AN EVALUATION OF THE GRAMMATICAL-STRUCTRUAL
DIFFERENCES IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND THEIR IMPACT
ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF AUTHORSHIP
__________________
A Paper
Presented to
Dr. Ryan Stokes
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for OLDTS 3323
__________________
By
Mathieu P. Barry
April 24, 2015
1
AN EVALUATION OF THE GRAMMATICAL-STRUCTRUAL
DIFFERENCES IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND THEIR IMPACT
ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF AUTHORSHIP
The rise of the critical method for interpreting scripture brought into question many traditionally held beliefs concerning the authorship of biblical books including the
Pentateuch, Daniel, and Isaiah among others. This paper will evaluate the authorship of
Isaiah from a …show more content…
Harold Thomas, "The Authorship of the Book of Isaiah," Restoration Quarterly 10, no. 1
(1967): 46-55.
5 Driver, Isaiah, 196.
4
Driver provides a list of twenty words and phrases that are unique in occurrence or usage in Second Isaiah exclusively.6 He adds to this examination of vocabulary usage an examination of other literary and grammatical elements, such as poetic devices, word repetition, and the usage of complete phrases. To this end, Driver, referencing the style in which the author of second Isaiah uses certain words, argues, “Of course with words such as these, not the single, but the repeated occurrence shows the habit of the author, and constitutes a criterion of authorship. The expressions noted, p. 193, do not the less genuinely reflect the mental habit of the writers who familiarly employ them, although some may be used occasionally by other writers of the New Testament.”7 Driver attempts to make an argument from the use of some words that he claims developed in the Hebrew language at a date after the life of Isaiah the prophet. This is a weak argument due to the fact that there is too little information on how ancient Hebrew changed over the timeframe in question to sufficiently support his
DIFFERENCES IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND THEIR IMPACT
ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF AUTHORSHIP
__________________
A Paper
Presented to
Dr. Ryan Stokes
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
__________________
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for OLDTS 3323
__________________
By
Mathieu P. Barry
April 24, 2015
1
AN EVALUATION OF THE GRAMMATICAL-STRUCTRUAL
DIFFERENCES IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND THEIR IMPACT
ON THE UNDERSTANDING OF AUTHORSHIP
The rise of the critical method for interpreting scripture brought into question many traditionally held beliefs concerning the authorship of biblical books including the
Pentateuch, Daniel, and Isaiah among others. This paper will evaluate the authorship of
Isaiah from a …show more content…
Harold Thomas, "The Authorship of the Book of Isaiah," Restoration Quarterly 10, no. 1
(1967): 46-55.
5 Driver, Isaiah, 196.
4
Driver provides a list of twenty words and phrases that are unique in occurrence or usage in Second Isaiah exclusively.6 He adds to this examination of vocabulary usage an examination of other literary and grammatical elements, such as poetic devices, word repetition, and the usage of complete phrases. To this end, Driver, referencing the style in which the author of second Isaiah uses certain words, argues, “Of course with words such as these, not the single, but the repeated occurrence shows the habit of the author, and constitutes a criterion of authorship. The expressions noted, p. 193, do not the less genuinely reflect the mental habit of the writers who familiarly employ them, although some may be used occasionally by other writers of the New Testament.”7 Driver attempts to make an argument from the use of some words that he claims developed in the Hebrew language at a date after the life of Isaiah the prophet. This is a weak argument due to the fact that there is too little information on how ancient Hebrew changed over the timeframe in question to sufficiently support his