Third Isaiah

Third Isaiah

• Isaiah 56-66 has long been considered the work of a third author

• This author has been labeled Trito Isaiah, or Third Isaiah

• We do not know the name of this author, but he seems to have been a follower of second Isaiah

• Was written between 538-516 BCE

Timeline of Isaiah

7:14

Is. 9:1-6

Isaiah 10 & 11:10References toAssyria5:8-21 9:8-21

5:152:6-213:13-155:1-7

Assyrian Crisis:Is. 7:14Is. 9:1-6

“Do not fear…”Motiff - Is. 40-66

800BC 750BC 700BC 650BC 600BC 550BC 500BC

740 – Syro-Ephraimite

War

723 – Israel f

al ls to Assy

ria

701 – Assyrian Crisis

612 - Rise

of Babylonian Empire

538 - Cyrus’ E

dict

Response to earlier crisis:9:1-6 & 7:20

Isaiah 11:1Isa 7:23-25; 8:19-9:1

Exile

Isaiah 13:17 – Cyrus Insertion41:1-2 & 41:25-29 – Cyrus account

12:1 – Ref. to return

44:24-28 Rebuilding Temple

12:1-6 Restorat ion eschatology

11:2-6 –Eschatological

65:17-25 – Cyrus not Messiah

65:17 - Eschatological

24-27 – So-called Apocalyptic

Uzziah

733 - Isaiah begins m

inistry

AhazHezekiah

Manasseh

681 - Death of Is

aiah

Josiah

586 – Jerusalem destroyed

Babylonian Exile

Mes

sian

ic

Ref

eren

ces

Eve

nts

Jude

anK

ings

Isai

ahic

Intr

usio

ns

Isaiah 1-4

Isa. 45:1 – “Cyrus his anointed”

Jehoiachim

Research on Third Isaiah• The idea of a

third author or Trito Isaiah was first proposed by Bernhard Duhm in 1892

• Many believe Third Isaiah was written in Jerusalem just before the arrival of Ezra and Nehemiah

• Many scholars accept that 56-66 is dependant on 40-55

• The two sections share many of the same concerns

Three Authors ?• Duhm

– in the 1200’s Rabbi Ibn Ezra believed that 40-66 was later than 1-39

• Duhm believed that chapters 1-39 are comprised of judgement oracles written during time of Isaiah

• Chapters 40-55 are mainly words of comfort

• While 56-66 are made up of words of rebuke for those who have returned from exile

Three Authors ?• First Isaiah (1-

39) written during time of Isaiah of Jerusalem

• Second Isaiah (40-55) written during the exile

• Third Isaiah written after the exile

•

Dating of Third Isaiah

• The dating of Third Isaiah is made difficult by two factors

• 1) This material refers to no historical event

• 2) it does not name historical individuals

• There is a lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and a prediction of rebuilding the “ancient ruins” (63:18, 64:9-10)

Dating of Third Isaiah• This indicates

that much time may have passed since the Babylonian campaign of 586 BCE.

Third Isaiah

• Third Isaiah

• Prof. Paul Hanson of Harvard has proposed a theory that two groups of people were present among those returning from exile

• The Temple Party• The Visionary Group

Problems addressed

• The relationship of those returning from exile to those who did not leave

• The difference between what was the ‘real life’ experience of the people and the promises made by the prophets

• Issues of rebuilding the Temple

• Some of the themes of 1 and 2 Isaiah are included in 3rd Isaiah especially the idea of a time of trial followed by a time of “prosperity”(1)

Concerns of Third Isaiah

• Restoration of Jerusalem (49:18,22 & 60:4,), admission of proselytes (58:1-8 &44:5)

What does Third Isaiah have to say?• Contains the

oracles of one of second Isaiah’s disciples

• Addressed to those living in Jerusalem in post-exilic period - trying to reestablish their lives

• The author tried to encourage those who had returned from captivity to rebuild lives

• Structure of Third Isaiah

What does Third Isaiah have to say?• A major theme

of Trito Isaiah is salvation for all people

• ch 56 begins this by promising salvation for all those previously excluded

• chapters 61-66 speak of the Day of the Lord

• Chapter 61 begins” The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”

• This brings to mind the theme of the Suffering Servant from 2nd Isaiah

Third Isaiah - What is he telling us ?• The Suffering

Servant of 2nd Isaiah seems to show the Messiah to be just that - suffering

• Third Isaiah shows a different aspect of the expected Messiah

• The Messiah of Third Isaiah is more of a warrior - He is coming to judge

• 61:2 -He proclaims “The day of vengeance of God

• In ch. 63 He is covered in blood and will judge Israel

So, where do we go from here ?• As it seems that

a main theme of third Isaiah is salvation, that will be the focus of the remainder of the presentation - the New Jerusalem to be effected by the Messiah

• Isaiah with two angels

Ch 63- 64• 63:7 Praise for

God’s kingdom- • 10: confession of

sins• 15-16: hope for

mercy• 17-19 prayer to

be restored spite of past sins– return, rend the

heavens and come down, quaking mountains

• 64:1-2: awaiting God’s kingdom

• 5-7: confess unworthiness

• 11: will the punishment continue– what will God

do “

– What will His response to the people be ?

How it will begin• Ch 65-66 seem

to be written as a unit. They parallel each other closely

• Isaiah “Swords into Plowshares

Parallels ch. 65-66

• 65:1-10 66:1 ff

• 65:12 66:4

• 65:17 66:22

• 65:18 ff 66:10 ff

• 65:20-25 66:12-14

CH 65• In CH. 65 -the

wicked are addressed

• They are addressed who refused to answer when God called and offered unworthy worship (vv 3-7)

• verses 8-12 - Not all will be destroyed since there are some Holy people present - Judgment will be delayed for now.

• See Matthew 13:24-30 - parable of wheat and tares

Chapter 65

• 13-16 - The Servants of the Lord who have been faithful will be abundantly blessed

• Those who have not been faithful will be cursed

• The faithful servants will be given a new name

• See 62:2 -”You shall be called by a new name”

• This can be seen as indicative of a new state of happiness (Rev 2:17)

Chapter 65• 17-25 - Creation

of a New Heaven and New Earth

• There is a distinction drawn between the Old creation and the new.

• Old creation was spoiled - the New will set all things right

• This distinction can be see in looking at 2nd Isaiah

• See 43:18-19

Chapter 65• Jerusalem will

still be part of the New Jerusalem (see rev 21:1-2)

• A long life will be restored, just as in the first creation

• Verse 20:No more shall there be in itan infant that lives but a few days,or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.

Chapter 65: 24-25• There will be a

close relationship now - The people will call and God will hear, even before they call

• In the New creation, nature will come together also

• The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,the lion shall eat straw like the ox;but the serpent--its food shall be dust!

• This goes back to 1st Isaiah (11:6-9) in a description of the harmony of the coming age of the Messiah

Chapter 66• While ch 65 is

addressed to the unfaithful, 66 is addressed to those who believe and “tremble at His word” (66:5)

• 65:12: “When I called you did not answer

• 66:4: When I called no one answered

• There is a different message for faithful and unfaithful

Chapter 66• 18-24 - the

universal worship of God is brought about

• “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues - and they shall come and see my glory

• V 19 - follows by promising a sign

• The faithful will be gathered - God’s enemies will lie dead outside of the New Jerusalem

• See Rev 21:1

Ch. 65-66 genre• This material has

some of the characteristics of the Day of Yahweh

• The servant of 65-66 is more of a warrior - coming in vengeance

• God is angry about unfaithfulness

• God will come and destroy sinners- God will come in a fire, like a whirlwind to judge

• God is coming - and this will be final

Day of the Lord

• While the term “Day of the Lord” is not specifically used it is clear God is coming to judge and gather the faithful into the New Creation

• In this section we see a number of references used in Revelation - as we learned earlier Apocylyptic literature is based on the Day of the Lord Genre

Genre: Apocalyptic• Some authors

believe that the roots of apocalyptic writing are found in Isaiah 65-66

• previously it had been thought that this type of literature originated in about 200 BCE

• Apocalyptic images of Isaiah

• God as a warrior (59:16-17, 63:1-6)

• He will battle the forces of evil

• the cosmos will be transformed (65:17-18)

• Heaven and earth are to be recreated and suffering eliminated

Genre:Apocalyptic

• It is also thought that apocalyptic literature surfaced during times of difficulty.

• This would make sense in Isaiah 56-66 as the people were returning from exile and relations were tense in the community.

Isaiah’s vision of Heaven

Trito Isaiah in early Christianity• The servant

passages of Isaiah give clues as to the identity of Jesus

• In Mark Jesus begins his public career with reading of Isa. 61:1-3

• Thus, Jesus could then be referred to as the “anointed one” see: Acts 4:27, 10:38)He is also called the “righteous one” in Acts 7;52, 1 John 2:1 (see: Isa 53:1)

Third Isaiah in early Christianity• In the Gospels,

Jesus’ description of a disciple, closely resembles this teaching

• The Beatitudes (Matt.5:3-12, Lk. 6:20-26) use the same theme of reversal as Isa 65:13-15

• The anticipation of Jesus return in Matt. 24:3, 1 Cor 15:23, 2 Thess 2:8, parallels the material in Third Isaiah (59:19-20, 60:1, 62:11, 63:1…)

• The entry into Jerusalem can also be seen in 62:11

Third Isaiah in early Christianity• Apocalyptic

themes are also paralleled

• The idea of a transformation of nature, a new heaven and new Earth as seen in Revelation 21, are all seen in the third section of Isaiah (Day of the Lord)

• The Gospels tell us of Jesus twofold mission: first to the Jews, then the gentiles; same as in Isa.49:6 and the ‘Servant of the Lord’

Third Isaiah in early Christianity• In Matthew

24:14 Jesus speaks of the need to proclaim the Gospel to all nations

• This is necessary for salvation

• Perhaps the most important contribution of Third Isaiah

• See Isa 56;1-8, 66:18-19,21

Bibliography

Isaiah, available on the web at: http://georgeplasterer.tripod.com/BIISAIAH.html

Jones, D.R. Isaiah 56-66, and Joel. London:SCM Press LTD, 1964.

Leupold, H.C. Exposition of Isaiah:Volume II, Chapters 40-66 Grand Rapids:Baker Book House (1971)

Miller, John, W. Meet The prophets: A Beginners Guide to the Books of the Biblical Prophets New York:Paulist Press (1987)

Polan, Gregory, J. “Salvation in the Midst of Struggle.” TBT 23(1985) 91-94

http://www.trinity.toronto.edu/Divinity/Reference/Isaiah2.ppt

Graphics/ Images taken from

• http://www.textweek.com/art/isaiah.htm

• http://www.biblical-art.com/biblicalsubject.asp?id_biblicalsubject=1052&pagenum=1