Defending Zion: Edom's Desolation and Jacob's Restoration (Isaiah 34-35) in Context (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Book 236)

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. BZAW welcomes submissions that make an original and significant contribution to the field; demonstrate sophisticated engagement with the relevant secondary literature; and are written in readable, logical, and engaging prose. Preface 5 List of Abbreviations 11 1. An Introduction to the Problem 13 1.1. The Unity of the Book of Isaiah 13 1.2. Isaiah 36-39: Placement and Function 15 1.3. Reassessing Isaiah 34-35: Problems of Composition, Interpretation, and Function 18 2. An Introduction to Isa 34, 35 and the History of their Interpretation 21 2.1. An Overview 21 2.2. Unity 23 2.3. Dating and Authorship 32 2.4. Edom 39 2.5. The Role of Chs. 34-35 Within the Larger Work 42 2.6. Summary 44 3. Edom and the Nations in Isaiah 34: Form-critical Arguments 46 3.1. Form-critical Analyses of Isa 34:1 47 3.2. Micah 1:2 as a False Analogy to Isa 34:1 54 3.3. Conclusion 61 4. The Universal and the Particular in Isaiah 13: An Analogue for Edom and the Nations 67 4.1. Isaiah 13: An Overview 68 4.2. The Language of Isa 13 70 4.3. Babylon, Edom and the Nations 72 4.4. “As...Sodom and Gomorrah”: Stock Comparison or Intentional Analogy? 74 4.5. Isa 13, 34 as Structural Pillars 76 4.6. Conclusion 79 5. Edom in Poetry and Prophecy 81 5.1. Edom and Israel: A Brief History 82 5.2. Edom in Poetry and Prophecy 87 5.3. Conclusion 128 6. Isaiah 35: Context and Interpretation 132 6.1. Isa 35: An Overview 132 6.2. Isaiah 35 and 40-66 135 6.3. Isaiah 35: Context and Interpretation 147 7. The Redactional Role of Isaiah 35: A Recent Theory 152 7.1. Steck’s Analysis of Ch. 35: Overview and Critique 153 7.2. Isaiah 35 in the Context of the Book as a Whole 162 7.3. Conclusion 164 8. Chs. 34-35: Placement and Function 169 8.1. The Nations in Proto-Isaiah 169 8.2. The Representational Significance of Edom 171 8.3. Ch. 34-35’s Contribution to the Message and Structure of Isaiah 173 8.4. Envisioning the Whole 190 Bibliography 192

The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.