Program / Course 6: Old Testament Theology and History / Lesson 4.5
What you will learn
- Explain how prophetic words could be collected, edited and expanded into books.
- State the arguments for and against dividing Isaiah into more than one part.
- Describe evidence from manuscripts that bears on the growth of Jeremiah and other books.
- Set out how different traditions respond to questions of authorship without resting faith on one answer.
The big idea
Prophets spoke, and others wrote down and gathered their words. The surviving books show signs of growth over time. The main example is Isaiah, where chapters 1 to 39 name eighth-century kings and chapters 40 to 55 address exiles in Babylon and name Cyrus. Many scholars conclude that the book comes from more than one period. Others defend a single author or a school that kept the prophet’s voice. The question is open, and it can be studied without prejudging the book’s authority.
Key terms
- Redaction
- The editing, ordering and expanding of earlier material by later hands.
- Authorship
- The question of who wrote a text. In ancient books it can mean the source of the words, the writer or the editor.
- Deutero-Isaiah
- A scholarly name, meaning second Isaiah, for Isaiah 40 to 55, set in the time of the exile.
- Trito-Isaiah
- A scholarly name, meaning third Isaiah, for Isaiah 56 to 66, often placed after the return.
- Servant songs
- Four passages in Isaiah 40 to 55 (42, 49, 50, 52 and 53) about a servant of the Lord.
- Pseudonymity
- Writing under the name of an earlier figure. Some scholars apply the term to parts of Daniel, while others reject it.
- Scroll of the Twelve
- The twelve shorter prophetic books, from Hosea to Malachi, treated in Jewish tradition as one scroll.
Background
A prophet’s message was first spoken, and sometimes acted. Jeremiah 36 shows how a book began: the prophet dictated to a scribe, Baruch, and when the king burned the scroll, he dictated again and added more. Isaiah 8:16 speaks of binding up the testimony among his disciples. These passages suggest that prophets had followers who preserved their words, and that the process of writing and collecting could continue after the prophet’s death.
Modern study has tried to trace this growth. The method is called redaction criticism, and it looks for signs of later additions: changes of historical setting, vocabulary and theme. It is a method with limits, and scholars differ on results. Some doubt that later layers can be separated. Others argue that a book like Isaiah is a literary whole built by a school over centuries.
The question arouses strong feeling because it seems to touch the authority of Scripture. Jewish and Christian traditions have long held that the prophetic books are inspired, and many scholars of faith in each tradition hold that this does not require a single author. The lesson sets out the arguments plainly and respects both sides.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The case in Isaiah
Isaiah 1 to 39 names Isaiah son of Amoz and the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, and speaks of the threat of Assyria. Isaiah 40 begins with comfort for Jerusalem, with its warfare ended, and the following chapters address a people in exile, mock the gods of Babylon and name Cyrus as the Lord’s shepherd and anointed (Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1). Chapters 56 to 66 seem to be set in Jerusalem, with concerns about worship and justice among a returned community.
Scholars who divide the book argue that a prophet usually speaks to the situation of his hearers, that the situation changes in chapter 40, that Cyrus was born long after Isaiah, and that the language and theology differ. They note that explicit statements that there is no other God appear more frequently in chapters 40 to 55.
Step 2: The case for unity
Those who defend a single author, or a close connection among the parts, give several reasons. The title the Holy One of Israel appears throughout the book. A prophet might be given a vision of the future, as the book claims, and Cyrus could be named in advance as God’s gift. Ancient Jewish sources, such as Sirach 48, speak of Isaiah as comforting those who mourn in Zion, which they take as a reference to chapters 40 and following. The New Testament quotes both halves under Isaiah’s name, as in John 12:38 to 41.
A middle position holds that the book was shaped by disciples of Isaiah who continued his message in changed circumstances, so that the whole book reflects his vision. This view allows that later hands worked while insisting on continuity of tradition. Some Jewish commentators in the Middle Ages, such as Abraham ibn Ezra, suggested that the later chapters were written by a prophet of the exile, and traditional Jewish readers have responded in different ways.
Step 3: Other books and manuscript evidence
The Greek translation of Jeremiah is about one eighth shorter than the Hebrew and arranges the oracles against the nations in a different place. The Dead Sea Scrolls include Hebrew copies of Jeremiah that agree with the shorter Greek text and others that agree with the longer Hebrew. This shows that more than one form of the book circulated and that editing continued into the last centuries before Christ.
Other books raise similar questions. Zechariah 9 to 14 differs in style and setting from chapters 1 to 8. The book of Daniel contains stories set in the sixth century BC and visions that many scholars date to the second century BC, a question taken up in the module on apocalyptic. The Twelve may have been arranged as one scroll by an editor, since there are links between the end of one book and the start of the next.
Step 4: Reading with the question open
A student does not need to decide on every question to read well. Isaiah 40 can be read as a message to exiles whether it was composed by Isaiah of Jerusalem, a later prophet, or a school. The scholarly question bears on how a reader understands the original setting, not on whether the text is read as Scripture. Both Jewish and Christian traditions read the book in its final form in worship.
- What does Jeremiah 36 show about how prophetic books began?
- What are the strongest reasons for dividing Isaiah, and what are the strongest replies?
- What does the shorter Greek Jeremiah suggest about the history of the book?
- How does the name of Cyrus figure in the argument over Isaiah 40 to 55?
- What does it mean to read a book in its final form?
- Can a believer hold that a book is inspired and also that it grew over time? Why or why not?
Examples
Cyrus in Isaiah
Isaiah 44:28 says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure. Those who divide the book say that this fits an author in the exile, around 540 BC. Those who defend unity say that God could reveal the name ahead of time. Both start from the text itself and differ on the nature of prophecy.
Two forms of Jeremiah
A scroll fragment from Qumran preserves a Hebrew text of Jeremiah close to the shorter Greek version. Scholars take this as evidence that the Greek translators worked from a Hebrew text that really existed, and not that they cut the book. It shows an earlier stage in the book’s growth.
The scroll of the Twelve
In Jewish tradition the twelve shorter prophets are written as a single scroll. The practice is reported in ancient sources and may reflect the book’s early unity. It means that Hosea and Malachi are neighbors in one work.
Different perspectives
Jewish readers
Traditional Jewish commentary has often attributed the whole of Isaiah to the prophet, and the Talmud credits Hezekiah and his circle with writing the book down. Medieval and modern Jewish scholars have also proposed that some chapters come from a later time. Both views appear in Jewish scholarship today.
Catholic readers
The Catholic Church encourages historical study of how the biblical books were composed, provided the books are received as inspired. Catholic scholars today commonly accept multiple authors in Isaiah. The Church does not require a single author for the whole book.
Orthodox readers
Orthodox tradition reads Isaiah as a unity in worship and in the fathers, and many Orthodox scholars discuss the historical question with caution. The tradition emphasizes the book’s witness to Christ in all its parts.
Protestant readers
Protestants are divided. Many conservative evangelicals defend the unity of Isaiah on the grounds of predictive prophecy and the New Testament’s use. Many mainline scholars accept multiple authors. Some evangelicals accept a school of Isaiah while holding the book’s inspiration.
Scholarly views
A majority of critical scholars distinguish at least two or three parts of Isaiah. Recent work often stresses the unity of the final book, as a text designed to be read as a whole.
Why it matters
How a prophetic book is understood to have formed affects how it is read. A student who knows that Isaiah 40 can be read against the background of exile will find its comfort more concrete. A student who knows of the debate will not be surprised when commentaries differ, and will see that a traditional position and a critical position can both be held in good faith.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Questioning the single authorship of Isaiah is an attack on the Bible.
Correction: Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant scholars ask the question and remain committed to Scripture. Medieval Jewish commentators raised related ideas.
Misunderstanding: Scholars have proved that Isaiah had three authors.
Correction: The three-part division is a widely held proposal, not a proven fact. Many scholars now speak of a gradual growth and stress the unity of the final text.
Misunderstanding: Prophetic books were written by the prophets alone.
Correction: The books themselves point to scribes and disciples, and manuscripts show different forms of the same book.
Misunderstanding: If a book grew over time, its message cannot be trusted.
Correction: Growth by faithful editors is compatible with inspiration in the view of many traditions. The standard of trust is a matter of faith and not of authorship alone.
Knowledge check
What are the main arguments for dividing Isaiah?
Isaiah 1 to 39 is set in the eighth century with kings and the threat of Assyria, while chapters 40 to 55 address exiles in Babylon and name Cyrus. The language and theology also change, with stronger statements that no other God exists. Scholars argue that prophets spoke to the situations of their hearers, so a different setting suggests a different author.
What are the main replies from those who defend unity?
They point to shared vocabulary, such as the Holy One of Israel, the tradition of one author in ancient Jewish sources and the New Testament, and the belief that God could reveal future events, including Cyrus’s name. Some take a middle view that a school of disciples continued the prophet’s message. The replies rest partly on views about prophecy.
What do manuscripts of Jeremiah show?
The Greek Jeremiah is shorter than the Hebrew text used in standard Bibles and arranges parts differently. Dead Sea Scrolls include a Hebrew text close to the Greek and others close to the longer Hebrew. This shows that two forms of the book circulated in the last centuries before Christ, evidence for editing and growth.
Why can Isaiah 40 be read profitably whatever one thinks of authorship?
Its words of comfort are addressed to a people who have suffered judgment and are told that their warfare is ended. That meaning is clear whether the author was Isaiah, a prophet of the exile, or a school. The authorship question affects historical background, not the text’s use in Jewish and Christian worship.
Think it through
- What do you gain from knowing how a book was formed, and what might you lose?
- Do you feel that a book’s authority depends on its author? Why?
- How would you explain the debate over Isaiah to someone with strong views on either side?
- What kinds of evidence would count as strong for you in a question like this?
Independent assignment
Two readers of Isaiah 40
In your own notebook, read Isaiah 40 and 44:24 to 45:7. Write 150 to 250 words as a reader who thinks the passage was written by Isaiah of Jerusalem, and 150 to 250 words as a reader who thinks it was written in exile. For each, give the best reasons. End with 100 words on what both readers agree about the meaning of the text. Keep it for yourself.
Further study
- Jewish Publication Society, The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS translation) Read Isaiah 1, 6, 40 and 44 to 45, and Jeremiah 36.
- Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament Read for the way the prophetic books were gathered and arranged in the canon.
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Read the chapter on the prophets.
- Isaiah 40 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.
- Isaiah 45 Cyrus, the anointed.
- Jeremiah 36 How a scroll was written.
- John 12 Quotations from Isaiah attributed to the prophet.