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I and Eye in Isaiah, or Gazing at the Invisible

2012; Society of Biblical Literature; Volume: 131; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/23488213

1934-3876

LANDY,

Archaeology and Historical Studies

In this article discuss the relationship between prophetic self-construction in Isaiah and the self-effacement mandated by the prophets role as mediator of the divine vision. The homophone I/Eye expresses both the identification and absorp tion of the prophet in his vision, and the potential opposition between the prophet and what he sees, the prophet as a site of resistance to the prophecy. will devote most of my discussion to ch. 6, which is both the first autobiographical passage in the book and its inaugural vision. will examine different approaches to the para dox of the Verstockungsauftrag, the prophet's commission to speak so as to prevent communication of the divine message. Each of these approaches constructs the prophetic persona differently, as well as the gap between vision and interpretation. will then turn to some other texts that concern the relationship of the prophet to the message, in particular in chs. 7; 20; and 61. focus on the relationship between the I and the Eye, between the prophet and the vision, as a way of thinking about the problem of poetic unity of the book of Isaiah and of a language that will communicate the prophetic experience. This has been the subject of intense discussion over the last thirty or so years, from both literary and historical perspectives.1 In the superscription (1:1), the book of Isaiah