The Woe Oracles we find in Isaiah 5:8-25 and 10:1-4 probably made up a literary whole before a redactor or a series of redactors inserted the materials currently separating them. As these are now found in Isaiah 4:2-12:6, they are the prophet's laments over a group of people that has contributed to the downfall of Israel which now (in a date after the Babylonian exile and coinciding with the time of the third Isaiah?) awaits the coming of a New Messiah and a New Jerusalem. There is a redactional phrase that connects these oracles together leading to the last vision of Yahweh's victory in battle in Isaiah 66:24: "for all this, his wrath is not turned back and his hand is still outstretched" (Isaiah 5:25b, 9:20b, 10:4b).
The woe oracles are introduced by the phrase "hoy lahem" followed by participles. The part introduced by "laken" (English: "because of this") gives the motive for the "woe": the prophet sees the coming dire events as consequences of what a group or groups of people ("lahem") are doing (the verbs in participial form). Those upon whom the woes are pronounced are characterized differently: in 5:8 they are those who "join house to house" ; in 5:11-12, they are those who have parties from early morn to night; in 5:18, they are those "who draw" pulling sin and falsehood behind them; in 5:20-23, they are a group characterized by words connoting wisdom, valor and in v. 23 activities that denote a judge. In 10:1-2 they are described as having the ability to create decrees with a power that was at the time exercised by an elite group of men, to write.
Who are these people upon whom Isaiah pronounces his lament? If this series of woes are to be understood climactically with the last woe taken as the full identification of the groups of people mentioned, then 10:1-2 identifies them as court functionaries, people of authority who can use their position for personal gain
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
to turn aside the needy from justice and
to rob the poor of my people of their right,that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
From the time of Solomon, scribes, priests and military officers played a role in the administration of the kingdom (see 1 Kgs. 4:1-19); they made up the machinery that Samuel had earlier prophesied as going to realize the "custom" of the king (1 Sam. 8:11-17). These are the officials who will take charge of the administration of the resources of Judah, from the land to the people. Those who are mentioned in the woe oracles fit the profile of people who can make decisions that would affect the lives of other people, especially those who depend on them, like the widow and the orphan. In Isaiah 28:1-28, an oracle is directed to those who are knowledgeable in mixing strong drink, and are identified as "rulers" (v.14) who have made an agreement with Sheol and are confident that no harm can befall them. In the woe oracles, they are described in 5:11-12.18-19
Woe to those who rise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening till wine inflames them!
They have lyre and harp, timbrel and flute and wine at their feasts;Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood,
but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands...
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
who say:"Let him make haste, let him speed his work that we may see it;
let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!"
Finally, verses 20-23, the series of descriptions only strengthen the association with the "rulers" mentioned:
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!
"Hoy" translated by the English "woe" ("ah!" in the NRSV) is an interjection associated with the lament for the dead. Its use in this section of Isaiah is consistent with the passages introduced by "laken" (because of this). It is pronounced because of the vision of death that even then was already materializing, and described with the image of a large serpent enlarging its throat, preparing to gorge itself
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat
and opened its mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude go down,
her throng and he who exults in her.
This, coupled with the vision of exile in v. 13 form a central description which gives sense to 9:10; 9:24 and 10:3. The disproportion between the area of farm land and its yield (9:10), the image of parents (roots) and children (blossoms) dying (9:24), and the sudden "storm from afar" (the invading army in 9:26-30, 10:3) make up the events that accompany a siege, war and the picture of a people dragged into exile.
Given the direct relationship between iniquity and death within the covenantal relationship that Yahweh has with Israel, it is not difficult to understand why the prophet laments the acts of the leaders and rulers of Judah. If we take Isaiah 28 as an indication of a treaty with a political superpower (as Egypt who has gods that control the realm of the dead), then we have before us a lifestyle that has turned away from the covenant-relationship with Yahweh and has for a time expressed itself in injustice and oppression. The people over whom Isaiah pronounces the woes are people in authority who have been enriching themselves while in power and therefore can lead the life-style of the indifferent rich. Because of them, a whole nation will be destroyed. History will tell us that Judah's playing power politics will ultimately lead to its destruction. The theology of the exile, as expressed in the book of Lamentations, will identify the true cause of its downfall: its unfaithfulness to Yahweh.
