Intertextuality, Canon, and "Undecidability": Understanding Isaiah's "New Heavens and New Earth" (Isaiah 65:17–25)

Abstract As developed by M. Bakhtin, J. Kristeva, R. Barthes, and T. K. Beal, intertextual approaches have largely replaced the examination of inner-biblical quotation or allusion and literary influence studies in analyzing the relationships between texts and contexts. These studies, however, can involve the endless tracing of intertextual relations, undermining the possibility of determinate meaning. By deriving several key interpretive emphases and procedures from the intertextual theory of Michael Riffaterre, a Columbia University professor of French Literature, one can "redeem" intertextuality. This kind of modified approach to intertextuality, which is better suited to canonical Scripture, is illustrated by a detailed analysis of Isa 65:17–25. Reading Isa 65 in light of its primary intertexts results in a richer reading that directs the interpreter's attention to neglected textual features as well as latent emphases and associations.