The Prophets

The Prophets Christopher R. Matthews, Richard A. Taylor, Thomas Hieke, Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, and J. Edward Owens OSST ________ 1541. J. Gordon McConville, Isaiah (Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Prophetic Books; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023). Pp. xviii + 781. 64. 99. ISBN 978–0-8010–3094–9. In his seventeen-page introduction, M. , professor emeritus of OT theology at the University of Gloucestershire, considers the scope of the Book of Isaiah; its relation to history; its structure; authorship; theology; language, form, and translation; text; and conventions of the commentary. M. then treats the text of Isaiah in sixty-four sections—featuring a new translation of the Hebrew text, with textual notes as needed, and in most cases a theological reflection—under the following main outline: Yhwh's vision for a renewed Jerusalem (1: 1–12: 6) ; oracles about the nations (13: 1–27: 13) ; true and false trust (28: 1–35: 10) ; a miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem (36: 1–39: 8) ; Cyrus, the Servant, and the redemption of Zion/Jerusalem (40: 1–55: 13) ; and the true character of glorified Zion/Jerusalem (56: 1–66: 24). M. observes that the Book of Isaiah takes into its purview a huge swath of the history of Israel and Judah and other nations, spanning at least two centuries, from Isaiah's own Neo-Assyrian period (8th cent. b. c. e. ), through the Babylonian ascendancy (6th cent. b. c. e. ), into the time of Persia (late 6th cent. onward), and possibly even later than that. He suggests that for Christian readers, theological readings of Isaiah are part of a long history of scriptural interpretation that allowed the particularities of the OT to serve the understanding of Christ and the gospel. —C. R. M. 1542. Yhwh, the Servant, and the Earth in Isaiah 40–55 Caroline Batchelder, Charged with the Glory of God: Yahweh, the Servant, and the Earth in Isaiah 40–55 (Studies in Scripture and Biblical Theology; Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2023). Pp. xxi + 439. Paper 34. 99. ISBN 9781683594093. This book is based on a ThD dissertation completed in 2016 at the Australian College of Theology under the supervision of Andrew Sloane. Sadly, the author passed away as this volume was being prepared for publication. Sloane and editor Derek R. Brown completed revisions to the manuscript following the author's death; the final paragraph of the concluding chapter was supplied by an unidentified author. The volume includes an appendix with translations of Isa 44: 9–23; 46: 1–4; 54: 15–17; 55: 10–13, a bibliography, and two indices (subject and author; Scripture and other ancient sources). My goal in this book has been to show how the figure of the Servant, presented, developed, and explored in Isaiah 40–55's Servant Songs, resolves Yahweh's opening lament over Yahweh's people and—emerging within the poetry—provides a way back into relationship with Yahweh for Yahweh's rebellious, ultimately barren sons. I have sought to show how the Servant Songs enable their audience to conceive, to imagine, and to enact (by responding to Yahweh) a future quite different from that which the resources of heavens and earth are able to generate. This future is possible only for those aligned with Yahweh, Yahweh's strength, and Yahweh's resources for doing mišpāṭ and ṣĕdāqâ, who are obedient to Yahweh and so like Yahweh. In this way, the Servant, Yahweh's true image, recovers the knowledge lost to Yahweh's people (see Isa 1: 3) for the sake of the earth. The Servant Songs construct the image, capture the imagination, and chart the way for their audience to become like Yahweh through servant-obedience, and through the Servant's self-giving as a reparation offering. In this way, Isaiah's audiences may be re-created and raised up in Yahweh's image and likeness, able to realize anew their creation charge in relation to the earth, and so release the earth to its destiny as the fullness of Yahweh's glory. The Servant brings the comfort commanded in 40: 1: to Yahweh's people, to the earth, and indeed to. . .