The Iron Age, Imperialism, and the Prophets

Abstract

Hebrew prophecy and much else in the Bible was a product of the two and a half centuries from 750 to 500 BCE,* the historical juncture when the center of civilization was about to be wrenched from the Near East to Europe. Hebrew prophecy is generally regarded as the greatest and most lasting and influential artistic creation of a powerful but dying near eastern civilization built upon imperialism and the newly harnessed technology of the Iron Age. We know of three major waves of Hebrew prophecy. Each accompanied a wave of imperial conquest, first by Assyria in the late eighth century, then by Babylonia in the late seventh and early sixth centuries, and finally by Persia in the mid-sixth century. Each empire had its own character and motives and stimulated a distinct wave of prophecy, led by Isaiah ben Amoz during the Assyrian heyday, by Jeremiah and Ezekiel at the time of Babylonian supremacy and by Second Isaiah (the anonymous poetry appended to the book of Isaiah) during the rise of Persian hegemony. While prophecy was not confined to Israel, the phenomenon of prophetic poetry as it developed in Israel was unique and without a real parallel elsewhere (Bright 1965, p. xix). It is one of the outstanding creative achievements in literary history and its impact on civilization is incalculable.