Few documents have exercised as much influence on the New Testament as Isaiah and thus this serviceable and workmanlike analysis of the use of Isaiah in those New Testament books in which it is prominent is to be welcomed. After a brief introduction which essentially summarizes the subsequent essays, there are chapters on Isaiah in Second Temple Judaism (Hannah), Mark (Hooker), Q (Tuckett), Matthew (Beaton), Luke-Acts (Koet), John (Williams), Romans and Galatians (Wagner), 1 and 2 Corinthians (Wilk), Hebrews (McCullough), 1 Peter (Moyise), and Revelation (Mathewson).

One strength of the volume is each chapter’s systematic examination of the various citations and allusions in a given New Testament book—instead of theorizing they deal firsthand with the data. Another is the different emphases of these examinations. Given that entire monographs have been devoted to what can be handled here in only chapter length essays, no one contributor could possibly deal thoroughly with all the relevant issues. But with individual foci ranging from analysis of possible sources and textual divergences through assessment of a given citation’s individual significance to the overarching theological role of the Isaiah citations within the document as a whole, these essays together cover well the spectrum of issues involved. Insights abound, e.g., from Hooker’s practical advice on the dangers of relying solely on the NA 27 apparatus to Beaton’s articulation of the centrality of Isaiah to Matthean theology and Wilk’s demonstration that instead of merely invoking Isaianic texts for rhetorical colour Paul in fact bases his arguments on them. Naturally, not every argument is equally persuasive but there is certainly much here to stimulate.

There are some omissions, Since it is highly unlikely that the New Testament authors or the Jesus whose story they explicate operated within a theological vacuum, it is surprising—especially given the first chapter—that there is so little engagement with contemporary Jewish understandings of given Isaianic texts. It is almost as if they existed in two parallel universes. Similarly, while one applauds the thoughtful articulation of how the various Isaianic citations/allusions cohere with the larger theological horizons of the given New Testament book, it is add that the place of those same texts within their original Isaianic theology and thus the hermeneutical engagement of New Testament author with that larger Isaianic theology is rarely sighted. Perhaps understandable given the Old Testament/New Testament bifurcation of biblical studies, it highlights a fundamental problem. Isaiah is difficult to master, its use in second Temple Judaism is ubiquitous, and the secondary literature voluminous. Nevertheless, while it is true that the New Testament authors are unlikely to have known Isaiah by heart (cf. 49) this hardly justifies the assumption that their knowledge of Isaiah roughly equalled or was less than that of the modern New Testament scholar as is implied by more than one author. They might not have had access to computer-assisted searches but there is every reason to assume that they too carefully ‘examined the Scriptures’ (and apparently especially Isaiah, Acts 17:11) and were well versed in its contents (Acts 18:24). Perhaps too a final chapter on the present debate over the New Testament authors’ awareness of Old Testament context and contemporary usage, and engagement with Isaiah at the level of its own theology would have provided a helpful conclusion. But to be fair there is only so much space and these lacunae will provide golden opportunities for thoughtful students looking for Masters and Doctoral theses to pursue.

These caveats aside Moyise and Menken have given us an excellent start and for that we are grateful. Students and exegetes in general will find much of interest in this book.

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