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Justice, Cult, and Salvation in Isaiah 56-59: a Literary-Theological Study Hudyard Y

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Justice, Cult, and Salvation in Isaiah 56-59: a Literary-Theological Study Hudyard Y Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2016 Justice, Cult, And Salvation In Isaiah 56-59: A Literary-Theological Study Hudyard Y. Muskita [email protected] This research is a product of the graduate program in Religion, Old Testament Studies PhD at Andrews University. Find out more about the program. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Muskita, Hudyard Y., "Justice, Cult, And Salvation In Isaiah 56-59: A Literary-Theological Study" (2016). Dissertations. 1645. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/1645 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]. ABSTRACT JUSTICE, CULT, AND SALVATION IN ISAIAH 56-59: A LITERARY-THEOLOGICAL STUDY by Hudyard Y. Muskita Adviser: Richard M. Davidson ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: JUSTICE, CULT, AND SALVATION IN ISAIAH 56-59: A LITERARY THEOLOGICAL STUDY Name of researcher: Hudyard Y. Muskita Name and degree of faculty adviser: Richard M. Davidson, PhD Date completed: October 2016 The main focus of this dissertation is the interconnection among the themes of justice, cult, and salvation in Isaiah 56-59. The investigation will analyze and explore the theological importance of these themes, which include questions such as, What are the descriptions of these themes in these chapters? How are they related to each other? As divine salvation is portrayed as moving back and forth from immanence to distance several times throughout this particular section of the book of Isaiah, what factors are responsible for this dynamic? What is the role of cult and social justice in this salvation? In what ways does cult affect the prevalence of justice within a community? This task is accomplished by performing a literary and theological analysis of these particular chapters in the book of Isaiah. Discussion of the literary aspects of the text employs a microstructural analysis, which starts with a syntactical display of each verse based on its strophic and clausal divisions. The display provides a basis for observation of formal rhetorical devices, especially parallelism, and for highlighting literary patterns, word repetitions, and verbal sequences, with their theological implications. This part of the study is covered in chapters 2 to 5 of the dissertation. Drawing on the findings provided in the previous chapters, chapter 6 presents systematic theological implications of the study. Thematically, the prophetic discourse in Isa 56-59 narrates God’s promise of salvation and its fulfillment. Within this thematic structure, the impossibility for humans to partake of this promised salvation is presented from social, physical, cultic, and moral perspectives. Against this backdrop, assurance of salvation is extended to those who are convinced that they (viz., foreigners and eunuchs) are excluded from it, and this assurance is also extended to God’s people, despite their moral failure. In this context, salvation is depicted as being bestowed on those who are undeserving of it; therefore it is unexpected and surprising. In Isa 56-59 the theme of salvation is presented, first and foremost, as initiated and established by God; it is the work of divine healing and restoration in humans. Yet, at the same time, in order for this process to be effective, a human response is needed. Furthermore, salvation is depicted as a quest for an encounter with the Divine, in which each member of the society may gain a meaningful and constructive experience from it on both personal and communal levels—as a result, it brings justice. It is from this particular perspective of salvation that cult plays a significant thematic role in Isa 56-59. As salvation begins with the right concept about God, in which both the people’s theological and social assumptions and practices can be in harmony with the divine character, the realization of these ideals enables salvation to be a tangible experience. In Isa 56, the description of salvation is saturated with cultic terminology. In Isa 57, the description and critique of social injustice is presented in parallel with a report of the practice of idolatry. In Isa 58, while the audience of the prophet is described as engaging in the “right” form of cultic activity, criticism over social injustice shows that worship and ethics go hand in hand. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary JUSTICE, CULT, AND SALVATION IN ISAIAH 56-59: A LITERARY-THEOLOGICAL STUDY A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Hudyard Y. Muskita October 2016 © Copyright by Hudyard Y. Muskita 2018 All Rights Reserved JUSTICE, CULT, AND SALVATION IN ISAIAH 56-59: A LITERARY-THEOLOGICAL STUDY A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Hudyard Y. Muskita APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: _______________________________ _________________________________ Faculty Adviser, Richard M. Davidson Director of Ph.D./Th.D. Program J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Thomas Shepherd Testament Interpretation _______________________________ _________________________________ Roy E. Gane Dean, SDA Theological Seminary Professor of Hebrew Bible and Jiří Moskala Near Eastern Languages _______________________________ Jacques B. Doukhan Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis _______________________________ _________________________________ David W. Baker Date approved Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... xiv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... xvii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 Preliminary Considerations ........................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................... 15 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................. 16 Limits and Scope of the Study ................................................................... 16 Methodology .............................................................................................. 17 The Working Procedure ............................................................................. 20 Determining the Boundaries of the Passage............................................... 21 Isaiah 56-59 as a Unit ................................................................................. 25 Arguments from the Rhetorical Pattern ..................................................... 26 2. ISAIAH 56:1-8: THE UNIVERSAL SCOPE OF SALVATION; SALVATION IS CULTIC IN NATURE .......................................................... 29 Stanza 1: Announcement of Salvation (Isa 56:1-2) ................................... 30 Strophe 1: The Call to Keep Justice and to Practice Righteousness (Isa 56:1) ................................................................ 30 Isa 56:1 – The Call to Keep Justice and Practice Righteouness ............................................................................ 30 Isa 56:1a – The Prophetic Messenger Formula .............................. 31 Isa 56:1b – Command to Keep Justice ........................................... 31 Isa 56:1c – Reason for the Command ............................................ 32 Strophe 2: Promise of Blessing (Isa 56:2) ........................................... 33 Stanza 2: God’s Speech to the Outsiders (Isa 56:3-7) ............................... 39 Strophe 1: Speeches of Foreigners and Eunuchs (Isa 56:3) ................. 40 Isa 56:3 – Speeches of Foreigners and Eunuchs ............................ 40 Isa 56:3a – Introduction of the Foreigner ....................................... 41 iii Isa 56:3aB – Speech of the Foreigner ............................................ 41 Isa 56:3b – Speech of the Eunuchs ................................................ 42 Strophe 2: God’s Speech to the Eunuchs (Isa 56:4-5) ......................... 43 Isa 56:4-5 – God’s Speech to the Eunuchs .................................... 43 Isa 56:4ab – Characteristics of the Eunuchs .................................. 44 Isa 56:5 – The Gifts to the Eunuchs ............................................... 48 Strophe 3: God’s Speech to Foreigners (Isa 56:6-7a) .......................... 51 Isa 56:6-7a – God’s Speech to the Foreigners ............................... 51 Isa 56:6ac – Characteristics of the Foreigners ............................... 52 Isa 56:6b – The Motivations of the Foreigners in Joining the Lord ....................................................................... 53 Isa 56:7a – The Gifts to the Foreigners .........................................
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