Isaiah

VIEW:65 DATA:01-04-2020

the salvation of the Lord
(same as Esaias)
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary


ISAIAH.—Of the four prophets of the 8th cent. b.c., some of whose prophecies are preserved in the OT, Isaiah appeared third in the order of time—some twenty years after Amos preached at Bethel, and a few years after Hosea had begun, but before he had ceased, to prophesy. Isaiah’s prophetic career apparently began before, but closed after, that of Micah. Hosea was a native of the Northern Kingdom, and addressed himself mainly, if not exclusively, to his own people. Amos was a native of Judah, but prophesied in and to Israel; and thus Isaiah is the earliest of these four prophets who addressed himself primarily to Judah, and even he in his earlier years, like his fellow-countryman Amos, prophesied also against Israel (see Isa_9:7 to Isa_10:4; Isa_5:26-30; Isa_17:1-11).
Our knowledge of the life and teaching of Isaiah rests on the book that bears his name, which, however, is not a book compiled by him, but one containing, together with other matter, such of his prophecies as have been preserved, and narratives relating to him; see, in detail, next article.
Isaiah received the call to be a prophet ‘in the year that king Uzziah (or Azariah) died’ (Isa_6:1). The year is not quite certain. If Azariah king of Judah and the Azriau king of Jaudi mentioned in Tiglath-pileser’s annals of the year 738 be identical, Isaiah’s call cannot be placed earlier than 738. But if the identification be not admitted, and it is by no means certain, his call may with more probability be placed a few years earlier. His activity extended at least down to the invasion of Sennacherib in 701, and some years later, if the theory be correct that chs. 36–39 refer to two invasions of Sennacherib, of which that in 701 was the first. In any case Isaiah’s public career covered at the least close on forty years, whence we may infer that, like Jeremiah (Jer_1:6), he became a prophet in early life. Unlike his contemporary Micah, his life, so far as we can trace it, was spent in Jerusalem. Not improbably he was a man of rank, at least he had easy access to the king (Isa_7:1 ff.), and was on terms of intimacy with persons of high position (Isa_8:2). His father’s name, Amoz, has in Hebrew no resemblance to that of the prophet Amos. Isaiah was married, and his wife is termed the prophetess (Isa_8:3). Like Hosea, he gave to his children, Shear-jashub (Isa_7:3) and Maher-shalai-hash-baz (Isa_8:3), names which briefly stated characteristic elements in his teaching; his own name, though of a normal and frequent Hebrew type, also happened to have a significance (‘help of Jahweh’ or ‘Jahweh helps’) of which he could have made use; that he actually did so we may perhaps infer from Isa_8:18, if we do not rather interpret that statement, so far as Isaiah himself is concerned, of such symbolic conduct as that which he pursued when he went ‘half-clad and barefoot’ (ch. 20).
It is impossible either to construct a complete biography of the prophet or to trace with any elaboration developments in his thought and teaching. His prophecies have obviously not come down to us in chronological order, and many are without any clear indication of the date when they were delivered; any attempt to date accurately much of the material must therefore be exceedingly uncertain, and the numerous attempts that have been made naturally differ widely in their results. But there are four periods at which we can clearly trace the prophet and his thought or teaching: these are the time of his call, about b.c. 740 (ch. 6); of the Syro-Ephraimitish War (b.c. 735–734: Isa_7:1 to Isa_8:18); of the siege of Ashdod in b.c. 711 (ch. 20); and of the invasion of Sennacherib in b.c. 701 (chs. 36–39). The last-mentioned narratives are, however, of a later age than that of Isaiah, and require to be carefully used.
At the time of his call Isaiah became conscious that he was to be a teacher whose primary task was to warn his people of judgment to come, of judgment which was to issue in the extermination of his nation (Isa_6:10-13—the last clause is absent from the LXX [Note: Septuagint.] , and probably not original). This judgment of Jahweh on His people was to be executed by means of Assyria, which, since the accession of Tiglath-pileser in 745, had entered on a course of conquest, and, as early as 740, had achieved marked success in Northern Syria. The causes of this coming judgment, Isaiah, like Amos before him, and not improbably in part owing to the influence on him of the teaching of Amos, found in the prevalent social and moral disorder (see e.g. Isa_2:6 to Isa_4:1, Isa_5:8-24 for the kind of offences which he denounced), in the ingratitude (e.g. Isa_1:8, Isa_5:1-7) of the people to Jahweh, and in their failure to trust Him or to understand that what He required was not sacrifice, which was offered by the people in wearisome abundance, but justice and humanity (cf. e.g. Isa_1:2-31). In this teaching, as in his lofty conception of God, Isaiah did not fundamentally advance beyond the already lofty moral and religious standpoint of Amos and Hosea, though there are naturally enough differences in the details of the presentation. But, so far as we can see, he exercised a more direct, immediate, and decisive influence, owing to the fact that over a long period of years he was able to apply this teaching to the changing political conditions, insisting, for example, at the several political crises mentioned above, that the duty of Jahweh’s people was to trust in Jahweh, and not in political ailiances, whether with Assyria, Egypt, or Ethiopia (cf. e.g. Isa_7:4-9; Isa_7:20, and [in b.c. 701] Isa_30:1-6; Isa_30:15, Isa_31:1-3); and to the fact that from the first he set about the creation of a society of disciples who were to perpetuate his teaching (cf. Isa_8:16).
Although judgment to come was the fundamental note of Isaiah’s teaching, there was another note that marked it from the outset: Israel-Judah was to perish, but a remnant was to survive. This at least seems to be the significance of the name of Shear-jashub, who must have been born very shortly after the call, since in 735 he was old enough to accompany his father on his visit to Ahaz (Isa_7:3). Beyond the judgment, moreover, he looked forward to a new Jerusalem, righteous and faithful (Isa_1:26). How much further was Isaiah’s doctrine of the future developed? Was he the creator of those ideas more particularly summed up in the term ‘Messianic,’ which exercised so powerful an influence in the later periods of Judaism, and which are doubtless among those most intimately connected with the prophet in the minds of the majority of students of the Bible? In particular, was the vision (Isa_9:1-6) of the Prince of Peace with world-wide dominion his? Or, to take another detail, did he hold that Zion itself was invincible, even though hostile hosts should approach it? These are questions that have been raised and have not yet received a decisive answer. On the one hand, it is exceedingly probable that in the several collections of the ancient prophecies later passages of promise have in some instances been added to earlier prophecies of judgment; that later prophecy in general is fuller than the earlier of promises; and that several of the Messianic passages, in particular, in the Book of Isaiah, stand isolated and disconnected from passages which bear unmistakably the impress of Isaiah or his age. On the other hand, Isaiah’s belief in a remnant, which seems secured (apart from individual and perhaps doubtful passages) by the name of his son, forms a certain and perhaps a sufficient basis for the more elaborate details of the future. Further, from the very fact that they deal with the future, the passages in question, even if they were by Isaiah, might naturally bear less unmistakable evidence of their age than those which deal with the social and political conditions of his own time. And again, had Isaiah prophesied exclusively of judgment and destruction, we might have expected to find his name coupled with Micah’s in Jer_26:18 f.
G. B. Gray.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

Yeshayahu or Isaiahuw (?), Hebrew "the salvation of Jehovah," his favorite expression, which means the same as the name "Jesus", who is the grand subject of his prophecies, and in whom in the New Testament the name Jehovah merges, being never found in Scripture after the Old Testament. The Yahu (or Jahu) in Yeshayahu shows that Yahweh (or Jahveh) is the more correct form than Jehovah. Son of Amoz (not Amos), a younger contemporary of Jonah, Amos, and Hosea in Israel, and of Micah in Judah. His call to the full exercise of the prophetic office (Isa_6:1) was in the same year that king Uzziah died, probably before his death, 754 B.C., the time of the building of Rome, Judah's destined scourge, whose kingdom was to stretch on to the Messianic times which form the grand subject of Isaiah's prophecies. Whatever prophecies were delivered by Isaiah previously were oral, and not recorded because not designed for all ages.
(1) Isaiah 1-6, are all that were written for the church universal of the prophecies of the first 20 years of his ministry. New epochs in the relations of the church to the world were fittingly marked by revelations to and through prophets. God had given Judah abundant prosperity during Uzziah's reign of 52 years, that His goodness might lead the people to loving obedience, just as in northern Israel He had restored prosperity daring the brilliant reign of Jeroboam II with the same gracious design. Israel was only hardened in pride by prosperity, so was soon given over to ruin. Isaiah comes forward at this point to warn Judah of a like danger. Moreover, in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah Israel and Judah came into conflict with the Asiatic empires. (See AHAZ; HEZEKIAH.) The prophets were now needed to interpret Jehovah's dealings, that the people might recognize His righteous judgments as well as His merciful longsuffering.
(2) Isaiah 7 - Isaiah 10:4 relate to Ahaz' reign.
(3) Isaiah 10:5 - Isaiah 12 to the first 15 years of Hezekiah's reign probably.
(4) As also Isaiah 13-23 as to foreign nations.
(5) Isaiah 24-27 on the last times of the world, and of Judah, the representative and future head of the churches.
(6) Isaiah 28-33 concern Ephraim's overthrow, Judah's impious folly, the danger of the league with Egypt, their straits and deliverance from Assyria; Isaiah 28 before the sixth year of Hezekiah, when Israel fell; the rest before his 14th year of reign.
(7) Isaiah 34-35, denounce God's judgments against His people's enemies of whom Edom is representative, and the blessed state that shall follow.
(8) The historical section (Isaiah 36-39) as to Sennacherib, Assyria, and Babylon, forms the fitting appendix to the prophecies concerning Assyria mainly, and the preface to the latter portion of the book, concerning the deliverance from Babylon. Isaiah's generation had before their eyes the historical fact of the Assyrian invasion, and the extraordinary deliverance from it, as recorded by Isaiah. The prophet further announced to Hezekiah that all his treasures which he had ostentatiously shown to the Babylonian ambassadors should be carried off to that very land, and his descendants be made eunuchs in the Babylonian king's palace, the world on which Judah rested instead of on God being made her scourger. Fittingly, then followed the cheering prophecy, "Comfort ye My people," etc. Ages should elapse before the realization of this comforting assurance of deliverance.
The history of the deliverance from Assyria, accomplished according to the previous prophecy, was the pledge that the far off deliverance from Babylon also, because foretold, would surely come to pass. Thus, the historical section, midway between the earlier and later parts of Isaiah's book, forms the connecting link spiritually and historically between the two; it closes the one epoch, and introduces the other, so combining all Isaiah's prophecies in one unity. The fulfillment of his past prophecies constituted the prophet's credentials to the unborn generation on which the Babylonian captivity should fall, that they might securely trust his word. foretelling the future deliverance by Cyrus. "It is incredible that the latter chapters, if not Isaiah's but of a later date, should have been tacked on to his existing prophecies with the interval of the four historical chapters: thrown in as a connecting link to complete the unity of his alleged writings as a whole" (Stanley Leathes).
The "comfort" applies mainly to ages subsequent to his own; this accords with the principle stated 1Pe_1:10-1; 1Pe_1:9; 2Pe_1:20-21. But it also applied to his own and all ages before Christ's consummated kingdom. For the law of prophetical suggestion carried him on to the greater deliverance from the spiritual Babylon and the God-opposed world power and Satan, by Cyrus' Antitype, Messiah, the Saviour of the present elect church gathered from Jews and Gentiles, and the Restorer of Israel and Head of the worldwide kingdom yet to come.
Even in the former part Babylon's downfall through Elamite and Persian assailants is twice foretold (Isaiah 13 and Isaiah 21). The mellowness of tone in the second part implies that it was the ripe fruit of his old age, some time after the beginning of Hezekiah's last 15 years. He is no longer the godly politician taking part in public life in vindication of the truth, but is far away in the spirit amidst the Babylonian exiles whom he cheers. More contemplative and ideal in this part, he soars aloft in glorious visions of the future, no longer tied down to the existing political circumstances of his people, as in the former part.
The threefold theme of this latter part is stated at the outset (Isa_40:2):
(1) Jerusalem's warfare is accomplished;
(2) her iniquity is pardoned;
(3) she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The divisions are marked by the ending twice the "salvation" foretold is not for the unfaithful, but for the believing and waiting true Israelites; for, "there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."
(9) Isaiah 40 - Isaiah 48:22;
(10) Isaiah 49-57;
(11) Isaiah 58-66, which exchanges the previous refrain for the awful one that with moving pathos describes the apostates' final doom, "their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh!"
The first of the three concerns the outward deliverance from Babylon by Cyrus. The second, Messiah's advent prefigured by Cyrus. The third, the coming glory of God's kingdom on earth, along with judgments on the ungodly. The contemporary Micah (Mic_4:8-10) foretells the same exile in Babylon and the return from it, so that it is no objection to the genuineness of Isaiah 40-66, that herein Isaiah passes from Assyria to the restoration from Babylon much more than a century later.
Moses' general prophecy (Lev_26:33; Deu_28:64) had assumed more definiteness in Ahijah's specification of the direction of the exile, "beyond the river," in Jeroboam's time 1Ki_14:15), and Amo_5:27, "beyond Damascus"; and now the place is defined, Babylon. Moreover, Isaiah's reproof of the prevailing neglect of the temple worship, and his allusion to the slaying of children in the valleys (Isa_57:5), and mention of Hephzibah (Hezekiah's wife) in Isa_62:4, all accord with the times of Isaiah. The former part ends with the Babylonian exile (Isa_39:6); the latter part begins with the deliverance from it, to remove the deep gloom which the prophecy of the captivity caused to all who looked for redemption in Israel. Isaiah 40-66, has no heading of its own, which is accounted for best by its connection with the previous part, bringing it under the same heading, Isa_1:1.
The whole book falls into the sacred seven divisions:
(1) Isaiah 1-12;
(2) Isaiah 13-27, the burdens and their sequel;
(3) Isaiah 28-35;
(4) Isaiah 36-39; and
(5-7) the three divisions (a sacred ternary) of Isaiah 40-66. The former part itself also, before the historic, may be divided into seven; see above.
The return of the Lord's ransomed with everlasting joy in the last chapter of the former part (Isa_35:10) is the starting point of and the text expanded in the latter part; compare Isa_51:11. Josephus (Ant. 11:1, section 1-2) says that Cyrus was indued by Isaiah's prophecies (Isa_44:38; Isa_45:1; Isa_45:13) to help the Jews to return and rebuild their temple. Ezra 1 confirms this. Cyrus in his edict refers to the prophecies of the latter portion, which assign him the kingdoms from Jehovah and the duty of rebuilding His temple. Probably he adopted from them his historical name Cyrus (Koresh). Subsequent prophets imitate the latter portion (Jer_1:34, compare Isa_47:4; Jer_51:6; Jer_51:45 with Isa_48:20). "The Holy One of Israel" is a characteristic phrase in the latter as in the former parts, and occurs but three times elsewhere in Old Testament. It marks God's holy faithfulness to His covenanted promises. Jeremiah borrows it.
Luke (Luk_4:17) quotes Isaiah 61 as Isaiah's, the passage read by Jesus Christ in the Nazareth synagogue. The definiteness of the prophecies makes it impossible that they were shrewd political guesses from probabilities. Thus Isaiah foretells Judah's deliverance from the Assyrian invasion, not by Egyptian aid (the only seeming possible deliverer), but by the Lord directly. On the other hand Isaiah announces the captivity in Babylon when as yet it was but a secondrate power and moreover in alliance with Judah, and further the return of the exiles. Eichhorn admits that they are not vague poetical fancies, but "veiled historical descriptions." Blunt (Undesigned Coincidences) notices the absence of such allusions as one in the Babylonian captivity would have made and the presence of allusions to idolatry which had almost no place in Judah after the captivity.
This and such allusions as that to the stopping of the water fountains outside the city, the display of Hezekiah's treasure, all accord with Isaiah's prophesying under Hezekiah. Isaiah 53 minutely depicts Messiah's sufferings ages before the event, as Jews, unwilling witnesses, admit, while evading the acceptance of Jesus by various makeshifts. Its testimony convinced the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8) and must convince all who seek the truth. Israel in the Babylonian exile, suffering as God's representative amidst pagan conquerors, is viewed as "the servant of Jehovah"; but as the mass of Jews were suffering for their sins the idea of "servant of Jehovah" limited itself to the elect, the holy seed of Israel's future. Then in the fullest sense Israel, the "elect servant of Jehovah," becomes concentrated in MESSIAH, the innocent sufferer atoning for the guilty, the seed of an everlasting and holy generation (
Isa_42:1-7; Isa_44:1; Isa_49:3-25; Isa_49:52; Isa_49:53).
Messiah appears as Prophet (Isa_42:4), as Priest (Isaiah 53), as King (Isa_49:7; Isa_52:15). His sufferings are the appointed path to His glory (Isa_53:11-12). They are borne as a vicarious penalty for us: "the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; ... the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa_53:4-6). The mystical union of Messiah the Head and the members is implied in His being called "Israel," just as the New Testament church is called "Christ" (1Co_12:12; Rom_16:7). He is the top-most "Branch" of which Israel is the body of the tree. He is also "the Root of David" as well as the "rod out of the stem of Jesse" (Isa_11:1; Rev_22:16), "a tender plant, a root out of a dry ground" (Isa_53:2). Prophecy is not soothsaying at random. It rests on law, and that law the character of God.
Having deep insight into the eternal principles on which God governs the world, that sin entails judgment but that God's covenant mercy to His people is unchangeable, the prophets speak accordingly. Babylon was then under Assyria. It had revolted unsuccessfully, but the elements of its subsequent greatness were existing. The Holy Spirit enlightened Isaiah's natural powers to foresee its rise and his spiritual faculties to foresee its fall, the sure result, in God's ways, of the pride which pagan success generates; also Judah's restoration as the covenant people with whom God according to His immutable faithfulness would not be wroth forever. Isaiah's politics consisted in insisting on conversion as the only remedy for the nation's disorders. Rebuke, threatening, invitation, and promise succeed in regular order. The fundamental idea is in Isa_26:7-9; compare Lev_10:3; Amo_3:2.
His wife is called "the prophetess," and must therefore have had the prophetic gifts. His children "were for signs." (See IMMANUEL.) Shearjashub, "the remnant shall return," and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, "speeding to the spoil he hasteth to the prey," intimate the two chief points of his prophecies, Jehovah's judgments on the world yet His mercy to the elect. Isaiah's garment of sackcloth was a silent preaching by action, he embodied the repentance he taught. History as written by the prophets is retroverted prophecy. Spiritual insight into the past, inspired by God, implies insight into the future and vice verse. Hence the Old Testament histories (1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings) were written by contemporary prophets, Samuel, Nathan, Iddo, Isaiah, etc., and are classed with the prophetic books. The Chronicles are not classed so, and therefore can hardly be their composition, but probably Ezra's, gathered from the public records and historical monographs of the prophets (as Isaiah's life of Uzziah and of Hezekiah: 2Ch_26:22; 2Ch_32:32). (See CHRONICLES.)
The historical books from Joshua onwards and the prophetic books from Isaiah form a bipartite whole of prophetic writings called "the prophets"; for the history of the past in the former part is as prophetic as the history of the future in the latter part. His ministry was exercised at Jerusalem. "The valley of vision" (Isa_22:1) may imply that it was in "the lower city" he resided and saw visions, though "valley" may refer to Jersalem generally, surrounded by hills higher than Zion and Moriah. The Talmud, from an old genealogical roll found in Jerusalem, and from the Palestinian Targum on 2Ki_21:16, states that king Manasseh "sawed Isaiah asunder" with a wooden saw, to which the allusion may be in Heb_11:37. Isa_1:1 shows that none of the collection of prophecies of which that is the heading were written under Manasseh. They were collected by Isaiah himself in the close of Hezekiah's reign.
Then at the beginning of Manasseh's reign Isaiah fell a victim to the persecuting idolatry which superseded Jehovah's worship. The pretext was that Isaiah had said he had seen Jehovah (Isaiah 6), in opposition to Exo_33:20. This agrees with 2Ki_21:16, "Manasseh shed innocent blood very much." That Isaiah served Hezekiah appears implied in 2Ch_32:32. The chronological arrangement favors the view that Isaiah himself collected his prophecies into one volume. Excepting a few of similar contents grouped together, the several portions are placed according to their dates. The former part ending with the historical section was more for the public in general; the latter part is his prophetic legacy to the faithful few, analogous to Moses' last speech and our Lord's closing discourses to His chosen disciples. The Messianic hopes in Isaiah are so vivid that Jerome (Ad Paulinum) calls his book not a prophecy but the "Gospel," "he is not so much a prophet as an evangelist."
The "Shiloh" ("tranquilizer") of Gen_49:10 appears in Isaiah as "the Prince of peace" (Isa_9:6). He is represented as "King" in Psalm 2, Psalm 45, Psalm 72, Psalm 110. Isaiah develops most His priestly and prophetic offices; Psalm 110. His royal priesthood, Isaiah His suffering priesthood; this last, especially in the latter portion, addressed to the faithful elect, whereas in the former part, addressed to the whole people, he dwells on Messiah's glory, the antidote to the fears of the people and the pledge to assure them that the kingdom of God, represented by Judah, would not be overwhelmed by Syria, Israel, and Assyria; so that they should trust wholly in Him and not in Egypt. His style is simple and sublime, intermediate between the lowly tenderness of Jeremiah and the bold exuberance of Ezekiel.
The variation of style in the latter portion proves, not its spuriousness, but Isaiah's power to vary his style with his subject. In it he is tender, and abounds in repetitions such as suit comforting exhortations. The many epithets attached to God's name are designed as so many stays whereon faith may rest and repel despair. Peculiarities which are characteristic of Isaiah occur in the latter portion as in the former, e.g. "to be called," i.e. to be; instead of synonyms the same words repeated in the parallel members of verses; hymns interspersed; "the remnant of olive trees," etc., for the remnant of people who escape judgments. Compare also Isa_65:25 with Isa_11:6; Isa_51:11 with Isa_35:10. The form is Hebrew poetical parallelism, varied however according to the subject. Judah and Jerusalem, not the more apostate and doomed Israel, are the people addressed.
No prophet is quoted so frequently by our Lord and His apostles. His sacred scows are a prominent feature. Thus, Isaiah 12, closing the section of Isaiah 7-12, aptly called "the book of Immanuel," is the future song of redeemed Israel, answering to that at the Red Sea (Exodus 15; compare Rev_15:2-3). Again Isaiah 25-27, is the lyric prophecy of the downfall of the world city, the coming blessed personal epiphany of the Lord to His people, and the destruction of the foe (Isaiah 25), Judah's and Israel's resurrection politically and spiritually (Isaiah 26), the church vineyard ever kept by Jehovah (Isaiah 27); it forms the finale to Isaiah 13-23, concerning the pagan foes of Israel. The frequent alliteration of like sounds in Isaiah 25-27, effectively realizes to the ear, as well as the eye and the understanding, the deeply moving finale. His elegiac power appears in Isaiah 15-16, concerning Moab.
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

Isa'iah. Isaiah, the prophet, son of Amoz. The Hebrew name signifies Salvation of Jahu (a shortened form of Jehovah). He prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, Isa_1:1, covering probably 758 to 698 B.C. He was married and had two sons. Rabbinical tradition says that Isaiah, when 90 years old, was sawn asunder in the trunk of a carob tree by order of Manasseh, to which, it is supposed, that reference is made in Heb_11:37.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863

Though fifth in the order of time, the writings of the Prophet Isaiah are placed first in order of the prophetical books, principally on account of the sublimity and importance of his predictions, and partly also because the book which bears his name is larger than all the twelve minor prophets put together. Concerning his family and descent, nothing certain has been recorded, except what he himself tells us, Isa_50:1, namely, that he was the son of Amos, and discharged the prophetic office “in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,” who successively flourished between A.M. 3194 and 3305. There is a current tradition that he was of the blood royal; and some writers have affirmed that his father Amoz or Amos was the son of Joash, and consequently brother of Uzziah, king of Judah. Jerom, on the authority of some rabbinical writers, says, that the prophet gave his daughter in marriage to Manasseh, king of Judah; but this opinion is scarcely credible, because Manasseh did not commence his reign until about sixty years after Isaiah had begun to discharge his prophetic functions. He must, indeed, have exercised the office of a prophet during a long period of time, if he lived to the reign of Manasseh; for the lowest computation, beginning from the year in which Uzziah died, when he is by some supposed to have received his first appointment to that office, brings it to sixty-one years. But the tradition of the Jews, which has been adopted by most Christian commentators, that he was put to death by Manasseh, is very uncertain; and Aben Ezra one of the most celebrated Jewish writers, is rather of opinion that he died before Hezekiah; which Bishop Lowth thinks most probable. It is, however, certain, that he lived at least to the fifteenth or sixteenth year of Hezekiah; which makes the least possible term of the duration of his prophetic office to be about forty-eight years. The name of Isaiah, as Vitringa has remarked after several preceding commentators, is in some measure descriptive of his high character, since it signifies the salvation of Jehovah; and was given with singular propriety to him, who foretold the advent of the Messiah, through whom “all flesh shall see the salvation of God,” Isa_40:5; Luk_3:6; Act_4:12. Isaiah was contemporary with the Prophets Amos, Hosea, Joel, and Micah.
Isaiah is uniformly spoken of in the Scriptures as a prophet of the highest dignity: Bishop Lowth calls him the prince of all the prophets, and pronounces the whole of his book to be poetical, with the exception of a few detached passages. It is remarkable, that his wife is styled a prophetess in Isa_8:3; whence the rabbinical writers have concluded that she possessed the spirit of prophecy: but it is very probable that the prophets' wives were called prophetesses, as the priests' wives were termed priestesses, only from the quality of their husbands. Although nothing farther is recorded in the Scriptures concerning the wife of Isaiah, we find two of his sons mentioned in his prophecy, who were types or figurative pledges; and their names and actions were intended to awaken a religious attention in the persons whom they were commissioned to address and to instruct. Thus, Shear-jashub signifies, “a remnant shall return,” and showed that the captives who should be carried to Babylon should return thence after a certain time, Isa_7:3; and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, which denotes, “make speed (or run swiftly) to the spoil,” implied that the kingdoms of Israel and Syria would in a short time be ravaged, Isa_8:1; Isa_8:3. Beside the volume of prophecies, which we are now to consider, it appears from 2Ch_26:22, that Isaiah wrote an account of “the acts of Uzziah,” king of Judah: this has perished with some other writings of the prophets, which, as probably not written by inspiration, were never admitted into the canon of Scripture. There are also two apocryphal books ascribed to him, namely, The Ascension of Isaiah, and The Apocalypse of Isaiah; but these are evidently forgeries of a later date, and the Apocalypse has long since perished.
The scope of Isaiah's predictions is threefold, namely,
1. To detect, reprove, aggravate, and condemn, the sins of the Jewish people especially, and also the iniquities of the ten tribes of Israel, and the abominations of many Gentile nations and countries; denouncing the severest judgments against all sorts and degrees of persons, whether Jews or Gentiles.
2. To invite persons of every rank and condition, both Jews and Gentiles, to repentance and reformation, by numerous promises of pardon and mercy. It is worthy of remark, that no such promises are intermingled with the denunciations of divine vengeance against Babylon, although they occur in the threatenings against every other people.
3. To comfort all the truly pious, in the midst of all the calamities and judgments denounced against the wicked, with prophetic promises of the true Messiah, which seem almost to anticipate the Gospel history, so clearly do they foreshow the divine character of Christ.
Isaiah has, with singular propriety, been denominated the evangelical prophet, on account of the number and variety of his prophecies concerning the advent and character, the ministry and preaching, the sufferings and death, and the extensive permanent kingdom, of the Messiah. So explicit and determinate are his predictions, as well as so numerous, that he seems to speak rather of things past than of events yet future; and he may rather be called an evangelist than a prophet. No one, indeed, can be at a loss in applying them to the mission and character of Jesus Christ, and to the events which are cited in his history by the writers of the New Testament. This prophet, says Bishop Lowth, abounds in such transcendent excellencies, that he may be properly said to afford the most perfect model of prophetic poetry. He is at once elegant and sublime, forcible and ornamented; he unites energy with copiousness, and dignity with variety. In his sentiments there is uncommon elevation and majesty; in his imagery, the utmost propriety, elegance, dignity, and diversity; in his language, uncommon beauty and energy; and, notwithstanding the obscurity of his subjects, a surprising degree of clearness and simplicity. To these we may add, that there is such sweetness in the poetical composition of his sentences, whether it proceed from art or genius, that, if the Hebrew poetry at present is possessed of any remains of its native grace and harmony, we shall chiefly find them in the writings of Isaiah: so that the saying of Ezekiel may most justly be applied to this prophet:—
“Thou art the confirmed exemplar of measures, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”
Eze_28:12.
Isaiah also greatly excels in all the graces of method, order, connection, and arrangement: though in asserting this we must not forget the nature of the prophetic impulse, which bears away the mind with irresistible violence, and frequently in rapid transitions from near to remote objects, from human to divine. We must likewise be careful in remarking the limits of particular predictions, since, as they are now extant, they are often improperly connected, without any marks of discrimination; which injudicious arrangement, on some occasions, creates almost insuperable difficulties.
Bishop Lowth has selected the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth chapters of this prophet, as a specimen of the poetic style in which Isaiah delivers his predictions, and has illustrated at some length the various beauties which eminently distinguish the simple, regular, and perfect poem contained in those chapters. But the grandest specimen of his poetry is presented in the fourteenth chapter, which is one of the most sublime odes occurring in the Bible, and contains the noblest personifications to be found in the records of poetry. The prophet, after predicting the liberation of the Jews from their severe captivity in Babylon, and their restoration to their own country, Eze_28:1-3, introduces a chorus of them, expressing their surprise and astonishment at the sudden downfall of Babylon, and the great reverse of fortune that had befallen the tyrant, who, like his predecessors, had oppressed his own, and harassed the neighbouring kingdoms. These oppressed kingdoms, or their rulers, are represented under the image of the fir trees and the cedars of Libanus, which is frequently used to express any thing in the political or religious world that is supereminently great and majestic: the whole earth shouts for joy; the cedars of Libanus utter a severe taunt over the fallen tyrant, and boast their security now he is no more, Eze_28:4-8. This is followed, Eze_28:9, by one of the boldest and most animated personifications of hades, or the regions of the dead, that was ever executed in poetry. Hades excites his inhabitants, the shades of princes, and the departed spirits of monarchs. These illustrious shades rise at once from their couches as from their thrones; and, advancing to the entrance of the cavern to meet the king of Babylon, they insult and deride him on being reduced to the same low state of impotence and dissolution with themselves, Eze_28:10-11. The Jews now resume the speech, Eze_28:12; they address the king of Babylon as the morning star fallen from heaven, as the first in splendour and dignity, in the political world fallen from his high state: they introduce him as uttering the most extravagant vaunts of his power and ambitious designs in his former glory; these are strongly contrasted, in the close, with his present low and abject condition, Eze_28:13-15. Immediately follows a different scene, and a most happy image, to diversify the same subject, and give it a new turn and additional force. Certain persons are introduced, who light upon the corpse of the king of Babylon, cast out and lying naked upon the bare ground, among the common slain, just after the taking of the city, covered with wounds, and so disfigured, that it is some time before they know him. They accost him with the severest taunts, and bitterly reproach him with his destructive ambition, and his cruel usage of the conquered; which have deservedly brought upon him this ignominious treatment, so different from what those of his high rank usually meet with, and which shall cover his posterity with disgrace, Eze_28:16-20. To complete the whole, God is introduced, declaring the fate of Babylon; the utter extirpation of the royal family, and the total desolation of the city; the deliverance of his people, and the destruction of their enemies; confirming the irreversible decree by the awful sanction of his oath, Eze_28:21-26. How forcible, says Bishop Lowth, is this imagery, how diversified, how sublime! How elevated the diction, the figures, the sentiments! The Jewish nation, the cedars of Lebanon, the ghosts of departed kings, the Babylonish monarch, the travellers who find his corpse, and last of all Jehovah himself, are the characters which support this beautiful lyric drama. One continued action is kept up, or rather, a series of interesting actions are connected together in an incomparable whole: this, indeed, is the principal and distinguished excellence of the sublimer ode, and is displayed in its utmost perfection in this poem of Isaiah, which may be considered as one of the most ancient, and certainly one of the most finished, specimens of that species of composition which has been transmitted to us. The personifications here are frequent, yet not confused; bold, yet not improbable; a free, elevated, and truly divine spirit pervades the whole; nor is there any thing wanting in this ode to defeat its claim to the character of perfect pathos and sublimity. There is not a single instance in the whole compass of Greek and Roman poetry which, in every excellence of composition, can be said to equal or even to approach it.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

By the time of Isaiah, the Israelite nation had long been divided into two kingdoms – the northern kingdom Israel whose capital was Samaria, and the southern kingdom Judah whose capital was Jerusalem. Isaiah lived in Jerusalem, where he was an adviser to Judah’s royal court (Isa_7:3; Isa_37:2; Isa_38:1; Isa_39:3). He was married and had at least two sons (Isa_7:3; Isa_8:3; Isa_8:18).

Isaiah began his work in the year of King Uzziah’s death (740 BC) and continued through the reigns of three successive kings, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (Isa_1:1; Isa_6:1). He was a man of moral uprightness who opposed the social evils of the time (Isa_1:4; Isa_1:17; Isa_3:9; Isa_3:14-15; Isa_5:8-23). He was also a man of faith who consistently tried to persuade Judah’s kings to trust in God rather than in foreign alliances (Isa_7:4-7; Isa_30:15; Isa_37:6-7). In addition he taught and trained a group of devoted disciples, whom he encouraged to maintain a firm faith in God in a time of widespread unbelief (Isa_8:16-17). According to doubtful Jewish tradition he was executed during the reign of the wicked Manasseh by being sawn in two (cf. Heb_11:37).
The book of Isaiah covers a lengthy period of about two hundred years. It deals not only with the reigns of the kings mentioned above, but also with Judah’s captivity in Babylon and the restoration to Palestine that followed. Political, religious and social conditions varied greatly from one era to the next within this overall period. The following survey of the book includes background information on the different eras.
Isaiah’s call to a sinful people (Chaps. 1-6)
During the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah (or Azariah), severe social and religious problems arose in Judah. Greed and injustice multiplied and, although the people maintained their religious exercises, they were thoroughly ungodly in their attitudes and behaviour. Isaiah’s preaching was similar to that of Amos and Hosea, who had met similar problems in the northern kingdom. He defended the poor against exploitation by the rich, and tirelessly denounced Judah’s social oppression and religious corruption.
Isaiah opened his book with an accusation by God that Judah had rebelled against him (1:1-9). The nation was religiously and morally corrupt (1:10-31), which was the opposite of what God had intended for it (2:1-22). Such a society was heading for a humiliating judgment (3:1-4:1), though after the judgment a new Israel would be born. The people of God would then consist of those whom God had saved and made holy (4:2-6).
In Isaiah’s day, however, Judah had despised God’s love, and the nation would surely be taken into captivity (5:1-30). Isaiah would have a difficult task in taking God’s message to such a rebellious people, because most would reject the message. But God would preserve the few who remained faithful to him, and from these he would produce a new people for himself (6:1-13).
Judah in the reign of Ahaz (Chaps. 7-12)
At the time Ahaz came to the throne of Judah, the nearby nation of Assyria was growing in power (see AHAZ; ASSYRIA). Understandably, the countries in and around Palestine saw Assyria as a threat to their security.
To strengthen the defence against Assyria, the kings of Syria and Israel tried to persuade Ahaz to join them in a three-part alliance. When Ahaz refused, Syria and Israel joined forces to attack Jerusalem (735 BC), with the aim of setting a king of their choice on the Judean throne and so forcing Judah into the alliance. Ahaz was terrified, but Isaiah assured him that if he remained calm and trusted in God, Jerusalem would be delivered. Ahaz decided instead to ask Assyria to come and help him. Isaiah warned that this would lead to disaster, for Judah would then fall under Assyria’s power. But Ahaz ignored him (7:1-25; cf. 2Ki_16:7-8).
The common people likewise rejected the way of faith. God’s judgment on Judah, by means of the Assyrians, was therefore certain (8:1-22). But out of the darkness to fall upon the nation would come a new leader, the great Messiah-Deliverer, to bring in a new era of light, joy and peace (9:1-7).
Isaiah then described the condition of the neighbouring kingdom Israel, which had become progressively weaker and was finally conquered by Assyria (in 722 BC; 9:8-10:4). But Assyria made the mistake of thinking it could treat God’s people as it liked. Therefore, it too would be punished (10:5-34).
Judah meanwhile suffered and eventually would be destroyed, but God would preserve a remnant, the minority who remained faithful to him. From the people taken captive to foreign lands, a remnant would return to their homeland and the Messiah’s kingdom would be set up (11:1-12:6).
Messages for various nations (Chaps. 13-23)
Not only Judah and Israel, but all nations were under the rule of God. He controlled their rise to power and their final destruction. Babylon, the first on a list of nations to be addressed by the prophet, had not yet risen to power, but when its day of glory came, it would bring about its own downfall. Its arrogant defiance of God guaranteed its destruction (13:1-14:23).
Assyria, the main threat in Isaiah’s day, was also doomed (14:24-32). Moab would fall (15:1-16:14), and so too would Syria and Israel who had combined to attack Judah (17:1-14).
Judah was to make no foreign alliances for the purpose of withstanding Assyria (18:1-7). To rely on Egypt would be useless, because Egypt would be conquered (19:1-25). Alliances would lead only to eventual captivity (20:1-6). Babylonians, Edomites and Arabs would all suffer destruction (21:1-17), but when Jerusalem was besieged, the people had to keep trusting in God (22:1-25). Phoenicia, the great commercial power of the day, would also be judged (23:1-18).
Final judgment and salvation (Chaps. 24-27)
From the judgment of the nations of his time, Isaiah went on to consider God’s final judgment of the world. God would make no distinction on the basis of class or status. The faithful alone would be saved, and they would praise him for his gracious salvation (24:1-25:12). The godly, who had suffered because of their loyalty to God, would finally have victory (26:1-21). After a shameful exile there would be a glorious return (27:1-13).
Judah in the reign of Hezekiah (Chaps. 28-39)
When Hezekiah succeeded Ahaz as king of Judah, he immediately set about changing Judah’s foreign policy and reforming its religion. He then revolted against Assyria by refusing to pay further taxes (2Ki_18:7; see HEZEKIAH). In doing so he sought military support from Egypt, an action that Isaiah opposed, just as he had opposed Ahaz’s dependence on Assyria. Judah’s need was not for foreign military aid but for quiet faith in God.
Bad leadership, both civil and religious, was one reason for Judah’s decline and subsequent punishment (28:1-29). By allowing Jerusalem to be besieged and then miraculously saving it (701 BC), God showed that Judah did not need political alliances to guarantee its security (29:1-24). To rely on Egypt was particularly foolish (30:1-31:9).
Beyond the deliverance from the Assyrians, the prophet saw a kingdom of righteousness where Judah would be governed by a king according to the ways of God (32:1-20). The current crisis, out of which God would defeat Assyria and bless Judah (33:1-24), was a foreshadowing of the final great judgment of the world, when God would destroy all enemies (34:1-17) and bless his faithful people (35:1-10).
A historical appendix outlines the events that formed the background to the previous messages. The Assyrians attacked (36:1-22), but God brought about their defeat (37:1-38). Earlier God had preserved Hezekiah’s life to enable him to lead Judah through the conflict with Assyria (38:1-22). Hezekiah, however, could not resist the temptation of yet another anti-Assyrian alliance, this time with Babylon. Isaiah saw that it would lead to eventual conquest and captivity in Babylon (39:1-8).
Captivity and return (Chaps. 40-48)
Between the events of Chapter 39 and those of Chapter 40 there is a gap of about 150 years. (Some suggest that Chapters 40-66 were not written by Isaiah, but come from some person or persons of a later generation.) The scene changes from Jerusalem of Hezekiah’s day to Babylon in the time of the Jews’ captivity.
During the 150 years that are omitted, Babylon had risen to power, conquered Assyria in 612 BC, then from 605 to 587 BC attacked Judah repeatedly, finally destroying Jerusalem and taking the people into captivity (see BABYLON). The events foreseen in Chapters 40-48 began to take place during this time of captivity. Cyrus of Persia was overpowering one nation after another in the region, and in 539 BC he would conquer Babylon and give permission to the Jews to return to their land.
God reassured his people that he was the all-powerful one. Though he had punished them in captivity, he would now lead them back to their land in triumph (40:1-31). He was raising up a deliverer, Cyrus, who would conquer Babylon and release the Jews (41:1-29; see CYRUS). There would be a new Israel, a true servant of God, through whom God would save the repentant of all nations (42:1-25).
All this would be a demonstration of God’s power (43:1-28); for, while idols were lifeless, Israel’s God was the living, sovereign Lord (44:1-28). It was he who had raised up Cyrus to free the captive Jews (45:1-19). Babylon’s gods would be powerless to save when the day of Babylon’s destruction came (45:20-46:13). The once proud nation would die in shame (47:1-15). The Jews were to learn from their past mistakes and not fall into idolatry again (48:1-22).
The salvation of God’s people (Chaps. 49-55)
Although God had chosen Israel to be his servant, Israel as a whole was a failure. But there were always some who remained faithful, and for their sakes God would restore the nation (49:1-50:3). God’s true servant learnt obedience and perseverance through the things he suffered (50:4-11). It might have seemed impossible that mighty Babylon could be overthrown and the nation Israel rebuilt, but God had done the seemingly impossible in the past and he would do so again (51:1-23). The exiles were to prepare to return (52:1-12).
Just as people were startled at the sight of the servant’s great suffering, so would they be startled at the sight of his great glory. The sufferer would become a conqueror (52:13-53:12; see SERVANT OF THE LORD). Judah’s exile in Babylon was like the divorce of a wife from her husband, but God would now forgive her and take her back (54:1-17). The exiles would find full satisfaction, not by trying to make life comfortable for themselves in Babylon, but by returning to Jerusalem (55:1-13).
Present shame and future glory (Chaps. 56-66)
Looking ahead to the time of the Jews’ resettlement around Jerusalem, the prophet saw that the golden age had still not come. With social and religious sins again characterizing Israel’s national life, the prophet looked for a new Jerusalem yet to be.
Israel’s new national life should have been based on God’s law (56:1-8), but religious and civil leaders were as corrupt as those of former days (56:9-57:21). God rejected the worship of those who tried to impress him with their religion while at the same time they oppressed others (58:1-14). If they did not change their ways, God would act in judgment (59:1-21).
Returning to the scene in Babylon and the expectation of return, the prophet pointed out that foreigners would come to join the Jews in rebuilding Jerusalem and worshipping God there (60:1-22). The returned exiles would mourn when they saw the ruined city, but God would compensate them for former plunderings (61:1-62:12) and punish the plunderers (63:1-6).
On behalf of the nation, the prophet confessed its sin and asked God’s forgiveness (63:7-64:12). Amid all the corruption there had always been a faithful remnant, and these were God’s true people, the people of the Messiah’s kingdom (65:1-25). God had always required right attitudes and behaviour (66:1-6), and only a genuinely spiritual life would fit people for the new age (66:7-24).
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.

ı̄-zā?ya, ı̄-zı̄?a:
1. Name
2. Personal History
3. Call
4. Literary Genius and Style
5. Traditions Concerning His Martyrdom
6. Period
7. Analysis and Contents
8. Isaiah's Prophecies Chronologically Arranged
9. The Critical Problem
(1) The History of Criticism
(2) The Disintegration of ?Deutero-Isaiah?
(3) Recent Views
(4) The Present State of the Question
(5) Reasons for Dissecting the Book
(6) Arguments for One Isaiah
(a) The Circle of Ideas
(b) The Literary Style
(c) Historical References
(d) The Predictive Element
(e) Cyrus a Subject of Prediction
Literature
Of all Israel's celebrated prophets, Isaiah is the king. The writings which bear his name are among the profoundest in all literature. One great theme - salvation by faith - stamps them all. Isaiah is the Paul of the Old Testament.

1. Name
In Hebrew ישׁעיהוּ, yesha‛yāhū, and ישׁעיה, yesha‛yāh; Greek Ἠσαΐ́ας, Ēsaı́as; Latin Esaias and Isaias. His name was symbolic of his message. Like ?Joshua,? it means ?Yahweh saves,? or ?Yahweh is salvation,? or ?salvation of Yahweh.?

2. Personal History
Isaiah was the son of Amoz (not Amos). He seems to have belonged to a family of some rank, as may be inferred from his easy access to the king (Isa_7:3), and his close intimacy with the priest (Isa_8:2). Tradition says he was the cousin of King Uzziah. He lived in Jerusalem and became court preacher. He was married and had two sons: Shear-jashub, his name signifying ?a remnant shall return? (Isa_7:3), and Maher-shalal-hash-baz, ?hasting to the spoil, hurrying to the prey,? symbolic of Assyria's mad lust of conquest (Isa_8:3). Jewish tradition, based upon a false interpretation of Isa_7:14, declares he was twice married.

3. Call
In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah, apparently while worshipping in the temple, received a call to the prophetic office (Isa_6:1-13). He responded with noteworthy alacrity, and accepted his commission, though he knew from the outset that his task was to be one of fruitless warning and exhortation (Isa_6:9-13). Having been reared in Jerusalem, he was well fitted to become the political and religious counselor of the nation, but the experience which prepared him most for his important work was the vision of the majestic and thrice-holy God which he saw in the temple in the death-year of King Uzziah. There is no good reason for doubting that this was his inaugural vision, though some regard it as a vision which came to him after years of experience in preaching and as intended to deepen his spirituality. While this is the only explicit ?vision? Isaiah saw, yet his entire book, from first to last, is, as the title (11) suggests, a ?vision.? His horizon, both political and spiritual, was practically unbounded. In a very true sense, as Delitzsch says, he was ?the universal prophet of Israel.?

4. Literary Genius and Style
For versatility of expression and brilliancy of imagery Isaiah had no superior, not even a rival. His style marks the climax of Hebrew literary article Both his periods and Genius and descriptions are most finished and sublime. He is a perfect artist in words. Beauty and strength are characteristic of his entire book. Epigrams and metaphors, particularly of flood, storm and sound (Isa_1:13; Isa_5:18, Isa_5:22; Isa_8:8; Isa_10:22; Isa_28:17, Isa_28:20; Isa_30:28, Isa_30:30), interrogation and dialogue (Isa_6:8; Isa_10:8, Isa_10:9), antithesis and alliteration (Isa_1:18; Isa_3:24; Isa_17:10, Isa_17:12), hyperbole and parable (Isa_2:7; Isa_5:1-7; Isa_28:23-29), even paranomasia, or play upon words (Isa_5:7; Isa_7:9), characterize Isaiah's book as the great masterpiece of Hebrew literature. He is also famous for his richness of vocabulary and synonyms. For example, Ezekiel uses 1,535 words; Jeremiah, 1,653; the Psalmists 2,170; while Isaiah uses 2,186. Isaiah was also an orator: Jerome likened him to Demosthenes; and a poet: he frequently elaborates his messages in rhythmic or poetic style (Isa_12:1-6; Isa_25:1-5; Isa_26:1-12; Isa_38:10-20; Isa_42:1-4; Isa_49:1-9; Isa_50:4-9; 52:13-53:12; 60-62; 66:5-24); and in several instances slips into elegiac rhythm, e.g. in Isa_37:22-29 there is a fine taunting poem on Sennacherib, and in 14:4-23 another on the king of Babylon. As Driver observes, ?Isaiah's poetical genius is superb.?

5. Traditions Concerning His Martyrdom
Nothing definite or historical is known concerning the prophet's end. Toward the close of the 2nd century ad, however, there was a tradition to the effect that he suffered martyrdom in the heathen reaction which occurred under King Manasseh, because of certain speeches concerning God and the Holy City which his contemporaries alleged were contrary to the law. Indeed the Jewish Mishna explicitly states that Manasseh slew him. Justin Martyr also (150 ad), in his controversial dialogue with the Jew Trypho, reproaches the Jews with this accusation, ?whom ye sawed asunder with a wooden saw?; this tradition is further confirmed by a Jewish Apocalypse of the 2nd century ad, entitled, The Ascension of Isaiah, and by Epiphanius in his so-called Lives of the Prophets. It is barely possible that there is an allusion to his martyrdom in Heb_11:37, which reads, ?They were stoned, they were sawn asunder,? but this is by no means certain. In any case Isaiah probably survived the great catastrophe of the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 bc, and possibly also the death of Hezekiah in 699 bc; for in 2Ch_32:32 it is stated that Isaiah wrote a biography of King Hezekiah. If so, his prophetic activity extended over a period of more than 40 years. Dr. G. A. Smith extends it to ?more than 50? (Jerusalem, II, 180; compare Whitehouse, ?Isaiah,? New Century Bible, I, 72).

6. Period
According to the title of his book (11), Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. He dates his inaugural vision (Isa_6:1) in Uzziah's death-year, which was approximately 740 bc. This marks, therefore, the beginning of his prophetic ministry. And we know that he was still active as late as the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib in 701 bc. Hence, the minimum period of his activity as a prophet was from 740 to 701 bc. As a young man Isaiah witnessed the rapid development of Judah into a strong commercial and military state; for under Uzziah Judah attained a degree of prosperity and strength never before enjoyed since the days of Solomon. Walls, towers, fortifications, a large standing army, a port for commerce on the Red Sea, increased inland trade, tribute from the Ammonites, success in war with the Philistines and the Arabians - all these became Judah's during Uzziah's long and prosperous reign of 52 years. But along with power and wealth came also avarice, oppression, religious formality and corruption. The temple revenues indeed were greatly increased, but religion and life were too frequently dissociated; the nation's progress was altogether material. During the reign of Jotham (740-736 bc), who for several years was probably associated with his father as co-regent, a new power began to appear over the eastern horizon. The Assyrians, with whom Ahab had come in contact at the battle of Karkar in 854 bc, and to whom Jehu had paid tribute in 842 bc, began to manifest anew their characteristic lust of conquest. Tiglathpileser III, who is called ?Pul? in 2Ki_15:19 and reigned over Assyria from 745 to 727 bc, turned his attention westward, and in 738 bc reduced Arpad, Calno, Carchemish, Hamath and Damascus, causing them to pay tribute. His presence in the West led Pekah, king of North Israel, and Rezin, king of Damascus, to form an alliance in order to resist further encroachment on the part of Assyria. When Ahaz refused to join their confederacy they resolved to dethrone him and set in his stead the son of Tabeel upon the throne of David (2Ki_16:5; Isa_7:6). The struggle which ensued is commonly known as the Syro-Ephraimitic war (734 bc) - one of the great events in Isaiah's period. Ahaz in panic sent to Tiglath-pileser for help (2Ki_16:7), who of course responded with alacrity. The result was that the great Assyrian warrior sacked Gaza and carried all of Galilee and Gilead into captivity (734) and finally took Damascus (732 bc). Ahaz was forced to pay dearly for his protection and Judah was brought very low (2Ki_15:29; 2Ki_16:7-9; 2Ch_28:19; Isa_7:1). The religious as well as the political effect of Ahaz' policy was decidedly baneful. To please Tiglath-pileser, Ahaz went to Damascus to join in the celebration of his victories, and while there saw a Syrian altar, a pattern of which he sent to Jerusalem and had a copy set up in the temple in place of the brazen altar of Solomon. Thus Ahaz, with all the influence of a king, introduced idolatry into Jerusalem, even causing his sons to pass through the fire (2Ki_16:10-16; 2Ch_28:3).
Hezekiah succeeded Ahaz, beginning to rule at the age of 25 and reigning 29 years (727-699 bc). Isaiah was at least 15 years his senior. The young king inherited from his father a heavy burden. The splendor of Uzziah's and Jotham's reigns was rapidly fading before the ever-menacing and avaricious Assyrians. Hezekiah began his reign with reformation. ?He removed the high places, and brake the pillars, and cut down the Asherah? (2Ki_18:4, 2Ki_18:22). He even invited the surviving remnant of North Israel to join in celebrating the Passover (2Ch_30:1). But Israel's end was drawing near. Hoshea, the vacillating puppet-king of North Israel (730-722 bc), encouraged by Egypt, refused longer to pay Assyria his annual tribute (2Ki_17:4); whereupon Shalmaneser IV, who had succeeded Tiglath-pileser, promptly appeared before the gates of Samaria in 724 bc, and for 3 weary years besieged the city (2Ki_17:5). Finally, the city was captured by Sargon II, who succeeded Shalmaneser IV in 722 bc, and 27,292 of Israel's choicest people (according to Sargon's own description) were deported to Assyria, and colonists were brought from Babylon and other adjacent districts and placed in the cities of Samaria (2Ki_17:6, 2Ki_17:24). Thus the kingdom of North Israel passed into oblivion, and Judah was left ever after quite exposed to the direct ravages, political and religious, of her Assyrio-Babylonian neighbors. In fact Judah herself barely escaped destruction by promising heavy tribute. This was the second great political crisis during Isaiah's ministry. Other crises were soon to follow. One was the desperate illness of King Hezekiah, who faced assured death in 714 bc. Being childless, he was seriously concerned for the future of the Davidic dynasty. He resorted to prayer, however, and God graciously extended his life 15 years (2 Ki 20; Isa 38). His illness occurred during the period of Babylon's independence under Merodach-baladan, the ever-ambitious, irresistible and uncompromising enemy of Assyria, who for 12 years (721-709 bc) maintained independent supremacy over Babylon. Taking advantage of Hezekiah's wonderful cure, Merodach seized the opportunity of sending an embassy to Jerusalem to congratulate him on his recovery (712 bc), and at the same time probably sought to form an alliance with Judah to resist Assyrian supremacy (2Ki_20:12; Isa_39:1-8). Nothing, however, came of the alliance, for the following year Sargon's army reappeared in Philistia in order to discipline Ashdod for conspiracy with the king of Egypt (711 bc). The greatest crisis was yet to come. Its story is as follows: Judah and her neighbors groaned more and more under the heavy exactions of Assyria. Accordingly, when Sargon was assassinated and Sennacherib came to the throne in 705 bc, rebellion broke out on all sides. Merodach-baladan, who had been expelled by Sargon in 709 bc, again took Babylon and held it for at least six months in 703 bc. Hezekiah, who was encouraged by Egypt and all Philistia, except Padi of Ekron, the puppet-king of Sargon, refused longer to pay Assyria tribute (2Ki_18:7). Meanwhile a strong pro-Egyptian party had sprung up in Jerusalem. In view of all these circumstances, Sennacherib in 701 bc marched westward with a vast army, sweeping everything before him. Tyre was invested though not taken; on the other hand, Joppa, Eltekeh, Ekron, Ashkelon, Ammon, Moab, and Edom all promptly yielded to his demands. Hezekiah was panic stricken and hastened to bring rich tribute, stripping even the temple and the palace of their treasures to do so (2Ki_18:13-16). But Sennacherib was not satisfied. He overran Judah, capturing, as he tells us in his inscription, 46 walled towns and smaller villages without number, carrying 200,150 of Judah's population into captivity to Assyria, and demanding as tribute 800 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold, in all, over $1,500,000; he took also, he claims, Hezekiah's daughters and palace women, seized his male and female singers, and carried away enormous spoil. But the end was not yet. Sennacherib himself, with the bulk of the army, halted in Philistia to reduce Lachish; thence he sent a strong detachment under his commander-in-chief, the Rabshakeh, to besiege Jerusalem (2 Ki 18:17 through 19:8; Isa 36:2 through 37:8). As he describes this blockade in his own inscription: ?I shut up Hezekiah in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage.? The Rabshakeh, however, failed to capture the city and returned to Sennacherib, who meanwhile had completely conquered Lachish, and was now warring against Libnab. A second expedition against Jerusalem was planned, but hearing that Tirhakah (at that time the commander-in-chief of Egypt's forces and only afterward ?king of Ethiopia?) was approaching, Sennacherib was forced to content himself with sending messengers with a letter to Hezekiah, demanding immediate surrender of the city (2Ki_19:9; Isa_37:9). Hezekiah, however, through Isaiah's influence held out; and in due time, though Sennacherib disposed of Tirhakah's army without difficulty, his immense host in some mysterious way - by plague or otherwise - was suddenly smitten, and the great Assyrian conqueror was forced to return to Nineveh; possibly because Merodach-baladan had again appeared in Babylonia. Sennacherib never again returned to Palestine, so far as we know, during the subsequent 20 years of his reign, though he did make an independent expedition into North Arabia (691-689 bc). This invasion of Judah by Sennacherib in 701 bc was the great political event in Isaiah's ministry. Had it not been for the prophet's statesmanship, Jerusalem might have capitulated. As it was, only a small, insignificantly small, remnant of Judah's population escaped. Isaiah had at this time been preaching 40 years. How much longer he labored is not known.

7. Analysis and Contents
There are six general divisions of the book: (1) Isa 1 through 12, prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem, closing with promises of restoration and a psalm of thanksgiving; (2) Isa 13 through 23, oracles of judgment and salvation, for the most part concerning those foreign nations whose fortunes affected Judah and Jerusalem; (3) Isa 24 through 27, Yahweh's world-judgment in the redemption of Israel; (4) Isa 28 through 35, a cycle of prophetic warnings against alliance with Egypt, closing with a prophecy concerning Edom and a promise of Israel's ransom; (5) Isa 36 through 39, history, prophecy and song intermingled; serving both as an appendix to Isa 1 through 35, and as an introduction to Isa 40 through 66; (6) Isa 40 through 66, prophecies of comfort and salvation, and also of the future glory awaiting Israel.
By examining in detail these several divisions we can trace better the prophet's thought. Thus, Isa 1 through 12 unfold Judah's social sins (Isa 1 through 6), and her political entanglements (Isa 7 through 12); Isa 1 is an introduction, in which the prophet strikes the chief notes of his entire book: namely, thoughtlessness (Isa_1:2-9), formalism in worship (Isa_1:10-17), pardon (Isa_1:18-23) and judgment (Isa_1:24-31). Isa 2 through 4 contain three distinct pictures of Zion: (a) her exaltation (Isa_2:2-4), (b) her present idolatry (2:5 through 4:1), and (c) her eventual purification (Isa_4:2-6). Isa 5 contains an arraignment of Judah and Jerusalem, composed of three parts: (a) a parable of Yahweh's vineyard (Isa_5:1-7); (b) a series of six woes pronounced against insatiable greed (Isa_5:8-10), dissipation (Isa_5:11-17), daring defiance against Yahweh (Isa_5:18, Isa_5:19), confusion of moral distinctions (Isa_5:20), political self-conceit (Isa_5:21), and misdirected heroism (Isa_5:22, Isa_5:23); and (c) an announcement of imminent judgment. The Assyrian is on the way and there will be no escape (Isa_5:24-30). Isa_6:1-13 recounts the prophet's inaugural vision and commission. It is really an apologetic, standing as it does after the prophet's denunciations of his contemporaries. When they tacitly object to his message of threatening and disaster, he is able to reply that, having pronounced ?woe? upon himself in the year that King Uzziah died, he had the authority to pronounce woe upon them (Isa_6:5). Plainly Isaiah tells them that Judah's sins are well-nigh hopeless. They are becoming spiritually insensible. They have eyes but they cannot see. Only judgment can, avail: ?the righteous judgment of a forgotten God? awaits them. A ?holy seed,? however, still existed in Israel's stock (Isa_6:13).
Coming to Isa 7 through 12, Isaiah appears in the role of a practical statesman. He warns Ahaz against political entanglements with Assyria. The section 7:1 through 9:7 is a prophecy of Immanuel, history and prediction being intermingled.
They describe the Syro-Ephraimitic uprising in 736 bc, when Pekah of North Israel and Rezin of Damascus, in attempting to defend themselves against the Assyrians, demanded that Ahaz of Jerusalem should become their ally. But Ahaz preferred the friendship of Assyria, and refused to enter into alliance with them. And in order to defend himself, he applied to Assyria for assistance, sending ambassadors with many precious treasures, both royal and sacred, to bribe Tiglath-pileser. It was at this juncture that Isaiah, at Yahweh's bidding, expostulates with Ahaz concerning the fatal step he is about to take, and as a practical statesman warns Ahaz, ?the king of No-Faith,? that the only path of safety lies in loyalty to Yahweh and keeping clear of foreign alliances; that ?God is with us? for salvation; and that no ?conspiracy? can possibly be successful unless God too is against us. When, however, the prophet's message of promise and salvation finds no welcome, he commits it to his disciples, bound up and sealed for future use; assuring his hearers that unto them a child is born and unto them a son is given, in whose day the empire of David will be established upon a basis of justice and righteousness. The Messianic scion is the ground of the prophet's hope; which hope, though unprecedented, he thus early in his ministry commits, written and sealed, to his inner circle of ?disciples.? See, further, IMMANUEL.
The section Isa 9:8 through 10:4 contains an announcement to North Israel of accumulated wrath and impending ruin, with a refrain (Isa_9:12, Isa_9:17, Isa_9:21; Isa_10:4). Here, in an artistic poem composed of four strophes, the prophet describes the great calamities which Yahweh has sent down upon North Israel but which have gone unheeded: foreign invasion (Isa_9:8-12), defeat in battle (Isa_9:13-17), anarchy (Isa_9:18-21), and impending captivity (Isa_10:1-4). Yet Yahweh's judgments have gone unheeded: ?For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.? Divine discipline has failed; only judgment remains.
In Isa 10:5-34, Assyria is declared to be an instrument of Yahweh, the rod of Yahweh's anger. Isa 11 through 12 predict Israel's return from exile, including a vision of the Messiah's reign of ideal peace. For Isaiah's vision of the nation's future reached far beyond mere exile. To him the downfall of Assyria was the signal for the commencement of a new era in Israel's history. Assyria has no future, her downfall is fatal; Judah has a future, her calamities are only disciplinary. An Ideal Prince will be raised up in whose advent all Nature will rejoice, even dumb animals (Isa_11:1-10). A second great exodus will take place, for the Lord will set His hand again ?the second time? to recover the remnant of His people ?from the four corners of the earth? (Isa_11:11, Isa_11:12). In that day, ?Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim? (Isa_11:13). On the contrary, the reunited nation, redeemed and occupying their rightful territory (Isa_11:14-16), shall sing a hymn of thanksgiving, proclaiming the salvation of Yahweh to all the earth (Isa_12:1-6).
Isaiah 13 through 23 contain oracles of judgment and salvation, for the most part concerning those foreign nations whose fortunes affected Judah and Jerusalem. They are grouped together by the editor, as similar foreign oracles are in Jer 46 through 51 and Ezek 25 through 32. Isaiah's horizon was world-wide. First among the foreign prophecies stands the oracle concerning Babylon (Isa 13:1 through 14:23), in which he predicts the utter destruction of the city (Isa 13:2-22), and sings a dirge or taunt-song over her fallen king (Isa 14:4-23). The king alluded to is almost beyond doubt an Assyrian (not a Babylonian) monarch of the 8th century; the brief prophecy immediately following in Isa_14:24-27 concerning Assyria tacitly confirms this interpretation. Another brief oracle concerning Babylon (Isa_21:1-10) describes the city's fall as imminent. Both oracles stand or fall together as genuine prophecies of Isaiah. Both seem to have been written in Jerusalem (Isa_13:2; Isa_21:9, Isa_21:10). It cannot be said that either is absolutely unrelated in thought and language to Isaiah's age (Isa_14:13; Isa_21:2); each foretells the doom to fall on Babylon (Isa_13:19; Isa_21:9) at the hands of the Medes (Isa_13:17; Isa_21:2); and each describes the Israelites as already in exile - but not necessarily all Israel.
The section Isa_14:24-27 tells of the certain destruction of the Assyrian.
The passage Isa_14:28-32 is an oracle concerning Philistia.
Isaiah 15 through 16 are ancient oracles against Moab, whose dirgelike meter resembles that of Isa 13 through 14. It is composed of two separate prophecies belonging to two different periods in Isaiah's ministry (Isa_16:13, Isa_16:14). The three points of particular interest in the oracle are: (1) The prophet's tender sympathy for Moab in her affliction (Isa_15:5; Isa_16:11). Isaiah mingles his own tears with those of the Moabites. As Delitzsch says, ?There is no prophecy in the Book of Isaiah in which the heart of the prophet is so painfully moved by what his spirit beholds and his mouth must prophecy.? (2) Moab's pathetic appeal for shelter from her foes; particularly the ground on which she urges it, namely, the Messianic hope that the Davidic dynasty shall always stand and be able to repulse its foes (Isa_16:5). The prophecy is an echo of Isa_9:5-7. (3) The promise that a remnant of Moab, though small, shall be saved (Isa_16:14). Wearied of prayer to Chemosh in his high places, the prophet predicts that Moab will seek the living God (Isa_16:12).
The passage Isa_17:1-11 is an oracle concerning Damascus and North Israel, in which Isaiah predicts the fate of the two allies - Syria and Ephraim - in the Syro-Ephraimitic war of 734 bc, with a promise that only a scanty remnant will survive (Isa_17:6). In Isa_17:12-14, the prophet boldly announces the complete annihilation of Judah's unnamed foes - the Assyrians.
Isa_18:1-7 describes Ethiopia as in great excitement, sending ambassadors hither and thither - possibly all the way to Jerusalem - ostensibly seeking aid in making preparations for war. Assyria had already taken Damascus (732 bc) and Samaria (722 bc), and consequently Egypt and Ethiopia were in fear of invasion. Isaiah bids the ambassadors to return home and quietly watch Yahweh thwart Assyria's self-confident attempt to subjugate Judah; and he adds that when the Ethiopians have seen God's hand in the coming deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem (701 bc), they will bring a present to Yahweh to His abode in Mount Zion.
Isaiah 19, which is an oracle concerning Egypt, contains both a threat (19:1-17) and a promise (Isa_19:18-25), and is one of Isaiah's most remarkable foreign messages. Egypt is smitten and thereby led to abandon her idols for the worship of Yahweh (Isa_19:19-22). Still more remarkable, it is prophesied that in that day Egypt and Assyria will join with Judah in a triple alliance of common worship to Yahweh and of blessing to others (Isa_19:23-25). Isaiah's missionary outlook here is wonderful!
Isa_20:1-6 describes Sargon's march against Egypt and Ethiopia, containing a brief symbolic prediction of Assyria's victory over Egypt and Ethiopia. By donning a captive's garb for three years, Isaiah attempts to teach the citizens of Jerusalem that the siege of Ashdod was but a means to an end in Sargon's plan of campaign, and that it was sheer folly for the Egyptian party in Jerusalem, who were ever urging reliance upon Egypt, to look in that direction for help. Isa_21:11, Isa_21:12 is a brief oracle concerning Seir or Edom, ?the only gentle utterance in the Old Testament upon Israel's hereditary foe.? Edom is in great anxiety. The prophet's answer is disappointing, though its tone is sympathetic. Isa_21:13 is a brief oracle concerning Arabia. It contains a sympathetic appeal to the Temanites to give bread and water to the caravans of Dedan, who have been driven by war from their usual route of travel.
Isaiah 22 is concerning the foreign temper within theocracy. It is composed of two parts: (1) an oracle ?of the valley of vision,? i.e. Jerusalem (Isa_22:1-14); and (2) a philippic against Shebna, the comptroller of the palace. Isaiah pauses, as it were, in his series of warnings to foreign nations to rebuke the foreign temper of the frivolous inhabitants of Jerusalem, and in particular Shebna, a high official in the government. The reckless and God-ignoring citizens of the capital are pictured as indulging themselves in hilarious eating and drinking, when the enemy is at that very moment standing before the gates of the city. Shebna, on the other hand, seems to have been an ostentatious foreigner, perhaps a Syrian by birth, quite possibly one of the Egyptian party, whose policy was antagonistic to that of Isaiah and the king. Isaiah's prediction of Shebna's fall was evidently fulfilled (Isa_36:3; Isa_37:2).
Isaiah 23 is concerning Tyre. In this oracle Isaiah predicts that Tyre shall be laid waste (Isa_23:1), her commercial glory humbled (Isa_23:9), her colonies become independent of her (Isa_23:10), and she herself forgotten for ?seventy years? (Isa_23:15); but ?after the end of seventy years,? her trade will revive, her business prosperity will return, and she will dedicate her gains in merchandise as holy to Yahweh (Isa_23:18).
The third great section of the Book of Isaiah embraces Isa 24 through 27, which tell of Yahweh's world-judgment, issuing in the redemption of Israel. These prophecies stand closely related to Isa 13 through 23. They express the same tender emotion as that already observed in Isa_15:5; Isa_16:11, and sum up as in one grand finale the prophet's oracles to Israel's neighbors. For religious importance they stand second to none in the Book of Isaiah, teaching the necessity of Divine discipline and the glorious redemption awaiting the faithful in Israel. They are a spiritual commentary on the great Assyrian crisis of the 8th century; they are messages of salvation intended, not for declamation, but for meditation, and were probably addressed more particularly to the prophet's inner circle of ?disciples? (Isa_8:16). These chapters partake of the nature of apocalypse. Strictly speaking, however, they are prophecy, not apocalypse. No one ascends into heaven or talks with an angel, as in Dan 7 and Rev_4:1-11. They are apocalypse only in the sense that certain things are predicted as sure to come to pass. Isaiah was fond of this kind of prophecy. He frequently lifts his reader out of the sphere of mere history to paint pictures of the far-off, distant future (Isa_2:2-4; Isa_4:2-6; Isa_11:6-16; Isa_30:27-33).
In Isa 24 the prophet announces a general judgment of the earth (i.e. the land of Judah), and of ?the city? (collective, for Judah's towns), after which will dawn a better day (Isa_24:1-15). The prophet fancies he hears songs of deliverance, but alas! they are premature; more judgment must follow. In Isa_25:1-12 the prophet transports himself to the period after the Assyrian catastrophe and, identifying himself with the redeemed, puts into their mouths songs of praise and thanksgiving for their deliverance. Isa_25:6-8 describe Yahweh's bountiful banquet on Mount Zion to all nations, who, in keeping with Isa_2:2-4, come up to Jerusalem, to celebrate ?a feast of fat things,? rich and marrowy. While the people are present at the banquet, Yahweh graciously removes their spiritual blindness so that they behold Him as the true dispenser of life and grace. He also abolishes violent death, that is to say, war (compare Isa_2:4) and its sad accompaniment, ?tears,? so that ?the earth? (i.e. the land of Judah) is no longer the battlefield of the nations, but the blessed abode of the redeemed, living in peace and happiness. The prophet's aim is not political but religious.
In Isa 26:1-19 Judah sings a song over Jerusalem, the impregnable city of God. The prophet, taking again his stand with the redeemed remnant of the nation, vividly portrays their thankful trust in Yahweh, who has been unto them a veritable ?Rock of Ages? (Isa_26:4 margin). With hope he joyfully exclaims, Let Yahweh's dead ones live! Let Israel's dead bodies arise! Yahweh will bring life from the dead! (Isa_26:19). This is the first clear statement of the resurrection in the Old Testament. But it is national and restricted to Israel (compare Isa_26:14), and is merely Isaiah's method of expressing a hope of the return of Israel's faithful ones from captivity (compare Hos_6:2; Eze_37:1-14; Dan_12:2).
In Isa 26:20 through 27:13 the prophet shows that Israel's chastisements are salutary. He begins by exhorting his own people, his disciples, to continue a little longer in the solitude of prayer, till God's wrath has shattered the world-powers (26:20 through 27:1). He next predicts that the true vineyard of Yahweh will henceforth be safely guarded against the briars and thorns of foreign invasion (Isa_27:2-6). And then, after showing that Yahweh's chastisements of Israel were light compared with His judgments upon other nations (Isa_27:7-11), he promises that if Israel will only repent, Yahweh will spare no pains to gather ?one by one? the remnant of His people from Assyria and Egypt (compare Isa_11:11); and together they shall once more worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem (Isa_27:12, Isa_27:13).
The prophet's fundamental standpoint in Isa 24 through 27 is the same as that of Isa_2:2-4 and Isa 13 through 23. Yet the prophet not infrequently throws himself forward into the remote future, oscillating backward and forward between his own times and those of Israel's restoration. It is especially noteworthy how he sustains himself in a long and continued transportation of himself to the period of Israel's redemption. He even studies to identify himself with the new Israel which will emerge out of the present chaos of political events. His visions of Israel's redemption carry him in ecstasy far away into the remote future, to a time when the nation's sufferings are all over; so that when he writes down what he saw in vision he describes it as a discipline that is past. For example, in Isa_25:1-8 the prophet, transported to the end of time, celebrates in song what he saw, and describes how the fall of the world-empire is followed by the conversion of the heathen. In Isa_26:8, Isa_26:9 he looks back into the past from the standpoint of the redeemed in the last days, and tells how Israel longingly waited for the manifestation of God's righteousness which has now taken place, while in Isa_27:7-9 he places himself in the midst of the nation's sufferings, in full view of their glorious future, and portrays how Yahweh's dealings with Israel have not been the punishment of wrath, but the discipline of love. This kind of apocalypse, or prophecy, indeed, was to be expected from the very beginning of the group of prophecies, which are introduced with the word ?Behold!? Such a manner of introduction is peculiar to Isaiah, and of itself leads us to expect a message which is unique.
The practical religious value of these prophecies to Isaiah's own age would be very great. In a period of war and repeated foreign invasion, when but few men were left in the land (Isa_24:6, Isa_24:13; Isa_26:18), and Judah's cities were laid waste and desolate (Isa_24:10, Isa_24:12; Isa_25:2; Isa_26:5; Isa_27:10), and music and gladness were wanting (Isa_24:8), when the nation still clung to their idols (Isa_27:9) and the Assyrians' work of destruction was still incomplete, other calamities being sure to follow (Isa_24:16), it would certainly be comforting to know that forgiveness was still possible (Isa_27:9), that Yahweh was still the keeper of His vineyard (Isa_27:3, Isa_27:4), that His judgments were to last but for a little moment (Isa_26:20), and that though His people should be scattered, He would soon carefully gather them ?one by one? (Isa_27:12, Isa_27:13), and that in company with other nations they would feast together on Mt. Zion as Yahweh's guests (Isa_25:6, Isa_25:7, Isa_25:10), and that Jerusalem should henceforth become the center of life and religion to all nations (Isa_24:23; Isa_25:6; Isa_27:13). Such faith in Yahweh, such exhortations and such songs and confessions of the redeemed, seen in vision, would be a source of rich spiritual comfort to the few suffering saints in Judah and Jerusalem, and a guiding star to the faithful disciples of the prophet's most inner circle.
Isaiah 28 through 35 contain a cycle of prophetic warnings against alliance with Egypt, closing with a prophecy concerning Edom and a promise of Israel's ransom. As in 5:8-23, the prophet indulges in a series of six woes:
(1) Woe to drunken, scoffing politicians (Isa 28). This is one of the great chapters of Isaiah's book. In the opening section (Isa_28:1-6) the prophet points in warning to the proud drunkards of Ephraim whose crown (Samaria) is rapidly fading. He next turns to the scoffing politicians of Jerusalem, rebuking especially the bibulous priests who stumble in judgment, and the staggering prophets who err in vision (28:7-22); closing with a most instructive parable from agriculture, teaching that God's judgments are not arbitrary; that as the husbandman does not plow and harrow his fields the whole year round, so God will not punish His people forever; and as the husbandman does not thresh all kinds of grain with equal severity, no more will God discipline His people beyond their deserts (Isa_28:23-29).
(2) Woe to formalists in religion (Isa_29:1-14). Isaiah's second woe is pronounced upon Ariel, the altar-hearth of God, i.e. Jerusalem, the sacrificial center of Israel's worship. David had first inaugurated the true worship of Yahweh in Zion. But now Zion's worship has become wholly conventional, formal, and therefore insincere; it is learned by rote (Isa_29:13; compare Isa_1:10-15; Mic_6:6-8). Therefore, says Isaiah, Yahweh is forced to do an extraordinary work among them, in order to bring them back to a true knowledge of Himself (Isa_29:14).
(3) Woe to those who hide their plans from God (Isa_29:15-24). What their plans are, which they are devising in secret, the prophet does not yet disclose; but he doubtless alludes to their intrigues with the Egyptians and their purpose to break faith with the Assyrians, to whom they were bound by treaty to pay annual tribute. Isaiah bravely remonstrates with them for supposing that any policy will succeed which excludes the counsel and wisdom of the Holy One. They are but clay; He is the potter. At this point, though somewhat abruptly, Isaiah turns his face toward the Messianic future. In a very little while, he says, Lebanon, which is now overrun by Assyria's army, shall become a fruitful field, and the blind and deaf and spiritually weak shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
(4) Woe to the pro-Egyptian party (Isa 30). Isaiah's fourth woe is directed against the rebellious politicians who stubbornly, and now openly, advocate making a league with Egypt. They have at length succeeded apparently in winning over the king to their side, and an embassy is already on its way to Egypt, bearing across the desert of the exodus rich treasures with which to purchase the friendship of their former oppressors. Isaiah now condemns what he can no longer prevent. Egypt is a Rahab ?sitstill,? i.e. a mythological sea-monster, menacing in mien but laggard in action. When the crisis comes, she will sit still, causing Israel only shame and confusion.
(5) Woe to those who trust in horses and chariots (Isa 31 through 32). Isaiah's fifth woe is a still more vehement denunciation of those who trust in Egypt's horses and chariots, and disregard the Holy One of Israel. Those who do so forget that the Egyptians are but men and their horses flesh, and that mere flesh cannot avail in a conflict with spirit. Eventually Yahweh means to deliver Jerusalem, if the children of Israel will but turn from their idolatries to Him; and in that day, Assyria will be vanquished. A new era will dawn upon Judah. Society will be regenerated. The renovation will begin at the top. Conscience also will be sharpened, and moral distinctions will no longer be confused (Isa_32:1-8). As Delitzsch puts it, ?The aristocracy of birth and wealth will be replaced by an aristocracy of character.? The careless and indifferent women, too, in that day will no longer menace the social welfare of the state (Isa_32:9-14); with the outpouring of Yahweh's spirit an ideal commonwealth will emerge, in which social righteousness, peace, plenty and security will abound (Isa_32:15-20).
(6) Woe to the Assyrian destroyer (Isa 33). Isaiah's last woe is directed against the treacherous spoiler himself, who has already laid waste the cities of Judah, and is now beginning to lay siege to Jerusalem (701 bc). The prophet prays, and while he prays, behold! the mighty hosts of the Assyrians are routed and the long-besieged but now triumphant inhabitants of Jerusalem rush out like locusts upon the spoil which the vanishing adversary has been forced to leave behind. The destroyer's plan to reduce Jerusalem has come to naught. The whole earth beholds the spectacle of Assyria's defeat and is filled with awe and amazement at the mighty work of Yahweh. Only the righteous may henceforth dwell in Jerusalem. their eyes shall behold the Messiah-king in his beauty, reigning no longer like Hezekiah over a limited and restricted territory, but over a land unbounded, whose inhabitants enjoy Yahweh's peace and protection, and are free from all sin, and therefore from all sickness (Isa_33:17-24). With this beautiful picture of the Messianic future, the prophet's woes find an appropriate conclusion. Isaiah never pronounced a woe without adding a corresponding promise.
In Isa 34 through 35, the prophet utters a fierce cry for justice against ?all the nations,? but against Edom in particular. His tone is that of judgment. Edom is guilty of high crimes against Zion (Isa_34:8 f), therefore she is doomed to destruction. On the other hand, the scattered ones of Israel shall return from exile and ?obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away? (Isa_35:1-10).
Isaiah 36 through 39 contain history, prophecy and song intermingled. These chapters serve both as an appendix to Isa 1 through 35 and as an introduction to Isa 40 through 66. In them three important historical events are narrated, in which Isaiah was a prominent factor: (1) The double attempt of Sennacherib to obtain possession of Jerusalem (Isa 36 through 37); (2) Hezekiah's sickness and recovery (Isa 38); (3) The embassy of Merodach-baladan (Isa_39:1-8). With certain important omissions and insertions these chapters are duplicated almost verbatim in 2 Ki 18:13 through 20:19. They are introduced with the chronological note, ?Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah.? Various attempts have been made to solve the mystery of this date; for, if the author is alluding to the siege of 701 bc, difficulty arises, because that event occurred not in Hezekiah's ?14th? but 26th year, according to the Biblical chronology of his life; or, if with some we date Hezekiah's accession to the throne of Judah as 720 bc, then the siege of 701 bc occurred, as is evident, in Hezekiah's 19th year. It is barely possible of course that ?the 14th year of king Hezekiah? was the 14th of the ?15 years? which were added to his life, but more probably it alludes to the 14th of his reign. On the whole it is better to take the phrase as a general chronological caption for the entire section, with special reference to Isa 38, which tells of Hezekiah's sickness, which actually fell in his 14th year (714 bc), and which, coupled with Sargon's expected presence at Ashdod, was the great personal crisis of the king's life.
Sennacherib made two attempts in 701 bc to reduce Jerusalem: one from Lachish with an army headed by the Rabshakeh (Isa 36:2 through 37:8), and another from Libnah with a threat conveyed by messengers (Isa_37:9). The brief section contained in 2Ki_18:14-16 is omitted from between 2Ki_18:1 and 2Ki_18:2 of Isa 36, because it was not the prophet's aim at this time to recount the nation's humiliation. Isaiah's last ?word? concerning Assyria (Isa_37:21-35) is one of the prophet's grandest predictions. It is composed of three parts: (1) a taunt-song, in elegiac rhythm, on the inevitable humiliation of Sennacherib (Isa_37:22-29); (2) a short poem in different rhythm, directed to Hezekiah, in order to encourage his faith (Isa_37:30-32); (3) a definite prediction, in less elevated style, of the sure deliverance of Jerusalem (Isa_37:33-35). Isaiah's prediction was literally fulfilled.
The section Isa_38:9-20 contains Hezekiah's Song of Thanksgiving, in which he celebrates his recovery from some mortal sickness. It is a beautiful plaintive ?writing?; omitted altogether by the author of the Book of Kings (compare 2 Ki 20). Hezekiah was sick in 714 bc. Two years later Merodach-baladan, the veteran arch-enemy of Assyria, having heard of his wonderful recovery, sent letters and a present to congratulate him. Doubtless, also, political motives prompted the recalcitrant Babylonian. But be that as it may, Hezekiah was greatly flattered by the visit of Merodach-baladan's envoys, and, in a moment of weakness, showed them all his royal treasures. This was an inexcusable blunder, as the sight of his many precious possessions would naturally excite Babylonian cupidity to possess Jerusalem. Isaiah not only solemnly condemned the king's conduct, but he announced with more than ordinary insight that the days were coming when all the accumulated resources of Jerusalem would be carried away to Babylon (Isa_39:3-6; compare Mic_4:10). This final prediction of judgment is the most marvelous of all Isaiah's minatory utterances, because he distinctly asserts that, not the Assyrians, who were then at the height of their power, but the Babylonians, shall be the instruments of the Divine vengeance in consummating the destruction of Jerusalem. There is absolutely no reason for doubting the genuineness of this prediction. In it, indeed, we have a prophetic basis for Isa 40 through 66, which follow.
Coming now to Isa 40 through 66, we have prophecies of comfort, salvation, and of the future glory awaiting Israel. These chapters naturally fall into three sections: (1) Isa 40 through 48, announcing deliverance from captivity through Cyrus; (2) Isa 49 through 57, describing the sufferings of the ?Servant? of Yahweh, this section ending like the former with the refrain, ?There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked? (Isa_57:21; compare Isa_48:22); (3) Isa 58 through 66, announcing the final abolition of all national distinctions and the future glory of the people of God. Isaiah 60 is the characteristic chapter of this section, as Isa_53:1-12 is of the second, and Isa 40 of the first.
Entering into greater detail, the first section (Isa 40 through 48) demonstrates the deity of Yahweh through His unique power to predict. The basis of the comfort which the prophet announces is Israel's incomparable God (Isa 40). Israel's all-powerful Yahweh in comparison with other gods is incomparable. In the prologue (Isa_40:1-11) he hears the four voices: (1) of grace (Isa_40:1, Isa_40:2); (2) of prophecy (Isa_40:3-5); (3) of faith (Isa_40:6-8), and (4) of evangelism (Isa_40:9-11). Then, after exalting the unique character of Israel's all-but-forgotten God (Isa_40:12-26), he exhorts them not to suppose that Yahweh is ignorant of, or indifferent to, Israel's misery. Israel must wait for salvation. They are clamoring for deliverance prematurely. Only wait, he repeats; for with such a God, Israel has no reason to despond (Isa_40:27-31).
In Isa 41 he declares that the supreme proof of Yahweh's sole deity is His power to predict. He inquires, ?Who hath raised up one from the east?? Though the hero is left unnamed, Cyrus is doubtless in the prophet's mind (compare Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1). He is not, however, already appearing upon the horizon of history as some fancy, but rather predicted as sure to come. The verb tenses which express completed action are perfects of certainty, and are used in precisely the same manner as those in Isa_3:8; Isa_5:13; Isa_21:9. The answer to the inquiry is, ?I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last, I am he? (Isa_41:4). Israel is Yahweh's servant. The dialogue continues; but it is no longer between Yahweh and the nations, as in Isa_41:1-7, but between Yahweh and the idols (Isa_41:21-29). Addressing the dumb idols, Yahweh is represented as saying, Predict something, if you are real deities. As for myself, I am going to raise up a hero from the north who will subdue all who oppose him. And I announce my purpose now in advance ?from the beginning,? ?beforetime,? before there is the slightest ground for thinking that such a hero exists or ever will exist (Isa_41:26), in order that the future may verify my prediction, and prove my sole deity. I, Yahweh, alone know the future. In Isa_41:25-29, the prophet even projects himself into the future and speaks from the standpoint of the fulfillment of his prediction. This, as we saw above, was a characteristic of Isaiah in Isa 24 through 27.
In Isa 42:1 through 43:13 the prophet announces also a spiritual agent of redemption, namely, Yahweh's ?Servant.? Not only a temporal agent (Cyrus) shall be raised up to mediate Israel's redemption, which is the first step in the process of the universal salvation contemplated, but a spiritual factor. Yahweh's ?Servant? shall be employed in bringing the good tidings of salvation to the exiles and to the Gentiles also. In Isa_42:1-9 the prophet describes this ideal figure and the work he will execute. The glorious future evokes a brief hymn of thanksgiving for the redemption which the prophet beholds in prospect (Isa_42:10-17). Israel has long been blind and deaf to Yahweh's instructions (Isa_41:18, Isa_41:19), but now Yahweh is determined to redeem them even at the cost of the most opulent nations of the world, that they may publish His law to all peoples (42:18 through 43:13).
In Isa 13:14 through 44:23 forgiveness is made the pledge of deliverance. Yahweh's determination to redeem Israel is all of grace. Salvation is a gift. Yahweh has blotted out their transgressions for His own sake (Isa_43:25). ?This passage,? Dillmann observes, ?marks the highest point of grace in the Old Testament.? Gods of wood and stone are nonentities. Those who manufacture idols are blind and dull of heart, and are ?feeding on ashes.? The section Isa_44:9-20 is a most remorseless exposure of the folly of idolatry.
In Isa 44:24 through 45:25 the prophet at length names the hero of Israel's salvation and describes his mission. He is Cyrus. He shall build Jerusalem and lay the foundations of the temple (Isa_44:28); he shall also subdue nations and let the exiles go free (Isa_45:1, Isa_45:13). He speaks of Cyrus in the most extraordinary, almost extravagant terms. He is Yahweh's ?shepherd? (Isa_44:28), he is also Yahweh's ?anointed,? i.e. Messiah (Isa_45:1), ?the man of my counsel? (Isa_46:11), whom Yahweh has called by name, and surnamed without his ever knowing Him (Isa_45:3, Isa_45:1); the one ?whom Yahweh loveth? (Isa_48:14), whose right hand Yahweh upholdeth (Isa_45:1), and who will perform all Yahweh's pleasure (Isa_44:28); though but ?a ravenous bird from the east? (46: 11). The vividness with which the prophet speaks of Cyrus leads some to suppose that the latter is already upon the horizon. This, however, is a mistake. Scarcely would a contemporary have spoken in such terms of the real Cyrus of 538 bc. The prophet regards him (i.e. the Cyrus of his own prediction, not the Cyrus of history) as the fulfillment of predictions spoken long before. That is to say, in one and the same context, Cyrus is both predicted and treated as a proof that prediction is being fulfilled (Isa_44:24-28; Isa_45:21). Such a phenomenon in prophecy can best be explained by supposing that the prophet projected himself into the future from an earlier age. Most extraordinary of all, in Isa_45:14-17, the prophet soars in imagination until he sees, as a result of Cyrus' victories, the conquered nations renouncing their idols, and attracted to Yahweh as the Saviour of all mankind (Isa_45:22). On any theory of origin, the predictive element in these prophecies is written large.
Isaiah 46 through 47 describe further the distinctive work of Cyrus, though Cyrus himself is but once referred to. Particular emphasis is laid on the complete collapse of the Babylonian religion; the prophet being apparently more concerned with the humiliation of Babylon's idols than with the fall of the city itself. Of course the destruction of the city would imply the defeat of her gods, as also the emancipation of Israel. But here again all is in the future; in fact Yahweh's incomparable superiority and unique deity are proven by His power to predict ?the end from the beginning? and bring His prediction to pass (Isa_46:10, Isa_46:11).
Isa_47:1-15 is a dirge over the downfall of the imperial city, strongly resembling the taunt-song over the king of Babylon in 14:4-21.
Isaiah 48 is a hortatory summary and recapitulation of the argument contained in Isa 40 through 47, the prophet again emphasizing the following points: (1) Yahweh's unique power to predict; (2) that salvation is of grace; (3) that Cyrus' advent will be the crowning proof of Yahweh's abiding presence among His people; (4) that God's chastisements were only disciplinary; and (5) that even now there is hope, if they will but accept of Yahweh's proffered salvation. Alas! that there is no peace or salvation for the godless (Isa_48:20-22). Thus ends the first division of Isaiah's remarkable ?vision? of Israel's deliverance from captivity through Cyrus.
The second section (Isa 49 through 57) deals with the spiritual agent of salvation, Yahweh's suffering ?Servant.? With Isa 49 the prophet leaves off attempting further to prove the sole deity of Yahweh by means of prediction, and drops entirely his description of Cyrus' victories and the overthrow of Babylon, in order to set forth in greater detail the character and mission of the suffering ?Servant? of Yahweh. Already, in Isa 40 through 48, he had alluded several times to this unique and somewhat enigmatical personage, speaking of him both collectively and as an individual (Isa_41:8-10; Isa_42:1-9, Isa_42:18-22; Isa_43:10; Isa_44:1-5, Isa_44:21-28; Isa_45:4; Isa_48:20-22); but now he defines with greater precision both his prophetic and priestly functions, his equipment for his task, his sufferings and humiliation, and also his final exaltation. Altogether in these prophecies he mentions the ?Servant? some 20 t. But there are four distinctively so-called ?Servant-Songs? in which the prophet seems to rise above the collective masses of all Israel to at least a personification of the pious within Israel, or better, to a unique Person embodying within himself all that is best in the Israel within Israel. They are the following: (1) Isa_42:1-9, a poem descriptive of the Servant's gentle manner and world-wide mission; (2) Isa_49:1-13, describing the Servant's mission and spiritual success; (3) Isa_50:4-11, the Servant's soliloquy concerning His perfection through suffering; and (4) 52:13 through 53:12, the Servant's vicarious suffering and ultimate exaltation. In this last of the four ?Servant-Songs? we reach the climax of the prophet's inspired symphony, the acme of Hebrew Messianic hope. The profoundest thoughts in the Old Testament revelation are to be found in this section. It is a vindication of the ?Servant,? so clear and so true, and wrought out with such pathos and potency, that it holds first place among Messianic predictions. Polycarp called it ?the golden passional of the Old Testament.? It has been realized in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 58 through 66 describe the future glory of the people of God. Having described in Isa 40 through 48 the temporal agent of Israel's salvation, Cyrus, and in Isa 49 through 57 the spiritual agent of their salvation, the ?Servant? of Yahweh, the prophet proceeds in this last section to define the conditions on which salvation may be enjoyed. He begins, as before, with a double imperative, ?Cry aloud, spare not? (compare Isa_40:1; Isa_49:1).
In Isa_58:1-14 he discusses true fasting and faithful Sabbath observance.
In Isa 59 he beseeches Israel to forsake their sins. It is their sins, he urges, which have hidden Yahweh's face and retarded the nation's salvation. In Isa_59:9 the prophet identifies himself with the people and leads them in their devotions. Yahweh is grieved over Israel's forlorn condition, and, seeing their helplessness, He arms himself like a warrior to interfere judicially (Isa_59:15-19). Israel shall be redeemed. With them as the nucleus of a new nation, Yahweh will enter anew into covenant relation, and put His Spirit upon them, which will abide with them henceforth and forever (Isa_59:20-21).
Isaiah 60 through 61 describe the future blessedness of Zion. The long-looked-for ?light? (compare Isa_59:9) begins to dawn: ?Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Yahweh is risen upon thee? (Isa_60:1). The prophet pauses at this point to paint a picture of the redeemed community. As in Isa_2:3, Isa_2:4, the Gentiles are seen flocking to Zion, which becomes the mistress of the nations. Foreigners build her walls, and her gates are kept open continually without fear of siege. The Gentiles acknowledge that Zion is the spiritual center of the world. Even Israel's oppressors regard her as ?the city of Yahweh,? as ?an eternal excellency,? in which Yahweh sits as its everlasting light (Isa_60:10-22).
In Isa_61:1-11, which Drummond has called ?the program of Christianity,? the ?Servant? of Yahweh is again introduced, though anonymously, as the herald of salvation (Isa_61:1-3). The gospel monologue of the ?Servant? is followed by a promise of the restoration and blessedness of Jerusalem (Isa_61:4-11). Thus the prophecy moves steadily forward toward its goal in Jesus Christ (compare Luk_4:18-21).
In Isa 62:1 through 63:6 Zion's salvation is described as drawing near. The nations will be spectators of the great event. A new name which will better symbolize her true character shall be given to Zion, namely, Hephzibah, ?My delight is in her?; for Jerusalem shall no more be called desolate. On the other hand, Zion's enemies will all be vanquished. In a brief poem of peculiar dramatic beauty (Isa_63:1-6), the prophet portrays Yahweh's vengeance, as a victorious warrior, upon all those who retard Israel's deliverance. Edom in particular was Israel's insatiate foe. Hence, the prophet represents Yahweh's judgment of the nations as taking place on Edom's unhallowed soil. Yahweh, whose mighty arm has wrought salvation, returns as victor, having slain all of Israel's foes.
In Isa 63:7 through 64:12, Yahweh's ?servants? resort to prayer. They appeal to Yahweh as the Begetter and Father of the nations (Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8). With this thought of the fatherhood of God imbedded in his language, Isaiah had opened his very first oracle to Judah and Jerusalem (compare Isa_1:2). As the prayer proceeds, the language becomes increasingly tumultuous. The people are thrown into despair because Yahweh seems to have abandoned them altogether (Isa_63:19). They recognize that the condition of Jerusalem is desperate. ?Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned with fire; and all our pleasant places are laid waste? (Isa_64:11). Such language, however, is the language of fervent prayer and must not be taken with rigid literalness, as Isa_63:18 and Isa_3:8 plainly show.
Finally, in Isa 65 through 66, Yahweh answers His people's supplications, distinguishing sharply between His own ?servants? and Israel's apostates. Only His chosen ?seed? shall be delivered (Isa_65:9). Those who have obdurately provoked Yahweh by sacrificing in gardens (Isa_65:3; Isa_66:17), offering libations to Fortune and Destiny (Isa_65:11), sitting among the graves to obtain oracles from the dead, and, like the Egyptians, eating swine's flesh and broth of abominable things which were supposed to possess magical properties, lodging in vaults or crypts in which heathen mysteries were celebrated (Isa_65:4), and at the same time fancying that by celebrating such heathen mysteries they are holier than others and thereby disqualified to discharge the ordinary duties of life (Isa_65:5) - such Yahweh designs to punish, measuring their work into their bosom and destroying them utterly with the sword (Isa_65:7, Isa_65:12). On the other hand, the ?servants? of Yahweh Shall inherit His holy mountains. They shall rejoice and sing for joy of heart, and bless themselves in the God of Amen, i.e. in the God of Truth (Isa_65:9, Isa_65:14, Isa_65:16). Yahweh will create new heavens and a new earth, men will live and grow old like the patriarchs; they will possess houses and vineyards and enjoy them; for an era of idyllic peace will be ushered in with the coming of the Messianic age, in which even the natures of wild animals will be changed and the most rapacious of wild animals will live together in harmony (Isa_65:17-25). Religion will become spiritual and decentralized, mystic cults will disappear, incredulous scoffers will be silenced. Zion's population will be marvelously multiplied, and the people will be comforted and rejoice (Isa_66:1-14). Furthermore, all nations will flock to Zion to behold Yahweh's glory, and from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come up to worship in Jerusalem (Isa_66:15-23).
It is evident that the Book of Isaiah closes, practically as it begins, with a polemic against false worship, and the alternate reward of the righteous and punishment of the wicked. The only essential difference between the prophet's earlier and later oracles is this: Isaiah, in his riper years, on the basis of nearly half a century's experience as a preacher, paints a much brighter eschatological picture than was possible in his early ministry. His picture of the Messianic age not only transcends those of his contemporaries in the 8th century bc, but he penetrates regions beyond the spiritual horizon of any and all Old Testament seers. Such language as that contained in Isa_66:1, Isa_66:2, in particular, anticipates the great principle enunciated by Jesus in Joh_4:24, namely, that ?God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth.? To attempt to date such oracles as these on the basis of internal evidence is an absolute impossibility. Humanly speaking, one age could have produced such revelations quite as easily as another. But no age could have produced them apart from the Divine spirit.

8. Isaiah's Prophecies Chronologically Arranged
The editorial arrangement of Isaiah's prophecies is very suggestive. In the main they stand in chronological order. That is to say, all the dates mentioned are in strict historical sequence; e.g. Isa_6:1, ?In the year that king Uzziah died? (740 bc); Isa_7:1, ?In the days of Ahaz? (736ff bc); Isa_14:28, ?In the year that king Ahaz died? (727 bc); Isa_20:1, ?In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him? (711 bc); Isa_36:1, ?In the 14th year of king Hezekiah? (701 bc). These points are all in strict chronological order. Taken in groups, also, Isaiah's great individual messages are likewise arranged in true historical sequence; thus, Isa 1 through 6 for the most part belong to the last years of Jotham's reign (740-736 bc); Isa 7 through 12 to the period of the Syro-Ephraimitic war (734 bc); Isa_20:1-6, to the year of Sargon's siege of Ashdod (711 bc); Isa 28 through 32, to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib (701 bc); while the distinctively promissory portions (Isa 40 through 66), as is natural, conclude the collection. In several minor instances, however, there are notable departures from a rigid chronological order. For example, Isa_6:1-13, which describes the prophet's initial call to preach, follows the rebukes and denunciations of Isa 1 through 5; but this is probably due to its being used by the prophet as an apologetic. Again, the oracles against foreign nations in Isa 13 through 23 belong to various dates, being grouped together, in part, at least, because of their subject-matter. Likewise, Isa 38 through 39, which give an account of Hezekiah's sickness and Merodach-baladan's embassy to him upon his recovery (714-712 bc), chronologically precede Isa 36 through 37, which describe Sennacherib's investment of Jerusalem (701 bc). This chiastic order, however, in the last instance, is due probably to the desire to make Isa 36 through 37 (about Sennacherib, king of Assyria) an appropriate conclusion to Isa 1 through 35 (which say much about Assyria), and, on the other hand, to make Isa 38 through 39 (about Merodach-baladan of Babylon) a suitable introduction to Isa 40 through 66 (which speak of Babylon).
The attempt to date Isaiah's individual messages on the basis of internal criteria alone, is a well-nigh impossible task; and yet no other kind of evidence is available. Often passages stand side by side which point in opposite directions; in fact, certain sections seem to be composed of various fragments dating from different periods, as though prophecies widely separated from each other in time had been fused together. In such cases much weight should be given to those features which point to an early origin, because of the predominatingly predictive character of Isaiah's writings.
Isaiah always had an eye upon the future. His semi-historical and biographical prophecies are naturally the easiest to date; on the other hand, the form of his Messianic and eschatological discourses is largely due to his own personal temper and psychology, rather than to the historical circumstances of the time. The following is a table of Isaiah's prophecies chronologically arranged:
Chs


bc
1-6
written probably

c 740-736
7-12
" "

c 734-732
15:1-16:12; Isa_17:1-14
" "

c 734
13:1-14:23
" "
between
732-722
Isa_14:24-27
" "
"
732-722
Isa_14:28-32
" "

c 727
23
" "
shortly before
722
24-27
" "
" "
722
Isa_28:1-6
" "
" "
722
19
" "

c 720
38
" "

c 714
Isa_39:8
" "

c 712
Isa_21:11, Isa_21:12, Isa_21:13-17
" "

c 711
Isa_22:15-25
" "

c 711
Isa_21:1-10
" "

c 709
Isa_22:1-10
" "

c 709
28:7-33:24
" "
shortly before
701
Isa_18:1-7
" "

c 701
34-35
" "

c 701
36-37
" "
soon after
701
40-66
" "
" "
701
#The prophet's standpoint in Isa 40 through 66 is that of Isaiah himself. For if Isaiah, before 734 bc, in passages confessedly his own, could describe Judah's cities as alr
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Isai?ah (help of Jehovah). The heading of this book places the prophet under the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah; and an examination of the prophecies themselves, independently of the heading, leads us to the same chronological results. Isaiah 6, in which is related the call of Isaiah, not to his prophetic office, but to a higher degree of it, is thus headed: 'In the year in which king Uzziah died I saw the Lord,' etc. The collection of prophecies is chronologically arranged, and the utterances in the preceding chapters (Isaiah 1-6) belong to an earlier period, preceding the last year of the reign of Uzziah. These two prophecies contain the sum and substance of what Isaiah taught during twenty years of his life.
The continuation of prophetic authorship, or the writing down of uttered prophecies, depended upon the commencement of new historical developments, such as took place under the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Several prophecies in the seventh and following chapters belong to the reign of Ahaz; and most of the subsequent prophecies to the reign of Hezekiah. The prophetic ministry of Isaiah under Hezekiah is also described in an historical section contained in Isaiah 36-39. The data which are contained in this section come down to the fifteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah; consequently we are in the possession of historical documents proving that the prophetic ministry of Isaiah was in operation during about forty-seven or fifty years, commencing in the year B.C. 763 or 759, and extending to the year B.C. 713. Of this period, from one to four years belong to the reign of Uzziah, sixteen to the reign of Jotham, sixteen to the reign of Ahaz, and fourteen to the reign of Hezekiah.
Some writers have advanced the opinion that Isaiah lived to a much later period, and that his life extended to the reign of Manasseh, the successor of Hezekiah. But their arguments will not stand a strict scrutiny. While, on the other hand, the inscription of the book itself shows that all the prophecies of Isaiah in our collection are included within the period from Uzziah to Hezekiah. Not one of the prophecies which are headed by an inscription of their own is placed after the fifteenth year of Hezekiah; and the internal evidence leads us in none beyond this period. Hence we infer that the prophetic ministry of Isaiah terminated soon after its fullest development, to which it attained during the period of the Assyrian invasion, in the reign of Hezekiah.
According to these statements, Isaiah belongs to the cycle of the most ancient prophets whose predictions have been preserved in writing. He was a contemporary of Hosea, Amos, and Jonah, although younger than those prophets, who belonged to the kingdom of Israel. He was likewise a contemporary and co-worker of the prophet Micah in the kingdom of Judah. We infer also from the circumstance that the prophecies of Joel are inserted among the books of the Minor Prophets before those of Micah, that Isaiah must have been a contemporary of Joel, since the Minor Prophets are chronologically arranged.
Little is known respecting the circumstances of Isaiah's life. His father's name was Amoz. The fathers of the church confound him with the prophet Amos, because they were unacquainted with Hebrew, and in Greek the two names are spelled alike. The opinion of the Rabbins, that Isaiah was a brother of King Amaziah, rests also on a mere etymological combination. Isaiah resided at Jerusalem, not far from the temple. We learn from Isaiah 7, 8 that he was married. Two of his sons are mentioned, Shear-Jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz [See the words]. Isaiah calls his wife a prophetess. This indicates that his marriage-life was not in opposition to his vocation, and also that it not only went along with his vocation, but that it was intimately interwoven with it. This name cannot mean the wife of a prophet, but indicates that the prophetess of Isaiah had a prophetic gift, like Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah. The appellation here given denotes the genuineness of their conjugal relation.
Even the dress of the prophet was subservient to his vocation. According to Isa_20:2, he wore a garment of hair-cloth or sackcloth. This seems also to have been the costume of Elijah, according to 2Ki_1:8; and it was the dress of John the Baptist. Hairy sackcloth is in the Bible the symbol of repentance (compare Isa_22:12, and 1Ki_21:27). This costume of the prophets was a prophetic preaching by fact. The prophetic preacher comes forward in the form of personified repentance. What he does exhibits to the people what they should do. Before he has opened his lips his external appearance proclaims, Repent.
Besides the collection of prophecies which has been preserved to us, Isaiah also wrote two historical works, which did not originate from prophets.
The first of these was a biography of King Uzziah (comp. 2Ch_26:22): 'Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.' The second historical work of Isaiah, was a biography of King Hezekiah, which was subsequently inserted in the annals of Judah and Israel. These annals consisted of a series of prophetic monographies, which were received partly entire, partly in abstracts, and are the chief source from which the information contained in the Chronicles is derived. In this work of Isaiah, although its contents were chiefly historical, numerous prophecies were inserted. Hence it is called in 2Ch_32:32, The Vision of Isaiah. In a similar manner the biography of Solomon by Ahijah is called, in 2Ch_9:29, 'the prophecy of Ahijah.' The two historical works of Isaiah were lost, together with the annals of Judah and Israel, into which they were embodied. Whatever these annals contained that was of importance for all ages, has been preserved to us by being received into the historical books of the Old Testament, and the predictions of the most distinguished prophets have been formed into separate collections. After this was effected, less care was taken to preserve the more diffuse annals, which also comprehended many statements, of value only for particular times and places.
The Jewish synagogue, and the Christian church during all ages, have considered it as an undoubted fact that the prophecies which bear the name of Isaiah really originated from that prophet. But in the last quarter of the eighteenth century this prevailing conviction appeared to some divines to be inconvenient. In the theology of the natural man it passed as certain, that nature was complete in itself, and that prophecies, as well as miracles, never had occurred, and were even impossible. The assumption of the impossibility of miracles necessarily demanded that the genuineness of the Pentateuch should be rejected; and, in a similar manner, the assumption of the impossibility of prophecy demanded that a great portion of the prophecies of Isaiah should be rejected likewise. Here also the wish was father to the thought, and interest led to the decision of critical questions, the arguments for which were subsequently discovered. All those who attack the integral authenticity of Isaiah agree in considering the book to be an anthology, or gleanings of prophecies, collected after the Babylonian exile, although they differ in their opinions respecting the origin of this collection. Koppe gave gentle hints of this view, which was first explicitly supported by Eichhorn in his Introduction. Eichhorn advances the hypothesis that a collection of Isaiah prophecies (which might have been augmented, even before the Babylonian exile, by several not genuine additions) formed the basis of the present anthology, and that the collectors, after the Babylonian Exile, considering that the scroll on which they were written did not form a volume proportionate to the size of the three other prophetic scrolls, containing Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the minor prophets, annexed to the Isaian collection all other oracles at hand whose authors were not known to the editors. Gesenius, on the contrary, maintained, in his introduction to Isaiah, that all the non-Isaian prophecies extant in that book originated from one author and were of the same date. Umbreit and Koster on the main point follow Gesenius. considering Isaiah 40-66 to be a continuous whole, written by a pseudo-Isaiah who lived about the termination of the Babylonian exile. In reference to other portions of the book of Isaiah, the authenticity of which has been questioned, Umbreit expresses himself doubtingly, and Koster assigns them to Isaiah. Gesenius declines to answer the question, how it happened that these portions were ascribed to Isaiah, but Hitzig felt that an answer to it might be expected. He accordingly attempts to explain why such additions were made to Isaiah and not to any of the other prophetical books, by the extraordinary veneration in which Isaiah was held. He says that the great authority of Isaiah occasioned important and distinguished prophecies to be placed in connection with his name. But he himself soon after destroys the force of this assertion by observing, that the great authority of Isaiah was especially owing to those prophecies which were falsely ascribed to him. A considerable degree of suspicion must, however, attach to the boasted certainty of such critical investigations, if we notice how widely these learned men differ in defining what is of Isaian origin and what is not, although they are all linked together by the same fundamental tendency and interest. There are very few portions in the whole collection whose authenticity has not been called in question by someone or other of the various impugners. The only portions left to Isaiah are Isa_1:3-9; Isa_17:1-14; Isa_20:1-6; Isa_28:1-29; Isa_31:1-9; Isa_33:1-24. All the other chapters are defended by some and rejected by others; they are also referred to widely different dates. In the most modern criticism, however, we observe an inclination again to extend the sphere of Isaiah authenticity as much as the dogmatic principle and system of the critics will allow. Modern criticism is inclined to admit the genuineness of Isaiah 1-23, with the only exception of the two prophecies against Babylon in Isaiah 13, 14, and in Isa_21:1-10. Isaiah 28-33 are allowed to be Isaian by Ewald, Umbreit, and others.
After this survey of the present state of the inquiry, we proceed to furnish, first, the external arguments for the integral authenticity of Isaiah.
1. The most ancient testimony in favor of Isaiah's being the author of all the portions of the collection which bears his name, is contained in the heading of the whole (Isa_1:1), 'The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.' It is here clearly stated that Isaiah was the author of the following prophecies, uttered during the reign of four successive kings. This inscription is of great importance, even if it originated not from Isaiah, but from a later compiler. If we adopt the latest date at which this compilation could have been made, we must fix it at the time of its reception into the canon in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Consequently the compiler could not be separated by many years from the pseudo-Isaiah who is said to have prophesied just before Babylon was conquered, or who, according to most critics, wrote even after the fall of Babylon. It is not credible that a compiler living so near the times of the author, should have erroneously ascribed these prophecies to Isaiah, who lived so much earlier, especially if we bear in mind that this so-called pseudo-Isaiah must have been a very remarkable person in an age so devoid of the prophetic spirit as that in which he is said to have lived.
It is still less credible that a pseudo-Isaiah should himself have fraudulently ascribed his prophecies to Isaiah. None of the adversaries of the authenticity of the book make such an assertion.
If the compiler lived before the Exile, the inscription appears to be of still greater importance. That the collection was made so early is very likely, from the circumstance that Jeremiah and other prophets apparently made use of the prophecies of Isaiah. This fact indicates that the prophecies of Isaiah early excited a lively interest, and that the compiler must have lived at a period earlier than that which is ascribed to the pseudo-Isaiah himself. From all this we infer that the compiler lived before the Exile. The adversaries themselves felt the weight of this argument. They, therefore, attempted to remove it by various hypotheses, which received a semblance of probability from the circumstance that even the considerate Vitringa had called in question the authenticity of the heading. Vitringa conjectured that this heading belonged originally to the first chapter alone. He further conjectured that it originally contained only the words, prophecy of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. The following words, he says, were added by the compiler, who enlarged the particular inscription of the first chapter to a general one of the whole collection. According to Vitringa the inscription does not suit the whole book, the contents of which are not confined to Judah and Jerusalem alone. But Judah and Jerusalem are always the chief subject, and, in a certain sense, the only subject of these prophecies; and there is no prophecy concerning other nations without a bearing upon the covenant-people. No prophet against foreign nations prophesied concerning them with the view to spread his predictions among them, because the mission of all prophets was to Israel. The predictions against foreign nations are intended to preserve the covenant-people from despair, and to strengthen their faith in the omnipotence and justice of their God. It is their object to annihilate all reliance upon political combinations and human confederacies. They are intended to lead Israel to the question, 'If they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?' But they are also designed to indicate the future conversion of the heathen, and to open to the view of the faithful the future glory of the kingdom of God, and its final victory over the kingdoms of this world; and thus to extirpate all narrow-minded nationality. God shall be revealed not only as Jehovah, but also as Elohim. His relation to Israel is misunderstood, if that relation is exclusively kept in view without any regard to the universe. Therefore the whole collection is justly entitled Prophecies concerning Judah and Jerusalem. No matter whether this inscription originated from Isaiah himself or from an ancient compiler.
The inscription in Isaiah 1 has a general bearing upon the whole collection. Then follows the first portion, which contains, as it were, the general prophetic program. Thereupon follows a series of prophecies directly bearing upon Judah and Jerusalem, commencing again with a particular heading (Isa_2:1). To this succeeds a series of prophecies indirectly bearing upon Judah and Jerusalem, but directly upon foreign nations. The first of this series has again its own heading (Isa_13:1).
Gesenius, advancing in the direction to which Vitringa had pointed, although he grants the integral authenticity of Isa_1:1, nevertheless maintains that this heading belonged originally only to Isaiah 1-12, in which were contained genuine prophecies of Isaiah. To this collection, he asserts, were afterwards subjoined the anthologies contained in the following chapters, and the heading was then misunderstood as applying to the whole volume. This opinion is more in consistent than that of Vitringa, since there occur in the first twelve chapters two prophecies against foreign nations; one against the Assyrians, in Isaiah 10, and another against Ephraim, in Isaiah 9.
Vitringa, Gesenius, and their followers, are also refuted by the parallel passage in the heading of Amos, 'The words of Amos, which he saw concerning Israel.' The prophecies of Amos in general are here said to be concerning Israel, although there are, as in Isaiah, several against foreign nations, a series of which stands even at the commencement of the book. To this we may add the similarity of the headings of other prophetical books. For instance, the commencement of Jeremiah, Hosea, Micah, and Zephaniah.
2. It cannot be proved that there ever existed any so-called prophetic anthology as has been supposed to exist, in the book of Isaiah. We find nothing analogous in the whole range of prophetic literature. It is generally granted that the collections bearing the names of Jeremiah and Ezekiel contain only productions of those authors whose name they bear. In the book of the Minor Prophets, the property of each is strictly distinguished from the rest by headings. The authenticity of only the second portion of Zechariah has been attacked; and this with very feeble arguments, which have been refuted.
But even if it could be proved that the prophecies of Zechariah belonged to two different authors, namely, as Bertholdt and Gesenius suppose, to the two Zechariahs, each of whom happened to be the son of a Berechiah, this identity of names might be considered an inducement for uniting the productions of the two authors in one collection: still this case would not be analogous to what is asserted to be the fact in Isaiah. In Isaiah it is alleged not only that a series of chapters belonging to a different author were subjoined, commencing about Isaiah 34; but it is affirmed that, even in the first thirty-three chapters, the genuine and spurious portions are intermixed. Before we admit that the compilers proceeded here in a manner so unreasonable and so contrary to their usual custom, we must expect some cogent proof to be adduced, but instead of this, nothing but bald conjecture and feeble illustrations have been offered.
3. According to the opinion of several critics, all the spurious portions of Isaiah belong to one and the same author. But it so happens that the portion which is most emphatically declared to be spurious, namely, Isaiah 13, 14, bear an inscription which expressly ascribes them to Isaiah. Now, as the internal arguments against the authenticity of all the portions which are said to be spurious are nearly identical, if the opposition to Isaiah 13, 14 is given up, it cannot with consistency be maintained against the other portions. This argument serves also as an answer to those who ascribe the portions which they consider spurious to several authors. The contents of these portions are similar. They contain predictions of the fall of Babylon, and of the redemption of Israel from captivity. Whatever proves the genuineness of one of these portions, indirectly proves the others also to be genuine.
4. According to Josephus (Antiq. xi. 1, 1-2), Cyrus was induced by the prophecies of Isaiah respecting him to allow the return of the Jews, and to aid them in rebuilding the temple. The credibility of Josephus, who in regard to facts of ancient history is not always to be relied upon, is here supported by two circumstances. First, the favor shown by Cyrus to the Jews, which remains inexplicable except by the fact mentioned, in combination with the influence of Daniel. In modern times, the favor of Cyrus to the Jews has been called a prudential measure; but it does not appear what he could either hope or fear from a people so enfeebled as the Jews were at that period. It has been added that Cyrus was favorable to the Jews on account of the similarity between the Persian and the Jewish religion; but there is no historical proof that the Persians, on any other occasion, favored the Jews on account of their religion. The favors shown to Nehemiah on behalf of Israel were only personal favors, owing to his position at the Persian court. We allow that all this would be insufficient to prove the correctness of the above statement in Josephus, but it must render us inclined to admit its truth.
The second argument is much stronger: it is, that the statement of Josephus is supported by the edict of Cyrus (Ezra 1). This edict presupposes the fact related by Josephus, so that Jahn calls the passage in Josephus a commentary on the first chapter of Ezra, in which we read that Cyrus announces in his edict that he was commanded by Jehovah to build him a temple in Jerusalem, and that he received all the conquered kingdoms of the earth as a gift from Jehovah. This cannot refer to any other predictions of the prophet, but only to what are called the spurious portions of Isaiah, in which the Lord grants to Cyrus all his future conquests, and appoints him to be the restorer of his temple (comp. Isa_41:2-4; Isa_44:24-28; Isa_14:1-13; Isa_46:11; Isa_48:13-15). The edict adopts almost the words of these passages. In reply to this, our adversaries assert that Cyrus was deceived by pseudo-prophecies forged in the name of Isaiah; but if Cyrus could be deceived in so clumsy a manner, he was not the man that history represents him; and to have committed forgery is so contrary to what was to be expected from the author of Isaiah 40-66, that even the feelings of our opponents revolt at the supposition that the pseudo-Isaiah should have forged prophecies after the event in the name of the prophets.
5. Again, the most ancient production of Jewish literature after the completion of the canon, furnishes proof of the integral authenticity of Isaiah. The book of Jesus Sirach, commonly called Ecclesiasticus, was written as early as the third century before Christ, as Hug has clearly demonstrated, in opposition to those who place it in the second century before Christ. In Sir_48:22-25, Isaiah is thus praised: 'For Hezekiah had done the thing that pleased the Lord, and was strong in the ways of David his father, as Isaiah the prophet, who was great and faithful in his vision, had commanded him. In his time the sun went backward, and he lengthened the king's life. He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last, and he comforted them that mourned in Sion. He showed what should come to pass forever, and secret things or ever they came.'
This commendation especially refers, as even Gesenius grants, to the disputed portions of the prophet, in which we find predictions of the most distant futurity. The comfort for Zion is found more particularly in the second part of Isaiah, which begins with the words 'Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.' The author of this second part himself says (Isa_48:3), 'I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them.' Thus we perceive that Jesus Sirach, the learned scribe, confidently attributes the debated passages to Isaiah in such a manner as plainly indicates that there was no doubt in his days respecting the integral authenticity of that book, which has the testimony of historical tradition in its favor. Jesus Sirach declares his intention (Sirach 44-50) to praise the most celebrated men of his nation. The whole tenor of these chapters shows that he does not confine himself to celebrated authors. We therefore say that the praise which he bestows upon Isaiah is not intended for the book personified, but for the person of the prophet. If Jesus Sirach had entertained doubts respecting the genuineness of those prophecies on which, in particular, he bases his praise, he could not have so lauded the prophet.
In the Jewish synagogue the integral authenticity of Isaiah has always been recognized. This general recognition cannot be accounted for except by the power of tradition based upon truth; and it is supported as well by the New Testament, in which Isaiah is quoted as the author of the whole collection which bears his name, as also by the express testimony of Josephus, especially in his Antiquities (x. 2, 2 and xi. 1, 1). After such confirmation it would be superfluous to mention the Talmudists.
Thus we have seen that we possess a series of external arguments in favor of the integral authenticity of Isaiah. Each of these arguments is of importance, and, in their combination, they have a weight which could only be counterbalanced by insurmountable difficulties in the contents of these prophecies; and it has been clearly shown that there are no such difficulties, and that the internal arguments unite with the external in demonstrating the authenticity of Isaiah as a whole.
No definite account respecting the method pursued in collecting into books the utterances of the Prophets has been handed down to us. Concerning Isaiah, as well as the rest, these accounts are wanting. We do not even know whether he collected his prophecies himself. But we have no decisive argument against this opinion. The argument of Kleinert, in his above-mentioned work (p. 112), is of slight importance. He says, If Isaiah himself had collected his prophecies, there would not be wanting some which are not to be found in the existing book. To this we reply that it can by no means be proved, with any degree of probability, that a single prophecy of Isaiah has been lost, the preservation of which would have been of importance to posterity, and which Isaiah himself would have deemed it necessary to preserve. Kleinert appeals to the fact that there is no prophecy in our collection which can with certainty: be ascribed to the days of Jotham; and he thinks it incredible that the prophet, soon after having been consecrated to his office, should have passed full sixteen years without any revelation from God. This, certainly, is unlikely; but it is by no means unlikely that during this time he uttered no prophecy which he thought proper to preserve. Nay, it appears very probable, if we compare the rather general character of the chapters of Isaiah 1-5, the contents of which would apply to the days of Jotham also, since during his reign no considerable changes took place; consequently the prophetic utterances moved in the same sphere with those preserved to us from the reign of Uzziah. Hence it was natural that Isaiah should confine himself to the communication of some important prophetic addresses, which might as well represent the days of Jotham as those of the preceding reign. We must not too closely identify the utterances of the prophets with their writings. Many prophets have spoken much and written nothing. The Minor Prophets were generally content to write down the quintessence alone of their numerous utterances. Jeremiah likewise, of his numerous addresses under Josiah, gives us only what was most essential.
To us it seems impossible that Isaiah left it to others to collect his prophecies into a volume, because we know that he was the author of historical works; and it is not likely that a man accustomed to literary occupation would have left to others to do what he could do much better himself.
Hitzig has of late recognized Isaiah as the collector and arranger of his own prophecies. But he supposes that a number of pieces were inserted at a later period. The chronological arrangement of these prophecies is a strong argument in favor of the opinion that Isaiah himself formed them into a volume. There is no deviation from this arrangement, except in a few instances where prophecies of similar contents are placed together; but there is no interruption which might appear attributable to either accident or ignorance. There is not a single piece in this collection which can satisfactorily be shown to belong to another place. All the portions, the date of which can be ascertained either by external or internal reasons, stand in the right place. This is generally granted with respect to the first twelve chapters, although many persons erroneously maintain that Isaiah 6 should stand at the beginning.
Chapters of Isaiah 1-5 belong to the later years of Uzziah; Isaiah 6, to the year of his death. What follows next, up to chapter of Isa_10:4, belongs to the reign of Ahaz. Isaiah 10-12 is the first portion appertaining to the reign of Hezekiah. Then follows a series of prophecies against foreign nations, in which, according to the opinions of many, the chronological arrangement has been departed from, and, instead of it, an arrangement according to contents has been adopted. But this is not the case. The predictions against foreign nations are also in their right chronological place. They all belong to the reign of Hezekiah, and are placed together because, according to their dates, they belong to the same period. In the days of Hezekiah the nations of Western Asia, dwelling on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, more and more resembled a threatening tempest. That the prophecies against foreign nations belong to this period is indicated by the home-prophecy in Isaiah 22, which stands among the foreign prophecies. The assertion that the first twelve chapters are a collection of home-prophecies is likewise refuted by the fact that there occur in these chapters two foreign prophecies. The prophetic gift of Isaiah was more fully unfolded in sight of the Assyrian invasion under the reign of Hezekiah. Isaiah, in a series of visions, describes what Assyria would do, as a chastising rod in the hand of the Lord, and what the successors of the Assyrians, the Chaldees, would perform, according to the decree of God, in order to realize divine justice on earth, as well among Israel as among the heathen. The prophet shows that mercy is hidden behind the clouds of wrath. There is no argument to prove that the great prophetic picture in Isaiah 24-27 was not depicted under Hezekiah. Isaiah 28-33 manifestly belong to the same reign, but somewhat later than the time in which Isaiah 10-12 were written. They were composed about the time when the result of the war against the Assyrians was decided. With the termination of this war terminated also the public life of Isaiah, who-added an historical section in Isaiah 36-39, in order to facilitate the right understanding of the prophecies uttered by him during the most fertile period of his prophetic ministry. Then follows the conclusion of his work on earth. The second part, which contains his prophetic legacy, is addressed to the small congregation of the faithful, strictly so called. This part is analogous to the last speeches of Moses in the fields of Moab, and to the last speeches of Christ in the circle of his disciples, related by John. Thus we have everywhere order, and such an order as could scarcely have proceeded from anyone but the author.
It was not the vocation of the prophets to change anything in the religious constitution of Moses, which had been introduced by divine authority; and they were not called upon to substitute anything new in its place. They had only to point out the new covenant to be introduced by the Redeemer, and to prepare the minds of men for the reception of it. They themselves in all their doings were subject to the law of Moses. They were destined to be extraordinary ambassadors of God, whose reign in Israel was not a mere name, not a mere shadow of earthly royalty, but rather its substance and essence. They were to maintain the government of God, by punishing all, both high and low, who manifested contempt of the Lawgiver by offending against his laws. It was especially their vocation to counteract the very ancient delusion, according to which an external observance of rites was deemed sufficient to satisfy God. This opinion is contrary to many passages of the law itself, which admonish men to circumcise the heart, and represent the sum of the entire law as consisting in loving God with the whole heart; which make salvation to depend upon being internally turned towards God, and which condemn not only the evil deed, but also the wicked desire. The law had, however, at the first assumed a form corresponding to the wants of the Israelites, and in accordance with the symbolical spirit of antiquity. But when this form, which was destined to be the living organ of the Spirit, was changed into a corpse by those who were themselves spiritually dead, it offered a point of coalescence for the error of those who contented themselves with external observances.
The prophets had also to oppose the delusion of those who looked upon the election of the people of God as a preservative against the divine judgments; who supposed that their descent from the patriarchs, with whom God had made a covenant, was an equivalent for the sanctification which they wanted. Even Moses had strongly opposed this delusion; for instance, in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 32. David also, in the Psalms, as in Psalms 15, 24, endeavors to counteract this error, which again and again sprang up. It was the vocation of the prophets to insist upon genuine piety, and to show that a true attachment to the Lord necessarily manifests itself by obedience to his precepts; that this obedience would lead to happiness, and disobedience to misfortune and distress. The prophets were appointed to comfort the faint-hearted, by announcing to them the succor of God, and to bring glad tidings to the faithful, in order to strengthen their fidelity. They were commissioned to invite the rebellious to return, by pointing out to them future salvation, and by teaching them that without conversion they could not be partakers of salvation; and in order that their admonitions and rebukes, their consolations and awakenings, might gain more attention, it was granted to them to behold futurity, and to foresee the blessings and judgments which would ultimately find their full accomplishment in the days of Messiah. In Deu_18:18, where the Lord says, 'I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him,' we have a description of the prophetical calling, and also a statement of the contents of the prophecies of Isaiah. He refers expressly in many places to the basis of the ancient covenant, that is, to the law of Moses; for instance, in Isa_8:16; Isa_8:20; Isa_30:9-10. In many other passages his utterance rests on the same basis, although he does not expressly state it. All his utterances are interwoven with references to the law. It is of importance to examine at least one chapter closely, in order to understand how prophecies are related to the law. Let us take as an example the first. The beginning, 'Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,' is taken from Deuteronomy 32. Thus the prophet points out that his prophecies are a commentary upon the Magna Charta of prophetism contained in the books of Moses. During the prosperous condition of the state under Uzziah and Jotham, luxury and immorality had sprung up. The impiety of Ahaz had exercised the worst influence upon the whole people. Great part of the nation had forsaken the religion of their fathers and embraced gross idolatry; and a great number of those who worshipped God externally had forsaken Him in their hearts. The divine judgments were approaching. The rising power of Assyria was appointed to be the instrument of divine justice. Among the people of God internal demoralization was always the forerunner of outward calamity. This position of affairs demanded an energetic intervention of prophetism. Without prophetism the number of the elect would have been constantly decreasing, and even the judgments of the Lord, if prophetism had not furnished their interpretation, would have been mere facts, which would have missed their aim, and, in many instances, might have had an effect opposite to that which was intended, because punishment which is not recognized to be punishment, necessarily leads away from God. The prophet attacks the distress of his nation, not at the surface, but at the root, by rebuking, the prevailing corruption. Pride and arrogance, appear to him to be the chief roots of all sins.
He inculcates again and again not to rely upon the creature, but upon the Creator, from whom all temporal and spiritual help proceeds; that in order to attain salvation, we should despair of our own and all human power, and rely upon God. He opposes those who expected help through foreign alliances with powerful neighboring nations against foreign enemies of the state.
The people of God have only one enemy, and one ally, that is, God. It is foolish to seek for aid on earth against the power of heaven, and to fear man if God is our friend. The panacea against all distress and danger is true conversion. The politics of the prophets consist only in pointing out this remedy. The prophet connects with his rebuke and with his admonition, his threatenings of divine judgment upon the stiff-necked. These judgments are to be executed by the invasion of the Syrians, the oppression of the Assyrians, the Babylonian exile, and by the great final separation in the times of the Messiah. The idea which is the basis of all these threatenings, is pronounced even in the Pentateuch (Lev_10:3), 'I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified;' and also in the words of Amos (Amo_3:2), 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.' That is, if the people do not voluntarily glorify God, He glorifies Himself against them. Partly in order to recall the rebellious to obedience, partly to comfort the faithful, the prophet opens a prospect of those blessings which the faithful portion of the covenant people shall inherit. In almost all prophetic utterances, we find in regular succession three elements?rebuke, threatening, and promise. The prophecies concerning the destruction of powerful neighboring states, partly belong, as we have shown, to the promises, because they are intended to prevent despair, which, as well as false security, is a most dangerous hindrance to conversion.
In the direct promises of deliverance the purpose to comfort is still more evident. This deliverance refers either to burdens which pressed upon the people in the days of the prophet, or to burdens to come, which were already announced by the prophet; such, for instance, were the oppressions of the Syrians, the Assyrians, and finally, of the Chaldeans
The proclamation of the Messiah is the inexhaustible source of consolation among the prophets. In Isaiah this consolation is so clear that some fathers of the church were inclined to style him rather evangelist than prophet.
Isaiah, however, was not the first who attained to a knowledge of the personality of Messiah. Isaiah's vocation was to render the knowledge of this personality clearer and more definite, and to render it more efficacious upon the souls of the elect by giving it a greater individuality. The person of the Redeemer is mentioned even in Gen_49:10, 'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the tranquillizer) come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be' (i.e. Him shall the nations obey). The personality of Messiah occurs also in several psalms which were written before the times of Isaiah; for instance, in Psalms 2, 110, by David; in Psalms 45, by the sons of Korah; in Psalms 72, by Solomon. Isaiah has especially developed the perception of the prophetic and the priestly office of the Redeemer, while in the earlier annunciations of the Messiah the royal office is more prominent; although in Psalms 110 the priestly office also is pointed out. Of the two states of Christ, Isaiah has expressly described that of the exinanition of the suffering Christ, while, before him, his state of glory was made more prominent. In the Psalms the inseparable connection between justice and suffering, from which the doctrine of a suffering Messiah necessarily results, is not expressly applied to the Messiah. We must not say that Isaiah first perceived that the Messiah was to suffer, but we must grant that this knowledge was in him more vivid than in any earlier writer; and that this knowledge was first shown by Isaiah to be an integral portion of Old Testament doctrine.
The following are the outlines of Messianic prophecies in the book of Isaiah:?A scion of David, springing from his family, after it has fallen into a very low estate, but being also of divine nature, shall, at first in lowliness, but as a prophet filled with the Spirit of God, proclaim the divine doctrine, develop the law in truth, and render it the animating principle of national life; he shall, as high-priest, by his vicarious suffering and his death, remove the guilt of his nation, and that of other nations, and finally rule as a mighty king, not only over the covenant-people, but over all nations of the earth who will subject themselves to his peaceful scepter, not by violent compulsion, but induced by love and gratitude. He will make both the moral and the physical consequences of sin to cease; the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and all enmity, hatred, and destruction shall be removed even from the brute creation. This is the survey of the Messianic preaching by Isaiah, of which he constantly renders prominent those portions which were most calculated to impress the people under the then existing circumstances. The first part of Isaiah is directed to the whole people, consequently the glory of the Messiah is here dwelt upon. The fear lest the kingdom of God should be overwhelmed by the power of heathen nations, is removed by pointing out the glorious king to come, who would elevate the now despised and apparently mean kingdom of God above all the kingdoms of this world. In the second part, which is more particularly addressed to the elect, than to the whole nation, the prophet exhibits the Messiah more as a divine teacher and high priest. The prophet here preaches righteousness through the blood of the servant of God, who will support the weakness of sinners and take upon Himself their sorrows.
We may show, by an example, in Isa_19:18-25, that the views of futurity which were granted to Isaiah were great and comprehensive, and that the Spirit of God raised him above all narrow-minded nationality. It is there stated that a time should come when all the heathen, subdued by the judgments of the Lord, should be converted to Him, and being placed on an equality with Israel, with equal laws, would equally partake of the kingdom of God, and form a brotherly alliance for His worship. Not the whole mass of Israel is destined, according to Isaiah, to future salvation, but only the small number of the converted. This truth he announces most definitely in the sketch of his prophecies contained in Isaiah 6.
Isaiah describes with equal vivacity the divine justice which punishes the sins of the nation with inexorable severity. 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Sabaoth,' is the key-note of his prophecies. He describes also the divine mercy and covenant-fidelity, by which there is always preserved a remnant among the people: to them punishment itself is a means of salvation, so that life everywhere proceeds from death, and the congregation itself is led to full victory and glory.
Isaiah saw the moral and religious degradation of his people, and also its external distress, both then present and to come (Isaiah 6). But this did not break his courage; he confidently expected a better futurity, and raised himself in God above all that is visible. Isaiah is not afraid when the whole nation and its king tremble. Of this we see a remarkable instance in Isaiah 7, and another in the time of the Assyrian invasion under Hezekiah, during which the courage of his faith rendered him the savior of the commonwealth, and the originator of that great religious revival which followed the preservation of the state. The faith of the king and of the people was roused by that of Isaiah.
Isaiah stands pre-eminent above all other prophets, as well in the contents and spirit of his predictions, as also in their form and style. Simplicity, clearness, sublimity, and freshness, are the never-failing characters of his prophecies. Even Eichhorn mentions, among the first merits of Isaiah, the concinnity of his expressions, the beautiful outline of his images, and the fine execution of his speeches. In reference to richness of imagery he stands between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Symbolic actions, which frequently occur in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, seldom occur in Isaiah. The same is the case with visions, strictly so called, of which there is only one, namely, that in Isaiah 6; and even it is distinguished by its simplicity and clearness above that of the later prophets. But one characteristic of Isaiah is, that he likes to give signs?that is, a fact then present, or near at hand?as a pledge for the more distant futurity; and that he thus supports the feebleness of man (comp. Isa_7:20; Isa_37:30; Isa_38:7 sqq.). The instances in Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 38 show how much he was convinced of his vocation, and in what intimacy he lived with the Lord, by whose assistance alone he could effect what He offers to do in the one passage, and what He grants in the other. The spiritual riches of the prophet are seen in the variety of his style, which always befits the subject. When he rebukes and threatens, it is like a storm, and when he comforts, his language is as tender and mild as (to use his own words) that of a mother comforting her son. With regard to style, Isaiah is comprehensive, and the other prophets divide his riches.
Isaiah enjoyed an authority proportionate to his gifts. We learn from history how great this authority was during his life, especially under the reign of Hezekiah. Several of his most definite prophecies were fulfilled while he was yet alive; for instance, the overthrow of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel; the invasion of the Assyrians, and the divine deliverance from it; the prolongation of life granted to Hezekiah; and several predictions against foreign nations. Isaiah is honorably mentioned in the historical books. The later prophets, especially Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, clearly prove that his book was diligently read, and that his prophecies were attentively studied.
The authority of the prophet greatly increased after the fulfillment of his prophecies by the Babylonian exile, the victories of Cyrus, and the deliverance of the covenant-people. Even Cyrus (according to the above-mentioned account in Josephus, Antiq. xi. 1, 1-2) was induced to set the Jews at liberty by the prophecies of Isaiah concerning himself. This prediction of Isaiah made so deep an impression upon him that he probably took from it the name by which he is generally known in history. Jesus Sirach (Sir_48:22-25) bestows splendid praise upon Isaiah, and both Philo and Josephus speak of him with great veneration. He attained the highest degree of authority after the times of the New Testament had proved the most important part of his prophecies, namely, the Messianic, to be divine. Christ and the Apostles quote no prophecies so frequently as those of Isaiah, in order to prove that He who had appeared was one and the same with Him who had been promised. The fathers of the church abound in praises of Isaiah.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Isaiah
(prop. Heb. Yeshayah', יְשִׁעְיָה, saved by Jehovah; but this shorter form occurs, with reference to this person, only in the Rabbinic title of the book,: the text always has the name in the paragogic form — Yeshaya'hu, ישִׁעְיָהוּ, Sept., Josephus, and N.T. ῾Ησαϊvας, Vulg. Isaias; Auth. Vers. N.T. “Esaias:” but the Heb. name, both in the simple and prolonged forms, occurs of other persons likewise, although differently Anglicized in the Eng. Vers.; SEE JESHAIAH; SEE JESAIAH ), one of the most important of “the Greater Prophets,” who gave title to one of the books of Scripture.
I. Personal History of the Prophet. — Little is known respecting the circumstances of Isaiah's life. Kimchi (A.D. 1230) says in his commentary on Isa_1:1, “We know not.his race, nor of what tribe he was.” His father's name was Amoz (Isa_1:1), whom the fathers of the Church confound with the prophet Amos, because they were unacquainted with Hebrew, and in Greek the two names are spelled alike (so Clem. Alex.; Jerome, Prce. in Amn.; August. Civ. D. 18, 27). See-Amoz. The opinion of the Rabbins (Gemara, Megilla, 10:2) that Isaiah was the brother of king Amaziah rests also on a mere etymological combination (see Carpzov, De regis Jesuice natalibus, Rost. 1735). Isaiah resided at Jerusalem, not far from the Temple (ch. 6). We learn from ch. 7 and 8 that he was married. Two of his sons are mentioned, Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hashbaz. These significant names, which he gave to his sons, prove how much Isaiah lived in his vocation. He did not consider his children as belonging merely to himself, but rendered them living admonitions to the people. In their names were contained the two chief points of his prophetic utterances: one recalled to mind the severe and inevitable judgment wherewith the Lord was about to visit the world, and especially his people; the other, which signifies “The remnant shall return,” pointed out the mercy with which the Lord would receive the elect, and with which, in the midst of apparent destruction, he would take care to preserve his people and his kingdom. Isaiah calls his wife a prophetess. This indicates that his marriage-life was not only consistent with his vocation, but that it was intimately interwoven with it. This name cannot mean the wife of. a prophet, but indicates ‘that the prophetess of Isaiah had a prophetic gift, like Miriam, Deborah' and Huldah. The appellation here given denotes the suitableness as well as genuineness of their conjugal relation.
Even the dress of the prophet was subservient to his vocation. According to Isa_20:2, he ‘Wore a garment of haircloth or sackcloth. This seems also to have been the costume of Elijah, according to 2 Kings 1,.8; and it was the dress of John the Baptist (Mat_3:4). Hairy sackcloth is in the Bible the symbol of repentance (compare Isa_22:11-12, and 1Ki_21:27). This costume of the prophets was a sermo propheticus realis, a prophetic preaching by fact. Before he has opened his lips his external appearance proclaims μετανοεῖτε, repent.
It is held traditionally that Isaiah suffered martyrdom under the wicked Manasseh, by being sawn in two under a memorable tree long said to have stood in the vicinity of Jerusalem (Gemara, Jeban. 4, 13; compare Sanhedr. f. 103 b, and the Targumites, in Assemani, Catalog. Bibl. ‘Vat. 1, 452; Trypho, p. 349; Jerome, in Jes. 57; Origen, in Psalms 27 in Matthew 23; Tertullian, Patient. 14; Augustine, Civ. Dei, 18, 24; Chronic. Pasch. p. 155). The traditional spot of the martyrdom is a very old mulberry-tree which stands near the Pool of Siloam, on the slopes of Ophel, below the south-east wall of Jerusalem. A similar account of his death is contained in the Ascension of the Prophet Isaiah, an apocryphal work, the Greek original of which was known to the early Church (Epiphan. licer. 40, 2; Jerome, in les. 44, 4, p. 761, etc.), and of which only recently an Ethiopic version has been found and translated by Dr. Laurence, Oxford, 1819 (see Nitzsch, in the Studien und Krit. 1830, 2, 209; Engelhardt, Kirchengesch. Abhandl. 207 sq.). The same fate of Isaiah appears to be alluded to by Josephus (Ant. 10:3, 1).
II. Time of Isaiah. — The heading of this book places the prophet under the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah; and an examination of the prophecies themselves, independently of the heading, leads us to the same chronological results. Chapter 6 in which is related the definite call of Isaiah to his prophetic office, is thus headed: “In the year in which king Uzziah died I saw the Lord,” etc. The collection of prophecies is, therefore, not chronologically arranged, and-the utterances in-the preceding chapters (1 to 6) belong, for chronological and other reasons to the last year of the reign of Uzziah, although the utterances in chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 have been erroneously assigned to the reign of Jotham. As, however, the position of affairs was not materially changed under the reign of Jotham, we may say that the first chapter was uttered during that reign. The continuation of prophetic authorship, or the writing down of uttered prophecies, depended upon the commencement of new historical developments, such as took place under the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. Several prophecies (namely, 7-10:4; 1:2-31; 17) belong to the reign of Ahaz (Isa_14:28-32, apparently to the occasion of his death); and most of the subsequent prophecies to the reign of Hezekiah. The prophetic ministry of Isaiah under Hezekiah is also described in a historical section contained in chapters 36-39. The data which are contained in this section come down to the fifteenth year of the reign of Hezekiah: consequently we are in the possession of historical documents proving that the prophetic ministry of Isaiah was in operation during about forty-five years, commencing in the year B.C. 756, and extending to the year B.C. 711. Of this period, at least one year belongs to the reign of Uzziah, sixteen to the reign of Jotham, fourteen to the reign of Ahaz, and fourteen and upwards to the reign of Hezekiah. It has been maintained, however, by Staudlin, Jahn, Bertholdt, Gesenius, and others, that Isaiah lived to a much later period, and that his life extended to the reign of Manasseh, the successor of Hezekiah. For this opinion the following reasons are adduced:
(1.) According to 2Ch_32:32, Isaiah wrote the life of king Hezekiah. It would hence appear that he survived that king; although it must be admitted that in 2Ch_32:32, where Isaiah's biography of Hezekiah is mentioned, the important words “first and last” are omitted; while in 2Ch_26:22, we read, “Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah, the son of Amoz, write.”
(2.) We find (as above stated) a tradition current in the Talmud, in the fathers, and in Oriental literature, that Isaiah suffered martyrdom in the reign of Manasseh by being sawn asunder. It is thought that an allusion to this tradition is found in the Epistle to the Heb_11:37, in the expression they were sawn asunder (ἐπρίσθησαν), which seems to harmonize with 2Ki_21:16, “Moreover, Manasseh shed innocent blood very much.”
(3.) The authenticity of the second portion of the prophecies of Isaiah being admitted (see below), the nature of this portion would seem to confirm the idea that its author had lived under Manasseh. The style of the second portion, it is asserted, is so different from that of the first that both could not well have been composed by the same author, except under the supposition that a considerable time intervened between the composition of the first and second portion. The contents of the latter-such as the complaints respecting gross idolatry, the sacrifice of children to idols, the wickedness of rulers, etc. seem to be applicable neither to the times of the exile, into which the prophet might have transported himself in the spirit, nor to the period of the pious Hezekiah, but are quite applicable to the reign of Manasseh. This last argument, however, is too subjective in its character to be of much weight; the difference of style referred to may be more readily accounted for by the difference in the topics treated of, and it is a gratuitous supposition that the national sins rebuked in the later prophecies had ceased during the reign of Hezekiah. The other arguments may be admitted so far as to allow a survivorship on the part of the prophet beyond the sickness of Hezekiah, and sufficiently into the reign of Manasseh to have suffered: martyrdom at the order of the latter, but it does not appear that he uttered any predictions during the fifteen added years of Hezekiah; at least none are found extant that seem to belong to that period (except ch. 40 to end, which may be assigned to the year ensuing Hezekiah's recovery); his great age and the absence of any special occasion may well account for his silence, and he may naturally be supposed to have occupied the time in writing down his former predictions. Nor will this view, which seems to meet all the requirements in the case, require to be extended a life-time; for if Isaiah, like Jeremiah, was called to the prophetical office in his youth, perhaps at twenty years of age, he would have been but eighty years old at the accession of Manasseh (B.C. 696), an age no greater than that of Hosea, whose prophecies extend over the same period of sixty years (Hos_1:1).
III. Historical Works of Isaiah. — Besides the collection of prophecies which has been preserved to us, Isaiah also wrote two historical works (comp. Isa_36:3; Isa_36:22). It was part of the vocation of the prophets to write the history of the kingdom of God, to exhibit in' this history the workings of the law of retribution, and to exhort to the true worship of the Lord (see Augusti, Einleit. p. 290; Bertholdt, Einleit. 4, 1349). Most of the historical books in the Old Testament have been written by prophets. The collectors of the canon placed most of these books under the head prophets; hence it appears that, even when these historical works were remodeled by later editors, these editors were themselves prophets. The Chronicles are not placed among the prophetical books so called: we may therefore conclude that they were not written by a prophet. But their author constantly indicates that he composed his work from abstracts taken verbatim from historical monographies written by the prophets; consequently the books of Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther are the only historical books of the Old Testament which did not originate from prophets.
The first historical work of Isaiah was a biography of king Uzziah (comp. 2Ch_26:22), “Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.” The second historical work of Isaiah was a biography of king Hezekiah, which was subsequently inserted in the annals of Judah and Israel. These annals consisted of a series of prophetic monographies, which were received partly entire, partly in abstracts, and are the chief source from which the information contained in the Chronicles is derived. In this work of Isaiah, although its contents were chiefly historical, numerous prophecies were inserted. — Hence it is called in 2Ch_32:32, חֲזון יְשֵׁעְיָהוּ, The Vision of Isaiah. In a similar manner, the biography of Solomon by Ahijah is called in 2Ch_9:29, “the prophecy of Ahijah.” The two historical works of Isaiah were lost, together with the annals of Judah and Israel, into which they were embodied. Whatever these annals contained that was of importance for all ages, has been preserved to us by being received into the historical books of the Old Testament, and the predictions of the most distinguished prophets have been formed into separate collections. After this was effected, less care was taken to preserve the more diffuse annals, which also comprehended many statements, of value only for particular times and places.
The so-called “Ascension of Isaiah” is a pseudepigraphal work of later times, originally written, it would seem, in Greek (Α᾿ναβατικὸν ᾿Ησαίου), of which only an old Latin translation (Ascensio Isaiae) was known to scholars, until Bp. Laurence discovered and published the Ethiopic version (Oxford, 1819, 8vo). It has also been edited with notes, etc., by Dillmann (Leips. 1877. 8vo). See Carpzov, Introduct. 3, p. 90; Gesenins, Comment. at Isaiah 1, 3 sq.; Knobel, Prophet. 2, 176 sq.; Stickel, in the Hall. Encyklop. II, 15:371 sq.; Stuart's Comment, on the Apocalypse, Introd.; Whiston, Authentic Records, 1:470; Gieseier, Visio Jesaiae illustrata (Gott. 1832); Gfrorer, Prophete veteres (Stuttg. 1840); Jolowicz, Himmefahrt u. Vision des Proph. Jes. (Lpz. 1854); De heemelvaart van den profeet Jesa.ja, in the Godgeleerde Bijdragen for 1862, pt. 7, p. 529- 601. SEE APOCRYPHA; SEE REVELATIONS, SPURIOUS.
IV. Integral Authenticity of the Prophecies of Isaiah. — The Jewish synagogue, and the Christian Church during all ages, have considered it as an undoubted fact that the prophecies which bear the name of Isaiah really originated from that prophet. Even Spinoza did not expressly assert, in his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (8, 8), that the book of Isaiah consisted of a collection originating from a variety of authors, although it is usually considered that he maintained this opinion. But in the last quarter of the 18th century this prevailing conviction appeared to some divines to be inconvenient. All those who attack the integral authenticity of Isaiah agree in considering the book to be an anthology, or gleanings of prophecies, collected after the Babylonian exile, although they differ in their opinions respecting the origin of this collection. Koppe gave gentle hints of this view which was first explicitly supported by Eichhorn in his Introduction. Eichhorn advances the hypothesis that a collection of Isaian prophecies (which might have been augmented, even before the Babylonian exile, by several not genuine additions) formed the basis of the present anthology, and that the collectors, after the Babylonian exile, considering that the scroll on which they were written did not form a volume proportionate to the size of the three other prophetic scrolls containing Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and the minor prophets, annexed to the Isaian collection all other oracles at hand whose authors were not-known to the editors. In this supposition of the non-identity of date and authorship, many German scholars, and lately also Hitzig and Ewaid, followed Eichhorn. Gesenius, on the contrary, maintained, in his introduction to Isaiah, that all the non-Isaian prophecies extant in that book originated from one author, and were of the same date. Umbreit and Koster on the main point follow Gesenius, considering chaps. 40 to 66 to be a continuous whole, written by a pseudo-Isaiah who lived about the termination of the Babylonian exile.
In reference to other portions of the book of Isaiah, the authenticity of which has been questioned, Umbreit expresses himself doubtingly, and Kostor assigns them to Isaiah. Gesenius declines to answer the question how it happened that these portions were ascribed to Isaiah, but Hitzig felt that an answer to it might be expected. He accordingly attempts to explain why such additions were made to Isaiah, and not to any of the other prophetical books; by the extraordinary veneration in which Isaiah was held. He says that the great authority of Isaiah occasioned important and distinguished prophecies to be placed in connection with his name. But he himself soon after destroys the force of this assertion by observing that the great authority of Isaiah was especially owing to those prophecies which were falsely ascribed to him. A considerable degree of suspicion must, however, attach to the boasted certainty of such critical investigations, if we notice how widely these learned men differ in defininm what is of Isaian origin and what is not, although they are all linked together by the same fundamental tendency and interest. There are very few portions in the whole collection whose authenticity has not been called in question by some one or other of the various impugners. Almost every part has been attacked either by Derlein, or by Eichhorn (who, especially in a later work entitled Die Hebraischen Propheten, Götting. 1816 to 1819, goes farther than all the others), or by Justl (who, among the earlier adversaries of the integral authenticity of Isaiah, uses, in his Vermischte Schriften [vols. 1 and 2], the most comprehensive and, apparently, the best-grounded arguments), or by Paulus, Rosenmüller,-Bauer, Bertholdt. De Wette, Gesenius, Hitzig, Ewald. Umbreit, or others.' The only portions left to Isaiah are chaps. 1, 3- 9; 17, 20, 28, 31, and 33. All the other chaps. are defended by some and rejected by others; they are also referred to widely different dates. In the most modern criticism, however, we observe an inclination again to extend the sphere of Isaian authenticity as much as the dogmatic principle and system of the critics will allow. Recent critics are therefore disposed to admit the genuineness of chaps. 1 to 23 with the only exception of the two prophecies against Babylonian chaps. 13 and 14, and in chap. 21:1-10. Chapters 28-33 are allowed to be Isaian by Ewald, Umbreit, and others.
Divines who were not linked to these critics by the same dogmatical interest undertook to defend the integrity of Isaiah, as Hensler (Jesaias neu übersetzt 1788), Piper (Integritas esaiae. 1793), Beckhaus (Ueber die Integritat der Prophelischen Schriften, 1796), Jahn, in his Einleitung, who was the most able among the earlier advocates, Dereser, in his Bearbeitung des Jesaias, 4, 1, and Greve (Vaticinia Jesaice, Amsterdam, 1810). All these works have at present only a historical value, because they have been surpassed by two recent monographs. The first is by Jo. Ulrich Muller (De Authentia Oernalorum Jesaiae, chap. 40-46, Copenhagen, 1 1825). Although this work professedly defends only the latter portion of the book of Isaiah, there occur in it many arguments applicable also to the first portion. The standard work on this subject is that of Kleinert (Die Aechtheit des Jesaias, vol. 1, Berlin, 1829). It is, however, very diffuse, and contains too many hypotheses. The comprehensive work of Schleier ( Wirdigung der Einwürfe gegen die Altestamenflichen Weisscagungen in Jesaias, chap. 13 and 14) of course refers more especially to these chapters, but indirectly refers also to all the other portions whose authenticity has been attacked. Since the objections against the various parts of Isaiah are all of the same character, it is very inconsistent in Koster, in his work Die Propheten des alten Testamentes, to defend, in page 102, the genuineness of chaps. 13, 14, and 21, but nevertheless, in pages 117 and 297, to ascribe chaps. 40-66 to a pseudo Isaiah.
We have space here only to indicate the following reasons as establishing the integrity of the whole book, and as vindicating the authenticity of the second part:
1. Externally. — The unanimous testimony of Jewish and Christian tradition-Sir_48:24-25, which manifestly (in the words παρεκάλεσε τοὺς πενθοῦντας ἐν Σιών and ὑπέδειξε-τα ὑπόκρυφα πρὶν ἢ παραγενέσθαι αὐτά) refers to this second part. The use apparently made of the second part by Jeremiah (Jer_10:1-16; Jer_5:25; Jer_25:31), Ezekiel (Eze_23:40-41), and Zephaniah (Zep_2:15; Zep_3:10). The decree of Cyrus in Ezr_1:2-4, which plainly is founded upon Isa_44:28; Isa_45:1; Isa_45:13, accrediting Josephus's statement (Ant. 11:1, 2) that the Jews showed Cyrus Isaiah's predictions of him. The inspired testimony of the N.T., which often (Mat_3:3, and the parallel passages; Luk_4:17; Act_8:28; Rom_10:16; Rom_10:20) quotes with specification of Isaiah's name prophecies found in the second part.
2. Internally. — The congruity of topic and sentiment in the last twenty- seven chapters with the preceding parts of the book. The oneness of diction which pervades the whole book. The peculiar elevation and grandeur of style which, as is universally acknowledged, distinguishes the whole contents of the second part as much as of the first, and which assigns their composition to the golden age of Hebrew literature. The absence of any other name than Isaiah's claiming the authorship. At the time to which the composition is assigned, a Zechariah or a Malachi could gain a separate name and book; how was it that an author of such transcendent gifts as “the great Unnamed” who wrote 40-66 could gain none? The claims which the writer makes to the foreknowledge of the deliverance by Cyrus, which claims, on the opposing view, must be regarded as a fraudulent personation of an earlier writer. Lastly, the predictions which it contains of the character, sufferings, death, and glorification of Jesus Christ: a believer in Christ cannot fail to regard those predictions as affixing to this second part the broad seal of divine inspiration, whereby the chief ground of objection against its having been written by Isaiah is at once annihilated.
For a full vindication of the authenticity of Isaiah, besides the above works, see professor Stuart On the Old Testam. Canon, p. 103 sq., and Dr. Davidson in the new edit of Horne's Introduction, 2, 835 sq., in which latter, especially, copious references are made to the latest literature on the subject. Other writers who have taken the same side are especially Hengstenberg in his Christology, vol. 2; Havernick, Einleitung vol. 3 (1849); Stier, in his Jesaias nicht Pseudo-Jesaias (1850); and Keil, in his Einleitung (1853), in which last the reader will find a most satisfactory compendium of the controversy, and of the grounds for the generally received view.
V. Origin, Contents, and Style of the Compilation. — No definite account respecting the method pursued in collecting into books the utterances of the prophets has been handed down to us. Concerning Isaiah as well as the rest, these accounts are wanting. We do not even know whether he collected his prophecies himself. But we have no decisive argument against this opinion. Those critics who reject the authenticity of the book are compelled to invent other authors, and, of course, different theories with respect to compilers. None of these have proved satisfactory. (See the authorities above referred to.) According to the Talmudists, the book of Isaiah was collected by the men of Hezekiah. But this assertion rests merely upon Pro_25:1, where the men of Hezekiah are said to have. compiled the Proverbs. To us it seems impossible that Isaiah left it to others to collect his prophecies into a volume, because we know that he was the author of historical works, and it is not likely that a man accustomed to literary occupation would have left to others to do what he could do much better himself.
Chaps. 1-5 contain a series of rebukes, threatenings, and expostulations with the nation, especially Jerusalem its head, on account of the prevalent sins, and particularly idolatry. Chap. 6 describes a theophany and the prophet's own call, in the last year of Uzziah (to which the preceding chapters may also be assigned, with the exception of chap. Isa_1:2-31, which appears to belong to the first of Ahaz). What follows next, up to chap. Isa_10:4, belongs to the reign of Ahaz, and consists of a sublime prediction of the future consolation of Israel, in the first instance by the deliverance from surrounding enemies (especially Damascus and Samaria), and eventually by the Messiah, who is prefigured by historical signs. The same subject is- treated in a similar manner in the succeeding chapters (x-12), the deliverance from Assyria being there the historical type; this is the first portion appertaining to the reign of Hezekiah. Then follows a series of prophecies against foreign nations, in which the chronological arrangement has been departed from, and, instead of it, an arrangement according to contents has been adopted. In the days of Hezekiah, the nations of Western Asia, dwelling on the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris, more and more resembled a threatening tempest. The prophetic gift of Isaiah was more fully unfolded in sight of the Assyrian invasion under the reign of Hezekiah. Isaiah, in a series of visions, describes what Assyria would do, as a chastising rod in the hand of the Lord, and what the successors of the Assyrians, the Chaldees, would perform, according to the decree of God, in order to realize divine justice on earth, as well among Israel as among the heathen. The prophet shows that mercy is hidden behind the clouds of wrath. This portion comprises chaps. 13-35, the several prophecies of which were uttered at various times prior to the Assyrian invasion, although isolated portions appear to belong to previous reigns (e.g. chap. 17 to the occasion of the alliance of Ahaz. with Tiglath-pileser; chap. Isa_14:28-32, to the death of Ahaz). With the termination of this war terminated also the public life of Isaiah, who added a historical section in chaps. 36-39, in order to facilitate the right understanding of the prophecies uttered by him during the most fertile period of his prophetic ministry. Then follows the conclusion of his work on earth (chaps. 40 to the end), composed during the peaceful residue of Hezekiah's reign, and containing a closely connected series of the most spiritual disclosures touching the future history of the nation under the Messiah. This second part, which contains his prophetic legacy, is addressed to the small congregation of the faithful strictly so called; it is analogous to the last speeches of Moses in the fields of Moab, and to the last speeches of Christ in the circle of his disciples, related by John.
The proclamation of the Messiah is the inexhaustible source of consolation among the prophets. In Isaiah this consolation is so clear that some fathers of the Church were inclined to style him rather evangelist than prophet. The following are the outlines of Messianic prophecies in the book of Isaiah: A scion of David, springing from his family, after it has fallen into a very low estate, but being also of divine nature, shall, at first in lowliness, but as a prophet filled with the spirit of God, proclaim the divine doctrine, develop the law in truth, and render it the animating principle of national life; he shall, as high-priest, by his vicarious suffering and his death, remove the guilt of his nation, and that:of other nations, and finally rule as a mighty king, not only over the covenant-people, but over all nations of the earth who will subject themselves to his peaceful scepter, not by violent compulsion, but induced by love and gratitude. He will make both the moral and the physical consequences of sin to cease; the whole earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and all enmity, hatred, and destruction shall be removed even from the brute creation. This is the survey of the Messianic preaching by Isaiah, of which he constantly renders prominent those portions which were most calculated to impress the people under the then existing circumstances. The first part of Isaiah is directed to the whole people, consequently the glory of the Messiah is here dwelt upon. The fear lest the kingdom of God should be overwhelmed by the power of heathen nations is removed by pointing out the glorious king to come, who would elevate the now despised and apparently mean kingdom of God above all the kingdoms of this world. In the second part, which is more particularly addressed to the ἐκλογή, the elect, than to the whole nation, the prophet exhibits the Messiah more as a divine teacher and high priest. The prophet here preaches righteousness through the blood of the servant of God, who will support the weakness of sinners, and take upon himself their sorrows.
Isaiah stands pre-eminent above all other prophets, as well in the contents and spirit of his predictions, as also in their form and style. Simplicity, clearness, sublimity, and freshness, are the never-failing characters ‘of his prophecies. Even Eichhorn mentions, among the first merits of Isaiah, the concinnity of his expressions, the beautiful outline of his images, and the fine execution of his speeches. In reference to richness of imagery he stands between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Symbolic actions, which frequently occur in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, seldom occur in Isaiah. The same is the case with visions, strictly so called, of which there is only one, namely, that in chap. 6, and even it is distinguished by its simplicity and clearness above that of the later prophets. But one characteristic of Isaiah is, that he likes to give signs-that is, a fact then present, or near at hand-as a pledge for the more distant futurity, and that he thus supports the feebleness of man (comp. 7-20; 37:30; 38:7 sq.). The instances in chaps. 7 and 38 show how much he was convinced of his vocation, and in what intimacy he lived with the Lord, by whose assistance alone lie could effect what he offers to do in the one passage, and what he grants in the other. The spiritual riches of the prophet are seen in the variety of his style, which always befits the subject. When he rebukes and threatens it is like a storm, and when he comforts his language is as tender and mild as (to use his own words) that of a mother comforting her son. With regard to style, Isaiah is comprehensive, and the other prophets divide his riches.
Isaiah enjoyed an authority proportionate to his gifts. We learn from history how great this authority was during his life, especially under the reign of Hezekiah. Several of his most definite prophecies were fulfilled while he was yet alive; for instance, the overthrow of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel; the invasion of the Assyrians, and the divine deliverance from it; the prolongation of life granted to Hezekiah; and several predictions against foreign nations. Isaiah is honorably mentioned in the historical books. The later prophets, especially Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, clearly prove that his book was diligently read, and that his prophecies were attentively studied. The authority of the prophet greatly increased after the fulfillment of his prophecies by the Babylonian exile, the victories of Cyrus, and the deliverance of the covenant-people. Even Cyrus (according to the account in Josephus, Ant. 11:1, 1 and 2) was induced to set the Jews at liberty by the prophecies of Isaiah concerning himself. Jesus Sirach (Sir_48:22-25) bestows splendid praise upon Isaiah, and both Philo and Josephus speak of him with great veneration. He attained the highest degree of authority after the times of the New Testament had proved the most important part of his prophecies, namely, the Messianic, to be divine. Christ and the apostles quote no prophecies so frequently as those of Isaiah, in order to prove that he who had appeared was one and the same with him who had been promised. The fathers of the Church abound in praises of Isaiah. — Kitto; Smith. SEE MESSIAH.
VI. The following are express commentaries on the whole of the book of Isaiah, the most important being designated by an asterisk (*) prefixed: Origen, Fragmenta (in Opp. 3:104); also Homiliea (in Jerome, Opp. 4:1097); Eusebius, Commentar-2 (in Montfaucon's Collectio Nova); Ephrem Syrus, Enarratio (from the Syr. in Opp. I, 2, 535); Basil, Enarratio (Gr. in his Op 6. I, 2, 535; tr. in Lat., Basle, 1518, 4to); Jerome, Commentarii (in Opp. 4:1); also Adbreviatio (ib. 4:1131); Chrysostom, Interpretatio [on 1-8] (Gr. in Opp. 6:1); Cyril, Commentarii (Gr. in. Opp. 2, 1 sq.); Theodoret, Interpretation [in Greek] (in Opp. II, 1); Procopius, Epitome (Gr. and Lat., Par. 1580, fol.); Rupertus, In Esaianm (in Opp. 1, 429); Herveus, Commentarii (in Pez, Thesaur. III, 1); S. Jarchi [i.e. “Rashi”], Commentarius (from the Heb. edit. Breithaupt, Goth. 1713, 1714, 3 vols. 4to); D. Kimchi, Commentarius (from the Heb. by Malamineus, Florence, 1774, 4to); Abrabanel, פֵּרוּש ׁ (ed. L'Empereur, Lugd. B. 1631, 8vo); Aquinas, Commentarii (Lugd. 1531, 8vo; also in Opp. 2); Luther, Enarrationes (in Opp. 3:294); Melancthon, Argumentum (in Opp. 3:398); (Ecolampadius, Hyponematon (Basil. 1525, 1567, 4to); Zuinglius, Complanatio (Tigur. 1529, fol.; also in Opp. 3. 163); Dieterich, Auslegug (Norimb. 1543,4to); Calvin, Commentarii (Genesis 1551, 1559, 1570, 1583, 1587, 1617, fol.; in French, ib. 1552, 4to; 1572, fol.; in English by Colton, Lond. 1609, fol. by Pringle, Edinb. 1850,4 vols. 8vo); Day, Exposition (London, 1654, fol.); Musculus, Commentarius (Basil. 1557, 1570, 1600, 1623, fol.); Borrhasius, Commentarii (Basil. 1561. fol.); Draconis, Commentarius (Lipsiae, 1563, fol.); Strigel, Conciones (Lipsice, 1563, 12mo); Forerius, Commentaria (Venice, 1563, fol.; Antwerp, 1565, 8vo; also in the Critici Sacri, 4); Sasbouth, Commentarius (Argent. 1563, 8vo); Marloratus, Expositio (Par. 1564; Genesis 1610, fol.); Pintus, Commentaria (Lugd. 1561,1567; Antw. 1567,1572, fol.); Gualtherus, Homiliae (Tigur. 1567, folio); Bullinger, Expositio (Tigur. 1567, folio); Selnecker, Erklar. (Lpz. 1569, 4to); Castri, Commentaria (Salam. 1570, folio); De Palacios, Dilucidationes (Salam. 1572,3 vols. fol.); Schnepf, SchoIac (Tub. 1575, 1583, fol.); Osorius, Paraphrasis (Bonon. 1576, 4to; Col. Agr. 1579, 1584, 8vo); Ursinus, Commentarius (in Opp. 3); Wigand, Adnotationes (Erford. 1581, 8vo); Guidell, Commentarius (Perus. 1598- 1600, 2 vols. 4to) Montanus; Commentarii (Antw. 1599, 2 vols. 4to); D. Alvarez, Commentarii (Rome, 1599-1702, 2 vols. fol.; Lugd. 1716, fol.); Arcularius, Commentarius (ed. Mentzer, Frankfort, 1607; Lips. 1653, 8vo); Arama, וְתֻמַּים אוּרַים (Ven. 1608, 8vo; also in Frankfurter's Rabbinic Bible); Sancius, Commentarius (Lugd. 1615; Antwerp and Mogunt. 1616, fol.); Heshusius, Commentarius (Hal. 1617, fol.); Forster, Commentarius (Vitemb. 1620, 1664, 1674, 1679, 4to); Oleastre, Commentarii (Par. 1622, 1656, fol.); a Lapide, In Esaiam (Antw. 1622, folio); G. Alvarez, Expositio (Lugd. 1623, fol.); De Arcones, Elucidastio (Lugd. 1642, 2 vols. folio); Di Marino, תַּקּוּן עוֹלָם (Verona, 1652, 4to); Laisne, Commentaire (Paris, 1654, fol.); Lafiado, כְּלַי פָּז (Ven. 1657, fol.); Varenus, Commentarius. (Rost. 1673, 1708, 4to); Brentius, Commentarius (in Opp. 4, Tub. 1675); Jackson, Annotations (London, 1682, 4to); S. Schmid, Commentarius (ed. Sandhagen, Hamb. 1693,1695,1702, 1723, 4to); Sibersma, Commentarius (Anst. 1700,4to); Cocceius, Commentarius (in Opp. 2, Amst. 1701); Dorsche, Commentarius (ed. Fecht, Hamb. 1703, 4to); Hellenbroek, Erklarung (Rotterdam, 1704, 4 vols. 4to) Schmuck, Praelectiones (edit. Vlich, Dresd. 1708, 4to); White, Commentary (Lond. 1709, 4to); Kortum, Untersuchung (Lpz. 1709, 4to); *Vitringa, Commentarius, Louv. 1714-20, 1724, 2 vols. fol.; in German, Herb. 1715-22, 2 vols. fol.; the last abridged by Busching, Hal 1749, 4to); Petersen, Erklarung. (Frckft. 1719, 4to); Leigh. Commentar (Brunsw. 1725-34, 6 vols. 4to); Hoheisel, Observationes (Gedan. 1729, 8vo); Le Clerc, Commentarius (an abstract, Amsterdam, 1731, fol.); Woken, Erklarung. (Lpz. 1732, 8vo); Duguet, Explication (in French, Paris, 1734,5 vols. 121no); Rambach, Erklarung (Zür. 1741, 4to); Reichel, Erlaut. (Lpz. and Gorl. 175559, 16 pts. 8vo); Vogel, Unsschreibung (Hal. 1771, 8vo); Struensee, Uebers. (Halb. 1773, 8vo); Crusius, Hypomnenzata (Lips. 1773, 8vo); *Lowth, Commentary (Lond. — 1774, 1778, 4to; and frequently since in many forms; finally in connection with the notes of Bp. Patrick and others, in 4 vols. 8vo, Lond. and Philadelphia); Walther, Anmerk. (Hal. 1774, 4to); *Doderlein, Notae (Altd. 1775, 1780, 1783, 8vo); Holden, Paraphrase (Chelmsf. 1776, 2 vols. 8vo); Rambach, Anmersk. [to tr. of Matt. Henry's] (Lpz. 1777,8vo); Sponsel, Abhandlung (Nurenb. 177980,2 vols. 4to); Koppe, Anmerk. Cto Lowth] (Lpz. 177981,4 vols. 8vo); Moldenhauer, Anmerk. (Quedlinb. 1780, 4to); Weise, Redan (Halle, 1780, 8vo); *Seiler. Erldut. (Erl. 1783, 8vo); Cube, Anmerk. (Berlin, 1785-6, 2 vols. 8vo); Rieger, Scholien (Memming. 1788, 8vo); Henssler, Anmerk. (Hamb. and Kiel, 1788, 8vo); Berthier, Notes [French] (Paris, 1789, 5 vols. 12mo); Kocher, Vindicie (Tribing. 1790, 8vo); Dodson, Notes (Lond. 1790, 8vo); Krigelius, Bearbeitung (Brem. 1790, 8vo); Macculloch. Lectures (Lond. 1791-1805, 4 vols. 8vo); Paulus, Clavis (Jena, 1793,8vo); Fraser, Commentary (Edinburgh, 1800, 8vo); Bp. Stock. Translation (Bath, 1805, 4to);Van der Palm, Anmerk. [Dutch] (Amst. 1805, 2 vols. 8vo); Ottensosser, בַּאוּר (Firth, 1807, 8vo); Dereser, Erklarung (Frckft. a. M. 1808, 8vo); *Gesenius, Commentar (Lpz. 1821-9, 3 vols. 8vo); Horsley, Notes (in Biblical Criticism, 1, 229); Möller, Anmerk. [Danish] (Copenh. 1822, 8vo); De Liere, Traduction (Paris, 1823, 8vo); Knas, Enodatio (Upsal. 1824,8vo); Jones, Translation (Oxford, 1830, 8vo; 1842, 12mo); Jenour, Notes (London, 1830, 2 vols. 8vo); Hendewerk, Erklarung. (Konigsberg, 1830-44, 2 vols. 8vo); Möller, Erklarung. (Brem. 1831, 8vo, pt. 1); Hitzig, Auslegung (Heidelb. 1833, 8vo); Maurer, Commentarius (Lpz. 1836, 8vo); Barnes, Notes (Bost. 1840, 3 vols. 8vo; abridged, N. Y. 1848, 2 vols. 12mo); *Henderson, Commentary (London, 1840, 1857,. 8vo); Govett, Notes (Lond. 1841, 8vo); *Umbreit, Commentar (Hamb. 184142, 2 vols. 8vo); Heinemann, מַקְרָא מְפֹרָש ׁ (Berl. 1842, 8vo); *Knobel, Erklarung (Lpz. 1843. 8vo); Dreschler, Erklar. (Stuttg. 1845-9, 3 vols. 8vo); *Alexander, Commentary (N. Y. 1846-7, 1865, 2 vols: 8vo; Glasgow, 1848, 8vo; abridged, N. York, 1851,2 vols. 12mo); Stier, Nicht Pseudo- Jesaias (Barmen, 1850, 2 pts. 8vo); Smithson, Translation (Lond. 1860,8vo); Keith,Commentary (London, 1850, 8vo); Meier, Erklar. (pt. 1, Pforzh. 1850, 8vo); Whish, Paraphrase (Lond. 1855, 8vo); Williams, Commentary (Lond. 1857, 8vo); Diedrich, Erklar. (Lpz. 1859, 8vo); Renner, Auslegung (Stuttg. 1865, 8vo); Luzatto, Commenti [in Heb.] (Padova, 1865-7, 2 vols. 8vo); Second, Commentaire (Genev. 1866, 8vo); *Delitzsch, Commentar (in Keil and Delitzsch's series, Lpz. 1866; tr. in Clarke's Library, Edinb. 1867,2 vols. 8vo); Cheyne, Notes (Lond. 1868, 8vo); Ewald, Commentary (chaps. 1-33, transl. from the Germ. by Glover, London, 1869, 12mo); Neteler, Grundlage (Munst. 1869, 8vo); Birks, Commentary (Lond. 1871, 8vo). SEE PROPHET.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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