Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2001 Creation in Isaiah Wann M. Fanwar Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Fanwar, Wann M., "Creation in Isaiah" (2001). Dissertations. 47. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/47 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. 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Fan war April 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3007051 _ ___ (ft UMI UMI Microform 3007051 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT CREATION IN ISAIAH by Wann Marbud Fan war Adviser: Roy Gane Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: CREATION IN ISAIAH Name of researcher: Wann Marbud Fanwar Name and degree of faculty adviser: Roy Gane, PhD. Date completed: April 2001 This study investigates the role of creation thought in Isaiah in order to determine its relationship to Isaiah's concept of God as creator, especially as it pertains to his salvific work for and through Israel. This investigation is carried out in three steps. First, Isaiah's use of creation language, which involves specific explicit creation terms and implicit references (metaphors), is investigated. Second, selected creation texts, namely, 4:2-6; 43:1-7; 44:24-45:25; and 65:17-25, are exegeted. Third, Isaiah's creation thought is studied in relationship to other significant concepts in the book, such as salvation theology and redemption history, and God's salvific intention for and through Israel. The relationship between creation thought and Isaiah's concepts of holiness, judgment, and eschatology is also explored. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Isaiah's creation thought is often understood in one of three ways: as subordinate to salvation theology, as being a foundational concept, or as being inextricably linked to salvation theology. This study shows that Isaiah's creation thought is a foundational theme in Isaiah and occurs throughout the book, with a concentration in chaps. 40-55. It impacts the book structurally and conceptually, undergirding all other themes. Moreover, Isaiah's creation thought is multidimensional and functions on the cosmological (primordial), historical, and eschatological levels. Finally, the creation thought of Isaiah has important theological ramifications insofar as it is Isaiah's consummate conceptualization of God. This creator God transcends his creation and exercises total dominion over his creation. For Isaiah, God is first and foremost the creator and his consummate act is creation. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CREATION IN ISAIAH A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Wann Marbud Fanwar APP IMITTEE: Facul director, Ph.D./T m >. Program Roy E. Gane ndall W. Youiwer Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Languages /V\. Richard M.. Davidson Dean, SDA Theologicali J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament John K. McVay Interpretation Jacques B. Doukhan Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament egesis bn L. Dybdahl Professor of World Missions Ronald F. Youngblood itd'approved ^ Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Bethel Theological Seminary Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem ...................................................................................................3 Purpose of the Research ...............................................................................................4 Review of Literature ...................................................................................................4 Works on Creation in the O T ..................................................................................4 The Subordination of Creation Thought to Salvation Theology.......................6 The Foundational Nature of Creation Thought ................................................ 15 The Parity of Creation Thought and Salvation Theology ............................... 18 Works on Creation in Isaiah ..................................................................................22 Ihe Subordination of Creation Thought to Salvation Theology .................... 22 The Foundational Nature of Creation Thought ................................................ 30 The Parity of Creation Thought and Salvation Theology ............................... 32 Excursus: The Different Parts of Isaiah ................................................................... 38 Justification for the Research ....................................................................................47 Delimitations ..............................................................................................................48 Methodology ..............................................................................................................49 Chapter I. CREATION LANGUAGE IN ISA IA H ............................................................................51 Explicit Creation Vocabulary in Isaiah ................................................................... 51 The Verb ma ......................................................................................................... 52 Semantic and Syntactic Elements of an a ...........................................................53 Distribution of ma in Isaiah ................................................................................55 Isaianic Concepts of m a ...................................................................................... 55 The Verb u r ........................................................................................................... 60 Semantic and Syntactic Elements of up .........................................................61 Distribution of up in Isaiah ................................................................................63 Isaianic Concepts o f -i j p ...................................................................................... 63 The Verb n»» ......................................................................................................... 65 Semantic and Syntactic Elements of ntti? ...........................................................65 Distribution