Who is the True Israel? Community, Identity, and Religious Commitment in Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66)

Abstract

Who is the true Israel? The topic of this essay indicates that, following the Babylonian exile and the return to what was now the Persian province Yehud, there was more than one way of being “Israel.” Third Isaiah (Isaiah 56–66) is a particularly intriguing place to explore the different notions of identity and community. In these eleven chapters, one finds an array of answers, ranging from what today we might call “liberal” to “conservative.” There are two aspects in particular that spark the controversy: the varying views of the relationship between Israel and other nations and the competing claims among different Jewish groups to being the true Israel. It is not only historically but also ethically relevant that Third Isaiah accommodates all these views within one textual framework. There is a sense that in matters of identity, every voice deserves to be heard.