Reflections of Empire in Isaiah 11:1-10, Formation of Isaiah Section

In my recent book, Reflections of Empire in Isaiah 1-39: Responses to Assyrian Imperialism (SBL ANEM 19, 2017), I argued that many passages in Isaiah 1-39 respond to Assyrian claims of empire. These claims became known in Judah in the late eighth century, and posed theological challenges for the author of Isaiah and other Judahites. In response to these challenges, many passages in Isaiah integrate specific motifs, terms, and narrative elements we know from Assyrian inscriptions, while subverting the ideology that these intended to support. Thus, motifs and terms that are used in their original context to support Assyrian ideologies of universal dominion and royal invincibility are re-worked in Isaiah 1-39 to describe the universal dominion of YHWH and His transcendent power. In this presentation, I will explore how Isaiah 11:1-10 re-works motifs we know from Assyrian royal ideology in order to present an image of a king whose power rivals that of Assyria, but whose royal ideology is diametrically opposed to that of Assyria. The passage operates within the larger context of the unit Isaiah 10:5-12:6, in the first part of which Assyria's claims of universal dominion are taken as an obstinate refusal to submit to YHWH and an illicit repudiation of His universal rule. Isa 11:1-10 desist from the attack on Assyria found through much of Isa 10* in favour of a more subtle approach. The passage describes how a local Judahite king will replace Assyria's king as the one on whom Judah relies politically. But unlike Assyria, this Judahite king will recognize Divine Sovereignty and revel in it. By Isa 11:10, this relationship has developed into a mutually-supportive relationship with YHWH, which mirrors the relationship that the Assyrian texts describe between the king of Assyria and the god Assur. Several examples of the use of Assyrian motifs in this passage follow. Isa 11:2-4 emphasize that the new king will rule not by force but by virtue and Divine inspiration. This is emphasized in 11:5, in which righteousness and truth replace weapons. The absence of weapons here is striking, and may respond to the Assyrian texts' emphasis of same as a royal attribute, and to their mention of "the weapon of Assur" (on which see Steven Holloway, Assur is King! Assur is King! [2002]). Isa 11:5-8 deploy animal imagery to highlight the recognition of a sovereign who does not permit anyone to harm others. The correlation between the threatening animals and recognizing a sovereign subverts the Assyrian literary trope of the animal hunt, in which the Assyrian king was required to subdue lions and other beasts in order to demonstrate his kingliness. Here, the new king achieves obedience without fighting any beasts. Isa. 10:10c demonstrates close correspondence to the Akkadian expression "$ubat nehti" used to describe the Assyrian king's care for his people. This phrase is here applied to the universal appeal of the new king, whose rise is described in 11:1-10.