Week 10: Divided Kingdoms: The South (2 Kings, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah) Flashcards
Religious Crisis in the Northern Kingdom of Israel (leading to the rise of prophecy)
The excesses of the north created a large gap between the rich and the poor. The North’s prosperity, coupled with its sudden fall in 722 BCE, marked a two-fold crisis in the minds of those adhering to the covenantal framework of orthopraxis and social justice.
The northern Kingdom has a crisis not only of orthopraxis (worship in the sense of worshiping idols and improper worship practices), but also in social justice (how it is treating its people). Orthopraxis and social justice become so closely intertwined that they cannot be separated.
This results in the rise of the prophets…
The Rise of Prophecy
Development of prophecy as an industry in ancient Israel and in Judah (we kind of see this with Nathan and Ahijah).
Prophets become spokespeople/mediators between God and the King and God and the people.
Naboth’s Vineyard (& Names of People Involved)
The religious crisis in the North can be dramatically seen in the story of Naboth’s Vineyard (1 Kings 21)…
Naboth is refusing to sell his vineyard to Ahab (who wants to grow pumpkins) because it is his ancestral inheritance/patrimony (the land associated with his family).
Results in the rise of the prophets…
Amos ~750 BCE
A prophet in Judah who reveals an oracle to the nations in Israel
Amos: Date
~750 BCE
Amos: Personal Background
Amos is a shepherd/curds man from Tekoah in Judah, and he hears of the social injustices that are taking place in the Northern kingdom and goes North to deliver a message to Israel
Amos: Main Message
Amos criticizes the gap between the rich and the poor.
Amos puts a new spin on an older concept…
He Reinterprets the Day of the Lord to be a day of retribution and judgement instead of vindication. Prior to this, when Israel spoke about the Day of the Lord, it was understood as a day where God would intervene and annihilate the oppressors of Israel and vindicate Israel. It was understood to be something to Israel’s advantage.
Amos’s oracle of the nations criticizes the North’s massive failure of orthopraxis and social justice.
“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Consequence: God’s word will abandon Israel (Amos 8:11-12)
Amos speaks about an “oracle against the nations” (1-2:8)…
This was a genre of prophetic speech that would, usually in a song, name a nation’s enemies and speak in great detail about how a nation would be destroyed (intended to bolster morale).
Amos makes it an accusation against Israel; an indictment on Israel.
- The Lord roars from Zion (Jerusalem)
- The Edomites (Esau) have gone after Israel (Jacob)
Amos speaks to the Israelites about a circle of social injustices (murder, violence, abuse, deportations) committed by nations, and the oracle is condeming them. Israelites hate these nations, so Israel is going to be happy upon hearing this…
BUT in 2:4, Judah is condemned (for not keeping the law) which makes Israel feel uncomfortable (although they are separate kingdoms they are like brothers).
AND in 2:6, the oracle speaks against Israel for exploiting their people for personal wealth (they are selling their own people into slavery for material and wealth). They are hypocrites for worshipping at temples and shrines but ignoring the suffering of their own people. They take garments in pledge of debts (a person’s clothing was synonymous with their life, it was a sign of dignity and it was a person’s only protection).
It is very insulting language, and Amos is telling the downfall of Assyria.
He strongly connects social justice with proper worship; he makes it so that they are synonymous: social justice and orthopraxis are inextricably bound with each other.
Hosea ~725
Hosea is a Northerner prophet who thinks that Israelite worship practices are wrong, probably by syncretism (combining the worship of God with the worship of other gods; mashing it all together and using the same methods of worship, and doing it all at once).
Hosea: Date
~725
Hosea: Personal Background
Hosea is from the Northern Kingdom. He speaks against the excesses of the north, but with more of a focus on worship practices.
Hosea’s prophetic gesture: God tells him to marry a prostitute. He lives, in his own life, the relationship between God and Israel. The relationship between God and Israel is being expressed in an uncomfortable metaphor in Hosea.
He ends up giving his children the names: “not pity” and “not my people.”
Hosea: Main Message
He speaks against Israel’s excess, focusing on worship practices. He compares the relationship between God and Israel to a husband and an adulterous wife.
Hosea and the marriage metaphor
Hosea introduces the idea of marriage and the marriage metaphor.
Israel is accused as an adulterous wife: when Hosea accuses Israel of worshipping other Ba’als, they are also accused of going after other husbands (Ba’al means storm god, but also means husband/master)
God and Israel are spouses, and Israel is charged with adultery.
This is a powerful rhetorical formula because it uses gender to force repentance, since an Israelite man will want to change and repent for committing adultery.
Before repentance, Israel will need a prophetic gesture…
Hosea’s prophetic gesture: God tells him to marry a prostitute. He lives, in his own life, the relationship between God and Israel. The relationship between God and Israel is being expressed in an uncomfortable metaphor in Hosea.
He ends up giving his children the names: “not pity” and “not my people.”
He launches a covenantal lawsuit (rîb), indicting Israel for breach of covenant (4:1).
Hosea predicts the fall of Israel (2:16-20), and he insists on authentic worship
How do you know if you have a true prophet?
If what the prophet says became true, then you know that the prophet was true and was speaking God’s word
Why is Hosea accredited as a prophet?
He predicts the fall of Israel (2:16-20)
Assyria’s Resurgence to Power
Jeroboam II’s death in 744 BCE coincides with Assyria’s resurgence to power under Tiglath-Pileser III…
745: TPIII takes the Assyrian throne, and helps Assyria regain control.
When places were trying to grow and gain power, they would take over the little cities first, so people would flee to the big cities.
Assyria takes over everywhere in Israel, and all that is left of Israel is Samaria. (God began to trim off parts of Israel.) From the perspective of the Bible, God is using Assyria to punish Israel for their lack of social justice and proper worship.
TPIII captures land in the north of Israel: Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, taking the people captive to Assyria.
To try to withstand TPIII’s might, smaller kingdoms make alliances…
734 BCE
The Syro-Ephraimite War
The Syro-Ephraimite War: Date
734 BCE
The Syro-Ephraimite War: Parties Involved
Syria and Israel
- Syro: Aram/Syria
- Ephraim: Israel (Ephraim is the son of Joseph who is the son of Israel; sometimes Ephraim is used as the place name instead of Israel)
The Syro-Ephraimite War: Reason
TP III is in charge of Assyria, and he attempts to gain control of the Levant. Assyria is going after the surrounding nations, and Aram/Syria is the closest (Israel is second-closest).
Aram/Syria and Israel create an alliance…
King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and King Pekah of Israel want to make an alliance with King Ahaz of Judah to hold off the Assyrians.
They invite Judah to be a part of their alliance. King Ahaz of Judah refuses the alliance with Syria and Israel (Judah says no).
Aram-Israel (Syria and Israel) respond to the rejection by attacking Judah. Judah was a vassal to Israel because it was the smaller part of the relationship, so Israel was right for attacking Judah.
That is why it is called the Syro-Ephraimite war…
King Ahaz of Judah seeks support from Assyria and becomes a vassal to Assyria for help (2 Kings 16) (this is the worst thing they could have done in the long term, but looked good for them in the short-term) → Suzerainty Treaty.
The panic in these smaller kingdoms resulted in making alliances
Who is the major prophet of Judah?
Isaiah (740-400 BCE)
When Judah encounters questions of alliances with other nations and the threat of political domination, there is more influence by the prophets. Judah is the one who has supplied us with history so there is more of a record.
The major prophet of Judah is Isaiah, son of Amoz.
Book of Isaiah
Divided into 3 parts with distinct time periods of composition:
( 1 ) First Isaiah (1-39) → 740-700 BCE (the time of Isaiah of Jerusalem)
( 2 ) Second Isaiah (40-55) → 6th c. (end of Babylonian Exile)
Deutero-Isaiah: probably written by a follower of Isaiah (shows the development of prophetic schools, were prophets would accumulate followers who would preserve their schools)
( 3 ) Third Isaiah → 5th c. (post-exilic)
Isaiah’s Prophecy: Date
740-700
Isaiah of Jerusalem
Judean upper class, consulted by kings.
Isaiah’s prophecies contain temple and Royal imagery. His wife is known as the prophet in the book named after him.
His Message & Prediction:
Hypocritical worship is something that is disgusting to God. People are worshipping God by “lip-service”; they do not actually mean it.
Isaiah foretells the destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria. The North is going to be crushed by Assyria as a result of their hypocrisy, and it happened
For Judah to remain strong, they must not enter into alliances with other nations
Isaiah’s call narrative involved a heavenly vision.
