Isaiah Through the Centuries

526 Pages·2018·20.96 MB·English

by  John F a Sawyer

Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Series Editors’ Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Introduction
The Reception of Isaiah
Reception Exegesis
Isaiah 1
The Title (Isa 1:1)
The Ox and the Ass Have More Sense (Isa 1:2–9)
Blood on Your Hands (Isa 1:10–20)
The Faithful City (Isa 1:21–31)
Isaiah 2
A Second Title (Isa 2:1)
Swords into Ploughshares (Isa 2:2–5)
Haughtiness Shall Be Humbled (Isa 2:6–22)
Isaiah 3
Anarchy in Jerusalem (Isa 3:1–15)
The Daughters of Zion are Haughty (Isa 3:16–26; 4:1)
Isaiah 4
The Pride and Glory of the Survivors (Isa 4:2–6)
Isaiah 5
The Fate of God’s Vineyard (Isa 5:1–7)
Woe to Those Who Are Wise in Their Own Eyes! (Isa 5:8–30)
Isaiah 6
Holy, Holy, Holy (Isa 6:1–3)
Here Am I: Send Me! (Isa 6:4–8)
Go and Say to this People, ‘Hear, But Do Not Understand’ (Isa 6:9–13)
Isaiah 7
Faith and Reason (Isa 7:1–9)
The Immanuel Prophecy (Isa 7:10–17)
The King of Assyria (Isa 7:18–25)
Isaiah 8
The Waters of Shiloah (Isa 8:1–10)
The Strong Hand of the Lord (Isa 8:11–22)
Isaiah 9
Galilee of the Nations (Isa 9:1)
For Unto Us a Child Is Born (Isa 9:2–7)
Wickedness Burns Like a Fire (Isa 9:8–21)
Isaiah 10
Woe to Those in Power! (Isa 10:1–4)
Woe to Assyria! (Isa 10:5–19)
Be Not Afraid of Assyria, My People (Isa 10:20–34)
Isaiah 11
The Noble Stem of Jesse (Isa 11:1–5)
The Peaceable Kingdom (Isa 11:6–9)
The Messianic Age (Isa 11:10–16)
Isaiah 12
With Joy Shall You Draw Water from the Wells of Salvation (Isa 12:1–6)
Isaiah 13
Howl, For the Day of the Lord Is at Hand! (Isa 13:1–22)
Isaiah 14
The Lord Will Again Choose Israel (Isa 14:1–3)
How Art Thou Fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer! (Isa 14:4–23)
Prophecies against the Assyrians and the Philistines (Isa 14:24–32)
Isaiah 15
My Heart Cries Out for Moab (Isa 15:1–14)
Isaiah 16
Hide the Fugitives, Do Not Betray the Refugees (Isa 16:1–14)
Isaiah 17
An Oracle Concerning Syria and Ephraim (Isa 17:1–3)
The Glory of Jacob Will Be Brought Low (Isa 17:4–14)
Isaiah 18
A Prophecy Concerning Ethiopia (Isa 18:1–7)
Isaiah 19
An Oracle Concerning Egypt (Isa 19:1–15)
Blessed Be Egypt, My People! (Isa 19:16–25)
Isaiah 20
Put Not Your Trust in Egypt and Ethiopia (Isa 20:1–6)
Isaiah 21
Babylon is Fallen! (Isa 21:1–10)
Watchman, What of the Night? (Isa 21:11–17)
Isaiah 22
Let Me Weep Bitter Tears (Isa 22:1–14)
The Key of David (Isa 22:15–25)
Isaiah 23
Howl Ye Ships of Tarshish! (Isa 23:1–18)
Isaiah 24
The End of the World (Isa 24:1–13)
The Last Judgement (Isa 24:14–23)
Isaiah 25
The Eschatological Banquet
Isaiah 26
The Resurrection of the Dead (Isa 26:1–21)
Isaiah 27
Leviathan (Isa 27:1)
The Lord’s Vineyard (Isa 27:2–11)
The Sound of the Shofar (Isa 27:12–13)
Isaiah 28
Woe to the Drunken Priests and Prophets! (Isa 28:1–13)
A Covenant with Death (Isa 28:14–29)
Isaiah 29
Ariel, the City of David (Isa 29:1–8)
Having Eyes They See Not (Isa 29:9–16)
Jacob Shall No More Be Ashamed (Isa 29:17–24)
Isaiah 30
Woe to the Rebellious Children! (Isa 30:1–17)
Blessed Are All Those Who Wait for Him (Isa 30:18–26)
The Burning Anger of the Lord (Isa 30:27–33)
Isaiah 31
Woe to Those Who Rely on Horses and Chariots! (Isa 31:1–9)
Isaiah 32
A Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace (Isa 32:1–20)
Isaiah 33
The Destroyer (Isa 33:1–12)
A Place of Broad Waters and Streams (Isa 33:13–24)
Isaiah 34
The Day of Vengeance (Isa 34:1–17)
Isaiah 35
The Day of Redemption (Isa 35:1–10)
Isaiah 36
The Assyrian Invasion of Judah (Isa 36:1–22)
Isaiah 37
The Salvation of Jerusalem (Isa 37:1–38)
Isaiah 38
The Recovery of King Hezekiah from Illness (Isa 38:1–22)
Isaiah 39
Envoys from Babylon (Isa 39:1–8)
Isaiah 40
‘Comfort My People,’ Says Your God (Isa 40:1–11)
Creator of Heaven and Earth (Isa 40:12–31)
Isaiah 41
The Lord of History (Isa 41:1–7)
Fear Not, Israel, My Servant (Isa 41:8–20)
The Impotence of False Gods (Isa 41:21–29)
Isaiah 42
Behold My Servant (Isa 42:1–13)
God as Mother (Isa 42:14–25)
Isaiah 43
I Am Your Saviour (Isa 43:1–13)
A New Exodus (Isa 43:14–28)
Isaiah 44
I Am Alpha and Omega: Besides Me There Is No God (Isa 44:1–8)
The Folly of Idol Worship (Isa 44:9–20)
Jerusalem Shall Be Rebuilt (Isa 44:21–28)
Isaiah 45
Cyrus the Lord’s Anointed (Isa 45:1–8)
Will You Criticize the Creator? (Isa 45:9–13)
God Is With You Only and There Is No Other (Isa 45:14–25)
Isaiah 46
The False Gods of Babylon (Isa 46:1–13)
Isaiah 47
The Fall of Babylon (Isa 47:1–15)
Isaiah 48
A Rebel from Birth (Isa 48:1–11)
Go Forth from Babylon (Isa 48:12–22)
Isaiah 49
A Light to the Nations (Isa 49:1–6)
A Day of Salvation (Isa 49:7–13)
Doubting Zion (Isa 49:14–26)
Isaiah 50
I Hid Not My Face from Shame and Spitting (Isa 50:1–11)
Isaiah 51
Look to the Rock from Which You Were Hewn (Isa 51:1–9)
Arm of the Lord, Awake (Isa 51:10–23)
Isaiah 52
The Lord Has Comforted His People (Isa 52:1–12)
The Suffering Servant (Isa 52:13–53:12)
Isaiah 53
The Suffering Servant (cont’d) (Isa 53:1–12)
Isaiah 54
Zion and Her Children (Isa 54:1–17)
Isaiah 55
Come to Me, All You Who Thirst (Isa 55:1–13)
Isaiah 56
A House of Prayer for All Nations (Isa 56:1–8)
Corruption in High Places (Isa 56:9–57:13)
Isaiah 57
Corruption in High Places (cont’d) (Isa 57:1–13)
Peace, Peace to the Far and to the Near (Isa 57:14–21)
Isaiah 58
Is Not This the Fast That I Choose? (Isa 58:1–14)
Isaiah 59
Estrangement from God (Isa 59:1–21)
Isaiah 60
Arise, Shine for Your Light Is Come (Isa 60:1–14)
Your Sun Shall Set No More (Isa 60:15–22)
Isaiah 61
Good News for the Poor (Isa 61:1–11)
Isaiah 62
For Zion’s Sake I Will Not Keep Silent (Isa 62:1–12)
Isaiah 63
The Grapes of Wrath (Isa 63:1–6)
Our Father in Heaven (Isa 63:7–19)
Isaiah 64
O Lord, You Have Hidden Your Face from Us (Isa 64:1–12)
Isaiah 65
The Sheep and the Goats on Judgement Day (Isa 65:1–16)
A New Creation (Isa 65:17–25)
Isaiah 66
Sacrifices Acceptable to the Lord (Isa 66:1–6)
Mother Zion and Her Children (Isa 66:7–16)
A New Heaven and a New Earth (Isa 66:17–24)
Glossary
Brief Biographies
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Commentaries
General Bibliography
Websites
Index of Biblical and Other Ancient References
General Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 01
Plate 1 ‘The ox knows its owner and the ass its master’s crib’ (Isa 1:3). Fourth
century sarcophagus in Milan.
Chapter 02
Plate 2 ‘All the nations shall flow to it’ (Isa 2:2). Coin of Pope Clement X showing St
Peter’s Basilica, Rome (1674).
Plate 3 ‘Swords into Ploughshares’ (Isa 2:4). Sculpture overlooking the Old City of
Jerusalem (1967).
Chapter 05
Plate 4 ‘The Vineyard of the Lord’ (Isa 5:1–7). Oil painting by Lucas Cranach the
Younger, in the Stadtkirche, Wittenberg (1569).
Chapter 06
Plate 5 “The Prophet Isaiah” (Isa.6:6). Fresco on the ceiling of the Palazzo Patriarchale
in Udine by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1726–29).
Plate 6 Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6, with Isa 5 and 53). Woodcut by Lucas Cranach’s
workshop for Martin Luther’s first complete German Bible (Wittenberg 1534).
Chapter 07
Plate 7 ‘Behold a virgin will conceive and bear a son’ (Isa 7:14). Painting by
Raffaellino del Garbo in St Francis’ Convent, Fiesole (c.1510).
Chapter 09
Plate 8 Reḥov Pele Yo‘ez (Isa 9:6) ‘Wonderful Counsellor Street’ in the Yemin Moshe
district of Jerusalem.
Plate 9 ‘And his name will be called Wonderful Counsellor … Prince of Peace’ (Isa
9:6). Painting by Mary Fleeson (2016), www.lindisfarnescriptorium.co.uk.
Plate 10 ‘Holy Family with Imperator Mundi [emperor of the world]’ (Isa 9:6–7).
Painting by Andrea Mantegna (c.1500) in the Musée du Petit Palais, Paris.
Chapter 11
Plate 11 ‘Tree of Jesse’ (Isa 11:1). Oxford Psalter c.1200.
Plate 12 ‘Tree of Jesse’ (Isa 11:1) window in Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire (1330).
Plate 13 ‘The leopard shall relax with the kid’ (Isa 11:6 LXX). Mosaic floor of church
in Anemurium, Turkey (c.500 CE).
Plate 14 The prophet presiding over the Peaceable Kingdom (Isa 11:6–8). Panel on
bronze menorah presented to the State of Israel by the British Government in 1956.
Plate 15 ‘The wolf shall dwell with the lamb…’ (Isa 11:3–8). Israeli postage stamps
celebrating Rosh HaShanah (1962).
Chapter 12
Plate 16 ‘Behold God is my saviour’ (Isa 12:2 Vg). The Prophet Isaiah, oil painting by
Fra Bartolommeo (c.1516) in the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence.
Chapter 13
Plate 17 ‘And their houses will be filled with owls’ (Isa 13:21 JPS). Israeli postage
stamps (1987).
Chapter 14
Plate 18 ‘The Fall of Lucifer’ (Isa 14:12). Illustration by Gustav Doré for Milton’s
Paradise Lost (1866).
Chapter 19
Plate 19 ‘The idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence’ (Isa 19:1). ‘The Flight into
Egypt’ from the Salzburg Missal (fifteenth century).
Chapter 21
Plate 20 ‘And I saw a rider on an ass and a rider on a camel’ (Isa 21:7 LXX),
identified as the Messiah and Muhammad. Fourteenthcentury Arabic ms.
Plate 21 ‘A chariot of asses and a chariot of camels’ (Isa 21:7 AV). Copper engraving
from Johann Jacob Scheuchzer, Physica Sacra (1735).
Chapter 22
Plate 22 ‘Let me alone: I will weep bitterly’ (Isa 22:4). Christ weeping over Jerusalem
(Luke 19:41–2; Lam.1:1) from a Biblia Pauperum (Netherlands 1480–1485).
Chapter 26
Plate 23 ‘Open the gates that a righteous nation may enter in’ (Isa 26:2–3). Inscription
on the façade of the New Synagogue, Oranienburger Strasse, Berlin (1866).
Plate 24 ‘Open the gates that a righteous nation may enter in’ (Isa 26:2–3). Fresco by
Raphael in the Basilica of Sant’Agostino, Rome (1512).
Chapter 27
Plate 25 ‘In that day the LORD shall punish Leviathan (Isa 27:1). Illustration by Gustav
Doré for La Sainte Bible (Tours 1866).
Chapter 30
Plate 26 ‘Rejoicing as when they march with the flute’ (Isa 30:29). Israeli postage
stamp celebrating Rosh HaShanah (1956).
Chapter 32
Plate 27 ‘An oasis of peace’ (Isa 32:18). Neve Shalom is an ecumenical kibbutz,
founded in 1979.
Chapter 34
Plate 28 ‘There too shall Lilith alight and find herself a resting place’ (Isa 34:14).
Cover of first issue of the ‘independent, Jewish and frankly feminist’ magazine Lilith
(1976).
Chapter 38
Plate 29 ‘So the sun turned back on the dial ten steps’ (Isa 38:8). Stained glass window
in Canterbury Cathedral (thirteenth century).
Chapter 40
Plate 30 ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd’ (Isa 40:11). Stained glass window by
Edward BurneJones and William Morris in St Martin’s Church, Brampton (1878).
Plate 31 ‘He measured the heavens with a span’ (Isa 40:12). Etching/Watercolour by
William Blake (1794).
Chapter 42
Plate 32 ‘For his servant’s vindication he will magnify and glorify his Torah’ (Isa
42:21). Israeli postage stamp (1967).
Chapter 49
Plate 33 ‘And I will make all my mountains a way’ (Isa 49:11). Israeli postage stamp
(1949).
Chapter 52
Plate 34 ‘Announcing happiness, heralding good fortune, announcing victory’ (Isa 52:7
(JPS)). Israeli postmark (Jerusalem, August 1967).
Chapter 53
Plate 35 ‘Man of Sorrows (Imago Pietatis)’ (cf. Isa 53:3). Oil painting by Giovanni
Bellini (1460–1469) in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan.
Plate 36 ‘Like a lamb led to the slaughter, or a sheep that before its shearers is silent’
(Isa 53:7; cf. Acts 8:32). Oil painting by Francisco Zurbarán (1635–1640).
Chapter 55