Wilson de Angelo Cunha, «A Brief Discussion of MT Isaiah 24,14-16», Vol. 90 (2009) 530-544
Recent scholarship interprets Isaiah 24,14-16 in light of a “prophetic disputation pattern” genre, which sees the praise in vv. 14-15 as an assertion and the “I” statement in v. 16b as the counter-assertion, thus, correcting the assertion in vv. 14-15. This article seeks to challenge this interpretation and argue that the “I” statement in v. 16b does not need to function as a “counter-assertion” to the praise in vv. 14-15 but, rather, as introducing the proclamation of judgment for the unrighteous (v. 16c).
A Brief Discussion of MT Isaiah 24,14-16 531
1. MT Isaiah 24,14-16: Problems of Interpretation
a) The Identification of the hmh
Scholars usually identify the hmh “they†(v. 14a) in two ways. Some
are of the opinion that the hmh are the ones who were spared from the
judgment announced in vv. 1-13 (3). These scholars as a rule interpret v.
14 in light of the previous pericope, vv. 1-13, especially of v. 13. For
instance, one commentator explained v. 13 as portraying the
destruction of the greater part of the people and the sparing of a few
just like “when gleanings are left after the grape harvest†(v. 13).
According to him, these “few†spared from judgment are the ones
“raising their voice†in v. 14a (4). In a more recent commentary, the
author identified the hmh of v. 14a as the “few†people of v. 6 (5).
A second group of scholars view hmh “they†as a group of people
who wrongly thought the time of their salvation had arrived and,
consequently, started praising God in vv. 14-15, 16a (6). For this group,
the “they†could be Jews of the Diaspora (7) the “inhabitants of the
earth†(8), or simply Jews from the sixth century B.C.E. (9). These
(3) Cf. W. GESENIUS, Philologisch-kritischer und historischer Commentar über
den Jesaja: 13-39 (Leipzig 1821) 756, 766; T.K. CHEYNE, The Prophecies of Isaiah.
A New Translation with Commentary and Appendices (London 31884) I, 146; G.B.
GRAY, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Isaiah: 1-27 (ICC;
Edinburgh 1912) I, 415; E. KÖNIG, Das Buch Jesaja: eingeleitet, übersetzt und
erklärt (Gütersloh 1926) 229, n. 1; E.J. KISSANE, The Book of Isaiah. Translated
from a Critically Revised Hebrew Text with Commentary (Dublin 1960) I, 273; J.
VERMEYLEN, “La Composition Littéraire de L’‘Apocalypse D’Isaïe’ (Is., XXIV-
XXVII)â€, ETL 50 (1974) 15, n. 42; J.A. MOTYER, The Prophecy of Isaiah. An
Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL 1993) 202.
(4) GESENIUS, Jesaja, 756, 766.
(5) MOTYER, Isaiah, 202.
(6) Cf. K. MARTI, Das Buch Jesaja erklärt (KHC 10; Tübingen 1900) 185; H.
WILDBERGER, Jesaja (BKAT X/2; Neukirchen-Vluyn 1978) 898; D.G. JOHNSON,
From Chaos to Restoration. An Integrative Reading of Isaiah 24–27 (JSOTSup
61; Sheffield 1988) 36, 37; M.A. SWEENEY, Isaiah 1-39. With an Introduction to
Prophetic Literature (FOTL 16; Grand Rapids, MI 1996) 328-329.
(7) Cf. e.g., MARTI, Jesaja, 185; WILDBERGER, Jesaja, II, 931, 934.
(8) SWEENEY, Isaiah, 329; J. LOETE, “A Premature Hymn of Praise: The
Meaning and Function of Isaiah 24:14-16c in its Present Contextâ€, Studies in
Isaiah 24-27. The Isaiah Workshop - De Jesaja Werkplaats (eds. H.J. BOSMAN –
H. VAN GROL) (Leiden 2000) 233.
(9) This proposal was advanced by JOHNSON (Chaos, 40). He argued that vv.
14-16a are the expression of praise by Jews who interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s
retreat from Jerusalem as a sign of their salvation. Against these Jews, the prophet
announced that their day of doom was still coming.
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