he first edition of this commentary was written in 1960, early in Professor Kaiser's career. Since then, he has also written a commentary on Isaiah 13-39, and his further studies have both deepened his understanding of the book of Isaiah and changed his views. The result is this new edition, rewritten from cover to cover and now twice the length of its predecessor.
Professor Kaiser is particularly concerned with the history of the transmission of the text of the book of Isaiah. He is less concerned now to trace which might be the original words of the prophet, and is in fact more sceptical about the number of words of Isaiah which may be contained in the book which bears his name.
Rather, he sees the work as essentially the result of a struggle within early Judaism, lasting more than two centuries, to understand why Judah had to go into exile Each generation gave its own answer to the question, in an attempt to
re-establish its faith.
Otto Kaiser is Professor of Old Testament in the University of Marburg.
