A passage to read in an election year: Isaiah 11:1-9

According to Isaiah 11:1, "A shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse, a twig shall sprout from his stock." This promise of redemption follows directly on the heels of threatened judgment upon Assyria (Isaiah 5:5-15, 27-34), whose oppression of Judah, so long as it lasted, made talk of redemption a pipe dream, nothing more.

But when the prophetic threat of judgment on Assyria began to become reality, that is, as the Assyrian juggernaut lost control of the West in the 640s, an 8 year old child named Josiah of the lineage of David was placed on the throne. It was a time of crisis. According to Marvin Sweeney, Isaiah 11:1-9 is best read in the first instance as an expression of the hopes and fears of King Josiah’s supporters. There is much to be said for this reconstruction. I discuss Sweeney’s thesis and aspects of the political theology of the book of Isaiah here, here, here, and here.

For Jewish and Christian readers of later epochs, Isaiah 11’s promise of redemption speaks of times far removed from those of the time of its composition. It has come to be associated with the advent of the Messiah at the end of time, and with recurring experiences of redemption through time, whenever the leadership of people, church, or state has been felled and new shoots of leadership have miraculously appeared.  Within Christianity, it was associated with Jesus, and every term of the prophecy redefined in light of him.

The Qumran covenanters interpreted a series of recent events in light of Isaiah 10-11 (4Q 285 Frag. 5; cf. 4Q161 Frag. 8-10). Jews and Christians have often seen even non-prophetic biblical texts fulfilled again in events known to them and in their own lives. There is a long tradition of reading the history and prophecy found in the Bible as though subsequent history follows, over and over again, patterns prefigured in it. Our history is judged in the light of that history and of the promises of something better vouchsafed therein. This is a rich vein of interpretation. I can’t see why anyone would wish to interpret our times without the benefit of it.

Do you prefer working within less biblical coordinates? The Greek and Roman tradition of political theology as crystallized in the Fourth Eclogue of Virgil makes for a very interesting comparison. Go here.

With an election year upon us in the United States, it is appropriate to hold up a passage like Isaiah 11 or Psalm 72 to the face of those who would be president, as if it were a mirror, and see whether any features of any candidate are recognizable in its reflection.

Isaiah 11:1-9 is a very old text, and its language will seem quaint and inappropriate to many. I’m not so sure. A spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and valor; a sense of reverence and devotion, if not for God, at least for a past in which many toiled and died for freedoms we now enjoy: I long to vote for a candidate endowed with such gifts and a like sense of reverence.

I long to be able to vote for a candidate who has an abiding respect, if not for God, at least for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; for a law-and-order candidate, most assuredly, but one who will not sacrifice justice and truth out of supine commitment to special interest groups of the right or the left. I am looking for a candidate committed to improving the lot of those who are getting a raw deal in society today, or live under tyranny abroad; who sides with the victims, not the perpetrators, of criminal acts.

I'm looking for a pro-active president, not someone who thinks that everything is pretty much fine and dandy. I’m not looking for a silver-tongued populist, but a bridge-builder, who aims to create a stronger sense of interdependency between those that count in our society and those who do not. In the words of Isaiah 11, a society and a world in which the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and young lion grow fat together.

The text and translation of Isaiah 11:1-9 I offer is not identical with previous reconstructions of the text and previous translation efforts. The solutions I adopt are, almost without exception, referred to in the footnotes to NJPSV, or discussed and defended in critical commentaries. Major differences with MT are marked with an asterisk.

וְיָצָא חֹטֶר       מִגֵּזַע יִשָׁי      וְנֵצֶר מִשָּׁרָשָׁיו יִפְרֶה

וְנָחָה עָלָיו      רוּחַ יְהוָה      רוּחַ חָכְמָה וּבִינָה

רוּחַ עֵצָה וּגְבוּרָה               רוּחַ דַּעַת  וְיִרְאַת יְהוָה*

לֹא־לְמַרְאֵה עֵינָיו יִשְׁפֹּט  וְלֹא־לְמִשְׁמַע אָזְנָיו יוֹכִיחַ

 

וְשָׁפַט בְּצֶדֶק דַּלִּים              וְהוֹכִיחַ בְּמִישֹׁר לְעַנְוֵי־אָרֶץ

 

וְהִכָּה עָרִיץ*                     בְּשֵׁבֶט פִּיו

וּבְרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו                    יָמִית רָשָׁע

וְהָיָה צֶדֶק   אֵזוֹר מָתְנָיו       וְהָאֱמוּנָה אֵזוֹר חֲלָצָיו

 

וְגָר זְאֵב עִם־כֶּבֶשׂ    וְנָמֵר עִם־גְּדִי יִרְבָּץ

וְעֵגֶל וּכְפִיר     יִמְרְאוּ* יַחְדָּו

וְנַעַר קָטֹן      נֹהֵג בָּם

 

וּפָרָה וָדֹב תִּרְעֶינָה     יַחְדָּו יִרְבְּצוּ יַלְדֵיהֶן

וְאַרְיֵה כַּבָּקָר    יֹאכַל תֶּבֶן

וְשִׁעֲשַׁע יוֹנֵק      עַל־חֻר פָּתֶן

וְעַל־מְאוּרַת צִפְעוֹנִי    גָּמוּל יָדוֹ הָדָה

לֹא יָרֵעוּ    וְלֹא יַשְׁחִיתוּ    בְּכָל־הַר קָדְשִׁי

כִּי־מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ    דֵּעָה אֶת־יְהוָה    כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים

*omitting וַהֲרִיחוֹ בְּיִרְאַת יְהוָה (dittography)

But a shoot shall come out

            of the stump of Jesse,

                      a scion sprout from its roots,

and the spirit of יהוה

            shall alight on him:

 

a spirit of wisdom and insight,

             a spirit of counsel and valor,

a spirit of devotion

             and reverence for יהוה.

 

Not by appearance will he judge,

            not by hearsay will he decide;

he will judge the poor with equity,

           decide with justice for the lowly of the land.

 

He will strike the ruthless

          with the rod of his mouth,

he will slay the criminal

           with the breath of his lips:

justice shall be

           a belt around his loins,

                      truth a belt around his hips.

 

The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

              the leopard lie down with the kid;

the calf and young lion

             grow fat together;

with a little child

             to herd them.

 

The cow and the bear shall graze,

             their young lie down together;

and the lion, like the ox,

             eat straw.

 

A babe shall play

            over a viper’s hole,

an infant pass his hand

           over an adder’s den.

 

Nothing evil

          and nothing vile

                     shall be done on my holy mount,

for the land will be filled

          with devotion for יהוה

                    as the waters cover the sea.

In conclusion, a famous painting by Edward Hicks, the "Peaceable Kingdom," deserves reflection:

Comments

[Alex]

I admit that Ron Paul is not the second part of what you are looking for, i.e. committed to improving the lot of others, but he is the first part, i.e. you quote: "I long to be able to vote for a candidate who has an abiding respect, if not for God, at least for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; for a law-and-order candidate, most assuredly, but one who will not sacrifice justice and truth out of supine commitment to special interest groups of the right or the left." Check out www.ronpaul2008.com if you're interested.

[Stephen (aka Q)]

Outside of the USA, we pray, with you, for a candidate who is at least a pale reflection of Isaiah 11. May you cast your vote wisely.

[James Pate]

Well, Isaiah 11:4 says that the Messiah will slay the wicked with the breath of his mouth. He'll obviously have no problem with capital punishment.

[JohnFH]

That's the plain meaning of the text, James.

Still, Christians have never hesitated to redefine the ancient prophecies in light of what kind of person the Messiah, understood as Jesus, turned out to be.

The question of what the Messiah who is coming will be like at the finest level of detail is not decidable, it seems to me, based on the wording of e.g. Isa 11.