Christianity: Details about 'Book Of Isaiah'
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Isaiah (Hebrew ישׁעיהו Yeshayahu or Yəša‘ăyāhû) is a book of the Jewish Hebrew Bible as well as the Christian Old Testament, containing prophecies attributed to Isaiah. This book is often seen by scholars as being divided into at least two sections. The first section, consisting of chapters 1-39, is generally accepted as being written by the prophet Isaiah of Jerusalem, or by his followers who took down his words. The second section, chapters 40-66, is of more debatable origin, as will be described further below. Isaiah’s messages assume we know something of the rest of the Bible, particularly the earlier books of the Old Testament. He affirms that God is determined to take and keep a people for himself. Isaiah sees this as self-evident, seeing as God bothered with an unattractive bunch of slaves in Egypt, who incessantly grumbled while he was rescuing them. The descendents were no better - they were the thankless unfaithful men and women of Isaiah’s time. It is only the covenant love of God that explains it. God has determined to save and no one can stop him from doing it. He has chosen a people to praise and serve him, a people he calls out of bondage into a loving relationship with him. God has committed himself to these people and so they have hope who remain faithful to him (Isaiah 54:10 declares God’s steadfast resolve). The doctrine of election arises again in Isaiah. There is also the doctrine of the remnant – not all Israel are of Israel (see Isaiah 1:9 for example). Those who remain faithful are very few, like a flag-pole on a hilltop (Isaiah 30:17), or the stump of a tree that has been chopped down (6:13), gleanings or the few olives left at the top of a tree (17:6). But God will never cast his elect away (41:8-9, or 42:18-44:5).
ContentThe first 39 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah. These nations include Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, and Phoenicia. The prophecies concerning them can be summarized as saying that God is the God of the whole earth, and that nations which think of themselves as secure in their own power and might will be conquered by other nations, at God's command. The judgments, however, are not only against those who persecute Isaiah's country, Judah. Chapters 1-5 and 28-29 prophesy judgment against Judah itself. Judah thinks itself safe because of its covenant relationship with God, the God of all the earth. However, God tells Judah, through Isaiah, that the covenant cannot protect them when they have broken it by idolatry, the worship of other gods, and by acts of injustice and cruelty, which oppose God's law. Some exceptions to this overall foretelling of doom do occur, throughout the early chapters of the book. Chapter 6 describes Isaiah's call to be a prophet of God. Chapters 35-39 provide historical material about King Hezekiah and his triumph of faith in God. Chapters 24-34, while too complex to characterize easily, are primarily concerned with prophecies of a "Messiah," a person anointed or given power by God, and of the Messiah's kingdom, where justice and righteousness will reign. This section is seen by Jews as describing an actual king, a descendant of their great king, David, who will make Judah a great kingdom and Jerusalem a truly holy city. It is traditionally seen by Christians as describing Jesus, who was descended from David, and who, they believe, began a non-political kingdom of justice which will one day encompass the whole earth. At present, this kingdom has more reality in non-physical planes than in the material world. A number of modern scholars believe that it describes, in somewhat idealized terms, King Hezekiah, who was a descendant of David, and who tried to make Jerusalem into a holy city. The prophecy continues with what some have called “The Book of Comfort” which begins in chapter 40 and completes the writing. In the first eight chapters of this book of comfort, Isaiah prophesies the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of the Babylonians and restoration of Israel as a unified nation in the land promised to them by Yahweh. Isaiah reaffirms that the Jews are indeed the chosen people of Yahweh in chapter 44 and that Yahweh is the only God for the Jews as he will show his power over the gods of Babylon in due time in chapter 46. It is of much interest to note that in chapter 45:1, the Persian ruler Cyrus is named as the person of power who will overthrow the Babylonians and allow the return of Israel to their original land. The remaining chapters of the book contain prophecies of the future glory of Zion under the rule of a righteous servant (52 & 54). There is much complex prophecy about this servant that is written in a very poetic language. Although there is still the mention of judgment of false worshippers and idolaters (65 & 66), the book ends with a message of hope of a righteous ruler who extends salvation to his righteous subjects living in the Lord’s kingdom on earth. Historical setting for IsaiahIsaiah lived during the late 8th and early 9th centuries BCE, which was a difficult period in the history of Jerusalem. He was part of the upper class but urged care of the downtrodden. At the end, he was loyal to King Hezekiah, but disagreed with the King's attempts to forge alliances with Egypt and Babylon in response to the Assyrian threat. Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings -- Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Legend has it that he was martyred during the reign of Manasseh, who came to the throne in 687 BCE. That he is described as having ready access to the kings would suggest an aristocratic origin. This was the time of the divided kingdom, with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. There was prosperity for both kingdoms during Isaiah’s youth with little foreign interference. Jeroboam II ruled in the north and Uzziah in the south. The small kingdoms of Palestine, as well as Syria, were under the influence of Egypt. However, in 745 BCE, Tiglath-pileser III came to the throne of Assyria. He was interested in Assyrian expansionism, especially to the west. Tiglath-pileser took Samaria and a lot of Galilee in 732. Shalmenezer V (727-722) and then, Sargon II (722-705) attacked Samaria. Samaria fell in 722, this marking the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel forever, as its population was taken into exile and dispersed amongst Assyrian provinces. It is as a result of this exile that reference is made to Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Egypt recovered to a degree around the end of the century and Babylon exerted some independence as well. Because of this, Judah and other states rebelled against Assyria, only to have Sennacherib (705-681) invade and capture 46 Judean towns. Isaiah reports that Jerusalem was spared when God miraculously struck down the Assyrian army besieging it. The Syro-Ephraimite WarBecause of the threat from Tiglath-pileser, the leaders of Syria and Israel tried to force Judah to ally with them around 734 BCE. Ahaz was on the throne of Judah then. He was advised by Isaiah to trust in the Lord, but, instead, he called to Assyria for help. Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria attacked Judah and inflicted damage on it before Assyria came to its aid, but there would be more serious religious consequences of Ahaz’s refusal to accept the Lord’s guidance through Isaiah. Fall of Syria and SamariaDamascus, capital of Syria, was taken by the Assyrians in 732. Tiglath –pileser died in 727, raising false hopes for the Palestinian countries. Ahaz died a year later. Isaiah warned Philistia and the other countries not to revolt against Assyria. Hoshea, then king of Samaria, withheld tribute to Assyria. Consequently, Shalmenezer V laid siege to Samaria for 3 years, and his successor, Sargon II, took the city and deported 27,000 Israelites to northern parts of the Assyrian empire. There was peace in the area for 10 years or so , but then, Sargon returned in 711 to crush a coalition of Egypt and the Philistines. Judah had stayed out of this conflict, Hezekiah wisely listening to Isaiah’s advice. Hezekiah and Sennacherib:Sennacherib came to the throne of Assyria in 705. He had trouble immediately – with Ethiopian monarchs in Egypt and with the Babylonian leader, Merodach-Baladan. Despite Isaiah’s warnings, Hezekiah became involved as well. The Assyrians invaded the area, taking 46 towns before putting Jerusalem under siege. Isaiah persuaded Hezekiah to trust in the Lord and Jerusalem was spared. Babylon:Merodach-Baladan took power in Babylon in 721. Sargon entered Babylon without a fight in 711, but after Sargon’s death, Merodach-Baladan rebelled against Sennacherib. Babylon was defeated this time but would revive in another century to defeat Assyria and subjugate the Jews and destroy Jerusalem. ThemesIsaiah is concerned with the connection between worship and ethical behavior. One of his major themes is God's refusal to accept the ritual worship of those who are treating others with cruelty and injustice. Isaiah speaks also of idolatry, which was common at the time. The Canaanite worship, which involved fertility rites, including sexual practices forbidden by Jewish law, had become popular among the Jewish people. Isaiah picks up on a theme used by other prophets and tells Judah that the nation of Israel is like a wife who is committing adultery, having run away from her true husband, God. An important theme is that God is the God of the whole earth. Many gods of the time were believed to be local gods or national gods who could participate in warfare and be defeated by each other. The concern of these gods was the protection of their own particular nations. Isaiah's God is a conceived as the only true god, and the god of all humankind, not just the Israelite nation. No one can defeat God; if God's people suffer defeat in battle, it is only because God chooses for that to happen. Furthermore, God is concerned with more than the Jewish people. God has called Judah and Israel His covenant people for the specific purpose of teaching the world about Him. A unifying theme found throughout the Book of Isaiah is the use of the expression of "the Holy One of Israel". This is a title for God that is found 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 14 times in chapters 40-66. This expression is unique within the Old Testament to the book of Isaiah which suggests that, although scholars believe that the book of Isaiah was written in various sections by different authors (on which, more below), the work was intended to be a unified body evidenced with the attention to literary consistency. A final thematic goal that Isaiah constantly leans toward throughout the writing is the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, with rulers and subjects to who strive to live by the will of God. Authorship issuesCritical positionsOne of the most critically debated issues in Isaiah is the proposal that it is the work of more than a single author. Different proposals suggest that there have been two or three main authors, while alternative views suggest an additional number of minor authors or editors. (The idea is not that dissimilar to the process used on : an initial section of text, much more than a stub, may have been edited in minor ways before one or maybe two more authors added substantial blocks of material. A small amount of further editing proceeded after that before the final text was 'protected'). Almost all scholars who accept that there are multiple authors recognise some sort of division at the end of chapter 39. Supporters of the three author proposal see a further division at the end of chapter 55. For most of the twentieth century the three-author position was the most widely held; in the 1990s, more complex and carefully nuanced positions (such as that from Williamson, 1994) started to appear. The typical objections to single authorship of the book of Isaiah are as follows:
These and other considerations have led most modern critical scholars to conclude that the book of Isaiah, in its present form, is the result of an extensive editing process, in which the promises of God's salvation are re-interpreted and claimed for the Judean people through the history of their exile and return to the land of Judah. Since it is probably useless to try to reconstruct a precise account of the history of the book's composition (though many have tried), biblical scholars such as Brevard Childs have argued for reading the book as a literary unity. In fact, the most notable change in the scholarly climate has been a recognition that even if the book is the work of many editors, it has been bequeathed to us as a unity, and should be studied as such. Current research is exploring the book's intertextuality, the allusions and references later editors made to connect the different layers of the book. The Traditional positionWhile critical scholars are united in a multiple author theory, there are writers, especially in the Fundamentalist Protestant and traditionalist Catholic traditions, who maintain the unity of Isaiah. An example of the approach is illistrated by the words of Jesus Christ in John 12:38-40. The linking passage, verse 39, between the two passages says that the same Isaiah wrote them both. Since verse 38 comes from Isaiah 53:1 and verse 40 comes from Isaiah 6:10, there cannot be two books of Isaiah, or two separate people who contributed to the one book. Other references would appeal to Josephus, who attributes both sections of the book of Isaiah to a single author, and would point to the distinctive use of the title "the Holy One of Israel" for Yahweh as a unifying theme. Use in the New TestamentIsaiah was quoted extensively by the authors of the New Testament. A selection of such quotations is discussed here. Principal passagesOne of the most famous quotations from Isaiah in the New Testament is the citation of Isa. 7:14 in Matt. 1:23. This passage is a prophecy about a "virgin" who shall bear a child. Matthew states that this passage refers to the birth of Jesus. Modern scholars believe that the prophecy originally referred to a young woman of Isaiah's own day, who was not necessarily a virgin, in modern terms; the context indicates that she would have her child within the year. Isaiah 61:6 is cited in 1 Peter 2:9. Isaiah prophesies that Israel will become a holy priesthood in which everyone serves the Lord. Peter applies this to the Christian Church. Romans 9:27-29, in discussing the history of Israel's relationship with God, quotes Isaiah 1:9 and Isaiah 10:22-23. Following that, in Romans 9:33, Paul refers to Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16, and applies them to Jesus, the precious stone over which Israel stumbles. Isaiah 6:9 is echoed in Matthew 13:14-15 and in Mark 4:12, where a reference to the telling of God's truth in stories, so that people will see but not see the point, and hear but not hear the meaning, is applied to Jesus, who was known for his parables, or stories which told God's truths. Isaiah 8:12 is cited in 1 Peter 3:14, as Peter counsels Christians to be unafraid, as Isaiah counselled the Jews who trusted God to be unafraid. In 1 Peter 1:24-25, asserting the enduring value of the Scriptures, Peter refers to Isaiah 40:6-8. In 1 Peter 2:6-8, he, like Paul, uses Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 to refer to Jesus. Isaiah 8:17-18 are cited in Hebrews 2:13. Isaiah 9:1 is cited in Matthew 4:15-16, as Matthew applies the prophecy of a light shining to those in darkness to Jesus' ministry in the parts of the country described in the passage. Additional passagesSome other Isaiah passages are listed below, with the comparable New Testament passage(s) following each one, indented and in italics. Is. 1:9 If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
Is. 6:9 And he said, “Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’
Is. 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. :Matt. 1:23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” Is. 8:12 Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread.
Is. 8:14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over—a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Is. 8:17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
Is. 9:1 ¶ But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
Is. 10:22 For though your people Israel were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
decisively.” Is. 11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Is. 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.
Is. 21:9 Look, there they come, riders, horsemen in pairs!” Then he responded, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground.”
Is. 22:13 but instead there was joy and festivity, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Is. 25:8 Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
Is. 26:19 Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a radiant dew, and the earth will give birth to those long dead.
Is. 28:11 Truly, with stammering lip and with alien tongue he will speak to this people,
Is. 28:16 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: “One who trusts will not panic.”
Is. 29:10 For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep; he has closed your eyes, you prophets, and covered your heads, you seers.
Is. 29:13 The Lord said: Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;
Is. 29:14 so I will again do amazing things with this people, shocking and amazing. The wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.
Is. 29:16 You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay? Shall the thing made say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of the one who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
Is. 52:5 Now therefore what am I doing here, says the LORD, seeing that my people are taken away without cause? Their rulers howl, says the LORD, and continually, all day long, my name is despised.
Is. 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Is. 52:11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.
Is. 52:15 so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Is. 53:1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Is. 53:4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
Is. 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Is. 53:9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Is. 53:12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Is. 54:1 Sing, O barren one who did not bear; burst into song and shout, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate woman will be more than the children of her that is married, says the LORD.
Is. 54:13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
Is. 55:3 Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
Is. 55:10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
Online translations and commentaries on the Book of Isaiah
BibliographyAllis, Oswald. "The Unity of Isaiah." The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Philadelphia, 1950. Brueggemann, Walter. "Isaiah 1-39." Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Brueggemann, Walter. "Isaiah 40-66." Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998. Grogan, G. W. "Isaiah." Published in "The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 6," Frank E. Gaebelein, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. Heschel, Abraham. "The Prophets, Vol. 1." Toronto: Harper Torchbooks, 1975. Koole, Jan. "Isaiah III." Belgium: Leuven, 2001. McDonald, Lee, & Sanders, James (Eds). "The Canon Debate." Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. Thomas, Derek. "God delivers - Isaiah simply explained." Darlington: Evangelical Press, 1991. Whybray, R. "The Second Isaiah." Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1983. Widyapranawa, S. H. "Isaiah 1-29: The Lord is Savior - Faith in National Crisis." Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990. Williamson, H.G.M., The Book Called Isaiah, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Young, Edward J. "The Book of Isaiah - Chapters 1 to 18." Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1965. Young, Edward J. "The Book of Isaiah - Chapters 19 to 39." Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969. Young, Edward J. "The Book of Isaiah - Chapters 40 to 66." Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1972. Bibliography based on one prepared in 2005 for the course BIBL5023 at Acadia Divinity College.
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. Popular culture references
Buch Jesaja Jesajan kirja Livre d'Ésaïe ספר ישעיהו Yesaya イザヤ書 Yesaya 이사야 (구약성서) Jesaja Księga Izajasza Livro de Isaías Jesaja 以賽亞書
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