The Emergence Of Prophetism, YeshaYahu
THE ASSYRIAN INVASION AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL (885-721)
YeshaYahu And The Theme Of Royal MessiYahism
Before an irretrievable mistake was made YeshaYahu decided to try a further approach. He went to the royal palace and there made the celebrated prophecy about the sign of Immanuel. He said to the king:
Ask YAHWEH your Sovereign Ruler for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above. (YeshaYahu 7:11)
But the king had no intention of being dragged into spiritual experiences which, it seemed to him, could be of no advantage; he preferred to confine himself to human wisdom. And his refusal was not indeed without a certain shrewdness. 'No,' he replied, 'I will not put YAHWEH to the test.'3 On ostensibly orthodox grounds, which concealed a complete lack of faith, the king endeavoured to reject the prophet's disquieting proposal. At this YeshaYahu burst out that the 'sign' refused by the king would be given at once by YAHWEH himself through the mouth of HIS prophet:
Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of YAHWEH my Sovereign Ruler, too? YAHWEH HIMSELF, therefore will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom we shall call Immanuel. 4
This solemn prophecy, expressed in clear-cut language which is a distinctive mark of YeshaYahu's literary genius, is actually shrouded in mystery. Is it right to regard it as a prophecy of the coming of YAHSHUA in the distant future?
To answer this question properly -and it is a somewhat delicate one -the difficulties must be examined in order.
3 'Do not put YAHWEH your ABBA to the test' (Devarim 6:16)
4 This is a prophetic name signifying 'EL with us', The name is repeated by YeshaYahu a little further (8:8)
'Maiden' and 'Immanuel' are the two terms which must be studied first.
In the prophecy of YeshaYahu she who was to give birth was designated by the Hebrew word ha-almah. This can be translated an unmarried young girl, usually, therefore, a virgin, In actual fact in the biblical text the idea of virginity is not predominant (cf. Mishle 30:19). Also, in certain Phoenician texts of Ras Shamra this expression almah is applied sometimes to the goddess Anat (also called 'virgin' -bethulah), and sometimes to a royal wife.
We must be careful therefore not to translate ha-almah exclusively by 'maiden' or 'virgin'. Now this is precisely the term that is used in biblical translation in Greek (parthenos), Latin (virgo) and English (virgin).
The name Immanuel (immanu-'EI, 'Mighty One with us') must not be confused with the greeting immanu- Yah ('YAHWEH with us'). According to YeshaYahu it is an 'EI, that is, a Mighty One, who is to come down among us.
In addition, in the family of David, it is a guarantee that YAHWEH will not forget his promises (cf. Nathan, 2 Sam. 7), namely, that 'YAHWEH is with us'.
What exactly does the Immanuel prophecy reveal to us from the historical point of view?
In the first place the sex of the child. She is 'with child and will soon give birth to a son', In the east the statement that a daughter had been born did not arouse much interest, Only the birth of a male was an important family event. By its fulfilment in the future this prophecy of a 'son' would be regarded as an authentic sign.
The laying waste of the kingdom by foreign nations (Assyria and Egypt) foretold that Yisrael must be prepared to become a battlefield. After the clash of armies the country would experience ruin and desolation, and the the land would produce only briars and thorns.
How long was this period of trials to last? Until he [the child to be born] knows how to refuse evil and choose good. That is, in accordance with the ideas prevalent in the ancient east, between seven and ten years.
Those then are the historical implications of the prophecy.
When YeshaYahu spoke his contemporaries could have imagined with good reason that Immanuel would appear very shortly, and very probably in the human form of the son of Ahaz (the future Hezekiah). But by the end of the eighth century B.C. this hope had for long been disappointed. Once more the question arose: who was this miracle child?
Most of YeshaYahu's prophecies were given in a form that was perfectly clear
It must be pointed out here that most of YeshaYahu's prophecies were given in a form that was perfectly clear. And generally he foretold events that occurred within a short space of time. But this time, forsaking his usual practice, the prophet breaks new ground, using words with several meanings and full of mystery. Here the historian needs the theologian's help to solve the difficulty.
Theologians state quite clearly that we have here a messianic prophecy, not direct but indirect or, as it is called, 'typical' or spiritual.
For the believer looks on the Scripture as written by authors 'inspired' by YAHWEH. YAHWEH must be regarded as the originator of the Scripture though this in no way prevented the writer from putting forward the facts as a man of his own time and race. Nevertheless, theologians consider that in some passages of Scripture YAHWEH 'prepared applications and developments of which the human author had no knowledge. YAHWEH could cause the writer to choose a word or describe events to which he intended subsequently to give new meanings from the pen of other writers at later stages of Revelation' (P. Benoit, Initiation biblique, p. 29). It is interesting to compare Procksh's conclusion with the passage quoted above: 'If we examine prophecy as a whole from an exegetical point of view there emerges an interpretation which is far and away superior to the confusion of opinions; it is that given by MattithYahu who sees the prophecy of Immanuel fulfilled in YAHSHUA. It is true, indeed, that YeshaYahu does not foresee the historical figure of YAHSHUA; as a matter of fact his vision remains in a sort of semi-darkness filled with foreboding and he himself expected the birth of Immanuel to occur very shortly. But, leaving this aside, Immanuel is really a miraculous child, the result of a miraculous birth. He is the very opposite spiritually to the worldly king. By HIS name HE guarantees fellowship with YAHWEH of the faithful remnant in which there grows a new People of YAHWEH while the old perishes in the storm. We have here a messianic prophecy of the first order, the time of the birth of the image of the Messiah special to YeshaYahu' (Jesaica I, pp. 124-5).
In addition it may be wondered whether at a later date YeshaYahu did not have some idea of the implications of his mysterious message; for example, when he comes to the point of speaking of the messianic child who, one day, will come to give peace and justice on this earth, he does so almost in plain terms. In what is called the Epiphany prophecy YeshaYahu says:
For there is a child born for us a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name to give him: Wonderful- Counsellor, Mighty- EL, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. (YeshaYahu 9:5)
And also in the prophecy of the coming of the virtuous king:
A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of YAHWEH rests a spirit of wisdom and insight a spirit of counsel and power a spirit of knowledge of the fear of YAHWEH. (YeshaYahu 11:1-2)
Now at this period the prophet Micaiah (Micah) also made a messianic prophecy in the same sense as YeshaYahu's. In the circumstances, 'she who is to give birth' could designate Bethlehem (which was to be the place of MessiYah's birth) symbolized by a woman:
But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah the least of the clans of Yahudah out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Yisrael; his origin goes back to the distant past, to the days of old.
YAHWEH is therefore going to abandon them [Yisrael] till the time when she is to give birth gives birth. (Micah 5: 1-3)
Today exegetes accept that in the time of YeshaYahu and Micaiah the coming of Immanuel was beginning to become a commonplace of prophecy, firmly anchored in the history of the time. Perhaps in it may be seen the echo of an older revelation.
In any case the messianic character of these prophecies is confirmed by the apostle Matthew (1:23); and he could not be regarded as an innovator. Already Jewish tradition recognized the prophetic character of these statements. There is proof of this in the biblical translation known as the Septuagint (third century B.C.) in which the Hebrew term ha-almah is translated by the Greek word parthenos (virgin).
To conclude this brief intrusion into theology, it should be pointed out that the Church has defined nothing on the subject of the biblical texts which we have just examined.
YeshaYahu's Apparent Failure And Temporary Retirement From Public Life
Ahaz, king of Yahudah, was quickly exasperated by this fiery preacher continually returning to the charge. He felt that he had enough to do and to worry about with the anti-Assyrian coalition opposing him and the defensive alliance which he was trying to negotiate with Tiglath Pileser. In consequence, the palace door was very soon closed against the insufferable prophet.
In desperation YeshaYahu turned to the good people of Yerusalem. He inveighed publicly against the government and its spiritual policy. He gave out that Damascus and Samaria, whose armies at that very moment were advancing on Yerusalem, were not to be feared. Damascus would shortly be destroyed and Samaria would be captured. Far more formidable, in fact, was the Assyrian army of 'liberation' (as it was called) which had just been summoned by Ahaz. It was the so-called ally who would lay waste Yahudah and reduce it to slavery and set up its own god Asherah on the set apart rock in Yerusalem.
To convince his fellow-citizens and co-religionists YeshaYahu had no hesitation in using the most picturesque and spectacular methods. But he obtained only a very relative success due to curiosity. He then began a campaign with well-chosen political slogans, but they were no more successful.
YeshaYahu was deeply discouraged and bewailed the blindness of the kingdom:
A sinful nation, a people weighed down with guilt, a breed of wrong-doers, perverted sons. They have abandoned YAHWEH.
Rejected by the king and jeered at by the people, YeshaYahu decided to withdraw from public life. Surrounded by a few devoted disciples determined to continue the work of reconstruction after the disaster, the prophet gave up the struggle for the time being. For eighteen years (734-716) he kept silence; for him it was a long period of study, meditation and waiting in sadness. In a later chapter we shall encounter him again, fiery as ever, at the accession of Hezekiah (716) whose trusted counsellor he became, a sort of prime minister, enjoying the king's confidence and conducting the temporal concerns of the country in accordance with the Law of YAHWEH with remarkable clearness of vision and shrewdness.
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