OT2111 PROPHETS: ISAIAH 40-66 GH
203; Phone: 641-3210
Frederick J. Gaiser fgaiser@luthersem.edu
Fall Semester 2007
Office hours by appointment
Home: 651-646-3484
THE BIBLE ON THE STUDY OF ISAIAH
“So Philip ran up to [the chariot] and heard [the
Ethiopian official] reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand
what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’”
(Acts 8:30-31a)
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
A study of these chapters in
the contexts of the entire book of Isaiah, the prophetic corpus, the history
and theology of the exilic period, and New Testament and Christian
interpretations. The course focuses both on the careful reading of individual
texts and on the message of comfort and servanthood in the chapters as a whole.
OBJECTIVES
1. To
gain an understanding of the nature, theology, and historical setting of Old
Testament prophecy
2. To become familiar with the prophetic books of the Old Testament
3. To become acquainted with the content, historical situation, and
theology of Isaiah 40-66
4. Through detailed study of specific passages to learn to apply
appropriate methods of Bible study to prophetic material
5. To examine the forms and the development of
6. To consider the relation of this material to the rest of the
book of Isaiah, its use in the New Testament and in the history of the church,
and its contemporary relevance
7. To discuss and practice ways in which this material might be
used in Christian ministry
REQUIRED BOOKS
Donald Gowan,
Theology of the Prophetic Books: The Death and Resurrection of
Claus
Westermann, Isaiah 40-66 (Old Testament Library, 1969)
RECOMMENDED (PREACHER’S OR LAY COMMENTARIES)
Walter
Brueggemann, Isaiah 1-39 (Westminster Bible Companion, 1998)
Walter
Brueggemann, Isaiah 40-66 (Westminster Bible Companion, 1998)
STUDENTS SHOULD ALSO PROVIDE THEMSELVES A MAJOR
SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH, FOR EXAMPLE:
Brevard
Childs, Isaiah (
Gene Tucker,
“The Book of Isaiah 1-39,” and Christopher Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah 40-66,”
in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 6 (Abingdon, 2001)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THEOLOGICAL ISSUES
Gerhard von
Rad, Old Testament Theology, vol. 2, The Theology of Israel’s
Prophetic Traditions (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
RECOMMENDED FOR HISTORICAL ISSUES
Rainer
STRUCTURE
The class will meet in a three-hour block on Thursday
evenings, with a concentration on the material of Isaiah 40-66; an online
component will consider the broader prophetic corpus.
CLASS SCHEDULE AND DAILY ASSIGNMENTS
Sept 13 Introductory Matters
Lamentations and Second Isaiah
Structures of Hebrew Poetry
Isa 43:1-7
Sept 20 Overview
of Second Isaiah
TEXT: 40:1-11
READ: Isaiah 40-55
Gowan,
144-162
Westermann,
3-30 (esp. for literary forms)
Adele Berlin,
“Introduction to Hebrew Poetry,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 4,
301-315 (reference room)
PLUS: Brueggemann, Isaiah 40-66, 1-15
OR: Christopher Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah
40-66—Introduction,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 6, 309-324
(also in reference room)
Sept 27 What is biblical prophecy?
TEXT: Isa 55:6-13
READ: Gowan, 1-21
Frederick
J. Gaiser, “One Little Word” (Sermon on Isa 55:10-11) (handout)
PLUS: James Luther Mays, “The Phenomenon of Prophecy,” in The
Oxford Study Bible, ed. M. J. Suggs, K. D. Sakenfeld, J. R. Mueller (New
York: Oxford University, 1992) 164-171
OR: David Petersen, “Introduction to
Prophetic Literature,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible,
vol.
6, 1-23 (reference room)
HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED:
Gerhard von Rad,
“General Considerations in Prophecy,” part 1 of Old Testament Theology,
vol. 2, 1-125
Oct 4 The
Isaiah book
TEXT: 35:1-10
READ: Isaiah 1-39
Gowan,
59-77
PLUS: Rolf Rendtorff, “The Book of Isaiah,” in The
Canonical Hebrew Bible: A Theology of the Old Testament (
OR: Gene Tucker, “The Book of Isaiah 1-39—Introduction,” in The
New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 6, 27-42 (in reference room)
Oct 11 Oracles and proclamations of
salvation
TEXT: 41:8-20
SUGGESTED
Rainer
Albertz, “Towards a new beginning—‘Deutero-Isaiah’s’ proclamation of
salvation,” in A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period,
vol. 2 (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994) 411-426.
Oct 18 Trial speeches
TEXT: 43:8-28
SUGGESTED
Frederick J. Gaiser, “‘Remember
the Former Things of Old’: A New Look at Isaiah 46:3-13,” in All Things New:
Essays in Honor of Roy A. Harrisville, ed. Arland Hultgren et al., Word
& World Supplementary Series 1 (St. Paul, MN: Word & World, 1992) 63.
Oct 25 History and creation
TEXT: 44:23-45:8
READ: Roland E. Murphy, “From Abraham to Pompey,”
pt. 2 of “A History of Israel,” by A. Wright, R. E. Murphy, and J. Fitzmyer, in
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. R. Brown, J. Fitzmyer, and R. E.
Murphy (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990) 1224-1243 (also in reference
room)
Nov 1 On hearing
TEXT: 48:1-22 (This week’s paper is required of
all students)
Commentators often disagree on
divisions within chapter 48. In your paper this week, propose and defend a
scheme for subdividing the chapter based on matters of literary structure,
form, and content.
Nov 8 Theology/Disputations
TEXT: 40:12-31 and/or 46:1-7
READ: Frederick J. Gaiser, “‘To Whom Then Will You
Compare Me?’ Agency in Second Isaiah,” Word & World 19/2 (1999)
141-152 (available online under “Online Archives” at www.luthersem.edu/word&world)
Frederick J. Gaiser, “‘I will carry and will save’:
The Carrying God of Isaiah 40-66,” in “And God saw that it was good”: Essays
on Creation and God in Honor of Terence E. Fretheim, ed. Frederick J.
Gaiser and Mark A. Throntveit, Word & World Supplement Series 5 (Saint
Paul, MN: Word & World, Luther Seminary, 2006) 94-102 (e-reserve)
Nov 15 Theology
and gender
TEXT: 66:1-16
[cf. 63:7-64:12]
Nov 22 NO
CLASS: THANKSGIVING BREAK
Nov 29 The suffering servant (1)
TEXT: 42:1-12 (or should the unit end at 13? at
17?) [cf. also 49:1-9; 50:4-9; 52:13–53:12]
READ: :R. E. Clements, “Isaiah 53 and the
Restoration of
SUGGESTED
A.
Phillips, "The Servant—Symbol of Divine Powerlessness," Expository Times 90 (1979) 370-374
Gordon P.
Hugenberger, “The Servant of the Lord in the Servant Songs of Isaiah: A Second
Moses Figure,” in The Lord’s Anointed: Interpretation of Old Testament
Messianic Texts, ed. P. E. Saitherwaite, R. S. Hess, and G. J. Wenham
(Carlisle, PA: Paternoster, 1995) 105-139
Carol J. Dempsey
with Anthony J. Tambasco, “Isaiah 52:13-53:12: Unmasking the Mystery of the
Suffering Servant,” in The Bible on Suffering: Social and Political
Implications, ed. A. J. Tambasco (Mahway: NJ: Paulist, 2001) 34-50
Peter Wilcox and
David Paton-Williams, “The Servant Songs in Deutero-Isaiah,” JSOT 42
(1988) 79-102
Dec 6 Third
Isaiah
TEXT: 58:1-14
READ: Isaiah 56-66
Brueggemann,
Isaiah 40-66, 164-167
Gowan,
170-177
Dec 13 The suffering servant (2) —
(in Third Isaiah)
TEXT: 61:1-11
ONLINE COMPONENT
Students will read the prophetic corpus and related
material during the course and participate in an online forum in response to
the readings. As time permits, conversation about these matters will be
continued in class on the following Thursday.
By Friday, Sept 21
READ: The Book of Amos; Gowan, 24-37
POST: A response to a question posted by the instructor.
By
Monday, Sept 24
POST: A
response to the student who responded to the question immediately before her or
him.
By
Friday, Sept 28 / Monday, Oct 1
READ: Hosea and Micah; Gowan, 37-59, and post responses as above
By
Friday, Oct 5 / Monday, Oct 8
READ: Zephaniah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah; Gowan, 78-117, and post responses.
By Friday, Oct 12 / Monday, Oct
15
READ: Obadiah
and Ezekiel; Gowan, 117-137, and post responses.
By Friday, Oct 19 / Monday, Oct
22
READ:
Jonah; Gowan, 137-142, and post
responses.
By Friday, Oct 26 / Monday, Oct
29
READ: Joel; Gowan, 181-187, and post responses.
By Friday, Nov 2 / Monday, Nov 5
READ: Haggai,
Zechariah, and Malachi; Gowan, 162-170, 177-18, and post responses.
By Friday, Nov 9 / Monday, Nov
12
READ: The Deuteronomistic history (Joshua through
2 Kings)
Bernard M. Levinson and Douglas Dance, “The
Metamorphosis of Law into Gospel; Gerhard von Rad’s Attempt to Reclaim the Old
Testament for the Church,” in Recht und Ethik im Alten Testament, ed. Bernard Levinson, Eckart
Otto, and Walter Dietrich (Münster: Lit-Verlag, 2004) 83-110.
SUGGESTED
Gerhard
von Rad, “The Deuteronomistic Theology of History in the Books of Kings,” in Studies
in Deuteronomy (London: SCM, 1953) 74-91
Hans
Walter Wolff, “The Kerygma of the Deuteronomic Historical Work,” in The
Vitality of Old Testament Traditions, by W. Brueggemann and H. W. Wolff, 2d
ed. (Atlanta: John Knox, 1982) 83-100
Steven
McKenzie, “Deuteronomistic History,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary 2:160-168
(reference room)
Terence
E. Fretheim, Deuteronomic History (Nashville: Abingdon, 1983)
FOR
AN OPTIONAL
Pauline
A. Viviano, “The Deuteronomistic History,” in The Catholic Study Bible,
ed. Donald Senior et al. (New York: Oxford University, 1990) 116-186
POST: Responses in the same manner as always.
By
Friday, Nov 16 / Monday, Nov 19
Preaching
and teaching the prophets
READ: Gowan, 188-200
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “A
Church of the World or a Church of the Word?” (sermon on Exod 32), in Bonhoeffer,
No Rusty Swords, ed. Edwin H. Robertson, trans. Edwin H.
Robertson and John Bowdan (New York: Harper and Row, 1965) 243-248.
POST: Responses in the same manner as always.
By
Friday, Nov 30 / Monday, Dec 3
The
prophets and contemporary issues
READ: Frederick J. Gaiser, “Open-door Policy:
Homosexuality and the Message of Isaiah,” The Christian Century, 2 May
2006, 26-27
OR: Frederick J. Gaiser, “A New Word on
Homosexuality? Isaiah 56:1-8 as Case Study,” Word & World 14/3
(1994) 280-293 (available online under “Online Archives” at
www.luthersem.edu/word&world) (a fuller version of the article above)
POST: Responses in the same manner as always.
By
Friday, Dec 7 / Monday, Dec 10
READ: Frederick J. Gaiser, “A Preacher’s
Conversation with Second Isaiah,” Word & World 14/1 (1994) 87-94
(available online under “Online Archives” at www.luthersem.edu/word&world)
POST: Responses in the same manner as always.
ASSIGNMENTS
1.
Students should
do all assigned reading and be prepared for class discussions. AFTER DOING
THEIR OWN WORK ON DAILY TEXTS, students should consult the appropriate
sections of Westermann and/or other commentaries for additional background on
these texts.
2.
Specific biblical
texts are assigned for twelve class sessions (marked “TEXT”). Each student
should work through these texts in preparation for class. For ANY NINE
of these texts (including, for all, the paper assigned for Nov 1), students
will prepare a paper to hand in (about two pages) that analyzes the text from a
particular methodological perspective (e.g., literary/poetic analysis,
form-criticism, rhetorical analysis, historical/theological commentary). (For
Nov 8, two texts are listed. Students can do either or both, in the latter case
receiving credit for two of the nine required papers.) Each student should try
several methods, but all are encouraged to focus most frequently on the
literary/poetic structure of the text. In addition to the textual analysis, the
paper should include some comments or questions reflecting on the significance
of what the student has observed. These are working papers and can be informal
in style, though, as always, any secondary literature used should be cited.
Late papers will be downgraded.
3.
For ONE of
the assigned texts, in addition to the analysis described above, students will
prepare a paper of about seven to ten pages in which they reflect on the
application of the text to our contemporary situation. These papers need not be
handed in at the same time as the textual analysis, though, if not, the daily
analysis paper (with instructor’s comments) must be resubmitted along with the
extended paper. This paper is due by Dec 13 (earlier papers
appreciated!). The present application might include:
a.
a sermon on the text
b. a Bible study session on the text
c. a plan for counseling sessions
using the text
d. a textually based reflection on a
contemporary theological or ethical issue
e. a musical or other artistic
interpretation of the text
These papers should contain four clearly designated
parts: (1) the daily paper prepared for this text (with instructor’s comments,
if previously handed in); (2) a presentation in narrative form of the message
or argument of the text (including significant linguistic, historical,
literary, or theological issues); (3) a discussion of the contemporary setting
or issue to which you are now addressing the text (what is the present
situation/location that you have identified? what are the theological needs to
be met? the important interpretive issues?); and (4) a sermon (can be
abbreviated), or a theological/ethical presentation, or an outline of a Bible
study or other teaching/counseling situation (including questions, strategies,
desired answers and outcomes, etc.), or a musical or artistic interpretation.
The emphasis in this paper is on your own interaction with the text. What has
emerged from your own work on the text? What will you make of this? Any
secondary literature used should, of course, be cited.
4.
The online
component will make use of “Forums” on
MyLutherNet, responding to the readings as directed. All students must
participate fully in the online forums.
5.
There will be an
oral final examination in this course. Students will meet with the instructor
in small groups. Emphasis will be placed upon the contents of Isaiah 40-66 and
upon the student's ability to apply the material of the course in the
interpretation thereof.
GRADING
Grading will be based on the nine daily text papers
and online participation (50%), the contemporary application paper (30%), and
the oral final (20%). A passing grade assumes satisfactory completion of all
assignments.
ALTERNATIVE
ASSIGNMENT
Any
student desiring to do a major research paper in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for this course should contact the instructor.