This paper attempts to reconstruct the conflict of Trito-Isaiah by focusing on the “Haredim” in Isaiah 66. Since Hanson’s work, the authorial group of Trito-Isaiah has been understood to oppose the Zadokites, leading to the rebuilding of the Temple. However, considering that Deutero-Isaiah was a work that came out of the anticipation of returning to Jerusalem in the Persian era, it makes no sense to deduce that the subsequent Trito-Isaiah would have opposed the Persia-sponsored temple reconstruction. Instead, those who returned from Persia would have sought to restore a Judean society in Jerusalem, sympathizing with Persian colonial policy. In this respect, Trito-Isaiah can be seen as the work of the Golah community, seemingly comparable to Ezra and Nehemiah.
The Golah community was religiously opposed to syncretistic rites and politically aligned themselves with Persian policy. Scholars have studied the Haredim in Isaiah 66 along with Ezra 9-10. But there has been no serious attention to the different social roles of Haredim in these two texts. In Isaiah 66, the Haredim were excluded by their brothers. In contrast, the Haredim in Ezra 9-10 excluded foreign wives and their children from the Judean community. Although the social roles of the Haredim in these two texts are in stark contrast, scholars identify the two Haredim as the same group. It is thus necessary to examine why those who used the same group name were divided, rather than to claim that these two Haredim were the same group. In this paper, the cause of their different roles is traced to the different social status of the exiles and, more importantly, their different attitudes toward foreigners, especially whether to include them in Temple worship. Therefore, although both Trito-Isaiah and Ezra insist on “Haredim,” there was a debate over the Haredim’s identity, and as a result, Haredim were internally divided.