Since the 1950s, German scholars began to draw attention to the prolific use of עצה/יעץ in the Book of Isaiah (e.g. Fichtner, Wildberger, von Rad). By the 1970s, the concept of Yhwh’s plan/counsel was said to constitute “a primary datum of Isaianic preaching” (Whedbee). While in this early period the impetus of research fell on the Sitz im Leben of the prophet, the rise of canonical and synchronic approaches gradually promoted a greater concern for Isaiah qua book. Although helpful synchronic treatments of divine and human plans in Isaiah have appeared in recent years (Abernethy 2020; Hibbard 2024), more can be said on the centrality of Yhwh’s plan(s) in the book’s “narrative logic” (Stromberg 2020).
With close attention to Leitwörter and intratextual developments, I argue that the “signal flag” and “coming from afar” tropes function as corollaries of Yhwh’s plan (5:26 > 5:19 > 5:12) and together play a key role in the book’s portrayal of God’s program for Zion and the nations. The description of an army of “nation(s) from afar” (לגוים מרחוק, 5:26) that comes (בוא) in connection with Yhwh’s עצה (5:19) gives way to several references to God mobilizing nations to discipline, protect, and rehabilitate Zion-Jerusalem. Within this complex belong passages depicting the arrival of Assyria (7:18–19; 37:6), the collapse of the Syro-Ephraimite coalition (8:1–4; 10:3), the ultimate defeat and historic arrival of Babylon (13:1–5; 39:3), and the repopulation of Zion with Yhwh’s sons and daughters (43:6; 49:12, 22; 60:4, 9). This intricate web of intratextual relations shows that the concept of Yhwh’s plan(s) drives Isaiah’s plot-line forward. Future studies will benefit from closer attention to this motif’s critical function in the book’s unfolding.
This paper synthesizes an aspect of my recently defended dissertation.