True Fasting Hunger Bohemian Analysis

In the Article “True Fasting and Unwilling Hunger (Isaiah 58)”, Mercedes L. García Bachmann dissects the 58th chapter of Isaiah to find the true meaning and application of the Hebrew text. Through this dissection, she concludes that YhWh condemns the ritual fasting the religious leaders were performing and instead demands a sacrifice leading to justice for the oppressed in society. To start, Bachmann examines the context surrounding Isaiah 58. This chapter from Isaiah belongs to the third segment of the book, meaning that it was written during the restoration period and therefore a commentary on life after the exile period. Another important feature she includes is the use of a chiastic structure throughout the chapter, which she will later use to identify emphasized pieces of the text as well as to draw …show more content…
She explains the polemical tone, intratextual connections within the passage, the reoccurrence of ritual language, and the use of different imagery. Within the category of imagery, she most notably explores the unusual amount of bodily imagery and physical actions. She argues this adds to the importance of the physical act of fasting in this passage and the affliction of physical oppressions. Lastly, she looks at the meaning of similar passages such as Zechariah 7 to gain more understanding about Isaiah 58. In the end, Bachmann concludes that YhWh judges when people who have the means to create change in their world fast in a ritual, or in other words, self-serving way. In a world where so many are afflicted by hunger, this type of fasting just brings a different type of hunger. “Not,” Bachmann argues, “the hunger caused by fasting but the hunger imposed on those oppressed and deprived by the oppressive practices of those who order the fast.” Her conclusion is that a true fast, in the context of this text, is not denying food to yourself, but sacrificing to provide liberation for the