113 - Isaiah 40-66: A Commentary

Isaiah 40-66: A Commentary
By Claus Westermann, translated by David M. Stalker
429 pp. Philadelphia, Westminster Press, 1969. $8.50.

On the basis of the pioneering form-critical work of Hugo Gressmann and-Joachim Begrich on the text of Deutero-Isaiah, and with original contributions of his own, Claus Westermann, who is Professor of Old Testament at the University of Heidelberg, has written a brilliant and stimulating commentary on one of the most profound, as well as difficult, portions of the Old Testament. By his lucid and compelling literary analysis of the text he clearly demonstrates that this sixth-century prophet was not only the greatest theologian that Israel produced, but also a literary genius who creatively modified older prophetic forms of speech and produced completely new forms to proclaim to his fellow captives in Babylonia the joyful message that their deliverance was at hand.

The first thirty pages of introduction, which summarize several important articles of the author on form-critical problems of Deutero-Isaiah, deal with the historical setting of the material, the prophet and his message, the various traditions upon which the prophet draws-mainly the Exodus and the Psalter-and the origin and growth of the book. In regard to the last point he follows in general the majority of modern scholars in dating Deutero-Isaiah (chaps. 40-55) around 550 B.C., and Trito-Isaiah (chaps. 56-66), who may have been a disciple of Deutero-Isaiah, about 530 B.C. With Torrey and Muilenberg he finds an orderly arrangement in the book, and believes that larger poetic compositions predominate throughout the work, rather than many small literary units which so often emerge with the "atomizing" method of form criticism.

114 - Isaiah 40-66: A Commentary

In the commentary itself the text is discussed on the basis of the individual literary units-salvation oracles, of which the author finds two types: those which assure salvation and those which proclaim salvation; trial speeches; songs of praise; the Cyrus oracles; the servant songs; and others more difficult to identify with any certainty. The Bible text, given in full, follows the Revised Standard Version, with only the most serious textual emendations cited in brief footnotes. The lengthy discussion of each section is introduced by a select bibliography on that passage.

Of special interest in any commentary on Deutero-Isaiah is the way the author treats the so-called servant songs. Professor Westermann believes that they are a "separate strand, different from the rest of the material in the book" (p. 20). They were composed by the prophet himself, with the possible exception of the fourth song (52: 13-53: 12), but the fact that they have a literary form found nowhere else in DeuteroIsaiah, and that it is impossible to account for them by reference to the context in which they stand, points to their independent character. As to the identification of the Servant, who stands in direct line with Moses as prophet and mediator, "one thing at least is obvious: the language at once reveals and conceals the Servant" (p. 20).

Professor Westermann's original and significant contributions to the understanding of the work and message of Deutero-Isaiah are apparent throughout the commentary. He has, for instance, identified two new literary types in the text: the proclamation of salvation oracles (41: 17-20, 42: 14-17, 43: 16-21, and 49: 7-12), and the eschatological hymn (42: 10-13, 48: 20-21, 52: 9-10, and 54: 1-2). No one has seen more clearly or emphasized more strongly the significance of the Psalter for the formation and content of the prophet's message. "Almost every page in Deutero-Isaiah reveals affinities between his proclamation and the language of the Psalter" (p. 23). This familiarity with the Psalter also indicates the important place it held in the life and worship of the exiled community in Babylonia.

This is certainly one of the most stimulating commentaries on Deutero-Isaiah to come out in recent years. Its appearance in English will do much to advance form-critical studies among American scholars. It is heartily recommended for all who wish to understand more adequately Israel's most creative thinker and profound theologian.

Charles T. Fritsch
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, New Jersey