Book contents
- The Origins of Isaiah 24–27
- The Origins of Isaiah 24–27
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The Rhetoric of Chaos
- 2 The Royal and Divine Victory Banquet
- 3 Revivification of the Dead as National Deliverance
- 4 The Lofty City and the Army of the Height
- 5 Josiah and the Remains of Israel
- 6 The Language of Isaiah 24–27 in Light of Hebrew Diachrony
- 7 Stirring the Echoes
- Conclusion
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index of Modern Authors
- Subject Index
- Ancient Text
2 - The Royal and Divine Victory Banquet
Feasting and the Construction of Reality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 June 2019
- The Origins of Isaiah 24–27
- The Origins of Isaiah 24–27
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The Rhetoric of Chaos
- 2 The Royal and Divine Victory Banquet
- 3 Revivification of the Dead as National Deliverance
- 4 The Lofty City and the Army of the Height
- 5 Josiah and the Remains of Israel
- 6 The Language of Isaiah 24–27 in Light of Hebrew Diachrony
- 7 Stirring the Echoes
- Conclusion
- Book part
- Bibliography
- Index of Modern Authors
- Subject Index
- Ancient Text
Summary
This chapter has demonstrated that both gods and human kings were frequently portrayed as celebrating their triumphs with feasting, as a further marker of their sovereignty. The portrayals of divine and human victory, far from being mutually exclusive, were typically synonymous. But not every banquet reflected historical victories; some were aspirational, and some of the aspirations failed. The social function of the victory banquet motif in Isa 24–27 was to summon the people of the former Northern Kingdom to unite themselves to Judah in an enlarged Israel. Josiah’s vision failed in this respect; the political narrative he championed never became reality. As discussed in this chapter and the previous one, however, later scribes appear to have wrestled with and partly salvaged its power.
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- Information
- The Origins of Isaiah 24–27Josiah's Festival Scroll for the Fall of Assyria, pp. 52 - 67Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019