Who is Isaiah's Servant? Narrative identity and theological potentiality

The question ‘Who is the Servant?’ is one which remains a debated topic among many interpreters of Isaiah 40–55. This article seeks to address the same question with the aid and perspective of narrative identity. Narrative identity, as explicated by Ricoeur and Frei, is a means of understanding a ch...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gignilliat, Mark (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press 2008
In: Scottish journal of theology
Year: 2008, Volume: 61, Issue: 2, Pages: 125-136
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Summary:The question ‘Who is the Servant?’ is one which remains a debated topic among many interpreters of Isaiah 40–55. This article seeks to address the same question with the aid and perspective of narrative identity. Narrative identity, as explicated by Ricoeur and Frei, is a means of understanding a character within a literary plot, or real life, as displayed in a narrated sequence of events. A person's identity, especially within literature, is the constancy of the self in the tortuous events of a narrated sequence over time. This article seeks to adjudicate the question of the Servant's identity by observing the character of the Servant within the plot of Isaiah 40–55. The conclusion drawn is that the Servant is the unique means of God's reconciliation of both Zion and the nations. Also, the divine action and description of YHWH and the Servant begin to bleed in such a way that the Servant can be described as a unique member of the divine identity.
ISSN:1475-3065
Contains:Enthalten in: Scottish journal of theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0036930608003918