The chapter discusses topics that scholars have associated with the Persian context of the book of Isaiah, such as Cyrus, creation, monotheism, and universalism. Common to these topics is that they relate to Achaemenid imperial ideology in one way or another. Moreover, a Hellenistic context has been identified for texts that are thought to offer current historical allusions or that are related to literary features associated with what is labeled proto-apocalyptic. A fundamental challenge, which exists throughout the discussion of the historical background of prophetic discourse, is that scholars tend to historicize the poetry and metaphors—namely, to blend the world in the text with constructions of what is regarded as the historical and social background of the text.
Bernhard Duhm's Servant Song thesis from 1892 has had a paradigmatic status for more than a century. Gottesknecht has become a technical term, Ebed-Jahwe-Lied a genre, Stellvertretung an established theological concept, and "Servant Song Research" a particular discipline within Old Testament scholarship. Th is article investigates of Odil Hannes Steck's reading. Steck outlines an intra-Isaianic reception of the songs on five levels dating from 539 to 270 BCE. In the original version, the servant of Isa. liii is identified individually as the prophet. On the remaining four redactional levels, the servant is identified collectively as Zion, as those who have returned from exile, as those who remained at home in Judah, and as the true Israel (which includes other peoples). After a presentation of Steck's reading, features of reading related to historicising, theologising, and textualising are discussed. Finally, a narrative reading of Isa. liii is offered, with a focus on the literary trope of personification.
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