The conflict between Israelite prophecy and Babylonian astronomy in Isaiah 44:25 and 47
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/hn.v2i1.142920Keywords:
Isaiah 44:25, Isaiah 47, Israelite prophecy, Babylonian astronomy, polemicAbstract
Isa 44:25 and 47 refer to astronomy and divination. On the basis of these references some theories place the anti-Babylonian polemic of Isa 47 in the atmosphere of Nabonidus’ conflict with his priests over the moon goddess Šin. This article rejects that Deutero-Isaiah’s authors had specific knowledge of either Babylonian cultic practices or the religious and political situation under the reign of Nabonidus. Instead, it is proposed that Deutero-Isaiah wrote its polemic against Babylonian ideas of communicating with the divine from a Judahite setting. This conflict between Israelite prophecy and Babylonian mantic practices can be reduced to four factors: only YHWH fulfills his plans; Babylonian instrumental divination versus Israelite intuitive prophecy; divinatory wisdom is foolish; YHWH saves.
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