Isaiah III/2: Chapters 49–55

Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 1998. Pp. xxv + 454, Cloth, No Price Available, ISBN 9042906790. H. G. M. Williamson Christ Church Oxford OX1 1DP, England The series to which this commentary belongs is beginning to establish itself as a major resource both for scholarly understanding of the text of the OT and for responsible exegesis to undergird exposition and preaching. Although ultimately the team of contributors will be internationally representative, the early volumes to have appeared are all by Dutch scholars (the present one being the translation by A.P. Runia of a contribution to the “Commentaar op het Oude Testament” series). This is especially welcome, as otherwise their valuable work is all too often available to only a handful of specialists. In conscious distinction from many newer forms of interpretation, the series is firmly historical in orientation, and this is based squarely on a theological understanding of the Bible as God’s word originally imparted at specific times and places. Traditional forms of critical scholarship are thus required in order to hear it aright in the modem world. The series is intended to serve the church and the scholarly communities by paying attention both to the historical specificity of the text and to the history of its interpretation through the ages. To meet this challenging agenda, each paragraph of the text is studied under several headings. In the present volume, a new translation is followed first by an introductory discussion of “essentials and perspectives.” Here, a simplified running exegesis incorporates copious references to the NT and occasionally to later Christian and Jewish interpreters as well. It is this section that will be of most help to pastors and preachers. Two sections of “scholarly exposition” follow, and they are understandably longer and more technical. The first is of an introductory nature, treating such issues as the connection of the paragraph to its wider context, form criticism, and the literary structure of the passage. [Full Review]