Prophecy and Ethics: Isaiah and the Ethical Traditions of Israel

The study attempts to examine the role of tradition in the teaching of Isaiah with a view to discerning the basis of the ethics presupposed by the prophet. The view that Isaiah's ethical pronouncements were dependent upon the legal, covenantal and wisdom traditions of Israel is discussed, and the possibility of a direct dependence on the oracles of his contemporary, Amos, is examined. Davies shows that the whole question of the influence of tradition on the thought of Isaiah is fraught with problems.