Corpus-Paul

["J.E.Harding" <BSP97JEH AT sheffield.ac.uk>]

I think you make an interesting point about Isa 52:7 and Eph 1:13, 
though I think some thought needs to be given to the question of what 
constitutes 'influence'. The Isaiah passage may well have influenced 
the author of the Ephesians passage, but that is not to say that he 
is directly alluding to it. We need to remember that the authors of 
the NT writings were immersed in the Scriptures to a far greater 
extent than we can really imagine, and in this case, given the fact 
that Isa 52:7 was such an influential verse in any case, I think we 
need to consider that the author of the Ephesians passage is drawing 
on a fairly amorphous mass of terms and concepts to which the LXX 
version of Isaiah contributed heavily. 

I have recently been working on Luke's Gospel in light of the Greek 
versions of the OT, and it has struck me that there is a fine line 
between an allusion to an OT passage and an example of drawing on a 
pool of terms and concepts to which OT passages have contributed.

On the question of the lack of reference to your idea among the 
commentators-this could well, in fact, be a sure indicator that you 
are right!!

James Harding
University of Sheffield