Isaiah ,The Book of The Prophet

[He. Yesha’yah or Yasha’yahu “YHWH has saved” , “salvation of the Lord”]

Courtesy of Alexander Scourby(Bible Audio)The Book of Isaiah

Background: This book relates to a period of some 300 years. 

Chs1-39 are set in the closing years of the northern Kingdom when Judah relatively safe. Isaiah worked in Jerusalem warning its people that God’s judgement must fall on them because of social injustice and religious hypocrisy. To successive kings of Judah he advised dependence on God’s guidance and protection rather than on political alliances with foreign nations. Jerusalem is spared the same fate as the northern kingdom for the time being. 

Chs40-55 are concerned with the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The message is comfort: God is about to do something and the punishment and pain of the past are over. The return to the land of Israel will recall the deliverance from Egypt. 

In the final (56-66) section of the book, which is set in the period after the temple had been rebuilt, there is evidence that the new community is in danger of slipping back into old patterns of behaviour. Alongside warnings is a vision of the greatness of God and his plan s for the blessing of the Jews, and through them, of all nations.

Author: Isaiah. Because of the shift in mood and audience between 1-39 and 40-66, some have suggested a separate authors Strong evidence points, however to a single author:

*The commonsense understanding of the statement of authorship (1:1) is that it applies to all 6chs.

*The same style, vocabulary and figures of speech occur in both sections

*NT writers attribute both sections to Isaiah (Jn12:37-41Mt3:3; 4:14-16 Ro9:27-29; 10:16)

*One of the Dead Sea Scroll includes the entire text of Isaiah, without break between 39 and 40.

Date and Location: Isaiah prophesied from 740BC, the year of king Uzziah’s death (6:1) until about 690, during Hezekiah’s reign, in Jerusalem.

Purpose:

*To warn about the danger of alliances with pagan nations and worship of their god

*To warn of jugement, encourage repentance and promise forgiveness and restoration

*To teach a both God’s attributes

*To foretell the coming of the Messiah.

Unique Features:

* 52:13-53:12 stands out of the clearest OT gospel presentation

* A treasury of information about the attributes of God

*Isaiah is the most often quoted in the NT.

*Of the 33 occurrences of the word salvation in the prophets, 26 are in Isaiah

Comparison:

* Isaiah has 66chs, the bible has 66books

*Isaiah’s two sections, with 39 in the first and 27 in the second, mirrors the bible’s 2 main section with 39 and 27 books.

* The first section of Isaiah covers the history and sinfulness of Israel as does OT; the second section of Isaiah covers the history the person and ministry of the Messiah as does NT

*Both Begins and ends with the descriptions of the new heavens and earth (65:17; 66:22; Rv21:1-22:5)

All other Prophets

*Virtually every prophet after Isaiah quotes from or interacts with his prophecies, though none of them mention him by name (See especially Mi., Na. Hb., Zep., Zec., Ho.)

Abbreviations: Isa./ Is.

MV: Feet swift in running to mischief, Pr6:18

Bib1Yr: Mk9,10On The Mountain Top