Book Review: D. E. Hartley. The Wisdom Background and Parabolic Implications of Isaiah 6:9-10 in the Synoptics

Abstract

"Hartley attempts to cover a great deal of ground, as the title for his monograph implies. This revision of his doctoral dissertation is as much a study of the theological and philosophical problems associated with the sovereignty of God and human freedom as it is an exegetical examination of Isaiah 6:9-10 as background for reading parables in the synoptic Gospels. In fact, a major motive for this study may be theological since Isaiah 6 and Mark 4:10-12 are frequently discussed in studies of human freedom in salvation. 2. As Hartley observes, most solutions to the crux interpretum assume a position of libertarian freedom and therefore read the “fattening” of the heart in this passage as a judicial act of God. Chapter one is a literature survey of studies dealing with hardening of the heart. This literature typically argues God fattens the hearts of the people in response to their rejection, as in the case of Pharaoh. Hartley, on the other hand, argues that the heart is “congenitally fat.” Isaiah 6:9-10 therefore refers to God depriving man of salvific wisdom required for their repentance and allowing them to remain in their fat-hearted state. In order to make this case, Hartley examines the idea of the heart in the Hebrew Bible with a special emphasis on the wisdom literature."(pg 1)