1. Second Isaiah
Newness and Hope

2. Life in Exile Babylon becomes the new “Egypt”
Forcibly resettled into abandoned areas of central Babylonia
Not enslaved, but experience it as a ‘yoke’. Babylon becomes the symbol of arch-evil in the biblical tradition.
An exilic psalm: Psalm 137 “By the rivers of Babylon”
Theological crisis
Jerusalem with the Temple and Davidic king is destroyed.
Is the covenant irretrievably broken? (i.e. No longer God’s people?)
They found ways to preserve communal identity in a hostile cultural environment
Family and clan-based identity
Emphasis on religious practices that don’t need a temple – e.g. Circumcision and Sabbath
Synagogues?
Sacred texts
Prophetic response: Words of hope and promise
Second Isaiah

3. 2nd Isaiah Isaiah chapters 40-55
Anonymous prophet(s) in exile, steeped in the vision of Isaiah of Jerusalem
Time: around 540BCE
Place: in Babylonia
His audience: The Jews in exile in Babylonia
His task: Preaches hope to despairing exiles, encouraging them to get ready to return to their land
Important themes:
The return from exile is like a ‘Second Exodus’
E.g. Isaiah 43:16-21
“Servant songs” – the faithful servant of God who suffers but is vindicated
Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; chapter 53; (61:1-3)

4. The Servant of the Lord Isaiah 42:1-8; 18-20, 43:1-3
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,     my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him;     he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry or lift up his voice,     or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break,     and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;     he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be crushed     until he has established justice in the earth;     and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
5 Thus says God, the Lord,     who created the heavens and stretched them out,     who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it     and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,     I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people,[a]     a light to the nations, 7     to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,     from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the Lord, that is my name;
Listen, you that are deaf; and you that are blind, look up and see! 19 Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the Lord? 20 He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. …. But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.

5. Identity of the Servant?
Israel?
An idealised Israel (remnant?) who carries out the mission and calling of Israel to be source of blessing and salvation
Prophet?
Messiah figure?
Applied to Jesus in the New Testament:
Matt 8:16-17; 12:15-21; Mark 15:28 (in some manuscripts); Luke 2:32; 4:17-19; 22:37; John 12:38-41; Acts 8:31-35; Acts 13:34; Romans 10:15-16; 15:21; 1 Peter 2:21-25
POLYVALENT

6. Isaiah 43:16-21
Thus says the Lord,     who makes a way in the sea,     a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse,     army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise,     they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things,     or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing;     now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness     and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honour me,     the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness,     rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21     the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.

7. The Exodus in Second Isaiah
“What is extraordinary is how the prophet uses the old story. He presents the exiles with a paradox: hear the old story (vv ), then forget it (v. 18), then listen to the new story that is told like the old story (vv ). Why would the prophet do this? Second Isaiah wants to make it clear to his audience that the God who rescued Israel at the sea from the Egyptians is the same God acting now. YHWH remains Israel's God”
Paula S. Hiebert, "Second Isaiah's Image of YHWH's 'New Thing'" The Bible Today 46/6 (Nov/Dec ): , 362.

8. The Prophetic Imagination
“The task of prophetic imagination is to nurture, nourish and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.”
Brueggemann, Prophetic Imagination, 13
Who are the prophets today?
What should God’s people be doing?