Opening the Sealed Book: Interpretations of the Book of Isaiah in Late Antiquity - Paperback

by Joseph Blenkinsopp (Author)

Of all the texts in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, perhaps no book has a more colorful history of interpretation than Isaiah. A comprehensive history of this interpretation between the prophet Malachi and the first days of Christianity, Joseph Blenkinsopp's Opening the Sealed Book traces three different prophetic traditions in Isaiah -- the "man of God," the critic of social structures, and the apocalyptic seer.

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Of all the texts in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, perhaps no book has a more colorful history of interpretation than Isaiah. A comprehensive history of this interpretation between the prophet Malachi and the first days of Christianity, Joseph Blenkinsopps "Opening the Sealed Book" traces three different prophetic traditions in Isaiah -- the man of God, the critic of social structures, and the apocalyptic seer.

Blenkinsopp explores the place of Isaiah in Jewish sectarianism, at Qumran, and among early Christians, touching on a number of its themes, including exile, the remnant of Israel, martyrdom, and the servant of the Lord. Encompassing several disciplines -- hermeneutics, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Second Temple studies, Christian origins -- "Opening the Sealed Book" will appeal to Jewish and Christian scholars as well as readers fascinated by the intricate and influential prophetic visions of Isaiah.