BIBLE STUDY: November 20th
Antiphon:
O Radix Jesse, Veni ad liberándum nos, jam noli tardáre. |
O Stock of Jesse, Come to deliver us, and do not delay. |
Cf.
In die illa radix Jesse qui stat in signum populórum; ipsum gentes deprecabúntur [Isaiah 11:10]
On that day, the root of Jesse stands as a signal for the peoples; the nations shall seek him out.
and
Super ipsum continébunt reges os suum [Isaiah 52:15]
kings shall stand speechless before him.
The Meeting
The meeting opened with prayer.
Isaiah & the place of the Prophets in the Old Testament
Members were given a list of the books of the Old Testament, divided into four sections: the Pentateuch, the
Historical Books, the Wisdom Books, the Prophetic Books. Beside each section were some notes about the section
(click here to see list with notes). We concentrated our
attention on the Prophetic Books with their concern for the the universal nature of moral law, with
personal responsibility and with the coming of the Messiah
Isaiah is perhaps the most familiar of the prophets since we hear readings from Isaiah at Mass every Advent. Members, doing their "homework", had discovered there was more than one Isaiah.
We found that Isaiah was called to be a prophet in the year King Uzziah died (740 BC). It was a time when the Hebrews were divided into the Kingdom of Israel (the 10 northern tribes) and the Kingdom of Judah (the 2 southern tribes). The northern Kingdom was being threatened by the Assyrians, who eventually captured it and carried off its people, dispersing them throughout their Empire (c. 720 BC). The Assyrians also threatened Jerusalem and the southern Kingdom, but Jerusalem was saved without a battle and the Judah survived, though Isaiah, a Jew, foresaw that his own nation would one day fall. He looked forward, however, to an age when a remnant of the people would rebuild their nation and peace and justice come under a future descendant of David. It was against this background that Isaiah wrote (chapters 1 to 39).
Judah remained independent until 586 BC, when it was captured by the Babylonians and the Jews were taken into exile. In the first part of the book, some prophecies dating from the period of the Babylonian captivity appear (chapters 13 & 14, 24 to 27, and 33 to 35).
Towards the end of the Babylonian exile, some fine and very profound prophecies were made by a writer, sometimes known as 'Deutero-Isaiah' (i.e. second Isaiah). He may in fact have also been named Isaiah (Yesha'yah); we just do not know. His prophecies, chapters 40 to 55, are called the 'Consolation of Israel' which look forward to God's comforting his people and restoring them to Jerusalem.
The last part of the Book, chapters 56 to 66 contain prophecies from different dates, from the call of the
first Isaiah (740 BC) until the restoration of Jerusalem 444 BC).
Isaiah, chapters 11 and 12.
We saw that most of the Antiphon, and the chapters we would be reading this evening, were from the early
Isaiah, but that the words "kings fall silent before you" are taken from one of the 'second' Isaiah's
'Songs of the Servant of the LORD' where the song prophesies the future suffering of the Servant of the LORD. We
understood from this that although the Antiphon is mainly focused on the coming of the Messiah from the line of
David to be the Saviour of all peoples, there was a hint of the suffering that the Messiah would undergo in order
to bring about that Salvation.
We then read and studied chapters 11 and 12 in four sections:
- Isaiah 11:1-5
1
But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
2
The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
3
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide,
4
But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
5
Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
We saw in the first verse an image of a tree which has been cut down, leaving only a stump; then one day a new shoot appears from the stump and on the shoot a bud appears which blossoms. We understood by this that Isaiah foresees that the dynasty of David, son of Jesse, already weakened by the division of the Kingdom after Solomon's death, will be cut down when his nation falls. But that one day, from the remnant of the House of David, the 'stump of Jesse', a new King, the Messiah, will arise.
We noted that, 3a "and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD" were variously translated in different versions of the Bible and, indeed, omitted altogether in one version. It seems that some authorities take 3a to be a gloss on the "the fear of the LORD" at the end of verse 2. We saw, however, that in the Septuagint and Vulgate versions (prior to the 'New Vulgate' of 1979), a literal translation would give, for the the end of verse 2 and verse 3a: "... a spirit of knowledge and piety; a spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill him." The old Vulgate text in fact lists the 'Seven Gifts of the Holy Sprit'. The Messiah will be filled with Holy Spirit, in the plenitude of his seven gifts.
The Messiah will be absolutely just and faithful. He will deal firmly but entirely justly with all.
- Isaiah 11:6-9.
6
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.
7
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
8
The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
9
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.
We saw in this more than just an idealized picture of the peace and harmony of paradise; we saw this as a poetic prophecy of the new creation that John speaks of in the Apocalypse: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away" (Apocalypse 21:1). When Christ shall come again and all will be made new in him.
Verse 9 reminded us of the hymn:
God is working his purpose out
as year succeeds to year:
God is working his purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled
with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.After Christ has returned to judge the living and dead, "the universe itself, freed from its bondage to decay, will share in the glory of Christ .... [and] God will then be 'all in all' (1 Corinthians 15:28) in eternal life" (Compendium of the Catechism 216).
- Isaiah 11:10-16.
10
On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.
11
On that day, The Lord shall again take it in hand to reclaim the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria and Egypt, Pathros, Ethiopia, and Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the isles of the sea.
12
He shall raise a signal to the nations and gather the outcasts of Israel; The dispersed of Judah he shall assemble from the four corners of the earth.
13
The envy of Ephraim shall pass away, and the rivalry of Judah be removed; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be hostile to Ephraim;
14
But they shall swoop down on the foothills of the Philistines to the west, together they shall plunder the Kedemites; Edom and Moab shall be their possessions, and the Ammonites their subjects.
15
The LORD shall dry up the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and wave his hand over the Euphrates in his fierce anger And shatter it into seven streamlets, so that it can be crossed in sandals.
16
There shall be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, As there was for Israel when he came up from the land of Egypt.
We understood from verse 10 that the Messiah will be like a signal or raised standard to the world, and that not only the Jews but gentiles as well, i.e. all peoples, will be drawn to him.
It was explained that the places mentioned in verse 11 are places where God's people lived in exile: Pathros was in upper Egypt; Elam was in southern Iran; Shinar was Mesopotamia in which Babylon was situated; Hamath was on the Orontes River in Syria; the Isles are coastlands of the Mediterranean. The prophet looks forward to the return of his nation after their exile.
It was explained that as Ephraim was the most dominant tribe of the northern Kingdom of Israel, the name Ephraim became used as a synonym for the northern Kingdom (just as the southern Kingdom was named from the most dominant of its two tribes). In verse 13 the prophet looks forward to the reunion of the two kingdoms in a new Israel. In fact, after their capture by the Assyrians and their dispersal throughout the Assyrian Empire, the northern tribes were lost to history; only the southern kingdom of Judah was restored. We see the fulfilling of this prophecy in the establishment of the New Israel, the Church, under Jesus, the promised Messiah.
Verses 14 to 16 look to the restoration of Israel and hark back to the original settlement of the Holy Land under Joshua several centuries earlier and, indeed, to the exodus from Egypt which preceded it. We saw this as a 'type' of Christ's defeat of evil, with its deliverance from the bondage of sin, in the establishment of the New Israel.
- Isaiah, chapter 12.
1
On that day, you will say:
I give you thanks, O LORD;
though you have been angry with me,
your anger has abated,
and you have consoled me.2
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.3
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain ofsalvation.4
On that day, you will say:
Give thanks to the LORD,
acclaim his name among the nations
make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.5
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.6
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!The prophet gives a psalm of praise which will be given when Israel is restored. We see this as a psalm of praise for Christ's establishment of the New Israel and his reconciliation of creation with his Father through his incarnation, passion, death and triumphant resurrection. As one member observed, the psalm is suitable both for Christmas and for Easter.
The psalm also looks forward to 'That Day' when Christ shall come again and all will be made new in him and God will be all in all.
For next week
Those present were reminded that next week shall reading again from the
prophet Isaiah as we consider the 'O Clavis David' Antiphon. Members were asked in the meantime to consider Apocalypse 3:7 and
to find out about the 'Songs of the Servant of the LORD' in Isaiah chapters 50 to 55 (see 'November 27th: O Clavis David' in
the menu bar).
Conclusion
We finished the meeting by praying the 'O Radix Jesse' Antiphon and calling on the intercession of Our Lady, the Mother of
the Messiah.
Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American
Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.
