God’s Delight in His Just Servant
Isaiah 42:1-4
“Lo, Your Salvation Comes” – The Messiah in Isaiah Special Series
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My task in analyzing Isaiah 42:1-4 will be two-fold. First, to explore Isaiah’s statement within the context of his entire prophecy, especially chapters 40-55. Second, to understand the significance of New Testament connections to this passage.
Old Testament Prophecy and Isaiah’s Work
Standard Old Testament (OT) prophecy was what we would consider inspired preaching. God’s spokesmen bore God’s word to Israel regarding contemporary concerns. They did predict the near future with regularity. Less frequently prophecy extended beyond the near future in ways that even the prophets could not full grasp (1 Pet. 1:10-12). Such prophecies typically had dual fulfillments—both initial and Messianic. OT prophecies rarely have only Messianic fulfillment. Restoration prophecies, within which many Messianic prophecies are found, had initial fulfillment in the return from Babylonian exile; however, this restoration paled in comparison to the glorious restoration promised by God’s prophets (Hag. 2:6-9). Therefore, God’s people in Jesus’ day still awaited the Messiah’s return and Israel’s deliverance. Passages like Isaiah 42:1-4 contributed to this expectation.
Isaiah’s prophecies have an intensifying structure. They begin with the contemporary and end with full fledged Messianic expectation. Isaiah 8-11 is an example. Through the prediction of a child’s birth, Isaiah reveals to Ahaz in Isaiah 7-8 that God is with them (which carries both positive and negative connotation. He is with them for deliverance and judgment). As Jeff Smelser has detailed in his earlier chapter, Isaiah 7 was initially fulfilled in the time of Ahaz and Isaiah; however, the prophetic unit culminates in chapters 9 and 11 when Isaiah promises that a child will be born to take David’s throne. Upon him “The Spirit of the LORD will rest” (Isa. 11:1-2). Hezekiah may fit aspects of these prophecies, especially chapter 9 if it can be understood that royal language is often superlative in nature and not literal, but by chapter 11 the child turns the world back into an Eden-like paradise (Isa. 11:6-9). I am hesitant to claim that a prophecy only has Messianic fulfillment, but it is difficult to see how anyone but the Messiah fulfills chapter 11. This is the nature of Isaiah’s prophecy. He presents a thorough account of God’s work in the past, present, and future.
Isaiah 40-66 is unique among the prophets in that Yahweh highlights His ability to predict the distant future. Similarly, Isaiah’s eschatology (end times language) goes beyond that of Ezekiel or Daniel. He speaks of “new heavens and new earth” (Isa. 65:17; 66:22). His message reaches from creation to eternity (re-creation). Not only does Isaiah’s prophecy contain numerous duel fulfillments, but I suggestion that in a few text Isaiah exalts Yahweh’s agent in a way only the Messiah can fulfill. In the servant passages this agent of Yahweh becomes what Israel did not—Yahweh’s light to the nations. Not only will the servant redeem Israel, but He will “bring forth Justice to the nations.” Thus fulfilling the Abrahamic promise to bless the whole earth (Gen 12:3).
Authorship of Isaiah
Although no manuscript evidence indicates that Isaiah was originally two or three books put into one, it is common for chapters 40-55 to be referred to as “second-Isaiah,” and chapters 56-66 to be called “third-Isaiah.” The reason for these designations relates to authorship. It is believed by many that “second-Isaiah” was written after the exile, and that “third-Isaiah” was written after the return from exile while Jerusalem still lay in ruins. These views, though common even among conservative scholars, neglect the significance of what Yahweh is doing through Isaiah in chapters 40-48.
I do not wish to delve into the nature of inspired authorship; however, it should be noted that Scripture itself attests to the fact that multiple hands sometimes took part in the writing of Scripture. Joshua, or another inspired man, completed parts of the Torah after Moses’s death (Deut. 34). Baruch wrote and organized Jeremiah’s prophecy. What we read as Jeremiah is at minimum the 3rd edition, and Baruch did not start writing down prophecies until years after Jeremiah spoke them (Jer. 36:1-4, 23, 32; 51:60). The “men of Hezekiah” collected and organized the proverbs of Solomon (Prov. 25:1). We do not even know who wrote certain books in the OT (Chronicles, Kings, etc), or who organized the Psalms, yet Jesus accepted what we call the OT as Scripture (Luke 24:44). Therefore, these truths present no threat to inspiration.
Isaiah fails to make sense, or be honest, if it was written by multiple authors in time periods after “predicted” events. Isaiah never claimed to the be the author of his work. It is written in the third person about Isaiah; however, it is conveying his visions (Isa. 1:1; 2:1). The truth is we do not know how the words got on the scroll. What matters is that these were Isaiah’s visions and they were seen and revealed well before the Babylonian exile. The evidence against Isaiah’s unity is weak (Vasholz, 389-94). The work of Doderlein, Duhm, Eichhorn, and others that created multiple author theories, has essentially been disproven. Many modern scholars will not even use Duhm’s phrase “servant songs” because it implies these sections were not original to the text. Unfortunately, multiple author theories remains (Oswalt, 33-41).
Overview of Isaiah
Isaiah prophesied in the 8th century BC. The second part of the book anticipates Judah’s release from exile in Babylon. These events would not take place for almost 300 years. The simple structure of Isaiah matches the prophetic norm. He first spoke of judgment on Israel and Judah (Isa. 1-12), including brief glimpses of end times hope. Second, he pronounced judgment on the nations (Isa. 13-39). God also promised hope for the nations by means of a redeemer. Isaiah 19:16-25 reveals God’s desire for all the nations to follow him. God will send to Egypt “a Savior and Champion, and He will deliver them….The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord…” (Isa. 19:20, 22). Chapters 36-39 provide historical evidence of God’s control over His own people and the nations. Finally, Isaiah proclaimed the hope of Israel’s restoration (Isa. 40-66). God would comfort His people forever and His glory would fill the earth. The influence of the holy city would expand to encompass all nations (Isa. 60). For my purposes the second part of Isaiah will be discussed in various ways. Chapters 40-48 contain God’s challenge of the idols. Chapters 40-55 consist of a literary unit that includes four specific servant sections, one of which is our text (42:1-4). Chapters 40-66 make up the second half of the prophecy, and contain numerous references to “my servant” or “my servants” even outside of the four sections that discuss the servant of Yahweh. I will use all three ranges as I discuss my topic.
Isaiah 40-48: “Besides Me there is no God”
Isaiah 40 begins with the command to comfort Jerusalem (40:1). Isaiah then proclaims the might of God (40:10-31), and mocks idols (40:18-20). These themes are revisited multiple times in the remaining chapters of Isaiah. God interrogates the idols in a trial like setting. “‘Present your case,’ the Lord says. ‘Bring forward your strong arguments…’” (41:21). God’s ability to predict the distant future is highlighted against the idols impotence. “Declare the things that are going to come afterward, that we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together” (41:23). What follows is a glorification of Yahweh and an onslaught of mockery against pagan deities. Isaiah systematically contrasts Yahweh and idols:
Yahweh:
• Created the heavens and the earth, and formed man (45:18; 43:7,21).
• Has power over the nations (40; 41:25-29; 44:26-28).
• Declared new things that will come to pass (41:4; 42:9; 46:10-11).
• Delivered His people and brought redemption (42:13; 43:1; 44:1-5; 49:22-23; 53).
• Glorified His people (41:10-16; 55:5).
• Brought glory to Himself (41:16; 43:20-21; 44:23; 48:11-14).
The Idols:
• Are created by man (40:19-20; 44:9-20).
• Have no control over the nations and are worthless (42:24,27).
• Cannot predict the future. They cannot do good or evil (41:21-24).
• They cannot deliver those who worship them (44:17; 45:20; 46:7).
• They bring shame on their worshippers (44:9-20; 45:16).
Reading Isaiah 40-48 in a single sitting will help the reader see the consistency of Isaiah’s polemic. Yahweh is eternal and everlasting (40:28). The idols must be created (40:19). Yahweh strengthens, upholds, helps, and redeems His people (41:10-16). Idols must be built in a manner that will keep them from tottering (40:19-20). They have no power and their “work amounts to nothing” (41:24). Idol worshippers expend their strength building their god with their own strong arm (44:12). They must carry their god from place to place (46:7). Yahweh strengthens His followers and carries them with His strong arm (c.f., 40:28-31; 41:10). Yahweh goes forth like a warrior (42:13), while the idol “does not move from its place” (46:7). The idol cannot answer or hear when their human creator cries out to them “deliver me, for you are my god” (44:17; 45:20; 46:7). Yahweh “will grant salvation in Zion” (Isa. 46:13), and “has redeemed His servant Jacob” (Isa. 48:20). All of these points should make clear to the reader that the central thesis of Isaiah 40-48 is Yahweh’s claim to sole divine authority in the world. With minor variations the phrase “Besides Me there is no God” appears no less than twelve times (Isa. 40:18, 25; 41:4; 43:10-13; 44:6,8; 45:5-7,14, 18, 21-22; 46:5,9).
Yahweh made these predictions to preempt the stubborn nature of His people. “I know you are obstinate…Therefore I declared them to you long ago, before they took place I proclaimed them to you, so that you would not say, ‘My idols has done them…” (Isa. 48:4-5). Yahweh is incomparable. His plans will be accomplished. He will accomplish His ultimate plans for Jerusalem by means of His servant. With a basic grasp of Isaiah’s focus in chapters 40-55 we may now focus more specifically on the servant passages, especially Isaiah 42:1-4.
The Servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 40-66
There are four distinct texts that discuss God’s servant. Rather than the traditional “servant songs” I will refer to these as “servant sections.” The four servant sections of Isaiah frame chapters 40-55 (42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:1-11; 52:13-53:12). Each text is preceded by exodus imagery and is followed by hymnody (Story, 103-4). The servant is also mentioned outside of these distinct texts. At times the “servant” is Israel or Jacob (Isa. 41:8). At other times the “servant” is an individual (Isa. 53). The interpretive difficulty of the servant passages reaches to pre-Christian times. The Septuagint (LXX) translators add the words “Israel” and “Jacob” in Isaiah 42:1 to correspond to Isaiah 41:8 and 49:3, but they are absent in the Hebrew text. It seems they were trying to unify the portrayal of the servant. Origen’s Contra Celsum reveals that confusion existed in the late second century AD over whether or not the servant was the whole nation or a single person (Origen, Contra Celsum, 54-55). In Chapter 55 Origen explains his argument against the servant being exclusively the nation of Israel:
But we seemed to press them hardest with the expression, “Because of the iniquities of My people was He led away unto death.” For if the people, according to them, are the subject of the prophecy, how is the man said to be led away to death because of the iniquities of the people of God, unless he be a different person from that people of God?
Ancient rhetoric could fluidly move from personal to corporate and vise versa. Origen’s point reveals that the servant cannot be exclusively understood as the nation. On the other hand, passages like Isaiah 41:8-14 hardly sound like the description of a single, Messiah figure. Isaiah 41:14 says “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel.” In one breathe Isaiah parallels “Jacob” and “men of Israel.” More troubling is the reference to the servant as a “worm.” Yahweh promises not to reject this servant, and says He will help and uphold him. Yahweh says, “who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?” (Isa. 42:19). In Isaiah 43 the servant becomes a witness of Yahweh’s glory after having to be convinced that Yahweh truly is God. Again, this does not align with a faithful servant. This “servant” was rebellious despite being God’s chosen people. The context repeatedly reveals that God redeems this chosen servant from his own stubborn ways. “So I will act on behalf of My servants in order not to destroy all of them” (Isa. 65:8). How do we make sense of Isaiah’s servant?
The first step in understanding what Isaiah is doing with the servant in Isaiah 40-66 is to realize that there is not one servant. The failure to grasp this point is the greatest source of confusion in Isaiah 40-66. Hundreds of writings have sought to find “the servant” of Isaiah. “Already in 1948, C. R. North could list 250 works devoted to these passages” (Longman, 314). These interpreters are asking a question the text does not aim to answer. If Isaiah, and God, wanted us to know specifically who “the servant” was he would not have been so vague in his language. As I have argued in an essay called “The Servant Persona in Isaiah 40-55,” qualities are attributed to the servant that various people could generally match. Gene Smillie convincingly argues in his essay “Isaiah 42:1-4 in its Rhetorical Context” that Isaiah purposely presents two contrasting “servants.” One is the sinful servant in need of redemption. The second is a faithful servant who will accomplish God’s plan for Israel and the world. This servant is personal, yet he also represents Israel in his redemptive work to the nations. If Smillie is correct, and I believe he is, a search for an single servant is flawed.
Contrasting the Sinful Servant and the Suffering Servant
Isaiah 40-53 contrasts two servants. The sinful servant is Israel. This servant is introduced in Isaiah 41:8-16. While the nations will tremble at Yahweh’s presence, He tells His people “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isa. 41:10). Israel becomes the object of God’s compassion and mercy. God promises this servant His abiding presence. “Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God…I will help you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 41:10, 14). This servant needs comfort and redemption. He needs assurance that God has not rejected him. Israel needs the proclamation of Isaiah 40:2: “call out to her, that her hard service has ended, that her iniquity is atoned for.” Most of Isaiah 41-48 focuses on the nation of Israel as Yahweh’s servant—His chosen people. They have failed, but God will redeem.
The Just servant is introduced in Isaiah 42:1-4. This servant is not the object of God’s mercy, but of His delight:
Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth Justice to the nations.
He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He
will faithfully bring forth Justice.
He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established Justice in the earth;
And the Coastlands will wait expectantly for His law
The just servant will act faithfully and bring forth justice. Justice is mentioned three times in 42:1-4. God will redeem and vindicate the sinful servant (Isa. 41:15-16), but the faithful servant will bring justice to the nations. He is the antithesis of what would be expected from a dominating ruler. Rather than crushing the enemy, He will deal gently with them. He will not take advantage of the weak and defeated (42:3). The Gentiles will wait for His Law (Torah). Verses 1 and 4 would shock any Israelite. Justice and the Torah were for God’s people, but now Yahweh’s servant would bring justice and Torah to the nations.
God looked among His servant Israel for someone to speak the good news in Zion of return from exile: “But when I look, there is no one, and there is no counselor among them who, if I ask, can give an answer. Behold, all of them are false; their works are worthless, their molten images are wind and emptiness.” God looked and found “no one” in 41:28, but in 42:1 he proclaims “Look, My Servant.” Israel’s works are “worthless,” but His servant will “bring forth Justice.” Israel’s idols are “wind (spirit) and emptiness.” Isaiah makes a play on this word in 42:1 when Yahweh says of the just servant “I have put My Spirit (wind) upon Him.” The servant of Isaiah 41:8-10 and the servant of Isaiah 42:1-4 are not the same servant
From 42:5 until 48:22 Isaiah predicts the action of God to redeem Israel His servant. He reminds Israel of her sins (Isa. 42:22-28), but then offers mercy (43:1-5). He reveals His plan to use a pagan ruler to bring them out of exile (44:24-45:4). He would make His people glorious again in Zion (45:25; 46:13). He would bring judgment on Babylon and redeem Jacob (47-48). This sets up the next servant section in Isaiah 49:1. The task of the just servant was to “bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered” (Isa. 49:5). Essentially, the just servant would help accomplish what had been promised to Israel in the sections between 42:1-4 and 49:1-6.
Isaiah 42 and Messianic Expectation
Isaiah 42:1-4 and 52:13-53:12 both speak of the just servant in the third person. The two middle texts (Isa. 49:1-6; 50:1-11) refer to the just servant in the first person.
• Third person: “My Servant…I have put My Spirit upon Him…” Isa. 42:1
• First person: “He said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel…” Isa. 49:3
• First Person: “The LORD God has given Me the tongue of disciples… Behold, the LORD God helps Me…who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His Servant…” Isa. 50:4,9-10.
• Third Person: “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” Isa. 52:13
An overly simplistic explanation is that Isaiah or future prophets are the subject of the two middle texts. An eschatological figure (Messiah) is the focus of the first and fourth texts. Isaiah’s hearers likely heard all four sections in the context of return from exile. By the post-exilic period Jews realized that Isaiah’s prophecies were not fulfilled by return from exile.
The flow of Isaiah 40-55 is important. First, the structure highlights the contrast between the sinful versus the just servant. Second, the four servant sections build to a crescendo in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 42 briefly introduces the hearer to an exalted end-times figure. Isaiah 49 and 50 speak of a servant who struggles to turn the sinful servant back to God. Many figures fit the description of the just servant in Isaiah 49 and 50. Paul even quotes Isaiah 49:6 in application to himself and Barnabas (Acts 13:47). The fourth servant section again presents an exalted end-times figure. “My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (Isa. 52:13). He will die “for the transgressions of my people” (Isa. 53:8). “The Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities….He himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53:11-12). “He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth” (Isa. 42:4) is a subtle but direct connection to Isaiah 53:10, “But the LORD was pleased to crush him…” The just servant of Isaiah 42 is the servant of Isaiah 53. While certain figures may fit aspects of Isaiah 42 and 53, they are fully realized in the Messiah. My focus is Isaiah 42, but it is safe at this point to assume that connections to Isaiah 42 are likely also connected to Isaiah 53 (cf. Isa. 11:1; 53:2). As we move forward, I hope to reveal the interconnectivity of Isaiah’s prophecies.
Messianic expectation in Isaiah 42:1-4 also comes from its strong connections to Isaiah 11:1-11 and 61:1-5. Both of these texts point to an end-times figure who will bring justice, righteousness, and peace. Isaiah 11:2 says, “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him.” Of the servant it is said, “I will put My Spirit upon Him” (Isa. 42:1). The rest of the context also fits the message of Isaiah 42. The “shoot” will be a just and righteous judge (Isa. 11:4-5; 42:1,4). He is described as “faithful” (Isa. 11:5; 42:3). “in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse…His resting place will be glorious” (Isa. 11:10). Similarly, the chosen servant of Isaiah 42 will bring justice to the nations (Isa. 42:1). The man of Isaiah 11 will delight in God (Isa. 11:3), and the servant of Isaiah 42 is the object of God’s delight (Isa. 42:1).
The content of Isaiah 61 corresponds to Isaiah 11 and 42. “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted…” (Isa. 61:1). In Isaiah 11 the end-times figure will judge the afflicted of the earth with fairness (Isa. 11:4). In Isaiah 42:3 the servant will not break the damaged reed or put out the struggling wick. He is a just and compassionate ruler. All three texts are housed within the exodus motif. Each text is followed by a hymn of thanksgiving (Isa. 12; 42:10-13; 61:10-11). The surrounding texts focus on the release of captives (Isa. 11:11-16; 41:27; 42:7; 61:1), restoration of God’s city (Isa. 11:60:10-18; 61:4, and the reconciliation of not just Israel but the whole world (Isa. 42:1,4; 61:11; 62:7). The most grand of these is found in Isaiah 59-60 leading up to the proclamation of Isaiah 61. This is followed by the glory of Zion portrayed in Isaiah 62. They will be called “Sought out, a city not forsaken” (Isa. 62:12). God will “delight in” Zion again, and He “will rejoice” over her (Isa. 62:4-5). “The LORD God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” The nations will flow to Zion (Isa. 2:1-5; 42:1,4; 60:10; 61:5). The impetus for this is the just servant. The Qumran document 11Q13 proves that Jews understood Isaiah 61 to be a Messianic text two hundred years before Jesus’ ministry (11Q Melchizedek). This may give context to NT focus in Isaiah when proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. Melchizedek as the Messiah figure in 11Q13 provides perspective on Hebrews 7.
Isaiah 42:1-4 and the New Testament
Matthew makes at least three references to Isaiah 42:1-4, including a full quotation in Matthew 12:18-21. The context of this citation related to Jesus’ ministry. John the baptist sent disciples to ask “Are You the Expected One…” (Matt. 11:3). Jesus replied, “The blind receive sight” (Isa. 35:5) and “the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Isa. 61:1). The second is important because of its closeness in proximity to the full quotation of Isaiah 42:1-4. Moments later, if you imagine the Gospel being read out loud as it would have been within congregations, Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4 in reference to Jesus’ ministry to the Gentiles. Matthew combines Isaiah 61 and Isaiah 42 to reveal that Jesus is “The Expected One.”
The Matthew 12:18-21 quotation does not strictly follow the Septuagint (LXX). The LXX uses the term prosedexato in the phrase “in whom my soul delights” (Isa. 42:1). Matthew’s quotation uses the term eudokasen, “in whom My soul is well-pleased” (Matt. 12:18). Matthew’s willingness to depart from the LXX in the use of a synonym, a practice common in the NT, may help modern interpreters realize that too much is often made of Greek word choice, at least in regards to lexical meaning. More valuable is the way Matthew’s word choice fits the rest of his gospel. The choice of eudokasen in Matthew 12:18 connects Isaiah 42:1 to two other events. The first is Jesus baptism, and the second is Jesus’ transfiguration. In both cases a voice from heaven states, “This is beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (eudokasen)” (Matt. 3:17; 17:5). Mark and Luke also record these events with the heavenly proclamation. The transfiguration immediately follows Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ. The glory and Spirit of the Lord overshadow Jesus. I cannot develop the thought here, but this text along with John 2:21 speak to the reality that Jesus’ body was the temple. Like the tabernacle and temple inaugurations in Exodus 40:35 and 1 Kings 8:10 the glory of the LORD filled Jesus. “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” Isaiah 42:1 relates to this concept in that the Spirit of the LORD was upon him.
The baptism scene directly precedes His 40 day temptation in the wilderness. Unlike Israel, who fell in the wilderness, Jesus resisted the wilderness temptation. In Luke’s account He is said to return “to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). He comes to the Synagogue at Nazareth and stands and reads Isaiah 61:1-2. While the eyes of the people are fixed upon Him He states, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The Messianic hope of Isaiah 42:1-4 and 61:1-3 were accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In Luke 4 Jesus makes the claim to be the servant in whom Yahweh’s soul delights. He had come to bring justice to the nations, to proclaim liberty to those in captivity, and to give His life to redeem the world. Through Jesus, Yahweh would again delight in, and rejoice over, Jerusalem. Because of Jesus the Servant of Yahweh, Isaiah could “say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Lo, your salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.’ And they will call them, ‘the Holy People, the redeemed of the LORD’ (Isa. 62:11-12).
Works Consulted
Longman, Tremper, and Raymond Dillard. “Isaiah.” In An Introduction to the Old Testament,
2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.
Miller, Merril. “The Function of Isa. 61:1-2 in 11Q Melchizedek. JBL 88 (1969), 467-69.
Moody, Brent. The Servant Persona in Isaiah 40-55. Can be made available upon request. moody.brent@gmail.com
Origen, Contra Celsum, in New Advent, edited by Kevin Knight. 54-55.
Oswalt, John, N. Isaiah. In The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Smillie, Gene, R. “Isaiah 42:1-4 in its Rhetorical Context.” Bibliotheca Sacra 162 (2005): 50-65.
Story, Cullen. “Another Look at the Fourth Servant Song of Second-Isaiah.” Horizons in Biblical Theology 31 (2009): 100-110.
Vasholz, Robert. “Isaiah Versus ‘The Gods’: A Case For Unity.” Westminster Theological Journal 42 (1980): 389-94.
11QMelchizedek (11Q13). www.mycdrandall.ca/courses/newtestament/hebrews/PrimReadMelch.htm.
By Brent Moody
From Expository Files 22.7; July 2015
