Jerusalem/Zion: a Counter-Imperial Trope in Third Isaiah

Abstract

The Third Isaianic discourse revolves around the theme of Jerusalem/Zion. Researchers have dwelt upon the theme from either a historical plane or an eschatological plane, however, its role as a counter-imperial motif has not been explored. In view of the imperil milieu of the prophetic discourse, this paper argues that Jerusalem is presented as a strategic trope to counter the imperial discourse. Jerusalem in the biblical discourse represents a theological as well as a national symbol. It also symbolizes the colonized self of the Yehud community reeling under the Persian empire. At the same time, Jerusalem and the temple display the narrow nationalistic agenda of the Jerusalem establishment. The prophetic discourse of Trito Isaiah carves out an alternative space, a hybrid space that not only breaks the imperial supremacy but also disrupts the nationalistic hegemony of the Jerusalem establishment. The prophetic discourse imagines an alternative world that undercuts imperial definitions of life. In view of the unity of the book, the paper also brings out that the counter-imperial texture of the theme of Jerusalem in Third Isaianic discourse can be located in the complex growth and the final shaping of the book of Isaiah.