OT1714 THE ISAIAH SCROLL Spring Semester, 2013 Ann Johnston Vision and Purpose The Isaiah Scroll is unique among the collected messages of the Israelite Prophets. It contains materials from at least five centuries. There is evidence that the Persian Empire was the context in which the Scroll first came into being. Granted it is a collection of collections, it seems to have been shaped by the questions and searchings of the Exilic and Post-Exilic Community of Israel, living in Babylon, under Persian domination and finally resettling in Judah and Jerusalem. This community had suffered the trauma of destruction, deportation and displacement in a land of foreign and strange customs, practices and beliefs. Questions about the Divine, about their own identity and purpose in relationship to the God they had experienced as the Holy One in their midst, about their sense of failure and abandonment by the God with whom they had a covenanted relationship, became the “stuff” of everyday life. Would they go the way of all other Peoples who had experienced such utter destruction and dissolution? John Bright describes it thus: The destruction of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile mark the great watershed of Israel’s history. At a stroke her national existence was ended and, with it, all the institutions in which the national life expressed itself; they would never be re-created in precisely the same form again. The state destroyed and the state cult perforce suspended, the old national, cultic community was broken and Israel was left for the moment an agglomeration of uprooted and beaten individuals, by no external mark any longer a people. The marvel is that her history did not end altogether. Nevertheless, Israel both survived the calamity and, forming a new community out of the wreckage of the old, resumed her life as a people. Her faith, disciplined and strengthened, likewise survived; and gradually found the direction that it would follow through all the centuries to come. In the exile and beyond it, Judaism was born. (Bright 2000, 343)

Judaism did not come into being in a vacuum. The community of Judeans reclaimed their roots in a Persian world and under the influence of the religion, culture, social and political institutions, and the encouraging and directional impulses of her Persian “overlords.” As we examine the Scroll, its message, and the community to whom these words were addressed we will focus our attention on the following: - the Persian world, its religion and religious beliefs and practices (context) - the questions of the exiled Community which the Prophet can be seen to address (Is 40–55); - the words which went unseen, unheard, unheeded in the eighth century community of Israel and the internal and external consequences of such stubborn indifference (Is 2-33) as seen in its historical reality (Is 36-39); - Apocalyptic visions of a future victory of the God of Israel (Is 24-27; 34-35); - Answers to the later question of the restoration community: why do we not yet experience the redeeming and hoped for Presence of our God? (Is 56-66).

This is a research seminar and will require a searching mind and heart, a spirit willing to look outside of the assumed parameters of present and published and unpublished research. We need to dare to ask new questions of very familiar words and scenarios. Together we need to hear again what we thought was “the life and after life” of this material. We need to walk into the world of this community and LISTEN and HEAR the message and meaning from the perspective of their struggle and despair, their search for meaning and direction. (Not unlike the context of our present world!)

Method and Expectations The materials on Reserve have been divided into two sections: 1) The Persian and Zoroastrianism background of Israel’s life in the time of Exile and Restoration; 2) Studies and Commentaries on the Texts and Community of the Scroll. Both collections need to be supplemented by journal articles on texts, traditions, religious practices of both the Persian World and Formative Judaism. Can we find evidence of borrowings and influences? As we build the portrait of this world and their culture and tradition we can then focus on the questions which their Prophets attempted to address for them when they finally opened minds and hearts, ears and eyes, to the broken and corrupt realities of their lives and their failure to believe the Prophets in their midst. .

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Text studies from the proclaimed messages of Isaiah of the Exile will allow us to hear the words of hope and encouragement given to a People who doubt the very nature and promised intentions and commitments of their God. (an exegetical essay)

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Text studies of major segments of the words/messages of Isaiah of Jerusalem (chapters 2-35) will be explored under the rubric of study questions about their past failure and collapse which the People are now open to hear and to heed.

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We will then explore the nature and function of Apocalyptic in the lives of marginal communities and the placement of these apocalyptic passages in the materials of the Scroll. (chapters 24-27 and 34-35)

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Finally, we will examine the lives and practices of the Restoration Community, where the best of intentions seem to have remained merely words (chapters 1 and 56-66). What have they yet to put into practice in their lives? What can they hope for in the Communities of Judaism, and what does their God hope for from them?

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Each one will prepare a final presentation, of your own creative devising, on some aspect of the life, practice, beliefs of the members of the Community in evidence in the Scroll. Submit an outline of your research presentation.

Goals To learn to ask questions of the text as a means of searching for the meaning and message of a text To learn to enter the Hebrew thought world of the people of Israel as we seek to understand the text To understand the influence of the surrounding cultures & traditions in the development of Judaism and its Scriptures To further refine the skills and ability to do exegesis as a way of understanding a text in context. To understand the redaction process and its theological message and purpose in the formation of Sacred Scriptures To practice the gathering and editing of research materials for exploring and understanding the text in context

Requirements

1. Weekly preparation of the assigned segments of the text and the articles which will provide further insight into the text in context. Participation in the discussion 2. Exegesis of a text from Isaiah 40 – 55. Submit a paper presenting a clear articulation of the context and message of the text for the despairing community in exile. 3. Research and presentation of a topic which will provide background for our understanding of the text and context of the Isaiah Scroll and the Community of Tradition bearers who preserved its message. Lead the discussion of this material. 4. Submit an outline of the Research paper on the topic you have chosen for presentation and discussion.

Required Texts The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Eds. Bruce Metzger and Roland E. Murphy New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. (or any other well annotated translation of the Hebrew Scriptures)

Bright, John. A History of Israel. Revised Edition. (or any earlier edition) Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2000.

Cohn, Norman. Cosmos, Chaos & the World to Come: The Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith. Second Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-300-09088-9 Paperback edition

Leclerc, Thomas L. Yahweh Is Exalted in Justice: Solidarity and Conflict in Isaiah. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001. ISBN 0-8006-3255-9 Paperback

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A major commentary on the Book of Isaiah. It will be important that each member of the Seminar make use a different commentary so that we can all become familiar with the many and varied perspectives on the Isaiah materials and the multiple theories on the composition and organization of the Scroll.

ON RESERVE for OT 1714 The Isaiah Scroll

Background and Context Berquist, Jon. Judaism in Persia’s Shadow. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1985. Boyce, Mary. A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1977 Boyce, Mary, ed. & trans. Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1984. Boyce, Mary. Zoroastrians, their Religious Beliefs and Practices. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1979 Campbell, Leroy A. Mithraic Iconography and Ideology. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1968 Carter, George William. Zoroastrianism and Judaism. New York: AMS Press,1970 Cohn, Norman Cosmos, Chaos & the World to Come: the Ancient Roots of Apocalyptic Faith. Second Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001 Dawson, Miles Menander. The Ethical Religion of Zoroaster. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1931 Mithraic Studies: Proceedings International Congress on Mithraic Studies: 1971 Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1975. Kritzeck, James. Ed. Anthology of Islamic Literature, from the Rise of Islam to Modern Times. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1964. Levy, Reuben. Persian Literature: An Introduction. London: Oxford University Press, 1923. Mansani, Rustom Pestonji. Zoroastrianism, the Religion of the Good Life. New York: Macmillan, 1968. Meherjirana, Erachji Sohrabji. A Guide to the Zoroastrian Religion: A Nineteenth Century Catechism with Modern Commentary. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1982

Zaehner, Robert Charles. The Dawn and Twilight of Zoroastrianism. New York: Putnam, 1961. Zaehner, Robert Charles. Zurvan: A Zoroastrian Dilemma. New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1972, 1955

Isaiah Text and Context Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration: A Study of Hebrew Thought in the Sixth Century B.C. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968. Barton, John. Isaiah 1 – 39. Old Testament Guides. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. Carroll, Robert P. When Prophecy Failed. New York: The Seabury Press, 1979. Clements, Ronald E. Isaiah 1-39. The New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987. Clifford, Richard J. Fair Spoken and Persuading: An Interpretation of Second Isaiah. New York: Paulist Press, 1984. Collins, Terence. The Mantle of Elijah: The Redaction Criticism of the Prophetic Books. The Biblical Seminar, 20. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1993. Conrad, Edgar W. Reading Isaiah. Overtures in Biblical Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991. Emmerson, Grace. Isaiah 56-66. Old Testament Guides. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Hanson, Paul D. The Dawn of Apocalyptic: The Historical and Sociological Roots of Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology. Revised edition. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979. Holladay, William L. Isaiah: Scroll of a Prophetic Heritage. New York: Pilgrim Press, 1978. Klein, Ralph W. Israel in Exile: A Theological Interpretation. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979. Leclerc, Thomas L. Yahweh is Exalted in Justice: Solidarity and Conflict in Isaiah. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001 . Leclerc, Thomas L. Introduction to the Prophets. New York: Paulist Press, 2007 Melugin, Roy. The Formation of Isaiah 40-55. BZAW 141. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1976.

Newsome, James D. By the Waters of Babylon: An Introduction to the History and Theology of Exile. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1979. New Visions of Isaiah. Edited by Roy F. Melugin & Marvin A. Sweeney. JSOTS 214. Sheffield, Eng.: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Nickelsburg, George W. E. and Michael E. Stone. Faith and Piety in Early Judaism: Texts and Documents. Philadelphia: Fortress press, 1983. Rendtorff, Rolf. Canon and Theology: Overtures to an Old Testament Theology. Overtures to Biblical Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993. Seitz, Christopher R., ed. Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988. Seitz, Christopher R. Zion’s Final Destiny: The Development of the Book of Isaiah. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1981. Sommer, Benjamin D. A Prophet Reads Scripture: Allusion in Isaiah 40-66. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1998. Smith, Daniel L. The Religion of the Landless: The Social Context of the Babylonian Exile. Bloomington, IND: Meyer-Stone Books, 1989. Smith-Christopher, Daniel L. A Biblical Theology of Exile. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2002 Smith, Paul A. Rhetoric and Redaction on Trito-Isaiah: The Structure Growth and Authorship of Isaiah 56-66. VTS 62. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995. Sweeney, Marvin A. Isaiah 1-4 and the Post-Exilic Understanding of the Isaianic Tradition. BZAW 171. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1988. Willey, Patricia Tull. Remember the Former Things: The Recollection of Previous Texts in Second Isaiah. SBL Dissertation 161. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. Whybray, Roger Norman. Isaiah 40-66. The New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s, 1975. Williamson, H. G. M. The Book Called Isaiah: Deutero-Isaiah’s Role in Composition And Redaction. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994. Writing & Reading the Scroll of Isaiah: Studies of an Interpretive Tradition, Vol 1. Edited by Craig C. Broyles & Craig A. Evans. Leiden: E.J.Brill, 1997.

*Indicates Handout

Preparation

January 22, 2013

Historical Setting *Peter D Quinn-Miscall Isaiah Scroll: A Collection of Proclaimed Messages Reading From Oral to Written: Rhetoric of Persuasion Isaiah Redaction Criticism, what is it? Chapter 1 What are the historically marked parts of the Scroll Who is the possible Redactor of the Scroll? Tradition Bearers: A Community of Disciples The Learning Community – Introductions Syllabus: Requirements & Expectations

January 29,

The Scroll and Its Component Parts Evidence of Continuity & Discontinuity What did you find in your reading of the Whole?

February 5

Read the whole Noting elements of likeness & of difference *Rendtorff “ Bk of Isaiah A Complex Unity”

Exile a Theological Crisis

*Seitz “Making Sense of The Whole” Cohn, Norman Chap 8 Exile

Life under Persian Overlords 1. Political 2. Social 3. Religious

*Boyce article *Applegate article Select a topic for presentation

Zoroastrianism & the Religion of the Persian Overlords

Cohn: Chapter 4 Cohn: Chapter 8

February 12

II Isaiah: Message to a Broken and Despairing Community

Leclerc Yahweh Exalted Chap 4 Isaiah 40-55

Who is their God - Theology What is Israel called to be – Teleology What is her Task in the World? – Messianism SERVANT SONGS

*Leclerc Intro to the Prophets pp 305-395 Clements Isaiah 40-66

Choose a text from II Isaiah for exegesis

February 19, 2013

II Isaiah and the Message to the Broken & Despairing Community

Leclerc Yahweh Exalted Chap 4

ISAIAH 40 – 48

February 24 – March 2, 2013

READING and RESEARCH WEEK Exegesis of your text from II Isaiah Due: Week of March 5-12

March 5, 2013

II Isaiah Message to a Returning Community Leclerc Yahweh Exalted ISAIAH 49 – 55 pp 113-130 Text Studies *Benjamin D. Sommer “Allusions and Illusions: Unity of the Book of Isaiah in Light of Deutero Isaiah’s Use….”

March 12, 2013

II Isaiah: Tradition Bearer & Redactor

Knight Rediscovering the Traditions of Israel Prologue & Chap 1

Redaction Criticism

*Collins The Bk Called Isaiah in Mantle of Elijah

If II Isaiah has arranged the collections With a theological purpose, what is the Message given by the Shape of the Redacted Pieces?

March 19, 2013

*“The Second Isaiah Consolation in Exile” Intro to the Prophets Pp305-332

I Isaiah’s Message Why did we fall apart? Who was “in charge?” What was the message that went Unheard, unseen, unheeded?

Clements Isaiah 1-39 pp. 8-25

ISAIAH 1 – 12 [“the denkschrift”] His calling His Message His Followers

Leclerc Yahweh Exalted pp, 162-187

*“Isaiah, Prophet of Zion “ in Introduction To the Prophets

March 24 March 30

HOLY WEEK and EASTER

April 2, 2013

Corrupt Leadership in Israel Corruption of the Nations

April 9, 2013

Leclerc Yahweh Exalted pp.29-91

Effect of Israel’s corruption on the Surrounding Nations

Leclerc *“I Isaiah: Prophet of Zion” In Intro to the Prophets pp. 162-174

ISAIAH 13 – 23 and 28 – 33

same as above pages

Apocalyptic What is Apocalyptic? Why & when is it used? Who writes Apocalyptic & why?

Cohn, Norman Chapter 9

Apocalyptic & the Marginal Community Hanson vs Smith ISAIAH 24 – 27 & ISAIAH 34-35

April 14 – April 20, 2013

April 23, 2013

BREAK WEEK Prepare Presentation materials

Isaiah & the Restoration Community A Community in Conflict

Leclerc Yahweh Exalted Ch 5: Is 56-66

Why do we still not know & experience Salvation and shalom?

*Hanson, Paul D “Third Isaiah: The Theological Legacy Of a Struggling Community”

Isaiah 56-66

*Leclerc Intro to the Prophets Pp.360-396

Shape and Message of the Redacted Text?

April 30, 2013

PRESENTATIONS: _____________________________________ _____________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________

May 7, 2013

PRESENTATIONS ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________

May 20, 2013 REASEARCH OUTLINE PAPERS DUE