Isaiah 28-33 : a literary and contextual analysis
Tradi tionally, in Isaianic studies, the aim of many commentators SInce the time of Duhm has been to try to rediscover the words of the eighth century prophet of Jerusalem. Descriptive words such as ~a u then tic~ and ~secondary~ betray the misconception tha t material which does not reach back to the time of the prophet is somehow less authentic and authoritative. The present study follows more recent trends in looking at the Book of Isaiah as a literary whole and in arguing that each section must be understood and interpreted not only in the light of its immediate context but also in the light of its place and function within the entire book. Six chapters (Isaiah 28-33) are analysed in two ways. Firstly the vocabulary is examined to establish linguistic and thematic similarities with other parts of the book and with the rest of the OT; secondly the many subsections within the six chapters are looked at contextually to determine how they relate to each other and consequently reveal a consistent and unified message. The way in which the material is arranged in chs 28-33 to highlight various themes may be seen as a microcosm of what is happening throughout the en tire book. One of the techniques used to actualize
O'Kane, Martin J.
Old Testament interpretation
Isaiah 28-33 : a literary and contextual analysis. Tradi tionally, in Isaianic studies, the aim of many commentators SInce the time of Duhm has been to try to rediscover the words of the eighth century prophet of Jerusalem. Descriptive words such as ~a u then tic~ and ~secondary~ betray the misconception tha t material which does not reach back to the time of the prophet is somehow less authentic and authoritative. The present study follows more recent trends in looking at the Book of Isaiah as a literary whole and in arguing that each section must be understood and interpreted not only in the light of its immediate context but also in the light of its place and function within the entire book. Six chapters (Isaiah 28-33) are analysed in two ways. Firstly the vocabulary is examined to establish linguistic and thematic similarities with other parts of the book and with the rest of the OT; secondly the many subsections within the six chapters are looked at contextually to determine how they relate to each other and consequently reveal a consistent and unified message. The way in which the material is arranged in chs 28-33 to highlight various themes may be seen as a microcosm of what is happening throughout the en tire book. One of the techniques used to actualize
literary contextual_analysis study aim many commentator since time try rediscover word prophet jerusalem descriptive word secondary betray misconception tha material reach_back time prophet somehow less authentic authoritative present_study follow recent trend look book isaiah literary whole argue section must_understand interpreted light immediate_context also light place function_within entire book analyse two_way firstly vocabulary examine establish linguistic thematic similarity part book rest secondly many within look contextually determine relate consequently reveal consistent unified message way material arrange chs highlight various_theme may_see microcosm happen throughout book technique_use