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Fuller Theological Seminary: OT 567 Isaiah: Course Notes
John Goldingay: Spring 2015
Page 1a: Introduction (Class on March 31st)
How the Class Works
Here are some of the basics from the syllabus but you need to read the whole thing. When you have read it, email me if you have questions.
- Each week there is homework before class, to be posted on Moodle by the Monday before class. This homework typically means that you
(a)read a chunk of Isaiah and think about some questions
(b)study a particular passage in more depth, a “text study”
(c)read the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary Volume 6(on library databases) on the chunk of Isaiah and read something from eReserves.
You make three Moodle postings in connection with these
The detailed promptsfor each week are on the opening page for that week (so the homework due by Sunday April 5 is listed on page 2a). The prompts are also included in the headings to the forums.
- Before class you also comment on Moodle on the postings of the other people in your group.
- In the first half of each class we consider general questions, usually about one chunk of Isaiah.
- In the second half we look at the passage on which you did your text study, look at some key words in Isaiah, and look at some of the questions you raised in your postings.
- After the class each week, you check the attendance quiz.
- After the class the TA grades the homeworks to give you feedback, but for the final grade the homeworks are graded only on a pass-fail basis.
- There are two midterms studying particular passages. The midterms are due at the end of week 4 and at the end of week 7. Each is to be 1500-2000 words (about three pages, single space). Choose one of the texts we have studied or choose another—one chapter (or something slightly smaller or slightly longer). For both midterms you go through the same process, detailed in the syllabus.
- You write a final looking back over Isaiah as a whole it is due at the end of the quarter. There are more details in the syllabus.
Class Time
6.30Worship: Isaiah 40:12-31; “Be Thou My Wisdom”; prayer (page 1b)
6.45 Lecture:
Introduction to the course (page 1a)
Introduction to Isaiah (page 1c)
Five-minute discussion: what did you know about Isaiah so what strikes you now?
Understanding Isaiah as prophecy (page 1d)
7.50Break
8.10How to Study a Text (page 1e)
Five-minute: what about that strikes you?
Two examples (pages 1f and 1g)
After Class: Signify on the Moodle “Attendance Quiz” that you were present
Remember there is homework to be done before class for next week
Page 1b: Isaiah 40:12-31
12Who has gauged the waters in his palm, surveyed the heavens with his span,
measured earth’s dirt by the gallon, weighed the mountains with a balance,the hills with scales?
13Who has directed Yahweh’s spirit, or as the person to give him counsel made it known to him?
14With whom did he take counsel, so that he helped him understand, taught him the way to make decisions,
taught him knowledge, made known to him the way of understanding?
15There, nations count like a drop from a pan, like a cloud on scales;
there, foreign shores are like a fine cloud rising.
16Lebanon – there’s not enough to burn, its animals – there aren’t enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are like nothing over against him; they count as less than naught, emptiness, to him.
18So to whom would you compare God, or what comparison would you put forward for him?
19The image, which a craftworker casts? –a smith beats it out with gold, and a smith with silver chains.
20Is it sissoo fit for tribute, wood that doesn’t rot, that someone chooses?
He seeks for himself a clever craftworker to set up an image so it doesn’t wobble.
21Do you not acknowledge, do you not listen?
Has it not been told you from the beginning, have you not understood earth’s foundations?
22There is one who sits above earth’s horizon, its inhabitants like grasshoppers,
one who stretches out the heavens like net, spreads them like a tent for sitting in,
23one who makes sovereigns nothing, makes earth’s authorities pure emptiness.
24They’re really not planted, really not sown, their stem is really not rooting in the earth,
then he blows on them and they shrivel, and the whirlwind carries them off like straw.
25So to whom would you compare me, so I could be similar (says the holy one)?
26Lift your eyes on high and look – who created these?
The one who brings out their army in full number summons all of them by name.
Because of the abundance of his power, and as one mighty in strength, not one lags behind.
27Why do you say, Jacob, why speak, Israel,
“My way has hidden from Yahweh, a decision about me passes away from my God”?
28Have you not acknowledged, or not listened?
Yahweh is God of the ages, creator of earth’s ends.
He doesn’t get faint or weary; there’s no fathoming of his understanding.
29He gives strength to the faint, and to the one who has no resources he gives much energy.
30Youths may get faint and weary, young men may totally collapse.
31But people who look for Yahweh get new energy, they grow pinions like eagles.
They run and don’t get weary, they walk on and don’t faint
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Be thou my vision
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art
Thou my best thought by the day or the night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, thine own may I be;
Thou in me dwelling, and I one with thee.
Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;
Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tower:
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.
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Page 1c: The Book Called Isaiah as a Message from Israel’s Holy One
The nature of a prophetic book as a collection of prophecies
As a book, Isaiah speaks to many different periods and takes up many different themes, but a feature running through it is its frequent description of Yahweh as “Israel’s Holy One.” Isaiah is the book of the Holy One of Israel. The title comes thirty times in the Bible—twenty-five in Isaiah, spread through the whole book. Three are in Psalms 71:22; 78:41; 89:18 (two in Jer 50:29; 51:5), and it may have its origin in temple worship, but it was the description that naturally came to the prophet Isaiah’s lips. It looks as if the background lies in the vision that gave Isaiah his commission, when the seraphs proclaimed, “Holy, holy, holy is Yahweh Armies” (the more literal translation of the title “Lord of Hosts,” the phrase that usually appears in the English Bible). So Isaiah’s vision of the Holy One lies behind the entire book:
Yahweh as
the Holy One
of Israel
1—12 challenge and hope for Judah, 28—39 challenge and hope for Judah,
trouble for Assyria (time of Ahaz)trouble for Assyria (time of Hezekiah)
(1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:17, 20; 12:6)(29:19, 23; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 34:23)
13—23 calamity for Babylon,40—55 calamity for Babylon,
calamity and hope for other peopleshope for Judah and other peoples
(17:7)(41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4;
48:17; 49:7a, 7b; 54:5; 55:5)
24—27 calamity and56—66 challenge and hope for Judah
renewal for the worldand other peoples after the exile: a new world (60:9, 14)
This is one of several ways of seeing the Isaiah scroll as comprising two parts, It starts from the parallel between chapters 1—12 and 28—39. Both sections challenge Judah about its life but also promise that Yahweh will fulfill his purpose, and that the Assyrian superpower will be put down. The difference between them is that the historical references in chapters 1—12 relate to the time of Ahaz, while those in chapters 28—39 relate to the time of his son Hezekiah. In both, the fact that Yahweh is Israel’s Holy One is a key factor underlying the challenges and the warnings, and also the encouragements.
Both sections lead into chapters that promise the downfall of the subsequent superpower, Babylon, which means hope for Judah and for other peoples. In chapters 40—55 there appear the densest concentration of references to Israel’s Holy One. Here the phrase’s emphasis lies on its positive relational aspect: Yahweh is Israel’s Holy One and he will therefore act as Judah’s restorer.
This focus on Babylon is followed by further sections that broaden out the reference, with no further allusions to figures in Judah or to specific superpowers. Chapters 24—27 issue warnings and promises about the destiny of the world as a whole. Chapters 56—66 envision the glorious fulfillment of the Holy One’s purpose for Jerusalem, with the nations of the world also benefiting from that action.
Page 1d: Understanding Isaiah as Prophecy
- Isaiah as God’s word
2 Tim 3:16
E.g., Matt 3:3 (Isa 40:3); Matt 13:14-15 (Isa 6:9-10); Rom 9:29 (Isa 1:9)
See, e.g., Isa 1:1, 2, 10, 11, 18, 20, 24; 2:1
- Isaiah as God’s word to and through Israel
Isa 1:1; 2:1
word
vision
a particular human personality
in particular times
concerning particular situations
- How did this work?
“dictation”
using an instrument
giving someone an idea
- What kinds of things?
forthtelling
foretelling
- With what result?
effective words—they put God’s will into effect
“thus says Yahweh”
eloquent words—they speak beyond their original context
“by the Spirit”
[Not all prophets are Prophets: the ones in the OT are ones the community came to recognize as having spoken a particularly significant word of Yahweh, partly because their word was effective and eloquent.]
- The afterlife of the prophets
Re-preaching within the book: e.g., 29:16; 45:9.
Knowing that they are inspired and therefore eloquent beyond their own day, the NT uses Isaiah (and other parts of the scriptures) to help them understand the great event of their day. But it only uses small bits of them to that end. So also ask after the meaning of God’s inspired word in its own right. It isn’t just about Jesus. It’s about God.
Page 1e: How to Study a Passage
Some suggestions partly based on InterVarsity-style “manuscript Bible Study”
- Be quiet for a few minutes; ask God to be with you in your study and to enable you to see things
- Read the passage in three versions: NRSV or TNIV or CEB and also the more literal version in the course notes for each week and also the translation you are most familiar with.
- Write down your first thoughts about what it was saying and how it might be important and what questions it raises for you. As you go along, add to these notes on thoughts and questions.
- Look at the passages on either side and ask whether you learn anything from considering its place in the book as a whole.
- Ask what the passage or the wider context imply about the people it was addressing—e.g., their needs, their mistakes?
- Ask what the passage was seeking to do. How was it aiming to make a difference to them? In due course, express this in a sentence. E.g., Psalm 147’s aim is to encourage people to worship God with enthusiasm, because of who God is and because of what creation is.
- In seeking to achieve that aim, what is the main point it makes? In due course, express this too in a sentence.
- Identify the sub-points that contribute to that main point and help it make its argument. Does it have a logical structure? Can you lay out the structure in a diagram? The structure might be linear (see Psalm 107) or it might be like the petals of a flower (see Psalm 119) or it might be a spiral (see Psalms 42-43). Give a title to each of the sections.
- If the passage doesn’t have a structure (see e.g., Psalm 72) and it’s more like a “natural” garden, ask about the structure of its thought. What’s its underlying theology and how do the elements of that theology relate to one another?
- Remember that for #6, 7, 8, and 9 you’re not just trying to summarize the passage. You are getting inside it. You’re trying to avoid just being impressionistic—to get beyond what you noted under #3
- For a narrative text, ask also about the plot of the story, the different characters, and the viewpoint from which the story is told.
- Study the more literal translation of the text in the course notes. Print it out if that helps. Use highlighting to identify markers of the argument such as changes in forms of speech (past verbs, present verbs, imperatives); the use of link words such as “for”, “therefore”, “then”, “but,” “so that”; changes in the subjects of verbs (I/we, you, they); changes in the subject matter. See if this helps to refine your findings so far.
- See if there are any words that recur (or different but related words, or pairs of opposite words), which therefore suggest something important to the passage.
- See if there are any theologically important words whose meaning you need to think about.
- Read the NIB commentary on the passage. Does it help with any puzzles you had or add anything to what you had seen or make you reconsider anything you had seen (or add to your questions!)?
- Ask whether the passage says something that conflicts with what you have been told or what you “know” God wouldn’t say, and ask whether that was wrong or your reading of the passage is wrong.
- In light of the answers to all these questions, ask what is the passage’s significance for a congregation today. What does it say about (e.g.) worship or mission or spirituality or the nature of the gospel or what we believe or ethics or pastoral care or seminary life or what you do for the rest of your week?
For the posting, summarize your conclusions in connection with points 5-11 and 17 and any other points you think are important, and add any questions you have.
Page 1f: A Brief Sample: Isaiah 40:12-31 (see page 1b)
1. The prophet’s problem: people’s sense that Yahweh will not or cannot restore them (40:27)
2. The prophet’s solution: people need to see that compared with Yahweh as the world’s creator, the entities that the people are inclined to be overawed by are nothing. That applies to
(a) The nations (in the context, Babylon, the superpower) (40:12-17)
(b) The nations’ idols (40:18-20)
(c) The nations’ leaders (40:21-24)
(d) The heavenly beings the nations acknowledge (40:25-26)
3. In light of that, the prophet’s aim (40:28-31)
(a) to get people to wait expectantly for Yahweh to act
(b) thus to gain new strength in the meantime
For Another Sample Study—Psalm 147
1Praise Yah!
Because making music for our God is good, glorifying [the one who is our] praise is beautiful.
2Yahweh is the builder of Jerusalem, he gathers Israel’s exiles.
3He is the one who heals the broken in spirit and bandages their wounds.
4He calculates the reckoning of the stars and pronounces the names of them all.
5Our Lord is great and mighty in power; of his insight there is no reckoning.
6Yahweh restores the lowly, brings down the faithless to the earth.
7Sing for Yahweh with confession, make music to Yahweh with the guitar.
8He is the one who covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, makes the mountains grow grass.
9He gives their food to cattle, to the offspring of the raven when they call.
10He does not delight in the strength of a horse; he does not take pleasure in the thighs of a person.
11Yahweh takes pleasure in people who revere him, people who put their hope in his commitment.
12Jerusalem, glorify Yahweh, praise your God, Zion,
13because he has made strong the bars of your gates, blessed your children within you.
14He makes your territory peaceful, fills you with the finest of wheat.
15He sends his word to the earth; his command runs quickly.
16He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ash.
17He throws his hail like crumbs; who can stand before his ice?
18He sends his word and melts them; when he blows his breath, waters flow.
19He declares his words to Jacob, his commands and decisions to Israel.
20He has not done so for any nation; his decisions – they do not know them.
Praise Yah!
Page 1g: A Longer Sample: Psalm 147
The passage’s aim—to get people to worship
Three times the Psalm urges us to praise God. But why should we? Three times it goes on to give us the reasons, and three times it refers to creation in doing that. The threefold structure of the Psalm thus gives you the structure for a sermon—it has
- three invitations to worship
- three reasons for worship (though the reasons in vv. 13-14 overlap with those in vv. 2-6)
- three appeals to aspects of God’s work in creation that provide backup for the reasons.
1 Praise the Lord—because God is one who gathers the outcasts and heals the broken (vv. 1, 2-6)
Outcast/broken—sometimes how we are inside even if we look fine on the outside?
How many people in our society are also outcast/broken on the outside. This sets an agenda for us, because if God is one who gathers the outcast and heals the broken, so are we called to be. A criterion for evaluating political parties. [The sermon was preached at the end of the conventions season]
How do we know God can do that? God is sovereign in the cosmos (vv. 4-5). Some of Israel’s neighbors thought the stars decided what happened in the world. But who controls the stars? Israel’s God.
2 Sing to the Lord—because God is one who loves people who revere him and hope in him (vv. 7, 8-11)