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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. The Society of Biblical Literature is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Biblical Literature.One of the most noticeable features of Isa 52:13-53:12 is the number of repetitions. Of the poem's 202 words, 118 occur more than once. These 118 consist of 36 different vocables, excluding the relative 'dser and the particles 'et and lo'.1 As Muilenburg notes, "The profound literary effect of the poem is largely due to the many repetitions."2 This article will study the effect that these repetitions produce.3Rhetorical criticism has always considered repetition to be a significant literary device.4 "The repetitions of key-words... produce their own euphony or sonorous effect, but, more than that, they reveal where the stresses lie."5 A repeated word draws our attention to the phrases and sentences in which it occurs. When these various phrases/sentences containing the same key-word are compared with and contrasted to each other, the result is twofold. On the one hand, fifteen key-words are repeated in phrases that express the same or a similar idea, for example, "he bore (sbl) our sorrows" (53:4) and "their iniquities he bore" (53:11).6 On the other hand, and what will be discussed here, nineteen key-words serve to highlight two important thematic contrasts: the contrast between the servant's humiliation and his exaltation and the contrast between what the speakers mistakenly believed and what was really the case with the servant.The suffering Servant Song is usually divided into five strophes:7

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Obadiah exemplifies the classic Israelite prophetic tradition. This brief but volatile diatribe encompasses many of the great prophetic themes, such as divine judgment against Israel's enemies, the day of Yahweh, Zion theology, Israel's possession of the promised land, and the kingship of Yahweh. These themes allow Obadiah to transcend time and touch upon some of the modern Middle East's most controversial issues. Its harsh language and pro-Israelite zeal spark debate even today. Through his accurate translation and sympathetic interpretation of what the book meant to its original sixth-century audience, Dr. Paul R. Raabe relates the reader's modern world to that of the ancient Near East. In the reverend Anchor Bible tradition, the commentator provides the contextual framework to make sense of Obadiah's cryptic and often ignored prophetic message. Drawing upon an exhaustive analysis of the books grammar and philology, literary forms and context, religious and social situation, and historical context, Dr. Raabe offers us the most informed and up-to-date commentary available. Scholars, students, clergy, and laypeople will rely on Obadiah for years to come.