Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah

By Christopher Seitz

The strength of the present volume, Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah, is precisely that the possible tension between the historical and literary contexts is never fully resolved. Both... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800620569
• ISBN13: 9780800620561
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

It Helps You Preach Passages in Isaiah

This book began its life as a series of lectures delivered at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA in the mid-1980s. The lectures were delivered by highly qualified Old Testament scholars. Their purpose is to bring pastors and interested laypeople up tp speed on the latest trends in Isaiah interpretation. They work with the assumption that there were three different Isaiahs, and that their writings were gathered together over time under the canonical heading of "Isaiah." The editor, Christopher Seitz, says that if nothing else, this is a convenient way to divide the book, though he does have both the first word and the final word on this very subject. In his opening article, he acknowledges that the modern threefold division of Isaiah has a large consensus in the scholarly guild. One of the reasons that Seitz cites is the widely recognized notion that canonical Isaiah covers a larger period of time than the historical Isaiah's life. People had always recognized that the tenor of Isaiah from judgment to restoration was crossed at the 40th chapter. But older conservatives were reluctant to question the notion that the historical Isaiah could have prophesied the events of the post-exilic period under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The reason for this was undoubtedly out of fear for the decline of the doctrine of the inspiration and prophetic nature of scripture. Seitz also observes that references to First Isaiah need to qualified in light of the fact that some of the material in Isaiah 1-39 actually postdates some of the material in Second Isaiah. Having acknowledged what Seitz has written, it can still be asserted that there is a unity within canonical Isaiah, from the theme of justice that runs through its contents (Isaiah 5:7, 16, 9:7, 28:17, 30:18, 42:1-5, 51:4, 56:1, 61:8), to the usage of "The Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 1:4; 12:6; 30:11-15; 41:14-16; 48:17; 55:5; 60:9). While the threefold division of Isaiah may be tenable for historical study, there is still a theological unity that binds the Isaianic traditions together. The next chapter is the lecture delivered by Elizabeth Achtemeier, and she explores preaching paths in First Isaiah. She contends that Isaiah of Jerusalem is one of the greatest theologians in the Old Testament because of his timely witness to the person and activity of God in turbulent times. She notes the Talmudic tradition of Isaiah being the nephew of King Amaziah, and how it shows that even those connected with wealth and royalty can serve the Lord. She sagely notes that much of Isaiah of Jerusalem's criticism is aimed at the wealthy as well as toward those who are in positions of power. Achtemeier observes that Isaiah of Jerusalem ministers in an urban world, and his words of judgment on the city of Jerusalem for the lack of justice being expressed is something that maybe our own city leaders and government officials need to mind. These are very thought provoking words, indeed. She also exp