Introduction to Part Five of the Book of Isaiah

Part Five of the book of Isaiah (chapters 34 and 35) apparently speaks to the second great moment of decision that the book of Isaiah addresses, when God’s people were called to return from exile in Babylon to the land of Israel. (See the discussion in the introduction to the book of Isaiah.)

The first oracle (in chapter 34) is spoken against Edom, one of Judah’s neighbors, which did not help the Judeans when the Babylonians conquered them. Instead, the Edomites cheered for their defeat and turned their survivors and refugees over to the Babylonians. Like the similar oracles in Jeremiah 49 and Obadiah 1, this oracle predicts that Yahweh will destroy the Edomites to punish them for this. Many interpreters believe that, as in the case of Moab in Part Three, Edom is being used here as a specific example of a general truth. Beyond the specific historical context, Edom may serve as an illustration of what will happen to all nations that Yahweh judges and punishes. In other words, like the oracles in Part Three, the oracles here look forward to the time when God will judge the entire world. They too speak in cosmic language and look to some more distant future events. So their application is not limited to a single historical situation.

The other oracle in this short part of the book (in chapter 35) promises that Yahweh will bring the people of Judah back from exile in Babylon. It describes creation itself being transformed in the process.

1. Yahweh will punish the Edomites for what they did to the Judeans (34:1–17)
2. Yahweh will bring the Judeans back from exile through a transformed desert (35:1–10)

Introduction to Isaiah 34

Structure and Formatting

1. Yahweh will execute cosmic justice in the heavens (1–4)
2. Yahweh will then slaughter the Edomites (5–7)
3. Yahweh will turn Edom into a wasteland where wild creatures live (8–17)