Book publication: Isaiah between Judaism and Christianity

The research project IJCB (Isaiah between Judeo-Christian Borderlines), that has received financial support from The Polin Institute (for the years 2022-2024) and from the Academy of Finland (for the period 1.9. 2022 – 31.8. 2026), has a new publication Isaiah between Judaism and Christianity. Early Christian Reception and Interpretation (Mohr Siebeck, 2026). The publication has the JUFO-level 3. The book is edited by Tobias Nicklas, Judith König, Stefan Green and Antti Laato.

The IJCB -project focuses on the relationship between the early Christian interpretation of the Book of Isaiah (BI) and the reception history of the same in Early Judaism. It will contribute new knowledge about the ways in which the Jewish reception of the BI influenced the Christian interpretation, and how these interpretive themes continued in the early Church. It also deepens the understanding of the development of anti-Judaic theology in early Christianity.

Citatation from the Mohr Siebeck’s webside:

The contributors to this volume illustrate the way in which exegesis of the book of Isaiah was developed in early Christianity. Reception unfolded within spaces opened, shaped, and defined along Judaeo-Christian borderlines. The book of Isaiah was of utmost importance to the first Jesus followers and their literary production, particularly in the way they articulated their beliefs. Consequently, scholars have often referred to Isaiah as »the fifth Gospel.«
The present volume collects investigations into the specific ways the book of Isaiah was received in various early Christian contexts – from the canonical gospels to early Syriac Christian literature. The contributors explore the different modes and purposes of reading Isaiah and integrating its ideas, style, and concepts into new writings.

Table of contents:

Using Isaiah in the New Testament
Judith König/Tobias Nicklas: The Reception History of Isa 40:3 in the First to Third Century CE: Puzzle Pieces and Emerging Patterns – Lukas Bormann: The Influence of the Book of Isaiah on Luke-Acts – Lotta Valve: Isaiah and the Baptist in John 1 – Jan Dochhorn: Virginal Birth and Isa 7:14: The Background of a Myth

Using Isaiah in Early Christian Writings
Stefan Green: The Question of Identification in Justin Martyr’s The Dialogue with Trypho and His Use of Isa 65:1-3 – Sven-Olav Back: ’A Seed for Salvation’ (Isa 1:9/Dial. 55.3): Justin Martyr on the Ability to Understand the Scriptures – Antti Laato: Jacob Is Christ: Justin Martyr between Jewish Isaiah-Exegesis and Christological Explanations – Simon Johansson: Angelomorphic Features, Charismatic Manifestations, and Triadic Formulas: Isa 11:2-3a and Pneumatology in Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyon, and Tertullian – Michael Sommer: Isa 58 and the Making of Early Christian Ethics: A Short Glimpse on the Reception of a Prophet in the Second Century

Using Isaiah in Anti-Jewish Polemical Contexts
Martin Meiser: Describing Misbehavior and Misusing Scripture: Jewish Self-Criticism and Christian Anti-Jewish Criticism – Carl Johan Berglund: Isaiah’s Act of Accusation (Isa 1:2-20) in Early Christian Anti-Jewish Polemics – AnneMarie Pilarski: Jews in the Margin(alia): Exegetical Patterns in the Interpretatio Isaiae (CPG 6559) Attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem

Isaiah in Early Syriac Christian Literature
Serafim Seppälä: The Fifth Gospel? The Christological Use of Isaiah in Ephrem the Syrian – Topias Tanskanen: Aphrahat’s Use of Isaiah in Demonstrations: Two Case Studies

Isaiah in Hymnological Context
Anni Maria Laato: Isaiah and the Christological Titles in the O-Antiphon Clavis David

More information on the publication can be found here.