THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

SELECTED LECTURE NOTES

1. Name
a. "Yahweh is Salvation" or "Yahweh saves"
b. Same root word as Joshua, Hosea, Jesus (the Greek form of this Hebrew root)
2. Date of Isaiah, the 8th century BC prophet
a. Given in title verse–1:1
b. God gave Isaiah the word of the Lord during the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz,
and Hezekiah
c. cf. 6:1–the prophet's call came in the year King Uzziah died (ca. 740 BC)
d. Date of his ministry varies for different scholars, but most would say about 742-687 B.C.
i. Tradition says he died around 686 BC (martyred by King Manasseh who sawed him
in two
ii. Isaiah prophesied about 40 years (the last recorded prophecy is ca. 701 BC)
3. Isaiah, the Man
a. Son of Amoz
i. Babylonian Talmud said Amoz was brother to Amaziah, Uzziah's father - this would
make Isaiah and Uzziah first cousins
ii. This would explain the access Isaiah had to royalty
iii. Whether or not there was a family connection, he was certainly a statesman of worthy
stature
b. Married to "the prophetess" (we do not know her name); together they had at least two
sons
i. Shear-jashub–"A remnant shall return"
ii. Maher-shalal-hash-baz–"Speed the spoil, hasten the prey"
iii. Their names were messages from God; see 8:1-4
4. Four major crises in Isaiah's ministry
a. Syro-Ephraimitic War - 735/34 B.C.
i. Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel tried to force Ahaz of Judah to join them against
Tiglath-pileser (aka Pul) of Assyria
ii. Ahaz refused to help them, so Rezin and Pekah came against Jerusalem
iii. Ahaz sent to Assyria for help
iv. Thus Ahaz brought Judah under Assyrian influence
v. Isaiah counseled against Ahaz's seeking the help of Assyria–Isaiah 7

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 b. Fall of Samaria - 722 B.C.
i. Hoshea, the last king of Israel, rebelled against Shalmanesar V, King of Assyria
ii. Shalmanesar besieged Samaria, the capital city of Israel, for three years
iii. Sargon II, his successor, took the city (apparently Shalmanesar had died)
iv. So from 722 BC Judah was left alone
v. Reason for Israel's fall: Unrepented sin, see 2 Kings 17
c. Ashdod Rebellion - 713-11 B.C.
i. Effort of Philistia, Moab, and Edom to unite against Assyria
(1) Hezekiah considered joining this rebellion against Assyria
ii. Ashdod was focus of rebellion
iii. Assyrian army crushed rebellion
iv. Isaiah 20–Isaiah was told to dress as an exile to warn Hezekiah not to trust the
rebellion
d. Sennacherib Crisis - 701 B.C.
i. Assyria attacked Judah when Hezekiah rebelled (refused to pay tribute)
ii. Siege of at least 185,000 Assyrian troops–Isaiah 36-37
iii. Jerusalem was surrounded, so Hezekiah sought the Lord about matter
(1) He took Rabshekah's letter to the Temple and read it in the Lord's presence
iv. Death angel killed 185,000 Assyrians
(1) Possible Bubonic plague
(2) Herodotus mentioned invasion of field mice that ate quivers, bow strings, shield
straps of army while in Egypt (from the Greek's perspective, Israel was a part of
Egypt)
v. Sennacherib returned to Assyria where he died at hands of his sons in the house of his
god
vi. After the Sennacherib Crisis, Isaiah is not heard from again; tradition says he was
sawn in two under Manasseh
5. Outline
a. 1-39 Book of Judgment
b. 40-66 Book of Comfort
6. Authorship - the most hotly debated critical issue of the Book of Isaiah
a. Biblical scholars debate who/how many people wrote the Book of Isaiah
i. Three primary positions
ii. One, two, or three different Isaiahs

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b. One Isaiah
i. Isaiah, the 8th century prophet, wrote the entire book himself
ii. Evidence for this view:
(1) Many first-hand accounts - e.g., 6:1
(2) Certainly, whether Isaiah wrote all or some of it, his memoirs or his prophecies
were preserved
iii. This theory says Isaiah prophesied all of what appears in the book, and either the
prophet or his disciples were responsible for the final form
iv. Scholars holding this view: E. J. Young and Oswald T. Allis, Hill and Walton
c. Two Isaiahs
i. Evidence for this position:
(1) Chapters 1-39 have the historical perspective of looking forward to the time of
judgment upon Judah because of their sin: the so-called "Book of Judgment"
(2) Chapters 40-66 have the historical perspective that judgment has passed; now is
the time of comfort ("Book of Comfort") and the return from exile is seen
(a) Regardless of which position you take on authorship, you cannot avoid the
perspective of the two sections
(b) The terms "Deutero-Isaiah" or "Second Isaiah" come from this theory
(i) Some scholars use the term(s) to refer to the two different authors,
while some use it/them to refer to the two sections of the book
(ii) So you need to read the commentators carefully to see how they
use the term(s)
(3) Interesting note: the name of "Isaiah" does not appear in chapters 40-66
(4) The language, style, and historical perspective are drastically different in 40-66
than in 1-39
ii. The majority of scholars today hold to this view
d. Three Isaiahs
i. Some scholars divide 40-66 into two sections - 40-55; 56-66 (see the Isaiah chart for
the two/three sections and significant similarities and differences)
ii. Evidence for three sections:
(1) The historical perspective is different
(a) Chapters 40-55 picture the exile as coming, and their message is to prepare
the people for the event
(b) Chapters 56-66 picture the exile as passed and they encourage the people
after the return from exile

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 iii. However, no discernible language and style differences are seen in these "two"
section
iv. Some scholars who hold to a 3rd Isaiah (aka Trito-Isaiah) say chapters 56-66 were
written by someone after the exiles returned to the land of Israel (thus, no "future"
aspect to this prophecy)
v. Other scholars say that 2nd Isaiah wrote the final 11 chapters after the return from exile
e. The question of authorship does not necessarily question the authority of the 2nd half of
the book
i. We need to remember: The messenger is not important L THE MESSAGE IS
(1) God can choose whomever He desires to deliver His Word to His people
(2) If the messenger was Isaiah of the 8th century BC, or a later prophet who
remains unnamed, this does not affect the message
ii. If you say chapters 40-66 were written by 2nd Isaiah, this does not say the message is
less important than earlier section because, in fact, some of most profound prophecies
in all of the Bible are in 40-66, e.g., Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12, The Suffering Servant
passage
iii. It's worth repeating: God can use whomever He chooses to deliver His message to His
people
7. Interpretation of the Book and the two/three sections:
a. Regardless of authorship, chapters 1-39 should be interpreted in light of the historical
events of 740-700 BC
b. Chapters 40-55 should be interpreted in light of the setting of ca. 550 BC, the years prior
to the return from exile in 536 BC
c. Chapters 56-66 should be interpreted in light of the setting of the post-exilic community
(if written by 2d Isaiah, ca. 520, but if written by Trito-Isaiah/3rd Isaiah, could be down to
time of Ezra/Nehemiah, ca. 440 B.C.)
d. If 8th C. BC Isaiah wrote the entire book, he was prophesying about the future
(forthtelling in the judgment oracles and foretelling in the aftermath oracles, about
comfort and restoration)
e. If 2 or 3 "Isaiahs" wrote the book, some scholars would say they were merely recording
events after the fact of their occurrence (not foretelling about the future)
8. Theology of Isaiah
a. The Book of Isaiah has been called
i. "The Greatest Book in OT"
ii. "The 5th Evangelist"

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 iii. Why? Because theology gets no higher than this in OT
b. Sovereignty of God
i. The Sovereign Lord determines the course of all history, including foreign nations
ii. Chapters 40-66 especially: There is "no other god" than YHWH
iii. Isaiah has some of the most clear statements of monotheism anywhere in the OT
c. Holiness of God
i. Isaiah 6–Kadosh (Holy): repeated 3 times for emphasis
ii. Holy means "separate, set-apart, consecrated"; when it is used to refer to God, it
means "Perfect moral purity"
iii. Favorite name for God in Isaiah: the "Holy One of Israel"
d. Sin of Man
i. Sin implies uncleanness: rebellion against God
ii. Sin infected Israel: there is not one person who did not sin
iii. Sacrifices are no remedy for sin
e. Faith in YHWH
i. 7:9 - Appeals for faith in God
(1) Real security is not found in armies or weapons or treaties with foreign
nations, but in God alone
ii. 7:9–"If you will not believe Me/cause Me to be firm (wnym)t "amen Me"), you will
not be established/not be made firm" (wnm)t)
(1) The Hebrew root (aman) means "to believe, to make firm, to establish"
(2) This is where we get our "Amen"
(3) In other words, God told Ahaz: I will not amen you, if you will not amen Me.
iii. Security comes only in genuine faith, not in lip-service
f. Remnant
i. Isaiah's son--Shear-jashub– "A remnant will return"
ii. Originally his name was meant to be a promised threat: only part of ones who would
soon be judged will remain
iii. Later, his name came to symbolize the hope of deliverance: God would preserve a
remnant
g. Messiah
i. The Hebrew term xy#$m (mashiach; "anointed one ") means one who was
empowered for a special service
ii. E.g., ch. 11 - coming one who brings righteousness and peace

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 iii. Not the fully developed idea of Messiah to reign over Israel that we see later in the
Bible, but here in Isaiah we see the beginning of the theological concept
9. Call of Isaiah - ch. 6
a. "In the year of the death of Uzziah" - in his death year, but it does not necessarily require
after death; however, it is probable that the death of the human king made Isaiah more
conscious of the divine King
b. The passage showed Isaiah (and us) that he should focus on the King who lives, not the
one who will die
c. Isaiah saw God as Sovereign, Transcendent, Exalted
d. Outline of chapter 6 (courtesy of Dr. Harold Mosley)
i. v. 1-4 - Isaiah Sees His God
(1) Exalted (seated, separated, and served); when everyone else was mourning the
dead King Uzziah, Isaiah realized that The True King is not dead
(2) Holy
(3) Seraphim (literally--burning ones) had six wings - two covered face
(humility), two for covering the feet (modesty), and with two wings they flew
(service)
ii. v. 5-7 -Isaiah Sees Himself - Overpowering vision of God
(1) Undone - i.e., lost (lit. - perishing)
(2) Unclean - sin is dirty
(3) Dwells among unclean people - totally immersed in society of sin
(4) Forgiven and cleansed - coal from altar - God's cleansing of our life often
hurts
iii. v. 8-13 - Isaiah Sees His World - when we are clean, we want to serve
(1) Sent to his own people
(2) Most would not listen - true today - we don’t hear because sin clogs our ears
(3) Preaching made people harder - Result of sin, not the intent of God
(4) Failure to obey God brings judgment; we hear the word of God and do not
obey, then we are the people of Isaiah 6:9,10
(5) God would clear land, but leave a stump - branch grows back - glimmer of
hope; God will save a remnant for His service
10. Demand for faith – chapter 7
a. Setting: Syro-Ephraimitic War - 735/34
b. Ahaz knew siege coming, went to inspect water supply - v. 3
c. Ahaz was warned about calling Assyria for help

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d. Isaiah brought him a message of comfort from God
i. v. 4 - Two smoldering stumps of firebrands - i.e., barely lit and ready to go out -
reference to Rezin and "son of Remaliah" (Isaiah did not even mention Pekah by
name; he is so insignificant in God's and the prophet's eyes that he is held in
disdain)
(1) Poetic imagery: fire is often an instrument of judgment
(2) So Ahaz sees the two kings as firebrands who are coming to burn Judah
(3) But God shows him that these two kings who were threatening Ahaz and
Judah would soon be nothing more than smoldering stumps
(a) Can smoke burn an object? No
(b) So the ones who are coming to burn will instead burn themselves
ii. v. 6 - Threat to dethrone Ahaz and place "son of Tabeel" as king; Ahaz had just
come to throne, thus he was still trying to consolidate his power
iii. v. 7b-8 - It will not stand–i.e., the plan–because the heads of kingdoms are only
men, YHWH-"I am God"
e. "If you will not believe, you will not be established "
i. Play on words - Believe and established from same word - aman - "to be firm"
(from which we get "amen")
ii. Literal translation - "If you will not make yourself firm, then you will not be made
firm" i.e., Ahaz, your kingdom will not stand
iii. The thing Ahaz sought was stability of his kingdom; God says if you want your
kingdom to really be secure, trust Me
f. Ahaz was willing to give pious nod to God, (v. 12 - I will not put God to test - "pious
dodge") but he was not willing to risk his kingdom in God's hand
g. If Ahaz had trusted God, he would have had to stand alone before Syria and Israel; he was
not willing to do that
h. Faith involves a risk - always!
i. Sign of Immanuel
i. v. 10 - ask a sign
ii. v. 14 - sign of a birth of son
(1) the understanding for Ahaz and his people: before a young boy born today
turns 12, Israel and Syria will be laid waste-7:16)
(2) "young woman" - almah - young woman of marriageable age, presumably a
virgin, Isaiah did not use betulah — the usual word for virgin
(3) LXX translated it "virgin" parthenos - Gospel writers quoted LXX

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 iii. Dual fulfillment
(1) sign to Ahaz (that was fulfilled within 12 years) - v. 16
(2) also ultimate fulfillment of "God with us" is Jesus, born of a virgin;
(a) for Matthew, God is with us now (in the person of Jesus) even more than
He was with Judah at that time or at any other time
11. Ch. 58 - Against ritualism
a. v.1-two of the three Hebrew words for sin are used in this chapter (avon is the third word-
- “iniquity”):
i. pesha — often translated “transgression” but fuller meaning is “rebellion
ii. chattah — “sin,” “missing the mark”
b. v 2-the people act as if they are seeking God and His ways
c. v 3-the people ask God, “How come you haven’t noticed us?”
d. vv 6-8 - YHWH answers: “I want service, not fasting; caring for others rather than empty
rituals"
i. In Matthew 25:13ff—Jesus told the people to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.
ii. In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel told Saul: "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
12. Servant Songs —Bernhard Duhm said there are 4 "songs" in the Book of Isaiah
a. 42:1-4
b. 49:1-6
c. 50:4-9
d. 52:13-53:12
e. Identification of servant - sliding scale
i. Sometimes nation Israel - 41:8; 42:19 (blind Israel); 49:3
ii. Sometimes distinct from Israel - 49:5 - servant has mission to Israel
iii. Sometimes persecuted - 50:6 - individual
iv. Certainly ultimately fulfilled in Christ - e.g., 53:4-9 - pictured ideal servant, not
blind and deaf rebellious Israel but one who would redeem Israel and the world
f. After ch. 53 - not "servant" but "servants" - e.g., 54:17; 56:6 - ideal servant made it
possible for many to become servants of God
13. Idol Satire
a. Chapters 40-66 contain many instances
i. 40:18-20 - Incomparable God v. handcrafted idols
ii. 44:12-17 - Bitter sarcasm against idols

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b. 46:1-7 - Is your religion a lift or a load; a blessing or a burden?
i. God will carry you and your load
ii. False gods will only burden you down

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