The Problem with Isaiah's So-Called ‘Refrain Poem’: A New Look at the Compositional History of Isaiah 9.7–20

This article argues that Isaiah's so-called ‘refrain poem’ ( Kehrvergedicht) in Isa. 9.7–20 is a composite text, going back to two early prophecies with different concerns. Isaiah 9.7–17 * focused originally on the arrogant refusal of the divine word, while Isa. 9.18–20 * reflected on the chaotic social circumstances in Samaria in the eighth century. The refrains in vv. 9,1 11cd, 16ef and 20cd were added to these two already connected prophecies at a later stage. The theological summary in v. 12 is yet another addition, closely affiliated with 5.24–25. Unlike v. 12, the refrains do not have the repentance of Israel in view, nor its final destruction, but the fall of Assyria in Isa. 10.5–15, 24–27. The refrains support the theory that the Isaianic collection was formed by means of reusing, restructuring and reinterpreting earlier material.