Publisher's Synopsis
This volume of collected essays focuses on the relationship between the different texts within Isaiah 40-66. It reinvestigates and challenges the traditional division between chapters 40-55 and 56-66 and explores new ways of reading the last 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah. Each article examines Isaiah 40-55 and/or Isaiah 56-66 and highlights continuity and discontinuity within this material.Some contributions belong to the tradition of historical-critical research. They examine existing models of textual development of Isa 40-66 and offer new suggestions. They also explore the interplay between the historical development of the text and its thematic continuity and discontinuity. Is the consistent use of a theme a sign of single authorship? Alternatively, are changes in the way a given issue is treated a sign of multiple authorship? Other contributions explore the final form of Isaiah 40-66 and suggest reading strategies that do justice to the message of the extant text. Yet other articles make case studies of specific elements of Isaiah 40-66. What is the significance of these texts for the theological development of the ancient Israelite religion? Further, how do they interact with and transform other texts in the Hebrew Bible?
