The Christian Story 107 • Isaiah: The Fifth Gospel

Spring Quarter 2009
Class Time: CANCELLED
Instructor: Ms. Elizabeth (Libby) Goldstein

Isaiah is the most important Old Testament book for Christianity; it has inspired our music, art, and liturgy for centuries. It is the biblical book most often quoted by New Testament writers. This is why early Christians called it "the fifth gospel." It is also a very important book for Jews. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls it is the most prominent book; more than twenty manuscripts were recovered of Isaiah. In this class we will look at key passages from the book asking: what did it mean for the people in Isaiah’s time, and what does it mean for us today? We will also discuss the history of interpretation in the past 2000 years.