Abstract:
It is difficult to know the recipient of a text by a mere understanding of its
message. This is typical ofIsaiah 18 where the prophet failed to name his audience. As a
resulted the church in Sudan perceived the audience as Sudan and has formulated a
theology of the present suffering on this text. It is out of this concern that the thesis of
investigating the audience of the message of Isaiah 18 was born.
This investigation is presented in six chapters. Chapter one covers introductory
materials, namely statement of the problem, significance of the study, thesis plan and
methodology, assumptions, definitions, limitation and delimitation. Chapter two
discusses the land of Cush which serves as the background for the message in Isaiah 18:5-
6. It mainly consists of exegesis of verses 1 and 2 where the prophet describes the land of
Cush. The land of Cush is described, located and identified on the basis of Isaiah's
description. The extent of the land is pointed out in order to guide the reader in
understanding Isaiah's intended audience. In chapter three, I exegete verses 2b and 7 in
order to identify the people of Cush. This then led me to identify the possible Cushite
communities at present. Chapter four focuses on the message of Isaiah 18 and its impact
on Cush. This consists of exegesis of verses 3-7 where the inhabitants of the whole earth
are called to witness the events of the destruction along with the content of the message of
doom as well as God's position at the initial development of the events preceding the
destruction. This then led to the examination of the impact of the destruction on Cush
which is stated in verse 7.
Chapter five aims at highlighting the relationship between the message ofIsaiah
18 and the present suffering in Sudan. It tries to reconcile the discussion of Cush in the
opening verses with the ambiguity of the audience of the message in verses 5 and 6. This
is then viewed in the light of the possible time for fulfillment to see the possible
connection between the two.
Chapter six then presents the conclusion reached on the basis of the findings. In
conclusion, we have been able to locate the land of Cush south of Egypt which comprises
of modem countries of Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. We have also
been able to identify the Nubians, the Zing and the Abyssinians as the recipients of
Isaiah's message. But our finding has shown the difficulty in taking the present political
situation in Sudan as the fulfillment of Isaiah 18 and the church in Sudan has been advised
accordingly on the basis of the finding.
