The Oxford Handbook of Isaiah (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES) 0190669241, 9780190669249

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T H E OX F O R D H A N D B O O K O F

ISA I A H

the oxford handbook of

ISAIAH Edited by

LENA-SOFIA TIEMEYER

1

1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Tiemeyer, Lena-Sofia, 1969- editor. Title: The Oxford handbook of Isaiah / edited by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer. Description: New York, NY, United States of America : Oxford University Press, 2020. | Summary: “The book of Isaiah is one of the longest books in the Hebrew Bible. It contains some of the most hauntingly beautiful passages in the entire Bible, and it has influenced Judaism and Christianity to an exceptional extent. Many of its passages feature in the liturgies of the synagogue and of the church. In Jewish tradition, the threefold acclamation of God’s holiness in Isa 6:3 is recited in prayers throughout the day: it is, for example, among the benedictions framing the recitation of the Shema’ in the morning and part of the central prayer called the Amidah. In Christian tradition, Isa 7:14 is understood to predict the virgin birth; and Isa 9:1–7, the incarnation. Isa 40:3–5 is identified as speaking about John the Baptist, and Isa 52:13–53:12 is read on Good Friday to illustrate Jesus's suffering, death, and resurrection”—Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020020745 (print) | LCCN 2020020746 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190669249 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190669263 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Isaiah—Criticism, interpretation, etc. Classification: LCC BS1515.52 .O94 2020 (print) | LCC BS1515.52 (ebook) | DDC 224/.106—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020745 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020746 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America

Contents

Contributorsix Abbreviationsxiii

Introduction Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

1

PA RT I   QU E ST ION S R E L AT E D TO T H E F OR M AT ION OF T H E B O OK OF I S A IA H 1. The Book of Isaiah: Its Final Structure Jacob Stromberg

19

2. The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition History Uwe Becker

37

PA RT I I   K E Y PA RT S OF T H E B O OK OF I S A IA H 3. The Oracles against the Nations Hyun Chul Paul Kim

59

4. Isaiah 24–27: The So-Called Isaiah Apocalypse J. Todd Hibbard

79

5. The Narratives about Isaiah and Their Relationship with 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles Shelley L. Birdsong

95

6. Isaiah 40–55 Katie M. Heffelfinger

111

7. Isaiah 56–66 Andreas Schüle

128

vi   contents

PA RT I I I   T H E WOR L D B E H I N D T H E T E X T 8. The Neo-Assyrian Context of First Isaiah C. L. Crouch and Christopher B. Hays

145

9. Isaiah and the Neo-Babylonian Background Joseph Blenkinsopp

159

10. The Book of Isaiah: Persian/Hellenistic Background  Kristin Joachimsen

176

PA RT I V   T H E M E S A N D L I T E R A RY M OT I F S SPA N N I N G T H E B O OK OF I S A IA H 11. God’s Character in Isaiah Patricia K. Tull

201

12. Monotheism in Isaiah Matthias Albani

219

13. Sin and Punishment in the Book of Isaiah  Blaženka Scheuer

249

14. Jerusalem/Daughter Zion in Isaiah Frederik Poulsen

265

15. Davidic Kingship in Isaiah H. G. M. Williamson

280

16. Exile in the Book of Isaiah Dalit Rom-Shiloni

293

17. The Servant(s) in Isaiah Ulrich Berges

318

18. Wisdom in Isaiah Andrew T. Abernethy

334

19. Eschatology in Isaiah Soo J. Kim

352

contents   vii

PA RT V   T H E B O OK OF I S A IA H A S L I T E R AT U R E 20. The Poetic Structures in Isaiah J. Blake Couey

377

21. The Poetic Vision of Isaiah Francis Landy

393

22. Use of Metaphors  Göran Eidevall

409

PA RT V I   I S A IA H I N SE L E C T T E X T UA L T R A DI T ION S 23. Isaiah in the Qumran Scrolls George J. Brooke

429

24. Isaiah in Greek Abi T. Ngunga

451

25. Isaiah in Aramaic William A. Tooman

469

26. Isaiah in Latin Anni Maria Laato

489

PA RT V I I   I S A IA H I S SE L E C T R E L IG IO U S T R A DI T ION S 27. Isaiah in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Jewish Traditions Antti Laato

507

28. Isaiah in the New Testament Steve Moyise

531

29. Post-Shoah Readings of Isaiah Marvin A. Sweeney

542

viii   contents

30. Canonical Reading of Isaiah John Goldingay

559

31. Isaiah in Art and Music John F. A. Sawyer

574

PA RT V I I I   SE L E C T I DE OL O G IC A L R E A DI N G S OF I S A IA H 32. Feminist/Womanist Readings of Isaiah Sharon Moughtin-Mumby

601

33. Postcolonial Readings of Isaiah Mark G. Brett

621

34. Isaiah in Liberation Theology Carol J. Dempsey, OP

637

35. Interpretive Context Matters: Isaiah and the African Context in African Study Bibles Knut Holter

655

36. Reading Isaiah in Asia Maggie Low

670

Author Index Reference Index

683 695

Contributors

Andrew T. Abernethy  is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, USA. His most recent volume is The Book of Isaiah and God’s Kingdom (IVP Academic, 2016). Matthias Albani is Professor of Old Testament at the Evangelische Hochschule Moritzburg, Moritzburg/Dresden, Saxony, Germany. His most recent article is “Kalender.” In Handbuch für Alttestamentliche Anthropologie (Mohr Siebeck, 2019). Uwe Becker  is Professor of Old Testament at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Germany. His most recent article on Isaiah is “Jesaja, Jeremia und die Anfänge der Unheilsprophetie in Juda.” Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 6, no.1 (2017): 79–100. Ulrich Berges is Professor in Old Testament Exegesis at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Bonn, Germany and extraordinary Professor in the Department of Old Testament Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa. His most recent article is “The Individualization of Exile in Trito-Isaiah: Some Reflections on Isaiah 55 and 58.” In Images of Exile in Prophetic Literature, edited by J. Høgenhaven et al. (FAT II; Mohr Siebeck, 2019). Shelley  L.  Birdsong  is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at North Central College, Naperville, Illinois, USA. Her most recent volume is the co-edited Partners with God: Theological and Critical Readings of the Bible in Honor of Marvin A. Sweeney (Claremont Press, 2017). Joseph Blenkinsopp  is John A. O’Brien Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA. His most recent volume is The Beauty of Holiness: Re-reading Isaiah in the Light of the Psalms (T&T Clark, 2019). Mark G. Brett  is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Whitley College, within the University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia. His most recent volume is Locations of God: Political Theology in the Hebrew Bible (Oxford University Press, 2019). George J. Brooke  is Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis Emeritus at the University of Manchester, and Visiting Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Chester, England, UK. His most recent volume is the co-edited T&T Clark Companion to the Dead Sea Scrolls (T&T Clark, 2019). J.  Blake Couey is Associate Professor of Religion at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota, USA. His most recent volume is Reading the Poetry of First Isaiah: The Most Perfect Model of the Prophetic Poetry (Oxford University Press, 2015).

x   contributors C. L. Crouch  is David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA. Her most recent volume is Translating Empire: Tell Fekheriyeh, Deuteronomy, and the Akkadian Treaty Tradition (FAT; Mohr Siebeck, 2019), with Jeremy M. Hutton. Carol J. Dempsey,  OP, is Professor of Theology (Biblical Studies) at the University of Portland, Oregon, USA. Her latest article is “Metaphor in the Minor Prophets,” in The Oxford Handbook on the Minor Prophets, edited by Julia O’Brien (Oxford University Press 2020). Göran Eidevall  is Professor in Hebrew Bible at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. His most recent volume is Amos: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (AYB; Yale University Press, 2017). John Goldingay is Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California, USA. His most recent volume is Old Testament Ethics (InterVarsity, 2019). Christopher B. Hays  is D. Wilson Moore Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, USA. His most recent volume is The Origins of Isaiah 24–27: Josiah’s Festival Scroll for the Fall of Assyria (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Katie M. Heffelfinger  is Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, Dublin. Her most recent article is “The Servant in Poetic Juxtaposition in Isaiah 49:1-13.” In Biblical Poetry and the Art of Close Reading, edited by J. Blake Couey and Elaine T. James (Cambridge University Press, 2018). J. Todd Hibbard  is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of the Religious Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, Michigan, USA. His most recent volume is the co-edited The Book of Isaiah: Enduring Questions Answered Anew (SBL Press, 2014). Knut Holter  is Professor of Old Testament, Centre for Mission and Global Studies, VID Specialized University, Stavanger, Norway. His most recent article is “Texts of Affirmation Rather Than Negation: Jesse N. K. Mugambi and African Biblical Studies.” In Religion and Social Reconstruction in Africa, edited by Elias K. Bongmba (Routledge, 2018). Kristin Joachimsen is Professor in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at MF-Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Oslo. Her most recent article is “Esther in Shusan.” In Foreign Women—Women in Foreign Lands, edited by Angelika Berlejung and Marianne Grohmann (Orientalische Religionen in der Antike; Mohr Siebeck, 2019). Hyun Chul Paul Kim  is Harold B. Williams Professor of Hebrew Bible at Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO), Delaware, Ohio, USA. His most recent volume is the co-edited Second Wave Intertextuality and the Hebrew Bible (SBL Press, 2019).

contributors   xi Soo J. Kim  is Professor of Old Testament Professor of Old Testament at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Shawnee, Kansas, USA. Her most recent article is “Contact Points between Korean Shamanism and Bible in Korea.” In Oxford Handbook of Bible in Korea (Oxford University Press, forthcoming). Anni Maria Laato  is Adjunct Professor in Systematic Theology at the Åbo Akademi University, Åbo/Turku, Finland. Her most recent article is “Biblical Mothers as Images of the Church.” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church 19 (2019): 44–58. Antti Laato is Professor in Old Testament Exegetics with Judaic Studies at Åbo Akademi University, Åbo/Turku, Finland. His most recent volume is The Origin of Israelite Zion Theology (LHBOTS; T&T Clark, 2018). Francis Landy  is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. His most recent article is “Traps and Metaphors.” In Profeti Maggiori e Minori a Confronto/Major and Minor Prophets Compared, edited by Guido Benzi et al. (Nuova Biblioteca di Scienze Religiose; LAS, 2019). Maggie Low is an Old Testament faculty member at Trinity Theological College, Singapore. Her most recent article is “An Egalitarian Marriage: Reading Ephesians 5:21–33 Intertextually with Genesis 2.” Asia Journal of Theology 33, no. 1 (2019): 3–10. Sharon Moughtin-Mumby  is Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, UK. Her most recent volume is Sexual and Marital Metaphors in Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel (OTM; Oxford University Press, 2008). Steve Moyise  is Visiting Professor at Newman University, Birmingham, England, UK. His most recent volume is the co-edited Exploring Intertertextuality: Diverse Strategies for New Testament Interpretation of Texts (Wipf and Stock, 2016). Abi T. Ngunga  is Pastor of St Andrews Baptist Church, Scotland, UK. His most recent volume is Messianism in the Old Greek of Isaiah: An Intertextual Analysis (FRLANT; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2012). Frederik Poulsen is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. His most recent volume is The Black Hole in Isaiah (FAT; Mohr Siebeck, 2019). Dalit Rom-Shiloni is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Department of Biblical Studies, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Among her recent articles is “From Prophetic Words to Prophetic Literature: Challenging Paradigms That Control Our Academic Thoughts.” JBL 138, no. 3 (2019): 565–586. John F. A. Sawyer  is Honorary Fellow at the School of Divinity, Edinburgh University, Scotland, UK. His most recent volume is Isaiah through the Centuries (Wiley-Blackwell Bible Commentary Series; John Wiley and Sons, 2018).

xii   contributors Blaženka Scheuer  is Senior Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at Lund University, Sweden. Her most recent article is “Animal Names for Hebrew Bible Female Prophets.” Bible & Critical Theory 15 (2019): 29–33. Andreas Schüle  is Professor for Theology and Exegesis of the Old Testament at the University of Leipzig, Germany. His most recent volume is Theology from the Beginning: Essays on the Primeval History and Its Canonical Context (FAT; Mohr Siebeck, 2017). Jacob Stromberg is a Visiting Lecturer at Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina, USA. His most recent article is “Figural History in the Book of Isaiah: The Prospective Significance of Hezekiah’s Deliverance from Assyria and Death,” in Imperial Visions: The Prophet and the Book of Isaiah in an Age of Empires, edited by Reinhard Kratz and Joachim Schaper (FRLANT; Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020). Marvin A. Sweeney  is Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Claremont School of Theology, c/o Willamette University, Salem, Oregon, USA. His most recent volume on Isaiah is Isaiah 40–66 (FOTL; Eerdmans, 2016). Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer  is Professor in Old Testament at Örebro School of Theology, Sweden. Her most recent volume is the edited Prophecy and Its Cultic Dimensions (JAJS; Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht, 2019). William  A.  Tooman  is Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and­ Co-director of the Institute for Bible, Theology, and Hermeneutics at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK. His most recent volume is the co-edited Standards of (In)Coherence in Ancient Jewish Literature (Mohr Siebeck, 2020). Patricia  K.  Tull  is A.  B.  Rhodes Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Kentucky, USA. Her most recent volume is Inhabiting Eden: Christians, the Bible, and the Ecological Crisis (Westminster John Knox Press, 2013). H.  G.  M.  Williamson  is Regius Professor of Hebrew Emeritus at the University of Oxford, UK, and an Emeritus Student of Christ Church. His most recent volume is Isaiah 6–12 (ICC; Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018).

Abbreviations

ÄAT AB ABD

Ägypten und Altes Testament Anchor Bible Commentary Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 vols. Edited by David Noel Freedman, New York: Doubleday, 1992 ABG Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte ABR Australian Biblical Review AbrN Supp Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement Series AfO Archiv für Orientforschung AfO.B Archiv für Orientforschung. Beiheft AJBS African Journal of Biblical Studies AJS Review Association for Jewish Studies Review AMI.E Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran AnBib Analecta Biblica ANEM Ancient Near East Monographs AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament AOS American Oriental Series ArOr Archiv Orientalni ASOR American Schools of Oriental Research ASTI Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute ATD Alte Testament Deutsch AThANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments AUM Andrews University Monographs BaF Baghdader Forschungen BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research BAT Botschaft des Alten Testaments BBB Bonner Biblische Beiträge BEATAJ Beiträge zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des Antiken Judentums BETL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium BibRev Bible Review BIOSCS Bulletin for the International Organization of Septuagint and Cognate Studies BIS Biblical Interpretation Series BJRULM Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester

xiv   abbreviations BJS BKAT BTA BTB BThS BTZ BWANT BZAW CBQ CBET CBQMS CC ConBOT CORO COS CRHPR CSCA CSHB CTJ CurBS CUSAS DCLS DDD

DJD DSD EBib EBR

ECC EJ EThL ETR EuroJTh ExpTim FAT FB FIOTL

Brown Judaic Studies Biblischer Kommentar. Altes Testament Bible and Theology in Africa Biblical Theology Bulletin Biblisch-Theologische Studien Berliner Theologische Zeitschrift Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Catholic Biblical Quarterly Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series Continental Commentaries Coniectanea biblica. Old Testament Series Centrum Orbis Orientalis Context of Scripture. Edited by William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr. Leiden: Brill, 2003 Cahiers de la Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible Calvin Theological Journal Currents in Biblical Research Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst. 2nd Extensively Revised Version. Leiden: Brill, 1999 Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Dead Sea Discoveries Etudes bibliques Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception Online. Edited by Christine Helmer, Steven L. McKenzie, Thomas Römer, Jens Schröter, Barry Dov Walfish, and Eric Ziolkowski. https://www.degruyter.com/view/db/ebr. Eerdmans Critical Commentary Encyclopedia Judaica, edited by Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum. New York: MacMillian, 20072 Ephemerides Theologiae Lovanienses Etudes Theologiques et Religieuses European Journal of Theology The Expository Times Forschungen zum Alten Testament Forschung zur Bibel Formation and Interpretation of Old Testament Literature

abbreviations   xv FOTL FRLANT GAT GThT HAR HAT HBM HBS HBT HCOT HeBAI HKAT HSM HThKAT HTS HTS HTR HUCA ICC IDB IEJ Int IOS JAAR JAB JAJS JANER JAOS JBL JBS JBTh JCP JGS JHS JJS JLH JNES JNSL JQR JR

Forms of the Old Testament Literature Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments Grundrisse zum Alten Testament Gereformeerd Theologisch Tijdschrift Hebrew Annual Review Göttinger Handkommentar zum Alten Testament Hebrew Bible Monographs Herders Biblische Studien Horizons in Biblical Theology Historical Commentary on the Old Testament Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel Göttinger Handkommentar zum Alten Testament Harvard Semitic Monographs Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament Harvard Theological Monographs Hervormde Teologiese Studies Harvard Theological Review Hebrew Union College Annual International Critical Commentary Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 4 vols. Edited by George A. Buttrick. New York: Abingdon Press, 1962 Israel Exploration Journal Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology Israel Oriental Studies Journal of the American Academy of Religion Journal of the Aramaic Bible Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Biblical Literature Jerusalem Biblical Studies Jahrbuch für biblische Theologie Jewish and Christian Perspectives Journal of Gender Studies Journal of Hebrew Scripture Journal of Jewish Studies Journal of Literature and History Journal of Near Eastern Studies Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages Jewish Quarterly Review The Journal of Religion

xvi   abbreviations JSJ JSJS JSNTS JSOT JSOTS JSP JSPS JSSM JSSS JTI JTS KAT LAI LHBOTS LNTS LThK LUA MGWJ NABU NCBC NEA NEB Neot NETS NICOT NIGTC NovTSup NTM NTS OBC OBO OBT OTE OTG OTL OTM OTRM OtSt PBVM PIBA POS

Journal for the Study of Judaism Journal for the Study of Judaism Supplement Series Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series Journal of Semitic Studies Monographs Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement Series Journal of Theological Interpretation Journal of Theological Studies Kommentar zum Alten Testament Library of Ancient Israel The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Library of New Testament Studies Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche. Edited by Michael Buchberger, Josef Höfer, and Karl Rahner. Freiburg: Herder, 1957–1965 Lunds universitets årsskrift Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires New Century Bible Commentary Near Eastern Archaeology Neue Echter Bibel. Altes Testament Neotestamentica New English Translation of the Septuagint. Edited by Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007 New International Commentary on the Old Testament New International Greek Testament Commentary Novum Testamentum, Supplements New Testament Monographs New Testament Studies Orientalia Biblica et Christiana Orbis biblicus et orientalis Overtures to Biblical Theology Old Testament Essays Old Testament Guides The Old Testament Library Oxford Theological Monographs Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs Oudtestamentische studiën Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Proceedings of the Irish Biblical Association Pretoria Oriental Series

abbreviations   xvii POT PRSt PSB PTM RB RBL RevQ RINAP RRBS SAA SAIS SBL SBLAIL SBLDS SBLEJL SBLMS SBLSCS SBLSP SBLSymS SBS SBT SDB SEÅ SHANE SHBC SJ SJLA SJOT SJSJ SJT SNTSMS SRB SSN SSU StBibLit STDJ TAPS TB TDOT

ThLZ

De Prediking van het Oude Testament Perspectives in Religious Studies Princeton Seminary Bulletin Princeton Theological Monograph Revue Biblique Review of Biblical Literature Revue de Qumran Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period Project Recent Research in Biblical Studies State Archives of Assyria Studies in the Aramaic Interpretation of Scripture Society of Biblical Literature Society of Biblical Literature Ancient Israel and Its Literature Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series Society of Biblical Literature Early Judaism and Its Literature Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series Stuttgarter Bibelstudien Studies in Biblical Theology Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément Svensk exegetisk årsbok Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary Society of Jesus Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Scottish Journal of Theology Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series Studies in the Reception History of the Bible Studia Semitica Neerlandica Studia Semitica Upsaliensia Studies in Biblical Literature Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Transactions of the American Philosophical Society Theologische Bücherei Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 15 vols. Edited by Robert J. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry. German original: Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament. Translated by John T. Willis. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974– Theologische Literaturzeitung

xviii   abbreviations ThZ TRE TRINJ TRu TUAT TVZ UF UTB VT VTS VWGTh WBC WMANT WUNT ZABR ZAW ZDMG ZRGG ZTK

Theologische Zeitschrift Theologische Realenzyclopadie. Edited by Albrecht Döhnert et al. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1977–2011 Trinity Journal Theologische Rundschau Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments I–III. Edited by Otto Kaiser. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 1982–1997 Theologischer Verlag Zürich Ugarit Forschungen UTB GmbH Vetus Testamentum Vetus Testamentum Supplement Series Veröffentlichungen der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft für Theologie Word Biblical Commentary Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament Zeitschrift für Altorientalische und Biblische Rechtsgeschichte Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche

I n troduction Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

The book of Isaiah is one of the longest books in the Hebrew Bible. It contains some of the most hauntingly beautiful passages in the entire Bible, and it has influenced Judaism and Christianity to an exceptional extent. Many of its passages feature in the liturgies of the synagogue and of the church. In Jewish tradition, the threefold acclamation of God’s holiness in Isa 6:3 is recited in prayers throughout the day: it is, for example, among the benedictions framing the recitation of the Shema’ in the morning and part of the central prayer called the Amidah. In Christian tradition, Isa 7:14 is understood to predict the virgin birth; and Isa 9:1–7, the incarnation. Isa 40:3–5 is identified as speaking about John the Baptist, and Isa 52:13–53:12 is read on Good Friday to illustrate Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection.1 The book of Isaiah is also one of the most complex books because of its variety and plurality. It has, accordingly, been the focus of scholarly debate for the last two thousand years, with no sign of consensus in sight. It reflects many different historical and societal settings, among them debates with Judah’s kings, promises of restoration after Judah’s destruction, and problems in the post-monarchic community. It addresses a wide range of audiences, from the private words spoken to King Ahaz and King Hezekiah to proclamations to the Persian conqueror Cyrus. It communicates its messages through multiple literary genres, including divine oracles, parables, and narratives. The Oxford Handbook of Isaiah offers merely a glimpse of the manifold riches of the book of Isaiah. The topics it covers were selected with the goal of providing readers with a cornucopia of different views. The result does not form a unified standpoint; rather, the individual contributions mirror the wide and varied spectrum of scholarly engagement with the book. The contributors’ chapters likewise represent a broad range of scholarly traditions. I have consciously included scholars from diverse continents and religious affiliations to ensure that the ongoing global scholarly discussions are well represented. The handbook is divided into eight parts. Part I contains two chapters that address overarching issues of structure and history of composition. Jacob Stromberg’s chapter 1 seeks to identify a macro-structure of the book of Isaiah. When we read it as a coherent whole—namely, as the “vision of Isaiah of 1  See further, John F. A. Sawyer, The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996).

2   Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer Jerusalem” (Isa 1:1)—we can see that the book of Isaiah falls naturally into two halves: in the first thirty-nine chapters, the reader inhabits the world of the prophet Isaiah prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the ensuing exile of much of its population. In the final twenty-seven chapters, the reader is catapulted into the future that the prophet foresaw but did not live to see. In this half of the book, only God speaks. At a lower level, the book of Isaiah consists of several interconnected subunits. Chapters 1–12 contain oracles of judgment and salvation for Israel and Judah, with the focus on the latter nation, whereas chapters 13–27 offer corresponding oracles of judgments against the nations. In parallel, chapters 13–27 connect thematically forward with chapters 36–39 through their shared focus on Assyria. The oracles in chapters 28 to 35 likewise connect thematically, backward to the material in Isa 1–12 but also forward to the oracles of salvation and restoration in Isa 40–55. Finally, chapters 56–66 bring the book to a close. Here, the predicted eschatological salvation reuses and reverses the earlier visions of doom in the first half of the book (cf. Soo J. Kim). Chapter 2 by Uwe Becker concerns the gradual composition of the book of Isaiah and offers a deliberate contrast to Stromberg’s chapter because it emphasizes diversity and development rather than cohesion. Early biblical scholars focused on matters of authorship and assigned Isa 1–39 and Isa 40–66 to different authors. Subsequently, Bernhard Duhm argued that the last twenty-seven chapters stemmed not from one but two authors—namely, Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah, and he further assigned the four socalled Servant Songs to yet another author (cf. Berges). Duhm also highlighted the unlikelihood that all of Isa 1–39 was composed by a single author called “Isaiah,” suggesting instead that passages such as chapters 24–27 and 36–39 were as late, if not later, than the material in Isa 40–66. More recently, the interest in the prophet Isaiah has receded and to a large extent been replaced by a focus on the book of Isaiah. Whereas some scholars have explored the book from a literary or theological perspective, others have explored questions related to its compositional history. Looking in more detail at this latter group, we see that two basic models for understanding the history of Isaiah exist: (a) the book consists of originally independent texts that were joined together by later redactors; and (b) the later parts of the book were written as a literary continuation of the earlier material. The five chapters in Part II zoom in on key sections in the book of Isaiah. In chapter 3, Hyun Chul Paul Kim offers a succinct analysis of the so-called Oracles against the Nations (OAN) in Isa 13–23. These oracles are unlikely to form an authorial unity; they betray instead an extended textual development beginning in the eighth century and reaching well into the post-monarchic period. The oracles offer expansions of some of the ideas presented in Isa 1–12 (cf. Stromberg), and they also connect with the following oracles in Isa 24–27 (cf. Hibbard) and Isa 30–31, 34. The genre of the OAN is not unique to Isaiah; Amos, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel contain similar OAN. This type of oracle may have a cultic origin or begun as a war oracle. Their key message in Isaiah is dual: God’s ju