The Performative Nature And Function Of Isaiah 40 55

This dissertation presents the basic philosophical concepts of speech act theory in order to accurately implement them alongside other interpretive tools.

This book sets out to describe the multi-dimensional nature and function of rhetorical questions in the Old Testament. Biblical scholars have previously analyzed the use of rhetorical questions in both Testaments, but consistently describe their function in persuasive terms. While this understanding is appropriate in a number of instances, many rhetorical questions do not operate this way, and Jim W. Adams focuses in particular on rhetoric expressing the self-involvement of both the speaker and hearer. Among linguistic philosophers, speech act theory has illuminated the fact that uttering a sentence does not merely convey information; it may also involve the performing of an action. The concept of communicative action provides additional tools to the exegetical process as it points the interpreter beyond the assumption that the use of language is merely for descriptive purposes. Language can also have performative and self-involving dimensions. In relation to speech act theory, linguistic specialists continue to research the nature of rhetorical questions.

The influence of Isaiah on John's narrative and theology has long been recognized, but it has yet to receive monograph-length attention. This study is a beginning attempt to fill that void through an examination of the use of Isaiah in the crucial hinge of John's gospel - John 12:1-43. Beginning with a reading of Isaiah 40-55 illustrating a way in which early Christians may have read this important section of Scripture, the bulk of the study examines the pericopes in John 12:1-43, seeking to identify and interpret John's use of Isaiah 52-53. It is concluded that a reading of this well-known Isaianic text rooted within its broader context in Isaiah, together with the mediating influence of other texts - notably Isa 6:9-10 and Zech 9:9-10 - has fueled much Johannine theology, Christology, and ecclesiology. Moreover, mirroring the progression of Isa 52:7-53:1 in John 12 is the author's way of underlining Jesus' identity as the Servant of God and announcing that the second exodus prophesied by Isaiah is secured by the rejection (and death) of Jesus.

Notions of women as found in the Bible have had an incalculable impact on western cultures, influencing perspectives on marriage, kinship, legal practice, political status, and general attitudes. Women and Exilic Identity in the Hebrew Bible is drawn from three separate strands to address and analyse this phenomenon. The first examines how women were conceptualized and represented during the exilic period. The second focuses on methodological possibilities and drawbacks connected to investigating women and exile. The third reviews current prominent literature on the topic, with responses from authors. With chapters from a range of contributors, topics move from an analysis of Ruth as a woman returning to her homeland, and issues concerning the foreign presence who brings foreign family members into the midst of a community, and how this is dealt with, through the intermarriage crisis portrayed in Ezra 9-10, to an analysis of Judean constructions of gender in the exilic and early post-exilic periods. The contributions show an exciting range of the best scholarship on women and foreign identities, with important consequences for how the foreign/known is perceived, and what that has meant for women through the centuries.

This monograph seeks to identity the target audience of Isaiah 40-55. In doing so, it challenges the widespread view that Isaiah 40-55, in whole or in part, aims at and also reflects the concerns of the exilic community in Babylon.

The widely heralded New American Commentary series continues with this second volume on the Old Testament book of Isaiah, detailing God's intimacy and grandeur.

This volume is born out of two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007). The topics of these papers are gathered around the theme of "voice." The two parts to this volume: 1) provide fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and 2) deepen our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee. In the second section the focus on topics such as Israel's "unbelieving faith" (i.e., strong accusations against the God on whom they have complete reliance and trust), the unrighteous lamenter, and God's acceptance and rejection of the people's lament(s), deepens our understanding of Israel's culture and practice of lamentation. The final essay notes how the expression of despair is in tension with the poetic devices that contain it.

Luke models his portrayal both of Jesus and his disciples in Luke-Acts after the human agent of the Isaianic New Exodus in Isaiah 40-66, the servant. In the Isaianic New Exodus the servant is integral to the restoration; the servant's mission being embodied is, to a great extent, how the New Exodus comes to fruition. The servant connection is at times explicit, as Jesus is identified with the servant in Luke 4:18-19 (quoting Isa 61:1-2 [with 58:6]); Luke 22:37 (citing Isa 53:12); and Acts 8:32-33 (Isa 53:7-8). Regarding the disciples, Isa 49:6 is quoted by Paul in Acts 13:47 in reference to himself and Barnabas, though a focus only on quotations is too limiting. Allusions to servant passages abound. This work argues that Luke sees Jesus fulfilling the servant role in an ultimate sense, but that his followers, modelled after him in Acts, also embody it. This can be seen in Luke's use of Isaianic servant imagery, including suffering, lack of violent response (to unjust treatment) and language in the disciples' characterization.