Isaiah 40-55 : A New Translation... | Buy

Scholars have traditionally isolated three distinct sections of what is known as the Book of Isaiah, and inIsaiah 4055, distinguished biblical scholar Joseph Blenkinsopp provides a new translation and critical commentary on the section usually referred to as Second or Deutero Isaiah. The second volume in a three-volume commentary, it easily maintains the high standards of academic excellence established byIsaiah139. Second Isaiah was written in the sixth century b.c.e., in the years just before the fall of the mighty Babylonian Empire, by an anonymous prophet whom history has erroneously identified with the real Isaiah (born ca. 765 b.c.e.). Scholars know Second Isaiah was written by someone other than Isaiah because the contexts of these prophecies are so very different. When Second Isaiah was written, the prophet believed that Israel's time of suffering was drawing to a close. There was, he insisted, a new age upon them, a time of hope, peace, and renewed national prosperity. The main thrust of the prophet's argument was intended to rally the spirits of a people devastated by war and conquest. One of the most famous examples of this optimistic tone is the well-known and beloved Song of the Suffering Servant, which is found in Chapters 5253, and about which Blenkinsopp has some challenging new ideas. The final chapters of Second Isaiah, however, are in an entirely different key as it becomes clear that the new world the prophet foresaw earlier was not going to come to pass. This despair finds its most poignant expression in the final section of the Book of Isaiah, which Blenkinsopp will address in his forthcoming third volume.

JOSEPH BLENKINSOPP is currently the John A. O’Brien Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he has taught since 1970. Among his many scholarly publications on the Hebrew Bible is the Anchor Bible Reference Library volumes The Pentateuch and Isaiah 1—39.

Preface

ix

List of Abbreviations

xiii

Isaiah 40-55: A Translation

1

(38)

Introduction

39

(2)

Isaiah 40-55 as part the book of Isaiah

41

(13)

What is a biblical Book?

41

(1)

Isaiah 40-55 In Relation to Isaiah 35

42

(4)

Isaiah 40-55 in relation to Isaiah 36-39

46

(2)

Linguistic, Stylistic, and Thematic Features

48

(2)

Prophecy and Fulfillment

50

(1)

Isaiah 40-5S and the Deuteronomists

51

(3)

Isaiah 40-55 as Part of the Biblical Canon

54

(5)

Isaiah 40-55 is Canonically Independent of Isaiah 1-39

54

(1)

Isaiah 40-55 in Latter Prophets

55

(2)

When Did Isaiah Become Canonical?

57

(2)

The Literary Character of Isaiah 40-55

59

(10)

Structure

59

(2)

Rhetorical Resources

61

(4)

The Question of Literary Genres

65

(1)

Isaiah 40-55: Poetry or Prose?

66

(3)

The Formation of Isaiah 40-55

69

(12)

How the Issue of the Formation of Isaiah 40-55 Arose

69

(2)

Coherence or Fragmentation?

71

(2)

Arrangement in Large Units

73

(1)

Addenda

74

(2)

The Four ``Servant Songs''

76

(5)

Chapters from the History of Interpretation

81

(11)

The Earliest, Stages

81

(1)

Septuagint, Targum, and Later Jewish Interpretations

82

(2)

The Isaian Servant in the Later Second Temple Period

84

(3)

Isaiah 40-55 in Early Christianity

87

(5)

Isaiah 40-55 in Its Historical Context

92

(12)

The Career of Cyrus and the Collapse of the Babylonian Empire

92

(3)

Neo-Babylonian Judah

95

(4)

The Jewish Diaspora

99

(3)

Was Second Isaiah Composed in Babylonia, Judah, or Elsewhere?

102

(2)

Aspects of the Theology of Isaiah 40-55

104

(17)

Coping with Disaster

104

(1)

The God of Israel and the Babylonian Gods

105

(5)

Divine Titles and Attributes

110

(1)

Narrative Traditions in Isaiah 40-55

111

(3)

Jerusalem/Zion as the Goal of the Journey

114

(1)

Is the Author of Isaiah 40-55 a Spokesman for Religious Universalism?

115

(3)

Servants of God in Isaiah 40-55

118

(3)

The Text of Isaiah 40-55 and the Ancient Versions

121

(3)

A Prefatory Word about Reading

124

(3)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

127

(48)

Commentaries

129

(4)

Text and Versions

133

(5)

Monographs and Articles

138

(37)

Isaiah 40-55 in General

138

(28)

The Servant in Isaiah 40-55

166

(9)

TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTS

175

(235)

Prologue: The Revival of Prophecy (40:1-8)

177

(7)

Good News for the Cities of Judah (40:9-11)

184

(3)

A Disputation about the Power of Israel's God (40:12-31 + 41:6-7)

187

(8)

A First Mock-Trial Speech (41:1-5)

195

(3)

Words of Encouragement to Israel, the Servant (41:8-16)

198

(4)

Ecological Transformation of the Land (41:17-20)

202

(1)

A Second Mock-Trial Speech (41:21-29)

203

(4)

The Commissioning of Yahveh's Servant (42:1-9)

207

(5)

New Events Call for a New Song (42:10-17)

212

(4)

The Spiritual Imperception of the Servant (42:18-25)

216

(3)

Divine Reassurance: All Will Be Well (43:1-7)

219

(3)

The God of Israel and the Gods of the Nations (43:8-13)

222

(3)

Something New: A Way into the Future (43:14-21)

225

(3)

The Case against Israel Raised and Dismissed (43:22-44:5)

228

(6)

Israel Called to Witness to Yahveh as the One God (44:6-8, 21-23)

234

(4)

Polemic against Cult Images (44:9-20)

238

(5)

Cyrus My Anointed (44:24-45:8)

243

(7)

Yahveh Cannot Be Called to Account for Choosing Cyrus (45:9-13)

250

(5)

The God Who Hides Himself (45:14-19)

255

(5)

Salvation Offered to the Nations (45:20-25)

260

(3)

The Defeated and Exiled Babylonian Gods (46:1-7)

263

(7)

Reassurance for the Doubters (46:8-13)

270

(4)

Queen Babylon Dethroned (47:1-15)

274

(10)

The Argument from Prophecy Reiterated (48:1-11)

284

(6)

Once More and Finally: The Mission of Cyrus (48:12-22)

290

(7)

The Servant's Address to the Nations (49:1-6)

297

(5)

Two Comments about the Servant (49:7-13)

302

(5)

The Woman Zion and Her New Family (49:14-23)

307

(6)

Further Reassurance Given and Objections Answered (49:24-50:3)

313

(4)

The Prophetic Servant Opposed and Abused (50:4-11)

317

(6)

Three Words of Comfort for the Well-Disposed (51:1-8)

323

(6)

An Urgent Prayer for Divine Intervention (51:9-16)

329

(6)

The Cup of Wrath (51:17-23)

335

(3)

The Coming of the Kingdom (52:1-12)

338

(6)

The Servant: From Humiliation to Exaltation (52:13-53:12)

344

(13)

Apostrophe to Zion (54:1-17)

357

(9)

A Concluding Invitation to Faith in the Prophetic Word (55:1-13)

366

(9)

INDEXES

Index of Subjects

375

(17)

Index of Biblical and Other Ancient References

392

(18)

List of Key Hebrew Terms

410

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