STRUCTURE, BIPARTITE DIVISION, AND REDACTION OF ISAIAH: INVESTIGATING 1QIsaª, SEPTUAGINT, AND MASORETIC TEXT

Abstract

This study investigates the structural, bipartite, and redactional development of the Book of Isaiah by examining physical codicological evidence from the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaª), the Old Greek/Septuagint (LXX), and the Masoretic Text (MT). Modern form-critical scholarship, notably represented by Marvin A. Sweeney, proposed a bipartite structure (Chapters 1–33 and 34–66) based primarily on literary genres and historical-redactional settings in the Persian period. However, these literary theories often lack integration with empirical manuscript evidence. Through a text-critical and redactional analysis, this article demonstrates that the bipartite division of 1QIsaª is substantiated by physical scroll features—such as the three-line gap at Column XXVII and orthographic shifts—while major textual minuses in Chapters 34–66 result from an exemplar with a damaged bottom edge rather than a pre-Masoretic developmental stage as proposed by Eugene Ulrich. Furthermore, comparative analysis of 1QIsaª, LXX, and MT in key passages (Isa. 7:9b, 38:21–22, 40:7–8, and 52:5b) reveals how scribal lapses, secondary corrections, and translational patterns interacted during the transmission history of Isaiah. This research provides a synthesis of textual criticism and redaction criticism, offering a grounded framework for understanding the textual transmission of the Isaiah corpus.