John Webster ( Word and Church: Essays in Church Dogmatics ) notes the limits of current theories of hermeneutical “virtues.” While they push in the right direction by reminding us that “fitting reading of a canonical text requires the acquisition of moral and spiritual . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Isaiah calls the people “hear” Yahweh’s torah (Isaiah 1:10), and the whole passage is framed by references to Yahweh’s words (vv. 10, 18, 20). His main indictment against Judah is that they refuse to listen, and He responds by refusing to listen to them (v. . . . . Continue Reading »
“Your land is desolate,” Isaiah says to Judah, “your cities are burned with fire” (1:7). That means they are under the curses of the covenant, such as those detailed in Leviticus 26:33, which warns about the “desolation” of the land and the wasting of . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah promises that Yahweh will replant Israel with cedar, shittah, myrtle, and “oil trees” (41:19). It is a promise that the land will again be fertile and be turned from a desert to a grove and a garden. But “oil tree” is rare, and is used several times in . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah says that Judah’s body politic has been beaten from head to foot (1:5-6). There is no health in it, only a fourfold wounding - wounds, stripes, fresh/putrefying, sores; there is also a fourfold lack - the wounds are not closed, not bandaged, not softened, no oil. Two of these . . . . Continue Reading »
With a couple of slight modifications, I find Eddy Lanz’s structural analysis of Isaiah 1:1-2:2 ( http://www.lanz.li/engot/isaengstructure.pdf ) compelling: A. Vision of Isaiah re Judah and Jerusalem, 1:1 B. People rebel against and forsake Yahweh; therefore, they are beaten up, 1:2-6 C. Zion . . . . Continue Reading »
Sawyer also notes that Christian interpreters often used the gruesome description of the beaten body in Isaiah 1:6 as background and justification for describing the wounds of Christ in detail. In traditional readings, Isaiah shows that “no part of his precious body was spared,” . . . . Continue Reading »
John Sawyer ( The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity ) summarizes the uses that Christians have made of the “ox and ass” of Isaiah 1:3: “Some commentators like Gregory of Nazianzus . . . interpret the ox as a symbol of the Jews and the ass as the gentiles loaded . . . . Continue Reading »
Many if not most commentators on Isaiah suggest that Isaiah 1 is set around the time of the Assyrian invasion of Judah in 701, a story detailed in Isaiah 36-39. I took that position in my sermon notes earlier this week. Then my colleague, Toby Sumpter, and a ministerial student, CJ . . . . Continue Reading »
PROVERBS 29:14 Verses 12-13 move toward the themes of verse 14. Verse 12 is about a ruler who gives heed to falsehood, and verse 13 is about the poor. Verse 14 combines the two interests with a statement about the role of a king. According to the Torah, judges are supposed to judge . . . . Continue Reading »
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