the one event in the Babylonian period deemed worthy of record by the
biblical historians. The occasion was the accession of Nebuchadrezzar's
son Evil-merodach (Babylonian, Amil-Marduk). The act possessed little
political importance, for the Jews were helpless in the hands of their
Babylonian masters; but it evidently aroused the hopes of the exiles, and
especially that type of hope which centred in the house of David.

Ezekiel, in his ideal programme, assigned to the Davidic prince only minor
duties in connection with the temple, and transferred the chief authority
to the high priest and his attendants. But it is evident that Ezekiel did
not fully voice the hopes of the majority of the exiles. The late passage
in II Samuel 7:16, which contains the promise to David:

Thy house and kingdom shall always stand firm before me,
Thy throne shall be established forever,

expresses the prevailing belief in the days immediately preceding the
exile. The national hopes which looked to the descendants of the house of
David for fulfilment were inevitably modified, however, by the experiences
of the exile and strengthened by the liberation of Jehoiachin. The rule of
such kings as Manasseh and Jehoiakim had revealed the overwhelming evils
that unworthy rulers, even though of the house of David, could bring upon
their subjects. Josiah's reign, on the other hand, established new and
higher standards. The noble ethical and social ideals of Amos, Hosea, and
Isaiah had not wholly failed to awaken a response.

All of these varied influences are traceable in the two prophecies found
in Isaiah 9:1-7 and 11:1-10. Embodying as they do many of the social
principles for which Isaiah contended, it was natural that these anonymous
writings should afterward be attributed to that great statesman-prophet.