An analysis of Paul's citations from Isaiah reveals specific tendencies
on the part of Paul with regard to both his theological appropriation
of Isaiah and the distribution of his citations across a variety of Isaian
contexts.
The single most striking aspect of the thematic grouping of Paul's citations from Isaiah is the concentrated use of the citations in Romans to deal explicitly with the issue of Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus. When we consider the heavy concentration of these citations in Romans relative to Paul's use of other OT books there, particularly his use of Isaiah in Romans 9-11, it becomes evident that as Paul explained the relationship between Jew and Gentile to the Roman called-out Assembly he was reflecting primarily on, and drawing primarily from, the book of Isaiah. Based solely on the number of times he cites Isaiah with regard to this issue, although there are other compelling reasons as well, it is reasonable to conclude that no other single OT book influenced Paul's theology of Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus as much as Isaiah.
Paul cites Isaiah sixteen times in Romans, and eleven of these occur in Romans 9-11 where fifteen different verses from Isaiah are used (Isaiah 29:16 only counted once).
Moreover, Romans 9-11 contain a total of thirty citations from the OT, and the use of Isaiah constitutes more than one-third of the total, and far outweighs the use of any other single OT book in this section of Romans (Genesis - 3 citations [4 vv.]; Exodus - 2 citations; Hosea - 2 citations; Joel - 1 citation; Psalms - 3 citations [4 vv.]; Malachi -1 citation [2 vv.]; Deuteronomy - 3 citations [7 vv.]; 1 Kings - 2 citations [3 vv.]; 1 Samuel - 1 citation; Job - 1 citation).
Here we find a striking, concentrated use of the OT, and chiefly of Isaiah, in a critical argument concerning the Jew-Gentile-in-Jesus issue.
(1) Both Jews and Gentiles apart from Jesus are objects of wrath not mercy (Rom 2:24; 3:15-17).
(2) Both Gentiles and the remnant of Israel who accept the gospel of God's anointed one are included in the Davidic kingdom and its promises (9:27– 28, 29; 10:11; 11:26-27, 34; 15:12, 21).
(3) Many Jews reject the gospel the message about the coming kingdom of God and are cut off but the Gentiles believe and are included in the coming kingdom of God (9:20, 33; 10:15, 16, 20-21; 11:8).
(4) Romans 14:11 addresses the conflict between Jew and Gentile believers over differences of religious tradition. Thus, it also addresses the matter, but with respect to a specific pastoral concern.
In the remainder of Paul's citations we find more variety in the thematic grouping, although Galatians 4:27 does use Isaiah in the same thematic vein as we found in Romans. In his sole citation in Galatians Paul is dealing with the heresy of legalism. This probably should come as no surprise, given the close conceptual relationship that exists between Romans and Galatians.
In 1 Corinthians Isaiah is used to discuss God's wisdom in relation to man's (1:19), the lack of spiritual knowledge in the world compared with the Spirit's revelation in the called-out Assembly (2:9, 16), the abuse of glossolalia (14:21), and the resurrection (15:32, 54).
In 2 Corinthians the thematic grouping is no less diverse. Paul urges the Corinthians to accept God's reconciliation (6:2); he exhorts them to be separate from the world as the temple of God (6:17); and he encourages the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for the saints (9:10).
The diversity of Paul's thematic grouping of citations from Isaiah in the epistles other than Romans emphasizes even more the distinctiveness of his use of Isaiah in Romans.
There can be little doubt, based on the theological tendencies of Paul's use, that Isaiah was more influential than any other OT book in the formation of his response to the issue of Jew and Gentile in Jesus God's anointed one. Moreover, for the same reason, Isaiah appears to have had more explicit influence in Romans than in the other Pauline epistles. The other three Hauptbriefe do not exhibit this singular thematic orientation, although the only citation from Isaiah in Galatians does address the issue.
The use of Isaiah in Paul's speeches in Acts is noteworthy also. It appears that Luke has preserved the Pauline tradition accurately, if the use of Isaiah in his speeches is any indication. Two of the citations (Acts 13:22 = Isaiah 44:28; Acts 13:34 = Isaiah 55:3) are used to demonstrate the fulfillment of the Davidic promises in God's anointed one Jesus (cf. Romans 15:12). In another citation (Acts 13:47 = Isaiah 49:6) Luke records Paul's application to himself of a messianic text describing his own missionary role as a "light to the Gentiles" (cf. Romans 15:21). And in Acts 28:26-27 Luke records Paul's citation of Isaiah 6:9-10, pronouncing on his contemporary Jewish audience the "hardening" curse of Isaiah. All of these citations are addressing the debate over Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus.
Notice also: Both Paul and John use Isaiah 53:1 to make the same point: the Jews have rejected the gospel of Jesus God's anointed one. In point of fact, John's larger contextual argument is quite similar to Paul's. For example, John also emphasizes God's sovereignty in the hardening of Israel as the reason for their rejection of His anointed one Jesus (cf., John 12:36b-43 and Paul's argument in Romans 9:6-29; 10:5-21; 11:7-10).
There is no doubt, if the witness of the Gospels to Jesus' teaching is accepted, that it was Jesus himself who originated the approach to Isaiah that was followed by Paul. It was Jesus himself who first cited Isaiah 61:1-2 and then proclaimed, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:18-21); and it was Jesus himself who first taught the church that all the scriptures spoke of him (Luke 24:25-27, 44-45). Furthermore, it was Jesus' fervent apostle, Paul, gifted with a mind of creative theological ability, who more than any other single NT writer forged the path for the interpretation of Isaiah. In his citations from Isaiah, we see Paul at work enlarging the cache of Isaian testimonies available to the church in the defense and propagation of the gospel. But Paul's work was not accomplished in a vacuum.
He is breaking new interpretive ground by bringing an established interpretive tradition to bear on an increasing number of contexts in Isaiah. Jesus laid down the comprehensive hermeneutical framework for the called-out Assembly that all the scriptures spoke of him. Paul was busy finding the fulfillment of the ages there. But his work was always informed by the interpretive framework already laid down in the church by the lord Jesus. Finally, with regard to text form, it should be said that the same interpretive tradition that shaped Paul's choice of citations from various contexts in Isaiah also shaped his adaptations of text form. When Paul creatively modified text forms as a method of interpretation, not only was he careful and deliberate, he was also being influenced by the interpretive tradition of the nascent called-out Assembly.
He likely was the originator of several of his distinctive readings from Isaiah; he was not copying someone else's text form modification; but his framework controlled and shaped his original work. This same interpretive tradition may also play a formative role in what is often characterized as midrashic paraphrase in the NT.
The single most striking aspect of the thematic grouping of Paul's citations from Isaiah is the concentrated use of the citations in Romans to deal explicitly with the issue of Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus. When we consider the heavy concentration of these citations in Romans relative to Paul's use of other OT books there, particularly his use of Isaiah in Romans 9-11, it becomes evident that as Paul explained the relationship between Jew and Gentile to the Roman called-out Assembly he was reflecting primarily on, and drawing primarily from, the book of Isaiah. Based solely on the number of times he cites Isaiah with regard to this issue, although there are other compelling reasons as well, it is reasonable to conclude that no other single OT book influenced Paul's theology of Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus as much as Isaiah.
Paul cites Isaiah sixteen times in Romans, and eleven of these occur in Romans 9-11 where fifteen different verses from Isaiah are used (Isaiah 29:16 only counted once).
Moreover, Romans 9-11 contain a total of thirty citations from the OT, and the use of Isaiah constitutes more than one-third of the total, and far outweighs the use of any other single OT book in this section of Romans (Genesis - 3 citations [4 vv.]; Exodus - 2 citations; Hosea - 2 citations; Joel - 1 citation; Psalms - 3 citations [4 vv.]; Malachi -1 citation [2 vv.]; Deuteronomy - 3 citations [7 vv.]; 1 Kings - 2 citations [3 vv.]; 1 Samuel - 1 citation; Job - 1 citation).
Here we find a striking, concentrated use of the OT, and chiefly of Isaiah, in a critical argument concerning the Jew-Gentile-in-Jesus issue.
(1) Both Jews and Gentiles apart from Jesus are objects of wrath not mercy (Rom 2:24; 3:15-17).
(2) Both Gentiles and the remnant of Israel who accept the gospel of God's anointed one are included in the Davidic kingdom and its promises (9:27– 28, 29; 10:11; 11:26-27, 34; 15:12, 21).
(3) Many Jews reject the gospel the message about the coming kingdom of God and are cut off but the Gentiles believe and are included in the coming kingdom of God (9:20, 33; 10:15, 16, 20-21; 11:8).
(4) Romans 14:11 addresses the conflict between Jew and Gentile believers over differences of religious tradition. Thus, it also addresses the matter, but with respect to a specific pastoral concern.
In the remainder of Paul's citations we find more variety in the thematic grouping, although Galatians 4:27 does use Isaiah in the same thematic vein as we found in Romans. In his sole citation in Galatians Paul is dealing with the heresy of legalism. This probably should come as no surprise, given the close conceptual relationship that exists between Romans and Galatians.
In 1 Corinthians Isaiah is used to discuss God's wisdom in relation to man's (1:19), the lack of spiritual knowledge in the world compared with the Spirit's revelation in the called-out Assembly (2:9, 16), the abuse of glossolalia (14:21), and the resurrection (15:32, 54).
In 2 Corinthians the thematic grouping is no less diverse. Paul urges the Corinthians to accept God's reconciliation (6:2); he exhorts them to be separate from the world as the temple of God (6:17); and he encourages the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for the saints (9:10).
The diversity of Paul's thematic grouping of citations from Isaiah in the epistles other than Romans emphasizes even more the distinctiveness of his use of Isaiah in Romans.
There can be little doubt, based on the theological tendencies of Paul's use, that Isaiah was more influential than any other OT book in the formation of his response to the issue of Jew and Gentile in Jesus God's anointed one. Moreover, for the same reason, Isaiah appears to have had more explicit influence in Romans than in the other Pauline epistles. The other three Hauptbriefe do not exhibit this singular thematic orientation, although the only citation from Isaiah in Galatians does address the issue.
The use of Isaiah in Paul's speeches in Acts is noteworthy also. It appears that Luke has preserved the Pauline tradition accurately, if the use of Isaiah in his speeches is any indication. Two of the citations (Acts 13:22 = Isaiah 44:28; Acts 13:34 = Isaiah 55:3) are used to demonstrate the fulfillment of the Davidic promises in God's anointed one Jesus (cf. Romans 15:12). In another citation (Acts 13:47 = Isaiah 49:6) Luke records Paul's application to himself of a messianic text describing his own missionary role as a "light to the Gentiles" (cf. Romans 15:21). And in Acts 28:26-27 Luke records Paul's citation of Isaiah 6:9-10, pronouncing on his contemporary Jewish audience the "hardening" curse of Isaiah. All of these citations are addressing the debate over Jew and Gentile in God's anointed one Jesus.
Notice also: Both Paul and John use Isaiah 53:1 to make the same point: the Jews have rejected the gospel of Jesus God's anointed one. In point of fact, John's larger contextual argument is quite similar to Paul's. For example, John also emphasizes God's sovereignty in the hardening of Israel as the reason for their rejection of His anointed one Jesus (cf., John 12:36b-43 and Paul's argument in Romans 9:6-29; 10:5-21; 11:7-10).
There is no doubt, if the witness of the Gospels to Jesus' teaching is accepted, that it was Jesus himself who originated the approach to Isaiah that was followed by Paul. It was Jesus himself who first cited Isaiah 61:1-2 and then proclaimed, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:18-21); and it was Jesus himself who first taught the church that all the scriptures spoke of him (Luke 24:25-27, 44-45). Furthermore, it was Jesus' fervent apostle, Paul, gifted with a mind of creative theological ability, who more than any other single NT writer forged the path for the interpretation of Isaiah. In his citations from Isaiah, we see Paul at work enlarging the cache of Isaian testimonies available to the church in the defense and propagation of the gospel. But Paul's work was not accomplished in a vacuum.
He is breaking new interpretive ground by bringing an established interpretive tradition to bear on an increasing number of contexts in Isaiah. Jesus laid down the comprehensive hermeneutical framework for the called-out Assembly that all the scriptures spoke of him. Paul was busy finding the fulfillment of the ages there. But his work was always informed by the interpretive framework already laid down in the church by the lord Jesus. Finally, with regard to text form, it should be said that the same interpretive tradition that shaped Paul's choice of citations from various contexts in Isaiah also shaped his adaptations of text form. When Paul creatively modified text forms as a method of interpretation, not only was he careful and deliberate, he was also being influenced by the interpretive tradition of the nascent called-out Assembly.
He likely was the originator of several of his distinctive readings from Isaiah; he was not copying someone else's text form modification; but his framework controlled and shaped his original work. This same interpretive tradition may also play a formative role in what is often characterized as midrashic paraphrase in the NT.
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