See who created these : a study of the description of Yahweh's creative activity in Isaiah 40-55

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the descriptions of Yahweh's creative activity in Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55). In the last century, biblical scholarship on creation has been concerned primarily with its relationship to redemption. This thesis will study the descriptions independently of redemption.The references to creation incorporate a broad spectrum of material which is presented randomly throughout Deutero-Isaiah. Because of their diversity, the references will be organized into three groups: Yahweh's initial creation (cosmogony), his creation of the people, and his new creation (his present or upcoming creative activity). Discussion will begin with the cosmogonic material, since it is the most obvious of the groups in terms of its language and similarities to other biblical material. The other aspects of Yahweh's creative activity will then be studied in accordance with their lexical relationship to the cosmogonic texts.This thesis will investigate what is said specifically about creation, how the creation language functions (i.e., how the message/meaning is effected), and what purpose it serves (i.e., why creation is mentioned). Special attention will be paid to the lexical material in the descriptions, notably the verbs. References will be examined in their immediate context (poem, etc.) and in their Deutero-Isaian context. Where relevant, other texts in Isaiah (Isa 1-66) or the rest of the Hebrew Bible will be used in the expectation that they will provide added insight into the meaning of the references