Isaiah described Assyria as the ‘rod of YHWH’s anger’ (Isa 10:5). The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the dominant power during the period of First Isaiah. After discussing the historical, canonical and geopolitical background I will explain the imprint of the Assyrian Empire on the book of Isaiah. I will use 10:5-19 as a case study to demonstrate the impact and adaptation of imperial themes within the book.
Background
A. Historical Background:
Assyria was a Mesopotamian kingdom and later empire which dominated the ancient Near East from the twenty-fourth to seventh centuries BC.[1] Historians divide the time into three periods known as the Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian; although scholars disagree on the dates of these periods.[2] By the eighth century the Neo-Assyrian Empire was in decline faced with rising opposition from Babylonia.[3] In the last stage of domination Tiglath-pileser III (747-727) began to extend the empire westward in order to reach the trade routes of Israel.[4] After the defeat of Arpad many nations in the region voluntarily brought tribute to Assyria[5] in order to avert invasion.[6] Israel and Syria formed a coalition to rebel against Assyria during the Syro-Ephraimite war (735-734).[7] In an effort to bring Judah into the coalition, Israel and Syria lay siege to Jerusalem.[8] However Ahaz king of Judah appealed to Assyria and the siege was defeated but at the cost of becoming a vassal state under Assyrian control.[9] Israel was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC.[10] Hezekiah king of Judah (715-686) later rebelled against Assyria. In 701 BC Sennacherib destroyed the Judean fortress city of Lachish,[11] an event which was recorded in alabaster stone reliefs at Sennacherib’s royal palace in Nineveh.[12] Judah remained an Assyrian vassal until the end of the Neo-Assyrian period, when the Neo-Babylonian Empire began to dominate the region in the late seventh century.[13]
B. Canonical Background:
The Assyrians were descended from Asshur, a grandson of Noah (Gen 10:22; 1 Chr 1:17).[14] The first mention of Assyria as a power in the Old Testament is in 2 Kings 15:19-20, where Menahem king of Israel paid a tribute of a thousand talents of silver to Pul, the name Tiglath-pileser III was known as in Babylonia, in order to save his throne.[15] During the reign of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser returned and captured some of Israel’s northern territory (2 Kgs 15:29; 1 Chr 5:6). Also recorded are accounts of the Syro-Ephraimite war and Judah’s appeal to Assyria (2 Kgs 16:1-9; 2 Chr 28:16, 20-21), Israel’s destruction by Assyria and captivity (2 Kgs 17:1-23; 18:9-12), Hezekiah’s rebellion (2 Kgs 18:7) and Sennacherib’s attack on Judah (2 Kgs 18:13-19:37; 2 Chr 32:1-22; Isa 36:1-37:38). The prophets Hosea and Micah deal with this period in Israel and Judah’s history. Jonah called on the people of Nineveh to repent, whereas Nahum preached to Judah about the fall of Nineveh to the Babylonians.
C. Geopolitical Background:
Assyria had a suzerainty relationship with the nations it dominated but which didn’t become provinces of the empire. Vassal treaties, a form of covenant, between Assyria as suzerain and the vassal nation were imposed with tribute paid by the vassal.[16] Deuteronomy follows the form of Assyrian vassal treaties where Israel is in vassal relationship with YHWH.[17] A vassal nation might be required to install statues of the suzerain nation’s gods in their temples.[18] Accepting Assyria’s suzerainty in this way would be regarded as idolatry in Judah (cf. 2 Kgs 16:10-18; 2 Chr 28:22-25).[19]
Imperial themes in Isaiah
Next I will describe the imprint of the Assyrian Empire on the book of Isaiah, using 10:5-19 as a case study and also making reference to the rest of First Isaiah. I will explain how imperial themes have impacted the book or were adapted by Isaiah.
A. Isaiah 10:5-19
Judah is under judgement (1:24-26) because it has failed to keep covenant with YHWH (1:2-4). The people have been unfaithful (1:21-23) and injustice and idolatry prevail. YHWH will harden the hearts of the people and will bring judgement on the nation (6:9-12). Isaiah’s extraordinary claim is that YHWH will use Assyria, the enemy of Judah, as his instrument of judgement. Assyria is described as the rod of YHWH’s anger, the staff of his fury and his axe (10:5, 15). YHWH claims that Assyria is his agent.[20] However, Assyria went beyond its mandate and became arrogant (10:12). Therefore YHWH will also judge Assyria in due course (10:16-19).[21]
B. Knowledge of Assyria’s reputation
There had been very little contact between Assyria and Judah or Israel prior to the eighth century BC.[22] Peter Machinist states that the reputation of Assyria as an invincible, military machine that destroyed completely all who resisted must have been known to Isaiah because of the way the prophet describes the superiority of the Assyrian army (10:6b, 13b; cf. 5:26b-27a, 28).[23] Archaeological excavations at Lachish together with stone reliefs of the Assyrian conquest of the city demonstrate the effectiveness of the Assyrian warfare methods.[24] Machinist identifies a number of occasions where Isaiah reveals detailed knowledge of Assyrian activity: 734-733 BC (Isa 7-8), 716 BC (14:28-31; 19:23-24), 712 BC (20:1-6) and 701 BC (Isa 36-39). The image of Assyria portrayed by Isaiah bears a close similarity to that described by Neo-Assyrian monarchs in their own inscriptions.[25] In particular, the language used about Assyrian invasion has parallels with the royal inscriptions. Isaiah uses the phrases ‘desolation,’ ‘cities burned with fire’ and ‘consumed’ (1:7-8), which are all common phrases in royal inscriptions of the Middle-Assyrian period onwards.[26] Although these are not uncommon phrases in the Bible, the close proximity of these expressions in this sequence is unique in the Old Testament and matches the Assyrian formula.[27] For Machinist, this is part of the evidence that Isaiah must have had awareness of Assyrian phraseology or idioms.[28]
C. Use of Assyrian idioms
Machinist has identified other close parallels between the language of First Isaiah and that of many Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions.[29] In v. 13 Isaiah says the king of Assyria will ‘remove the boundaries of peoples’ which is similar to a motif that is frequently used by Assyrians kings, for example this passage by Tiglath-pileser III: ‘I uprooted to their very limits … These lands I restored to the border of Assyria.’[30] Machinist acknowledges that the Hebrew phrase used by Isaiah is found elsewhere in the Bible in connection with the law prohibiting individuals moving boundary markers (Deut 19:14). However only in v. 13 is this phrase used in connection with an imperial power.[31] In another example, Isaiah says Sennacherib would ‘make fortified cities crash into heaps of ruins’ (37:26b). A similar phrase is also used by Sennacherib. Machinist makes the point that although the phrase is used elsewhere in the Bible, and indeed in other ancient Near Eastern sources, the Isaianic use of the phrase in a text about the king of Assyria demonstrates that Isaiah was influenced by Neo-Assyrian tradition.[32] Machinist concludes that ‘while the prophet may have known of the motifs from native tradition, his selection and shaping of them resulted from the impact of Neo-Assyrian idiom.’[33] That Isaiah uses these common Assyrian idioms to describe the king of Assyria and army only serves to reinforce this conclusion.[34]
D. Assyrian propaganda
It is therefore clear that Isaiah used Assyrian idiom and imagery in First Isaiah. This raises the question about how did Isaiah become so familiar with Assyrian culture. There are three possibilities. Firstly, it is likely that Isaiah had access to official Assyrian literature in court.[35] This propaganda served to impress on the surrounding nations the might of Assyria and the glory of the king. A good example is the speech of the Rabshakeh during Sennacherib’s siege of Jerusalem (Isa 36-37; 2Kgs 18-19). Secondly, Assyrian kings erected stone reliefs and stelae bearing the royal inscriptions in the provinces of the empire and sometimes in vassal states. None have as yet been discovered in Judah; although it is probable they would have been installed in Samaria and so could have been known about in Judah.[36] Thirdly, Assyria maintained an administrative presence in the states that bordered Judah from 720 BC.[37] Any of these three possibilities could have brought Isaiah into contact with Assyrian idioms and motifs. However, Isaiah did not just restate the Assyrian propaganda. Instead he reworked and deflected the material.[38] Shawn Aster suggests that Isaiah inverted the propaganda intentionally in this way ‘in order to portray YHWH, rather than the king of Assyria, as sovereign.’[39]
E. YHWH’s sovereignty
From an historical perspective the Neo-Assyrian Empire dominated the ancient Near East and Judah was merely a vassal state on the periphery of the empire. However, for Isaiah the roles are reversed. YHWH, the God of Israel and Judah, is sovereign whereas Assyria is, unknowingly, YHWH’s vassal. Tim Bulkeley notes that YHWH’s sovereignty in First Isaiah is expressed using the word ’adon lord or ’adonay my lord.[40] YHWH is closely identified with Israel (1:24), in the wider sense of Judah and Israel. This self-identification as the ‘Mighty One of Israel’ is unusual in the prophetic books.[41] Isaiah also uses the titles ‘Rock of Israel,’ King of Israel’ and ‘God of Israel.[42] The title ‘lord’ is used in 10:16 to demonstrate YHWH’s sovereignty over his instrument of judgment.[43] In v. 15, Isaiah uses the imagery of tools to further highlight that it is YHWH who has enabled the king of Assyria to bring his judgement on Judah. However, because of the king’s arrogant heart YHWH will now discipline the imperial power.[44] Aster comments that while Isaiah accepts and even affirms Assyrian power, he denies Assyrian sovereignty and declares YHWH as the possessor of true sovereignty.[45] The Assyrian view is, as might be expected, quite different to that described by Isaiah. Sennacherib recorded that he ‘imprisoned Hezekiah in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage.’[46] Although Lachish was destroyed, and many prisoners were taken captive, Jerusalem was spared and the siege was lifted when the Assyrian army returned home to deal urgent military threats.[47]
F. Universal Monotheism
One final imprint of empire to consider is that of universal monotheism. Baruch Levine argues that the development of Israelite monotheism was enhanced as a reaction to the threat from Assyria.[48] As Israel encountered other nations they also encountered the gods of other nations. YHWH was the national god of Israel, but the other nations had their own pantheon of gods: Baal and Asherah in Canaan, Marduk in Babylonia and Aššur in Assyria. At this time, the Israelite worship of YHWH could be described as henotheism, the belief in one god, but the recognition of the existence of other gods.[49] The threat of national extinction by Assyria raised the question about the sovereignty of YHWH. Would YHWH give victory to Judah against its enemies, or would he abandon them?[50] Israelite monotheism becomes universal when YHWH is declared to be the sole sovereign over all nations.[51]
To further his military aims, Sennacherib wanted to subdue Babylonia. As part of his strategy he raised the prominence of the cult of Aššur at the expense of Marduk. In effect Aššur ruled Babylon rather than Marduk to show that Assyria was dominant.[52] The status of Aššur was raised in his titles and in connection with Sennacherib and Aššur replaced Marduk in the Assyrian version of the Enuma Eliš.[53] As previously described, in 10:5-19 Isaiah says it is YHWH who uses Assyria as a tool to punish his own people. Levine claims that Assyrian ideology influenced First Isaiah’s idea of monotheism.[54] Isaiah does not mention Aššur or any other Assyrian god. The battle is not between YHWH and Aššur, but rather YHWH alone is the one true God.[55] Similarly in 14:24-27 YHWH takes an oath reminiscent of a Neo-Assyrian loyalty oath for vassals declaring that he will destroy Assyria.[56] Levine suggests that in raising Aššur at the expense of Marduk, Sennacherib may have inadvertently played a role in ensuring the worship of YHWH as the one true God.[57]
Conclusion
The Neo-Assyrian Empire left its imprint on First Isaiah. The empire dominated the ancient Near East and its culture and ideology permeated the region. Judah as a vassal state of Assyria came under such influence during the eighth century BC. First Isaiah shows a detailed awareness of Assyria’s reputation as an invincible, military machine. Isaiah uses idioms and motifs which are found in Assyrian royal inscriptions. It is likely that Isaiah became acquainted with Assyrian ideology and culture through exposure to Assyrian propaganda in the form of rock reliefs, stelae, or Assyrian administrators in the surrounding nations. Isaiah inverted the Assyrian propaganda for his message. Isaiah reworked and adapted Assyrian imagery to describe the sovereignty of YHWH in terms that reversed the geopolitical situation. YHWH was the true sovereign and Assyria was his agent. Assyrian ideology that promoted its gods over those of other nations influenced First Isaiah’s idea of universal monotheism. First Isaiah begins to develop the idea that YHWH is not just Israel’s tribal god, but is the one true God.
Bibliography
Aster, Shawn Zelig. “The Image of Assyria in Isaiah 2:5-22: The Campaign Motif Reversed.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 127, no. 3(2007): 249-278.
Brueggemann, Walter. Isaiah 1-39. WBC. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998.
Bulkeley, Tim. “Living in the Empire.” Pages 71-84 in Isaiah and Imperial Context: The Book of Isaiah in the Times of Empire. Edited by Andrew, T. Abernethy, Mark G. Brett, Tim Bulkeley and Tim Meadowcroft. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013.
Carr, David M. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
Cross, F. L., and Elizabeth A. Livingstone. “Henotheism.” Pages 754 in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Freedman, David Noel, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck. “Asshur.” Pages 117 in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000.
Friedman, Richard Elliott. Who Wrote the Bible? New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1997.
Levine, Baruch A. “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism.” Iraq 67, no. 1(2005): 411-427.
Machinist, Peter. “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103, no. 4(1983): 719-737.
Schneider, Tammi J. “Assyria.” Pages 119–123 in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000.
Ussishkin, David. “Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah: The Events at Lachish and Jerusalem.” Pages 1-34 in Isaiah and Imperial Context: The Book of Isaiah in the Times of Empire. Edited by Andrew, T. Abernethy, Mark G. Brett, Tim Bulkeley and Tim Meadowcroft. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013.
Watts, John D. W. “The Assyrian King, Rod of My Anger (10:5–19).” Pages 183–190 in Isaiah 1–33. By John D. W. Watts. WBC. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005.
[1] Tammi J. Schneider, “Assyria,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck; Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 119.
[2] Schneider, “Assyria,” 120.
[3] Schneider, “Assyria,” 122.
[4] David M. Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 99.
[5] Schneider, “Assyria,” 122.
[6] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 99.
[7] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 99.
[8] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 99.
[9] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 117.
[10] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 99.
[11] David Ussishkin, “Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah: The Events at Lachish and Jerusalem,” in Isaiah and Imperial Context: The Book of Isaiah in the Times of Empire (ed. Andrew, T. Abernethy et al.; Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 5.
[12] Ussishkin, “Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah,” 18.
[13] Schneider, “Assyria,” 123.
[14] David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck, “Asshur,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck; Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 117.
[15] Schneider, “Assyria,” 122.
[16] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 112.
[17] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 138.
[18] Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? (New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1997), 90.
[19] Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible? 90.
[20] John D. W. Watts, “The Assyrian King, Rod of My Anger (10:5–19),” in Isaiah 1–33 (WBC. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 189.
[21] Walter Brueggemann, Isaiah 1-39 (WBC. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998), 92-93.
[22] Peter Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103 (1983), 722.
[23] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 722.
[24] Ussishkin, “Sennacherib’s Campaign to Judah,” 33.
[25] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 723.
[26] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 724.
[27] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 724.
[28] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 724.
[29] Shawn Zelig Aster, “The Image of Assyria in Isaiah 2:5-22: The Campaign Motif Reversed,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 127 (2007), 249.
[30] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 725.
[31] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 725.
[32] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 726.
[33] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 728.
[34] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 728.
[35] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 729.
[36] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 731.
[37] Aster, “The Image of Assyria in Isaiah 2:5-22,” 251.
[38] Machinist, “Assyria and Its Image in the First Isaiah,” 734.
[39] Aster, “The Image of Assyria in Isaiah 2:5-22,” 257.
[40] Tim Bulkeley, “Living in the Empire,” in Isaiah and Imperial Context: The Book of Isaiah in the Times of Empire (ed. Andrew, T. Abernethy et al.; Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013), 75.
[41] Bulkeley, “Living in the Empire,” 76.
[42] Bulkeley, “Living in the Empire,” 77.
[43] Bulkeley, “Living in the Empire,” 78.
[44] Bulkeley, “Living in the Empire,” 79.
[45] Aster, “The Image of Assyria in Isaiah 2:5-22,” 257.
[46] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 118.
[47] Carr, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 117.
[48] Baruch A. Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” Iraq 67 (2005), 411.
[49] F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, “Henotheism,” in The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (ed. F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone; Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 754.
[50] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 422.
[51] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 416.
[52] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 418.
[53] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 418.
[54] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 419.
[55] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 422.
[56] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 423.
[57] Levine, “Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism,” 413.
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