A Step Toward Cracking the Deutero-Isaiah Codes; His Name is Israel!

The late distinguished Professor R.N. Whybray of Old Testament wisdom literature formerly with the University of Hull, England, once commented on who the Servant is in the second half of the book of Isaiah. He said to the effect that the reason the later generations are so confused about the identity of this Servant is because the key to understanding the background of the original language has been lost.

This author thinks that he has found the key that will unlock the meaning, or the codes, if you will, of many verses in Isa 40-55, as amply documented in this book. Many verses that puzzled quite a few commentators for centuries have found the intended meaning through the use of this key . The key is to read Isa 40-55 through the book of Jeremiah. This brand new approach to interpreting these sixteen much treasured chapters of Isaiah is a must read for all serious Bible students.

In this book, we have documented forty one pairs of the allusions between the books of Jeremiah and Isa 40-55. There are twenty four pairs of responses and seventeen pairs of citations . All the responses show a common direction of Deutero-Isaiah responding to Jeremiah. Each pair of response consists of at least one response element . And in several instances, they have more than five elements that each element shows a complete reversal to a Jeremiah statement. There is repetitive utilization of the same or adjacent Jeremiah verses. There is also a pattern of continuous utilization of this type of allusion in the Isaiah text. The extensive collection of this type of allusion as documented in this book and the intensity and the abundant wealth of the allusion that each pair of the responses represents would very likely provide a treasure cove for further research and exploration for years to come.

The most satisfying and illuminating result of this study is that the Jeremiah new covenant is unveiled in two DI texts and in a split-up pattern. The Suffering Servant is positively identified as the Principal of the Superior Party of the new covenant. Through His willing acceptance of the vicarious suffering unto death, the new covenant and salvation are established. Furthermore, the receiving party of the new covenant is no longer limited to the house of Israel and Judah, but is extended to include all the peoples on this earth. And this prophecy was uttered hundreds of years before the Era of the New Testament. This is surely among the greatest prophecies, if not THE greatest prophecy.