Isaiah as Liturgy (Society for Old Testament Study)

The prophecy of Isaiah divides into eight sections, each beginning with a new vision or introduction, each with its own theme: reproaches for sin, royal oracles, oracles against the nations, Jerusalem the sacred city, and so on. These eight themes correspond with the series of full-day rituals implied for the annual Festival in the Psalms: a preceding day of humiliation for Israel's sin, the re-consecration of the king, processions celebrating God's victory over the nations, and the defence of His city. Michael Goulder's unique account of the Bible's longest book explores Isaiah's eight themes in the same order as the Biblical text, so implying that Isaiah is a sequence of oral prophecies adapted for liturgical use at the Feast, and not merely a book with glosses and editors. The author engages with principal Isaiah scholars throughout.