“The Book of Isaiah and the Neo-Babylonian Period” by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer investigates the “black hole” in the book that is the Babylonian Exile from three perspectives. First, it analyzes how the Book of Isaiah conceptualizes Babylon. It demonstrates how the Isaianic authors sought to underscore Babylon’s weakness and transitory existence, and aimed to assert that its demise was the result of Yhwh’s supremacy over Babylon’s own deities. Second, it challenges the dating of those texts in Isaiah that are traditionally assigned to the Neo-Babylonian period. References to Babylonian customs and religious traditions, polemic against Babylon, and support of Cyrus should not be used without reflection as dating criteria. Third, it argues that the material in Isa 40–55, traditionally assumed to have been written in Babylon because of its familiarity with Babylonian matters, rather reflects the kind of general knowledge that the people living in the shadow of the Neo-Babylonian Empire would be expected to have.

Nabopolassar fought with an Assyrian-style army and took the throne of Babylon. Thirteen years later, Nineveh fell despite Egyptian help. Babylon took over much of the Assyrian empire. Later he defeated the last Assyrian king at Harran. His success was seen as Marduk’s revenge. Captured wealth from Assyrian royal cities allowed major building work at Babylon, which was continued by Nabopolassar’s son Nebuchadnezzar II. Neither king left statues of themselves, and cylinder seals represent gods by their symbols. Major subsidence in the citadel required frequent rebuilding on the Southern Palace. The names of temples and gates were compiled on to a clay tablet as a literary work. Colour-glazed bricks adorned the Processional Way leading to the temple of the New Year festival outside the citadel walls. That festival is described. Some of his creations Nebuchadnezzar described as a Wonder, but he made no mention of the Hanging Garden. In a separate part of the citadel, Nebuchadnezzar built a Summer Palace. His conquests included Tyre and Ashkelon but not Egypt or Lydia. He sacked the Temple in Jerusalem and deported its royal family to Babylon. Other captives settled on land nearby. Business archives of long duration continue into the Achaemenid period.

Promises of Israel's restoration appear throughout the Latter Prophets. This chapter argues that modern interpreters have overlooked the surprising amount of attention specifically paid to the fate of the northern tribes of Israel throughout the Latter Prophets, even in books by prophets who lived long after the destruction of the northern kingdom.Whereas many have suggested a narrowing in the scope of Israel such that prophecies such as those of Second Isaiah refer to the restoration of Judah, this chapter argues that the prophets consistently take a more expansive view of Israel and that Second Temple period readers would have—and in fact did—read these prophecies as referring not only to those from Judah exiled by the Babylonians but also to the northern tribes scattered by the Assyrians in the eighth century BCE. The prophets' promises therefore remained unfulfilled so long as the northern tribes had not returned.

This chapter looks at the use of "Israel" terminology and its relationship to eschatology in the Dead Sea Scrolls, focusing on the sectarian scrolls. The chapter argues that the Yaḥad understand the exile as ongoing—even those in the land remain in exile, while the returns of Ezra-Nehemiah and the Second Temple are inadequate or worse. They understand Israel's restoration as contingent on a return to virtue and obedience—which they believe has begun with their own group's divinely initiated return to proper halakhic practices. The Yaḥad therefore present themselves as the vanguard of the restoration of all Israel, which includes the return of the northern tribes remaining in exile and the elimination of the disobedient among their Jewish contemporaries. They represent their separation from their contemporaries as having visibly rejoined the rest of Israel in exile, where their obedience serves as a atonement for the rest of Israel—atonement the Second Temple could not manage—thereby initiating the restoration of all Israel.

The narrative Source BII includes a meeting of three Assyrian commanders accompanied by a large army with a Judean delegation at the conduit of the upper pool on the highway at the Fuller’s Field. Rāb-šaqê conveys to Hezekiah’s emissaries a message. He warns them not to rebel against Assyria, not to confront the Assyrian army with the aid of the Egyptians in a pitched battle, and not to trust YHWH for deliverance, since YHWH has allegedly sent Sennacherib to devastate the land of Judah. When Hezekiah sends a delegation to Isaiah to ask for YHWH’s aid, Isaiah delivers an oracle assuring the king of Judah not to fear, for a spirit will be given to the king of Assyria. He will hear a rumor, retreat to Assyria, and die by the sword. Source BII focuses on the murder of Sennacherib, on the Egyptian aid in a pitched battle, and mentions Taharqa, king of Kush, who would cause Sennacherib to retreat. The motifs of divine intervention, causing Assyria’s defeat and Sennacherib’s retreat and eventual murder, are the backbone of Source BII.

In Chapter 9, Strand BIII reflects the historical Sitz im Leben of the source in the Neo-Babylonian Period (the reigns of Nabopolassar and the early years of Nebuchadnezzar II). The author of this strand incorporated echoes of the events connected to the demise of the Assyrian Empire. More particularly, these echoes reflect the following events: a) the wars of the Babylonians under Nabopolassar on Assyrian soil from 616 to 609 BCE, during which the Babylonians devastated the heartland of Assyria and conquered its Western provinces, thus sealing Assyria’s demise; and b) the subsequent campaigns of the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II, during which the Babylonians crossed the Euphrates and conquered the Levant (605–598/7). The struggle between Assyria and Egypt over the Levant is omitted. During the siege of Jerusalem between 588 and 586 BCE, the people of Jerusalem decided to oppose the besieging Babylonians and not surrender. Jerusalem withstood a siege for a far longer time than any of the nations listed in Isa 37:12–13, namely during the conquests of the Neo-Babylonian Kings. Therefore, the people of Jerusalem could claim that God was protecting them and Jerusalem.

The question of the priority of Isa 36–37 over 2 Kgs 18–19 or vice versa has been raised in research for many years. There are numerous variations between the parallel texts. In comparing the Kings and Isaiah versions, Gesenius concluded that the Kings version was the original setting of the Hezekiah-Isaiah narratives. This view began to change with the study of Ackroyd. Profiting from Ackroyd’s work, Smelik raised several arguments for the primacy of the Isaiah text.

In Chapter 10, I present the differences created by the process of transmission. In the second part of the chapter, I present the results of the text-critical investigation according to the new proposal to divide the comprehensive text into sources A, BI, BII, and BIII. Most of the variations can be explained as a result of the attempt to integrate the different sources into one coherent narrative. In most cases, it can be shown that the prior version was in Isaiah; the editor of Kings attempted to hide the coarse stitches in the final narrative.

For millennia the story of Hezekiah’s miraculous deliverance by the Angel of God from Sennacherib (in Isa 36–37/2 Kgs 18:13–19:37), has been perceived as the fulfillment of God’s words of salvation to Jerusalem as a reward for the pious king of the house of David.

Chapter 7 presents the historical reality of the period between the murder of Sennacherib in 681 BCE and the defeat of Assyria at the borders of Egypt in 673 BCE. Scholars did not consider the historical reality of Egypt and Kush, which excludes portraying Taharqa as a heroic victorious figure after 671 BCE, after which he could not have been depicted as the savior, who would come to the rescue of Jerusalem, since during the period from 671 BCE until his death in 664 BCE he was repeatedly defeated by the Assyrians and his kingdom conquered and subjugated. Thus, only a narrow window of opportunity can be detected for the composition of BII – the years between the murder of Sennacherib (681) and the conquest of Egypt by Assyria (671). During this period Assyria suffered a disastrous defeat, which might have been portrayed as the intervention of God’s angel in Isa 37:36. After the conquest of Egypt by Assyria in 671 BCE and the expulsion of the Kushites from Egypt never to return, Taharqa’s elevation to the role of savior would be highly improbable.

In Chapter 3, a fresh look at the text is suggested according to the historical-critical approach to solving the problems mentioned in Chapter 1.

In the Isaiah text (which will be the starting point for the investigation) by delineating the breaks in the sequence of the narrative and mutually exclusive contradictions, it is possible to isolate in Isa 36–37 threads of two discrete sources and a redactional strand. These were actually intertwined in the composition of the narrative, which tell different stories. They were composed at different times, for different purposes, describing various historical events and circumstances.

Instead of identifying twofold repetitions, it is possible to recognize threefold repetitions. The narratives include three different Assyrian delegations composed of various emissaries; three different messages conveyed by the Assyrians to the Judeans by different means, possibly at three (?) (different?) locations. There are traces of three different responses of Hezekiah to the Assyrian threat (excluding Hezekiah’s submission in putative source A). Finally, Hezekiah receives three different prophesies concerning the fate of the Assyrian king.

In Chapter 5, it is shown that Source BI reflects the events and atmosphere during the days of the Assyrian campaign of Sennacherib in 701 BCE. The Assyrians devastated Judah in Sennacherib’s third campaign – a claim corroborated by 2 Kgs 18:14–16; Mic 1:10–16 and Isa 1:4–9, and the extensive archaeological excavations and surveys of the Judean kingdom. 2 Kings 18:14–16 (source A) preserves an account of Hezekiah’s subjugation to Sennacherib and payment of an enormous tribute. Hezekiah’s submission occurred, according to the biblical narrative, at the beginning of Sennacherib’s campaign against Judah. Following the payment, Sennacherib sent his envoys to demand Hezekiah’s capitulation. The Assyrian annals describe the total submission of Hezekiah and a victory over his Egyptian allies. Hezekiah remained king of Judah and was not punished. The original Source BI, portraying the events during the 701 campaign, did not contain a description of an Assyrian defeat nor of the murder of Sennacherib, which occurred twenty years after his campaign to the Levant.

Chapter 14 is a summary of the book, reconstructing the process of the creation of the text in its different phases. According to the division of sources and strands, the question of the narrative’s original setting may also be answered. I advance a reason for the composition and incorporation of each of the sources and strands. I address the identity of the milieu of the composer, as well as the intended audience of his message. What message did the composers intend to convey to their audience at the different stages of the composition?

In Chapter 12, I investigate the intertextual relations between Isa 36–37 and the rest of the book of Isaiah. First, Isa 36–39 uses terminology that is characteristic of the entire book of Isaiah. The question arises if these terms are characteristic of Isaiah son of Amoz, and later authors and redactors embraced them, or whether these terms stem from a later hand, and a later redactor inserted them into Proto-Isaiah. Secondly, the intertextual relations between Isa 36–39 and Proto-Isaiah are investigated. I focus primarily on the so-called Denkschrift (Isa 6:1–9:6, and esp. Isa 7), Isa 20, and Isa 31. Thirdly, the suggestion that Isa 36–39 was originally part of an independent scroll, which contained historical narratives about Isaiah (Isa 7; 20; 36–39), is evaluated. Lastly, the claim that Isa 36–39 is a literary bridge between Proto-Isaiah and Deutero-Isaiah is explored.

The main intention of Chapter 1 of this book is to detect the problems in the narrative of Isaiah 36–37. These include the existence of an almost identical narrative in 2 Kings 18:13–19:37, recurring repetitions, breaks in the narrative, contradictions and inconsistencies, and abrupt grammatical changes in consecutive sentences. I aim to suggest a comprehensive solution to these numerous problems.

Strand BIII is a redactional strand that does not comprise an original complete narrative. The redactor, whose primary interest is theological, adds his comments into the earlier sources. He subtly combines BI and BII by incorporating characterizing Leitwörter of both sources into his composition. He integrated Source BI, the siege of Sennacherib, and Source BII, the divine victory over the Assyrians and punishment of their king. The editor described the involvement of God in defence of Jerusalem, consequently promoting the belief in the inviolability of Zion, the protection of the king of Judah and the house of David. He raises the following questions: Should Judah surrender or oppose the besiegers? Will God protect Zion? Did the people of Jerusalem offend God? What is the proper way to worship God? How should God be approached to ask for his help? What is the role of the king toward God?

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.

Already in 1886, Stade suggested that the Hezekiah-Isaiah narrative is a composite literary creation. He detected literary seams and suggested a combination of three sources. Source A: A chronistic record (2 Kgs 18:14–16, which is absent in Isaiah). Two further independent traditions about the deliverance from the Assyrian threat have been combined into one story: (a) Source B1: 2 Kgs 18:13, 17–19:9a and (b) Source B2: 2 Kgs 19:9b–37. Most scholars have accepted the identification of two consecutive accounts with an almost similar development of the narrative. Some scholars suggested different reconstructions of the putative sources and distinguish up to six strands spanning for hundreds of years.

Recently, proponents of the synchronic literary approach analysed the Hezekiah-Sennacherib narrative (Isa 36–37/2 Kgs 18:13–19:37) as a coherent literary composition; some include the putative source A, while others exclude it. They are mainly focused on the message, meaning, devices of writing, and form and structure of the narrative as it stands in its final form.