Isiah (Introduction)

The Book of Isaiah
Isaiah ministered at a time when the Assyrians were expanding and threatening both Israel and Judah (approximately 745-695 B.C.). Indeed, Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722. Isaiah served as a prophet, historian, poet, and statesman.

The Book of Isaiah is almost unanimously divided into 2 main sections:

I. Book of Judgment (1-39)
A. Against Israel (1-6)
B. Against Judah (7-12)
C. Against Nations (13-23)
D. Woes and Beyond (24-35)
E. Historical Interlude (36-39)
II. Book of Comfort (40-66)
A. Focus on Cyrus (40-48)
B. Focus on Messiah (49-57)
C. Focus on Messianic Age (58-66)

It is interesting to note, even though chapter divisions were added later, that the Book of Isaiah shares some common features with the Bible as a whole:
- Isaiah has 66 chapters, the Bible has 66 books
- Isaiah has 39 chapters in its first section, the OT has 39 books
- Isaiah has 27 chapters in its second section, the NT has 27 books/letters
- The 2nd section begins with John the Baptist and ends with New Heavens & Earth, so does the NT
- Isaiah 53 is the center of the second section and the most significant prophecy

Recent commentators tend to reject the idea that section 2 was written by Isaiah, but this rejection is largely based on prior assumptions that it would have been impossible for Isaiah to predict future events so accurately (for example, naming Cyrus 200+ years before his birth). Assuming a biblical worldview, however, such is not problematic. There is plenty of evidence for unified authorship. Tradition (Isaiah's authorship was unquestioned throughout history), Internal evidence (similar vocab/themes), and external evidence (dead sea scrolls count it as a unified document) all point to one source.