the warning in Isaiah 55:7 makes perfect sense: “Let the
wicked forsake their way, and sinners their thoughts.”
Interpreting Isaiah 55:1–7 as an invitation to a
sacred place points forward to 56:1–8 where Yahweh
determines who may belong to renewed Israel. A renewed
Israel requires new criteria for belonging. Previously
excluded categories of people are now welcome in
Yahweh’s house—“the foreigner” and “the eunuch.”
Eunuchs were excluded from worship in Deuteronomy
23:1 and Leviticus 21:17–23, and “foreigners” could not
celebrate Passover in Exodus 12:43; Nehemiah 9:2 is
even more sweeping. But now Yahweh invites “all who
keep the Sabbath without profaning it / and hold fast to
my covenant. / Them I will bring to my holy mountain /
and make them joyful in my house of prayer” (56:6). In
sum, “my house shall be called a house of prayer for all
peoples.” Yahweh is the one “who gathers the dispersed
of Israel” (56:8). Thus do chapters 55 and 56 conclude
the previous section and point forward to life in renewed
Israel. The chapters show the establishment of Yahweh’s
sovereign rule at Mount Zion.
Isaiah 55:3–6 adapt the Davidic covenant to all Israel.
Previous chapters twice called Israel a “covenant people”
(42:6 and 49:8, for this translation, see under 42:6).
“Covenant” in chapters 42 and 49, however, meant the
Sinai covenant made with the entire people and mediated
by Moses, not the Davidic covenant made with the king
alone. The Davidic covenant promised the king his dynasty
would be eternal even though individual kings might sin
(cf. 2 Sam 7 and Ps 89). Given kingship’s failures in
the preceding centuries, prophets were understandably
reluctant to assign the king a central place in restored
Israel, e.g., Jeremiah 23:1–6; Ezekiel 34:23–24; 37:24–
28; 40–48; instead of the usual word for king, melek.
Ezekiel revives an archaic and less grandiose title, nāśî’,
“prince.” Though the exact meaning of Isaiah 55:3cd, “I
will make with you (plural) an everlasting covenant,” is
debated, Blenkinsopp aptly notes that the verse “does not
imply a commitment to restoring the Davidic dynasty.
What is promised is that the hearers will experience the
same tokens of God’s faithful love (ḥasĕdîm) … that God
performed in former times on behalf of David (as in Ps
89:50)” (370). Yet there is one royal task the people can
and must perform—being a “witness to peoples,” as in
the royal psalm, Psalm 18:50–51, “Thus I will praise
you, Lord, among the nations; / I will sing praises to your
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Bibliography  17
name. / You have given great victories to your king/and
shown mercy to his anointed, / to David and his posterity
forever.” In short, the people are to witness Yahweh’s
glory to the nations as the Davidic kings formerly did.
Isaiah 55:6–8 are a final call to the people to return,
though Yahweh’s word will prevail as surely as the rain
will make the earth bloom despite human resistance. The
final two verses express the success of the divine plan in
spite of human recalcitrance. As the people return to Zion,
transformed nature itself will cheer and signal to all the
glory of the Lord.
Bibliography
Albertz, Rainer. Israel in Exile. The History and
Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E. Society of
Biblical Literature Studies in Biblical Literature,
376–434. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
Beuken, Willem A. M. “Major Interchanges in the Book
of Isaiah Subservient to Its Umbrella Theme: The
Establishment of Yahweh’s Sovereign Rule at Mt.
Zion (Chs. 12–13; 27–28; 39–40; 55–56).” In The
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(Blenkinsopp Volume). Edited by Richard J. Bautch
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Blenkinsopp, Joseph. Isaiah 40–55. AB 19A. New York:
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Burges, Ulrich, “Isaiah: Structure, Themes, and
Contested Issues.” In The Oxford Handbook of
the Prophets. Edited by Carolyn J. Sharp, 153–70.
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Clifford, Richard J. “The Exodus in the Christian Bible:
the Case for ‘Figural’ Reading.’” Theological Studies
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Clifford, Richard J. “Isaiah, Book of.” In The New
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Paul, Shalom M. Isaiah 40–66. Eerdmans Critical
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