THE editor teaching at Fuller Theological Seminary and other contributors at Trinity Evangelical School of Divinity and the even more conservative Wheaton College, my expectations for this Cambridge Companion were not high. I was wrong.

With contributors also from Claremont, Leiden, and other leading US and European universities (albeit none from the UK), it is an exemplary example of ecumenical scholarship. Its contributors across theological stances are committed to a contextual understanding of a multi-authorship of Isaiah, written over many centuries and with theological and ethical tensions between and within its various sections.

There is no agreement in the Companion about how exactly Isaiah should be divided — sometimes into three (chapters 1-39, 40-55, and 56-66, written in the context of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires respectively), sometimes into just two (1-39 and 40-66), and other times with numerous smaller divisions.

In addition, in its present form, Isaiah raises significant textual and linguistic issues (especially as it is the Greek, Septuagint version rather than a Hebrew text which is typically used in the New Testament). All of these issues must, of course, be for Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and Qumran scholars to adjudicate.

What is fascinating for a theologian is that Isaiah and the Psalms — the two most quoted books in the NT — offer a galaxy of perspectives in tension on God and social ethics which have variously influenced Christian communities around the world. They are ecumenical fountains of differing and, sometimes, contradictory images and metaphors that continue to sustain worship (as people attending Christmas services may have noticed).

At a theological and ethical level, Isaiah raises this question acutely: how can we live peacefully with one another as Christians when we differ so radically? As I serve in the diocese in Europe, this is a very live issue for me. In London, New York, or Sydney, say, you can pick and choose the Anglican church that best supports your particular theological persuasion, but in most of Europe Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals need to coexist in a single chaplaincy. Isaiah and the Psalms are ideal for the latter. We can draw variously and fruitfully from them (as, it seems, did Jesus) to resonate with our different perspectives.

Matthew Schlimm at Dubuque, noticing a confusing mixture of male, female and inanimate images, speaks for others:

“The book of Isaiah overflows with creative images of God. This deity is compared to a weaver (38:12), a lumberjack (10:33-34), a woman in labor (42:14), a stonemason (28:16), a beautiful wreath (28:5), a nursing mother (49:15), a whistler (7:18), and a trap (8.14).”

Even more challenging are the depictions, noted by several contributors, of God as angry, unpredictable and vengeful, contrasted with God as merciful, compassionate and peaceful. And, in some parts of Isaiah, God appears exclusively concerned with Judah, whereas other parts have a more universalist understanding of God, even seeing some of Judah’s differing imperialist oppressors as agents of God’s purposes. Daniel Carroll at Wheaton concludes sharply:

“Not all are charitably disposed to Isaiah as an ethical source. . . A consistent reason for disapproval is the complaint that the judgements of God are indiscriminate (affecting the guilty and innocent alike) and overly violent. . . Worrisome metaphors in the book include Yhwh as punishing father (64:8-12); 45:9-11) and divine warrior (e.g., 5:24-25; 10:5). . . Many find Isa 63:1-6 especially troubling.”

Of course — as many others have observed — these charges can also be made of the Psalms, themselves compiled over centuries and in widely different social contexts. And yet, for many Christians today (including myself), the Psalms and Isaiah, when read intelligently, still speak to our deepest yearnings.

This Cambridge Companion is well worth buying, as, I hope, a similar one on the Psalms would be.

Canon Robin Gill is Emeritus Professor of Applied Theology at the University of Kent.

The Cambridge Companion to the Book of Isaiah
Christopher B. Hays, editor
Cambridge University Press £25.99
(978-1-108-45678-4)
Church Times Bookshop £23.39