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ship. My name is Dave Benson Academic Dean at Austin Seminary and I welcome you to this year's Georgia's higher lecture. The Georgia's higher distinguished lectureship was established to honor George s Higher Junior Professor emeritus in the

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history of doctrine for his 30 years as a valued member of the Austin Seminary factor. The purpose of this annual lecture is to symbolize in advance the important relationship between the academy and the church, to recall

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the longstanding cooperation between the University of texas and the seminary and to encourage the positive relationship between faith and knowledge. It's my pleasure to introduce this year's lecturer , Dr Jonathan capital. Dr Kaplan is associate professor

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of hebrew bible and ancient Judaism and the department of Middle Eastern Studies and director of the Schusterman Center for jewish studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His research and teaching focus on the study of the

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Hebrew bible in the history of its interpretation In the 2nd Temple and Early Rabbinic periods. He is the author of my perfect one typology and early rabbinic interpretation of the song of songs published by Oxford University Press

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and he is currently writing a book on the interpretations of the lab medical jubilee in ancient Judaism and Christianity . He is conducting research for this volume this academic year in conjunction with Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

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While supported by a fellowship from the alexander von humboldt Foundation. He is also writing a commentary on the book of Daniel for the Oxford biblical commentary series. Previously Dr Kaplan was a Jacob and Hilda Blaustein postdoctoral

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. Associate in the Judaic studies program at Yale University . In addition to his distinguished record of teaching and scholarship, I am thankful for the ways in which Dr Kaplan has helped forge closer ties between the seminary

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and the Schusterman Center. And I look forward to working with him on collaborative efforts between our two schools in the years to come. The title of Doctor Kaplan's lecture is Isaiah and the utopian transformation of the

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jubilee. Our lecture will be followed by a Q and a session so please submit your questions using the chat function of zoom Dr Kaplan, welcome to Austin Seminary. We are eager to hear the words that

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you bring to us today. Wonderful! Thank you so much for that warm, warm introduction. I'm deeply honored uh to be here today with you virtually to give this lecture in honor of the legacy of

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Professor Professor Hair and the lectures role in pointing to the kind of long tradition of cooperation between Austin Seminary in the University of texas at Austin which Professor Hair was so committed. I'd like to thank dr Jensen

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for that wonderful uh introduction and and the gracious invitation for me to give this lecture with you today. Alison Riemersma for courting logistics for this event. And I'd also like to acknowledge the presence of President Wardlaw

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for being here for this lecture and and my dear friend and a longtime colleague, dr Susie Park. Uh you're one of the professors of old testament at the seminary. I'm gonna go and start with sharing

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my slides. We're going to do on a separate computer, second year, Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. Thus reads the iconic inscription on the Liberty Bell, a symbol of

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american freedom that receives millions of visitors every year in the heart of philadelphia. This inscription comes from the hebrew bible, specifically, Leviticus 25 10, and proclaims the ideal of liberty enshrined in the Declaration of

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Independence. The bell and its inscription have also inspired the abolitionist movement in the 19th century And the suffragettes at the turn of the 20th. These examples of the American engagement with the ideal of Liberty, expressed

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in Leviticus 25. About a small sample of the ways in which this legislation for the Israelite practice of the jubilee has influenced a wide range of religious, economic and social ideals and movements throughout history. My

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research examines the early period of this history of reception . It analyzes how ancient jewish and christian writers employed , that you believe in shaping their own utopian visions . Leviticus 25 is itself a utopian portrait of the

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Israelite society in which Israelites live on their ancestral allotments in perpetuity if they fell into debt, they could least, but never sell The land to a member of their kin group for whom they would work until

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the relationship reset itself in 50 year intervals, and the land would be returned to the people to whom Israel's God originally made the allotment. My work highlights the ways in which Leviticus 25 it's utopian economic vision

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were received in this early jewish and christian literature and transform to craft new temporal and economic utopias, all of which imagine the ways in which society would be and could be transformed to the realization of their own

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ideals of liberty. Today, I want to focus on the role that passages and ideals from the last section of the book of Isaiah play in this story of the reception of the biblical jubilee in antiquity.

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And it's used in the formulation of these new utopian visions for post eggs Ilic judy in society. I will begin by examining the use of the jubilee in Isaiah 58 61 particularly to chart visions of renewal for

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judy in society characterized by provisions for the impoverished in a society unfettered by renewed and enduring debtor, creditor , creditor relationships. The greatest contribution of these passages to the history of the reception of the jubilee legislation

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is their transformation of the jubilee from a cyclical economic practice into a final and decisive act that permanently reshapes reorders and restructures society. This transformation can be seen clearly. We'll look at these transformations in the use

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of these chapters in Too Late Second Temple Period works . The milk aesthetic document, first century Bc work discovered in cave 11 near wadi qumran among the dead sea scrolls And Jesus Sermon in the Synagogue at Nazareth

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portrayed in Luke four. The jubilee legislation from Leviticus 25 plays an important role in the utopian vision for the judean community found in the section of Isaiah, particularly in chapters 58 61. That has been assigned

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to modern scholarship to third Isaiah and dated to some point, act during the height of the committed Persian rule over Judah following the return of some of the judean elite from exile in Babylon after 5 40 B

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. C. Well, the author of these chapters , employees. This legislation to chart a roadmap of renewal for judy in society. This vision consciously avoids However, the aspects of the political legislation that might

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re inscribe hierarchies that privileged creditors over debtors. Instead , the utopian social vision of Isaiah 58 61 employ the jubilee legislation to imagine a society that emphasizes the renewal of kinship relations, debt release and provisions for

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the impoverished in a society unfettered by renewed debtor creditor relationships. The central focus of Isaiah 58 1 through five is on elucidating the nature of proper fasting for this passage, proper fasting is marked by how one

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engages in economic practices that embody divine ideals for the community of Judah. In the first five verses of the chapter, The prophetic voice Upbraids its listeners for the disjunction between their piety and their transgressions and sins

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according to the prophetic judgment, the people of Judah seek God daily and delight in knowledge of God's ways . Yet their apparent piety does not correlate to their practice of righteousness or following of divine ordinance. In

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verse two, the prophetic author highlights the contrast between the fasting practices of the people of Judah and how they treat others in the community. According to these verses, the people of Judah fast will quote,

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seeking their own interests and quote oppressing all their laborers . They're fasting is barred by contention and conflict that inhibit their pleas from being heard. On high classic prophetic indictment. The author contrasts the social practice of

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his audience with the pageantry of their piety, Bowing their heads like a bull rush fasting and quote making 1's bed and sackcloth and ash. Thus, in these five verses, the communities practice of seeking divine

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favor through fasting is characterized as ineffective because of the community's failure to enact practices unmarked by oppressing others in their community. In contrast to the negative evaluation of the efficacy of the fasting practices of the people of

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Judah vs 5, 1 through five. The prophetic author characterizes true fasting using a complex of metaphors drawn from animal husbandry verse six that evoke the jubilee verse six reads is not this. The fast I would

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choose releasing the bonds of wickedness and tying the knots of the yolk crossbar and manu menting the oppressed every yoke crossbar, you will snap Benjamin cantor situates the imagery of this verse in the context of ancient near

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eastern farming practices and argues that the use of this imagery only makes sense in light of the jubilee legislation . He argues that the writer describes many mission from debt slavery, using the metaphor of unhooking a draft

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animal. This metaphor compares the economic subjugation of non elites in judea in society with the harnessing of draft animals just as draft animals are released from their yoke at the end of their laborers and for a longer

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duration of time, during sabbatical and jubilee years. So should these nano needs be freed from their own economic subjugation, whereas the yolk would again be placed on the neck of these metaphorical animals. The profits

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appeal for his audience too fast along with enacting economic justice suggests that the prophet envisions that society should not again be marked by the subjugation of non elites. This point is made explicit in the closing phrase of

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the next verse in Verse seven. Here the image shifts, Images shift from the metaphor of animal husbandry to prophetic remonstrance for the audience to provide for the destitute in Judah, the prophet enjoins his audience to

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share with the hungry your bread and quote, to bring the poor experiencing homelessness into a home and to clothe the unclothed. He concludes this series of imperatives by the summary statement for the audience, quote,

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not to hide oneself from your own flesh. The injunction in Isaiah 58 emphasizes that the enactment of social justice and post eggs Ilic society entails the restoration of kinship relations and not just the basic provisions of food

00:12:05.090 - 00:12:18.880

, clothing and shelter for the poor. The poor are not simply to be cared for, but rather there to be restored to a kinship status marked by reciprocal care. This phrase thus reinforces the point implied

00:12:18.880 - 00:12:33.850

in the last first, that the people should not again endure economic subjugation. Well, this passage shares with Leviticus 25, a concern for caring for kinsmen who might in the frequent designation of Medicus waxen poor

00:12:35.440 - 00:12:50.260

. This prophetic call for the breaking of the yoke of economic subjugation sees the societal transformation as the final act not to be repeated among the people of Judah because the social orientation of its inhabitants has categorically changed

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this fundamental change in the society of Judah, where the yoke of economic subjugation has been shattered implies an end to social stratification and the differentiation society into elites and non elites. This end of social hierarchy constitutes

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an interpretation and the development of the earlier jubilee legislation . That legislation is inherently conservative in nature and I mean in a small c sense of the word. While the legislation mandates provision for the poor in ancient

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Israelite society, the 50 year term of land release effectively places the poor in long term indentured servitude with little independent agency. The legislation may regard the poor as kinsman, but there is inherent social stratification among

00:13:39.050 - 00:13:54.130

creditors and debtors. In contrast, Isaiah 58, with its emphasis on the breaking of the yoke of servitude and focused regard for one's kinsman anticipates an end to the need for such social stratification and the embodiment

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of Isaiah's vision for redemption. This aspiration for an end to social stratification is inherently utopian because it envisions a society that is markedly different than the one in which the author implies exists in Judah through articulating this

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utopian aspiration. This passage presage is later a scatological and apocalyptic visions that view the enactment of the logistical jubilee legislation as a one time act that inaugurates a fundamental shift in the organization and orientation of judean society

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. This notion of a decisive shift And the Economic Organization of Posting Cilic Society is also found in Isaiah 61 1 through three. Another passage in Isaiah that evokes the liturgical jubilee, whereas Isaiah 58 is suffused

00:14:50.300 - 00:15:03.960

with imagery and thematic connections to Leviticus 25. Isaiah 60 one's connection to the political jubilees based primarily on its use of the technical phrase to proclaim release in verse one, notably a phrase that is also found

00:15:03.960 - 00:15:20.110

in Leviticus 25 10 and Jeremiah 34 nowhere else in the heat revival. As has long been noted, this phrase parallels in the median technical formula that is used in various ad hoc royal proclamations of economic release

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dating as early as the second millennium Bc. Even if this phrase stems originally from a broader ancient near Eastern tradition, it's specific Houston is a 61 likely has leviticus 25 as its source because of the illusions

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this political chapter found in Isaiah 58. Benjamin Summer further observes that Isaiah 61 also draws in Leviticus 25 because this proclamation of liberty and release is directed to those who've been forced into debt slavery. Isaiah 61

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however, transforms this notion as summer observes, because this chapter quote, maintains the nation, Israel received the benefits promised by priestly law to a person sold into debt slavery. Thus, the use of Leviticus

00:16:04.700 - 00:16:22.780

25 envisioning a utopia in Isaiah 61 situates the enactment of this vision as the wholesale reversal of a corporate condition of debt slavery affecting every member of Judah height society. The phrase to proclaim release is the third

00:16:22.780 - 00:16:37.330

in a series of infinitive praises that delineate the anointed profits mandate and further elaborate this utopian vision. The first two phrases enjoying the prophet quote to proclaim good news and to bind up. The first, infinitive

00:16:37.330 - 00:16:49.530

echoes other passages in Isaiah 40 through 66, in which the prophet or the servants of the Lord is described as a herald of good news. The second , infinitive to bind up appears earlier in Isaiah to

00:16:49.530 - 00:17:07.420

describe the moment when the Lord binds up quote, the wounds of his people. Third infinitive is unique to this oracle because of its use of two distinctive words denoting release. This unique language highlights the contrast

00:17:07.420 - 00:17:22.260

between the liberation envision in Isaiah 61 that described in Leviticus 25 while the vehicle jubilee legislation focuses on Manu mission and economic reprieve within the regular cycles of an established society. The imagery here is more suggestive of

00:17:22.260 - 00:17:40.500

decisive transformation. This point is reinforced by the description in this. In these verses of the beneficiaries of this proclamation is humble, brokenhearted captives and imprisoned. Their condition is decisively reversed. Whereas the jubilee proclamation

00:17:40.500 - 00:17:59.280

is only cyclically announced quote in the land to all its inhabitants. Though the transformation announced, the oracle seems decisive and definitive, this proclamation inaugurates an indefinite year of the Lord's favor and a day of indication

00:17:59.280 - 00:18:12.950

of Israel's God rather than the year of the Lord's favor and for those of you know, Hebrew, this is indicated by the phrase shall not tracks unless um which is highlights the indefinite character of this year

00:18:12.950 - 00:18:29.510

or favor. That the prophetic writer does not employ this definite article in his naming of this period. The subsequent description characterizes this period is decisive and transformative , whereas previously due to have been subjugated to enemies

00:18:29.510 - 00:18:41.440

with the advent of divine redemption in favour, a day of vindication is now enacted for judas God, as can be seen from other instances of this language in Isaiah, this vindication which is often rendered as

00:18:41.440 - 00:18:59.150

vengeance will mean a year of redemption for Judah in Isaiah 63 in a year of vindication for Zion's cause in Isaiah 34 joseph Blenkinsop notes that this description of this period as a quote day of vindication, particularly

00:18:59.150 - 00:19:15.420

when it has been characterised negatively as a day of vengeance, has been regarded by some commentators as out of keeping with generally positive Description of Redemption throughout Isaiah 60: 62. But the matter is really a

00:19:15.430 - 00:19:32.060

question of perspective from Judah's perspective, a period of divine favor and redemption necessarily entails negative consequences for Judah's enemies. In fact, just such vengeance is enumerated for a dome in Isaiah 63 versus one through six

00:19:32.130 - 00:19:48.140

, which consequently means vindication for Judah. For Isaiah vengeance and vindication are two sides of the same coin , but vindication is for Judah And to Evoke Deuteronomy 32 as it's refracted through Paul's Epistles, Vengeance belongs

00:19:48.140 - 00:20:06.440

to her God. In this period of redemption and vindication, Judah's experience of warning and loss is subverted through comfort and divine provisions. The theme of consolation from morning pervades Isaiah 40 through 66 where the end

00:20:06.440 - 00:20:22.410

of judas period of mourning is thematically associated with Judah's redemption. The prophetic author describes the judas passage from warning to consolation and joy in performative terms. Resplendent attire substitutes for the ashes that mark, the mortars

00:20:22.420 - 00:20:40.610

of Zion. This reversal is reinforced in verse three . In the putting rearrangement of the continents of the word for turban sometimes translated as garland to air that replaces the ash ashes affair of Judah's morning and you

00:20:40.610 - 00:20:52.830

don't have to know Hebrew to see that the words at the beginning and end of the slide in Hebrew have the same letters. They're just flipped around furthermore , festive appointments in a cloak of splendor, visually

00:20:52.830 - 00:21:11.460

mark an end to their morning and down Straaten spirit . In the end, the prophetic author describes uh describes this renovated and adorned body of Israel expectantly as Terabytes of victory which the Lord plants to glorify himself

00:21:11.940 - 00:21:26.610

. This shift to a silver cultural metaphor in this first contains another punning transformation. This time of the word for Mourners. Avila a to use the word initially used to describe Judah into terrible deaths. L

00:21:26.610 - 00:21:41.220

. A. Finally the verse culminates in the verb to glorify himself the heat player that builds on the continents of both turban and ashes at the beginning of the verse and evokes the Hebrew word for tree Pora

00:21:41.230 - 00:21:56.430

, which Israel now represents as the Terabytes of victory . This metaphor of Zion continues through the end of verse seven as Jerusalem is rebuilt and Judah is restored to its former glory in the restored city, the

00:21:56.440 - 00:22:08.330

people are now engaged primarily as the priests of the Lord and servants of God to enjoy generous tribute from the nations of the world. In the end, this wholesale transformation seems anything but fleeting. Rather these

00:22:08.330 - 00:22:25.460

events imagine a complete and final reconstruction reordering of judea height society on the world stage. Whereas Leviticus 25 legislated a utopia that allowed for the ongoing reality debt . Isaiah 61 and visions of utopia that is egalitarian

00:22:25.470 - 00:22:38.980

in its scope and transformative with the social structures within Judah as well as science position in the world. Isaiah 58 61. Thus both employ imagery drawn from the jubilee legislation. To instance, she ate a

00:22:38.980 - 00:22:56.400

prophetic hope for the restoration of Jerusalem and Judah hide society Contrast the legislation Leviticus 25. These passages described a different structure for society through their emphasis on the renewal of kinship relations, debt release and a provision

00:22:56.400 - 00:23:08.730

for the impoverished in a society unfettered by renewed debtor , creditor relationships. Further these passages advance this utopian vision in a way in which this year favor is not a one time event, but rather a permanent

00:23:08.730 - 00:23:23.530

reordering of judas society and economy and position within the world in this regard, these passages present a sincere vision of hope for different and renew society devoid of the binary of elites and non elites inside of You

00:23:23.530 - 00:23:41.390

hide society the simultaneous erasure of economic stratification in the society on the one hand, and the economic subordination of foreign nations to Judah on the other seems on the surface contradictory such an apparent contradiction is however,

00:23:41.390 - 00:23:56.090

entirely consistent with examples from other utopian works. For instance, the society of Utopia fictionally described by thomas more is marked both by an internal absence of economic inequality and an internal position of this island nation as

00:23:56.090 - 00:24:14.210

superior to surrounding nations. Isaiah is reshaping of the jubilee into a singular transformative moment, deeply influenced to later second Temple period of text that build on these chapters in shaping their own utopian visions. The aforementioned

00:24:14.210 - 00:24:26.770

markets, a document known as 11 Q 13 and the number speak of Cameron Scholars. It is the first century BC work discovered in came 11 near Wadi Qumran and one of the dead sea scrolls. The

00:24:26.770 - 00:24:41.290

other instance which I'll talk to you about briefly is from Jesus Sermon in the Synagogue Nazareth as it is presented in Luke four. The Milky aesthetic document portrays the eschatological triumph of the heavenly figure, Milk aesthetic

00:24:41.300 - 00:24:56.920

and his armies against the forces of the demonic figure belly all in his lot as well as milk. It's a tax declaration of scatological release from sin and debt for those allied with him. Isaiah 61,

00:24:56.930 - 00:25:10.240

but not 58 plays a prominent role in the Eschatological Vision of Malcolm aesthetic documents. Column to the document , which is 25 lines in length in which I've given you the first nine verses and sampling is a

00:25:10.240 - 00:25:26.600

highly fragmentary texts will come run that combines quotations from America's 25 Deuteronomy 15, Daniel nine and Isaiah 52 as well as alludes to Isaiah 61. Well, the political verses in the quotes from Daniel nine in

00:25:26.600 - 00:25:41.850

Isaiah 52 are introduced by citation formula such as and which said and and concerning it. The references to Isaiah 61 are not explicitly marked and instead are signaled by the use of language from the prophetic passage to

00:25:41.850 - 00:25:57.220

explain the meaning of the verses from the penetration, The presentation of Isaiah 61, found on your slide highlights phrases from these verses that are reused in the milk ascetic documents. I have employed superscript lower case

00:25:57.230 - 00:26:12.450

letters to highlight the sequence of their appearance in the document, notably this graphic presentation highlights the Milk ascetic document quotes from only the first two verses of Isaiah 61 1 through three in column two. It is

00:26:12.450 - 00:26:26.240

conceivable that the use of language from the conclusion of the prophetic figures mandate in Isaiah 61 3 Could have continued in column three, but the remaining preserved fragments of the documents do not contain any distinctive language from

00:26:26.240 - 00:26:41.760

this first. More importantly, except for the illusion to Isaiah 61 1 in line 18 of milk ascetic document. The use of language from these verses, verses follows the order of the phrases as they appear

00:26:41.760 - 00:26:59.480

in Isaiah. This observation reinforces the contention of Merrill Miller already in 1969 that Isaiah 61 1 through two stands behind the text of 11 Q. Milk ascetic And that the unique scripture texts quoted in it unfold

00:26:59.480 - 00:27:15.820

their interrelation meaning with reference to Isaiah 61 1 through two. Thus, Isaiah 61 should be regarded as central to framing the utopian vision in the Milky set of documents versus one through to provide the contextual frame

00:27:15.820 - 00:27:30.930

that transforms the vision of debt forgiveness and manu mission in the al kinetic document from regular economic practices into a final and definitive eschatological vision. As I discussed earlier, the prophetic author of Isaiah 61, already

00:27:30.930 - 00:27:48.860

transformed the Jubilee legislation through its vision of a complete and final reconstruction ring and reordering of Judah Hide Society . This egalitarian vision meant the overturning of persistent patterns debt in Israeli society and pretends the inauguration of a

00:27:48.860 - 00:28:07.360

new um economic order. As Shani CRF notes, Isaiah 61 quote, refrained, escada, logically, the jubilee legislation from Leviticus 25 and this reframing forms a substantial part of the framework for the eschatological vision

00:28:07.360 - 00:28:21.460

of debt release in the Milk aesthetic document. Well , Isaiah 61 provides much of the framework for this utopia. It is the imminent ist temporal reality of the Milky aesthetic document that further concretize is utopian vision

00:28:21.840 - 00:28:37.470

And transforms this eschatological vision that you believe legislation into a realization of the prophetic cope of Isaiah 61 in the present time of the author of this dead sea scroll. Isaiah 61 1 through two similarly plays a

00:28:37.470 - 00:28:52.190

central role in Jesus addressed in the synagogue in Nazareth as it is described to look for the verses from Isaiah 61 interwoven with the phrase from Isaiah 58 6 form the substance of jesus reading in the synagogue and

00:28:52.190 - 00:29:08.390

are the starting point of his short address to those gathered there. Yes, luke's presentation of this episode locates it at the beginning of jesus public activity after his immersion by john and his experience of temptation by

00:29:08.390 - 00:29:22.030

the devil in the Wilderness the Nazareth passages. The first example of jesus teaching activity in the synagogues in galilee luke presents, Jesus is going to the synagogue Nazareth on the sabbath, as was his custom,

00:29:22.040 - 00:29:34.950

and is then proceeding to stand up to read from the profits. Whereas Jesus is reading an assigned passage from the profits, whether he is reading an assigned passage for profits as is part of leader synagogue practice

00:29:36.340 - 00:29:48.840

, or selecting the reading himself is unclear. The passage that he reads from Isaiah does not however, match our version of Isaiah 61 1 through two, leaving out some portions of these verses, well,

00:29:48.840 - 00:30:02.180

supplementing it with the phrase from Isaiah 58 6, the presentation of these verses on the slide indicates the phrase that comes from Isaiah 58 6 and bold. While the ellipsis highlights were text from Isaiah 61 1

00:30:02.180 - 00:30:17.660

through two is missing. The portion of Isaiah 61 in Isaiah 58 that are extent in these verses matches the version of Isaiah preserved in sep two. Isn't the greek translation from antiquity of the Hebrew bible scholars

00:30:17.660 - 00:30:33.450

have long connected jesus reading and sermon in the Nazareth synagogue with the jubilee tradition and if you do as envisioning jesus work, is the realization of Isaiah 61 . S scatological vision. This conclusion has been reinforced

00:30:33.450 - 00:30:47.510

since the discovery of publication of milk, pathetic document and it's clear use of Isaiah 61 in juxtaposition with a number of other jubilee related text and its own explicit mention of the jubilee look forward, does not

00:30:47.520 - 00:31:02.030

include whoever other texts that clearly discuss the jubilee legislation Or in the case of Deuteronomy 25 During the 15 were understood is related to the Jubilee in antiquity. The only text that luke four sites is the snippet

00:31:02.030 - 00:31:15.240

of Isaiah. The only other text is the snippet of Isaiah 58 6. And while the Milky to document clearly represents an explicit and developed version of the tradition of articulating an eschatological jubilee Lukes participation in this

00:31:15.240 - 00:31:32.580

tradition is muted. For this reason, it deserves closer examination to tease out the ways that engages this tradition. There are at least four significant features of this passage that supports the conclusion that jesus luke is

00:31:32.580 - 00:31:45.390

evoking the jubilee in his presentation of jesus visit to the Nazareth synagogue. First luke citation of the phrase from Isaiah 58 6, in the midst of jesus reading of these verses draws together two passages from Isaiah

00:31:45.390 - 00:31:57.760

that are deeply enmeshed in this tradition of interpretation. Second, in the greek, written by jews of this period, there is no distinct word that is used to translate the Hebrew term for jubilee. In

00:31:57.760 - 00:32:16.860

fact translating the Hebrew term, Yeovil jubilee drawer release and she to which is the word for sabbatical year . The student consistently uses forms of the same word to render these words of faces. This word is

00:32:16.860 - 00:32:30.180

used throughout all the various ancient greek translations of the hebrew bible to render a whole range of words associated with concepts of liberty and released, including the idea of forgiveness of sins in the new testament and suggests

00:32:30.180 - 00:32:45.720

that they were understood to be related if not equivalent concepts. Look for the word of faces does appear in Jesus Reading in the parts of Isaiah 58 and 61 and while luke does not have a specific greek

00:32:45.720 - 00:32:59.220

word for jubilee, he certainly employs the term that would have clearly connected leviticus to Leviticus 25 in the practice of jubilee third, the use of a faces twice in this short reading highlights its importance as a

00:32:59.220 - 00:33:13.170

motif in luke's presentation of jesus reading. The release announced in this reading is quote for the captives and quote to let the oppressed go free. The vision presented by both of these chapters entails a complete and

00:33:13.170 - 00:33:25.830

decisive enactment of national debt releasing manu mission rather than a six cyclical enactment of these practices. As in Leviticus 25 as in Isaiah. The release in luke is not just an active for individuals who have experienced

00:33:25.830 - 00:33:42.390

economic misfortune. It refers to corporate or national liberation . The interweaving of these passages and jesus is reading thus highlights this release is imminent. Fourth jesus reading that connects it to the broader jubilee tradition is the

00:33:42.390 - 00:33:53.770

conclusion of his reading with the phrase to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. What is noticeable about jesus, concluding his reading and look for with this phrase is not only that reinforce firms the imminence of

00:33:53.770 - 00:34:08.170

the realization of the jubilee division, but also that it characterizes jesus enactment of this vision is definitive and final as luke presents jesus saying after he rolls the scroll and returns it to the attendant. Today this

00:34:08.170 - 00:34:22.920

scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. The imminence and definitive character of jesus reading from Isaiah is reinforced by a feature of this final phrase that is often missed by scholars. As I discussed earlier, the

00:34:22.920 - 00:34:40.240

hebrew of this phrase from Isaiah 62 12 clearly marks the acceptable year of the Lord as indefinite. The greek translation institution, which luke presents exactly could possibly be interpreted as either in indefinite and acceptable year of

00:34:40.240 - 00:34:54.960

the Lord or as the definite the acceptable year of the Lord. Part of the uncertainty comes from the inconsistent uses of the definite article institution and indeed hellenistic period greek more broadly. For instance, in the

00:34:54.960 - 00:35:09.260

greek translation of the phrase, the Spirit of the Lord from Isaiah 61 1, neither the word spirit , Tanuma or Lord koreas are preceded by a definite article. Though, the syntax of the hebrew of

00:35:09.260 - 00:35:23.490

this first mark. Spirit is definite and the Lord is actually a proper name. The similar use of Lord with a noun that lacks the definite article in the greek translation of Isaiah 61 to tilts the evidence

00:35:23.490 - 00:35:37.050

towards an interpretation of the year of the Lord's favor as a singular, definitive final the year of the Lord's favor for luke. The interpretation of the definitive character of the year of the Lord's favor and look

00:35:37.050 - 00:35:52.480

for is supported further by the context of jesus reading and interpretation. As in the Milky aesthetic document, Jesus employs a style of interpretation seen also in the Milk pathetic document, more broadly also at Koran in

00:35:52.480 - 00:36:04.530

order to declare that the prophetic hope of these verses has been fulfilled in the hearing of those in the synagogue. In effect, jesus like Milk ascetic in the Milky ascetic document is the one who inaugurates the

00:36:04.530 - 00:36:20.310

year of God's favor and announces the final and eschatological experience of release for the captives and the oppressed. The Lukes. Jesus does not mention any key jubilee text such as political 25 or Deuteronomy 15. Jesus

00:36:20.310 - 00:36:35.470

reading of these verses from the two text from Isaiah that do evoke the jubilee strongly suggests that jesus like Milk aesthetic is also announcing not just imminent release to the captives, but rather more specifically the advent of

00:36:35.470 - 00:36:50.950

a final and definitive year of release. Well luke may not explicitly leverage explicitly leverage the jubilee legislation in jesus sermon at Nazareth. He certainly echoes this legislation and its early history of interpretation further, the author

00:36:50.950 - 00:37:06.220

of luke participates in the interpreter trajectory also found in the Milky aesthetic document of concretize ng and realizing the prophetic hope of Isaiah 58 61 in a permanent and decisive way, luke's year of the Lord's favor.

00:37:06.310 - 00:37:23.810

As in the Milky aesthetic document is at hand and this utopian vision will begin to be inaugurated throughout the remainder of loose gospel, luke 25 portrays an idyllic vision for Israelites society of land apportioned to the Israelite

00:37:23.810 - 00:37:39.010

tribes along kinship lines and the settlement of each of these tribes in their respective plans on those allotments in perpetuity. Like other utopian literature, Leviticus 25 understands that individual members of Israeli society will face economic adversity

00:37:39.160 - 00:37:52.910

and provides a mechanism for both addressing this adversity And restoring the allotments of land to the original designees in 50 year intervals. Today I've examined one arc in the reception and transformation of this utopian vision Centered on

00:37:52.910 - 00:38:06.740

Isaiah's evocation of the jubilee and use of verses from these passages in the milk pathetic document, Luke. Chapter four, as I've argued both of these chapters from Isaiah employ language and imagery from this legislation,

00:38:07.120 - 00:38:19.860

both as a foil to castigate the social failings of post eggs, Ilic jude high society and is an ideal to engender hope in the future for that community . These chapters consciously avoid. However, these aspects

00:38:19.860 - 00:38:35.970

of this legislation that might re inscribe hierarchies that privileged creditors or debtors and are possible in the utopian, the legislation of Leviticus Instead, Isaiah 58 and 61 emphasize the renewal of kinship relationships, debt release and

00:38:35.970 - 00:38:50.640

provisions for the impoverished in a society unfettered by renewed debtor creditor relationships. As I've noted, Isaiah 58 emphasizes the breaking of the yoke of servitude and focuses on cultivating society marked by regard for one's kinsmen.

00:38:51.620 - 00:39:07.740

In doing so, anticipates an end to the need for such social stratification. Isaiah 61 similarly expresses a wholesale transformation of the society and constitutes a complete and final reconstruction during reconstruction and reordering rather than the jubilee

00:39:07.740 - 00:39:22.720

being irregular, cyclical economic practice, which benefits the creditors to the disadvantage of the impoverished the interpretation of the jubilee in this chapter, in these chapters envisions a singular and decisive resetting of the economic mechanisms in

00:39:22.720 - 00:39:39.250

post eggs Ilic society in this regard. These passages anticipate later s scatological and apocalyptic visions that interpret these verses as describing the enactment of the political jubilee legislation as a one time act that inaugurates a fundamental shift

00:39:39.620 - 00:39:54.570

the organization orientation of judean society, Reception of political jubilee in these passages from Isaiah in Isaiah 61 most significantly features prominently in the milk. It's better document to look for these two works from the first century

00:39:54.570 - 00:40:08.950

Bc in the first century ce respectively, continue the trajectory of understanding the Declaration and enactment the jubilee as a decisive and transformative event and through their reception of these visions found in Isaiah. The announcement of the

00:40:08.950 - 00:40:25.280

jubilee as a year of the Lord's favor moves to become a final declaration of economic release and social transformation that inaugurates the year of the Lord's favor. An eschatological realization of a utopian ideal expressed first in the

00:40:25.280 - 00:40:45.900

prophetic hope found in Isaiah. Thank you Dr Kaplan , thank you for a incredibly rich presentation. That has generated a lot of questions in my mind. And you've made me re read some text that I

00:40:45.900 - 00:41:00.060

thought were familiar in new ways. So, thank you very, very much for uh that presentation. I invite uh those of you who have questions to submit them via the chat function. I will moderate

00:41:00.060 - 00:41:12.170

the questions. Uh and maybe I'll start off with with with my question. Um, I was really struck uh this is a basic question, I guess , but I was struck by the use of utopian

00:41:12.170 - 00:41:30.290

in the title and throughout presentation. And uh I I wonder if uh part of what we have here is a utopian transformation of actually an originally utopian idea . Uh you know, how how much do we

00:41:30.290 - 00:41:46.210

know about the lead vehicle, actual practice of the jubilee year? I mean, what I mean, was it uh honored in all respects? Was it seen as a nice idea that uh you know,

00:41:46.220 - 00:42:00.740

uh I mean, I can imagine Resistance to even a 50-year cycle of forgiving of debts and so on . And so what what what do we know about the Yeah, that's a great, that's a great

00:42:00.740 - 00:42:12.980

question. Um, So we know that the Schmidt to or sabbatical year has been practiced and actually is still practiced in Israel. So actually, this year we're now 57, is actually a year. So

00:42:12.980 - 00:42:22.120

there are some people who are observing the commandments related to Schmidt to and are letting fields lie fallow uh only in the land of Israel, which works really well with the global economy and global food supplies,

00:42:22.120 - 00:42:34.110

right? Um it may become more difficult to localize food supplies, but that's a different kind of question . We do know, it was practicing observant Second Temple times, do you believe is a different question

00:42:34.120 - 00:42:50.430

? Uh and uh scholars of antiquity until today are kind of um struggle to find evidence for its actual observance. Um this, this goes back to, you know, longstanding literature um because of that,

00:42:50.430 - 00:42:59.590

scholars of Hebrew bible, particularly since the, you know, even the 20th century, maybe even in the 19th have used the word utopian to describe this practice and they usually do so in a kind of

00:42:59.590 - 00:43:17.260

dismissive way, right? That is utopian means um , silly, aspirational, impracticable and ridiculous. uh and I actually have like a list of like 20 quotes, which kind of demonstrate that. Um but

00:43:17.260 - 00:43:24.260

I I, you know, I started this larger research project, I wanted to say, well, what do we take that as a positive idea? What if we kind of depart from a kind of

00:43:24.270 - 00:43:37.800

north american distrust with Utopia as as a concept, even though the United States is a utopian country, its founding um and and come to realization with what if we use that as an analytical category to think

00:43:37.800 - 00:43:46.390

about the jubilee. And I would say that even though there's no evidence for the practice, I think you're right. It is a very utopian ideal. Uh, that, that is the biggest indication is

00:43:46.390 - 00:43:59.310

that it envisions a society regardless of when you date the legislation. And scholars are diverse in their opinions anywhere ranging from, I don't know, Doctor Park can correct me if I'm wrong, but like 750

00:43:59.310 - 00:44:09.130

BC all the way up to like 300 BC or various proposed dates for the legislation kind of as a rough range. Um, uh, you know, even even if you needed any of those period,

00:44:09.130 - 00:44:21.060

the society imagined by the jubilee legislation is much older . It's a, it's an early tribal society when people are still tied to the land. There isn't really a sense of, of, of strong urban

00:44:21.060 - 00:44:32.560

existence in it. Uh, and people are organized around kinship groups and settled in kinship patterns, which matches really well. Too early iron Age understandings of Israeli society Like 11th 12th century BC. Kind of

00:44:32.560 - 00:44:45.860

range. So that is a kind of utopian past , right? And we all are familiar with literature which cast utopian visions into the past and the jubilee legislation does that very nicely. There are also some

00:44:45.860 - 00:44:57.280

other indications and I'm gonna line this out in the book, I'm writing of features of this legislation which when taking an aggregate, highlight that really marks it as utopian text, one of the key indicators for

00:44:57.280 - 00:45:09.600

me beyond the sort of hepatic structuring, right? Like the sequence of times and seven's right. Um is also this the term for the jubilee that we get in Hebrew, which is Yeovil, um which

00:45:10.490 - 00:45:23.380

Is it kind of, it's a word which the writer of Leviticus 25 use the term, which means both Ram's horn on the one hand and release on the other and kind of uses it repurpose. Is

00:45:23.380 - 00:45:35.610

it to refer to this particular economic practice? And that is kind of a kid actually to Thomas Morris creation of the term utopia to designate an ideal society , right? Which we are left with the legacy

00:45:35.610 - 00:45:45.210

of since the 16th century. So there are a lot of indications in the in the legislation itself that kind of wink at us to say, you know , this is a utopian ideal. That doesn't mean

00:45:45.210 - 00:45:54.250

it would be great for practice, right? Or that the writer didn't imagine it as plausible. Um , but for us, I think it helps us appreciate some dimensions of the text and its reception which

00:45:54.250 - 00:46:15.980

have been missed for that reason. Thank you. Um, here's a question from Professor Caroline household. Uh huh Is jesus adding anything to what Isaiah and the milk setting texts tell us. I don't think

00:46:15.980 - 00:46:25.840

he's adding. I think he's subtracting more than anything . And so this is one of the things that I'm kind of wrestling with. And there are like , you know, uh, in my faculty study

00:46:25.840 - 00:46:37.930

there, you know, or on my computer there stacks of books that are like jesus and the utopia and look for right, the jubilee and look for . And then there's a kind of other kind of

00:46:37.940 - 00:46:49.260

group of commentators who say there isn't any thing there and I'm kind of today, I've kind of tried to chart a middle course which says there are features which are reminiscent of the jubilee. But the fact

00:46:49.260 - 00:47:02.380

of the matter is that doesn't seem to be at the front. And so I would say that really what jesus is doing in his reading is focusing more on this ideal of release more broadly and taking it

00:47:02.380 - 00:47:17.650

out of the specific context of the jubilee. Now , one could view that in the larger trajectory of luke acts, particularly how programmatically and this is where I'm hopefully not stepping on any new testament colleagues tools

00:47:17.650 - 00:47:31.790

here. Um, but in the larger trajectory of luke acts, which really is a kind of uh Universalist IQ expansion of the message of the gospel jesus to the world. Also keeping in view, Jerusalem

00:47:31.790 - 00:47:45.520

, constantly coming back and back to Jerusalem throughout the journey, um is kind of viewing a sort of jewish center notion of that vision, but also recognizing that that vision goes beyond the bounds of the land

00:47:45.520 - 00:47:57.740

of Israel where the jubilee legislation is the only place where that legislation to be enacted, right? So in that sense, maybe it is adding, right ? Even though it's subtraction as you believe. And

00:47:57.740 - 00:48:07.450

I'm kind of working this out on the fly. It's adding this notion of a much more expansion notion , expansive notion of release and liberty than manu mission . And as many of you know, emphasis becomes

00:48:07.450 - 00:48:20.770

the key word for describing forgiveness of sins throughout the new testament literature. So that could also be part and parcel. That transformation is luke reflex. One thing I will know is that an early christian literature

00:48:20.780 - 00:48:36.330

leviticus as a commentary as a text that is red is largely ignored. Um except for places like Leviticus 16 and the Yankee Poor Liturgy. Um My colleague from Radner's who who's at University of Toronto Wycliffe College

00:48:36.340 - 00:48:45.720

, uh I had some correspondence with, wrote a theological commentary politicus and uh you know, he's very interested in what the fathers have done on this. Uh and he's observed to me that this is basically

00:48:45.720 - 00:48:59.460

absent. Uh and and so one of the things that we do see here already and luke is a sort of a facing of leviticus, it's kind of uh its relevance as a text for early Christianity and

00:48:59.460 - 00:49:15.460

that's kind of fully realized as we see and move on into passages that are from the 2nd and 3rd century fathers got another question here from Professor Susie Park , um with a shout out to show squid games

00:49:15.460 - 00:49:30.000

in the relevance of issues of economic disparities today, but here's the question, I'm wondering what we do with this disappointment. Undergirding utopia that is detected in the hebrew bible. And second Temple talk about how

00:49:30.000 - 00:49:43.500

to live during this period, while we are still waiting for this? S scatological jubilee, what do we do with this? Continual disappointment that this better time is that has promised to us is always forthcoming

00:49:43.970 - 00:49:54.660

? Yeah, I think that's a great question. Um I don't know what to do with the psychological issues of it. Right. I mean, uh , actually, I'll leave it to uh colleagues on

00:49:54.660 - 00:50:05.760

on the faculty here to work and work in pastoral care, to comment on how to deal with this . Right? I think it's a reality. Uh and the Milky aesthetic document is probably more guilty of

00:50:05.760 - 00:50:20.220

this than luke is of ginning up eschatological expectation. Great, I'm kind of trying to work out this idea because the temporal reality in the Milky aesthetic document , earlier versions of this kind of updating of this

00:50:20.220 - 00:50:31.420

jubilee, temporal reality tied to a specific moment. Whereas the Milky aesthetic document kind of creates this space along with another or other text, which is kind of like this perpetually imminent jubilee, which is very

00:50:31.420 - 00:50:40.840

akin to what you see in early early jesus movement text, like in paul's writings, right? Where jesus is coming around the mountain really quickly. Right ? Really, it's gonna be now, it's gonna

00:50:40.840 - 00:50:52.960

be soon in that city desk biological reputation. How do you live with that? S scatological expectation and the continued expectation um, is a challenge. Right ? Uh, and then the flip side is how

00:50:52.960 - 00:51:05.870

do you not fallen, either disappointment or what a lot of people nowadays, during the 20th and 21st centuries, which is or even in the 19th century as well, constantly trying to predict the date when

00:51:05.870 - 00:51:17.130

that eschatological moment is going to be fulfilled. Right ? So there's kind of two extremes delicate balance, um whether or not it's psychologically healthy. Um, I don't know, but it is a definitely a

00:51:17.130 - 00:51:30.930

delicate balance. And unfortunately, the second temple text don't really reference it, right? Because the text that we have are really from the true believers, right? The people are truly committed to this vision

00:51:30.940 - 00:51:49.190

and are committed to this eschatological expectation, we don't have writings of people who who have left the community of Cameron per se and acknowledge the move away from that s geological disappointment. I will say that the

00:51:49.660 - 00:52:02.980

yeah, that through their interpretation of Daniel, mine , The early church fathers have a kind of innovative approach to this, is that they view the 70 weeks of Daniel, um The kind of normative Christian

00:52:02.980 - 00:52:16.390

interpretation until the 20th 19th century was very much this uh that those 70 weeks were fulfilled in the time of Jesus, right? And that's very much invested with the 10 times 49 pornography. Now, I

00:52:16.390 - 00:52:30.030

say that because in a sense What the fathers are saying, although they're not talking about Leviticus, 25 . Is that the jubilee expectation of Daniel nine was fulfilled in the time of Jesus. So it's a

00:52:30.030 - 00:52:43.220

past utopia. So the eschatological expectations behind us and now we're in this new age age of the church and we can move forward in in in glory and grandeur and particularly in the first century 4th century arrives

00:52:43.220 - 00:52:55.350

in Constantine establishes the church to the toleration. Um you have a greater protected status for Christianity. The rabbis do a similar thing as well. Um, they don't really comment on Daniel mine at all,

00:52:55.350 - 00:53:10.850

actually in the early early Church, early rabbinic literature . Um, and they actually legislate the jubilee out of existence. They say it was only practicable, you can only observe the Jubilee when all 12 tribes

00:53:10.860 - 00:53:23.080

were in their original ancestral allotments. And that stopped being a plausible reality in the 8th century BC. So don't need to worry about it. Don. Um so both both of them have sort of dealt

00:53:23.080 - 00:53:36.200

with that s theological issue by getting rid of the S Catan and putting it in the past in some way, shape or form. Mm Wow! I think we have time for one more question if there

00:53:36.200 - 00:53:55.340

is one. and you can shout this out, even Bayan meeting your microphone if you have one. Well, if not Professor Caplan, thank you so much for spending this hour with us. You've given

00:53:55.340 - 00:54:07.210

us a lot to chew on for. Uh well , until the escaped on whatever that may be. Yeah, thank you so much for being here with me today, and I'm really deeply appreciated the honor

00:54:07.210 - 00:54:12.080

of giving this lecture and of sharing my work with you. Thank you so much. All right.