Servant and Covenant: Again Yahweh challenges opponents to come to court to argue out who is God (41:21–29). Again a passage about Yahweh’s servant (42:1–9) follows this court case. Again this leads into praise and a vision of Yahweh transforming nature (42:10–17). While the three sections parallel the preceding set of three, they take matters much further.

42:1a Following the description of the commitments Yahweh makes to servant Israel (41:3–16) is a description of the commitment that Yahweh’s servant makes (42:1–9). Here is my servant. Where? In what direction is Yahweh pointing? The matter has been of huge controversy, especially since the time of Bernhard Duhm, who wrote an epoch-making commentary on Isaiah in 1892. Duhm suggested that this passage, along with three others about Yahweh…