## The conflict between Israelite prophecy and Babylonian astronomy in Isaiah 44:25 and 47

Christiaan Erwich, VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Theology, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV,

c.m.erwich@vu.nl

Abstract :  Isa  44:25 and  47  refer  to astronomy and divination. On the basis of these references some theories place the anti-Babylonian polemic of Isa 47 in the atmosphere of Nabonidus' conflict with his priests over the moon goddess Šin. This article rejects that  Deutero-Isaiah's  authors  had  specific  knowledge  of  either  Babylonian  cultic practices or the religious and political situation under the reign of Nabonidus. Instead, it  is  proposed  that  Deutero-Isaiah  wrote  its  polemic  against  Babylonian  ideas  of communicating with the divine from a Judahite setting. This conflict between Israelite prophecy and Babylonian mantic practices can be reduced to four factors: only YHWH fulfills his plans; Babylonian instrumental divination versus Israelite intuitive prophecy; divinatory wisdom is foolish; YHWH saves.

Keywords : Isaiah 44:25; 47; Israelite prophecy; Babylonian astronomy; polemic.

## Introduction

Within Deutero-Isaiah (henceforth DI) Isa 47 forms in a number of ways the pivotal oracle: in the preceding chapters the main theme is that of a down-trodden Israel in contrast to the descriptions  of  Zion/Jerusalem  and  her  elevation  and  rejoicing  in  the  following  chapters. Chapter  47  is  also  pivotal  in  the  sense  of  being  the  climax  of  polemic  speech  with  its aggressive taunt against Babylon. It informs the people of Israel about YHWH's destructive omnipotence. The mantic implications of an astronomic, omen-based science (47:1-15) are sharply  contrasted  with  the  YHWH-prophecy  (44:25;  47:9-13).  These  references  to Babylon's  astronomical  practices  have  led  commentators  such  as Albani and Berges to situate the anti-Babylonian polemic of Isa 47 in the atmosphere of the politic and religious propaganda for and against the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus. When the references in Isa 44:25 and 47 are studied more closely however, the question arises as to what extent Deutero-Isaiah actually reacted through these texts to Babylonian astronomy. 1

In order to formulate an answer to this important question the texts Isa 44:25 and 47:1-15 will  be  studied,  as  they  are  thematically  connected  in  their  allusions  to  (Babylonian) astronomy. Before going into the aforementioned texts some preliminary remarks have to be made in relation to the much-discussed Babylonian provenance of DI. This is necessary since some scholars are beginning to reject the notion that all (cf. Tiemeyer ) of Isa 40-55 was composed in Babylon, despite its references to the city (43:14; 47:1, 5; 48:14, 20) or its deities (Isa 46:1). 2 Also, and perhaps this is a more pressing issue, presuppositions on the Babylonian provenance and thus the geographical whereabouts of the author(s) of Isa 40-50

1 Gertz 2009: 146; Biddle 1996: 128-133; Oosting 2011: 69-70, 208-210; Tiemeyer 2010: 118-119, 124, 128.

2 Tiemeyer 2010: 25, 51.

have implications for theories about what knowledge the author(s) of Deutero-Isaiah had. To  do  justice  to  this  challenging  subject,  Isa  44:25  and  47:1-5  will  first  be  considered exegetically.  Subsequently,  theories  about  what  DI  must  have  known  about  Babylonian astronomy, apotropaic magic and omens will be dealt with.

## Babylonian provenance

Although  it  has  been  generally  assumed  that  DI  was  composed  within  the  Jewish  exilic community in Babylon between roughly 586-539 B.C.E., there is some reason to question that  assumption  now.  One  reason  for  this  question  is  that  one  of  the  bases  for  the assumption was that there was no significant community remaining in Judah after the exile in which DI could either have been produced or receive. This is important for the question of the provenance of DI. That is to say, the geographical background of a text is a crucial aspect of historical-critical exegesis. In order to understand the message that the author(s) of  the  texts  which  refer  to  (Babylonian)  astronomy  wants  to  communicate  to  his/her audience, it is necessary to locate both that author as well as his/her audience in time and place. 3 This article takes its position in the 'continuity school' which stresses the continuity between  the  Iron  Age  and  the  Neo-Babylonian  period,  after  the  Babylonians  defeated Judah, conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the temple in 587/6 B.C.E. It rejects the older, more traditional consensus that Judah was devastated at that time. 4 Tiemeyer , argues for a semi-functioning  territory  of  Benjamin  (2  Kgs  25:22-26;  Jer  40:7-41:18),  and  Jerusalem and the temple in ruins (Lamentations dated to ca. 540 B.C.E., e.g. 1:1-4). Mizpah then, might have served as an administrative centre. According to Tiemeyer it is reasonable to assume that life in the rural areas returned to some kind of routine after the destruction. She follows Barstad , who has been an important advocate regarding the Judahite origin of Isa 40-55,  in  the  conclusion  that  the  people  of  Judah  had  the  necessary  capability  for composing texts of a high literary quality. 5

On  the  basis  of  chapters  47-55  which  predict  the  fall  of  Babylon  and  the  return  of  the exiles, it is easy to conclude that the prophet lived in Babylon (47; 48:20-21; 52:7-10, 1112).  Although a prophet in Babylon could have written and spoken about Jerusalem, the reverse  possibility  is  that  a  prophet  in  Jerusalem  could  have  written  and  spoken  about Babylon. The use of direct speech to address Jerusalem as found in the DI texts is a strong argument  for  this  Judahite  origin  of  DI.  That  Isa  44:25  and  47  seem  to  express  some knowledge on Babylonian cultic practices does not directly imply a Babylonian setting. The passages could actually have been written from a Judahite setting. 6

3 Tiemeyer 2010: 1-2.

4 Faust 2012: 1, 3, 9. E.g. of scholars of the 'continuity school': Carrol, Barstad and Lipschits. E.g. of Scholars of the 'traditional school': Shiloh, Stager and, Faust. See for a more complete overview of the two different schools, ibid., pp. 3-10 'Study of the Neo-Babylonian Period: Summary of Previous Research'.

5 Tiemeyer 2010: 53-67; Barstad 1997: 89-93 for arguments on the degree of (dis)continuity of life in Judah following the Neo-Babylonian destruction in 587/6 B.C.E.

6 Tiemeyer 2010: 32-37, 42, 47.

## Lady Babylon loses her security

The author of 47:1-15, including the parallel in Isa 44:45, unfolds his argument against an overwhelming  political  power  represented  by  the  Babylonian  empire  in  the  midst  of  a triptych.  The  fall  of  virgin  Babylon  (47)  follows  the  fall  of  Babylon's  most  important deities  (46).  The  feminine personification of cities like Babylon, Jerusalem, Nineveh and Sidon (Isa 23:12) is common. In the Ancient Near East important capital cities were seen in strict relation to the gods who protected them. Cities were considered as the throne of the divine order and culture: awe for the gods and for the past were expressed in respect for the city. The contrast in Isa 47 thus obtains more depth, for Babylon, the imperial metropolis, which is under protection of Marduk, shares its fate with her deity: they must both leave their throne.

The fate of virgin daughter Babylon is reminiscent of Nah 3:4-6. The Assyrian capital of Nineveh is described as a harlot, a master in divination who is stripped and displayed in public. This does not differ much from Babylon who is ordered to sit in the dust (v.1); she will be stripped of her clothes (v.2) and her nakedness will be uncovered (v.3). The author of  the  poem  continues  to  accumulate  parallels  and  phrases  of  intense  humiliation  and degradation. The dethroned queen Babylon is ordered to do the work of a slave: she has to take millstones and grind flour. The use of the verb ' טחן grinding' in Isa 47:2 has a sexual connotation (Job 31:10). The increasing exposure of the nakedness shames Lady Babylont greatly: first she has to uncover her veil, then her robes, thighs and legs. For the use of this violent sexual language for Lady Babylon 7 in Isa 47:3 can be found parallels in other texts such as: Jer 13:22; Nah 3:5; Eze 16:36-37; 23:10; 29; Hos 2:12. 8

In  the  context  of  the  revelation  of  the  holy  name  of  God אהיה  א  שׁר  אהיה (Ex  3:14), Babylon's exclamation 'For eternity I shall be ( אהיה ) (mistress)' in Isa 47:7 is blasphemy, which is confirmed by the double 'I am, and there is nothing besides me' in vv. 8 and 10 (cf. Isa 43:10-11; 44:6; 46:9). The consequences of this hybris turn out to be grave for her. The two biggest catastrophes a woman can go through, loss of children and widowhood (1 Kgs 17:8-24), 9 fall upon Babylon in one moment (v. 9). 10

There  is  a  thematic  relation  between  Babylon's  false  sense  of  security  in  vv.  8  and  10 (A/A') and her magic and divination in vv. 9 and 11 (B/B'): v. 8b 'security', בטח ; 10a 'you trust in', ותבטחי ; 8c-10e 'to say in the/ones heart', אמר  בלב ; 8d-10f 'I am, and there is no one besides me', אני ואפסי  עוד . In vv. 9 and 11: 9a, d-11a, e 'to come over/upon', על בוא (11c:  'fall  upon', נפל  על );  9e,  f-11b,  d  'sorcery  and  spells';  9b-11e  'suddenly'.

7 In the context of war violence against cities the verb גלה (Nifal) 'to uncover', 'to be uncovered' indicates the uncovering of all her defences. This is analogue to forced unclothing before rape, which women and girls underwent during military raids of enemies.

8 Blenkinsopp 2002: 280; Berges 2008: 478, 482-486, Childs 2001: 366.

9 This situation of Babylon is countered by prophetic assurances that Jerusalem/Zion is no longer bereaved, barren or widowed: Isa 49:20-23; 54:1-8.

10 Berges 2008: 490-494; Blenkinsopp 2002: 282; Childs 2001: 366; Biddle 1996: 130.

Babylon has the illusion that she lives in security (A/A'), but she is not able to deflect the evil as divine punishment through her mantic techniques (B/B'). Babylon's wickedness, the many sorceries, the great power of enchantments (v. 9) is met with evil in v. 11 ( ;הוה ;רעה שׁואה ). In addition, in spite of her knowledge (v. 10), Babylon is not able to שׁחרה 'charm away [by magic]', כפרה 'to propitiate' for (v. 11), or stand fast in her חבר 'enchantments' and many כשׁף 'sorceries' (v. 12) against the catastrophe ordered by YHWH. Not only the insufficiency  of  these  practices  in  vv.  9-12  is  shown,  but  also  the  impotence  of  the specialists in v. 13 is portrayed with their 'many councils', who 'divide the heavens', who 'gaze  at  the  stars',  and  'who  make  known  at  new  moons  what  will  come  over  her [Babylon]'. In the end it is YHWH in Isa 44:25 who 'turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish', and it is YHWH who makes fools of קסמים 'diviners'. 11

## What kind of magic and astronomy?

From this short overview DI leaves the impression that it is in debate with the Babylonian astronomical  divination  practices  and  the  religious  systems  connected  to  it.  The  authors, however,  betray  no  specific  knowledge  of  particular  Babylonian  cultic  practices.  The terminology they use is the common, non-specific vocabulary that can be found throughout the Old Testament. For חבר , כשף and קסמים parallels can be found in Dtn 18:9-12, where these practices are considered foreign and forbidden. In spite of this prohibition, kings tried to fathom the course of history apart from YHWH with divination (Ex 7:11; Jer 27:9; Mi 5:11;  Dan  2:2.).  Despite  the  frequent  references  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  to  the  Israelites' inclination to worship the celestial bodies, this does not suggest that there was a developed astronomical tradition in ancient Israel comparable to the other cultures of the Near East, like  Mesopotamia  (pace Wright 12 ). Since  Hebrew  belongs  to  the  group  of  'Canaanite' languages, it  can  be  expected  to  find  the  Israelite-Jewish  terms  for  magic  and  divination reflected  in  the  languages  of  the  peoples  around  Israel  from  the  close  of  the  second millennium to the first half of the first millennium. The terms which concern this article, שׁחרה , חבר , כשׁף , הברו שׁמים , לחדשׁים and קסמים however attest to a domestic vocabulary with  some  slight  connections  to  Mesopotamia,  despite  their  Babylonian  or  foreign connotations. 13

שׁחרה ,  'to  cause to disappear by magic' is probably directly from the root šhr .  Perhaps it has  been  borrowed,  like  the  Arabic šāhir ('sorcerer',  'enchanter',  'magician',  'charmer') from  Akkadian  š āhiru(m) . 14 חבר means  'association',  'society'    or  refers  to  Babylonian magic,  and  the  verb חבר :  to  'associate',  'join',  'unite'  or  'charm'. 15 No  other  useful parallels for the verb hbr or  its  translation  with  'charming'  can be found in Hasmonaean ('community'),  Ugaritic  ('companion',  'vessel')  or  Old  Aramaic.  The  meaning  'charm, spell,  enchantment',  or  for  the  verb  'to  bewitch,  charm' 16 seems  to  be  Biblical  Hebrew, derivable from Dtn 18:11, Ps 58:6 and Isa 47:9, 12. 17 The next noun, כשׁף , derives from the Akkadian root kašāpu ,  noun kišpu ,  and designates 'sorcery'. 18 It  is  unattested in Ugaritic, Phoenician, Punic and Old Aramaic, but richly attested in Rabbinic literature 'to conjure, cast  a  spell'. 19 The  verb  in  the  phrase הברו  שׁמים ,  an  Hebrew hapax  legomenon ,  could derive from Arabic habbara 'cut into large pieces, cut up'. In combination with 'heavens' the phrase can be translated as 'they that divide the heavens'. 20 Only the addition of ' … who gaze [ חזה ]  at  the  stars,  who  at  new  moons  make  known  what  shall  come  over  her [Babylon]' allows, not the term in itself, for the interpretation of Brown , Driver , and Briggs that  Isa  47:13  refers  to  the  distinguishing  of  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  or  an  astrological division  of  the  sky. 21 Like חזה and שׁמים 22 , לחדשׁים is  copiously  attested  in  Hebrew scripture 23 (Ugaritic: hdt , hudāši ),  the  noun  can  be  translated  as  'new  moons',  'months'. לחדשׁים designates temporal repetition, chronological order and astronomical arrangement of  the  year  by  reappearance  of  the  different  phases  of  the  moon. 24 קסמים 'practitioner  of divination' or קסם 'to practice divination/magic', 'to conjure' is well attested in Palmyrene Aramaic,  Syriac,  Ethiopic,  Mishnaic  Hebrew,  the  Talmud,  the  Aramaic  of  the  Targums, Mandaic, and Arabic in the meaning of 'divide, distribute, deal out, determine (of God or fate)'. The word is unattested in this or any other meaning in Ugaritic, Phoenician-Punic, Old Imperial Aramaic or Akkadian. The term seems to have been used to describe and refer to  foreign  practices  of  divination  in  general,  not  specifically  Babylon  (cf.  Dtn  18:14; Jos 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; Eze 21:34), and might also have been a domestic practice. In view of the lack of any of the specific language of Babylonian astronomy, is must be asked how much the authors of DI actually knew about Babylonian astronomy and magic. 25

11 Berges 2008: 493-498.

12 Wright 2008: 59-60, is however right in arguing that the worship of the astronomical elements was present in ancient Israel, e.g.: Ex 20:4; 2 Kgs 17:16; Jer 7:18.

13 Cryer 1994: 231, 256, 261, 321; Albani 2000: 119; Berges 2008: 495.

14 ' שׁחר ', HALOT 1466; ' ַ ר שׁ ַַׁ֫ ח ', BDB 1007.

15 ' ֶ ר ח ֶַׁ֫ ב ', BDB 288; and ' ַ ר ח ָ ב ', ibid., 287.

16 ' ֶ ר ח ֶ ב ', HALOT 288; and ' חבר ', ibid., 287-288.

17 Cryer 1994: 259; Jeffers 1996: 33-34.

18 ' ֶ ף כ ֶַׁ֫ שׁ ', BDB 506; ' ֶ ף כ ֶ שׁ ', HALOT 503.

19 Cryer 1994: 258.

20 ' הב ַ ר ', BDB 211; ' הבר ', HALOT 237.

21 Jeffers 1996: 154-155.

22 Interestingly enough שׁמים occurs 17x in DI. Except for 5 occurrences, all references to the heavens have YHWH as object: YHWH is creator of the heavens.

23 E.g.: Gen 29:14; Num 11:20; Neh 10:34.

24 ' ֶ ש ח  ַׁ֫ ד ', BDB 294; ' ח ד ֶ שׁ ', HALOT 294-295.

25 ' קס ַ ם ', BDB 890; ' קסם ', HALOT 1115-1116; Cryer 1994: 256-257.

## What did the authors of Deutero-Isaiah know?

On  basis  of  these  references  to  Lady  Babylon's  divination,  magic  and  astronomical practices  and  knowledge,  Albani,  with  Berges  following  him,  places  the  anti-Babylonian polemic of Isa 47 in the atmosphere of the politic and religious propaganda for and against the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus. 26 In the negative propaganda of the 'Verse Account of  Nabonidus',  Nabonidus  is  portrayed  as  boasting  about  his  astronomical  and  mantic wisdom and god-given dreams, which surpassed even the famous astronomical compendium ' Enūma Anu Enlil '. Clearly, Nabonidus is ridiculed for he does not master the art of writing and reading. According to Albani Isa 47 can be seen as the Israelite pendant of  the  'Verse  Account':  both  poems  propagate  against  the  existing  reign  of  the  NeoBabylonians, which was considered as a heavily oppressive. In addition, both poems mock Nabonidus'  pride  (represented  by  Lady  Babylon)  in  his  mantic  wisdom.  It  seems  that Nabonidus'  conflict  with  the  Babylonian  priests  and  astronomers  centered  around  his efforts to reform Babylonian religion by promoting the cult of the moon goddess Šin over against the other, more important Babylonian gods like Marduk and Nabû and by ordaining his  daughter  as  a  Šin  priestess.  Albani,  following Vanderhooft ,  suggests  that שׁחרה is  a polemic  allusion to Nabonidus'  lunar  omen  visions  and  his revelations from  Šin. Interestingly enough, Albani perceives a religious conflict between the traditional worship of Marduk with its henotheistic theology, because it was still reconcilable with Babylonian polytheism,  and  Nabonidus'  elevation  of  the  astral  goddess  Šin  to  a  universal  god.  In Nabonidus' religious program the concept of 'sin against Šin', the rejection of the moon goddess  as  universal  god  of  gods,  and  'the  deed  of  Šin',  the  goddess'  benevolence  for Babylon and her universal actions, played an important role. Albani notices a parallel with 'the  deed  of  Šin'  in  DI:  the  emphases  on  YHWH's  actions  in  creation  and  history,  e.g. 40:12-26;  44:24-28;  45:1-25  passim.  In  this  situation  of  religious  conflict,  according  to Albani, the authors of DI formulated the monotheistic confession 'I am God, and there is none like me' (46:9). 27

From the above given sketch of Albani's theory as to what the authors of DI had in mind when they wrote their anti-Babylonian polemic, it can be concluded that Albani bases his theory  on  the  presupposition  that  DI's  authors  indeed  had  specific  knowledge  of  the religious  and  political  situation  under  the  reign  of  Nabonidus,  as  if  they  were  present  in Babylon. But since the text of Isa 47 gives no references to the person, reign or religious and political program of Nabonidus, it might as well have its origin in Judah. In addition, if Albani is right,  one  would  expect  to  find  in  Isa  47  and  44:25  clear  Akkadian  loanwords denoting Babylonian magical and astronomical practices, but this is hardly the case as has been  concluded  above.  Given  the  general  and  non-specific  use  of  generally  Hebrew descriptions  of  the  Babylonian  astronomy  and  magic  in  combination  with  the  fact  that Babylon  was  widely  known  for  its  knowledge  of  the  stars,  it  is  more  probable  that  the authors  had  only  a  general  knowledge  of  the  Babylonian  astronomical  and  magical practices. 28

26 An example of negative, hostile propaganda regarding king Nabonidus from the viewpoint of the Babylonian clerics is 'A Persian Verse Account of Nabonidus', see: Smith, S. 1924. Babylonian historical texts relating to the capture and downfall of Babylon . London: Methuen, 27-97. An example of positive propaganda regarding Nabonidus is his own account, an inscription found in Harran: H2. See for the Harran Inscriptions: Gadd, C. J. 1958. 'The Harran Inscriptions of Nabonidus.' Pages 35-92 in AnSt 8. London: The British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara.

27 Albani 2000: 103, 105, 109, 112, 116-118; Berges 2008: 495-496. 19 other references to or paraphrases of the incomparability of YHWH in DI, e.g.: 40:18; 45:3; 48:12.

That  is  to  say:  underlying  the  Babylonian  astronomy  was  an  understanding  of  and arithmetical control over the variable 'velocities', i.e. progress in longitude over a certain period, of the sun and planets in the planetary theory (or sun and moon in the lunar theory). Also observations of the variable inclination between ecliptic and horizon throughout the year (a problem of the spherical astronomy) and the visibility conditions near the horizon where most of the synodic appearances occur, were important. The prime interest therefore was the 'synodic arc', which is the distance in degrees of longitude travelled by the moon (or planets) between consecutive phenomena of the same kind, e.g.: from first visibility to first visibility.

Although  the  authors  of  Isa  47:13  do  not  demonstrate  any  insight  into  the  arithmetical discipline  of  Babylonian  astronomy,  it  seems  that  they  were  aware  of  the  systematic recording  of  both  ominous  celestial  as  well  as  terrestrial  occurrences  subject  to  nightly gazing at the stars and planets, imagination or day to day experience. These observations were an intellectual expression of an assumption that the gods were not only inseparable from  all  possible  natural  phenomena  on  the  basis  of  their  cosmology,  but  were  also responsible for the associations between phenomena in nature and events in human society. The ominous occurrences were not only seen as the products of the agency of the gods or their  manifestations, they  were also the divine authorities and origins behind the texts in which the omens were compiled. The importance of the heavens as a great field against which the gods wrote their will as form of divine communication, such as the welfare of the king,  the  state,  and  its  people  as  a  whole  is  part  of  Neo-Assyrian  and  Neo-Babylonian culture. This is attested by the omens of the official compilation of celestial omens, Enūma Anu  Enlil,  placed  in  the  library  of  Nineveh  and  in  the  royal  correspondence  between Sargonid kings Esarhaddon (680-669 B.C.E.) and Aššurbanipal (668-627 B.C.E.) and their learned  advisors  who  used  the  handbook  Enūma  Anu  Enlil. 29 However,  it  ought  to  be observed that astronomical divination was by no means limited to Mesopotamia, and that the  kinds  of  general  reference  made  in  Isa  47  do  not  require  intimate  knowledge  of Mesopotamian practices.

DI's authors mention not only the very important nightly observations, but also describe vaguely  by  means  of  a  hapax  that  Babylonian  astronomers  'divide  the  heavens'.  The authors  may  have  known  of  the  characteristic  way  the  Mesopotamian  astronomers catalogued and systemized a wide variety of celestial phenomena, like relative positions of fixed stars in the sky, lunar visibility schemes, ziqpu (zenith) stars that cross the zenith of the  observer,  (dis)appearances  of  the  five  planets  (Mercury,  Venus,  Mars,  Jupiter,  and Saturn), length of daylight and lunar visibility scheme etc. It is probable, however, that DI's authors were only broadly aware of the practice of arranging the stars in groups according to the 'paths' on which they are seen to rise and set. There is no evidence that DI knew in detail of fixed star-schemes as represented by the 'Astrolabe' texts, which consisted either of a circular table or vertical column in which the thirty-six stars are divided into the three paths of Anu, Enlil and Ea and identify when each star appears on the horizon in the course of a schematic 12-month calendar. 30

28 Tiemeyer 2010: 104-105, 117-118.

29 Rochberg 2011: 2, 4, 24-25, 166, 181, 190; Wright 2000: 39. See also Parpola, S. 1970-1983. Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal . AOAT 5. NeukirchenVluyn: Butzon & Bercker Neukirchener Verlag; Hunger H. 1992. Astrological Reports to Assyrian Kings . SAA 8. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press; Parpola S. 1993. Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian scholars . SAA 10. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press.

With שׁחרה Albani  thought  to  have  found  a  reference  to  Nabonidus'  Šin  cult.  It  is nevertheless  more  plausible  that  the  term  is  nothing  more  than  just  a  general  ridiculing allusion  to  the  efforts  the  Babylonians  put  into  charming  something  away  by  magic  that YHWH  has  ordained.  Given  Albani's  kind  of  argumentation  one  might  imagine  that לחדשׁים could refer to the Šin cult, simply because (metaphoric) references and descriptions of the moon in Babylonian literature relate to the moon goddess Šin. 31 On the basis of the extensive attestations  of לחדשׁים in  Hebrew  scripture  this  allusion  cannot  be  allowed  for. Presumably  the  term  refers  to  the  pre-eminence  of  the  moon  in  Babylonian  astronomy because of its importance for the calendar. From the viewpoint of celestial divination, the most  important  synodic  moments  of  the  moon's  cycle  were  the  day  of  the  first  lunar crescent or the first day of the month, and opposition, the day of full moon was considered ideally to fall on the 14 th day.  The close watch of the moon was thus, before methods to predict first visibility were construed, essential for declaring the first day of a month. The authors of DI must have known this, although the Israelites themselves utilized calendars differing from 360, 364, and 365 days. The celestial omen corpus attests to the important role  of  the  moon  for  astrology  as  well:  many  aspects  of  the  moon's  behavior  were scrutinized  as  omens  of  future  events  in  the  world,  as  can  be  seen  in  a  letter  from  the Babylonian scholar Nabû-iqiša reporting on a new moon on the 1 st day: 32

'1.  If  the  day  reaches  its  normal  length:  a  reign  of  long  days.  3.  -  The  30th  day completes the measure of the month. 4. If the moon becomes visible on the 1st day: reliable speech; [the land] will become happy. 6. If the moon at its appearance [wears a crown]: constantly the harvest of the land will prosper; [the land will dwell] as if in pastures near the city; the king [will re]ach the highest rank. r. 2 This is good for the king my lord. 3. From Nabû-iqiša of Borsippa.' 33

30 Rochberg 2011: 6-7, 129; Albani 2000: 108-109; Wright 2000: 38-39; Berges 2008: 500-501.

31 An example of a metaphoric description of the moon goddess is a Babylonian letter by the scholar Nergal-etir reporting on Mercury being near the new moon ' 1. If the moon becomes visible on the 1st day: reliable speech; the land will become happy. 3. If the moon at its appearance wears a crown: the king [will reach] the highest rank. 4. If its horns are equally clear: enemy kings will be reconci[led]. 6 - It will be seen together with the sun. 7. [...] at the appearance [......] will become long [...]. Rev.1 Well-being will come down on the land. The moon-god will smite the enemy. ' Hunger 1992: 144 (letter 258). An Assyrian report from the scholar Akkullanu reporting on the presence of Gemini and Perseus in the lunar halo: ' Rev. 3. [If] the moon rid[es] a chariot in the month of Sililiti: the dominion of the king of Akkad will prosper; and he w[ill capture] his enemies. ' Ibid., p. 69 (letter 112).

32  Rochberg 2011: 111, 134, 165-181; Cryer 1994: 321.

Furthermore, contra Albani,  Isa 46:1-2  reveals  a conception of the  Babylonian gods that does not fit the situation in Babylon during the last years of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. A prophet living in Babylon would have been familiar with Nabonidus' attempt to replace the worship of the traditional Babylonian chief deities Marduk (Bēl) and Nabû (Nebo) with that of  Šin.  This  unfamiliarity  with  the  cultic  struggles  of  Nabonidus'  reign  suggests  that  the authors of DI lived at some distance (geographical and/or temporal) from Babylon and thus had only general knowledge of the Babylonian astronomy. 34

As stated before both the impotence of the astronomical specialists, the tsupšarru 'scribediviner' and tsupšar Enūma Anu Enlil 'celestial diviner', as well as the insufficiency of the Babylonian  magic  practices  are  ridiculed  in  Isa  47:9-13.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that שׁחרה , חבר , כשׁף , and קסמים do not describe precisely what kind of Babylonian magic the authors of DI had in mind, the use of different magical terms could indicate that they were aware that the Babylonian scholars acknowledged various divination professions like the āšipu 'magician-exorcist', the šā'lilu 'dream  interpreter',  and  the bārû 'haruspex'.  These diviners,  scholars  and  wise  men  were  in  command  of  more  than  one  branch  and  were trained  in  the  omen  literature.  They  interpreted  provoked  and  unprovoked  omens.  The former came about through techniques such as lecanomancy, libanomancy and extispicy. The latter were taken from the many observations of the behavior of animals, birds, insects, human beings and heavenly bodies. 35 Contrary to Albani's statement that the Babylonians did not really believe that they could change their fate, expressed by the term šīmtu , i.e. the course  of  life,  determined  by  divine  decree,  it  was  a  Babylonian  conviction  that  the predicted or diagnosed consequence of the omen protasis was avoidable or changeable by means of an appeal to the deity or deities with prayers and ritual acts. 36 The prayers and rituals  necessary  to  counteract  bad  omens  were  written  in  ' namburbū' texts,  meaning literally 'it's (the omens) undoing'. It is possible that the use of שׁחרה , חבר , כשׁף , and קסמים in Isa 44:25 and 47 might relate to these NAM.BUR.BI rituals, that were designed to dispel or  avert  the  evil  decisions  of  the  gods  predicted  in  omen  apodoses  of  both  public  and private effect. The reliance on incantation and apotropaic ritual magic, like the namburbi rituals, was a thoroughly religious act with which humans effectively asked the gods, who were the givers of the signs, to undo the connection between the omen and its prediction:

33 Hunger 1992: 161 (letter 290).

34  Tiemeyer 2010: 123.

35 Celestial phenomena were collected in the series Enūma Anu Enlil 'When Anu and Enlil' (see above); the terrestrial phenomena in the series Šumma ālu 'If a city'; dreams in the series Ziqīqu

'Dream god'; human physiognomical traits in the series Alamdimmû 'The form'; anomalous animal births in Šumma izbu 'If the anomalous newborn'; and medical symptoms in the series SA.GIG 'Symptoms'. See the survey in: Rochberg 2011: 66-98.

36 Albani 2000: 110-111.

'1. To the king, my lord: your servant Nabû-nadin-šumi. Good health to the king, my lord!  May  Nabû  and  Marduk  bless  the  king,  my  lord!  6.  Concerning  the  apotropaic ritual [NAM.BUR.BI, CE] against evil of any kind, about which the king wrote to me: "Perform it tomorrow" - the day is not propitious. We shall prepare it on the 25th and perform in on the 26th. 12. Anyway, the king, my lord, should not be worried about this portent. Bēl and Nabû can make a portent pass by, and they will make it bypass the king, my lord. The king, my lord, should not be afraid.' 37

A  more  specific  example  of  which  evil  sorcery  (kiš-pi  = כשׁף )  could  be  averted  with  a namburbi ritual can be found in a report from Nabû-nasir:

'10. [Concerning] the rites about which the ki[ng, my lord], wrote to us, in Kislev (IX) we performed "To keep ma[laria], plague and pestilence away from a man's home" and numerous  counterspells;  in  Shebat  (XI)  we  performed  'hand-lifting'  prayers,  an apotropaic {NAM.BUR.BI HUL kiš-pi, CME} ritual to counteract evil sorcery and a ritual  against  malaria  and  plague.  On  the  1st  day  we  initiated  the  rites  (to  be performed) in Adar (XII).' 38

The  resort  to  prayer  and  magic  depicts  the  omen  statements  in  the  order  of  the  lawlike statement: 'if x ,  then  (also  expect) y ,  if  and  only  if  not z ':  where x is  the  protastis, y the apodoses and z the namburbi ritual. In the case of Isa 44:25 and 47 none of this sorcery is capable of predicting, changing or diverting the abundant disasters, such as dethronement, sexual violation, humiliation, the loss of children and widowhood, that was about to fall on Babylon. The diviners could not predict the disasters by means of omens of the heavens, or dispel  YHWH's  decisions  by  means  of  namburbi  magic.  All  of  Babylonian  knowledge, apotropaic instruments, magic and astronomy are simply surpassed by YHWH's will, and is thus characterized negatively by DI's authors. 39

It  is  therefore  very  important  argument  in  Isa  44:25  and  47  that  it  is  neither  possible  to predict at any given time from terrestrial and/or celestial omens the will of YHWH; neither is  it  possible  to  deflect  his  will  by  virtue  of  namburbi  rituals.  YHWH  is  at  no  one's disposal, YHWH's contingent proceedings in history are not a matter of predictability. This is  opposed  to  the  Babylonian  belief  in  an  alterable  personal  (and  public)  fate:  omens predicting  unlucky  šīmtu  were  susceptible  to  undoing  by  namburbi  rituals  addressed  to particular  gods.  The  authors  of  DI  believed  that  the  celestial  elements  were  created  by YHWH,  and  that  he  established  the  courses  of  their  daily  and  annual  travels.  More important, for those who believed in YHWH, the celestial bodies were not gods, but merely objects created by God and under his control. 40

37 Parpola 1993: 217 (letter 278).

38 Ibid, p. 238 (letter 296).

39 Rochberg 2011: 45-50, 55, 59-60, 200-202; Parpola 1993: xiii-xiv; Berges 2008: 497, 499; Albani 2000: 110-111.

40 Rochberg 2011: 51, 202-203; Albani 2000: 111 (note 439); Wright 2000: 60, 235 (note 38-40,

42). Cf. YHWH as almighty creator in DI, e.g.: 40:12; 44:24; 51:13.

## Four factors of conflict

It  is  apparent  that  DI's  authors  intended  to  contrast  YHWH's  power  with  that  of Babylonian  magic  and  astronomy.  With  Babylon  being  the  most  important  political  and military  power  of  the  time,  and  in  particular  the  nation  who  brought  destruction  upon Jerusalem, it can be expected to find a relatively large degree of Mesopotamian influence in the intellectual life of Israel and Judah. In view of the cultural and religious dominance of the Neo-Babylonian Empire it is possible to find references to Babylonian practices in DI (and in the Hebrew Bible in general), which have their origin from the eighth to the sixth centuries.  At  least  DI's  authors  and  possibly  the  rest  of  Judah  had  some  rudimentary understanding  of  Mesopotamian  religious  ideas,  and  thus  the  capability  to  contrast  their religious  ideas  with  the  Babylonian  ideas  of  living  and  communicating  with  the  divine. This  contrast  Israelite  prophecy  and  Babylonian  mantic  practices  can  be  reduced  to  four factors. Firstly the conflict is about the question of which god is able to foretell the future and fulfill his plans in history. By means of the keyword עצה in Isa 47:13 the many useless predictive  and  apotropaic  'councils'  of  the  Babylonian  specialists  are  contrasted  with YHWH's own plans, which will be inevitably realized in history (nomen: Isa 40:13; 44:26; 46:10-11; verbum: 40:14; 41:28; 45:21). 41 With YHWH there is only one council: the one proclaimed by his prophets. This leads to the second factor: there is a conflict between the Babylonian inductive-instrumental mantic and the Israelite intuitive, i.e. visionaryauditionary  mantic.  Whereas  the  Israelite  prophecy  becomes  conscious  of  future  events through  visions  and  auditions,  the  Mesopotamian  omen  science  classifies  omens  in  an inductive-instrumental way. An audition can apparently be found in Isa 40:3ff where the prophet/author becomes the aural witness of the voices in the council of YHWH. Thirdly, Babylon's perversity consisted of her trust in her knowledge (Isa 47:10), her astronomical compendia and namburbi rituals,  this  is  false  knowledge,  especially  when  it  is  aimed  at YHWH like a  weapon.  The  verb יעל in  Isa  47:12  indicates  what  does  not  avail  against YHWH: foreign gods and their idols (Isa 44:9f; 57:12; 1 Sam 12:21; Jer 2:8, 11; 16:19; Hab  2:18);  false  prophets  (Jer  23:32);  deceit  (Jer  7:8;  Job  15:3);  the  help  of  Egypt  (Isa 30:5f);  injustice  (Pro  10:2)  and  wealth  (Pro  11:4).  Only  YHWH  the  redeemer  is  the  one '…who  teaches  you  to  profit,  who  leads  you  in  the  way  you  should  go.'  (Isa 48:17). YHWH makes divinatory wisdom foolish, and turns it on the practitioners themselves. It is the awe for YHWH, which is necessary for true wisdom, and salvation for Zion:

'And  the  Spirit  of  the  LORD  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.' (Isa 11:2) 42

Fourthly and lastly, magic, astronomy and the various Babylonian specialists are not able to save ( )ישׁע Lady Babylon. The 'savior quality' can only be ascribed to YHWH (cf. e.g.: Isa 43:11-12). The verb ( נצל Hiphil) in Isa 47:14 stresses in the whole of Isaiah the fact that only YHWH's actions are sovereign: only he saves, no one and nothing else. This theme has a very close connection with the polemic against idolatry in  Isa 44:9ff, in which the orator  falls  down  before  an  idol.  In  v.  20  this  illusion  becomes  disillusionment,  for  the worship of idols  cannot deliver  him.  The  unique  occurrence  of '  אשׁ fire'  and '  גחלת coal' together  in  Isa  44:19  and  47:14  (the  only  other  attestation:  Eze  1:13;  10:2)  suggests  a correlation  of  Isa  44:19  with  47:14.  With  the  correlation  the  authors  of  DI  ironically suggest that the Babylonian divinatory science is even more useless than the manufacturing of idols, since the same wood used for making idols provides warmth and light when used as  firewood.  Whereas  the  manufacturer  of  idols  sits  near  a  warm  fire,  the  diviner  has nothing. Contrastingly: where the manufacturer and the diviner do not have salvation (Isa 47:15),  Israel  has  everything  in  YHWH  'For  I  am  the  Lord  your  God,  the  Holy  One  of Israel, your Savior…' (Isa 43:3; cf. Isa 47:4). 43

41 The theme 'plan' is also a leitmotiv in Isa 1-39, e.g.: 5:19; 19:11; 36:5.

42 See also: Isa 33:6; Pro 1:7; 2:6, 10; 8:12; 9:10.

## Conclusion

Given general Hebrew descriptions of the Babylonian astronomy and magic in combination with  the  fact  that  Babylon  was  widely  known  for  its  knowledge  of  the  stars,  it  is  more probable  that  the  DI's  authors  had  only  a  rudimentary  understanding  of  Babylonian astronomical and magical practices. Furthermore, DI seems to be unfamiliar with the cultic and  political  struggles  of  Nabonidus'  reign.  Thus,  it  seems  likely  that  DI's  authors formulated their polemic at some distance (geographical and/or temporal) from Babylon. They contrasted their religious ideas with the Babylonian ideas of living and communicating with the divine. From this conflict between Israelite intuitive prophecy and Babylonian instrumental divination can be concluded that DI's authors intended to make clear that YHWH is at no one's disposal. Not even for the once dominant Lady Babylon. YHWH's contingent proceedings in history will never be a matter of predictability. Mantic techniques devised to deflect the evil of YHWH's divine punishment fail, forever.

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