Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Fredrik Lindström on "Light" and "Darkness" in Isaiah 45:7

  

The contents of the expression běrît ‘ām, which is parallel to ‘ôr gôyim are unclear. Elliger is probably correct in assuming ‘am to signify “humanity”, as in v 5, and in taking běrît to mean “obligation”, so that Cyrus serves as guarantor of the impending liberation.

 

Thus the context of 42,6 leaves no doubt that the term ‘ôr in this verse is a metaphor for the political liberation of Israel and other nations suffering from the Babylonian yoke by means of Cyrus.

 

And I will lead the blind in a way that the know now, in paths that
they have not known I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness /maḥšāk/ before them into light /lā’ôr/, the
rough places into level ground . . . (42,16, RSV)

 

As in the previous section (42,6f.), “light” is here again contrasted with a word formed from the root ḥšk. The term in question, being constructed with the aid of preformative ma-, is probably to be rendered “dark place”. What does this mean? The following line, “the rough places into level ground”, recalls the description of the new Exodus in 40,4b, and in the preceding verse 942,15) we are told that the fertile land will be transformed into desert. Thus it is likely that 42,15f. refers to the new Exodus, that is, to the liberation of exiled Israel. The “dark place” will accordingly refer to the desert (cf. Jer 2,6), while “light” presumably has to do with the pillar of fire which guided Israel during the first Exodus (Exo 13,21; Ps 78,14). The latter assumption accords well with the fact that HWH is to lead the people (v 16a; cf. 52,12). Thus it appears that the word “light” serves in this context as a metaphor for the presence of YHWH during Israel’s liberation from the Babylonian captivity.

 

It is too slight a task for you, as my servant, to restore the tribes
of Jacob,
to bring back the preserved of Israel; I hereby appoint you to be a
light to the nations /lě’ôr gôyim/
that my vindication /yěšû’ātî/ may reach to the ends of the earth. (49,6)

 

Like Cyrus in 42,6, the person who is here entitled “my servant” is appointed by YHWH to be a light to the nations. The contents of this phrase are clarified by the subsequent statement that YHWH’s vindication will be known throughout the world. The term yěšû’ā is elsewhere employed by the prophet to designate the impending victory of YHWH over the Babylonian empire. Indeed, this event is ultimately witnessed by all the peoples: “The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and the whole world from end to end shall see the deliverance of our God” (52,10, NEB). Since the account of the calling of the “servant” in 49,1-2 is reminiscent of a prophetic call narrative, it is probable that the task of the “servant” is to proclaim YHWH’s imminent victory to the foreign nations. It is by means of his proclamation of the new world order represented by Cyrus’ victorious advance that the “servant” emerges as a “light” for those dwelling in the shadow of the Babylonian oppressor. Accordingly, as in 42,6, the term ‘ôr in 49,6 is a metaphor for the political liberation which is expected in conjunction with the destruction of the Babylonian empire.

 

This study of the use by Deutero-Isaiah of the term ‘ôr concludes with 53,11aα:

 

“Out of the travail of his soul he sees light /‎yirʾe/, he is satisfied . . . “

 

Once again examination of the use of the term indicates that here, too, it is a metaphor for “liberation”. It is only very recently that T. Mettinger has driven the last nail into the coffin of Duhm’s ancient hypothesis concerning the hypothetical existence of a special group of “Servant Songs” in Isa 40-55; in the process he has presented very good arguments to the effect that the “Man of Sorrows” (52:13-53,12) is in reality Israel (cf. Lam 3). Seen from this perspective it appears that here, too, the light metaphor is employed by the prophet to proclaim the proximate liberation of his people from their Babylonian captivity.

 

By way of summary it may be said that the term ‘ôr is nowhere employed in Isa 40-55 to describe a cosmic enormity or event. Instead, the term is utilized in three out of the four cases (besides in 45,7) as a metaphor for “liberation”, that is, for the impending liberation of Israel and the other captive states from the power of their Babylonian oppressor (42,6; 49,6; 53,11).

 

We accordingly turn to the expression ḥōšek which figures in 42,7; 45,3.19; 47,5; 49,9. It was shown above that 42,7 is part of a passage which refers to Cyrus and his role in the impending upheaval of world order. Accordingly, it is very likely that “those who sit in darkness” refers to the nations which are subjected to the Babylonian dominion; in this connexion ḥōšek is a metaphor for captivity and misfortune.

 

The term in question figures in 45,3a and 45,19aα in parallelism with words formed from the root str which signify something obscure and concealed: “treasures” and “land”. In 45,5a, the introduction to the second strophe of the poem on the fall of Babylon (ch. 47) reads “sit in silence and go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldaeans”; here the poet again employs ḥōšek as a metaphor for captivity or for misfortune in general. Finally, yet another metaphorical use of ḥōšek occurs in 49,9a: “to say to the prisoners, ‘Come forth’, to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear’”. This line is part of the unit consisting of 49,7-12, which is a proclamation of salvation addressed to Israel; it therefore refers to Israel’s captivity.

 

In conclusion, it may be said that the word ḥōšek never refers to a cosmic event or perspective in Deutero-Isaiah. Moreover, it is of some importance to the interpretation of 45,7a that in three out of five cases the term serves as a metaphor for misfortune and captivity (42,7; 47,5; 49,9). Additionally, the metaphorical use of “light” and “darkness” to designate liberation and captivity, respectively, is otherwise well attested in the prophetic and poetic writings of the Old Testament, as the following two examples will show:

 

The people who walked in darkness /baḥōšek/ have seen a great light
/’ôr/
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness /ṣalmāwet/, on them has light
/ôr/ shined. (Isa 9,1, RSV)

 

he has driven and brought me into darkness /ḥōšek/ without any light
/’ôr/ (Lam 3,2, RSV)

 

The semantic observations offered above allow us to formulate the following three theses concerning the contents of 45,7aα: (a) the phrases describe YHWH’s activity on the plane of history, (b) the term “light” and “darkness” are metaphors for liberation and disaster – captivity, respectively. (c) The positive divine activity refers to all the liberation of Israel and possibly other nations from Babylonian oppression. When we consider that from a formal point of view the two following phrases (45,7aβ) seem to be equivalent in terms of contents to those of 47,7aα, it would appear that these three theses also apply to 47,7aβ. (Fredrik Lindström, God and the Origin of Evil: A Contextual Analysis of Alleged Monistic Evidence in the Old Testament [Coniectanea Biblica Old Testament Series 21; Lund, Sweden: CWK Gleerup, 1983], 183-87)