Isaiah 40:1–2: Reading Royal Commission as a Call for Return Migration in the Early Persian Period

Authors

  • Marshall A. Cunningham University of Chicago

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5508/jhs29444

Abstract

This paper offers a new interpretation of Isa 40:1–2 that takes into account the greater rhetorical project of Isa 40–48 as well as evidence of Judean diaspora life from Āl–Yāḫūdu. Rather than a charge to the divine council, the call to comfort Jerusalem is meant to inspire an embedded community of Judeo-Babylonians to return migrate by hailing them as members of Yahweh's royal procession. This new reading gestures towards broader questions of Judean diaspora identity in the 6th century.

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Published

2019-12-18

How to Cite

Cunningham, M. A. (2019). Isaiah 40:1–2: Reading Royal Commission as a Call for Return Migration in the Early Persian Period. The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, 19. https://doi.org/10.5508/jhs29444

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Section

Articles