Prophecy and quotation: A methodological study

The existence of numerous verbal parallels within the prophetic books of the Old Testament presents an exegetical problem due to a lack of clarity in the use of terminology, the complexity of the literature, and the resultant difficulty in identifying, explaining the nature of the dependence, and interpreting what appear to be "prophetic quotations." This thesis surveys past studies of the phenomenon, seeks new methodological insights through the examination of quotation in non-prophetic literatures, and suggests a new approach, applying it to five representative verbal parallels involving the book of Isaiah. Part one notes in particular the contribution of past studies to the question of methodology and summarizes and evaluates the use of "prophetic quotation" in Old Testament scholarship, such as in the dating of the literature, text criticism, the positing of "schools," inner-biblical interpretation, and the issues of prophetic authority and the growth of the canon. Part two surveys the use and analysis of quotation in other literatures, namely that of the ancient near east (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ugarit), early Judaism (Ben Sira and the Qumran Hodayoth), Old Testament wisdom and narrative (proverbial sayings and other speakers), and the western literary heritage. It notes how widespread, diverse, and versatile quotation is and how scholars, though encountering similar problems, have made considerable progress in analyzing the phenomenon in their respective literatures. Part three summarizes the insights into quotation which have been gained from the comparative study and employs them in proposing a new model for analyzing verbal parallels which utilizes several criteria in identifying quotation and combines diachronic with synchronic analysis. This approach is then applied to the analysis of Isa 11:6-9 // 65:25; Isa 8:15 // 28:13; Isa 40:3,10 // 57:14 // 62:10-11; Isa 2:2-4 // Mic 4:1-3; Isaiah 15-16 // Jeremiah 48. The thesis concludes by summarizing the problems which remain and the implications of this study for the future analysis of prophetic quotation.