This book analyzes the `strophic' structure of the poems in Isaiah 40-48 and discusses the consequence of this approach for their interpretation. Among other things, the autor takes a critical stand as to the `redaktionsgeschichtliche' approach of the poems concerned.

"In this volume, Pieter van der Lugt offers a comprehensive analysis of the rhetorical structure of Isaiah. As in his previous studies on the Book of Job and the Psalter the author demonstrates that classical Hebrew poetry displays a well-defined structure consisting of balanced main parts (cantos) and subdivision into strophes. This rhetorical starting point is of crucial importance for the delimitation of the individual poems in Isaiah 40-48 and in many cases determines their interpretation. Subsequently, it is demonstrated that the successive compositions form well-defined and coherent cycles of poems"--

The academic disciplines of Biblical Studies and Systematic Theology were long closely linked to one another. However, in the modern period they became gradually separated which led to increasing subject specialization, but also to a lamentable lacuna within the various branches of Divinity. As the lack of dialogue between Biblical Studies and the various theological disciplines increased, a minority-group of scholars in the past few decades reacted and sought to re-establish the time-honoured bonds between the disciplines. The present volume is part of this intellectual response, with contributions from scholars of various professional and denominational backgrounds. Together, the book's 25 chapters seek to reinvigorate the crucial cross-disciplinary dialogue, involving biblical, narrative, historical, systematic-theological and philosophic-theological perspectives. The book opens the horizon to contemporary research, and fills a lamentable research gap with a number of fresh contributions from scholars in the respective sub-disciplines

This monograph explores the structure and rhetoric of the book of Isaiah. Its thesis is twofold. First, the book of Isaiah best manifests its structural unity, thematic choherence and rhetorical emphasis when read as an exemplar of prophetic covenant disputation. Second, the principal arrangement of the book comprises seven asymmetrical concentric sections, each made up of complex (triadic and quadratic) framing patterns. They are: an exordium (1.1, 2-5), two threats of judgment (2.6-21; 3.1-4.1), two programmes for the punishment and restoration of Zion and the nations (4.2-11.16; 13.1-39.8), an exoneration of Yahweh (40.1-54.17), and an appeal for covenant reconciliation (55.1-66.24).

This dissertation presents the basic philosophical concepts of speech act theory in order to accurately implement them alongside other interpretive tools.

In The Present State of Old Testament Studies in the Low Countries fifteen leading scholars from Belgium and the Netherlands give an overview of their multifaceted and innovative research.