Book of Isaiah

Scholars have commonly located the source of Paul’s analogy for the resurrection body in 1 Cor 15:39–49 in the enumerated creatures of Genesis 1. Some interpreters have suggested Sir 43:1–10 lies behind the reference to the variegated glory of the celestial bodies mentioned in 1 Cor 15:41. Paul seems to list each of the respective terrestrial creatures and their bodies in a hierarchical order, as he does with the celestial bodies, relating the resurrection body to the later. Rather than the eschatological egalitarianism presumed in some attempts to appropriate Pauline eschatology for theological purposes, this text suggests that Paul envisioned the imminent resurrection of the dead would result in a kind of celestial hierarchicalism, a point often overlooked by interpreters. In this paper, I will argue for an alternative source for the celestial hierarchicalism apparent in the formulation of Paul’s resurrection mythos in 1 Cor 15:41, namely, an apocalyptic reception of Exodus tradition rooted in the hierarchical ascent of the cosmic mountain in Exodus 24 and its later reception. As is the case for other apocalypticists before, contemporary with, and after Paul, this paper will provide further evidence that Paul's own particular construal of Jewish eschatological mythoi, while recognizable, would place him squarely alongside other Jewish contemporaries who operate at the fringes of their own tradition in the wider ancient Mediterranean religious landscape.

The intertextual connections between Isa 40–55 and the Hebrew Bible are well documented (Willey 1997, Sommer 1998, Schultz 1999). However, none of these studies deal with the parallels between Isaiah and Job, which is surprising because the two articles to deal explicitly with the subject (Pfeiffer 1927 and Terrien 1966) both suggest that Isaiah is dependent on Job, based on parallels such as Isa 41:20 and Job 12:9, Isa 40:4 and Job 21:22, Isa 51:17, 22 and Job 21:2, and Isa 51:15 and Job 26:12. Though the current consensus on Job’s date (5th to 3rd century BCE) would put the book after Isaiah, a product of the exile, several scholars still follow Pfeiffer and Terrien and date it before Isaiah (e.g. Pope 1973, Hartley 1998). So far the discussion has hinged primarily on which book’s message is perceived to be a later development in the evolution of Israel’s religion. I propose to use the recent development of intertextuality to approach the issue from a different perspective. Acknowledging the diachronic impasse on attempts to date the book of Job definitively, I will approach the intertextual connections between the texts from a synchronic, literary perspective, asking in particular, which direction of dependence makes better sense of the text alluded to in its original context, and then what effect the allusion would have in the alluding context. I call this approach “interchronic” because it addresses the intertexts at the intersection between the diachronic and synchronic poles, which divide most intertextual studies. My hope is not merely to push beyond the current standstill on the relative dates of Job and 2 Isa, but also to better understand what the author of Job, whom I believe is the later writer, is doing hermeneutically with his allusions to 2 Isa.

A Pre-teaching Interpretation Paper:
Today, the word “Messiah” commonly incites George Handel’s renowned oratorio or the person of Jesus Christ, whose second name is a Greek translation of the word. This is understandable given the pervasiveness of Christianity as a religion in the world. However, not only has the word been understood differently in different circles, it has also been attributed to and claimed by different individuals throughout the history. This paper seeks to evaluate the claim made by third-century Rabbis Bar Kappara and Hillel II that King Hezekiah of Judah is the Messiah.  In order to do that, what the word means to Jews in Ancient Near Eastern and Rabbinical contexts needs to be considered.
Although Rabbi Joseph has refuted Hillel II’s claim,  it is still a worthy endeavor to give the claim a second hearing, especially as Mika Pajunen noted that “there was renewed interest in these traditions,” referring to Deuteronomistic and Chronistic traditions, “to highlight the unity of the people and hence also their common heritage” after the destruction of the second temple.  Therefore, the account of Hezekiah in Chronicles will be exegeted, highlighting its uniqueness from that in Kings and, by extension, Isaiah, and drawing implications if the thesis, “King Hezekiah is the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise for THE Messiah,” is supported by Chronistic perspective.

The Qur’an makes reference to Biblical prophecies that supposedly predict the coming of the Prophet Muḥammad. One such reference is found in Sūrah al-aʿrāf v.157, where the coming of an “ummiyy” prophet is said to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. The Qur’an states that this prophet, who is Prophet Muhammad, is found “written with them” (ie. with the Jews) in the Torah. There is good cause to argue that the Qur'an is referencing Deutero-Isaiah here, and that this mention of an ummiyy Prophet is found in the first of the "servant songs" of the aforementioned biblical text.

Biblical scholars have long debated the identity of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Most Christians identify the servant as Jesus and interpret Isaiah 53 as a description of Jesus’ unique, substitutionary death. However, Isaiah 40–55 repeatedly identifies God's servant as Israel. Was Isaiah 53 about the unique experience of a future individual, or was the passage about what all of God’s people would experience? The aim of this paper is to determine how best to understand the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 from an exegetical (rather than a modern theological) standpoint. The thesis is that the suffering servant was to be both the forerunner to and the paradigmatic exemplar of the ideal people of God—a paradigm the people of God were called to conform to. Thus, in light of the ancient conception of corporate solidarity, the answer to the question of whether the servant was to be an individual or a group is: “both.”

In the biblical theophanies of Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3, divine condescension and human ascent constitute reciprocal ecstatic moves towards a divine–human encounter. The christological interpretation, widespread in early Christian reception history, further discerns in Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3 an anticipation of the radical condescension of the Logos-made-human and, conversely, an anticipation of the deifying ascent of humanity in Christ. Finally, the early Christian reading of Isaiah 6 and Daniel 3 as ‘christophanies’ – that is, as manifestations of the Logos-to-be-incarnate – also allows us a glimpse into the performative aspect and experiential claims of early Christian exegesis, broadly construed to also incorporate hymnography, iconography and ritual.

One of the distinctive features of the Fourth Gospel is the emphasis it places on the " name " (ὄνομα) of God. As the earliest Christian texts already exhibit a shift toward Jesus's name as the cultic or divine name, what might have motivated the Evangelist to this recovery of the divine name category? Joshua J. F. Coutts argues that the divine name acquired particular signicance through the Evangelist's reading of Isaiah, which, in combination with the polemical experience and pastoral needs of early Christians, formed the impetus for his interest in and emphasis on the divine name.

Great are the words of Isaiah! To this very day, the study of this literary poet in Jewish, general Christian and LDS literature, is responsible for some of the greatest literary and theological pictures and structures ever available for students and scholars to interpret. This study will endeavor to provide a survey of LDS writers about this literary masterpiece. Special attention will be given to a chronological history of LDS scholarly interpretation. The structures of Isaiah as utilized Latter-day Saint scholarship as well as the different positions rendered based the use of particular interpretive models has been considered.

This article proposes that the common dichotomy between synchronic and diachronic approaches to biblical literature be set aside in favor of a paradigm centered on the concepts of cohesion and coherence as defined in contemporary linguistics. After demonstrating the difficulties associated with suitably defining and identifying indicators of diachronic textual formation, it argues that a focus on cohesion and coherence allows interpreters to avoid binary judgments as to the text’s unity and to recognize the primacy of coherence over surface-level cohesion. After presenting the linguistic principles that underlie this alternative approach, it concludes by examining several hypotheses of diachronic redaction in Isaiah and demonstrating that avoiding the synchronic-diachronic dichotomy brings textual unity and diversity into clearer focus.

God’s good creation has something temporary, but at the same time it is more than ‘a waiting room for eternity’. In positive terms: “It is important to taste God's glory in creation in the present. This is part of the foretaste of eternal joy.” Enjoying a singing robin in the garden or a bike ride to Rome can be experienced in the perspective of faith. They are forms of lived faith. The same goes for enjoying a good meal. It is remarkable that the Book of Isaiah, when the future of the people of God is discussed, regularly speaks about food and drink. This article, written in Dutch, takes the invitation of Isaiah 55:1-3a as a starting point. In line with ancient Christian interpretation it is often argued that the invitation to an abundant life of eating and drinking is only a metaphor. The ‘actual salvation’ would only start in verse 3b, which mentions the everlasting covenant. Yet the question is whether imagery and reality can be so strictly distinguished from each other here. In the context of the Book of Isaiah it should be considered that the Kingdom of God also has to do with food and drink. The prospect of a good meal is part of God’s blessing and of the promised salvation.

Scholars have made a variety of arguments in terms of the relationship between the book of Job and Isaiah 40-55 (so-called Deutero-Isaiah), and have in general maintained that the two books have particular lexical, thematic, and theological resemblances; several key themes include wisdom or prophetic disputation, the suffering servant, creation theology, theodicy, and existential theology. By this hypothesis, they insisted that there was to some degree authorial “allusion”, “quotation”, or “echo” between the two books. However, the claim for this special relationship was not properly investigated and given logical evidence was meager. Further, determining the historical relationship of literary influence only with linguistic parallels is misleading and greatly exaggerated. Therefore, in this essay, I will examine whether detailed cases supporting the literary relationship, that former comparative studies between Job and Isaiah 40-55 usually indicate, can be upheld. If proposed resemblances imply either that the author(s) of Job knew the author of Isaiah 40-55 or that the author of Isaiah 40-55 was aware of the work of Job, how can it be proved? In order to examine the distinctive relationship between texts and to test actual resemblances, I will examine three significant thematic commonalities between the two books; theodicy, suffering servant, and creation. Finally, I will re-examine a particular common expression, לבדו נטה שׁמים (“who stretched out the heavens alone”), between Job 9:8 and Isa 44:24 and will indicate why the given parallel cannot be the proper presentation of a distinctive relationship between the two books.

This new contribution to the New Studies in Biblical Theology series focuses on the theme of Kingdom in the book of Isaiah. The topic of kingdom in the whole canon of Scripture is too large for a short monograph, but by limiting the discussion to Isaiah Abernethy is able to provide a reasonable foundation for understanding the book of Isaiah and its foundational role in a Christian understanding of Jesus.

JBL 137.3 (2018): 555-79.

The postmodern turn in the humanities is now at a point that requires response and revision to some deconstructionist trends. As a case study, this article examines the inversion principle formulated by Claude Lévi-Strauss against Yair Zakovitch’s analysis of mirror narratives through three examples. In the first example, the mirror narratives of two destructions in Genesis are shown to be better explained by the inversion principle. The second example considers aspects of the Mesopotamian flood hero Utnapishtim that have been divided in subsequent Jewish traditions between Enoch and Noah. The third example considers the transformation of the myth of the sacrificial son in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three examples lead to the following conclusions: (1) that other myths, particularly in Genesis, should be reconsidered in light of the inversion principle; (2) that this principle is crucial for the reception history of biblical narratives, as seen in the development of the figure of the flood hero in Second Temple Judaism; and (3) that intentional adaptations are equally susceptible to the subconscious structural changes that occur in the intercultural journeys of myth, as described by Lévi-Strauss.

Eating in Isaiah is a revision of Abernethy's 2012 Ph.D. dissertation written under the supervision of Willem VanGemeren. He begins with the observation that the topic of eating appears in nearly 150 verses in Isaiah. Because food and drink are so common, they are often overlooked as important metaphors in biblical literature. Abernethy argues in this monograph that food and drink are used by Isaiah to support and reiterate major themes and contribute to the book's coherence. The primary theme of Isaiah is YHWH's status as the supreme king. In the first part of Isaiah YHWH is supreme in contrast to the arrogant claims of the Assyrians. In the later chapters of Isaiah, YHWH is the supreme king because he is restoring Zion to glory and creating a community of obedient people. Provision of food and drink play a major part in demonstrating these themes and therefore unify the book of Isaiah. After a short survey of previous scholarship of the importance of food and drink in Old Testament scholarship, Abernethy describes his sequential-synchronic approach to the importance of eating in the book of Isaiah. The first and final chapters of Isaiah, along with chapters 36-37 and 55 function as " scaffolding chapters " and each of these sections feature food and drink. The motif of eating is therefore integral to the structure and thematic coherence of Isaiah. Abernethy calls this a " sequential-synchronic approach " which attempt to take the literary seams of the book as editorial guides to the conceptual message of each section.

The first draft op this paper was read at the Joint Meeting of the Society for Old Testament Studies (SOTS) and the Dutch Oudtestamentische Werkgezelschap (OTW) in Edinburgh, July 2015.

According to the agreement with Brill the attachment contains the pre-peer-reviewed version of my article. The peer-reviewed and copy edited version will be available only after 24 months since the date of publication.

Este trabalho propõe uma análise textual, levando em consideração a relação entre a forma e o conteúdo da perícope de Isaías 12:1-6, tendo como base de pesquisa o texto da BH  (Bíblia Hebraica). Em um primeiro momento será verificado a divisão do escopo, em seguida será dado um breve pano de fundo do livro de Isaías, buscando entender como a perícope se encaixa com o resto do livro; depois será desenvolvida uma análise literária do texto, no que diz respeito a estrutura, expressões e palavras-chave; e por último se buscará por possíveis ligações intertextuais de Isaías 12 com outras partes da BH.

The article focuses on the first three chapters of Isaiah. After recalling the results of modern biblical scholarship on the use of legal and forensic jargon in Isaiah (§ 1) and giving a thumbnail sketch of the traditions of Latin Christian exegesis in the Middle Ages (§ 2), I will examine passages of the commentary on Isaiah written by Dominican theologian Albert the Great in the 13th century (§ 3). The aim is to evaluate to what extent the concerns of the original biblical text, when filtered through the Latin Vulgate and through Christian foresight, are captured by the medieval exegete, to what extent Albert is able to understand the peculiar theme of the self-awareness of the history of Israel in the form of a legal contention between God and His people.

In: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 42.3 (2018), pp. 363-390.
This article argues that Isaiah's so-called ‘refrain poem’ (Kehrvergedicht) in Isa. 9.7–20 is a composite text, going back to two early prophecies with different concerns. Isaiah 9.7–17* focused originally on the arrogant refusal of the divine word, while Isa. 9.18–20* reflected on the chaotic social circumstances in Samaria in the eighth century. The refrains in vv. 9,11cd, 16ef and 20cd were added to these two already connected prophecies at a later stage. The theological summary in v. 12 is yet another addition, closely affiliated with 5.24–25. Unlike v. 12, the refrains do not have the repentance of Israel in view, nor its final destruction, but the fall of Assyria in Isa. 10.5–15, 24–27. The refrains support the theory that the Isaianic collection was formed by means of reusing, restructuring and reinterpreting earlier material.

Web: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0309089216690385

The best identification of the Valley of Achor in the description of the northern boundary of Judah (Josh. 15.7) is the wādi system of wādi mukellik and wādi es-sidr. This valley was the (former) tribal area of Reuben. It was an enclave in the tribal area of Judah. Achan who sinned against the חרם was, therefore, claimed as a member of the tribe of Judah in Joshua 7, whereas his predecessors seem to be Reubenites. Achan and his family were stoned in their own tribal area, the Valley of Achor, thus becoming a setting of sin and retaliation.
The Valley of Achor is explicitly referred to in Hosea 2 and Isaiah 65. In both chapters, the valley functions within an eschatological setting. In Hos. 2.17, the Valley of Achor becomes a ‘door of hope’ leading to a ‘monogamous
matrimony’ between Yhwh and his ‘wife’ Israel. It even leads to peace between animals, a reminiscence of the ante-diluvian situation. In Isaiah 65 this allusion is even clearer. The Valley of Achor is the entrance into the land after the new Exodus from Babylon, and together with the Sharon it symbolizes the whole land of Israel; further,
it symbolizes fertility and animal peace, and it leads to Yhwh’s holy mountain in Jerusalem, the starting point of Yhwh’s new creation in which there will be no distress, but only peace and joy. In these last two chapters, the Valley of Achor is a herald of good tidings.

This article utilizes Cognitive Linguistics to present a stronger conceptual understanding of the motif of the ruined vineyard in Isaiah 1-39. First, a relations approach to utterances illuminates the function of particular terms used to describe the ruined vineyard (שׁמיר and שׁית; אמלל). Second, a domains approach to the ruined vineyard demonstrates how agriculture, society, and theological assessment inform this motif. The centrality of the vine within the fabric of society and its correspondence with peace and joy make the vine’s destruction amidst war a powerful symbol in Isaiah 1–39 for capturing the weighty reality of divine, violent judgment.

1. Dimensionen der Frage nach den "Anfängen" Die Intensität der Forschung am Jesajabuch 1 bringt es mit sich, dass es schwer fällt, einen Vortragstitel zu finden, der nicht schon einmal verwendet worden ist. Bislang liegt zwar noch keine deutschsprachige Publikation mit dem Titel "Die Anfänge des Jesajabuchs" vor. Doch 1959 hat der Birminghamer Alttestamentler John Eaton in VT einen englischen Aufsatz veröffentlicht mit der Überschrift "The Origin of the Book of Isaiah" (VT 9, 1959, 138-157). Darin postulierte er eine Jesajaschule, die für die Entstehung der schriftlichen Jesajaüberlieferung verantwortlich zu machen seier behandelte also eine literatursoziologische Fragestellung.

The booklet of Advent meditations I wrote with three other authors on the daily Advent readings from Isaiah has been republished in time for this Advent season. My own contributions for the second week of Advent have been posted to the Northeastern Seminary blog site. You can click on the Wordpress link to access this post.

The Gospel of John uses the Old Testament in the portrayal of Jesus
identity. The role of different elements is debated, with Isaiah as well
as Passover often identified as significant. The acclamation of Jesus as
‘Lamb of God’ (1:29) has been a focal point for the debate and will
provide an initial focus for this investigation. It will be argued that the
Passover connections in the Gospel have been overemphasised. Instead,
the role of Isaiah is critical for the Johannine presentation of Jesus identity. The Johannine use of Isaiah contributes to presenting Jesus not
only as God’s servant, but as divine himself. The role of Isaiah goes further, for Isaianic language provides some of the key Johannine language for conveying the necessary response to Jesus which the Gospel seeks to evoke (20:31). As the God of Isaiah calls for belief and witness, so too does the Johannine Jesus.

Micah 6:1-8: The Drama of Salvation within a Courtroom Love Song Perhaps like many other Christian readers of the Old Testament, I initially approached this present study of Micah 6:1-8 through the lens of my memory of Micah 6:8, a verse justly thought of as one of the highest points in both the history of ethical thought and Judeo-Christian writings by modern scholars, 1 and as an apt microcosm of all 613 Torah commandments in the Talmud. 2 The consensus among scholars of this passage is that this verse is the concluding "sentence" of a divine court drama that was taking place between YHWH and Israel. However, opinions vary much on the date of Micah 6:1-8's composition, and this factors into the themes which certain scholars choose to emphasize in the text. One more recent trend in Micah scholarship, in response to the stalemate of dating and composition arguments within Micah studies, is to approach the book as a canonical unit, and look for elements of its integration. 3 In this paper, I hope to give an abbreviated survey of Micah scholarship before then unpacking the courtroom drama of Micah 6:1-8, examining the characters, genres, and biblical themes therein.

This book contributes to the theory and practice of Biblical interpretation by engaging in an interpretation of Psalm 24 inspired by a particular understanding of Brevard Childs' "canonical approach": an understanding centred on the concept of "theological substance."

Sumpter shows how the literary, historical, and theological dimensions of Psalm 24 cohere into a single vision by reading the text according to the a dialectic between "witness" and "reality." An initial "synchronic" analysis of the psalm's poetic structure is then related to a "diachronic" reconstruction of the tradition history that lead to the final form. The question is then posed concerning the primary forces at work in this history of composition, a question which leads to reflection on the Trinity, first in se and then pro nobis. This latter dimension takes us back to the text, as its "Davidic" nature is further analysed in relation to the books of Samuel, the Psalter, and Isaiah. Finally, a contemporary actualization of the Psalm by Eberhard Jüngel is compared to its interpretation in Patristic exegesisin order to probe deeper into the mysterious subject matter of the text.