Hear, give ear

Isaiah opens his prophecy with a call to heaven and earth to bear witness as Yahweh presents His case against Israel (1:2).  Heaven is called to “hear” and earth to “give ear,” a testimony of two witnesses.

The same words in different combinations are found at the beginning of the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32.  Moses calls on the heavens to “give ear” and the earth to “hear.”

The parallels at the beginning set up one template for the book of Isaiah: It is, from one angle, a long set of variations on the theme of Moses’ Song.