Isaiah

ISAIAH

The Prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah is the first of the great prophets, whose personality and the impact of his message led to a collection of prophetic writings being assembled under his name and authority after his death and time, forming a body of work that has been passed down to us as the “prophecy of Isaiah.”
For centuries, the entire work was attributed to a single author, Isaiah, which means “The Lord saves” in Hebrew. Today, the work is divided into three parts: chapters 1–39 are attributed to the prophet Isaiah himself; chapters 40–55 are attributed to an anonymous prophet who carried out his ministry two centuries later among the exiles in Babylon during the rise of Cyrus (553–539 B.C.); and whom we know as Isaiah II or Deutero-Isaiah; finally, chapters 56–66 consist of a collection of diverse oracles from the period of the return from exile and the rebuilding of the temple, which has been called Isaiah III or Trito-Isaiah.
Despite the differences between them and the long historical period covered by the three parts of the work (spanning three centuries), the overall writing style remains consistent, sharing the same prophetic spirit and transcendent view of history.

Isaiah the Prophet. We only know about Isaiah from what he states in his book and what we can infer from context: he was a highly educated man of high social standing who, possibly following a family tradition, held an important position in the royal court of Jerusalem. The son of a man named Amos, he felt the prophetic calling in 742 B.C., “the year of the death of King Uzziah” (6:1).
Already engaged in his prophetic ministry, he married a woman called a “prophetess” (8:3), with whom he had two sons whose symbolic names (7:3 and 8:3) became a living oracle of the people’s fate. All his prophetic work took place in Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham (739-734 B.C.), Ahaz (734-727 B.C.), and Hezekiah (727-698 B.C.).

His Era. In the world of international politics, the book of Isaiah reflects a period of suffering under the growing threat of the Assyrian Empire. In 745 B.C., Tiglath-Pileser III, a clever and innovative military leader, rose to power. With a strong army, he conquered nations through forced vassalage, higher taxes, and brutal repression. His successors, Shalmaneser V (727-722 B.C.) and Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.), continued to pursue conquest. Town after town fell, including Israel, the northern kingdom, whose capital, Samaria, was captured in 722 B.C., followed shortly by a large deportation of Israelites and the settlement of foreign colonists in the conquered land.
Meanwhile, the kingdom of Judah, which had maintained a fragile balance amid the threat of the Assyrians, joined forces with other nations against Isaiah’s advice in an act of rebellion. This prompted the emperor to intervene militarily and lay siege to Jerusalem. The capital was unexpectedly spared: the invader lifted the blockade but demanded a heavy tribute (2 Kings 18:14).

Religious Message. Isaiah, as a writer, is a great classical poet, a master of style, and an admirer of brevity and conciseness. He crafts sharp, succinct phrases. In his preaching to the people, he knows how to be incisive, using original and brief images that shake the listener with their immediacy.
The vision of God’s holiness and universal power that he had in his prophetic calling shaped all his preaching. He viewed injustice against the poor and oppressed as an offense against “the Holy One of Israel,” his favorite name for God. From this holiness, he aimed to revive the wavering faith of the people.
The sovereignty of God is challenged by the pride of powerful nations, a pride that will be punished because the fate of all countries is in his hands. It is precisely this pride—the opposite of faith, the desire to carve out one’s destiny through alliances with neighboring powers—that is the sin of Judah that the prophet will condemn and criticize most. Still, despite the faithlessness of the people and their leaders, Isaiah offers a messianic hope: God will preserve a faithful “remnant” of the elect, ensure the continuation of the Davidic dynasty, and make Jerusalem the center where his promises will be fulfilled.