First Isaiah and the Disappearance of the Gods / / Matthew J. Lynch.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter EBOOK PACKAGE COMPLETE 2021 English
• VerfasserIn: Lynch, Matthew J.,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible ; 12
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (144 p.)

Isaiah 1–39 uses the unique term א-0;י-0;י-1;—usually translated as “idols”— more than anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Using this linguistic phenomenon as a point of departure, Matthew J. Lynch reexamines the rhetorical strategies of First Isaiah, revealing a stronger monotheizing rhetoric than previously recognized.Standard accounts of Israelite religion frequently insist that monotheism reached its apex during the exile, and especially in Deutero-Isaiah. By contrast, Lynch’s study brings to light an equally potent mode of monotheizing in First Isaiah. Lynch identifies three related rhetorical tendencies that emphasize yhwh’s supreme uniqueness: a rhetoric of avoidance, referring to other deities as idols (א-0;י-0;י-1;) to avoid conferring on them the status of gods (א-0;•3;הי-1;); a rhetoric of exaltation, emphasizing yhwh’s truly exalted status in opposition to all that which exalted itself; and a rhetoric of abasement, fully subjugating all other claimants to absolute power—whether human or divine—before the divine king.Succinctly and persuasively argued, Lynch’s book will change how biblical scholars understand the nature and development of Israelite monotheism.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Rhetoric of Exaltation and Abasement in First Isaiah -- Chapter 2. Yahweh’s Exaltation in Isaiah 2:6–22 -- Chapter 3. Enemy Boasts and Prophetic Response in Isaiah 10 -- Chapter 4. The Folly of the Gods in Isaiah 19 -- Chapter 5. Conclusions and Comparison -- Appendixes -- Bibliography -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Authors -- Index of Scripture