5. The Exodus Motif And The Journey Through The Wilderness Motif

This chapter focuses on three issues. First, it demonstrates that the Exodus imagery in Isa 40-55 is not the central topic but one theme among many. Secondly, the chapter discusses the occurrence of Exodus imagery does not always demand the motif of a literal Second Exodus. Rather, in most of the cases where it occurs, it is better understood figuratively, serving as a typology for the transition from slavery to freedom and from death to life, than as a description of the physical journey from Babylon to Judah. Thirdly, the chapter examines the assumption that the use of Exodus imagery constitutes an argument for a Babylonian setting of Isa 40-55. The chapter begins with a history of interpretation, followed by a detailed discussion of each of the individual passages. The Exodus tradition is one of the most important and influential traditions in the Hebrew Bible.Keywords: Babylonian; Exodus imagery; Hebrew Bible; Isa 40-55; Judah