Reading “House of Jacob” in Isaiah 48:1–11 in Light of Benjamin

Isaiah 48:1–11 has been described as a difficult passage because of a perceived discord between its harsh tone and the message of comfort espoused elsewhere in Isa 40–55. This article analyzes this passage with regard to four groups of arguments: proposals of a Judahite origin for the text, the archaeological evidence for settlement continuity in the Benjaminite region in the Neo-Babylonian period, the development and use of the patriarchal traditions in the sixth century, and studies of hidden polemic. Drawing these together, I propose that the address to the house of Jacob in Isa 48:1–2 can be understood as referring to a sixth-century Judahite community in the Benjaminite region, perhaps in the vicinity of Bethel.