Synopses & Reviews
This book examines the use of older biblical texts in Isaiah 40-66, notably the writings attributed to Deutero-Isaiah. Its discussion of allusions, influence, and intertextuality generates significant questions for both biblicists and literary critics: Why do authors allude? How does the presence of older material in a text affect readers? How can critics identify genuine cases of allusion? Are contemporary theories of intertextuality applicable to ancient texts? The author defends the controversial historical questions asked by scholars of inner-biblical exegesis, modifying some of the dominant (and, in some ways, misleading) categories other biblical scholars have created. In sum, the book aims to refine the study of inner-biblical exegesis through an extensive examination of the use of older texts in one corpus.
The redactional complexity of the Book of Isaiah has rendered it central to discussions of canon formation and the final shaping of biblical material. The author demonstrates that Deutero-Isaiah situated himself in a wide stream of tradition by no means limited to an Isaianic school, and that his most important literary precursor was not First Isaiah but Jeremiah. This finding necessitates a trenchant reappraisal of recent work on the unity of the Book of Isaiah. Further, the author shows that the strikingly consistent poetics of allusion running throughout all of Isaiah 40-66 testifies to the coherence of those chapters as a single corpus, arguing against multiple authorship.
Close readings of the use of borrowed material in Isaiah 40-66 sharpen our appreciation of Deutero-Isaiahs originality and artistry, highlighting his attempts to convince Judean exiles that God had neither abandoned nor failed them. The prophets heavy dependence on earlier prophets illuminates the changes classical Israelite prophecy underwent in the Babylonian exile. These changes led to the disappearance of prophecy and the rise of exegetical forms of religious expression known from Qumran, early Christianity, and rabbinic Judaism.
Review
This very impressive work is an original and deeply instructive contribution to biblical studies. Sommer is a finely perceptive reader of biblical texts, has a real mastery of the immense body of biblical scholarship, and moves with remarkable assurance from literary to historical analysis. The book not only enables us to read the prophet Deutero-Isaiah in a new and illuminating way but also leads us to understand the development of later biblical history in a new way.”Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley
Review
Sommer has written a very detailed and precise account, arguing that the prophetic figure Deutero-Isaiah knew and used, by allusion and by various modes of reinterpretation, the very words of certain other biblical texts. He defines the different forms of allusion very exactly, and his study, interestingly, does not seek to overturn, but actually supports, familiar source-critical approaches. With present interests in canon and intertextuality, this is a work of first-rate importance.”James Barr, Oxford University
Review
"In uncovering the multilayered concepts of revelation in the biblical traditions Benjamin Sommer provides us the biblical roots of modern Jewish thought on revelation and its relation to authority and tradition. This is an extraordinary book in biblical criticism and in Jewish thought and above all one of its most illuminating contributions is how these two fields of inquiry enrich one another."—Moshe Halbertal, Professor of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Hebrew University and Gruss Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Review
"This is a groundbreaking book . . . one of the most original works in Jewish theology that I have read in years."—Gary A. Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre Dame
Review
“Benjamin Sommer's extraordinary mix of scholarly rigor, historical imagination, lucid writing and honest theological concern brilliantly illuminate every subject he touches, and this most central of subjects, revelation and authority, is no exception. With this volume he offers scholarly and general readers alike refreshingly new ways of looking at some of the oldest and yet most pressing questions, with acuity and grace.”—Yehudah Mirsky, author of
Rav Kook: Mystic in a Time of Revolution Review
“[A] groundbreaking work . . . Clearly written and broad in application . . . an important read for Jewish laypeople, clergy, and scholars . . . [and] also likely to appeal to non-Jews who want to make modern biblical scholarship relevant for believers.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Synopsis
"This book is a very careful and well-written consideration of how Second Isaiah uses scripture. It demonstrates a deep knowledge of literature and literary theory that is not often paralleled in the field of biblical studies, and it goes beyond earlier pathbreaking work on 'inner-biblical exegesis.' Especially provocative is Sommer's argument that the prophesies of Isa. 1—39 evidently did not bear any primacy of authority for Second Isaiah. The thesis is closely argued and will certainly attract much attention and further discussion."—Gary A. Anderson, Harvard Divinity School
“This very impressive work is an original and deeply instructive contribution to biblical studies. Sommer is a finely perceptive reader of biblical texts, has a real mastery of the immense body of biblical scholarship, and moves with remarkable assurance from literary to historical analysis. The book not only enables us to read the prophet Deutero-Isaiah in a new and illuminating way but also leads us to understand the development of later biblical history in a new way.”—Robert Alter, University of California, Berkeley
Synopsis
This book examines the use of older biblical texts in Isaiah 40-66, notably the writings attributed to Deutero-Isaiah. Its discussion of allusions, influence, and intertextuality generates significant questions for both biblicists and literary critics. The author defends the controversial historical questions asked by scholars of inner-biblical exegesis, modifying some of the dominant (and, in some ways, misleading) categories other biblical scholars have created. Sommer re-examines this most complex book, re-appraising recent work on its unity and demonstrating how Deutero-Isaiah's reliance on earlier prophets led to the disppearance of prophecy and the rise of exegetical forms of religious expression known from Qumran, early Christianity, and rabbinic Judaism. His perceptive reading includes both literary and historical analysis, and will provide a significant contribution to recent debates.
Synopsis
Sommer's discussion of allusions, influence and intertextuality generates significant questions for both biblicists and literary critics. His close reading of Isaiah 40-66 highlights the importance of this complex book and demonstrates its effect on prophetic discourse in Qumran, early Christianity, and rabbinic Judaism.
Synopsis
By examining literary allusion in Isaiah 40-66, the author illuminates the changes that led to the demise of biblical prophecy and the rise of hermeneutically based religions in the post-biblical era.
Synopsis
At once a study of biblical theology and modern Jewish thought, this volume describes a “participatory theory of revelation” as it addresses the ways biblical authors and contemporary theologians alike understand the process of revelation and hence the authority of the law. Benjamin Sommer maintains that the Pentateuch’s authors intend not only to convey God’s will but to express Israel’s interpretation of and response to that divine will. Thus Sommer’s close readings of biblical texts bolster liberal theologies of modern Judaism, especially those of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Franz Rosenzweig. This bold view of revelation puts a premium on human agency and attests to the grandeur of a God who accomplishes a providential task through the free will of the human subjects under divine authority. Yet, even though the Pentateuch’s authors hold diverse views of revelation, all of them regard the binding authority of the law as sacrosanct. Sommer’s book demonstrates why a law-observant religious Jew can be open to discoveries about the Bible that seem nontraditional or even antireligious.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 299-313) and indexes.
About the Author
Benjamin D. Sommer is Assistant Professor of Religion at Northwestern University and Visiting Assistant Professor of Bible at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
Table of Contents
1. Literary theory and the study of inner-biblical allusion and exegesis; 2. Deutero-Isiah's use of Jeremiah; 3. The appropriation of prophetic tradition; 4. From poetry to prophecy: transformations of psalms and laments; 5. Deutero-Isiah's use of pentateuchal texts; 6. Learned tongue, inspired tongue; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Chart; Indices.