Comfort for Jerusalem: the second Isaiah as counselor to refugees

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Summer, 2004 by William S. Morrow

Abstract

Analogies exist between psychological problems faced by contemporary populations of displaced persons (e.g., refugees) and those exiled by the Babylonian empire after the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem. The second-generation survivors of the Babylonian deportations inherited a shaming identity as defeated Israel, rejected by God. This traumatizing story was conveyed and reinforced by liturgies of lament. At the same time, the failure of Israel's laments to effect change led to a perception of unanswered prayer by a powerless or absent deity which further demoralized them. Their discouragement produced symptoms of the psychological harm called learned helplessness. The approach of the prophet who composed the poems and oracles found in Isaiah 40-55 is similar to some contemporary therapies. Through various genres of poetry, the Second Isaiah counseled the exiles to reframe their pessimism about Israel, YHWH, and their future.

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Persons who have been displaced by violent political processes often have psychological as well as physical and social problems. The Judeans deported by the Babylonians after the conquest of Jerusalem were victims of a government policy of forced movement for military and political goals. It is possible, therefore, that contemporary descriptions of psychological difficulties faced by displaced persons could apply to the victims of the Babylonian exile. To that end, this article will draw on the work of therapists who counsel victims of war, torture and political repression for clues to some of the symptoms exiled Israel might have suffered. It will argue that the exiles' psychological distress provided impetus for the poetry of one of early Judaism's most creative thinkers: the prophet known often as the "Second Isaiah" (Isaiah 40-55).

The Second Isaiah addressed a deported Judean population resident in Babylonia in the late 540s (Clifford: 492). At this moment in time, he (or is it she? see McEvenue) encountered a faith community with a collective identity reinforced by a story of trauma and rejection that left it with little hope for the future. This collective identity was "Israel." Among the purposes of the Second Isaiah was the desire to confront syndromes of psychological trauma and learned helplessness that affected the exiles' valuation of themselves as Israel.

The Babylonian Exiles as Refugees

Refugees in the conventional sense are persons who have fled their own country to escape persecution, armed conflict or violence. But in every part of the world governments, armies and rebel movements have also resorted to moving people by force in order to attain their political and military objectives. These displaced persons face problems closely related to those encountered by conventional refugees (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: 1-2). Therefore, in this paper I use the word refugee interchangeably with the term displaced person to designate victims of various processes of forced displacement.

COUNSELLING AND THERAPY WITH REFUGEES AND VICTIMS OF TRAUMA is written as a guide for mental health professionals and others involved in the care of refugees and those suffering similar kinds of trauma (van der Veer: ix). Van der Veer uses two categories to classify the causes of the psychological issues that such persons face: "traumatization" and "uprooting." Traumatization refers to experiences of repression, torture and other kinds of violence that are likely to result in psychological dysfunction both in the short and long term. Uprooting refers to experiences of separation from familiar surroundings, loss, attendant hardships and exile in an unfamiliar environment for an indefinite period. Stresses associated with uprooting can cause various long-term adjustment problems. Many refugees suffer from the results of both traumatization and uprooting (4-5).

Typically, refugees are people who have been subjected to potentially violent situations over an extended period of time (often years). This process reaches a climax in violent events that touch them personally and result in displacement. There are three phases to what van der Veer calls the traumatization process (9):

First, there is an increase of repression and persecution in the general environment of the native country.

Second, this is followed by a period of time in which the refugee personally becomes the victim of violence.

And third, escape from the violence leads to life in exile (displacement). Life in exile may itself be made difficult by forms of persecution or oppression. New stresses may arrive when return to the homeland becomes feasible as a result of political changes. Such a possibility may occasion recall of traumatic memories and feelings of loss and grief. It also confronts the refugee with a difficult and painful decision: the choice of giving up the new life made in exile, or giving up the illusion of going home. Treatment of displaced persons with psychological problems calls for a variety of therapeutic techniques. Approaches from such varied fields as psychiatry, developmental psychology, family therapy and learning theory may be used depending on the symptoms to be addressed (27-64).