Christopher Seitz s The, The Divine, Miraculous...

I turned to a number of commentaries with these questions in mind. Christopher Seitz cites the opinion of C. Westermann that the salvation referred to in this chapter is brought about by â€Å"the divine, miraculous transformation of a condition, the nation’s oppression and impoverishment, into its opposite† rather than it being brought about by an historical event. Seitz comments that by God becoming Zion’s everlasting light, â€Å"Zion’s exaltation has cosmic, transnational consequences.† I found this unconvincing in the face of the fact that we have not seen the exaltation of Zion during the period of the text. One would have to remove it entirely from history and see this as an apocalyptic text, which my passed study of Isaiah has shown not to be true. I moved on to Joseph Blenkinsopp, who as usual, did not disappoint. Here I found the historical context of this section of Isaiah. Blenkinsopp referred back to Isaiah 58 to shed light on why the vision of theophany in Isaiah 60 had not been realized. Cyrus had release the Jews from Babylonian captivity, and those who wished to had returned to Jerusalem. But the â€Å"dominant frame of mind of the people being address (in Isaiah 58) is one of disorientation and disillusionment.† There is corruption in the government and judicial system, and among the religious leaders. The poor are neglected. Jerusalem suffers under â€Å"external pressures and internal dissention.† In chapter 60 the vision is unfulfilled; in chapter 58, God tells the