Both. Semitics HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK TORONTO AND MELBOURNE 1 PREFACE THIS book owes its origin to a course of lectures which I gave some years ago in Bristol, and later (in a revised form) at Norwich. The interest which was expressed in both places led me to believe that some such introduction to the study of Isaiah would be welcomed by a larger circle. However familiar they may be with certain famous chapters, even well-informed people are often at a loss when they try to understand the book as a whole, or to estimate its significance in the history of human thought. They require, in fact, the same kind of equipment which is needed for the study of any other great literary work. They want to know something of the political and social history of the age which produced it; to trace the influence of circumstances upon religious belief; to have a general conception of the moral and religious teaching of each contributory prophet; and to be supplied with such hints about the form and style of Hebrew poetry as are indispensable for a literary appreciation. All this information is to be found in the standard editions of Isaiah; but not in a form which appeals to the general reader. The specialist is so familiar with the most important facts that he does not care to enlarge upon them his main interest is devoted to questions 1189 a 2 418426 which are new and the subjects of controversy with other scholars his language is often so technical and allusive as to baffle the uninitiated: and his notes (if he is a German) are printed without any regard to the reader's eyes. Since thirsty souls cannot reach down into these wells of special knowledge, there is need of some one to draw the water for them, and to serve it in convenient cups. That is the familiar task of the professional teacher. He does not originate: he does not speak on his own authority: he only studies the works of the great scholars and acts as their interpreter. Such is the task which I have attempted to accomplish in this volume. It must, however, be confessed that in one particular I have ventured to speak without the authority of others. The dramatic arrangement of Deutero-Isaiah's prophecies is made entirely upon my own responsibility. Yet the exception is hardly a breach of the rule: for it involves no question of Hebrew scholarship or of special learning, but depends upon general considerations of which any student of literature may aspire to judge. The design of the book will explain and (I hope) excuse some of its limitations. The most obvious of these is the deliberate exclusion of controversy. The disputed points about the book of Isaiah are so numerous that a discussion of them would fill many volumes, only to weary and confuse the reader. Accordingly, after examining the rival views, I have chosen in each case that which seems to be best supported and have left the others unnoticed. By this method I hope to give the patient reader a consistent impression of the whole in general accordance with the results of modern scholarship. Such an impression, whether right or wrong, will serve as a useful foundation for further study. A second limitation excludes everything of the nature of homily. My object being to enable the reader to understand and value the book of Isaiah as part of the world's literature, I have abstained from drawing modern conclusions or making personal applications. Such developments are indeed superfluous for the readers. whom I have in view: for those who have once learned to love this great book intelligently will not fail to gain the best kind of edification from their mere communion with the great spirits who were its authors. A third limitation, which curtails the text, requires a longer defence. The investigations of modern scholars have demonstrated that some whole chapters and many shorter passages in the book of Isaiah were composed in the fourth, the third, and even the second century. The time and talent which have been devoted to explaining them is certainly not wasted, But, though students rightly desire to understand those growths of the Persian or Maccabaean age which have established themselves in nooks and crannies of the crumbling text, the interest of the general reader, who desires to survey the original structure, demands that they should be cleared away. Such clearance is the more desirable because, while scholars are not agreed as to the date and reference of the accretions, it is certain that in literary merit and religious value they are vastly inferior to the older elements which constitute the main body of the book. |