In his commentary on chs. 34-66 of the book of Isaiah, John D.W. Watts offers some comments showing that Isaiah was subverting the theology of the idols of the peoples around him. Note the following comments on these selected passages:
. . . I am the first and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. (Isa 44:6b)
This verse with its counterpart in v 8d states the essential core of Israelite faith. Israel had to listen and assent to this in order to enter into covenant with Yahweh (Exod 20:2-4 and Deut 6). So now she must affirm that Yahweh alone is God; he is unique. There is nothing and no one with which to compare him (see C.J. Labuschange, The Incomparability of Yahweh in the Old Testament [Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1966]). This singularity applies to all time, first and last. Idol cults rose and fell, as that period of Babylonian history showed. But Yahweh stands above and beyond the cyclical waves of popular acclaim. (John D.W. Watts, Isaiah 34-66 [Word Biblical Commentary 25; Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1987], 145)
Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut. (Isa 45:1)
Traditionally, the ruler of Babylon took the hand of Bel in the New Year’s festival. Assyrian rulers coveted this affirmation of their authority. Here Yahweh claims that he has seized Cyrus by the hand (42:6) and strengthened his hold on his realm. He had provided the might necessary for his conquest of Media, of Lydia, and now of Babylon and had weakened the authority of his adversaries so that they opened the doors for him as in Armenia. (Ibid., 156)
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. (Isa 46:1-2)
Bel and Nebo are the old traditional gods of Babylon, even older than Marduk. They are also idols in nearby temples. The sight of the awesome idols in a horizontal position, being transported just like the other refugees from one place to another to avoid the approaching invader, elicits this thoughtful comment. (Ibid., 166)
