Essays on Prophecy and Canon: The Rise of a New Model for Interpretation

427 Pages·2021·3.672 MB·English

by  Christopher R. Seitz

Forschungen zum Alten Testament
Herausgegeben von
Konrad Schmid (Zürich) ∙ Mark S. Smith (Princeton)
Hermann Spieckermann (Göttingen) ∙ Andrew Teeter (Harvard)
149

Christopher R. Seitz
Essays on Prophecy and Canon
The Rise of a New Model for Interpretation
Mohr Siebeck
Christopher R. Seitz, born 1954; 1986 PhD from Yale; 1984-87 Professor at the Lutheran
Seminary in Philadelphia; 1987–1997 Professor at Yale; 1998–2007 Professor at
St Andrews; since 2007 Professor at Wycliffe College in the University of Toronto.
ISBN 978-3-16-160843-8 / eISBN 978-3-16-160844-5
DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-160844-5
ISSN 0940-4155 / eISSN 2568-8359 (Forschungen zum Alten Testament)
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie;
detailed bibliographic data are available at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2021 Mohr Siebeck Tübingen. www.mohrsiebeck.com
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by
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The book was typeset by epline in Böblingen using Minion typeface, printed on non-aging
paper by Gulde Druck in Tübingen, and bound by Buchbinderei Spinner in Ottersweier.
Printed in Germany.
To Leander Keck
Dean, Colleague, Friend

Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the team at Mohr Siebeck for their excellent editorial work.
Special thanks go to my research assistant at Wycliffe College in the University
of Toronto, Mr. Andrew Dyck. He did the difficult editorial work of moving
previously published essays into formats unanticipated, and proofread with
care and patience. Mr. Patrick Mentzer has prepared the indexes.
This volume is dedicated to Leander Earl Keck, former Dean of Yale Di-
vinity School, and Winckley Professor of Biblical Theology Emeritus. Lee has
been a close friend on the journey during which these essays appeared, and a
model of theological acumen and Menschlichkeit.
Toronto, July 2021 Christopher R. Seitz

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XI
Introduction: The Rise of a New Model for Biblical Interpretation . . . . . . 1
The Book of Isaiah:
Beyond the Three-Isaiah Model for Interpretation
1. Account A and the Annals of Sennacherib: A Reassessment . . . . . . . . 35
2. On the Question of Divisions Internal to the Book of Isaiah . . . . . . . . 44
3. The Divine Council: Temporal Transition and New Prophecy
in the Book of Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4. How is the Prophet Isaiah Present in the Latter Half of the Book?
The Logic of Chapters 40–66 within the Book of Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5. “You are my Servant, You are the Israel in whom I will be glorified”
The Servant Songs and the Effect of Literary Context in Isaiah . . . . . 94
6. Isaiah and the Search for a New Paradigm:
Authorship and Inspiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The Prophets:
Beyond the Chronological Model for Interpretation
7. Prophecy and Tradition-History:
The Achievement of Gerhard von Rad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
8. What Lesson Will History Teach?: The Book of the Twelve
as History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153