An investigation of the resurrection motif through the invocations of YHWH and paronomasia of Baalim in Isaiah 26:7-19

Abstract

This dissertation enchances the understanding of the resurrection motif in Isaiah 26:19 by investigating of the invocations of YHWH and the paronomasia of Baalim in Isa 26:7–19. A comprehensive review of scholarly opinions on the resurrection motif (v.19) sets the contours of the debate surrounding Isaiah 26:7–19. This is followed by an exegetical study of the passage's features, especially the repeated invocations of YHWH and phonemes פל|בל and their comparative analysis in the contexts of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East (ANE). A literary structure and form of Isaiah 26:7–19 is proposed to provide a better understanding of the resurrection motif. In this study it was found that the high frequency of, specific number and particular addressee titles, are most similar to those attributed to kings in a temple context (2Sam 7:18–29; 1Chr 17:16–27; 2Chr 6:14–42 and Psa 30). The strategic placement of seven invocations throughout the passage suggests an apparent chiastic structure centred on the distinctive invocation phrase, יהוה אלהינו (v.13a). A proposed paronomastic element, בעל, and a paronomastic verb, פעל, flank this phrase. Furthermore, seven בל negations among seventeen phonemes of בל|פל were identified in the passage, a number exceeding their occurrences elsewhere in the Book of Isaiah. The paronomasia of בעל and explicit references to רפאים support previous studies that affirmed their status as patrons of royal dynasties. The precise chiastic structure and intentional deployment of invocations and paronomasia directly counter the contemporary common scholarly opinion that this passage is fragmentary in nature. The subsequent analysis of the form and rhetorical argument of each section showed that the resurrection motif (v.19) emerges as an antithesis to ancestor cult worship.