CMROLLING

Childs’ commentary is an excellent guide to the book of Isaiah and a remarkable work of biblical interpretation. The fragmentation and atomization of Isaiah by modern scholarship is evident in the commentary literature; the book is often divided across multiple volumes, with some volumes even being written by different authors (e.g. the predecessor volumes in the OTL by Kaiser and Westermann). Childs’ somewhat slender single volume is a deliberate move against these trends, employing all the tools of modern biblical studies while maintaining a sharp focus on the whole. He makes no attempt to be encyclopedic, but he offers enough orientation to the landscape of Isaiah and modern study of Isaiah for his purposes. He notes a variety of interpretive proposals, yet only insofar as they help highlight his own interpretation of Isaiah in its canonical context. Exegetical comments are reserved for issues of interpretive significance, in contrast to larger commentaries, which he sometimes accuses of commenting for the sake of commenting and which often has the effect of obscuring the larger message the text under consideration. Two highlights for me are Childs’ discussion of intertextuality and its role in the composition of Isaiah and his use of redaction criticism. Against those who view Childs as anti-historical criticism, his discussion of redactional layers throughout Isaiah helpfully demonstrates how the use of diachronic tools constructively contributes to interpreting a book in its canonical context. This is a helpful guide to Isaiah when taken on its own terms, and an impressive example of a theologically sensitive and exegetically sharp commentary. If you want something comprehensive or encyclopedic, look elsewhere. But if you want something to help sharpen and open up your view of Isaiah as Christian scripture, then you can’t beat Childs. (Childs’ sequel “The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture” ought not be neglected. It’s a shame they’re not published together).