Isaiah and the Resurrection
A Poetic Theodicy
Chapter 26:7-21
מתיך יחיו May your dead live
יקומון נבלתי May my vessel rise up
עפר שכני ורננו הקיצו May those who dwelling the dust
טלך אורת טל כי rejoice and sing.
;תפיל רפאים וארץ for the dew at light is your dew.
עםי לך Go, my people,
בחדריך בא come into your room
בעדך דלתיך וסגר close your door behind you.
רגע-כמעט for short time rest
זעם-יעבור-עד until the wrath has passed.
In his Anchor Bible commentary
on Isaiah, Joseph Blenkinsopp claims that the earliest reference to resurrection
in the Hebrew scriptures comes in the 26th chapter of the Book of
Isaiah. This is a remarkable claim since
it is commonly assumed that the earliest references to resurrection are to be
found in the late Biblical material, Daniel 12.2, if not later yet in the apocryphal
books such as the 2 Maccabees. My deeply felt conviction that this is true,
however, rests not on authority, but on my own close read the Hebrew text of
Isaiah. Let me take you to the 26th
chapter of Isaiah and see if in the end, you might agree.
The text takes us to Jerusalem where
a prophetic school is laboring to reckon with their world, what we would call
the Levant, in or around the year of 705 B. C. E. By then, they are in the
second phase this reckoning. The first
phase began with a crisis triggered by the ascension of a new king, Ahaz, which
was troubled by the ascendancy of the Assyrian Empire and the pressure from the
kingdom of Aram, Damacus, and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. They were insistent that the Southern Kingdom
join them in their resistance to the Assyrians.
The prophetic school’s counsel delivered by a youthful Isaiah was to not
fear and not to join Aram and the Northern Kingdom. By 705 it had proven to be valid
council. They had refined and recorded
their position in a text, what we know as chapter 3-12 of the Book of Isaiah, completed
somewhere in and around the year 730.
Jerusalem, due in part to its
isolation in the rugged hill country of the south and due in another part to their
judicious behavior, had escaped a direct attack. From that vantage point they
watched the world around them violently oppressed. Fortified cities were crushed by the Assyrian
army, Tyre, Gath, Megiddo, Damascus, Dibon, Ashdod, and lastly Samaria, their
neighbor forty miles to the north in 722 B. C. E. Death and deportation
surrounded them. Moreover, this reign of terror had continued for thirty years
with no end in sight. With that, the prophetic school was forced to reappraise
their theological analysis of what was happening and to recast their message in
terms of perseverance. Recall that its early prophesies implied fulfillment would
come “by the time this child knew or said this or that.” that is, “not long.” Now they needed to be amended to “however
long.”
Part
of the school’s strategy was to amend their existing text, 3-12. The added text
would be a recognition of new developments, and it would reposition their theology
with an orientation that embraced the posture of waiting. By the time they turned to the composition of
this poem, they had already composed a substantial thread of new material
beginning with what we call chapter 13 and which advanced through a series of
study on the suffering of the peoples around them, from Moab to Tyre. Their working draft now constituted a text
that we would recognize as more or less chapers,15-23.
This new composition was to be a poem which would address the problem that
we know of as theodicy, justifying the ways of God. As such it would be a restatement
of the Prophetic School’s fundamental theology which they had pioneered at the beginning
the Assyrian crisis some thirty year before. When this poem was finished It would take its
place as the 26th chapter of the Isaiah text as we know it.
The
poet, perhaps Isaiah himself, now a mature elder of the school, began the poem
with a statement which asserts the justice of God’s ways. “Truly the ways of
God are just.” To this initial supposition, he adds a second: waiting for
God “is the soul’s desire.” This is what
we would call a transcendental, a precondition of mind/consciousness which
points the mind to waiting for God. With
this the argument for theodicy is set.
The
poem will end as it began, with a re-statement of theodicy. “God goes forth from his place, מקום, to visit punishment on the iniquity of the
inhabitants of the earth and the earth would reveal the blood within it and it would
no longer cover the slain.” Even as we wait for it, it is underway!
Between
these two statements of God’s justice, the poet places an intensely personal confession. The universal desire of soul’s, is
immediately modified by the poet with an assertion: “My soul’s waits for
you in the night, O God, … My spirit seeks for you.”
With
that a conversation with God begins in which the poet reviews the condition that
he and his companion find themselves. Yes,
he concedes we are aware that “Fire will consume your adversaries.” And we know that their dead will not live,
and their shades/corpses/רפאים will
not rise. We understand that by means of all this suffering, the peoples of the
earth, Isarel included, will in the end learn their lesson.
But
You, God, need to understand that the life of the poet and his companions is
like that of a pregnant woman approaching childbirth. We writhe, cry out, and are in pangs. Thus far, however, we are like those who deliver
wind and nothing of substance or human.
The metaphor of childbirth has already established a place in the Isaiah
text, where it stands for suffering that has an end and a purpose, but here childbirth
is underlined as prolonged and seemly futile labor.
At
the end of his confession the poet cries out: “May your dead live.” Clearly
this is a reference to the above assertion: “Their dead will not live.” But note the twist from “their” to “your,” third
person to second person. These dead belong
to God, for they are God’s people, Isreal. Then another twist, their shades/corpses/רפאים will not rise is changed to my body, corpse, vessel/נבלתי. In the first instance the plea shifts
from the third-person plural to the first- person singular, my body. In
the second, the poet does not repeat the רפאים, nor uses the crasser term for a corpse, פגר, but chooses instead נבלת.
The word he chooses means a vessel, an earthen vessel, think of Paul’s reference
in II Corinthians. Or more commonly a fool, a weak thing, a wicked person or
even a harp, musical instrument. The poet is not, of course, dead and his
reference to himself seems purposely diminutive, something like when the
English poet Gerand Manley Hopkins in a poem about resurrection refers
to himself as “poor jack stuff.” The
poet has also done something with the word rise/קום by way of an
augmented form, קומון. This suggests
that he wants his audience to understand the word is meant not metaphorically
but actually. He continues: “Let them
awake and sing.” Referring to the dead, he now adds a comforting metaphor. It shall be like that which dwells in the
dust is moistened by the dew that comes with the light of day.
The
voice in the poem now changes. God
responds and speaks to the poet, the poet’s audience and to all his dead: “Go, my
people enter your room, lock the door behind you, hide for a little moment
until the wrath passes.”
With
this note of compassion, we return to the magisterial voice of the poet in which
he restates the proposition that God’s actions are just and God is even at this
moment acting to bring that about. God is on the move. “God goes forth from his
high place, מקום to
visit punishment on the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth and the earth
will reveal the blood within it and earth will no longer cover the slain.” The
extension of the theme now includes a reference to the slain. Their blood will testify against the iniquity
of their slayers, and the rising of their bodies will confront them in a way
that justice will be done.
It
is not irrelevant to the question of theodicy that a concept of resurrection
has emerged in this poem. That it has produced the first/early thought of
resurrection should not surprise us as resurrection is essential to theodicy. Without
a resurrection, theodicy remains an abstract idea which is easily accused of
white-washing the reality of evil. Apart
from theodicy, resurrection becomes a part the candy of afterlife speculation,
open to the charge that is a distraction from everyday life. To the poet, on
the contrary, it is what allows everyday life to be meaningful and dedicated to
justice.
And theodicy, itself, is not
irrelevant to the Isaiah school’s conviction that Yahweh is the one
transcendent universal being. The school’s
thoughts were driven to the question of theodicy as soon as they made the move
from a local God with limited agency to a transcendent God with universal agency.
This raises the issue of death in new way. It is no longer satisfactory to be
buried with one’s ancestors and to continue to have an existence in the local
community which has defined you. Local communities in an imperial age have a
way of ceasing to exist and large blocks of people are deported away from the
burial place of their ancestors. The universal transcendent God creates a
crisis!
With
this incredible poem at the heart of the Isaiah text, we do not have an answer
to the crisis, so much as we have the notification that we are on the way to one.
Notes:
The fifth stanza, 19-21 is marked
with exceptional poetic skill, beautiful imagery, and profound sentiment. It strikes me as a proper way to begin my own
remembrance of the dead. מתיך יחיו
14- the dead מתים shall not live, the
dead יםפא ר will rise. .. a
sentiment that is dramatically reversed in 19.
The intervening text compares the waiting for deliverance as the pangs
of pregnancy which is failing to deliver.
19-21 are interesting, but cryptic
verses which form the conclusion of Ch. 26. Its interpretation turns on how רפאים which is read
in the Rabbinic tradition as רפה
which translates as “slackers.” But
while it shares the sense of being weak, it has its own meaning as a euphemism
for the dead. Isa 14:9
, שְׁא֗וֹל מִתַּ֛חַת רָגְזָ֥ה לְךָ֖ לִקְרַ֣את בּוֹאֶ֑ךָ עוֹרֵ֨ר לְךָ֤
רְפָאִים֙ כׇּל־עַתּ֣וּדֵי אָ֔רֶץ הֵקִים֙ מִכִּסְאוֹתָ֔ם כֹּ֖ל מַלְכֵ֥י
גוֹיִֽם׃
Sheol below was
astir
To greet your coming—
Rousing for you the shades
Of all earth’s chieftains,
Raising from their thrones
All the kings of nations.
Is 14:19 corpse
carcass פגר
Pr. 2:18 יקוצו-בל רפאיםת
the dead shall rise up. 26:14 ינוח רפאים בקהל 21:16.
The Talmud contains discussions about resurrection, reflecting its
significance in Jewish thought. Here are a few examples:
1. Pesachim 68a: This
passage discusses God's promise to resurrect the dead, emphasizing divine power
and the belief in life after death.
2. Ketubot 111b: This
section explores the idea that only the pious will merit resurrection, though
it also considers a broader definition of righteousness.
3. Sanhedrin 90a-92a: These
pages delve into the concept of resurrection, including debates among sages
about its nature and scriptural basis.
These discussions highlight the centrality of resurrection in Jewish
eschatology and its theological implications.
Sanhedrin 90a-92b
(צֶדֶ״ק
גַּ״ם גֶּשֶׁ״ם קָ״ם סִימָן) שָׁאֲלוּ צַדּוּקִים אֶת רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל:
מִנַּיִין שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְחַיֶּיה מֵתִים? אָמַר לָהֶם: מִן
הַתּוֹרָה, וּמִן הַנְּבִיאִים, וּמִן הַכְּתוּבִים. וְלֹא קִיבְּלוּ מִמֶּנּוּ.
The Gemara
records a mnemonic for those cited in the upcoming discussion: Tzadi,
dalet, kuf; gimmel, mem; gimmel, shin,
mem; kuf, mem. Heretics asked Rabban Gamliel: From where
is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, revives the dead? Rabban
Gamliel said to them that this matter can be proven from the Torah,
from the Prophets, and from Writings, but they did not accept the proofs from
him.
מִן הַתּוֹרָה,
דִּכְתִיב: ״וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל מֹשֶׁה הִנְּךָ שֹׁכֵב עִם אֲבֹתֶיךָ וְקָם״.
אָמְרוּ לוֹ: וְדִילְמָא ״וְקָם הָעָם הַזֶּה וְזָנָה״?
The proof from
the Torah is as it is written: “And the Lord said to Moses, behold, you
shall lie with your fathers and arise” (Deuteronomy 31:16). The heretics said
to him: But perhaps the verse should be divided in a different manner, and
it should be read: “Behold, you shall lie with your fathers, and this people
will arise and stray after the foreign gods of the land.”
מִן הַנְּבִיאִים,
דִּכְתִיב: ״יִחְיוּ מֵתֶיךָ נְבֵלָתִי יְקוּמוּן הָקִיצוּ וְרַנְּנוּ שֹׁכְנֵי
עָפָר כִּי טַל אוֹרֹת טַלֶּךָ וָאָרֶץ רְפָאִים תַּפִּיל״. וְדִילְמָא מֵתִים
שֶׁהֶחְיָה יְחֶזְקֵאל?
The proof from
the Prophets is as it is written: “Your dead shall live, my corpse shall
arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust, for your dew is as the dew
of vegetation, and the land shall cast out the dead” (Isaiah 26:19). The
heretics said to him: But perhaps the prophecy was fulfilled with the
dead that Ezekiel revived. No proof may be cited from that verse with
regard to any future resurrection
Ketubot 111b
אָמַר רַבִּי
אֶלְעָזָר: עַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת אֵינָן חַיִּים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״מֵתִים בַּל יִחְיוּ
וְגוֹ׳״, תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: ״מֵתִים בַּל יִחְיוּ״, יָכוֹל לַכֹּל — תַּלְמוּד
לוֹמַר: ״רְפָאִים בַּל יָקוּמוּ״, בִּמְרַפֶּה עַצְמוֹ מִדִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה
הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר.
§ Rabbi Elazar
said: The common, uneducated people will not come alive in
the future, as it is stated: “The dead live not” (Isaiah 26:14). In
other words, those who were already considered dead in their lifetimes will not
come back to life afterward either. This idea is also taught in a
baraita: “The dead live not”; one might have thought that
this is referring to everyone, i.e., none of the dead will live again.
Therefore, the verse states: “The shades [refa’im] rise not”
(Isaiah 26:14). This teaches that the verse is speaking of one who weakens [merapeh]
himself from matters of Torah.
אֲמַר לֵיהּ
רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: לָא נִיחָא לְמָרַיְיהוּ דְּאָמְרַתְּ לְהוּ הָכִי, הָהוּא
בִּמְרַפֶּה עַצְמוֹ לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הוּא דִּכְתִיב. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מִקְרָא אַחֵר
אֲנִי דּוֹרֵשׁ, דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי טַל אוֹרוֹת טַלֶּיךָ וָאָרֶץ רְפָאִים
תַּפִּיל״, כׇּל הַמִּשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה — אוֹר תּוֹרָה מְחַיֵּיהוּ,
וְכֹל שֶׁאֵין מִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בְּאוֹר תּוֹרָה — אֵין אוֹר תּוֹרָה מְחַיֵּיהוּ.
Rabbi Yoḥanan
said to Rabbi Elazar: Their master, i.e. God, is not pleased that you
say this of ordinary Jews. Rather, that verse is written about
one who weakens himself and succumbs to idol worship. Those who
commit this great sin do not merit to be resurrected in the future. Rabbi
Elazar said to him: I teach it from a different verse, as it is
written: “For Your dew is as the dew of light, and the earth shall bring to
life the shades” (Isaiah 26:19). Rabbi Elazar explains: Anyone who uses
the light of Torah, which is called the dew of light, the light of Torah
will revive him; and anyone who does not use the light of Torah, the light
of Torah will not revive him.
כֵּיוָן
דְּחַזְיֵיהּ דְּקָמִצְטַעַר, אֲמַר לֵיהּ: רַבִּי, מָצָאתִי לָהֶן תַּקָּנָה מִן
הַתּוֹרָה: ״וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם חַיִּים כּוּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם״,
וְכִי אֶפְשָׁר לִדַּבּוֹקֵי בַּשְּׁכִינָה? וְהָכְתִיב: ״כִּי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵשׁ
אוֹכְלָה״?
Since Rabbi Elazar saw
that Rabbi Yoḥanan was grieved over the distress of common,
uneducated people, he said to him: My teacher, I have found for them a
remedy from the Torah so that they will merit life in the World-to-Come, as
it states: “But You who cleave to the Lord your God, are alive every one of
you this day” (Deuteronomy 4:4). But is it possible to cleave to the
Divine Presence? Isn’t it written: For the Lord your God is a devouring fire”
(Deuteronomy 4:24)?
אֶ
