DRAFT: A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 51-52

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 28 August 2024 *

Fig. 1

Introduction

This study treats Isaiah 51:1-52:12 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

Isaiah 51:1-52:12 primarily makes predictions regarding the restoration of Israel and the coming of the Messiah at the start of the Millennial Reign.

Discussion

1. Presuppositions

We base our parse of Isaiah 51:1-52:12 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:

1. The Judahites are Freed in Babylon after the Medo-Persian invasion (c. 539-535BC).
2. The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD).
3. The Start of Christ's Glorious Millennial Reign (circa 2027AD).

2. Parsing the chiasmus

We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.

Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the time of the Medo-Persian invasion of Babylon Period 1, the Massacre of Judahites in 70AD Period 2, and the Start of the Millennial Reign Period 3.

Categorizing Isaiah 51:1-52:12

Ch 51 vs 1-16 belong to Period 3. Israelites around the world will be redeemed and restored into a glorious New Israel, and the coming Messiah will be their ruler.

Ch 51 vs 17 belong to Period 1. The Judahites are to "arise" after their time of punishment in Babylon. ( We treat all passages that have the "wine" metaphor as belonging to this Period.)

Ch 51 vs 18-20 belong to Period 2. Jerusalem faces the wrath of God - the Judahites are killed by sword and famine during the Roman attack. ( Although the Judahites were oppressed in Babylon in Period 1, only in this Period do they suffer to the extent described in this passage.)

Ch 51 vs 21-23 belong to Period 1. The Judahites have completed their time of punishment, and now the Babylonians face God's wrath. The "wine" metaphor is continued from the corresponding subunit above.

Ch 52 vs 1-12 belongs to Period 3. The Israelites are physically and spiritually restored. The coming Messiah brings good news.

Original text

We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.

Isaiah 51 1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. 3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Law [a] will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. 5 My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way. My [b] arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.
7 “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”
9 Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? 11 Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass, 13 that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy? Where [c] is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may establish the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are my people.' [d]
17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.
18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand. 19 These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and destruction, famine and sword— who can console you? 20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God.
21 Now listen to this [e], you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. 22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. 23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

Retranslation notes for Isaiah 51
[a] vs 4 "Law" instead of "Instruction". For the parallelism.
[b] vs 5 "way. My" instead of "way, and my". To accentuate the chiastic structure.
[c] vs 13 "as he makes ready to destroy? Where" instead of "who is bent on destruction? For where". Based on the NASB.
[d] vs 16 "And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may establish the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are my people.'" instead of "I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand— I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, ‘You are my people.’".
[e] vs 21 "Now listen to this" instead of "Therefore hear this".


Isaiah 52 1 Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. 2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion.[a]
3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”
4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; then Assyria oppressed them without cause.[b].
5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord.
“For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.
6 Surely [c] my people will know my name; Surely [d] in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”
7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good tidings, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!" [e]
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord [f]. 12 But you will not leave in trepidation or go as fugitives [g]; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Retranslation notes for Isaiah 52
[a] vs 2 "Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion" instead of "Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive".
[b] vs 4 "then Assyria oppressed them without cause" instead of "lately, Assyria has oppressed them".
[c,d] vs 6 "Surely" instead of "Therefore".
[e] vs 7 'How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good tidings, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!"' instead of 'How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”'. Changed from plural to singular ("him" instead of "those"), based on the KJV.
[f] vs 11 "vessels of the Lord" instead of "articles of the LORD’s house".
[g] vs 12 "leave in trepidation or go as fugitives" instead of "leave in haste or go in flight".

3. Building the reconfigured text

From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 51:1-52:12 forms a cryptochiasmus as below:

A1   Ch 51 vs 1-16 Period 3. The Israelites are redeemed and restored
  B1   Ch 51 vs 17 Period 1. The Judahites' atonement is ended
    X   Ch 51 vs 18-20 Period 2. Jerusalem faces the wrath of God in 70AD.
  B2   Ch 51 vs 21-23 Period 1. God punishes ancient Babylon
A2   Ch 52 vs 1-12 Period 3. Israel is spiritually and physically restored

We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (For example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For example, A1,A2 is a unit ) so that we get a list of such units.

The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

X  [A1,A2]  [B1,B2]        (1)

Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:

Ch 51 vs 18-20   [Ch 51 vs 1-16, Ch 52 vs 1-12]   [Ch 51 vs 17, Ch 51 vs 21-23]        (2)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).

4. Isaiah 51:1-52:12 Reconfigured

The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 51 vs 18-20)



The Start of Christ's Glorious Millennial Reign (circa 2027AD) (Ch 51 vs 1-16, Ch 52 vs 1-12)

Chiasmus 1: God will reign over the earth from a restored Israel


Chiasmus 2: The Israelites gather in the New Israel and the coming Messiah reigns over them


Chiasmus 3: The Israelites are physically and spiritually redeemed and restored



The Judahites are Freed in Babylon after the Medo-Persian invasion (c 539-535BC) (Ch 51 vs 17, Ch 51 vs 21-23)

5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.1 The Destruction of Jerusalem (70AD) during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 51 vs 18-20)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 51:18 The Romans attack Jerusalem
    X 51:19 The plight of Jerusalem after the war
A2 51:20 The Romans attack Jerusalem


Subunit A1: The Romans attack Jerusalem (51:18)

Chapter 51 18 Among all the children she bore there was none to guide her; among all the children she reared there was none to take her by the hand.

At the start of the First Jewish-Roman War, most of the Judahite leadership was executed by the Roman governor Gessius Florus; also, the righteous Judahites took Jesus' advice to flee to the mountains (Matthew 24:15-18). So the remaining Judahites ended up besieged in Jerusalem with no good leadership (see Isaiah 3:2-6,12).

Pivot X: The plight of Jerusalem after the war (51:19)

Chapter 51 19 These double calamities have come upon you— who can comfort you?— ruin and destruction, famine and sword— who can console you?

This verse, appears to be a lament on the plight of the Judahites after the war. Two great calamities came over the Judahites:

• Devastation of property ("ruin and destruction") - Jerusalem and its temple were looted and destroyed. The land and vegetation of Judea was also destroyed, and even its animals were affected (Joel 1:8-2:3).
• The slaughter of the people ("famine and sword") - Many Judahites died through a siege-induced famine; the famine was exacerbated by a Judahite faction that burned the stores of food in the city. Most of the Judahites were killed by the unsparing Roman sword (see Ezekiel 5:12).

For their wickedness, the Judahites were most severely punished, with no one to console them, with no one left to console. ( See our parse of the 70 Weeks of Daniel [2] for details on this Period.)

Subunit A2: The Romans attack Jerusalem (51:20)

Chapter 51 20 Your children have fainted; they lie at every street corner, like antelope caught in a net. They are filled with the wrath of the Lord, with the rebuke of your God.

Through this war, God, in His wrath, used the Romans to starve and kill the wicked Judahites in Jerusalem and to take the few remaining into captivity (Jerusalem is addressed in this passage, and its "children" are the Judahites).

5.2 The Start of Christ's Glorious Millennial Reign (circa 2027AD) (Ch 51 vs 1-16, Ch 52 vs 1-12)

This Period is structured as a series of 3 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: God will reign over the earth from a restored Israel

In this chiasmus, God comforts the Israelites in the times before the Millennial Reign.

The passage below in 51:1-8 is structured as a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 51:1-3 God will bless righteous Israelites: He will redeem and restore them
    X 51:4-5 God will rule the earth through the Messiah and the New Israel
A2 51:6-8 God will bless righteous Israelites: He will bless them forever

Subunit A1: God will bless righteous Israelites: He will redeem and restore them (51:1-3)

Chapter 51 1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; 2 look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. 3 The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.

God had miraculously blessed the Israelites' righteous forefather Abraham - the rock out of which they were cut - in many ways; for instance, He had turned the barren couple, Abraham and Sarah, into the large population that the Israelites now are (Gen. 22:17,18). God comforts the righteous among the Israelites, promising that He will similarly bless them; for after the long period of destitution that they have suffered ("ruins", "deserts", "wasteland"), Israel ("Zion") will be turned into a prosperous, ever growing, Edenic land - a place of joy and thanksgiving (see also Isaiah 29:17-19, Isaiah 35:1-4, Joel 2:18,19...).

Pivot X: God will rule the earth through the Messiah and the New Israel (51:4-5)

Chapter 51 4 “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: Law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.
5a My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way.
5b My arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.

God comforts the Israelites ("my people"), saying that He will soon save the world from Satan's evil tyranny and begin His righteous reign through them. During the Millennial Reign, the nations of the world ("islands") will look to the coming Messiah, God's "arm", for law and justice from God and Christ, and so the world will enjoy a time of peace and prosperity (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 11:1-10). ( Note the chiastic structure of this passage, with the pivot, vs 5a, indicating that the Lord's reign will begin soon.)

The "arm of the Lord" can refer to different things in different prophecies. In this prophecy, it refers to the coming Messiah of the Millennial Reign.

Subunit A2: God will bless righteous Israelites: He will bless them forever (51:6-8)

Chapter 51 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. 7 “Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have taken my instruction to heart: Do not fear the reproach of mere mortals or be terrified by their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment; the worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever, my salvation through all generations.”

The seemingly permanent heavens and the earth and everything in them will eventually vanish (2 Peter 3:10-11), but God's salvation and righteousness will be for ever (cf. Matt. 24:35). God comforts the righteous among the Israelites; He tells them they are not to fear the taunts and threats of the wicked and the non-believers, for their end will come, but the righteous will live and thrive forever, during and after the Millennial Reign (cf. Psalm 102:26, Matt. 10:28).

Chiasmus 2: The Israelites gather in the New Israel and the coming Messiah reigns over them

The passage below in 51:9-16 is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 51:9-10 The mighty God empowers His Messiah
  B1 51:11 The rescued Israelites gather in the New Israel
    X 51:12-13a The Israelites need not fear the Beast army
  B2 51:13b-14 The rescued Israelites gather in the New Israel
A2 51:15-16 The mighty God empowers His Messiah


Subunit A1: The mighty God empowers His Messiah (51:9-10)

Chapter 51 9a Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength!

God calls upon the coming Messiah ("Arm of the Lord") to prepare himself ("Awake, awake", "clothe yourself with strength") for His Messianic duties. He is referred to as the "Arm of the Lord", because he acts as a human implementer of God's will on earth.

Chapter 51 9b Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over?

The coming Messiah is an incarnation of the Archangel Michael, the prince and protector of the Israelites from the spiritual realm from ancient times (see Daniel 12:1, Isaiah 63:12). On behalf of God, Michael had parted the Red Sea to enable the Israelites ("redeemed") to escape from the Egyptians (see Isaiah 63:11-14, Exodus 14), and he had utterly destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army by closing up the sea over them ("cut Rahab in pieces", "pierced that monster through"; "Rahab" the "monster" represents Egypt - as in Isaiah 30:7, Psalm 89:10). In the same way, the Messiah will now destroy the modern "Rahab", the Beast empire, and rescue the Israelites from Satan's army (see Isaiah 63:1-3).

Subunit B1: The rescued Israelites gather in the New Israel (51:11)

Chapter 51 11 Those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

The Israelite diaspora had been held hostage by Satan's wicked forces, and some of them had even been enslaved (see Joel 3:2-8), but with Satan's empires defeated, the Israelites around the world are rescued and gather in the New Israel (see also Isaiah 35:10).

Pivot X: The Israelites need not fear the Beast army (51:12-13a)

Chapter 51 12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mere mortals, human beings who are but grass,
13a1 that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretches out the heavens and who lays the foundations of the earth,
13a2 that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, as he makes ready to destroy?

At the end of the reign of Satan's oppressive Beast empire, it prepares to attack the New Israel ("he makes ready to destroy") (see Ezekiel 39). The Israelites are in terror of this mighty army; so God comforts His people ("who are you to fear..." indicates that they are His chosen), telling them not to fear the mere mortals that come against them, for He, the creator of all things, is their protector. ( Note the chiastic structure of this passage, with the pivot, 13a1, regarding the greatness of God.)

Subunit B2: The rescued Israelites gather in the New Israel (51:13b-14)

Chapter 51 13b Where is the wrath of the oppressor? 14 The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread.

The enslaved Israelites of the diaspora are set free (see Joel 3:2-8) - they no longer languish in harsh prisons.

Subunit A2: The mighty God empowers His Messiah (51:15-16)

Chapter 51 15 For I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name. 16 And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may establish the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say to Zion, ‘You are my people.'

This passage is spoken by the Lord Almighty, creator and sustainer of the world ("who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar" is an example of His credentials - see also Jer. 31:35) and it is addressed to the coming Messiah (the "Arm of the Lord" in 51:9 in the corresponding subunit A1).

God instructs the coming Messiah on the truth that he must publish to Israel and the world ("my words in your mouth") (see also Isaiah 11:1-2). The Lord hides the identity of the Messiah from the world ("covered you in the shadow of my hand") until his time comes, to protect him from the wicked (see also Isaiah 49:2 - the Messiah will be at least 49 years old when he is revealed to the world, based on our parse of Daniel 9 [2]).

For God plans to alter the administrative structure of the heaven and earth ("that I may establish the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth"), so that the world is no longer controlled by Satan and "Babylon", but ruled instead by Christ and the righteous angels of God through Israel ("Zion"), the land of the coming Messiah and the faithful of God ("You are my people") (see also Isaiah 9:6,7).

Chiasmus 3: The Israelites are physically and spiritually redeemed and restored

The passage below in 52:1-12 is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 52:1-2 The Israelites are spiritually restored
  B1 52:3-5 The Israelites are physically restored: They had been dishonoured during Satan's reign
    X 52:6-7 The coming Messiah will teach the Israelites about God and His prophecies
  B2 52:8-10 The Israelites are physically restored: They are are honoured during God's reign
A2 52:11-12 The Israelites are spiritually restored


Subunit A1: The Israelites are spiritually restored (52:1-2)

Chapter 52 1 Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. 2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion.

Israel ("Zion/Jerusalem"), which had been under the influence of false religions up till this Period, will "awake" to its God at the start of the Millennial Reign to become a spiritually splendorous nation ("the holy city"). It will be a nation that is solely made up of the righteous ("undefiled") and those who are dedicated to their God (those "circumcised" in the heart - Romans 2:29). Israel will "break the bonds" of spiritual ignorance that it had been cursed with (Isaiah 29:9-10), and will become the blessed nation of God ("Shake off your dust", "sit enthroned").

Subunit B1: The Israelites are physically restored: They had been dishonoured during Satan's reign (52:3-5)

Chapter 52 3 For this is what the Lord says:
“You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.”

Agreements must occur in the spiritual realm before any major political transaction takes place between nations on earth (cf. Isaiah 43:3, Dan 10:20). God had handed over the Israelites into captivity as punishment for their wickedness, and He did not benefit from the transaction ("sold for nothing") (cf. Psalm 44:12, Isaiah 50:1), so He will now redeem them without recompense ("without money") (cf. Isaiah 43:3). ( This passage is addressed to the Israelites, particularly the Northern Tribes.)

Chapter 52 4 For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“At first my people went down to Egypt to live; then Assyria oppressed them without cause.
5 “And now what do I have here?” declares the Lord. “For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,” declares the Lord. “And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed.

Long ago, the Israelites, who had been living in Egypt, were enslaved there (Exodus 1:13,14), and later the Northern Tribes had been exiled and oppressed by the Assyrians (see, 2 Kings 15:29, 2 Kings 17:6, 2 Kings 18:13), though the Israelites had not harmed these nations ("without cause"). Now, in the time before the Millennial Reign, some of the Israelites have been once again taken away by Satan's forces for no fault of theirs (see Joel 3:4-6). They are mocked by their oppressors, and their God is blasphemed (cf. Rev 13:5,6), but they will soon be redeemed and liberated by their God.

Pivot X: The coming Messiah will teach the Israelites about God and His prophecies (52:6-7)

Chapter 52 6 Surely my people will know my name; surely in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.”

God will now reveal Himself to the Northern Tribes after hiding His face from them for millennia (Deuteronomy 31:17-18). Prophecy will be explained through the Messiah, as detailed below, and will prove to be accurate, so convincing the Israelites that their God is the one true God.

Chapter 52 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings good tidings, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!"

The coming Messiah explains prophecy and brings the good news of salvation from Satan's oppression and of the coming prosperous, peaceful Millennial Reign of God and Christ ("Your God reigns") (see also Isa. 9:6). According to 11QMelch (11QMelchizedek is a Qumran/"Dead Sea Scroll" pesher/commentary), this passage predicts that the coming Messiah will interpret ("feet upon") the writings of the prophets (the "mountains" are the prophecies), so showing the world their beauty and accuracy (see similar passage in Nahum 1:15). The pesher also links this passage to Daniel 9:25, which also predicts the coming of an anointed one who explains prophecies [2]. ( Paul applies a paraphrase of this text to the ministers of the gospel of his time in Romans 10:15, but that is not to be treated as a fulfilment of this prophecy. )

Subunit B2: The Israelites are physically restored: They are are honoured during God's reign (52:8-10)

Chapter 52 8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.

Jesus appoints "watchmen" angels who pray for the restoration of Israel ("Zion") (see Isaiah 62:6,7). They are joyful at seeing with their own eyes that God has once again made Israel His nation.

Chapter 52 9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.

The Israelites are joyful at seeing that God has restored them. The Lord redeems a destitute Israel ("Jerusalem") from Satan's forces and comforts His people after their time of tribulation. The identity of the coming Messiah, God's "Holy Arm" (see also 51:5,9), is revealed to the world ("laid bare"), and the Messiah defeats Satan's forces ("salvation") at the start of his reign (cf. Rev 19:16-21).

Subunit A2: The Israelites are spiritually restored (52:11-12)

Chapter 52 11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord.

Israel is to stop ("Depart") its worship of idols and fallen angels ("touch no unclean thing") so that it is spiritually pure, and the nation is to return to the worship of the God of their ancestors. This passage is addressed to the nation of Israel (as in Subunit A1), which carries the vessels of the Lord, the Israelites (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16,17). ( The apostle Paul, in 2 Cor. 6:17-18, applied this verse to Christians, who are to be separate from worldly influences, and especially to stay away from idol-worship.)

Chapter 52 12 But you will not leave in trepidation or go as fugitives; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Israel need not fear, because the Lord will protect the nation during this spiritual transition - He will lead them from the front into the proper worship of the God of their ancestors, and He will be their rearguard, defending them from the fallen angels / idol gods they abandoned (cf. Exodus 13:21, 14:19).

5.3 The Judahites are Freed in Babylon after the Medo-Persian invasion (c 539-535BC) (Ch 51 vs 17, Ch 51 vs 21-23)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 51:17 God's wrath passes from the Judahites to their oppressors
    X 51:21-22 The Judahites will never be enslaved again
A2 51:23 God's wrath passes from the Judahites to their oppressors


Subunit A1: God's wrath passes from the Judahites to their oppressors (51:17)

Chapter 51 17 Awake, awake! Rise up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes people stagger.

The Judahites, who had been adequately punished ("drained to its dregs") for their waywardness, are to shake off their despondence (they are to "awake from the drunkenness" of tribulation) (see Dan 9:1-19). The metaphor of "drunkenness" representing the effects of God's wrath is used throughout the passages of this Period.

Pivot X: The Judahites will never be enslaved again (51:21-22)

Chapter 51 21 Now listen to this, you afflicted one, made drunk, but not with wine. 22 This is what your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again.

The Judahites are now freed from their Babylonian oppressors (they are no longer "drunk with affliction") by God, their defender, through the Medo-Persians (539BC) (Dan 5:22-30). They will, as a nation, never be exiled and enslaved again.

Subunit A2: God's wrath passes from the Judahites to their oppressors (51:23)

23 I will put it into the hands of your tormentors, who said to you, ‘Fall prostrate that we may walk on you.’ And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked on.”

The cruel Babylonians that oppressed and humiliated the Judahites (made them "like a street to be walked on") will now drink the "wine" of God's wrath through the Medo-Persian invaders (539BC) (see also Jer. 50 11-13,18).

Conclusion

With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we have shown that Isaiah 51:1-52:12 contains prophecies on three distinct Periods. In Period 1, the Judahites are released after their punishment in Babylon, and in Period 3, the Israelites are spiritually and physically freed, so that they can gather in the splendid New Israel.

References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"





* First version published on 6 January 2022.