Abstract
This study challenges the popular assumption that the prophetic understanding of the role of cult in the religion of Ancient Israel was essentially different from the Priestly source. First, it re‑evaluates and outlines the role of certain basic cultic concepts (namely sacrifice, impurity and holiness) from the Priestly source, and then applies them to the text of Isa 1, especially to the so‑called cult‑critical v. 10–17. No serious discrepancy emerges; in fact, reading Isa 1 through the lenses of the Priestly source seems to be more intelligible. Therefore, to label this text as cult‑critical is simply wrong. The currently in vogue dialectic negation approach to this and similar texts (emphasizing ethics over cult) is also misleading. Judging by Isa 1, the prophet understood cult essentially just like the priests. He was well aware of the grave danger when mixing it with impurity caused by sinful behaviour. His passionate cry for ethics and overall purity resulted from this concept of cult and from his desire to maintain the presence of the Holy One of Israel in her midst.
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