Bind Up the Testimony: Explorations in the Genesis of the Book of Isaiah
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Overview
One of the major flashpoints in academic biblical studies in the past 125 years has centered on the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah. Beginning in the late 1800s, some scholars suggested that this book may have been written by multiple people over a period of centuries, a view that contrasts with the traditional one that the entire book of Isaiah was written in the eighth century BC by the Judean prophet Isaiah ben Amoz. Because for many conservative scholars the latter position is the only one that respects the divine inspiration of the text, and because they also believe that this position is endorsed by Jesus in the New Testament, the differing conclusions of mainstream and conservative scholars regarding the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah have long served to divide these groups.
Bind Up the Testimony—a collection of essays from a colloquium held at Wheaton College in 2013—brings together a variety of evangelical responses to this issue. Although a few of the essays arrive at conservative conclusions regarding the authorship and dating of the book of Isaiah, most of them attempt to chart new, more nuanced directions for thinking on this subject, and suggest that careful attention to the (complicated) compositional history of the book of Isaiah need not be a hindrance—and can, in fact, be a help—to Christians who understand the book of Isaiah as divinely inspired Scripture that has spoken to God’s people throughout the ages and that continues to speak to them today.
- Explores the history of the interpretation of the book of Isaiah
- Summarizes major developments in Isaianic studies during recent decades
- Provides an open discussion of interpretive options
- Introduction - Richard L. Schultz
- The Origins and Basic Arguments of the Multi-Author View of the Composition of Isaiah: Where Are We Now and How Did We Get Here? - Richard L. Schultz
- Isaianic Intertextuality and Intratextuality as CompositionHistorical Indicators: Methodological Challenges in Determining Literary Influence - Richard L. Schultz
- The Biblical Texts of Isaiah at Qumran - Seulgi L. Byun
- “Isaiah the Prophet Said”: The Authorship of Isaiah Reexamined in the Light of Early Jewish and Christian Writings - G. K. Beale
- The Composition of the Book of Isaiah in Jewish Tradition - Michael W. Graves
- The Diachronic Perspective of the Book of Isaiah’s Final Form - Knut M. Heim
- Isaiah as Prophet and Isaiah as Book in Their Ancient Near Eastern Context - John W. Hilber
- Cyrus or Sennacherib? Historical Issues Involved in the Interpretation of Isaiah 40–55 - Gary V. Smith
- Characteristics of the Hebrew of the Recognized Literary Divisions of Isaiah - Mark F. Rooker
- The Literary Macrostructures of the Book of Isaiah and Authorial Intent - Peter J. Gentry
- Authors and Readers (Real or Implicit) and the Unity/Disunity of Isaiah - Mark J. Boda
- The Implications of an Evangelical View of Scripture for the Authorship of the Book of Isaiah - John N. Oswalt
- Binding Up the Testimony: Concluding Reflections on the Origins of the Book of Isaiah - Daniel I. Block
Evangelical Protestants do not have a single view on the question of the authorial unity of the book of Isaiah. Bind Up the Testimony presents different perspectives on the question from prominent evangelical biblical scholars, with some arguing that affirmation of an eighth-century authorship of the whole is crucial for the truth of the book while others suggest that the book itself sends signals that it is a multi-voiced composition written over time. This book is an excellent resource for those who want to consider the question for themselves.
—Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
The book of Isaiah has been a scholarly battleground for over two centuries. Volumes like this one can help transform longstanding trenches into a fresh seedbed for a new, informed, and courteous exchange of ideas, especially among those of deep faith. In Bind Up the Testimony, evangelical scholars of different persuasions make their arguments and share disagreements. This is the kind of constructive exchange that can move debates about this prophetic text forward in fruitful ways. May this work be a harbinger of more conversations!
—M. Daniel Carroll R., Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Denver Seminary
This timely volume will provide an unprecedented glimpse of cutting-edge evangelical scholarship pertaining to the composition of Isaiah. Readers are bound to find information here that disrupts their categories. Traditional views take on more nuance and progressive views build well-constructed models upon tried-and-true hermeneutical foundations. Welcome to the twenty-first century in evangelical Isaianic scholarship!
—John Walton, Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College