A Reading of 59:15b63:6 in Light of the Ancient Near Eastern Victory-Enthronement Pattern Thesis Isaiah 59:15b63:6 is structured according to the

ancient Near Eastern victoryenthronement pattern, especially as seen in the Enuma Elish and the Canaanite epic of Baal and Anat. Thus the divine warrior texts of Is 59:15b59:20 and Is 63:16 depict Yahwehs battle against his enemies; Is 60 and Is 61:462:12 describe the restoration of Zion/Jerusalem, Yahwehs holy mountain, following the victory; and Is 61:13 recounts the challenge to Yahwehs warrior, constituting the primary motifs of the victory-enthronement pattern. By reading 59:15b63:6 in light of this pattern, this paper will offer a response to the questions, Why do Isaiah place the divine warrior texts along side those of salvation? And what is the function of the anointed one in 61:1-3? What is the Victory Enthronement Pattern? The victory-enthronement pattern occurs in ancient Near Eastern epics, such as those of Baal and Anat and of Marduk. The pattern is one of divine war in which a god would wage war in order to improve his political status, bring wrath upon or save people, bring about or ensure the continuity of creation. This pattern typically contains several motifs: a call to a male warrior; the gathering of an armory; the battle; the triumph; a battle cry; a great feast; the heros enthronement; and the establishment, subjugation, salvation, or restoration of a land.1 In the Canaanite epic of Baal and Anat, Baal conquers Yam, builds his palace, and invites the gods to a banquet. In the Mesopotamian epic the Enuma Elish, Marduk conquers Tiamat; he creates the world from her dead body and establishes Babylon,then invites the gods to join him in a celebration banquet.

Susan Niditch, Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature (Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1996), 21.

Susan Niditch presents several examples wherethis pattern is utlized in biblical texts, while indicating that not every motif listed above will appear in every text, arguing that the skilled biblical author, at home in the oral world and aware of the audiences expectations within the tradition, can quite consciously invoke traditional patterns to manipulate them in recognizably less than traditional ways in order to shock and to make those who receive the message take notice.2 Within Isaiah 4055, Niditch cites several applications of this pattern. There is an invitation to a banquet in 55:12; a warrior, battle, victory, and parade in 42:1017; a battle, victory, and parade in 51:910; a parade in 49:811; the establishment of a city following a victory in 45:1113 and 45:1819.3 Isaiah utilizes this pattern also in Is 5666, in even more complete form than in 4055, particularly in 59:15b63:6. The Victory-Enthronement Pattern and Is 59:15b63:6 This paper treats Is 59:15b63:6 as a single literary unit constructed around the theme of victory-enthronement. Although he does not address this ancient Near Eastern parallel, H. G. L. Peels also see these verses as unit, arguing that the section of 59:15b63:6 is one unit with one message, framed by the seeing of God (59:15f., 63:5) and his coming in vengeance and deliverance 4,)4:36 :02 ,71:95( which are major motifs in the pattern, i.e. the theophany of God, who wages war in vengeance upon his enemies with the result that Zion/Jerusalem is delivered/restored. On the relationship between Is 59 as a divine warrior text and Is 6062 as an oracle of salvation, he writes: Isa. 59 forms, in a certain sense, the introduction to ch. 6062. Without the coming of God in righteousness and vengeance (59:16ff.), which sweeps away all injustice, the light cannot rise in the darkness (for this theme see 58:8, 10, 59:910, 60:1ff, 1920, 62:1). Zion/Jerusalem, which in ch. 6062 has an important place, is first mentioned in TritoIsaiah at the end of ch. 59 following the promise of Gods vengeance which puts an end to the national and international hindrances to the salvation.5
2 3

Niditch, Oral World and Written World, 23. Niditch, Oral World and Written World, 23. 4 H. G. L Peels, The Vengeance of God: The Meaning of the Root NQM and the Function of the NQM-Texts in the Context of Divine Revelation in the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 1995), 173 5 Peels, The Vengeance of God, 11819.

This connection between not only 59:15b20 and 6062 but furthermore between 6062 and 63:16 read in light of the victory-enthronement pattern is one of the restoration of Zion/Jerusalem as a consequence of Yahwehs defeat of his enemies. This resolves the confusion surrounding the juxtaposition of the divine warrior and restoration texts raised by Westerman, Muilenburg, and Beuken, whose solution to the problem is to soften the vengeance in the text.6 The section is structured chiastically with the Fifth Servant Song in the center. The Fifth Servant Song is placed in the center of these chapters in order to highlight the one who is anointed by Yahweh to carry out this divine war in order to bring restoration to Zion/Jerusalem: the servant. 59:15b20 Warrior Yahweh intervenes for his people B 60 Promises of Salvation C 61:13 The Fifth Servant Song B 61:462:12 Promises of Salvation A 63:16 Warrior Yahweh intervenes for his people A As mentioned previously, Niditch notes that not every Biblical application of the victoryenthronement pattern will utilize every motif. Isaiah 59:15b63:6 is no exception to that rule. However, Isaiah does utilize the motifs of a call to a male warrior; a gathering of an armory; a triumph; a parade; a great feast; and the restoration of a land. The Call to a Male Warrior A key element in the victory-enthronement pattern is the call to a male warrior who will wage battle on behalf of the god who calls him. The placement of the fifth servant song of 61:1 3 in the chiastic center of the text of 59:15b63:6 highlights the centrality of the servant in the victory-enthronement scheme. Isaiah 59:115 describes the sad state of his sinful people, who

Peels, The Vengeance of God, 169, discounts this reading of the text. Westermann interprets naqam in 61:2 as Wiederherstellung, following Muilenburgs paraphrase of naqam as the restoration of wholeness. This interpretation confuses the content with the goal or result of vengeance. Along the same line, but more nuanced, is the suggestion of Beuken, So here vengeance means nothing else but an authoritative and strong action in order to realise the announced legal order, embodied in liberty. However, the elimination of the retributive element of naqam in Isa. 61:2 is unjustified. Even less convincing is the conception of Steck, who views yom naqam leloheynu in Isa 61:2, along with Isa 35:4 and 63:4, as an addition from the final redaction of the Book of Isaiah that scarcely fits the context.

have separated themselves from him. They are murderers and liars (59:3). They set aside justice (59:4) and work evil (59:6). The situation is so dire at this point that the people themselves confess their own iniquity (59:915a). Although they are in need of a savior, Yahweh observes that there is no one who can restore Zion/Jerusalem from its destitute state (59:16), so he takes matters into his own hands. Because there is no one to intercede, Yahweh anoints the servant (61:1) to be the restorer of Zion/Jerusalem (59:20). The root ,which is used here to describe Yahwehs call of the servant, is used most frequently with kings although it is used also with priests and prophets. In Genesis it is never applied to people, but only to a pillar. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers the only people who are anointed are priests. In the Writings, the root is applied almost only to kings. Outside of the Pentateuch, in the Writings, the majority of anointed figures are kings and rulers; among these, Davids anointing is mentioned sixteen times. The only anointed priest appears in 1 Chr 29:22. Prophets are the most scarcely referenced of the messianic offices. Only two texts document the anointing of a prophet: 1 Kgs 19:16 and Ps 105:15. However, that prophets were anointed at all in the Old Testament is not universally accepted. Isaiah 61:1 contains one of only two occurrences of the root in the Book of Isaiah. Daniel Schibler argues in light of Isa 112 and 2833 that this servant is one who will practice

( justice) and ( righteousness) like King David (2 Sam 8:15).7 David was the
first to establish Zion/Jerusalem as Yahwehs holy mountain.8 As one anointed to be a king like David, it will be the servants job to restore Zion/Jerusalem. The servant in his speech in 61:13 does not merely describe as a passive oberver what Yahweh will do. His words are performative speech acts. As Yahwehs anointed, he will actualize the liberation of Yahwehs people (61:1) and enact Gods vengeance upon his enemies (61:2). Gods favor, which is paired with in 60:10 brings about Zion/Jerusalems restoration
7

Daniel Schibler, Messianism and Messianic Prophecy in Isaiah 112 and 2833, in The Lords Anointed: Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Texts (ed. Philip E. Satterthwaite, Richard S. Hess, and Gordon J. Wenham; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 89. 8 Foster R. McCurley, Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith: Scriptural Transformations (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 163.

which can only happen when Yahwehs enemies no longer attack and oppress Israel, but participate in its restoration with the result that Zion/Jerusalem will no longer mourn but will rejoice (61:3).9 Yahwehs anointed will wage Yahwehs divine war to bring this about. The Gathering of an Armory A vivid example of the gathering of an armory in the ancient Near East comes from the story of Marduk in the Enuma Elish. Marduk prepares for battle against Tiamat by gathering a bow, arrow, mace, and net, which are appear as lightning, fire, wind, and flood-storm. However, unlike the case with Isaiah these are not associated with righteousness or salvation (59:17). Rather, Marduk dons a fearsome halo and wears an armour of terror.10 Yahwehs anointed will clothe himself (61:10) in the same armor as that described in 59:17 to carry out Yahwehs vengeance upon his enemies. The Triumph Chapters 59 and 60 describe Yahwehs intent to wage war against his enemies. In 59:18 Isaiah indicates that Yahweh will bring wrath upon his enemies as repayment. Isaiah 60:12 describes the extent of destruction that he will bring, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you shall perish; those nations shall be utterly laid waste. The battle motif is further foreshadowed in 60:16 where Yahweh, the one who will restore Zion/Jerusalem, is called the Bull ( )of Jacob. This metaphor is applied to the god El in Ugaritic literature, indicating prowess as a warrior. It is also used elsewhere in the ancient Near East to characterize other gods, kings, and pharaohs as mighty warriors.11 The triumph is described in vivid language in 63:16. It depicts Yahwehs anointed returning victorious from battle. His garments are now stained with the blood of his enemies (63:1). They appear as the clothes of one who treads a winepress, an image recognized as
9

See H. G. L. Peels, The Vengeance of God, 170. Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld, Put on the Armour of God: The Divine Warrior from Isaiah to Ephesians (JSOTSS 140; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997), 28. 11 Patrick D. Miller, Jr., The Divine Warrior in Early Israel [Cambridge: Harvard University Press], 1973], 55.
10

representing judgment.12 The great warrior, called by Yahweh, alone (63:3, 5) brought vengeance upon Yahwehs enemies. I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with me; I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and stained all my apparel (63:3). He tramples the enemy, makes them drunk in his wrath, and pours their blood onto the land (63:6). Such hyperbolic language as Isaiah uses here in 63:16 is reminiscent of that used in ancient Near Eastern epics. The Parade The parade scene in 59:15b63:6 comes in 62:1011 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples. 11 Behold, Yahweh has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. Here the victorious warrior is welcomed to the restored city in honor, bringing with the spoils of war. The people may now enter the gates, prepare the highway for their king to return, and raise a flag for the nations to join them. The Great Feast The great feast text immediately precedes that of the parade in 62:89, Yahweh has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored; 9 but those who garner it shall eat it and praise Yahweh, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary. As a result of his victory over his enemies, the nations will no longer oppress Zion/Jerusalem. Those whom Yahweh has saved may now eat and drink in his sanctuary, which he will establish on his holy mountain. In Babylon, this motif is seen as Marduk defeats Tiamat, creates the world from her carcass, builds Babylon and lays out a feast:

12

Peels, The Vengeance of God, 172.

He had the gods, his fathers, sit down to a banquet. Here is Babylon, your favorite dwelling place. Make music in [its] place (and) be seated on its square. When the great gods had sat down, The beer jug they set on, while they were seated at the banquet (6:7175, trans. A. Heidel:49)13 The Restoration of the Land House building is the goal of divine war in the victory-enthronement pattern. Susan Niditch has found that this motif is expressed in Israelite tradition as the founding or rescue of Zion, the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, or the taking possession of the land of Israel.14 The restoration of Zion/Jerusalem is the topic of Is 60 and Is 61:462:12. Although within this particular section of text, Zion/Jerusalem is not specifically called the holy mountain, the connection does come in 66:20, And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. This concept was common in ancient Near Eastern literature. Concept of the holy mountain in ANE literature. The holy mountain is the place where people encounter the divine. Therefore sanctuaries were typically erected on these mountains. In the ancient Near East, mountains became holy by means of war. Such is the case in Canaan where Baals mountain also becomes holy when he defeats Yam, the power of chaos. In the text below, we see both the motif of the house building and banquet: Baal prepared the house, Hadad made preparations within his palace: He slaughtered oxen, He killed sheep, Bulls, fatling rams,
13

Susan Niditch, War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 3839. 14 Niditch, Oral World and Written Word, 21.

Yearling calves; He strangles lambs and kids. He invited his brothers into his house, His cousins within his palace; He invited Asherahs seventy sons. He gave the gods lambs; He gave the gods ewes; He gave the gods oxen; He gave the gods cows; He gave the gods seats; He gave the gods thrones; He gave the gods a jar of wine He gave the goddesses a cask of wine. Until the gods had eaten and drunk their fill, He gave them suckling to eat, With a sharp knife carved the breast of a fatling. They drank wine from goblets, Blood of the vine from golden cups (trans. Coogan: 104)15 The Holy Mountain in the Old Testament In the Old Testament mountains typically become holy as a result of Yahwehs interaction with his people. Thus Sinai became holy through Yahwehs theophanies (Exod 24:1 2, 911 when he participates in a divine banquet with Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders and in Exod 1619 where he appears as fire and a cloud accompanied by trumpets).16 This was the mountain upon which Yahweh revealed his plan to deliver his people from Egypt and to give them the land of Canaan, where he spoke his name to Moses, and where he gave his people the Torah. However, after this, his work at Sinai was accomplished and it was no longer a holy mountain. Thus when Elijah sought Yahwehs theophanic presence there, he was not to be found in that form (1 Ki 19:1113).17 Mt. Zion became Yahwehs holy mountain when David defeated the Jebusites at Zion and brought the ark of the covenant there. As with Mt. Sinai there was a theophany at Mt. Zion when the priests brought the ark of the Covenant into the Holy of Holies in Solomons temple (1
15 16

Susan Niditch, War in the Hebrew Bible, 3839. McCurley, Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith, 132. 17 McCurley, Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith, 163.

Ki 8:1011).18 However, in Is 5666 Yahweh is once again absent from his holy mountain, But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear (Is 59:1), and Zion/Jerusalem is destroyed, Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and beautiful house, where our fathers praised you, has been burned by fire, and all our pleasant places have become ruins (Isa 64:1011). Peels identifies also in Is 59 language indicative of a violated covenant, e.g. in 59:2, your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God (Gen 9:12, 15, 17:7, 10; Exod 31:13, 2 Ki 11:17) and the resultant covenant curses in 59:9, we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. Therefore, Zion/Jerusalem is in need of restoration in order to become once again Yahwehs holy mountain. New Name Indicates Restoration as a Result of War The restoration of Zion/Jerusalem is indicated in Is 5666 by the new names given the city by Yahweh. In the Old Testament, cities are sometimes renamed by their conquerors (e.g., Num 32:4142; Judg 18:29; 2 Sam 12:28) as well as when they are rebuilt (Num 32:3738). Within 5666 Zion/Jerusalem is given a new name five times to indicate its new status in relationship to the enemies whom Yahweh waged war upon. Yahweh will once again be present for his people on his holy mountain (62:4). In 60:14, those who have formerly oppressed Zion/Jerusalem will come in humility and call the city the City of Yahweh, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. In 60:1518, those who will be restored in Zion will no longer be hated, there will no longer be war there, and their walls will be called Salvation and their gates Praise. Not only will Yahwehs defeated enemies cease to wage war upon Zion/Jerusalem and call the city by a new name, they themselves will rebuild the city (61:4). As a city restored by Yahweh, they shall be called The Holy People, The Redeemed of Yahweh; and.. Sought Out, A City Not

18

McCurley, Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith, 152.

Forsaken (62:12) As a result all of the nations and kings will behold the restored city and call it by the name that Yahweh will give it (62:2). Conclusion By reading the text of 59:15b63:6 in light of the victory-enthronement pattern, two key issues of debate regarding this text become clear. The question of why Isaiah would juxtapose divine warrior and salvation texts is explained by the fact that restoration comes only as a result of divine war. The placement of the fifth servant song in the center of the chiastic structure of 59:15b63:6 serves to highlight the central role of the servant in carrying out Yahwehs divine war. Isaiah utilizes in these verses and ancient Near Eastern pattern that would have been familiar to his hearers to dramatically depict Yahwehs intercession to restore his people. Appendix Who is the Enemy against Whom Yahweh is Waging War? Although it is not difficult to identify the texts of 59:15b20 and 63:16 as divine warrior texts, the task of identifying Yahwehs enemies is not quite as simple. W. A. M. Beuken argues that Yahwehs enemies are strictly national by matrixing Is 61:2, to proclaim the year of Yahweh's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, with Is 49:8, Thus says Yahweh: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages and Is 59:17, He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. 18 According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. Beuken interprets 59:1718 as specifically addressing vengeance upon the apostates within the community. 19 Oswalt argues

19

W. A. M. Beuken, Servant and Herald of Good Tidings. Isaiah 61 as an Interpretation of Isaiah 4055, in J. Vermeylen, Isaiah, 424.

also that the enemy is internal because there is no reference to any particular nation and the issue of Babylon as enemy has already been settled.20 The context of 59:115a compels one to see the enemy in 15b20 as those whose transgressions are described there. These are the transgressions of those within the community. Peels adds to the argument of an internal enemy by observing parallels between Is 1:2128 and Is 59. The context is the same in both. They concern the sins of Yahwehs one people against him and both indicate that Yahweh will take vengeance upon them for that purpose.21 But if the enemy is solely internal, why then does Isaiah finally clarify in 59:18 that his adversaries, his enemies, are the coastlands? And if the battle Yahweh is waging is against an internal enemy, how will those from the east to the west come to fear the name of Yahweh when he defeats this internal enemy (59:19)? These verses indicate that there is not one enemy but two, one internal and one external to the community. Bibliography McCurley, Foster R. Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith: Scriptural Transformations. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983 Miller, Patrick D. Jr. The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. Neufeld, Thomas R. Yoder. Put on the Armour of God: The Divine Warrior from Isaiah to Ephesians. JSOTSS 140. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997. W. A. M. Beuken, Servant and Herald of Good Tidings. Isaiah 61 as an Interpretation of Isaiah 4055, in J. Vermeylen, Isaiah, 424. Niditch, Susan. Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox, 1996. . War in the Hebrew Bible: A Study in the Ethics of Violence. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Oswalt,John N. The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 4066. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

20 21

John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 4066 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 527. Peels, The Vengeance of God, 122.

Peels, H. G. L. The Vengeance of God: The Meaning of the Root NQM and the Function of the NQM-Texts in the Context of Divine Revelation in the Old Testament. Leiden: Brill, 1995. Schibler, Daniel. Messianism and Messianic Prophecy in Isaiah 112 and 2833. In The Lords Anointed: Interpretation of Old Testament Messianic Text. Edited by Philip E. Satterthwaite, Richard S. Hess, and Gordon J. Wenham; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995.