PEPa
Postexilic Prophecy: Isaiah 56-66, Haggai, Zechariah, Joel, Malachi, Jonah
​
Isaiah 56-66
Canonical and Historical Context: Who’s on Stage?
​
As the promises of Second Isaiah raised hopes for Israel's full restoration, Third Isaiah both affirms and clarifies that message for a struggling postexilic community.
As we turn the page from Isaiah 55 to Isaiah 56, we leap from Babylon near the close of the exilic period to Jerusalem in the postexilic period. The decree of the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, in 538 BCE had opened the door for the Judahite exiles to return home and begin rebuilding the temple.
​
But the challenges of restoring Jerusalem were as great as the opportunity itself. Other postexilic prophets provide hints that the Persian province of Yehud (i.e., Judah) faced times of agricultural dearth (Hag 1:6; 2:15-17), drought (Hag 1:9-11; Joel 1:12, 20), and plagues of locusts (Joel 1:4). In addition to physical hardships, their social status as Persian vassals and returning refugees must have challenged their identity as the chosen people of the one true God.
​
Indeed, the message of Isaiah 40–55 simultaneously raised their hopes and expectations, but also set the stage for disappointment. Second Isaiah commands the exiles to “go out from Babylon” (Isa 48:20–21; 52:11–12) and promises Yahweh’s visible return to Jerusalem (Isa 40:3–5; 52:7–10). The third section of Isaiah, therefore, explains the delay of Yahweh's salvation promised in the second section.
Outline and Key Passages
Situation and Message: What’s at Stake?
​
Why is the salvation promised in Isaiah 40–55 delayed (Isa 59)? Isaiah 59:1–20 sheds light on key issues facing the early postexilic community, as noted by the repetition of "save/salvation" and "justice." The shifting pronouns may reflect the kind of liturgical patterns seen in prophetic psalms (Pss 50; 81).
​
Because the salvation promised by Second Isaiah was delayed for the postexilic community, they became disappointed and blamed God, but Third Isaiah clarifies that Yahweh's return is not automatic, but conditional on their repentance.
Isa 59:1-3 You (Accusation)
"See, Yahweh's hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
Rather, your iniquities have separated you and your God."
​
Isa 59:4-8 They (Lament)
"There is no justice in their paths."
​
Isa 59:9-15a We (Confession)
"Therefore justice is far from us."
"We hope for justice, but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us."
"Justice is turned back."
​
Isa 59:15b-20 Yahweh (Prophecy)
"Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice."
"His own arm brought him salvation"
"He was clothed with ... a helmet of salvation on his head."
​
As prophetic oracles often respond to prior situations and sentiments, readers should try to imagine the preceding conversation. Implicit in Yahweh’s accusation is Israel’s underlying blame of God: “Yahweh’s hand is too short to save, and his ear too dull to hear.” The real explanation for the lack of visible “salvation,” however, lies in the people’s continued “iniquities” and “sins.” The liturgy’s second section is not merely a description of the people’s condition but a lament over their lack of justice. The confession reiterates the absence of social justice and acknowledges the problem of the lack of visible salvation from God. The prophetic response is not what we should expect. Yahweh is “astonished” that there is no human agent to “intercede/mediate” (Isa 59:16). His response is not to bring further judgment, but instead to arm himself with the weaponry necessary to bring “salvation/victory” against “his adversaries” (Isa 59:16–19). Hence, in spite of Israel’s disbelief and the absence of a human intermediary, Yahweh has taken it upon himself to deliver on his promise of salvation.
​
The liturgy’s closing verse reaffirms a promise made in Second Isaiah, but adds a crucial qualification.
​
“Your watchmen … eye to eye will see Yahweh’s returning to Zion.
… Yahweh has comforted his people and redeemed Jerusalem” (Isa 52:8–9).
​
“A Redeemer will come to Zion
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression” (Isa 59:20).
​
This verse exemplifies the principal reason Third Isaiah (Isa 56–66) became a necessary supplement to Second Isaiah (Isa 40–55). The sequence suggests that the Judahites had received the promises of Second Isaiah and expected their fulfillment to be automatic—without any obligatory obedience on their part. So Third Isaiah must clarify that Second Isaiah’s promises come with the implicit condition of turning/repentance from their chronic condition of transgression.
​
In addition to repentance, the prophet understands that intercessory prayer is a precondition to Yahweh's fulfilling his promise to restore Jerusalem. In another passage, he appoints "watchmen" with these instructions: “Give yourselves no rest, and give him [i.e., God] no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth” (Isa 62:6–7 and 62:1).
​
Redefining the people of God (Isaiah 56). The third section of the book of Isaiah begins with a decidedly different tone from that found in Isaiah 40–55. It also hints at the people’s disappointment in the delay of Yahweh’s manifest “salvation,” promised in the previous section.
​
While Yahweh's salvation was center stage in Second Isaiah, Israel's righteousness comes to the foreground in Third Isaiah.
Thus Yahweh has said:
keep justice and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
Blessed is the person who does this,
and the son of man who keeps hold of it,
keeping Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeping his hand from doing any evil (Isa 59:1–2).
​
Third Isaiah begins with a moral imperative, unlike Second Isaiah who focuses on Yahweh’s activity of bringing salvation. Attention is now turned to Israel’s responsibility to do “righteousness,” to be manifested as social “justice.” In turn, Yahweh will bring his “righteousness,” to be manifested as “salvation.” Reciprocity is key to this relationship; Yahweh does not simply cater to Israel’s needs. Although the juxtaposition of “keeping justice” and “keeping Sabbath”—one moral and one ritual—may sound odd, Third Isaiah’s later redefinition of keeping Sabbath (Isa 58) will help us make sense of this connection.
​
As a corollary to Second Isaiah's monotheism, Third Isaiah unveils a policy of Gentile inclusion in the worship of Yahweh.
Two developments, one internal and one external, came to a head in the postexilic period and prompted a redefinition on the identity of the people of God.
First, the Israelites themselves have yet to repent of the transgressions that brought on the Babylonian exile in the first place. Second, Second Isaiah had fundamentally redefined Israel’s understanding of their God: he is not simply the (patron) God of Israel; he is the only God (monotheism). The so-called patron gods of the nations therefore never actually existed. If they are to have a deity, then Yahweh must become their God. Monotheism necessarily raises the issue of how Gentiles are to be included among the people of God.
​
The very next oracle therefore responds to the lament of the foreigner.
​
Don’t let the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say,
“Yahweh will surely separate me from his people” …
The foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh,
to minister to him and to love the name of Yahweh, to be his servants,
all who keep Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keep hold of my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and let them rejoice in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted upon my altar,
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples (Isa 56:3–8).
​
As Yahweh’s house is now international, his hospitality extends to foreigners, who may enter and offer sacrifices shoulder to shoulder with Israelites. Hence in addition to gathering “the diaspora of Israel,” Yahweh promises to “gather still more to those already gathered” (Isa 56:8). But they must meet two conditions: keeping covenant and Sabbath. There is no mention of circumcision as a prerequisite, the violation of which according to the pentateuchal Torah would result in one “being cut off from his people” (Gen 17:14).
​
This redefinition of the people of God, as those who demonstrate allegiance to the covenant, results in a two-edged sword. While it admits loyal Gentiles, it could also exclude disloyal Jews. The insider-outsider dichotomy changes radically.
​
Third Isaiah fundamentally redefines the people of God, not ethnically, but on the condition of keeping covenant and Sabbath.
Although Ezra and Nehemiah commanded separation from foreigners, Yahweh in Third Isaiah welcomes them in his house.
The phrasing of this oracle in the form of a lament suggests the foreigner is responding to a prior policy of their exclusion. Ezra 9–10 and Neh 9–10; 13 may provide the historical context (both mid-5th century BCE).
​
On the issue of the Jews intermarrying with “the peoples of the lands” (Ezra 9:1–2; Neh 10:28), the leaders sought God’s will by exegesis of Torah (cf. the echoes of Deut 7:1–6; 20:17–18; 23:1–8 in Ezra 9:1–2, 12; Neh 9:2, 8; 13:1–3).
​
Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have trespassed and married foreign women, and so increased the guilt of Israel. Now make confession to the Lord the God of your ancestors, and do his will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives” (Ezra 10:10–11, NRSV).
​
Then those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their ancestors (Neh 9:2, NRSV, and 10:28; 13:3).
​
The foreigner’s lament in Isaiah 56 sounds like a direct response to these policies laid down in Ezra and Nehemiah’s reforms.
​
Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”(Isa 56:3, NRSV).
​
Although Ezra and Nehemiah prescribe “separation” from “foreigners,” Third Isaiah explicitly decrees in first-person divine speech that “I will bring [cause to come, bw’] them to my holy mountain and make them rejoice in my house of prayer.”
​
Although Deut 23 forbids eunuchs and foreigners entry into Yahweh's assembly, Third Isaiah offers them hospitality in Yahweh's house.
Mentioning the eunuch’s lament, “I am a dry tree” (a comparatively small group) in Isaiah 56:3, alongside that of the foreigners, may sound strange until we observe this Deuteronomic law.
​
No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall come in Yahweh’s assembly. No one born of an illicit union shall come in Yahweh’s assembly. Even to the tenth generation one shall not come in Yahweh’s assembly. No Ammonite or Moabite shall come in Yahweh’s assembly. Even to the tenth generation one shall not come in Yahweh’s assembly forever…. You shall not seek their peace or their good all your days forever (Deut 23:1–3, 6).
​
On the question of who may “come (bw’) in Yahweh’s assembly,” both eunuchs and certain foreigners are forbidden. Indeed, Israelites are forbidden to offer them any hospitality. By contrast, in Isaiah 56 Yahweh offers hospitality to both eunuchs and foreigners “in my house,” so long as they keep covenant and the Sabbath (Isa 56:4–7). Remarkably, the inclusive policy of this prophetic oracle explicitly annuls the laws of exclusion in Deuteronomy 23!
​
We would be remiss, however, to overlook other passages in Third Isaiah that clearly foresee “foreigners” (Isa 60:10; 61:5) and “nations” (Isa 60:12) taking subservient roles in the new economy. We should probably regard Isaiah 56 as a pioneering passage, whose realization will take some time to come to fruition with the people of God.
​
Redefining Rituals, the Priesthood, and the Location of God’s Presence. Third Isaiah reconfigures other key features of Israelite religion.
​
Third Isaiah recalibrates fasting and Sabbath from religious rituals to social rites that promote liberation and hospitality.
Yahweh responds to the people’s lament, “Why have we fasted, but you do not see it?” (Isa 58:3), which likely refers to the mourning rituals they practiced since the Babylonians destroyed the temple (Zech 7:3–6; 8:19). He does so by taking up the issue of whose “pleasure/delight” they, in fact, seek (Isa 58:2–3, 13; cf. 56:4)? Yahweh redresses their “transgression” and presumption of being righteous (Isa 58:1–3, similar to their presumption in Isa 59:1–2). While they pretend to “take pleasure in God’s ways” and “nearness” by practicing fasting, they in fact they seek their own “pleasure” while oppressing their laborers. Yahweh’s chosen fast lies not in mere ritual but in liberating the oppressed and showing hospitality to the unfortunate (Isa 58:5–7). The rite of Sabbath observance is also included because it implicitly entails the weekly releasing of servants from work (Isa 58:13–14; cf. Deut 5:12–15; Exod 20:10; Isa 56:2, 4, 6). Ironically, although fasting involves a measure of self-denial and Sabbath observance a measure of “not seeking one’s own pleasure,” both rites are promised “satisfaction,” “pleasure in Yahweh,” and blessing (Isa 58:8–12, 14; 56:7). Once the people observe these rites rightly, then Yahweh will fulfill the promises introduced in Second Isaiah (Isa 40:5, 52:12). Thus, foregrounded in these religious rites is ensuring the social rights of God’s people, especially the unfortunate.
​
Third Isaiah also appears to be more inclusive regarding the priesthood, as he extends this office beyond the priestly Levites to all the Israelites (Isa 61:6) and even to “the nations” who join with the Jewish diaspora at Yahweh’s “holy mountain Jerusalem” (Isa 66:18–21).
​
But perhaps more significantly, Yahweh extends sacred space and the location of his presence:
​
Yahweh extends his sacred presence from the temple to the individual Israelite who is penitent
For thus has said the One who is exalted and lifted up,
who tabernacles in eternity, whose name is holy:
on the high and holy place I tabernacle,
and with the contrite and lowly of spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the contrite of heart (Isa 57:15).
​
He even relativizes the importance of the temple that the people had rebuilt in Jerusalem:
​
The heavens are my throne, and the earth my footstool;
what is this house that you build for me? …
But to this one I look,
to the humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at my word (Isa 66:1–2).
​
The prophet downplays the official religious institutions of postexilic Judah and foregrounds the immediacy of God’s presence with his people.
​
​