Mark D. Given
Missouri State University
Isaiah is a composite document. The division into First (chaps. 1-39), Second (chaps. 40-55 or 40-66), and possibly Third Isaiah (chaps. 56-66) has been popular for many years. In this break down, First Isaiah is mainly from the 8th cent. B.C.E. and is mostly a product of the original Isaiah; Second Isaiah belongs to the 6th cent. B.C.E., near the end of the Exile, and Third Isaiah to the period shortly after the Exile. Scholars who supported this view always agreed, however, that the situation is actually more complex than that, especially in chaps. 1-39, and recent years have witnessed many modifications to the theory. For example, while Second Isaiah, aside from insertions, is still usually considered the work of a single prophetic genius, Third Isaiah is often presented as the product of an Isaianic school. Also, many think that the latest redactional stages of Isaiah could stretch well into the 5th cent. B.C.E. There is substantial though not complete agreement that chapters 24-27 form a collection of apocalyptic materials, sometimes called the Isaiah Apocalypse, that date to the latest redactional stages of the book.
Actually these chapters are hardly a full-fledged Apocalypse since they lack some of the most typical features of the genre (e.g., pseudonymity, an interpreting angel, and cosmic dualism), and some have objected to using even the adjective apocalyptic since similar material elsewhere is often classified a “eschatological prophecy.” But the amount and concentration of such materials (massive disasters on the earth, universal judgment, heavenly signs, punishment of the host of heaven, an eschatological feast, resurrection of the dead, references and allusions to Canaanite and Mesopotamian mythology) tends to suggest that we should at least consider the chapters “proto-apocalyptic.”
Structure is also a problem. We are confronted with a mishmash of genres such as lament (e.g., 26:7-19), thanksgiving (e.g., 24:14-16), oracles (e.g., 24:1-13; 27:6-11), and songs (e.g., 26:1-6; 27:2-5). The last of these songs is a re-visioning of one that occurs earlier in Isaiah and one of the most famous in the HB, the song of the vineyard (5:1-7). Indeed, interpreters often note that many passages in these chapters appear to reinterpret ideas expressed in chaps. 13-23. Despite the mixing of disparate genres in chaps. 24-27, many interpreters argue for some method in the madness, often by detecting a dramatic liturgical quality throughout. Perhaps the one unifying theme is the contrast between two cities, Jerusalem on Mount Zion and an enemy city that is never named. The anonymity of the enemy city has led to much speculation in the attempt to date elements of these chapters and their historical situation(s), but it is also possible, especially for those who detect considerable apocalyptic content, that the city is symbolic of the several enemies Israel had faced by postexilic times.
The lack of clear structure makes it difficult to say just how 25:6-9 fits in its context. Is it more related to the preceding verses which speak of God’s conquest of an enemy city and foreigners (vv. 1-8), or God’s conquest of Moab that follows (vv. 10-12)? Or is it possible that the enemy city is in Moab (26:5)? In any case, the universalism of vv. 6-9 seems all the more arresting in such a context. The prophet speaks of a great party hosted by God (25:6), an “eschatological banquet” one might say. But the party is not just for the Israelites who had suffered so much, but for “all peoples.” And then, in language that probably echoes the Canaanite god Baal’s mythical victory over Mot, god of death, and possibly the Babylonian god Marduk’s ability to make a garment appear or disappear at will, the prophet predicts that Yahweh will destroy death itself, “the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever” (vv. 7-8a). While God will wipe a tear from every face, emphasis is laid on the tears of “his people” (v. 8b). The following verse continues this emphasis: “It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (v. 9).
The book of Isaiah has sometimes been called The Gospel of the Old Testament, or The Fifth Gospel. There are many parts of the New Testament that simply cannot be well understood apart from the rich intertextual meanings generated by quotations from, and allusions to it. Verses like 6-9 and so many others assured it such a role. Paul probably echoes v. 8a when he says “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54b). But the Apocalypse to John makes the most of them: “The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev 7:17); “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away" (Rev 21:3-4).