Introduction to Isaiah 10

Structure and Formatting

In this chapter, verses 1–4 are the continuation of the Woe Oracle that began in 5:8–25. There were six woes there, creating the expectation that a seventh woe would eventually be pronounced, and that happens in verses 1–4. So the overall structure of 5:8–10:4 is: Woe Oracle (5:8–25) Consequence Oracle (5:24–30) Narratives about Isaiah (6:1–9:7) Consequence Oracle, concluded (9:8–21) Woe Oracle, concluded (10:1–4)The first and last parts match, and the second and fourth parts match, enclosing the middle part. Hebrew writers considered this kind of arrangement elegant. (It is known as a “chiasm.”) To show that the conclusion of the Woe Oracle here also concludes this entire arrangement, the refrain of the Consequence Oracle, “In all of this, his nose has not turned back, and his hand is still stretched out,” also occurs at the end of the seventh woe in 10:4. Represent this language consistently in your translation.Verses 5–34 of this chapter present a further woe, but it should not be understood as an eighth woe in the series that leads up to it. Instead, it is a brief change of focus away from the Judeans to a foreign nation, Assyria. (This anticipates the collection of oracles against the nations in Part Two of the book, in chapters 13–23.) Assyria has been in the background all along as a threatening foreign power that Yahweh will use to punish and correct the Judeans. Now it comes to the foreground as Yahweh declares that it has become too proud and unrestrained, thinking that by its own power and wisdom it has conquered other nations, and so he will destroy it. This oracle is spoken from the vantage point of a time farther in the future than the other oracles in Part One. It has three parts: 1. Rebuke of the Assyrians for their pride (5–19) 2. Promise that a remnant of Israelites will survive and be restored (20–27) 3. The Assyrian army’s advance toward Jerusalem, ending in its destruction (28–34)