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The Universal Rule of God in Judgment and Restoration in Isaiah 6

Hong, Seong Hyuk 1

1서울신학대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

The Relationship of judgment and restoration in Isaiah 6 has been a recurring problem among scholars. Not a few proponents took the viewpoint that Isaiah's message was primarily one of doom, eliminating any oracle of Isaiah that sounds like restoration for the future. Especially, they regard the verse 13 of restoration as a later addition to the original commission account, made most probably during the period of the exile. Against this view, this study will, ultimately in a dialogue between the literary and historical approaches, first attempt to display that coherence within Isaiah 6 is firmly established by analyzing its literary context and unifying structure as well as its literary features such as thematic continuity, similar vocabulary and imagery. From the standpoint of its context, Isaiah 6 is at the center of chapters 1-12 which deal with the judgment and restoration of both Israel and Judah. It functions as a suitable conclusion to chapters 2-5 which are focused on the socio-religious corruption, while it does as an equally suitable introduction to chaps. 7-12 whose common features revolve around political issues. Its transitional position indicates that while it is placed in the climax of judgment, it presages Yahweh's sovereign intervention which will reveal in the relationship of Judah with foreign nations. With respect to the structure of Isaiah 6 itself, it divides into 3 sub-sections. The first sub-section (v. 1aα) sets the stage for the entire commission report by describing when Isaiah's vision took place and Yahweh began to take an initiative in the future events. The second sub-section (vv. 1aβ-7) refers to Isaiah's vision of Yahweh's presence in the temple which includes the doxology uttered by the seraphim and Isaiah's purification made by a seraph under the control of Yahweh. The third sub-section (vv. 8-13) is the audition report of Yahweh's purificatory judgment and restoration of Judah characterized by a question-and-answer pattern. This sub-section starts with a report of Yahweh's question and ends with a report of His answer. All the features of the structure suggests that Yahweh will exert a sovereign influence on the judgement and restoration of Judah. On the basis of the literary analysis and more illumination of historical background implicit in the passage, this study is further aimed at showing that the passage of doom and restoration is from the eighth-century prophet and its primary intention is to stress the universal rule of Yahweh with the pattern of unavoidable purificatory judgment and subsequent restoration symbolized by the 'holy seed.' The present study will finally suggest that the prophet Isaiah intended to highlight the importance of trust in Yahweh as the universal ruler, implicitly warning Ahaz and his followers not to rely on foreign alliances to preserve their vested interests. alliances to preserve their vested interests.

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