Isaiah among the Ancient Near Eastern Prophets : a comparative study of the earliest stages of the Isaiah tradition and the Neo-Assyrian prophecies

Abstract

The study focuses on prophecy as a historical phenomenon by offering a comparison between parts of First Isaiah and the Assyrian prophecies. In the first part of the study the material from First Isaiah and from seventh-century Assyria is investigated in its own right. The second part is a comparison of the Isaiah tradition in its earliest shape on the one hand and the prophetic material from seventh-century Assyria on the other. The comparison contains three aspects: the interrelation of prophetic oracles and historical events; the functions of the prophets; and the literary development of prophecy. The main conclusion of the study is that the earliest stages of the Isaiah tradition - i.e. the prophetic material from the eighth century and its earliest revision in the seventh century - to a great extent correspond with the prophetic material of seventh-century Assyria. Based on this conclusion, the hypothesis that prophecy as a historical phenomenon in ancient Israel was much more in conformity with prophecy in the ancient Near East in general than the biblical sources at face value suggest, gains further support.