Continuity and Discontinuity

This volume of collected essays focuses on the relationship between the different texts within Isaiah 40-66. It reinvestigates and challenges the traditional division between chapters 40-55 and 56-66 and explores new ways of reading the last 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah. Each article examines Isaiah 40-55 and/or Isaiah 56-66 and highlights continuity and discontinuity within this material.

Some contributions belong to the tradition of historical-critical research. They examine existing models of textual development of Isa 40-66 and offer new suggestions. They also explore the interplay between the historical development of the text and its thematic continuity and discontinuity. Is the consistent use of a theme a sign of single authorship? Alternatively, are changes in the way a given issue is treated a sign of multiple authorship? Other contributions explore the final form of Isa 40-66 and suggest reading strategies that do justice to the message of the extant text. Yet other articles make case studies of specific elements of Isa 40-66. What is the significance of these texts for the theological development of the ancient Israelite religion? Further, how do they interact with and transform other texts in the Hebrew Bible?

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Berges lehrt alttestamentliche Wissenschaft an der katholisch-theologischen Fakultät der Universität Bonn.Joachim Schaper is Professor for Old Testament and is appointed to a Personal Chair in Hebrew, Old Testament and Early Jewish Studies at King's College, Aberdeen.