Otero, Juan José (2020) The fear of God in Isaiah. MTh(R) thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/81460/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The Fear of God in Isaiah By Juan José Otero A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Master of Theology at the University of Glasgow in partnership with Edinburgh Theological Seminary 2020 The Fear of God in Isaiah Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................. 5 General Abbreviations ....................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 7 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 8 1. Basis for the present research ............................................................... 8 2. A brief note on authorship .................................................................. 10 3. The fear of God in Isaiah: a general overview ................................... 12 4. One Century into the fear of God ....................................................... 13 Chapter 1: Semantic range of ‘fear’ and ‘dread’.............................................. 16 1. 1 Seven Types of Meaning ................................................................. 16 1. 2. Current debates on Semantical range ............................................. 22 1. 3 Five Hebrew terms .......................................................................... 24 25 .................................................... מֹורָ א (môrāʾ (noun – fear 1 .3 .1 29 ............................................... יִרְ אָ ה (yı̂ rʾâ (noun - fear, awe 2 .3 .1 30 ........................................ פַחַד (pāḥaḏ (verb – to fear, dread 3 .3 .1 33 .....................................................ירא (yāreʾ (verb – to fear 4 .3 .1 36 ................................................. ערץ (aratz (verb - to terrify 5 .3 .1 1. 4 Additional Hebrew ‘fear’ words in Isaiah ....................................... 37 1. 5 Fear of God in Isaiah as translated by the Septuagint ..................... 40 1. 6 Conclusions from our survey of the terminology relating to fear in Isaiah ................................................................................................................ 43 Chapter 2: Exploration of Selected Passages in Isaiah .................................... 47 2. 1 Exploration of Isaiah 2:6-22 ............................................................ 47 2. 1. 1 The argument of the context .............................................. 48 2. 1. 2 A brief semantic analysis on the fear of God ..................... 51 2. 1. 5 God’s wrath in judgement on the day of the Lord ............. 53 2. 1. 7 The fear of God upon the godly and the ungodly .............. 57 2. 2 Exploration of Isaiah 6:1-12 ............................................................ 60 2. 2. 1 The argument of the context .............................................. 60 2. 2. 2 The prophet’s fear of God .................................................. 62 2. 2. 3 The nuances of the fear of God .......................................... 64 2. 2. 4 A case for “Stages” in the fear of God ............................... 67 2. 2. 5 Forgiveness in God alone ................................................... 68 2. 3 Exploration of Isaiah 8:12-13 .......................................................... 70 2. 3. 1 The argument of the context .............................................. 70 2. 3. 2 Conspiracy Theories in Isaiah 8:5-8 .................................. 71 2. 3. 3 To fear God alone: Isaiah 8:11-14 ..................................... 72 2 2. 3. 4 The nuances of the fear of God .......................................... 77 2. 4 Exploration of Isaiah 11 .................................................................. 78 2. 4. 1 The argument of the context .............................................. 79 2. 4. 2 On unity .............................................................................. 81 2. 4. 3 The grandest discontinuity of the kingly office ................. 83 2. 5 Exploration of Isaiah 25:3 ............................................................... 98 2. 5. 1 The argument of the context .............................................. 98 2. 5. 2 God’s universal love ........................................................ 102 2. 5. 3 Nuances of the fear of God .............................................. 103 2. 6 Exploration of Isaiah 29:13 and 29:23 .......................................... 104 2. 6. 1 The argument of the context ............................................ 104 2. 6. 2 The nuances in the false fear of God of Isaiah 29:13 ....... 105 2. 6. 3 The nuances of the fear of God in the “promise” (29:23) 108 2. 7 Exploration of Isaiah 33:6 ............................................................. 110 2. 7. 1 The argument of the context ............................................ 110 2. 7. 2 Fear analysed in Isaiah 33 ................................................ 112 2. 7. 3 The nuances of the fear of God ........................................ 114 2. 8. Exploration of Isaiah 50:10 .......................................................... 115 2. 8. 1 The argument of the context ............................................ 115 2. 8. 2 The God-fearing Servant .................................................. 116 2. 8. 3 Obedience and the God-fearing Servant .......................... 118 2. 9 Exploration of Isaiah 57:11 ........................................................... 121 2. 9. 1 The argument of the context ............................................ 121 2. 9. 2 Idolatry and the fear of God ............................................. 123 2. 9. 3 The nuances of the fear of God ........................................ 124 2. 10 Exploration of Isaiah 59:19 ......................................................... 125 2. 10. 1 The argument of the context .......................................... 125 2. 10. 2 To fear God’s name ........................................................ 126 2. 10. 3 The nuances of the fear of God ...................................... 128 2. 11 Exploration of Isaiah 63:17 ......................................................... 129 2. 11. 1 The argument of the context .......................................... 129 2. 11. 2 The fear of God in Isaiah’s prayer ................................. 132 2. 12 Exploration of Isaiah 66:1-5 ........................................................ 133 2. 12. 1 The argument of the context .......................................... 133 2. 12. 2 Trembling at God’s word ............................................... 135 2. 12. 3 The nuances of the fear of God ...................................... 136 2. 13 The fear of God in Isaiah: summary of points ............................. 139 2. 14 Recurrent Subjects ....................................................................... 141 Chapter 3: Isaiah’s fear of God in relationship to other theological themes in Isaiah .............................................................................................................. 142 3. 1 Fear of God and Wisdom ..................................................... 142 3. 2 Fear of God and Idolatry ...................................................... 145 3. 3 Isaiah’s three pillars: justice, righteousness and holiness .... 152 3. 4 Fear of God and Judgement ................................................. 155 3. 5 Fear of God and Knowledge of Yahweh.............................. 158 3 3. 6 Fear of God linked to Peace ................................................. 160 3. 7 Fear of God and the Coming King ....................................... 163 Chapter 4 Final Analysis ................................................................................ 171 4. 1 Should ‘fear’ still be included in the fear of God? ........................ 172 4. 2 Reverence is also present in the Old Testament ............................ 174 4. 3 Rereading the fear of God in a Peruvian context........................... 178 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 184 Appendix 1: Bibliography .............................................................................. 187 4 Abstract This dissertation examines the role of the fear of God in relation to the prophecy of Isaiah. The fear of God is widely known as the motto and principle regent of the Sages writings, nonetheless it is hardly known as a constant force in the writings of the prophet Isaiah, even equalising Proverbs in references to it. The latter situation is addressed to correct it as the book presents an unprecedented plethora of contexts, situations and usages of the fear of God. In view of