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Book of Isaiah
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The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God. The last 27 chapters prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel. This section includes the Songs of the Suffering Servant.
66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, and Phoenicia.
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The Book of Isaiah is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived in the second half of the 8th century BC. In the first 39 chapters, Isaiah prophesies doom for a sinful Judah and for all the nations of the world that oppose God. The last 27 chapters prophesy the restoration of the nation of Israel. This section includes the Songs of the Suffering Servant.
Content
The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, and Phoenicia. The prophesies 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 might well be conquered by other nations, at God's command.
The first 39 chapters are thought to be original, with the remaining chapters added later by scribes working in Isaiah's tradition
Original Isaiah
Chapters 1-5 and 28-29 prophesy judgment against Judah itself. Judah thinks itself safe because of its covenant relationship with God. 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. 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.
Deutero-Isaiah
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 God. Isaiah reaffirms that the Jews are indeed the chosen people of God in chapter 44 and that Yahweh is the only God for the Jews (and the only God of the universe) as he will show his power over the gods of Babylon in due time in chapter 46. 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), generally understood by Jews to be Israel but interpreted by Christians as Jesus. 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 background
Isaiah lived in the late eighth century BC. 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 (also known as Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. According to tradition, he was martyred during the reign of Manasseh, who came to the throne in 687 BC, by being cut in two by a wooden saw. 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 BC, Tiglath-pileser III came to the throne of Assyria. He was interested in Assyrian expansionism, especially to the west; and 2 Kings 15:17-22 mentions that King Menahem of Israel paid tribute to him ("King Pul").
Syro-Ephraimite War
Because of the threat from Tiglath-pileser III, Syria (or "Aram") and Israel (led now by Pekah) tried to force Judah to ally with them around 734 BC. 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 Samaria
With Israel under King Pekah no longer loyal, Tiglath-pileser attacked in 733. He took much of the land of Israel (2 Kings 15:29-30) leaving only the city of Samaria and its surroundings independent. Judah, however, was not involved.
Damascus, 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, Shalmaneser V, the new king of Assyria, 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. This marked 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.
There was peace in the area for 10 years, 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.
Babylon
Merodach-Baladan took power in Babylon in 721. Sargon took Babylon without a fight in 711, but after Sargon’s death, Merodach-Baladan rebelled against Sargon's successor Sennacherib. Babylon was defeated this time but would revive in another century to defeat Assyria, subjugate the Jews and destroy Jerusalem.
Hezekiah and Sennacherib
Sennacherib came to the throne of Assyria in 705. He had trouble immediately – with Ethiopian monarchs in Egypt (reference to Ethiopia here refers to present day north Sudan) 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.
Themes
Isaiah 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.
No one can defeat God; if God's people suffer defeat in battle, it is only because God permits it 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". Some Christians interpret this as a title for Christ. It is found 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 14 times in chapters 40-66. This expression appears only 6 times within the Old Testament outside the book of Isaiah.
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 who strive to live by the will of God.
Authorship
Traditional position
Jews and Christians have traditionally understood the book to have one author, Isaiah himself. While quoting Isaiah, the gospel of John implies as much (; , ). The ancient Jewish historian Josephus attributes both sections of the book of Isaiah to a single author.
In the introduction to his Daat Soferim Isaiah, Chaim Dov Rabinowitz points to the statement in the Talmud (Bava Basra 15a) that the book of Isaiah was written by King Hezekiah and his assistants, who may have lived long after Isaiah.
Ben Sira 48:27-28 implies that Isaiah prophesied the prophecy of Isaiah 44. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain the complete book of Isaiah.
Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz (1872 - 1946) wrote that the question of the book's authorship doesn't affect Jewish understanding of the book.
Critical positions
One of the most critically debated issues in Isaiah is the proposition that it may have been the work of more than a single author. Different proposals suggest that there have been two or three main authors (Original Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah, Trito-Isaiah), while alternative views suggest an additional number of minor authors or editors.
Almost all scholars who believe that there are multiple authors recognize some sort of division at the end of chapter 39 and that subsequent portions were written by one or more additional authors, referred to collectively as Deutero-Isaiah. 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:
- Anonymity ? That is to say that Isaiah’s name is suddenly not used from chapter 40-66.
- Style ? There is a sudden change in the mood of the book from Isaiah after chapter 40.
- Historical Situation ? The first portion of the book of Isaiah speaks of an impending judgement which will befall the wicked Israelites whereas the later portion of the book discusses God's mercy and restoration as though the exile were already a present reality.
- Supernaturalism ? Critics often reject the unity of the work as such would require that the author had intimate knowledge of future events-- a possibility precluded by the naturalism under-girding much of higher criticism.
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.
Contemporary Roman Catholic understanding
According to the introduction to the Book of Isaiah in the New American Bible, the book is a collection of poems composed by Isaiah, with additional material added by later disciples of the prophet. Through chapter 39 most of the material is Isaiah's and is an accurate account of the situation in eighth-century Judah. Chapters 13-14, 24-27, and 34-35 were probably the work of others. Chapters 40-55 were probably written by an anonymous poet near the end of the Babylonian captivity, while chapters 56-66 were written later by anonymous disciples committed to continuing Isaiah's work.
Servant Songs
Songs of the Suffering Servant, also called the Servant songs or Servant poems were first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah. The songs are four poems taken from the Book of Isaiah written about a certain "servant of Yahweh". Jehovah calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused. The servant sacrifices himself, accepting the punishment due others. In the end, he is rewarded. The traditional Jewish interpretation is that the Servant is a metaphor for the Jewish people, an opinion shared by most contemporary experts. According to Duhm, the servant was some otherwise unknown individual, and the songs' author was a disciple. Various interpretations have followed: Zerubbabel, Jehoiachin, Moses. Duhm proposed in his commentary that the songs were added by a poet with leprosy. Sigmund Mowinckel suggested that the songs referred to Isaiah himself but later abandoned that interpretation. Christians traditionally see the suffering servant as Jesus Christ.
The first song
The first poem has Jehovah speaking of His selection of the Servant who will bring justice to earth. Here the Servant is described as Jehovah's agent of justice, a king that brings justice in both royal and prophetic roles, yet justice is established neither by proclamation or by force. He does not ecstatically announce salvation in the marketplace as prophets were bound to do but instead moves quietly and confidently to establish right religion.
The second song
The second poem, written from the Servant's point of view, is an account of his pre-natal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The Servant is now portrayed as the prophet of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. Yet, anticipating the fourth song, he is without success. Taken with the picture of the Servant in the first song, his success will come not by political or military action, but by becoming a light to the Gentiles. Ultimately his victory is in God's hands.
The third song
The third poem has a darker yet more confident tone than the others. Although the song gives a first-person description of how the Servant was beaten and abused, here the Servant is described both as teacher and learner who follows the path God places him on without pulling back. Echoing the first song's "a bruised reed he will not break," he sustains the weary with a word. His vindication is left in God's hands.
The fourth song
The last, longest, and most famous Servant poem, is a speech by Jehovah announcing the destiny of the Servant. Isaiah 53 declares that the Servant intercedes for others, taking the punishments and afflictions of others. In the end, he is rewarded with an exalted position. Much of song makes reference to an unknown group. See the many references to "we" and "our" in the song Early on the evaluation of the Servant by the "we" is negative: "we" esteemed him not, many were appalled by him, nothing in him was attractive to "us". But at the Servants death the attitude of the "we" changes after verse 4 where the servant bears "our" iniquities, "our" sickness, by the servants wounds "we" are healed. Posthumously, then, the Servant is vindicated by Jehovah. Because of its references to the vicarious sufferings of the servant, many Christians believe this song to be among the Messianic prophecies of Jesus.
New Testament Allusions and Quotations
In the Gospels:
The first song is directly quoted in Gospel of Matthew
The fourth song's "He was numbered with the transgressors" is directly quoted in .
The fourth song's "Surely he bore our diseases" is quoted in
"Suffer many things" in may refer to
"Ransom for many" is alluded to in and .
"Make many righteous" in may be referred to in
"Divide the spoil with the strong" may be referenced in
In the Apostles:
Paul reflects fourth song in the following:
"He was delivered up for our trespasses"
"Many will be made righteous"
"in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh"
"Christ dies for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures"
The Kenosis passage portrays Christ as "taking the form of a servant"
1 Peter contains a number of allusions to the fourth song in chapter 2: "Christ also suffered for you"; "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth"; "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten"; "He himself bore our sins in his body"; "By his wounds you have been healed"; "straying like sheep"
Some scholars contend that early Christian accounts of Jesus included details invented to show that Jesus had fulfilled prophecy and to explain why the Messiah would die a shameful death on a cross. They suggest scribes delved into scripture and found the Servant Songs, which they reinterpreted to be about Jesus. For example, the story of Joseph of Arimathea seems to fulfill a verse from the Servant Songs in which Jesus is to be buried with the rich. However, there is no textual variant evidence to suggest such emeblishments.
Isaiah scroll
The 2,100-year old Isaiah Scroll is the only complete scroll in the cache of 220 biblical scrolls discovered in a cave in Qumran on the northwestern coast of the Dead Sea. Adolfo Roitman, curator of the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea scrolls are kept, says that Isaiah was the most popular prophet of the Second Temple period: 21 copies of the scroll were found in Qumran.
External links
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