The book of Isaiah is a product of history. The nature of that history and what it means that
Isaiah is a product of it are hardly matters of consensus in the field. Nonetheless Isaianic
scholarship has put its collective finger on the crux of the methodological problem. At the
heart of an historical understanding of this prophetic book lies a consideration of the word
history in two distinct but related applications. First what historical processes led to the
book's final form? How did Isaiah become a book? And second what kind of historical
representation does the book offer to the reader? How does Isaiah present the past? For most
scholars answering either question involves asking the other. To understand better the history
of Isaiah this volume of essays devotes itself to these two lines of inquiry and their
relationship.
