Oxford Handbook of Isaiah

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.

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer - The Oxford Handbook of Isaiah

Oxford University Press, 2020. - 754 pp.

ISBN 9780190669249 (hardback)

ISBN 9780190669263 (epub)

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer - The Oxford Handbook of Isaiah - Contents

Contributors

Abbreviations

Introduction - Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

PART I QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE FORMATION OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

1. The Book of Isaiah: Its Final Structure - Jacob Stromberg
2. The Book of Isaiah: Its Composition History - Uwe Becker
PART II KEY PARTS OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
3. The Oracles against the Nations - Hyun Chul Paul Kim
4. Isaiah 24-27: The So-Called Isaiah Apocalypse - J. Todd Hibbard
5. The Narratives about Isaiah and Their Relationship with 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles - Shelley L. Birdsong
6. Isaiah 40-55 - Katie M. Heffelfinger
7. Isaiah 56-66 - Andreas Schule

PART III THE WORLD BEHIND THE TEXT

8. The Neo-Assyrian Context of First Isaiah - C. L. Crouch and Christopher B. Hays
9. Isaiah and the Neo-Babylonian Background - Joseph Blenkinsopp
10. The Book of Isaiah: Persian/Hellenistic Background - Kristin Joachimsen

PART IV THEMES AND LITERARY MOTIFS SPANNING THE BOOK OF ISAIAH