The Lawsuit

This reflection is part of the ongoing Forest Hills Haftorah Series. The rest of the content can be found here: https://www.sefaria.org/groups/FHJC-Haftorah-Series .

If any of the prophets of the TaNaKh open up their works with a bang, it's gotta be Isaiah:

First, Isaiah summons the heavens and the earth, and then the Lord Almighty begins to testify.

Israel, it turns out, has proven to be even worse than animals! For while even an animal can recognize its master, Israel cannot even recognize her own god.

From there, Isaiah only continues to pile on the rebuke.

Here are some other descriptors he uses with which to describe Israel over just the next couple of verses:

• Sinful nation
• Laden with sin
• Brood of evildoers
• Depraved children
• Forsakers and spurners of YHWH

From verses 5-10, Isaiah points out that Israel has already suffered an exorbitant amount of punishment for having turned her back on YHWH; and yet, she stubbornly refuses to learn her lesson, persisting in behavior that will only bring further hardship:

By the time we get to verse 11, we reach the beginning of the most tragic statement of all; the declaration which seems to express that YHWH no longer wants anything to do with Israel whatsoever; that the broken relationship is beyond mending. Neither Israel's physical sacrificial offerings, nor heartfelt offerings of prayer, will be heard or welcome:

We then get a change in focus. Instead of criticism and rebuke, Isaiah instructs Israel how to behave in a way that will enable Israel to begin to bridge the divide. It is likely due to such passages that Isaiah has become, to so many of us, the most beloved of our prophets of yore:

Devotion to justice and protecting the vulnerable are divine mandates of utmost priority. Without a commitment to this, the sacrificial system and prayer are worse than useless; they are offensive; revolting, even.

However, no matter how far Israel has strayed, re-dedicating herself to these ideals will win YHWH's favor once again.

But after this ray of light, Isaiah reverts to voicing his and YHWH's frustration:

Isaiah packs so many layers of meaning into these lines, and there is so much we can talk about. In this case, I just want to share one poignant comment from Robert Alter's commentary:

These terms, "foes and enemies," commonly refer to the enemies of the people of Israel, but in a sharp polemic reversal, here they are addressed to the Israelites themselves, who through their perversion of justice have made themselves God's enemies. --- page 1728

The first time I read through Isaiah was when my understanding of his 8th-century Judean context was, well, just about nothing other than what I could deduce from whatever English translation I was reading. However, his rhetorical mastery and ability to paint a vivid picture and capture emotion is enough that even with no additional context, his words penetrate right to the core of the heart.

But like all authors of any text - there is much that Isaiah is expecting his readers have familiarity with, upon which the full impact of his intended message is depending. In this case, Isaiah is setting before us a very deliberate, well-crafted literary unit, in which each successive section relates to a bigger, comprehensive message.

But to truly understand this, I have to give some background into a genre called the "Covenant Treaty".

A "covenant treaty" is a treaty signed between two entities on the national level; the superior sovereign, oftentimes an emperor, and his subordinate or tributary "vassal," oftentimes a king.

We have cases of such treaties from a number of civilizations of the ancient world, including the Assyrian Empire of the 8th century, as well as from the Hittites as far back as the 2nd millenium BCE! They generally conform to a repeated formula, including the following elements:

• Preamble - The parties are identified;

• Historical Prologue - A history of the relationship between the suzerain and the vassal, emphasizing the deeds of kindness that the suzerain had previously performed for the vassal;

• Conditions of the treaty - What the vassal pledges to do for the suzerain;
• Provision for annual public reading; Including placing the treaty in a shrine or a holy temple;

• Divine witnesses are invoked - Which includes the gods of both the suzerain and the vassal;

• Blessings for adherence; Curses for failure.

Does this structure sound familiar to you? If so, either you are well-read in ancient Hittite legal literature... or else you have read enough TaNaKh! For our very own Israelite and Judean literature contains its fair share of "covenant treaties."

(The most influential scholar in this area might be the 20th century American scholar George Mendenhall. Here is one of his works on the subject, Covenant Forms in Israelite Tradition, 1954: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3209151?seq=12#metadata_info_tab_contents).

This week we begin the reading of Deuteronomy in our services, so keep your eyes and ears open for these elements as we progress; For some have suggested that the whole book of Deuteronomy reads as one long covenant treaty between Israel and YHWH!

Here is just a peek at the very beginning of our Torah portion with this in mind:

(for more information, see here: https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_deuteronomy.html)

Note how the first 5 verses make up the Preamble. The rest of our parshah will make up most of the Historical Prologue, until the conditions of the treaty will begin around 4:44.

Consider that both Israel and Judea were small kingdoms trying to make their way in a world surrounded by empires. Survival was impossible without befriending, at times, one empire or another. Therefore, both Israelites and Judeans alike were quite familiar with covenant treaties.

Just like when two individuals sign an agreement with each other and enter into a contractual relationship, if one of them breaks his or her part of the deal, the other can take him/her to court, and present the covenant-treaty as evidence for a claim of wrong-doing. There will be a judge, a jury, and the litigant will get to present his or her case.

The covenant-treaty between YHWH and Israel is the same. When Israel fails to live up to the covenant, YHWH has the right to show up, waving the covenant in his hand and demanding the original witnesses to testify that Israel did, indeed, make a commitment to which she is failing to live up.

And in this case, who are the witnesses?

Now with that, let's take another look at how the book of Isaiah, and our Haftorah, open up:

What Isaiah is doing - and what he wants his listeners to recognize right at the outset - is that he is bringing a covenant lawsuit.

A "covenant lawsuit," or a ריב in Hebrew is what YHWH's emissaries, or his prophets, do on his behalf when the covenant has broken down. In a way, it can be said to be the inverse of the covenant treaty. And like the covenant treaty, it follows a recurring pattern:

• Description of the Scene of Judgement
• The Speech of the Plaintiff
  1. Heaven and Earth are appointed judges
  2. Summons to the defendant (or judges)
  3. Address in the second person to the defendant
     1. Accusation in question-form
     2. Refutation of the defendant's possible arguments
     3. Specific indictment

For Isaiah's audience, this would have such an incredible and dramatic impact.

Everyone in the ancient near east knew what would happen if a vassal-kingdom held back tribute from its suzerain power. Perhaps there would be a courtesy warning or two; but there was only so much leeway an empire would put up with before bringing its wrath upon a defiant vassal. For as soon as an empire tolerates a broken treaty in one region, then the other vassals will start getting ideas as well. This would have to be avoided at all costs - so the breaking of a treaty would be met with, what we might call today, a "disproportionate response," so that all who hear of the repercussions would tremble at the prospect of making the same mistake.

As Delbert Hillers writes in his Covenant, the History of a Biblical Idea, the curses, which invoke all of the gods for help, are aimed at no less than total destruction, with the most powerful of gods being expected to participate in wreaking vengeance. (I got this from Israelite Covenants in the Light of Ancient Near Eastern Covenants, by Rene Lopez, 2004. See pages 83-85: https://drmsh.com/TheNakedBible/OT%20covenant%20ANE%20covenants%20Pt2.pdf).

If being summoned to answer for breaking a treaty against an earthly empire struck fear; How much more terrifying when the gods are not the testifying witnesses, but are they themselves the wronged party! And that is what Isaiah is claiming.

The Israelites entered into an agreement. We knew what was expected of us, and we knew the consequences of violation.

As Moses says in the same chapter of Deuteronomy quoted above:

(This is not even the tiniest tip of the iceberg. For the expanded and graphic R-rated version, you'll have to turn to Leviticus 26.)

Treaties were made in sight of the gods. Oaths were taken and rituals were performed in their ratifications, and to violate one was one of the greatest taboos.

below: a rendition of Genesis 15. See there for an intense covenant-ritual

Imagine, therefore, the rhetorical force of Isaiah kicking open the doors of the Southern-Judean courtroom, angrily storming in; a covenant treaty in one hand, a covenant lawsuit in another, as he begins to summon the very heavens and the earth to bring testimony that a pact with the Lord Almighty himself has been insufferably violated.

People would fear; People would tremble.

But then, if they would hearken long enough, they would hear that while they only have themselves to blame for whatever horrors are to come, YHWH's love outlasts his anger, and they would be assured that, if they clean up their act, there would be greater days of a renewed relationship to look forward to.

As Isaiah reassures us at the end of our Haftorah, just after the lawsuit:

Here's an endeavor you might find worthwhile:

Go back through our Haftorah from beginning to end and try to identify the different elements of the covenant-lawsuit pattern. How much does it conform to it? (The elements might not be in order.)

Here is the pattern again:

• Description of the Scene of Judgement
• The Speech of the Plaintiff
  1. Heaven and Earth are appointed judges
  2. Summons to the defendant (or judges)
  3. Address in the second person to the defendant
     1. Accusation in question-form
     2. Refutation of the defendant's possible arguments
     3. Specific indictment

And by the way, the "covenant lawsuit" is quite a pervasive form of literature in the TaNaKh (which does not speak so highly of our ancestors, actually). Now that I've drawn your attention to it, you'll start seeing it throughout your own readings. The landmark which should make your ears perk up is just how this week's Haftorah begins, the calling upon the heavens and the earth to witness.

If you want to read more about this, see Richard Davidson's The Divine Covenant Lawsuit Motif (2010): http://archive.atsjats.org/Davidson_-_Covenant_Lawsuit_Motif.pdf