SUMMARY
The first part of this long book contains messages of judgment and warning similar to those of the other eighth-century prophets. Isaiah condemns hypocritical worship, complacency, and the failure to act with justice for the poor. The prophet also speaks resounding words of promise that announce God’s future acts of restoration and hope.
The second part of the book brings words of comfort and hope to the exiles in Babylonian captivity in the sixth century BCE. This section introduces God’s “servant” in passages that have become well known to believers in every generation.
A third part of the book contains both warnings and promises for the community after its return to Jerusalem following the fallThe fall refers specifically to the disobedience of Adam and Eve when they listened to Satan rather than adhering to God’s command not to eat the fruit from the tree. When people act contrary to God’s will, they are said to fall from from grace… More of Babylon in 538 BCE.
SO WHAT?
Isaiah is among the most important of the prophetic books. It covers a long period of Israel’s history (before, during, and after the exile) and offers the full range of God’s prophetic message: terrifying words of judgment and comforting words of promise. Isaiah portrays God as the powerful Creator, like no other, and also the gentlest comforter, like an earthly lover or mother.
Isaiah is taken up in the New Testament more fully than any other prophet. Alongside Psalms and Deuteronomy, it is among the most frequently referenced Old Testament books by the authors of the New Testament. Given the centrality of Isaiah to the New Testament’s understanding of Jesus, it is important that readers seek to understand how and why these ancient prophetic texts shaped the Christian theological imagination.
WHERE DO I FIND IT?
Isaiah is the 23rd book in the Old Testament and the first of the prophetic books. In present Protestant Bibles it follows the Song of Solomon and precedes the book of Jeremiah.
WHO WROTE IT?
The first part of the book is ascribed to Isaiah son of Amoz (eighth-century BCE). Other parts were written later, containing prophetic messages addressed to people in the time of the Babylonian exile (587-538 BCE) and then to others back in Jerusalem following the exile. Postexilic biblical editors gathered all these materials into this long and complex book, giving it a cohesive message and purpose despite all its diversity.
WHEN WAS IT WRITTEN?
When asking this question, it is important to make a distinction between Isaiah the man and Isaiah the book. Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet behind the first part of the book, preached from about 738 BCE until the early part of the next century, during the Assyrian conquest. The second part of the book is addressed to the exilic community in Babylon in the early part of the sixth century BCE. The final section apparently assumes the return to Jerusalem following the fall of Babylon in 538 BCE The book contains the collected words of the prophets behind each of these three sections and was put together in its present form by editors sometime during the postexilic period.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
At 66 chapters long and covering hundreds of years, the Book of Isaiah is about many things. It bears witness to a God who judges and saves, condemns and restores, empowers and stymies. It speaks messages of comfort and challenge to hearers of its own time (eighth to sixth centuries BCE) along with memorable promises of hope to future generations.
HOW DO I READ IT?
Like all books of prophecyProphecy is the gift, inspired by God, of speaking and interpreting the divine will. Prophets such as Amos, Isaiah, and Ezekiel spoke words of judgment and comfort to the people of Israel on behalf of God. More, Isaiah should be read both with an ear for its message to the present hearer and with recognition of its roots in a particular historical time and place. It was a book addressed to its own time, but because the word of God endures throughout all generations, it speaks to the modern reader as well–not as predictions of the present and future from a distant past, but as a living word of God that brings hope and challenge now just as it has done throughout the ages.
Prophetic books like Isaiah are, for the most part, written in poetry and should be read accordingly. Readers should offer appropriate care for and attentiveness to the common features of Hebrew poetry, such as repetition, thematic echoes, line endings, metaphor, and the creative use of language.
Isaiah is a complex book, so some knowledge of its historical background will also be of assistance to readers.
