4 - Source BI

Summary

Chapters 4–9 will take a further step in the search to reconstruct and date the different putative sources that form the story of Jerusalem’s deliverance. I will attempt to reconstruct each coherent source by tying together the threads of narrative that were detected in the previous chapters. I will address questions of literary composition, narration, continuity of themes and ideas, the coherency of the narrative, repetitions, structure, ideological, and religious aspects in the story.

The historical events span over a century and a half. I will reassess the time of the composition of the different sources and strands. Each discussion of a reconstructed source will be followed by a historical chapter that provides the historical-political Sitz im Leben of the narrative. I will suggest a historical situation in which the strand could have been written and the raison d’être of the composition. To do so, I will explore relevant extra-Biblical sources: Neo-Assyrian, Egyptian, Kushite, and Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions and administrative documents, as well as classical historians (Herodotus, Josephus Flavius) and archaeological evidence. I will review the historical setting of the putative reconstructed sources and evaluate whether they are corroborated or contradicted by external evidence and whether their narratives are historical or fictional. Chapters 4: Source BI

The narrative of the Assyrian invasion of Judah in Isa 36–37/2 Kgs 18:17–19:37 describes the utter defeat of the Assyrians through divine intervention. The campaign ends with the defeat of the Assyrians, the return home of Sennacherib, and his murder by his sons.

In Chapter 4, Isaiah’s original message condemned the hubris of the king of Assyria who claimed that he destroyed many kingdoms and no God could stop him since the destruction of all the cities was God’s doing. Furthermore, Isaiah prophesied that although Judah was seriously damaged, it would recover from the disaster within three years. The recovery is not described, and the departure of Sennacherib and his army is not mentioned explicitly. The realization of the prophecy was some time in the future.