What doctrine is found in the Old Testament Books of Isaiah Daniel and Job?

Answer 1

A:A common but evolving doctrine in these three books is the place of God in the universe. Spanning six centuries of Jewish thought, they show how the image of God evolved from an anthropomorphic national God of Judah, to a transcendent but unknowable God of the universe.

The Book of Isaiah, which at first glance appears to be the work of one individual, the eighth century prophet, Isaiah of Jerusalem, is considered by most scholars to be the work of three authors: Isaiah, son of Amoz, now also known as First Isaiah; an anonymous author who wrote during the Babylonian Exile and is now known as Second Isaiah; another anonymous author, Third Isaiah, who wrote shortly after the end of the Babylonian Exile and may have been a disciple of Second Isaiah. Each author had somewhat different views on religion and the politics of the times. I Isaiah is very much concerned with Assyria as the dominant power. He preached doom, the proximity of punishment, and the remnant concept. II Isaiah said that the punishment was past, suffering was over, and deliverance was at hand. III Isaiah in many ways followed the doctrine of Second Isaiah.

First Isaiah is the first Old Testament writer to condemn the ancient practice of necromancy, although the Deauteronomic History (1 Samuel 28) already presented a somewwhat negative view of the practice. Keel and Uehlinger (Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel) point to 1 Isaiah as evidence that in the eighth century BCE, God (Yahweh) was still seen as anthropomorphic - in human form. Second Isaiah (Isaiah. 45:5-7) gave voice to the monotheistic ideal that Yahweh was the only deity in the cosmos. On this, Keel and Uehlinger say the monotheism of Second Isaiah is hardly to be taken as independent from the Persian worship of Ahura Mazda.

The Book of Daniel is set around the same period as II Isaiah and III Isaiah, although it was written approximately 167 BCE. This reflects the view that had become accepted among Jews by the second century BCE, that their God was all-powerful and, as the only true god in the universe, should be worshipped by all people of all races.

The author of Job demonstrates familiarity with other Old Testament writings such as Isaiah 40-55, being one reason for determining its composition as taking place after the Babylonian Exile, although it contains some material that is centuries older. The Book of Job is concerned with moral righteousness. It reaffirms that God created the world and has power over it. His loyal assistant is tasked with testing the righteousness of the faithful, as he does with Job.