First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods

Isaiah 139 uses the unique term usually translated as idols more than anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Using this linguistic phenomenon as a point of departure, Matthew J. Lynch reexamines the rhetorical strategies of First Isaiah, revealing a stronger monotheizing rhetoric than previously recognized. Standard accounts of Israelite religion frequently insist that monotheism reached its apex during the exile, and especially in Deutero-Isaiah. By contrast, Lynchs study brings to light an equally potent mode of monotheizing in First Isaiah. Lynch identifies three related rhetorical tendencies that emphasize yhwhs supreme uniqueness: a rhetoric of avoidance, referring to other deities as idols () to avoid conferring on them the status of gods (); a rhetoric of exaltation, emphasizing yhwhs truly exalted status in opposition to all that which exalted itself; and a rhetoric of abasement, fully subjugating all other claimants to absolute powerwhether human or divinebefore the divine king. Succinctly and persuasively argued, Lynchs book will change how biblical scholars understand the nature and development of Israelite monotheism.