Description
ISAIAH 46:1-49:7. “Thou art my servant, Israel, for I wil be glorious in thee . . . I wil also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ende of the worlde.” (49:3, 6). Printed in London by Christopher Barker, 1576. First folio edition printed in England. Herbert 144b. EXCELLENT condition, light browning to edges (see pics). Small folio, 10.25″ x 6.75″. Text continues the oracles of “Second Isaiah” (Ch 40-55) written at the end of the Babylonian Exile c.538 BCE, the most important event in OT history besides the Exodus. The prophet confirms once more, not only that Israel herself is the Servant of the Lord, but that as God’s chosen instrument, she will bring to completion God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. This promise was fulfilled half a millennium later by Jesus of Nazareth, Israel’s representative messiah-king. This text is, next to Genesis 12:3, perhaps the second most important declaration(in the OT) of God’s purpose in the election of Israel.