Miracle in Isaiah
Divine Marvel and Prophetic World
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Fortress Press (Augsburg Fortress)
- Published: 2022
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Publisher's Description
The book of Isaiah places a distinctive emphasis on the miraculous. It speaks about the miraculous more than any other book of Scripture. Because miracle runs through the whole of the prophecy, careful attention to it, as John Goldingay gives it here, not only unfolds the message of Isaiah but allows the theme to become a detailed commentary on the God of miracles. Miracle is a tricky word, so Goldingay defines what is meant by the miraculous in Isaiah before considering the miraculous features throughout the book: in testimonies to Yahweh's extraordinary communication with people such as prophets, in reminders of Yahweh's extraordinary acts long ago, in reports of the extraordinary acts whereby Yahweh rescues his people within the book's temporal framework, in promises of Yahweh's extraordinary acts of restoration in the future, and in Yahweh's extraordinary acts toward other peoples. What of the miracles of long ago? Did God create the world, devastate it and then start it off again, summon Abraham, deliver Israel from Egypt, drown the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, take the Israelites through the wilderness, dispossess the Canaanites, defeat the Midianites? What about the miracles that come after, including those witnessed in the New Testament--especially the raising of Jesus from the grave? Goldingay points to the interweaving of miracle with narrative in Isaiah itself to provide a clue: these are stories about real events which, with the help of the Spirit of God, have become narratives that captivate and edify.
Endorsements (4)
“Goldingay has written a concise, engaging, and thought-provoking book on what constitutes a miracle in the book of Isaiah. Goldingay’s definition, which may surprise readers, is well supported by the text, and Goldingay communicates his insights lucidly and with scholarly gravitas. The outcome is an easily accessible yet also very learned study. I can recommend this book wholeheartedly.”
“Miracle in Isaiah is another helpful exercise in biblical theology. John Goldingay first teases out the meaning of the word miracle before exploring God’s extraordinary communication and acts of salvation on Israel’s behalf, relying on the prophet Isaiah throughout. The result confirms today’s Christian believers as participants in the sequence of past and future miracles, including citizenship in the miraculous new Jerusalem and the hope of a miraculous resurrection to a new kind of bodily life in Jesus.”
“Goldingay has unparalleled international expertise on the theology of the book of Isaiah. In this book he breaks that down into an accessible format suitable for a wide readership to focus on a central element that has not previously been properly explored. Readers will here find themselves introduced to a central theme that opens up the richness of Isaiah in a fresh and illuminating manner. It is further enlivened by some personal engagement with the question of how modern readers, whether believers or not, should relate with the biblical presentation of miracle. It is one of those books that should not be missed.”
“With his trademark clarity and use of innovative categories, John Goldingay’s Miracle in Isaiah shows that the ‘miraculous’ in Isaiah goes far beyond a few well-known passages—it pervades much of the book. One cannot but appreciate how many new insights emerge from looking at Isaiah through the lens of miracle under the tutelage of one of the twenty-first century’s most prolific Old Testament commentators.”
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