WEBVTT 00:00.750 --> 00:03.850 Professor Christine Hayes: I'm going to go ahead 00:03.845 --> 00:06.765 now and get started with some sixth-century material 00:06.768 --> 00:09.458 which--prophetic literature--which confronts the 00:09.462 --> 00:13.362 issues that were raised by the final destruction of Jerusalem. 00:13.360 --> 00:16.920 What was the meaning of this event and how could it be 00:16.922 --> 00:20.622 reconciled with the concept of Israel as God's elect? 00:20.620 --> 00:23.550 How could such tremendous evil and suffering be reconciled with 00:23.554 --> 00:24.884 the nature of God himself? 00:24.880 --> 00:27.640 This is going to be a question that will return in the next 00:27.637 --> 00:30.347 lecture when we look at the wisdom literature and the Book 00:30.347 --> 00:32.617 of Job, and some other texts as well as 00:32.621 --> 00:35.051 we proceed through the rest of the course. 00:35.050 --> 00:37.270 In classical terms, if God is God, 00:37.273 --> 00:41.253 then he's not good if all these terrible things happened, 00:41.250 --> 00:44.330 and if God is good then he mustn't be all powerful because 00:44.328 --> 00:46.108 he failed to prevent this evil. 00:46.110 --> 00:49.710 That tends to be the dilemma, the way it's phrased. 00:49.710 --> 00:53.050 Now, Ezekiel was a priest and he was deported in the first 00:53.049 --> 00:55.479 deportation. You remember there was a 00:55.483 --> 00:59.313 deportation of exiles in 597, and then the final siege and 00:59.313 --> 01:02.543 destruction and deportation of exiles in 587. 01:02.539 --> 01:05.439 Ezekiel was among the deportees of 597. 01:05.439 --> 01:08.809 He was therefore, in exile in Babylon during the 01:08.814 --> 01:12.624 final destruction and the fall of Jerusalem in 587, 01:12.620 --> 01:15.090 but his priestly background and his priestly interests are 01:15.091 --> 01:16.741 clearly reflected in his prophecies. 01:16.739 --> 01:20.709 He accuses the Israelites of failing to observe cultic laws, 01:20.707 --> 01:23.597 ritual laws, and his promises for the future 01:23.599 --> 01:26.829 and his vision of a restoration, we will see, 01:26.825 --> 01:30.915 center around a new temple and a restored Jerusalem and temple 01:30.921 --> 01:33.081 complex. There's a striking 01:33.083 --> 01:37.593 correspondence between Ezekiel and the priestly sources in 01:37.590 --> 01:40.990 terms of language and theme, particularly H, 01:40.991 --> 01:42.811 the Holiness code. 01:42.810 --> 01:46.350 Now, the prophecies in Ezekiel, conveniently and unlike many of 01:46.352 --> 01:49.212 the other prophetic books, actually follow a fairly 01:49.208 --> 01:50.578 chronological order. 01:50.580 --> 01:54.090 So the first section of the book consists of prophecies that 01:54.088 --> 01:56.228 were before the final destruction, 01:56.230 --> 01:59.240 between 597 and 587, and then beginning in 33, 01:59.242 --> 02:03.262 it seems we have prophecies that followed the destruction. 02:03.260 --> 02:06.970 He gets the report of the destruction, and then we see how 02:06.965 --> 02:09.235 his tone and his message changes. 02:09.240 --> 02:12.720 So in those first 24 chapters where you have prophecies that 02:12.718 --> 02:15.438 are delivered in Babylon, before the destruction, 02:15.440 --> 02:18.290 we have three chapters that are devoted to his call and his 02:18.292 --> 02:19.622 commission as a prophet. 02:19.620 --> 02:21.360 We see his inaugural vision. 02:21.360 --> 02:24.310 I'll come back and talk about that in a minute as well as many 02:24.314 --> 02:25.674 other visions and symbols. 02:25.669 --> 02:28.049 Then you have, from chapters 4 to 24, 02:28.046 --> 02:31.146 oracles that are condemning Judah and Israel. 02:31.150 --> 02:32.790 There are some interesting elements within this. 02:32.789 --> 02:37.369 We have the depiction of the kavod (which represents 02:37.368 --> 02:40.058 God) departing. We'll talk about that text in a 02:40.061 --> 02:41.351 minute. We also have, 02:41.351 --> 02:44.541 in chapter 18, a very interesting emphasis on 02:44.539 --> 02:47.219 individual responsibility for sin. 02:47.220 --> 02:49.460 We'll come back and touch on that as well. 02:49.460 --> 02:53.180 Chapters 25 to 32 contain oracles against foreign nations 02:53.183 --> 02:55.913 just as we have in Jeremiah and Isaiah. 02:55.910 --> 02:59.340 Throughout, Ezekiel refers to these nations as the 02:59.340 --> 03:02.160 uncircumcised. The tone here is vengeful and 03:02.156 --> 03:04.726 very gloating, and these oracles have exerted 03:04.731 --> 03:07.541 a very strong influence on the New Testament, 03:07.539 --> 03:10.349 particularly the Book of Revelation. 03:10.349 --> 03:14.959 After 587, Ezekiel prophesied and those prophecies are 03:14.955 --> 03:20.685 contained in the latter part of his book from chapters 33 to 48. 03:20.689 --> 03:24.819 So in 33 we hear of the fall of Jerusalem, and then after that, 03:24.815 --> 03:27.805 oracles of promise and hope for the future. 03:27.810 --> 03:30.580 The last chapters, from chapter 40 to 48 are 03:30.580 --> 03:33.480 visions: Ezekiel's visions of the restoration, 03:33.479 --> 03:37.279 his vision of a rebuilt Temple and a rebuilt Jerusalem. 03:37.280 --> 03:40.750 So the book opens with a narrative account of Ezekiel's 03:40.746 --> 03:44.466 call in about 593 or so in a Jewish community that's on the 03:44.468 --> 03:47.538 River Chebar, which is a large irrigation 03:47.539 --> 03:50.399 canal off of the Euphrates in Babylon. 03:50.400 --> 03:54.050 And this is the first time that we hear of a call of a prophet 03:54.046 --> 03:55.776 outside the land of Israel. 03:55.780 --> 03:57.260 It's a remarkable vision. 03:57.259 --> 04:00.899 Like many of the visions in the Book of Ezekiel it has a sort of 04:00.900 --> 04:03.500 surrealistic, almost hallucinatory quality. 04:03.500 --> 04:06.860 The vision itself is very reminiscent of descriptions of 04:06.863 --> 04:08.823 Baal, the Canaanite storm god. 04:08.819 --> 04:12.629 So there's a stormy wind and a huge cloud, and a flashing fire. 04:12.629 --> 04:15.659 God is riding on a kind of throne chariot. 04:15.659 --> 04:18.559 He's enthroned above four magnificent creatures. 04:18.560 --> 04:21.880 Each of these has a human body and then four faces: 04:21.881 --> 04:24.471 the face of a human, the face of a lion, 04:24.471 --> 04:27.661 the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle. 04:27.660 --> 04:31.110 There are four huge wheels under this throned-chariot, 04:31.105 --> 04:34.675 and they are said to gleam like beryl beneath a vast and 04:34.680 --> 04:39.060 awe-inspiring expanse or dome, which gleams like crystal. 04:39.060 --> 04:43.720 Above that is the semblance of a throne that is like sapphire, 04:43.716 --> 04:48.066 and on the throne was the semblance of a human form that's 04:48.067 --> 04:52.567 gleaming like amber, and its fire encased in a 04:52.570 --> 04:56.310 frame, which is radiant all about. 04:56.310 --> 04:59.330 So this kavod, this cloud that contains or 04:59.328 --> 05:03.228 hides the fire that is Yahweh's presence--That is also the term 05:03.226 --> 05:06.326 that's used in the Torah, in Exodus and the priestly 05:06.328 --> 05:09.178 sources to describe the presence of God among His people, 05:09.180 --> 05:11.990 this fire that's encased in a cloud, the kavod. 05:11.990 --> 05:15.480 In Exodus 24 we read that this kavod had settled on 05:15.484 --> 05:18.064 Mount Sinai representing God's presence. 05:18.060 --> 05:21.230 In Exodus 40, this cloud covers the tent of 05:21.234 --> 05:23.564 meeting; it fills the tabernacle, 05:23.563 --> 05:26.973 so when Ezekiel sees it now he says, that it "was the 05:26.972 --> 05:30.842 appearance of the semblance of the Presence of the Lord. 05:30.839 --> 05:33.949 When I beheld it, I flung myself down on my face 05:33.946 --> 05:36.916 and I heard the voice of someone speaking." 05:36.920 --> 05:39.460 Notice this language; it was the "semblance of the 05:39.460 --> 05:40.900 appearance of the Presence." 05:40.899 --> 05:44.799 Ezekiel wants to emphasize the transcendent nature of the 05:44.802 --> 05:46.812 deity. He's having a vision of 05:46.811 --> 05:50.031 something which cannot in fact be seen or perceived, 05:50.029 --> 05:53.309 which is a kind of paradox of all of his visions. 05:53.310 --> 05:56.780 The prophet's humanity is emphasized in contrast to this 05:56.775 --> 05:59.735 transcendent divinity, and that's something that 05:59.736 --> 06:01.686 happens throughout Ezekiel. 06:01.689 --> 06:05.979 He emphasizes his humanity with this phrase "Son of Man," ben 06:05.980 --> 06:07.670 adam. Son of Man; 06:07.670 --> 06:10.930 it simply is the Hebrew term for a mortal being as opposed to 06:10.925 --> 06:13.175 divine being. Son of Man simply means a 06:13.177 --> 06:14.267 human, a morta. 06:14.269 --> 06:16.779 Ben adam, one who is like Adam. 06:16.779 --> 06:20.659 Now, the call of Ezekiel is reminiscent of the call of 06:20.659 --> 06:22.269 Jeremiah and Isaiah. 06:22.269 --> 06:25.269 He is sent to a nation of rebels, rebels who will not be 06:25.265 --> 06:26.295 listening to him. 06:26.300 --> 06:30.450 His commission is symbolized by a scroll that's handed to him, 06:30.448 --> 06:34.328 and we hear at the end of chapter 2 that inscribed on this 06:34.325 --> 06:37.585 scroll are lamentations and dirges and woes, 06:37.589 --> 06:40.649 and he's commanded to eat of this scroll and then go to speak 06:40.646 --> 06:41.916 to the House of Israel. 06:41.920 --> 06:45.300 So he swallows this scroll and all of its dreadful contents. 06:45.300 --> 06:49.550 It tastes to him as sweet as honey and then his task is 06:49.553 --> 06:51.683 spelled out in chapter 3. 06:51.680 --> 06:54.740 He is to be a watchman, one who gives warning of 06:54.739 --> 06:57.929 danger, and people will either heed him or not, 06:57.930 --> 07:01.710 but each one of them is ultimately responsible for his 07:01.707 --> 07:03.987 or her own fate. In a vision, 07:03.985 --> 07:07.545 in chapter 8, an angel transports Ezekiel to 07:07.552 --> 07:10.872 Jerusalem and into the temple courts, 07:10.870 --> 07:14.870 and there he sees and gives a very vivid description of the 07:14.873 --> 07:16.533 shocking abominations. 07:16.529 --> 07:21.169 These are represented as justifying or explaining the 07:21.170 --> 07:25.540 destruction of the city and these descriptions are 07:25.543 --> 07:30.453 characterized by more than the usual amount of prophetic 07:30.452 --> 07:33.802 hyperbole. As he watches the slaughter and 07:33.795 --> 07:37.125 the destruction that's going on there, Ezekiel sees the 07:37.131 --> 07:40.381 kavod, that is the presence of Yahweh, 07:40.380 --> 07:43.590 arise from the Temple and move to the east. 07:43.590 --> 07:48.050 Chapter 10:18-19: ...the Presence of the 07:48.054 --> 07:51.044 LORD left the platform of the House and stopped above the 07:51.042 --> 07:53.012 cherubs. And I saw the cherubs lift 07:53.006 --> 07:56.076 their wings and rise from the earth, with the wheels beside 07:56.076 --> 07:58.476 them as they departed; and they stopped at the 07:58.483 --> 08:00.983 entrance of the eastern gate of the House of the Lord, 08:00.980 --> 08:03.760 with the Presence of the God of Israel above them. 08:03.760 --> 08:07.670 In chapter 11:23-25: …The Presence of the 08:07.674 --> 08:10.504 LORD ascended from the midst of the city and stood on the hill 08:10.495 --> 08:11.415 east of the city. 08:11.420 --> 08:14.590 A spirit carried me away and brought me in a vision by the 08:14.591 --> 08:17.431 spirit of God to the exiled community in Chaldea. 08:17.430 --> 08:20.930 [So now he's back to Babylon.] Then the vision that I had seen 08:20.931 --> 08:24.491 left me, and I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had 08:24.489 --> 08:27.479 shown me. So this image draws on Ancient 08:27.482 --> 08:31.102 Near Eastern traditions of gods abandoning their cities in 08:31.098 --> 08:34.458 anger, leaving them to destruction by another god. 08:34.460 --> 08:37.700 The primary difference here is that God, rather than another 08:37.702 --> 08:40.342 god, is himself also bringing the destruction. 08:40.340 --> 08:44.160 Moreover, God doesn't retire to the heavens. 08:44.160 --> 08:46.230 He doesn't abandon his people. 08:46.230 --> 08:50.400 He doesn't remain behind with those left in Judah, 08:50.404 --> 08:52.624 but he moves into exile. 08:52.620 --> 08:54.890 In the book of Ezekiel those left behind are guilty. 08:54.890 --> 08:58.020 God does not stay with them; God moves east with the 08:58.017 --> 08:59.397 righteous exiles. 08:59.399 --> 09:03.749 Then at the end of the Book of Ezekiel, we're going to see a 09:03.748 --> 09:07.748 vision of a restored Temple, this happens in Ezekiel 43, 09:07.750 --> 09:11.730 and here Ezekiel will see the kavod returning from the 09:11.728 --> 09:14.548 east and back to the temple, …And there, 09:14.551 --> 09:16.581 coming from the east with a roar like the roar of mighty 09:16.580 --> 09:18.250 waters, was the Presence of the God of 09:18.247 --> 09:20.407 Israel, and the earth was lit up by His presence. 09:20.410 --> 09:22.180 … The Presence of the LORD 09:22.178 --> 09:24.318 entered the temple by the gate that faced eastward. 09:24.320 --> 09:26.170 … …and lo, the Presence of the 09:26.174 --> 09:29.404 LORD filled the Temple. That was 43:1-6. 09:29.399 --> 09:33.009 So just as the presence, the Divine presence, 09:33.009 --> 09:37.519 went eastward with the exiles so it will return with the 09:37.522 --> 09:41.052 re-establishment of Israel in her home. 09:41.049 --> 09:45.439 What is significant here is the idea that God is not linked to a 09:45.436 --> 09:48.636 particular place but to a particular people. 09:48.639 --> 09:51.569 And the implication then is that God is with His people, 09:51.571 --> 09:53.171 even when they are in exile. 09:53.169 --> 09:56.609 So Ezekiel preached a message of doom and judgment like his 09:56.611 --> 09:59.461 prophetic predecessors and his contemporaries, 09:59.460 --> 10:02.650 but his condemnations tend to emphasize the people's idolatry 10:02.648 --> 10:05.678 and their moral impurity and this of course makes sense of 10:05.678 --> 10:07.058 his priestly heritage. 10:07.059 --> 10:11.309 His denunciations of Jerusalem are among the most lurid and 10:11.309 --> 10:14.239 violent that you'll find in the Bible. 10:14.240 --> 10:18.100 Again, these prophesies were likely delivered between the two 10:18.098 --> 10:20.858 deportations, between 597 and then the final 10:20.864 --> 10:23.634 destruction and deportation in 587,586. 10:23.629 --> 10:27.779 And Ezekiel warns that Jerusalem will fall deservedly. 10:27.779 --> 10:31.599 He says that rebellion against Babylon would be treason against 10:31.600 --> 10:34.110 God. He employs all kinds of very 10:34.106 --> 10:37.766 vivid metaphors to describe Israel's situation. 10:37.769 --> 10:41.229 Jerusalem, he says, is Sodom's sister except even 10:41.226 --> 10:43.816 more vile. Jerusalem is a "vine" but a 10:43.822 --> 10:45.492 wild one or a burned one. 10:45.490 --> 10:47.220 She produces nothing of use. 10:47.220 --> 10:51.040 Purity language is employed metaphorically throughout 10:51.036 --> 10:53.266 Ezekiel. Jerusalem has been utterly 10:53.266 --> 10:56.886 defiled and there are all sorts of images that inspire revulsion 10:56.891 --> 10:58.101 in these chapters. 10:58.100 --> 11:01.010 So destruction is the only possible remedy. 11:01.009 --> 11:04.919 There are metaphors of sexual promiscuity throughout the book. 11:04.919 --> 11:08.789 God's destruction of Israel is figured as the abuse doled out 11:08.786 --> 11:11.876 by an insanely jealous husband who is violent, 11:11.879 --> 11:14.759 and the images are disturbing, they're haunting, 11:14.762 --> 11:16.482 they're quite nightmarish. 11:16.480 --> 11:20.740 Ezekiel also engages in various dramatic signs--prophetic signs 11:20.744 --> 11:23.224 or actions--to convey his message. 11:23.220 --> 11:26.560 It's something that we've seen in some of the other prophets, 11:26.559 --> 11:29.179 but his are so bizarre and so extreme sometimes, 11:29.176 --> 11:31.176 that he was accused of insanity. 11:31.179 --> 11:35.189 He cooks his food over a fire of human excrement as a symbol 11:35.192 --> 11:39.482 of the fact that those besieged by Nebuchadnezzar will be forced 11:39.477 --> 11:41.107 to eat unclean food. 11:41.110 --> 11:44.490 He doesn't mourn when his wife dies in order to illustrate the 11:44.490 --> 11:47.650 fact that Yahweh will not mourn the loss of His temple. 11:47.650 --> 11:51.770 He binds himself in ropes; he lies on his left side 390 11:51.773 --> 11:56.073 days to symbolize the 390 years of exile of Israel, 11:56.070 --> 11:59.070 and then he lies on his right side for 40 days to symbolize 11:59.070 --> 12:02.110 the length of Judah's captivity, which he says will be 40years. 12:02.110 --> 12:05.370 Neither of these terms of captivity turn out to be 12:05.373 --> 12:07.633 correct. Finally, he shaves his beard 12:07.630 --> 12:10.930 and his hair and he burns a third of it, he strikes a third 12:10.926 --> 12:13.836 of it with his sword, and he scatters a third of it 12:13.841 --> 12:16.951 to the winds. He just keeps a few hairs bound 12:16.951 --> 12:19.361 up in his robe. This is to symbolize the 12:19.364 --> 12:22.504 destruction of a third of the people by pestilence and famine, 12:22.500 --> 12:25.840 a third of the people by violence, and the exile of a 12:25.839 --> 12:30.789 third to Babylon; only a few will God allow to 12:30.793 --> 12:34.213 escape. Ezekiel makes it clear that 12:34.211 --> 12:37.871 those who ignore the warnings are doomed. 12:37.870 --> 12:40.600 Those who heed will be spared, and in this, 12:40.603 --> 12:43.993 he sounds the theme of individual responsibility that 12:43.987 --> 12:46.327 is so characteristic of Ezekiel. 12:46.330 --> 12:49.890 I want you to listen to the following passage and compare it 12:49.892 --> 12:52.882 to, or think about, other verses or terms in the 12:52.884 --> 12:56.644 Torah that you've studied that may relate to the same topic. 12:56.639 --> 13:01.029 How is he modifying those earlier ideas? 13:01.029 --> 13:04.299 This is all from chapter 18, various verses throughout: 13:04.299 --> 13:07.509 The word of the Lord came to me: What do you mean by 13:07.511 --> 13:10.161 quoting this proverb upon the soil of Israel, 13:10.159 --> 13:13.579 "Parents eat sour grapes and their children's teeth are 13:13.582 --> 13:15.712 blunted"? As I live--declares the Lord 13:15.706 --> 13:18.556 GOD--this proverb shall no longer be current among you in 13:18.560 --> 13:21.620 Israel. Consider, all lives are Mine; 13:21.620 --> 13:24.530 the life of the parent and the life of the child are both Mine. 13:24.529 --> 13:26.549 The person who sins, only he shall die. 13:26.550 --> 13:29.080 … A child shall not share the 13:29.084 --> 13:31.684 burden of a parent's guilt, nor shall a parent share the 13:31.680 --> 13:34.100 burden of a child's guilt; the righteousness of the 13:34.097 --> 13:36.847 righteous shall be accounted to him alone, and the wickedness of 13:36.848 --> 13:38.768 the wicked shall be account to him alone. 13:38.769 --> 13:41.839 Moreover, if the wicked one repents of all the sins that he 13:41.836 --> 13:45.166 committed and keeps all My laws and does what is just and right, 13:45.168 --> 13:46.948 he shall live; he shall not die. 13:46.950 --> 13:49.430 … Is it My desire that a wicked 13:49.427 --> 13:51.557 person shall die?--says the Lord GOD. 13:51.559 --> 13:54.929 It is rather that he shall turn back from his ways and live. 13:54.929 --> 13:57.459 So, too, if a righteous person turns away from his 13:57.459 --> 14:00.029 righteousness and does wrong, practicing the very 14:00.028 --> 14:02.318 abominations that the wicked person practiced, 14:02.323 --> 14:04.743 shall he live? None of the righteous deeds 14:04.742 --> 14:08.122 that he did shall be remembered; because of the treachery he has 14:08.115 --> 14:10.825 practiced and the sins he has committed--because of these, 14:10.828 --> 14:12.548 he shall die. … 14:12.549 --> 14:15.949 Be assured, O House of Israel, I will judge each one of you 14:15.947 --> 14:18.757 according to his ways --declares the LORD GOD. 14:18.759 --> 14:21.519 Repent and turn back from all your transgressions; 14:21.519 --> 14:24.449 let them not be a stumbling block of guilt for you. 14:24.450 --> 14:26.840 Cast away all the transgressions by which you have 14:26.844 --> 14:29.634 offended, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit, 14:29.629 --> 14:31.779 that you may not die, O House of Israel. 14:31.779 --> 14:35.189 For it is not My desire that anyone shall die--declares the 14:35.192 --> 14:37.272 Lord GOD. Repent, therefore, 14:37.274 --> 14:40.444 and live!" It's an important Torah idea 14:40.444 --> 14:43.624 that Ezekiel is rejecting or contradicting here. 14:43.620 --> 14:46.520 And that's the Torah principle of collective or even 14:46.524 --> 14:48.294 intergenerational punishment. 14:48.289 --> 14:50.939 It's found most famously in the Second Commandment, 14:50.938 --> 14:53.798 the declaration that God punishes children for the sins 14:53.797 --> 14:56.337 of their fathers unto the fourth generation. 14:56.340 --> 14:59.610 Now, we need to note that we're talking about divine justice 14:59.611 --> 15:01.221 here and not human justice. 15:01.220 --> 15:04.390 As we saw in our study of biblical law in the sphere of 15:04.385 --> 15:07.425 human justice, only the guilty are punished in 15:07.434 --> 15:11.234 Israelite law. You don't have literal 15:11.227 --> 15:13.967 punishment. Someone kills someone's son, 15:13.966 --> 15:16.186 then their son is put to death--that idea is 15:16.192 --> 15:17.752 rejected in biblical law. 15:17.750 --> 15:21.050 But God operates according to a different principle--the 15:21.049 --> 15:23.509 principle of collective responsibility. 15:23.509 --> 15:26.459 And that principle is understood in the early sources 15:26.461 --> 15:27.541 quite positively. 15:27.539 --> 15:31.369 That the sins of the father's are visited upon the children is 15:31.372 --> 15:33.322 an expression of God's mercy. 15:33.320 --> 15:37.860 Exodus 34:6 and 7 describe God as merciful and gracious, 15:37.861 --> 15:42.901 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness 15:42.898 --> 15:46.418 and thus tolerating sin, though not completely clearing 15:46.424 --> 15:48.874 the guilty. As a mercy he spreads out the 15:48.871 --> 15:51.781 punishment over three or four generations. 15:51.779 --> 15:55.769 So this notion is tied up with the aspect of God's mercy. 15:55.769 --> 15:59.389 But evidently there are some who found this idea unjust and 15:59.392 --> 16:02.892 other biblical passages try to bring a different sense of 16:02.890 --> 16:06.180 justice to this picture, and they emphasize that the 16:06.178 --> 16:09.368 third and fourth generations themselves must be wicked. 16:09.370 --> 16:12.740 That seems to be the case in Exodus 20:5. 16:12.740 --> 16:15.610 The Book of Chronicles, which is a rewrite of the 16:15.611 --> 16:18.661 historical material, the historical narrative in the 16:18.663 --> 16:21.533 Book of Kings, rewrites that material in a 16:21.533 --> 16:25.193 manner that never explains a catastrophe on the basis of 16:25.186 --> 16:29.166 guilt incurred by someone other than the one experiencing the 16:29.170 --> 16:31.160 catastrophe. In other words, 16:31.156 --> 16:34.516 it rejects the Deuteronomistic historian's device of delayed 16:34.523 --> 16:37.323 punishment which you'll remember we discussed. 16:37.320 --> 16:40.590 It changes the narrative account so that no one suffers 16:40.588 --> 16:43.008 for a crime committed by someone else. 16:43.009 --> 16:46.779 It isn't the sin of an earlier generation that's finally 16:46.777 --> 16:50.747 visited upon a grandson or a king of a later generation. 16:50.750 --> 16:55.160 So it seems that after 586, or certainly in Ezekiel's case, 16:55.158 --> 16:59.868 some accepted the idea that the nation was suffering because of 16:59.870 --> 17:03.670 the accumulated guilt of previous generations, 17:03.670 --> 17:05.000 notably the Deuteronomist. 17:05.000 --> 17:09.190 But for others like Ezekiel, the idea of accumulated guilt 17:09.185 --> 17:13.435 and intergenerational punishment seemed to lose some of its 17:13.444 --> 17:17.144 explanatory power, perhaps because the destruction 17:17.144 --> 17:20.644 and the exile seemed devastatingly severe punishments 17:20.642 --> 17:23.402 that didn't fit the individual crimes. 17:23.400 --> 17:27.300 So Ezekiel is one who rejects the doctrine of collective 17:27.296 --> 17:30.976 responsibility in the operation of divine justice. 17:30.980 --> 17:33.350 In chapter 18, he responds to the idea of 17:33.354 --> 17:37.044 suffering for the sins of one's ancestors by declaring that God 17:37.035 --> 17:39.465 isn't going to work that way anymore. 17:39.470 --> 17:42.260 God will no longer punish people collectively. 17:42.259 --> 17:44.289 Each one will be judged individually. 17:44.289 --> 17:47.879 Only the sinner will be punished--and that's a major 17:47.883 --> 17:51.903 departure from Exodus 34 and even from the contemporaneous 17:51.898 --> 17:53.658 Deuteronomistic view. 17:53.660 --> 17:56.840 At this point, I think, we would do well to 17:56.840 --> 18:00.930 remind ourselves of the nature of the biblical text. 18:00.930 --> 18:03.620 In the opening lecture, I asked you to set aside 18:03.619 --> 18:06.479 certain presuppositions about the biblical text. 18:06.480 --> 18:10.070 One of them is that it is a uniform or unified text with a 18:10.070 --> 18:11.960 single doctrine or theology. 18:11.960 --> 18:14.440 I asked you to remember that the Bible isn't a book; 18:14.440 --> 18:17.290 it's a library. It's a library of works that 18:17.291 --> 18:20.061 originate in vastly differently historical periods, 18:20.062 --> 18:22.392 vastly different historical situations. 18:22.390 --> 18:25.850 It responds to a variety of shifting needs and events, 18:25.849 --> 18:29.239 and reflects a range of perceptions about God and his 18:29.244 --> 18:31.794 relation to creation and to Israel. 18:31.789 --> 18:34.449 It isn't a book of theology, that is to say, 18:34.448 --> 18:37.718 rational argumentation in support of certain doctrines 18:37.724 --> 18:40.444 about God. And it most certainly doesn't 18:40.441 --> 18:44.081 speak with a single voice on points of theology or matters 18:44.080 --> 18:48.230 that are of traditional concern to the discipline of theology. 18:48.230 --> 18:50.970 Doctrine isn't its concern. 18:50.970 --> 18:55.070 Understanding and making sense of the historical odyssey of the 18:55.068 --> 18:59.098 nation of Israel in covenant with God--that is its concern. 18:59.099 --> 19:02.599 So we're going to find many different interpretations of the 19:02.598 --> 19:05.388 meaning of that history, the nature of that God, 19:05.385 --> 19:07.575 and the meaning of that covenant. 19:07.579 --> 19:10.709 And certainly there are some basic points of agreement, 19:10.709 --> 19:14.299 but even some of the most basic points of agreement do not pass 19:14.301 --> 19:16.041 without some contestation. 19:16.039 --> 19:19.089 So for example, the basic point that humans are 19:19.085 --> 19:20.405 free moral agents. 19:20.410 --> 19:23.490 This seems to be clearly assumed throughout most of the 19:23.491 --> 19:25.261 books of this little library. 19:25.259 --> 19:28.209 But there are some isolated episodes that would appear to 19:28.209 --> 19:30.579 contradict even that most basic assumption. 19:30.580 --> 19:32.250 God hardens Pharaoh's heart. 19:32.250 --> 19:35.300 God seals the people's ears sometimes so that they will not 19:35.303 --> 19:38.203 hear the message of the prophets, or will not understand 19:38.198 --> 19:39.618 them until a later day. 19:39.619 --> 19:42.689 To be sure, there are only a few of these contradictory 19:42.692 --> 19:44.402 passages, but they do exist. 19:44.400 --> 19:48.130 And so here we find also a major shift in the exilic 19:48.129 --> 19:52.439 period, away from the tendency to see divine justice working 19:52.444 --> 19:56.254 through collective or intergenerational punishment to 19:56.248 --> 20:00.488 the idea of the individual's culpability before God. 20:00.490 --> 20:04.010 I shouldn't say a shift away; we see arising a dialectic. 20:04.010 --> 20:05.430 This isn't a linear progression. 20:05.430 --> 20:07.950 These are different ideas coming out at different times 20:07.953 --> 20:10.013 and receiving emphasis at different times. 20:10.009 --> 20:14.099 But this kind of polyphony didn't impinge upon the 20:14.096 --> 20:18.846 authority of the Hebrew Bible for the nation of Israel, 20:18.849 --> 20:23.269 because the Bible's authority doesn't arise from some supposed 20:23.269 --> 20:25.369 consistency or univocality. 20:25.369 --> 20:29.569 That's a modern notion and it's based on Hellenistic ideals of 20:29.572 --> 20:30.952 truth as singular. 20:30.950 --> 20:33.820 Western culture, influenced by Greek 20:33.819 --> 20:37.919 philosophical traditions, defines truth in monistic 20:37.920 --> 20:40.360 terms. Only that which contains no 20:40.359 --> 20:43.419 contradiction is true and only that which is true is 20:43.420 --> 20:46.630 authoritative. Those notions are somewhat 20:46.625 --> 20:50.235 alien to the ancient non-Hellenized world. 20:50.240 --> 20:53.860 The Bible doesn't strive to present philosophical truth. 20:53.859 --> 20:57.569 It presents the best efforts of sages and prophets, 20:57.566 --> 21:02.026 and scribes and visionaries, to respond to and to explain 21:02.026 --> 21:06.256 the crises of the nation over a period of centuries. 21:06.259 --> 21:10.469 And its authority derives from the explanatory power of its 21:10.466 --> 21:15.036 insights into and understanding of God's governance of the world 21:15.036 --> 21:17.136 and his plans for Israel. 21:17.140 --> 21:20.010 So those insights and those understandings may shift, 21:20.007 --> 21:22.817 and even stand in contradiction with one another, 21:22.819 --> 21:24.999 but they are not mutually exclusive and their 21:25.000 --> 21:27.280 contradictions don't affect their authority, 21:27.279 --> 21:30.589 their ability to explain, to console--their ability to 21:30.585 --> 21:34.255 nourish the faith of a people convinced that God would never 21:34.264 --> 21:37.204 desert them no matter how difficult it may be to 21:37.195 --> 21:39.935 understand his interactions with them. 21:39.940 --> 21:44.150 Back to Ezekiel now; and in chapter 33 we learn that 21:44.146 --> 21:49.626 a fugitive from Jerusalem brings news of the fall of Jerusalem. 21:49.630 --> 21:54.500 So it's about 587,586; and when he hears this, 21:54.495 --> 21:59.545 Ezekiel exchanges his message of doom for a message of hope. 21:59.549 --> 22:02.939 Before the fall of the city, his task had been to shatter 22:02.937 --> 22:04.447 the people's illusions. 22:04.450 --> 22:09.060 He wanted to shake them out of their complacency, 22:09.060 --> 22:14.440 but now the people are reduced to despair and remorse, 22:14.440 --> 22:17.930 and his task is to offer reassurance and hope. 22:17.930 --> 22:21.560 God is going to initiate a new beginning. 22:21.559 --> 22:25.199 Though Israel's punishment was deserved, it was not, 22:25.201 --> 22:28.411 according to Ezekiel, a sign of the end of the 22:28.414 --> 22:31.774 relationship between Yahweh and his people, 22:31.769 --> 22:35.459 and a new Israel would rise from the remnant of Judah and 22:35.457 --> 22:38.047 Israel. He expresses this restoration 22:38.050 --> 22:40.810 by means of many metaphors and visions. 22:40.809 --> 22:43.849 So chapter 34 condemns the shepherds. 22:43.849 --> 22:46.309 This is a very common Ancient Near Eastern metaphor for the 22:46.309 --> 22:48.989 leadership of a people; a king is always a shepherd and 22:48.993 --> 22:51.093 so on. So chapter 34 condemns the 22:51.088 --> 22:55.008 shepherds of the people and promises to set up in the future 22:55.009 --> 22:58.729 one shepherd of the House of David to be prince among the 22:58.732 --> 23:02.302 people. Chapter 36 uses metaphors of 23:02.301 --> 23:04.481 purity and cleansing. 23:04.480 --> 23:07.540 Israel will be cleansed from the impurities of the past. 23:07.539 --> 23:10.369 She'll be given a new covenant of the heart. 23:10.369 --> 23:14.779 This is in verses 24 and 25 in chapter 36. 23:14.779 --> 23:17.569 I will take you from among the nations and gather you 23:17.574 --> 23:20.424 from all the countries and I will bring you back to your own 23:20.416 --> 23:22.306 land. I will sprinkle clean water 23:22.313 --> 23:25.243 upon you [pure water upon you], and you shall be clean: 23:25.240 --> 23:27.080 [Pure.] I will cleanse you from all 23:27.083 --> 23:29.743 your uncleanness and from all your fetishes. 23:29.740 --> 23:32.890 And I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit into you: 23:32.889 --> 23:35.729 I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give 23:35.729 --> 23:38.579 you a heart of flesh; and I will put My spirit into 23:38.580 --> 23:40.880 you. Thus I will cause you to follow 23:40.875 --> 23:43.745 My laws and faithfully to observe My rules. 23:43.750 --> 23:45.820 [There are echoes here of Jeremiah also.] 23:45.823 --> 23:48.523 Then you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your 23:48.518 --> 23:50.928 fathers, and you shall be my people and 23:50.934 --> 23:54.364 I will be your God. So we have again this almost 23:54.364 --> 23:58.384 utopian redesign of human nature that we heard in Jeremiah. 23:58.380 --> 24:02.950 One in which the problems that are associated with the exercise 24:02.946 --> 24:05.226 of free will may be obviated. 24:05.230 --> 24:09.230 Another metaphor that's used for the restoration of a new 24:09.226 --> 24:12.006 Israel out of the remnant of the old, 24:12.009 --> 24:16.529 is the metaphor of revival from death and this is found in 24:16.533 --> 24:19.413 chapter 37--a very, very famous passage: 24:19.409 --> 24:22.189 Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones: 24:22.190 --> 24:24.070 The hand of the Lord came upon me. 24:24.069 --> 24:27.259 He took me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the 24:27.257 --> 24:29.347 valley. It was full of bones. 24:29.350 --> 24:31.790 He led me all around them; there were very many of them 24:31.791 --> 24:33.731 spread over the valley, and they were very dry. 24:33.730 --> 24:36.780 He said to me, "O mortal, can these bones live 24:36.779 --> 24:38.809 again?" I replied, "O Lord GOD, 24:38.805 --> 24:41.125 only you know." [Very diplomatic answer.] 24:41.125 --> 24:43.685 And He said to me, "Prophesy over these bones and 24:43.690 --> 24:46.630 say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 24:46.630 --> 24:49.990 Thus said the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to 24:49.988 --> 24:52.058 enter you and you shall live again. 24:52.059 --> 24:54.669 I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with flesh, 24:54.673 --> 24:55.933 and form skin over you. 24:55.930 --> 24:58.470 And I will put breath into you, and you shall live again, 24:58.470 --> 25:00.330 and you shall know that I am the LORD!" 25:00.329 --> 25:02.979 I prophesied as I had been commanded. 25:02.980 --> 25:05.970 And while I was prophesying, suddenly there was a sound of 25:05.967 --> 25:09.267 rattling, and the bones came together, bone to matching bone. 25:09.269 --> 25:11.839 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had grown, 25:11.839 --> 25:13.209 and skin had formed over them. 25:13.210 --> 25:14.840 … The breath entered them, 25:14.838 --> 25:17.028 and they came to life and stood up on their feet, 25:17.034 --> 25:17.954 a vast multitude. 25:17.950 --> 25:21.050 And He said to me, "O mortal, these bones are the 25:21.049 --> 25:22.599 whole House of Israel. 25:22.599 --> 25:25.649 They say, 'Our bones are dried up, our house is gone; 25:25.650 --> 25:27.900 we are doomed.' Prophesy, therefore, 25:27.896 --> 25:29.736 and say to them: Thus said the LORD GOD: 25:29.742 --> 25:32.822 I am going to open your graves and lift you out of the graves, 25:32.819 --> 25:34.779 O My people, and bring you to the land of 25:34.779 --> 25:35.839 Israel. You shall know, 25:35.842 --> 25:37.592 O My people, that I am the Lord when I have 25:37.585 --> 25:39.905 opened your graves and lifted you out of your graves. 25:39.910 --> 25:42.810 I will put my breath into you and you shall live again, 25:42.805 --> 25:44.945 and I will set you upon your own soil. 25:44.950 --> 25:47.790 Then you shall know that I the LORD have spoken and have 25:47.793 --> 25:51.043 acted--declares the LORD. In the interpretation that 25:51.040 --> 25:53.710 follows the vision, we are told that the bones 25:53.706 --> 25:55.776 symbolize Israel now, in this state, 25:55.780 --> 25:57.850 in exile. In their despair they're 25:57.852 --> 26:00.862 crying: our bones are dried up, we're dead, now our hope is 26:00.855 --> 26:02.805 lost. And God promises to raise 26:02.814 --> 26:06.154 Israel from the grave, which is a metaphor for exile, 26:06.150 --> 26:08.990 and restore her to her own land as one people, 26:08.993 --> 26:11.773 north and south, with one prince to rule over 26:11.774 --> 26:13.714 her. This text has often been 26:13.710 --> 26:17.410 de-contextualized and cited as an Old Testament or Hebrew Bible 26:17.405 --> 26:20.495 source for the doctrine of literal resurrection after 26:20.504 --> 26:22.304 death, as if it's speaking about 26:22.298 --> 26:23.298 literal resurrection. 26:23.299 --> 26:26.979 But I think in its context it's quite clear that it is one of 26:26.975 --> 26:30.835 many metaphors that Ezekiel uses throughout this section for the 26:30.835 --> 26:33.465 redemption of the community from exile, 26:33.470 --> 26:37.700 the restoration of the people back in their own land. 26:37.700 --> 26:42.130 At the center of the restored community that Ezekiel envisions 26:42.126 --> 26:45.676 is a new Jerusalem, and at its center is a rebuilt 26:45.681 --> 26:48.131 temple. And it is described in great 26:48.125 --> 26:50.825 detail in the last nine chapters of the book. 26:50.829 --> 26:54.099 In Ezekiel's utopian vision, the land is equally allotted, 26:54.097 --> 26:57.247 it's divided up and equally allotted among all 12 tribes 26:57.250 --> 26:59.200 now, who will be brought back. 26:59.200 --> 27:02.890 And Jerusalem lies in the center with 12 great gates, 27:02.892 --> 27:05.522 one for each tribe, surrounding it. 27:05.519 --> 27:09.809 This temple is the source of a never-ending river that gushes 27:09.809 --> 27:13.029 forth from it, a river that will make the Dead 27:13.026 --> 27:15.596 Sea flow with fresh water again. 27:15.599 --> 27:18.769 Ezekiel sees Zadokite priests presiding in the Temple, 27:18.765 --> 27:22.225 they are assisted by Levites who are just menials (they are 27:22.229 --> 27:24.319 sort of demoted in his vision). 27:24.319 --> 27:27.899 And he insists no foreigners will be permitted entry. 27:27.900 --> 27:31.160 We're going to see that that's a view that wasn't shared by 27:31.160 --> 27:33.240 others in the post-destruction era. 27:33.240 --> 27:39.030 While Ezekiel believed that God would restore a purified Israel 27:39.034 --> 27:42.684 to its land under a Davidic monarchy, 27:42.680 --> 27:45.940 and he prophesied to this effect, he, like Jeremiah, 27:45.942 --> 27:48.952 also maintained that a relationship with God was 27:48.948 --> 27:52.238 possible, in the meantime--a relationship 27:52.237 --> 27:54.217 outside the chosen land. 27:54.220 --> 27:57.850 And the Jewish diaspora ("diaspora" refers to a 27:57.849 --> 28:02.659 community living outside of its homeland)--the Jewish diaspora 28:02.662 --> 28:06.132 was a new thing; it was a religious-national 28:06.130 --> 28:09.350 body of a type that had not been seen before. 28:09.349 --> 28:12.279 You had a people remaining loyal to their God, 28:12.279 --> 28:16.119 while in exile from their own land (and what was believed to 28:16.119 --> 28:19.959 be that God's land) without worshipping him cultically, 28:19.960 --> 28:21.880 or by means of sacrifice. 28:21.880 --> 28:25.160 Remember the only legitimate site for an altar or for 28:25.160 --> 28:27.180 sacrifice to God is Jerusalem. 28:27.180 --> 28:29.970 And in time, slowly, a new worship will be 28:29.972 --> 28:32.242 fashioned; one without sacrifice, 28:32.235 --> 28:35.715 one that consists of prayer and confession, and fasts, 28:35.716 --> 28:38.406 and other kinds of ritual observances. 28:38.410 --> 28:41.580 Three times a day Jews will pray and they'll pray in the 28:41.579 --> 28:43.019 direction of Jerusalem. 28:43.019 --> 28:46.179 Worship in synagogues eventually will come into being, 28:46.175 --> 28:49.445 and the importance of the Sabbath will grow--the Sabbath 28:49.450 --> 28:53.320 as a memorial of the covenant and the symbol of Jewish faith. 28:53.319 --> 28:56.509 And so you also find, beginning shortly after this 28:56.505 --> 29:00.775 period, for the first time, non-Jews are joining themselves 29:00.780 --> 29:04.560 to Yahweh, adopting this religion of Israel out of 29:04.559 --> 29:07.929 religious conviction, not simply because they may be 29:07.928 --> 29:10.558 residing in the land and have to follow God's laws. 29:10.560 --> 29:12.020 This is outside the land. 29:12.019 --> 29:14.559 You have people choosing to opt into this community. 29:14.559 --> 29:18.489 So again, we see that as the history of the nation of Israel 29:18.488 --> 29:21.018 came to an end, the history of Judaism, 29:21.019 --> 29:23.349 the "religion" Judaism, begins. 29:23.349 --> 29:26.949 So in Ezekiel we've seen one response to the national 29:26.949 --> 29:30.549 disaster and the exile: the idea that while suffering 29:30.549 --> 29:33.179 and punishment are fully deserved, 29:33.180 --> 29:35.370 a relationship with God remains possible. 29:35.369 --> 29:38.299 God is with his people even in exile. 29:38.299 --> 29:41.649 A second response to the destruction and exile can be 29:41.651 --> 29:45.711 found in the anonymous writings that are appended to the Book of 29:45.711 --> 29:47.921 Isaiah. I mentioned these writings 29:47.920 --> 29:49.920 briefly. We'll be able to look now at 29:49.921 --> 29:51.721 what's been called Second Isaiah. 29:51.720 --> 29:55.330 So there are two discrete units of material that are appended to 29:55.325 --> 29:58.375 Isaiah. Chapters 40 to 55 are referred 29:58.381 --> 30:02.191 to as Second Isaiah, and chapters 56 to 66 are 30:02.192 --> 30:04.482 referred to as 3 Isaiah. 30:04.480 --> 30:07.160 And these chapters differ from Isaiah proper, 30:07.161 --> 30:10.271 from the eighth-century prophet, in several ways. 30:10.269 --> 30:14.989 It's clear, first of all, that these parts of Isaiah were 30:14.992 --> 30:17.272 written after the Exile . 30:17.269 --> 30:21.129 Parts of Third Isaiah were written after the Exile, 30:21.125 --> 30:25.055 all of second Isaiah, (and Isaiah proper was clearly 30:25.058 --> 30:30.378 written in the eighth century on into the early seventh century). 30:30.380 --> 30:33.400 Jerusalem is referred to as destroyed. 30:33.400 --> 30:36.390 The audience that's addressed is living in exile. 30:36.390 --> 30:39.180 Babylon is the oppressor, not Assyria. 30:39.180 --> 30:42.320 Assyria was the oppressor in the time of Isaiah proper. 30:42.319 --> 30:46.499 The appended materials even seem to know of the overthrow of 30:46.503 --> 30:49.893 the Babylonians. That's going to happen in about 30:49.888 --> 30:53.628 539 when Cyrus of Persia will conquer the Babylonians. 30:53.630 --> 30:57.190 We have passages that express some euphoria over this, 30:57.194 --> 30:59.014 because Cyrus, of course, 30:59.009 --> 31:02.999 authorized the Jews to return from Babylon to Jerusalem to 31:03.000 --> 31:04.610 rebuild their temple. 31:04.609 --> 31:08.469 There are also all kinds of stylistic differences between 31:08.473 --> 31:11.443 First Isaiah and Second and Third Isaiah. 31:11.440 --> 31:13.470 Second and Third Isaiah, for example, 31:13.473 --> 31:16.923 have no biographical data and First Isaiah has quite a bit. 31:16.920 --> 31:20.540 These materials also have a different theology of history, 31:20.535 --> 31:23.005 a different understanding of history, 31:23.009 --> 31:26.419 a different attitude towards foreign nations and a very 31:26.420 --> 31:29.200 strong and renewed emphasis on monotheism. 31:29.200 --> 31:31.490 These also mark it as different. 31:31.490 --> 31:35.000 Among the scrolls that were found in the caves at Qumran 31:34.997 --> 31:37.997 near the Dead Sea, we have a very large and very 31:37.995 --> 31:41.775 famous Isaiah scroll, which is now in a museum in 31:41.778 --> 31:44.768 Jerusalem. On the scroll there is a gap 31:44.774 --> 31:48.084 after Isaiah 39, and a new column starts with 31:48.082 --> 31:50.512 Isaiah 40. So it seems to signal some sort 31:50.507 --> 31:53.117 of implicit recognition that there's a difference between 31:53.122 --> 31:54.152 these two sections. 31:54.150 --> 31:58.080 They are not the same unit, not the same author perhaps. 31:58.079 --> 32:01.709 So we're going to talk right now about Second Isaiah because 32:01.708 --> 32:04.228 this is a wholly post destruction work. 32:04.230 --> 32:08.450 The opening or inaugural oracle that occurs in chapter 40 is an 32:08.454 --> 32:10.094 oracle of consolation. 32:10.089 --> 32:13.599 It's an oracle of comfort, and the prophet sees a straight 32:13.603 --> 32:17.183 and level highway prepared in the wilderness for a dramatic 32:17.177 --> 32:20.257 procession of Yahweh the shepherd who will lead his 32:20.259 --> 32:22.169 people back to Jerusalem. 32:22.170 --> 32:24.890 It's very, very famous--made very famous by Handel's Messiah 32:24.892 --> 32:27.262 actually. So chapter 40 (taking from 32:27.263 --> 32:30.333 various verses in this chapter): Comfort, 32:30.329 --> 32:32.539 oh comfort My people, Says Your God. 32:32.540 --> 32:35.790 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, And declare to her 32:35.789 --> 32:37.369 That her term of service is over, 32:37.370 --> 32:41.020 That iniquity is expiated; For she has received at the 32:41.023 --> 32:43.703 hand of the LORD Double for all her sins. 32:43.700 --> 32:46.770 A voice rings out: "Clear in the desert 32:46.770 --> 32:48.050 A road for the Lord! 32:48.050 --> 32:50.740 Level in the wilderness A highway for our God! 32:50.740 --> 32:54.140 Let every valley be raised, Every hill and mount made low. 32:54.140 --> 32:56.160 Let the rugged ground become level 32:56.160 --> 32:57.720 And the ridges become a plain. 32:57.720 --> 32:59.450 The Presence of the LORD shall appear, 32:59.450 --> 33:01.990 And all flesh, as one, shall behold-- 33:01.990 --> 33:03.660 For the LORD Himself has spoken." 33:03.660 --> 33:05.900 A voice rings out: "Proclaim!" 33:05.900 --> 33:07.890 Another asks, "What shall I proclaim?" 33:07.890 --> 33:10.670 All flesh is grass, All its goodness like flowers 33:10.668 --> 33:12.368 of the field: … 33:12.369 --> 33:14.059 But the word of our God is always fulfilled!" 33:14.060 --> 33:16.170 … Behold, the Lord GOD comes in 33:16.173 --> 33:17.163 might, … 33:17.160 --> 33:19.080 Like a shepherd He pastures His flock: 33:19.080 --> 33:22.770 He gathers the lambs in His arms And carries them in His bosom; 33:22.769 --> 33:25.019 Gently he drives the mother sheep. 33:25.019 --> 33:28.139 So this highway will appear leading the exiles straight to 33:28.142 --> 33:30.602 Jerusalem. All of the topography will be 33:30.596 --> 33:34.496 flattened and God will lead them as a shepherd leads the lamb. 33:34.500 --> 33:36.730 Why? Because the word of the Lord is 33:36.729 --> 33:37.939 always fulfilled. 33:37.940 --> 33:41.150 So what this voice is proclaiming is a literal return 33:41.147 --> 33:43.377 from exile. God is opening a highway, 33:43.380 --> 33:46.870 he's leading His flock home like a shepherd in a new exodus. 33:46.869 --> 33:50.469 And this is an idea that's so important that it recurs at the 33:50.470 --> 33:53.770 end of the unit as well in chapter 55: the idea of a new 33:53.769 --> 33:56.119 exodus. A second key theme that's 33:56.120 --> 34:00.450 sounded at the beginning and end of the unit again (so it happens 34:00.448 --> 34:04.168 in chapter 40 and again in chapter 55) is this idea that 34:04.167 --> 34:07.207 the word of our God is always fulfilled. 34:07.210 --> 34:10.320 Or in some translations, the word of our God "stands 34:10.319 --> 34:13.209 forever." This idea is the essence of the 34:13.211 --> 34:17.301 Israelites' hope during the period of captivity and exile, 34:17.296 --> 34:20.016 and it appears in the first oracle. 34:20.019 --> 34:22.909 It's beautifully restated in the last oracle, 34:22.909 --> 34:25.469 in chapter 55, verses 10 through 12: 34:25.469 --> 34:28.559 For as the rain or snow drops from heaven 34:28.560 --> 34:31.410 And returns not there, But soaks the earth 34:31.409 --> 34:33.139 And makes it bring forth vegetation, 34:33.139 --> 34:35.989 Yielding seed for sowing and bread for eating, 34:35.989 --> 34:38.499 So is the word that issues from my mouth: 34:38.500 --> 34:40.740 It does not come back to Me unfulfilled, 34:40.740 --> 34:44.770 But performs what I purpose, Achieves what I sent it to do. 34:44.769 --> 34:47.689 Yea, you shall leave in joy and be led home 34:47.690 --> 34:50.450 secure. Before you, mount and hill 34:50.448 --> 34:53.388 shall shout aloud, And all the trees of the field 34:53.394 --> 34:56.774 shall clap their hands. So the everlasting word of the 34:56.768 --> 34:59.548 Lord--it's guaranteed fulfillment (specifically--to 34:59.549 --> 35:02.999 bring his people home in a new exodus)--these are ideas form an 35:02.997 --> 35:07.067 envelope or an inclusio, that kind of literary structure 35:07.071 --> 35:11.151 where something is mentioned at the beginning and again at the 35:11.148 --> 35:15.288 end to form an inclusio or an envelope around the entire 35:15.292 --> 35:17.032 unit of SecondIsaiah. 35:17.030 --> 35:21.020 We see also in Second Isaiah an extreme monotheism. 35:21.019 --> 35:24.389 The monotheism is explicit of course in Isaiah--implicit, 35:24.392 --> 35:27.952 I'm sorry, implicit in Isaiah, but it becomes quite explicit 35:27.945 --> 35:29.205 in Second Isaiah. 35:29.210 --> 35:32.500 As we've seen, to come to terms with the 35:32.497 --> 35:37.297 destruction of 587 entails the acceptance of the idea that 35:37.301 --> 35:40.421 Israel's punishment was deserved, 35:40.420 --> 35:44.600 and Yahweh's control of history means he controls not only 35:44.599 --> 35:48.999 Israel but all other nations as well and can use them for his 35:49.000 --> 35:51.530 purpose, including punishing Israel. 35:51.530 --> 35:53.960 There's no power other than Yahweh. 35:53.960 --> 35:58.280 So referring then to the rise and fall of nations, 35:58.280 --> 36:01.810 Isaiah 41:4 states, Who has wrought and 36:01.807 --> 36:03.567 achieved this? He who announced the 36:03.574 --> 36:05.294 generations from the start-- 36:05.290 --> 36:08.470 I, the LORD, who was first And will be with the last as 36:08.467 --> 36:10.507 well. The first and the last--which 36:10.510 --> 36:12.700 is a way of saying everything, all inclusive. 36:12.700 --> 36:14.390 There is nothing but me. 36:14.389 --> 36:18.289 And Isaiah 44 satirizes those nations who make and worship 36:18.289 --> 36:22.119 idols, and ridicules the folly and stupidity of ascribing 36:22.121 --> 36:26.501 divinity to that which one has created with one's own hands. 36:26.500 --> 36:29.820 In Isaiah 41, God states his case against 36:29.818 --> 36:32.388 these vain and useless idols. 36:32.389 --> 36:36.029 He summons them to answer for themselves, show that they are 36:36.030 --> 36:38.930 gods by announcing something that will occur, 36:38.929 --> 36:41.339 announcing what will occur and seeing if it comes true. 36:41.340 --> 36:45.280 Chapter 41:22-24: Let them approach and 36:45.279 --> 36:46.549 tell us what will happen. 36:46.550 --> 36:49.340 Tell us what has occurred, And we will take note of it; 36:49.340 --> 36:50.910 Or announce to us what will occur, 36:50.910 --> 36:52.620 That we may know the outcome. 36:52.620 --> 36:55.740 Foretell what is yet to happen, That we may know that you are 36:55.743 --> 36:57.853 gods! Do anything, good or bad, 36:57.850 --> 36:59.800 That we may be awed and see. 36:59.800 --> 37:02.010 Why, you are less than nothing. 37:02.010 --> 37:04.350 Your effect is less than nullity; 37:04.349 --> 37:07.889 One who chooses you is an abomination. 37:07.889 --> 37:11.679 But this is only half the picture because not only are the 37:11.675 --> 37:15.455 gods of the nations no gods, but Yahweh is the true God of 37:15.461 --> 37:17.521 all of these other nations. 37:17.519 --> 37:20.999 So who raised Cyrus of Persia from the north to sweep through 37:20.996 --> 37:24.006 the Ancient Near East and conquer the Babylonians? 37:24.010 --> 37:25.320 No one but Yahweh. 37:25.320 --> 37:28.120 Isaiah 41: "I have roused Him from 37:28.121 --> 37:31.191 the north, and he has come …And He has trampled rulers 37:31.189 --> 37:33.589 like mud, Like a potter treading clay 37:33.590 --> 37:35.710 …The things once predicted to Zion-- 37:35.710 --> 37:38.580 Behold, here they are!" [from vv 25-29]. 37:38.579 --> 37:41.659 So in these passages, the author of Second Isaiah is 37:41.658 --> 37:44.888 drawing the logical conclusion, perhaps, towards which 37:44.890 --> 37:47.710 Israelite religion has tended from its inception. 37:47.710 --> 37:50.710 Yahweh, once a Canaanite deity, then the God of Israel's 37:50.707 --> 37:53.047 patriarchs, then the national God of Israel, 37:53.050 --> 37:55.340 is here the Lord of universal history. 37:55.340 --> 37:58.790 The only real God, Second Isaiah is claiming, 37:58.794 --> 38:00.604 is the God of Israel. 38:00.599 --> 38:04.649 Second Isaiah is also quite well known for the Servant Songs 38:04.650 --> 38:07.740 that it contains, the famous servant songs. 38:07.739 --> 38:13.149 These occur scattered in chapter 42, chapter 49, 38:13.148 --> 38:19.128 chapter 50, and then most extensively 52:13 to 53:12, 38:19.132 --> 38:22.012 so much of 52 and 53. 38:22.010 --> 38:24.260 The identity of this servant--I'll read some of these 38:24.256 --> 38:26.586 passages in a minute, but it refers to this servant, 38:26.590 --> 38:28.880 God's servant, and the identity of the servant 38:28.883 --> 38:31.893 has been a puzzle to biblical interpreters for centuries. 38:31.889 --> 38:34.359 Sometimes the servant is referred to as a collective 38:34.360 --> 38:37.270 figure, sometimes the servant is referred to as an individual 38:37.267 --> 38:39.847 figure. In chapter 49 the servant is 38:39.846 --> 38:44.306 referred to or described as a prophet with a universal message 38:44.305 --> 38:47.955 rather than a message for the Israelites alone, 38:47.960 --> 38:51.180 but then there's some ambiguity here. 38:51.179 --> 38:54.479 The servant is first identified, or the prophet--the 38:54.478 --> 38:58.358 servant or prophet--is first identified as Israel herself. 38:58.360 --> 39:03.020 So in chapter 49:1-3: …The Lord appointed me 39:03.019 --> 39:05.949 before I was born, He named me while I was in my 39:05.945 --> 39:08.395 mother's womb. He made my mouth like a 39:08.403 --> 39:11.543 sharpened blade, He hid me in the shadow of His 39:11.538 --> 39:13.848 hand, And He made me like a polished 39:13.845 --> 39:16.215 arrow; He concealed me in His quiver 39:16.219 --> 39:18.709 And He said to me, "You are My servant, 39:18.710 --> 39:23.890 Israel in whom I glory." Yet, in verse 5 it would seem 39:23.894 --> 39:28.624 that this prophet/servant has a mission to Israel to bring her 39:28.616 --> 39:31.776 back to Yahweh, and that would imply that the 39:31.777 --> 39:33.847 servant or prophet is not Israel. 39:33.850 --> 39:35.570 Verse 5: And now the LORD has 39:35.570 --> 39:37.300 resolved-- He who formed me in the womb to 39:37.303 --> 39:38.543 be His servant-- 39:38.540 --> 39:44.710 To bring back Jacob to Himself, That Israel may be restored to 39:44.709 --> 39:47.329 Him. For He has said: 39:47.329 --> 39:50.029 "It is too little that you should be My servant 39:50.030 --> 39:52.170 In that I raise up the tribes of Jacob 39:52.170 --> 39:54.130 And restore the survivors of Israel: 39:54.130 --> 39:57.170 I will also make you a light of nations, 39:57.170 --> 40:01.090 That My salvation may reach the ends of the earth." 40:01.090 --> 40:05.040 Chapter 50 quite famously refers to the servant as 40:05.040 --> 40:07.540 rebellious and as persecuted. 40:07.540 --> 40:10.670 Verse 6: I offered my back to the 40:10.670 --> 40:12.940 floggers, And my cheeks to those who tore 40:12.943 --> 40:15.163 out my hair. I did not hide my face 40:15.160 --> 40:18.630 From insult and spittle. But it's the famous and 40:18.634 --> 40:23.254 difficult passage in Isaiah 53 that most movingly describes the 40:23.254 --> 40:26.314 suffering and sorrow of God's servant. 40:26.310 --> 40:29.660 53:3-11: …He was despised, 40:29.655 --> 40:31.255 we held him of no account. 40:31.260 --> 40:34.400 Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing, 40:34.400 --> 40:36.260 Our suffering that he endured. 40:36.260 --> 40:40.430 We accounted him plagued, Smitten and afflicted by God 40:40.429 --> 40:42.479 But he was wounded because of our sins, 40:42.480 --> 40:44.560 Crushed because of our iniquities. 40:44.559 --> 40:47.289 He bore the chastisement that made us whole, 40:47.289 --> 40:50.289 And by his bruises we were healed. 40:50.290 --> 40:53.510 We all went astray like sheep, Each going his own way; 40:53.510 --> 40:57.090 And the LORD visited upon him The guilt of all of us." 40:57.090 --> 40:59.830 He was maltreated, yet he was submissive, 40:59.830 --> 41:02.790 He did not open his mouth; Like a sheep being led to 41:02.794 --> 41:05.564 slaughter, Like a ewe, dumb before those 41:05.558 --> 41:07.948 who shear her, He did not open his mouth. 41:07.950 --> 41:10.210 … And his grave was set among the 41:10.209 --> 41:11.649 wicked, And with the rich, 41:11.650 --> 41:14.370 in his death-- Though he had done no injustice 41:14.370 --> 41:16.260 And had spoken no falsehood. 41:16.260 --> 41:19.160 But the LORD chose to crush him by disease, 41:19.159 --> 41:21.629 That, if he made himself an offering for guilt, 41:21.630 --> 41:24.760 He might see offspring and have long life, 41:24.760 --> 41:28.990 And that through him the LORD's purpose might prosper. 41:28.989 --> 41:33.059 There have been many attempts to equate this man of sorrows 41:33.063 --> 41:35.033 with all kinds of figures. 41:35.030 --> 41:39.410 Early on, Jesus' followers saw Jesus as the suffering servant 41:39.412 --> 41:40.802 of God in Isaiah. 41:40.800 --> 41:43.910 The New Testament writers specifically borrowed passages 41:43.905 --> 41:46.215 from Isaiah, particularly this chapter, 41:46.219 --> 41:49.459 chapter 53, when constructing their narratives of Jesus, 41:49.463 --> 41:53.063 taking those verses and using them in describing his story. 41:53.059 --> 41:56.319 So he is depicted as the innocent and righteous servant 41:56.317 --> 41:58.607 who suffered for the sins of others. 41:58.610 --> 42:01.190 In the teachings of Paul, however, you have a different 42:01.189 --> 42:02.239 use of these verses. 42:02.239 --> 42:05.459 Christians, generally, are identified as the servant 42:05.463 --> 42:07.553 who suffers with and for Jesus. 42:07.550 --> 42:10.900 Despite these later theological interpretations, 42:10.897 --> 42:15.097 the anonymous writer of Second Isaiah wasn't writing about a 42:15.100 --> 42:19.020 remote Nazarean teacher and charismatic healer who would 42:19.018 --> 42:22.008 live more than five centuries later. 42:22.010 --> 42:25.300 Examined in its original context, it appears most likely 42:25.299 --> 42:28.769 that the servant is Israel herself described metaphorically 42:28.768 --> 42:32.478 as an individual whose present suffering and humiliation is due 42:32.476 --> 42:36.586 to the sins of other nations, but whose future restoration 42:36.591 --> 42:40.711 and exultation will cause astonishment among those nations 42:40.706 --> 42:43.446 who will then be humbled to Yahweh. 42:43.449 --> 42:46.489 But there are problems with even this interpretation and you 42:46.490 --> 42:47.830 should be aware of that. 42:47.829 --> 42:50.089 This has never been solved satisfactorily. 42:50.090 --> 42:52.750 The main problem with interpreting Israel as the 42:52.754 --> 42:55.934 servant is the verse that describes the servant as having 42:55.929 --> 42:57.289 a mission to Israel. 42:57.289 --> 43:00.959 It seems a little odd to say that Israel bears a mission to 43:00.960 --> 43:03.750 Israel. But this problem can be solved, 43:03.750 --> 43:07.760 if we remember that Israel was often divided in prophetic 43:07.760 --> 43:10.810 rhetoric. So perhaps the writer envisions 43:10.813 --> 43:13.713 a mission of one part, the righteous part, 43:13.714 --> 43:17.044 to the other, the part that has gone astray. 43:17.039 --> 43:20.769 Leaving aside this difficulty, the more prominent motif in the 43:20.768 --> 43:24.558 servant song of Isaiah is that the servant has a mission to the 43:24.558 --> 43:26.528 world. That's the more prominent 43:26.533 --> 43:29.863 motif, and that is a role that would suit Israel quite well. 43:29.860 --> 43:32.010 Furthermore, you have the phrase, 43:32.008 --> 43:35.968 "Israel, My servant," appearing in Second Isaiah about eight 43:35.968 --> 43:38.598 times. So the idea of Israel as God's 43:38.603 --> 43:41.943 servant to the nations is clearly a part of Isaiah's 43:41.941 --> 43:45.081 conceptual world, and since we're dealing with 43:45.075 --> 43:48.595 poetry rather than a rigorously consistent metaphysical 43:48.597 --> 43:50.717 treatise, it shouldn't be too surprising 43:50.718 --> 43:52.908 that sometimes the servant is spoken of as a group 43:52.905 --> 43:55.235 collectively, sometimes as an individual. 43:55.239 --> 43:57.779 The same holds true of Israel in general, by the way, 43:57.780 --> 43:59.540 throughout much of the literature. 43:59.539 --> 44:02.629 Sometimes Israel is spoken of in plural terms and sometimes as 44:02.634 --> 44:03.754 a single individual. 44:03.750 --> 44:07.640 So in its original context it's likely that the servant refers 44:07.643 --> 44:08.923 to Israel herself. 44:08.920 --> 44:12.850 If the servant is Israel, then we can see how Second 44:12.848 --> 44:16.698 Isaiah is another response to the events of 587. 44:16.699 --> 44:19.739 And it's ultimately a positive interpretation, 44:19.735 --> 44:21.215 a positive response. 44:21.219 --> 44:24.679 The punishment that Israel suffered even if excessive 44:24.678 --> 44:28.738 (remember Isaiah 40 claims that Israel has suffered double for 44:28.735 --> 44:31.065 her sins, so it's been an excessive 44:31.072 --> 44:33.902 punishment)--that punishment isn't meaningless. 44:33.900 --> 44:35.850 It will lead to redemption. 44:35.849 --> 44:38.679 Israel will be healed by her wounds. 44:38.679 --> 44:41.539 God's word will not be returned unfulfilled. 44:41.539 --> 44:44.219 In addition, suffering leads to a new role 44:44.216 --> 44:46.236 for Israel among the nations. 44:46.239 --> 44:50.849 Second Isaiah expresses a new self-awareness that is taking 44:50.850 --> 44:52.440 hold in the exile. 44:52.440 --> 44:55.900 Israel saw itself as the faithful servant of Yahweh, 44:55.902 --> 45:00.112 a servant whose loyalty to God in this dark time would serve to 45:00.112 --> 45:04.052 broadcast the knowledge of God throughout the nations. 45:04.050 --> 45:07.970 So Israel was chosen from the womb to serve God's universal 45:07.973 --> 45:10.663 purpose. Israel suffered unobserved by 45:10.657 --> 45:14.117 others, but eventually this would make possible the 45:14.119 --> 45:16.749 recognition of God by those others. 45:16.750 --> 45:21.080 Where once God covenanted with David to lead his people, 45:21.075 --> 45:25.635 Israel, he now covenants with Israel to lead the nations of 45:25.636 --> 45:27.756 the world in God's way. 45:27.760 --> 45:32.520 It's an expansion of God's purpose, and this is an idea 45:32.520 --> 45:37.830 that appears in Isaiah 55:3-5: Incline your ear and come 45:37.828 --> 45:39.958 to Me; Harken, and you shall be 45:39.962 --> 45:41.902 revived. And I will make with you an 45:41.898 --> 45:45.028 everlasting covenant, The enduring loyalty promised 45:45.034 --> 45:47.084 to David. [The covenant and loyalty that 45:47.082 --> 45:49.412 was promised to David I'm now transferring to you.] 45:49.409 --> 45:51.609 As I made him a leader of peoples, 45:51.610 --> 45:53.700 A prince and commander of peoples, 45:53.699 --> 45:57.049 So you shall summon a nation who you did not know, 45:57.050 --> 45:58.590 And a nation that did not know you, 45:58.590 --> 46:01.710 Shall come running to you-- For the sake of the LORD your 46:01.713 --> 46:03.803 God, The Holy One of Israel who has 46:03.795 --> 46:06.775 glorified you. So God makes an eternal 46:06.783 --> 46:10.383 covenant with Israel, like that he once concluded 46:10.380 --> 46:13.080 with David. And the function of the 46:13.076 --> 46:17.436 institutions of the old order are transferred to the nation as 46:17.442 --> 46:19.872 a whole. What kings and priests, 46:19.869 --> 46:23.719 and prophets did for Israel, Israel will now do for the 46:23.720 --> 46:27.070 whole world. As the mediator between the 46:27.068 --> 46:32.468 only God and the nations of the world she is a light unto them, 46:32.469 --> 46:35.329 and all will ascend to her because from her will come 46:35.329 --> 46:38.299 Torah, instruction in the divine will and salvation. 46:38.300 --> 46:42.060 This is the idea of universal mission that comes out of Second 46:42.064 --> 46:43.934 Isaiah. When we come back on Wednesday, 46:43.932 --> 46:46.352 we're going to take a look at what I think is probably the 46:46.345 --> 46:48.415 single most profound book in the Hebrew Bible, 46:48.420 --> 46:51.820 the Book of Job. And again, I'll remind you that 46:51.824 --> 46:56.034 final paper information will be available on the Classes server 46:56.033 --> 46:58.333 tonight. I want you to have it in time 46:58.325 --> 47:01.355 to be able to ask questions of your TF or myself about the 47:01.363 --> 47:03.453 assignment. It's pretty detailed so sit and 47:03.451 --> 47:07.001 read through it carefully; it'll be there later tonight.