“Chromatic and Textile Imagery in Isaiah: A Lexical, Exegetical, and Theological Study of Clothing Metaphors in Salvation Contexts––Part II”

Abstract

Building on the lexical and exegetical foundation established in Part I, this article offers a theological synthesis of clothing metaphors across the book of Isaiah. Beginning with Isaiah 1:18 and extending through key passages (e.g., Isa 3:16–26; 22:12; 45:1, 5; 51:6, 8; 61:10; 63:1–3; 64:6), the study traces how clothing symbols—white garments, stained garments, girding and ungirding, decaying cloth, robes of righteousness—construct Isaiah’s theology of salvation, identity, and divine agency. The imagery of red and white not only reflects sin and its removal but also participates in a broader canonical pattern in which garments signify covenant fidelity, divine empowerment, and eschatological hope. By linking Isaiah’s imagery with parallels in the Psalms, Daniel, the Gospels, and Revelation, this study argues that chromatic and textile metaphors articulate a sustained theological grammar of cleansing, restoration, and ultimate victory.