Did Isaiah Foretell Jewish Blindness and Suffering for not Accepting Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah? A Medieval Perspective

Abstract

The First Testament is the ground on which Jews and Christians historically and theologically stand. Even though they share the same biblical text, the interpretation of these Scriptures has served as one of the main dividing points between the two faith communities in history, especially in the Middle Ages. This division becomes apparent when one examines the way medieval Christians interpreted a biblical text such as the Book of Isaiah. An examination of the use of Isaiah by Alfonso de Espina, a fifteenth-century Franciscan, will show how medieval Christians found in these pages not only a confirmation of Christian truth claims but also passages that supported their negative thoughts and actions toward Jews. The purpose of this article is to show how a certain type of exegesis can lead to anti-Judaism.

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References

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