The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture
Brevard S. Childs
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.
© 2004 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
All rights reserved
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
255 Jefferson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Childs, Brevard S.
The struggle to understand Isaiah as Christian scripture / Brevard S. Childs.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8028-2761-6 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Isaiah—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—History I. Title.
BS1515.52.C48 2004
224′.106′09—dc22
2004047242
This volume is dedicated to Ann,
my wife of fifty years and closest friend,
who alone understands the full extent
of the physical struggle involved in writing this book
1. The Early Reception of the Hebrew Bible: The Septuagint and the New Testament
15. Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Interpreters
16. The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
18. Hermeneutical Implications
Several factors have been at work in the shaping of this book. First, I have recently finished writing a technical, modern commentary on the book of Isaiah. The task of treating the entire book of sixty-six chapters was enormous, but in addition, the commentary had necessitated restricting the scope of the exposition. This entailed omitting the history of interpretation and relegating many important hermeneutical problems to the periphery of the exegesis. After the commentary had been completed, I was painfully aware that many of the central theological and hermeneutical questions in which I was most interested had not been adequately addressed.
Second, I have continued to reflect on several important, but perplexing theological problems. If one affirms the Christian confession that scripture has been given for the divine guidance of the church, then the nature of this role assigned to the Bible must be pondered. Can one still speak of a divine coercion or pressure exerted by the text upon its readers? Is there any concord between doctrinal claims regarding scripture and its actual effects on the church throughout its history? Many moderns have described the use of the Bible as a “map of misreading.” How should one respond to such a challenge? The difficult questions remain in evaluating this history of reception in terms of truth and error. Can one be misled from the outset by posing the problem in terms of the use and abuse of the Bible, as Dennis Nineham once attempted? Unfortunately, there have been surprisingly few books addressing these problems ...
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About The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian ScriptureA key emphasis of Brevard Childs’ distinguished career has been to show not only that the canon of Scripture comprises both Old and New Testaments but also that the concept of “canon” includes the way the Christian church continues to wrestle in every age with the meaning of its sacred texts. In this new volume Childs uses the book of Isaiah as a case study of the church’ s endeavor throughout history to understand its Scriptures. In each chapter Childs focuses on a different Christian age, using the work of key figures to illustrate the church’s changing views of Isaiah. After looking at the Septuagint translation, Childs examines commentaries and tractates from the patristic, Reformation, and modern periods. His review shows that despite an enormous diversity in time, culture, nationality, and audience, these works nevertheless display a “family resemblance” in their theological understandings of this central Old Testament text. Childs also reveals how the church struggled to adapt to changing social and historical conditions, often by correcting or refining traditional methodologies, while at the same time maintaining a theological stance measured by faithfulness to Jesus Christ. In an important final chapter Childs draws out some implications of his work for modern debates over the role of Scripture in the life of the church. Of great value to scholars, ministers, and students, this book will also draw general readers into the exciting theological debate currently raging in the Christian church about the faithful interpretation of Scripture. |
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