Isaiah 56 Introduction

Introduction to Part Eight of the Book of Isaiah

Part Eight of the book of Isaiah (chapters 56–66) speaks to a situation some years after the one that Part Seven addresses. God’s promises through the prophet have begun to be fulfilled. The Persian emperor Cyrus has conquered Babylon and allowed the Jewish exiles to return home and start rebuilding Jerusalem. However, much still needs to happen within the community of returned exiles before it can fulfill the rest of Yahweh’s promises by becoming a witness to all nations of his glory and love. The people are falling back into the same sins of idolatry, oppression, and injustice that led Yahweh to take them away from the land in the first place. Many are worshiping Yahweh once again, but only through outward forms, not from the depths of their hearts. And so a further prophetic word is needed to call the people who have returned to their land to return wholeheartedly to their covenant relationship with Yahweh. The prophet speaks that word in these final chapters of the book.

Introduction to Isaiah 56

Structure and Formatting

This section of the book begins with an oracle (in verses 1–8 of this chapter) that stresses how important it is for the returned exiles to keep Yahweh’s covenant. They must honor him both through religious observances such as keeping the Sabbath and by maintaining justice. It highlights this importance by addressing the situation of two groups among the returned exiles who, according to the law of Moses, should be excluded from full participation in the life of the community, and most notably from its worship. The first group is Israelites whose ancestors include foreigners. Because certain foreign nations refused to help the Israelites when they came out of Egypt as refugees, their descendants were excluded from the community. The second group is eunuchs. In order to oppose certain pagan practices, the law of Moses forbade anyone who became a eunuch from entering the sanctuary. The returned exiles who are eunuchs, however, were made so through castration in order to serve in the Babylonian court. The prophet declares that these exclusions will no longer apply. So long as a person will honor Yahweh’s covenant, keeping the Sabbath and maintaining justice, that person will be welcomed and blessed.The next oracle in this section begins to address the conditions within the community of the returned exiles, which unfortunately are far from the ideal that the first oracle presents. It begins in this chapter with a condemnation of the community’s leaders, who are exploiting the people rather than caring for them. It depicts them in a series of vivid images as blind watchmen, lazy dogs, and careless shepherds. 1. Foreigners and eunuchs who honor Yahweh’s covenant will be welcomed (1–8) 2. The community’s leaders are exploiting the people (9–12)