Isaiah 1:26 A Neglected Text On Kingship -- By: Gregory Goswell

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 62:2 (NA 2011)
Article: Isaiah 1:26 A Neglected Text On Kingship
Author: Gregory Goswell


Isaiah 1:26
A Neglected Text On Kingship

Gregory Goswell

Summary

In recent studies of the theme of kingship in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 1:26 has been neglected. This article seeks to demonstrate that this text is relevant to the theme. The future of leadership within the city of Jerusalem-Zion as forecast in Isaiah 1:26 is theocratic in shape, with Davidic kingship notably absent. The judges and counsellors spoken of are leaders appointed by Yhwh the King and act as judicial officers under him. The setting of Isaiah 1:26 in Isaiah 1, the immediate context of the section 1:21-26, the absence of any mention of kings in Isaiah 2-4, and the portrayal in the first half of Isaiah’s prophecy of Judaean kingship as a dying institution, all confirm this reading. Isaiah 1:26 is one of a number of texts in the first half of Isaiah that prepare the reader for what would otherwise be a radical shift to an exclusive focus on divine kingship in Isaiah 40-66.

1. Introduction

The current scholarly interest in the unity of the book of Isaiah, a unity variously conceived and explained, is the context within which the present synchronic study is conducted.1 One aspect of the unity of the

book explored is that of thematic unity,2 with many studies highlighting themes that run across the traditional critical boundaries within the book. One such theme is that of kingship. Isaiah 1:26, with its comments on future leadership, comes after an address to rulers (‘you rulers of Sodom’) in 1:10 and a reference to princes (‘your princes’) in 1:23. Within a broader indictment of the nation, Yhwh takes particular interest in the leadership (vv. 10, 23, 26).3 Verse 26 is followed up by a possible reference to leaders under the figure of ‘oaks’ (1:29; אילים).

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