"For the Comfort of Zion The Geographical and Theological Location of Isaiah 40-55"

[PacMan]

Has anyone read this book?  This extensive work appears to be fully dedicated to the notion that Deutero Isaiah was NOT written in post-exilic Babylon.  This, obviously, has significant relevance to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and its inclusion of some (but not all) Isaiah chapters.

Professor Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer seems to know her stuff....graduating with a DPhil from the University of Oxford in 2002.

Is anyone aware of a BYU or other review outlining the arguments?  I'm not quite ready to spend $200 on a copy....

https://brill.com/view/title/19199

[InCognitus]

12 minutes ago, PacMan said:

Has anyone read this book?  This extensive work appears to be fully dedicated to the notion that Deutero Isaiah was NOT written in post-exilic Babylon.  This, obviously, has significant relevance to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and its inclusion of some (but not all) Isaiah chapters.

Professor Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer seems to know her stuff....graduating with a DPhil from the University of Oxford in 2002.

Is anyone aware of a BYU or other review outlining the arguments?  I'm not quite ready to spend $200 on a copy....

https://brill.com/view/title/19199

They have a copy of the book at the BYU Library, but alas, it's checked out right now.

I found a reference to one review of the book in a non-LDS source, by John Goldingay in the 2013, Journal of Theological Studies, volume 64, issue 2, starting on page 613.  I'll see if I can get a copy.

Edited September 24, 2022 by InCognitus

[OGHoosier]

This is the work which provided the impetus for Dan Ellsworth's framework of Isaiah authorship. 

 

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/their-imperfect-best-isaianic-authorship-from-an-lds-perspective/

 

I will note that Tiemeyer does not argue for pre-exilic authorship of the totality of Isaiah; however, in Ellsworth's estimation, Tiemeyer's book exposes the framework-dependent nature of evidence on Isaiah authorship one way or another. 

[InCognitus]

12 hours ago, OGHoosier said:

This is the work which provided the impetus for Dan Ellsworth's framework of Isaiah authorship. 

 

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/their-imperfect-best-isaianic-authorship-from-an-lds-perspective/

 

I will note that Tiemeyer does not argue for pre-exilic authorship of the totality of Isaiah; however, in Ellsworth's estimation, Tiemeyer's book exposes the framework-dependent nature of evidence on Isaiah authorship one way or another. 

I read Dan Ellsworth's article this morning (thank you for linking it here).  The clear allusion to Isaiah 53 in Jeremiah 11:19 is, in my view, a powerful argument for the pre-exilic writing of Isaiah 53.  His other examples add to the argument.  It is a good approach to the overall problem.  

[Benjamin McGuire]

I have a copy.

I suspect that any LDS who uses Tienmeyer would do so only with caution. Tienmeyer's only point relative to the Book of Mormon use of material from Isaiah 40-55 is that is doesn't require an assumption of Babylon as the context for writing. Tienmeyer believes that the text is written by multiple authors, is not written by the original prophet Isaiah and that it likely reached its final form significantly after Lehi leaves Jerusalem. I think it's been noted on this forum before but Tienmeyer makes this comment (p. 13):

Quote

I shall argue that the material, although probably composite in nature and stemming from more than one author, takes the form of a reading drama in its final form. As to its date, I shall argue that the individual textual strands began to develop just before 539 BC and reached their final form sometime prior to 520 BC, i.e. shortly before the beginning of the rebuilding of the second temple in Jerusalem.

This places the date of authorship of the several different presumed authors all around 539 BC which then get combined between 539 and 520 BC into the final form. So Tienmeyer claims that the text of Isaiah 40-55 was authored in Palestine between 539 and 520 BC.