ISAIAH
The Introduction
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most loved books of The Bible; it is perhaps the best known of The Prophetic Books. It contains much factual material about the society of Israel around 700 B.C. Isaiah spoke more than any other prophet of the great kingdom into which Israel would enter at The Second Advent of The Messiah.
The Authorship
The author of this book was Isaiah the son of Amoz. The name “Isaiah” means “Yahweh is salvation”. Though more is known about Isaiah than most of the other writing prophets, the information on him is still scanty. Isaiah was married (8:3), had two sons Shear-Jashub (7:3) and Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:3). According to tradition dating from the 2nd Century, Isaiah was martyred by King Manasseh. Justin Martyr (100 – 165 A.D.) wrote that Isaiah was sawed asunder (Hebrews 11:37).
The Date
Isaiah prophesized between 739 – 700 B.C. which was during the reigns of King Uzziah (790 – 739 B.C.), King Jotham (750 – 732 B.C.), King Ahaz (735 – 715 B.C.), and King Hezekiah (715 – 686 B.C.).
The Purpose
Isaiah’s primary purpose was to remind his readers of the special relationship they had with God as members of the nation of Israel, His special covenant community.
The History
Assyria:
Tiglath-pileser 744 – 727 B.C. (Assyria)...823 – 745 B.C. Assyria was ruled by a series of rather weak rulers and therefore did not expand their territories. "From roughly 810 until 750 B.C. the two kingdoms had enjoyed a peace and prosperity they had not known since the time of Solomon. The northern kingdom, Israel, was ruled during this time by a man named Jeroboam, the second Israelite king to bear that name...
2nd Kings 14:23 – 29..."In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, {and reigned} forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, {which was} very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. The LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel, Damascus and Hamath, {which had belonged} to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place." (NASB).
The southern Kingdom, Judah, also had a single monarch for much of this time, King Azariah or Uzziah...
2nd Kings 15:1 – 7..."In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 26:1 – 23..."And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who {was} sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jechiliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him. Now he went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in {the area of} Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the corner buttress and fortified them. He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. {He also had} plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's officers. The total number of the heads of the households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600. Under their direction was an elite army of 307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy. Moreover, Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones. In Jerusalem he made engines {of war} invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he {was} strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God." But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he {was} leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son {was} over the king's house judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first to last, the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son became king in his place." (NASB)
Tiglath-pileser who is named Pul in 2nd Kings 15:19 became ruler of Assyria and the power vacuum ends. By the time of Menahem (752 – 741), Israel was paying Assyria tribute (2nd Kings 15:19 – 20..."Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule. Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not remain there in the land." (NASB)). Yet before 732, Tiglath-pileser returns to capture the whole region of Galilee north of the Jezreel Valley (2nd Kings 15:29..."In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria." (NASB)).
Ahaz, after his accession in 735 B.C. adopted a pro-Assyrian policy. This was the cause of Syro-Ephraimite War (734 – 732) [in Isaiah 7 – 8]...Pekah of Israel; Rezin of Damascus attach Judah in 735...
2nd Kings 16:5..."Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to {wage} war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 28:5 – 15..."Wherefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought {them} to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who inflicted him with heavy casualties. For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king. The sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name {was} Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, "Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage {which} has even reached heaven. "Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, {do} you not {have} transgressions of your own against the LORD your God? "Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the LORD is against you." Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim--Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai--arose against those who were coming from the battle, and said to them, "You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing {to bring} upon us guilt against the LORD adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that {His} burning anger is against Israel." So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the officers and all the assembly. Then the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them {with oil,} led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria." (NASB)
...Edomites and Philistines attacked from the south...Ahaz in terror (Isaiah 7:2..."When it was reported to the house of David, saying, "The Arameans have camped in Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind." (NASB)) calls for help from Tiglath-pileser...Tiglath-pileser deposed Pekah and destroyed Damascus in 732 B.C. While Ahaz is summoned to a treaty with Assyria involving Assyrian gods.
2nd Kings 16:10 – 16..."Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar which {was} at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship. So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made {it,} before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. When the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then the king approached the altar and went up to it, and burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. The bronze altar, which {was} before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between {his} altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of {his} altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king's burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire {by.}" So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 28:20 – 21..."So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave {it} to the king of Assyria, it did not help him." (NASB)
Tiglath-pileser III died in 727, followed by Shalmaneser.
Shalmaneser V 726 – 722 B.C. (Assyria)...Following the death of Tiglath-pileser revolts broke out (Isaiah 14). One of these revolts was that of Hoshea, King of Israel. After Shalmaneser had settled the eastern front in 724, he turned toward Palestine, battling towns and cities for 3 years. Finally he put a Samaria to siege and it was taken in 722/721.
2nd Kings 17:3 – 7..."Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as {he had done} year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, {on} the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Now {this} came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods." (NASB)
2nd Kings 18:9 – 10..."Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured." (NASB)
Shalmaneser V dies in 722 so there is debate if he really took Samaria. The MT is divided. However Saggs suggest that the problem can be solved by understanding that Sargon was Shalmeneser’s general in charge of the siege.
Sargon II 721 – 705 B.C. (Assyria)...As with Shalmaneser, Sargon II had to settle the initial revolts...In Babylon it was Marduk-apal-iddian who was known in the Bible as Merodach-baladan (2nd Kings 20:12..."At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick." and Isaiah 39:1..."At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered." (NASB)). This problem was not really settled by Sargon. More pressing was the Urartu situation. It was located to the North of Assyria and identified as around the region of Lake Van. Oswalt writes, "apart from a very effective punitive raid extending from Hamath in Syria down the Mediterranean to Gaza in 721, Sargon was engaged in Urartu for some seven or eight years." [Oswalt, 8]...Hezekiah began an anti-Assyrian policy after his accession to the throne. This meant that Judah would lean toward Egypt. Note Isaiah’s prophecies against Egypt in light of this, i.e., chaps. 29 – 31...Hezekiah began an anti-Assyrian policy after his accession to the throne. This meant that Judah would lean toward Egypt.
Note Isaiah’s prophecies against Egypt in light of this, i.e., chaps. 29 – 31.
Anti-Assyrian Confederation of 715 – 713...Members = Philistines and other south Syrian areas.
Isaiah 14:28 – 31..."In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came: "Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent's root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent. "Those who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, And it will kill off your survivors. "Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks." (NASB)
Isaiah 17:14..."At evening time, behold, {there is} terror! Before morning they are no more. Such {will be} the portion of those who plunder us And the lot of those who pillage us." (NASB)
Isaiah 20:1 – 6..."In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet." And he did so, going naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. "Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. "So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?'" (NASB)
Result: Ashdod (712) destroyed and leaders fled to Egypt, but they turned them over to Assyria..."Other Philistine towns were drawn into the revolt and, as Sargon tells us, Judah, Edom, and Moab were invited to join. That Egyptian aid had been promised is clear both from the Assyrian texts and the Bible (Isaiah 20). In fact, as Isaiah 18 (which almost certainly belongs in this context) indicates, ambassadors of the Ethiopian king himself waited on Hezekiah, hoping to enlist his co-operation." [Bright, A History of Israel, 281]
Sargon II defeats Babylon in 710 B.C.
Sennacherib 704 – 681 B.C. (Assyria)...The Merodach-baladan Problem: úBegan to gain power during the later part of Tiglath-pileser's reign (late 730’s)...After the death of Shalmaneser (722) he gain power...Sargon marches against Babylon in 710 – 709. He rules Babylon until his death in 705...Merodach-baladan reappears and is defeated finally in 700. Sennacherib's Campaign Against Palestine (701)..."Sennacherib’s campaign against Hezekiah in 701 is well known. We have an unusually complete account of this event told from both sides - if indeed it was a single event. In part because of the very different interpretations put on it by the Biblical and the Assyrian sources, some have argued that there were actually two contexts between Sennacherib and Hezekiah and that the Assyrians won the first but lost the second." [Hallo & Simpson, 142].
Tiglath-pileser 744 – 727 B.C. (Assyria)...823 – 745 B.C. Assyria was ruled by a series of rather weak rulers and therefore did not expand their territories. "From roughly 810 until 750 B.C. the two kingdoms had enjoyed a peace and prosperity they had not known since the time of Solomon. The northern kingdom, Israel, was ruled during this time by a man named Jeroboam, the second Israelite king to bear that name...
2nd Kings 14:23 – 29..."In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel became king in Samaria, {and reigned} forty-one years. He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, {which was} very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. The LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash. Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did and his might, how he fought and how he recovered for Israel, Damascus and Hamath, {which had belonged} to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jeroboam slept with his fathers, even with the kings of Israel, and Zechariah his son became king in his place." (NASB).
The southern Kingdom, Judah, also had a single monarch for much of this time, King Azariah or Uzziah...
2nd Kings 15:1 – 7..."In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done. Only the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Azariah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And Azariah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 26:1 – 23..."And all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who {was} sixteen years old, and made him king in the place of his father Amaziah. He built Eloth and restored it to Judah after the king slept with his fathers. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jechiliah of Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD according to all that his father Amaziah had done. He continued to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding through the vision of God; and as long as he sought the LORD, God prospered him. Now he went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and the wall of Jabneh and the wall of Ashdod; and he built cities in {the area of} Ashdod and among the Philistines. God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians who lived in Gur-baal, and the Meunites. The Ammonites also gave tribute to Uzziah, and his fame extended to the border of Egypt, for he became very strong. Moreover, Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the corner buttress and fortified them. He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. {He also had} plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which entered combat by divisions according to the number of their muster, prepared by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king's officers. The total number of the heads of the households, of valiant warriors, was 2,600. Under their direction was an elite army of 307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy. Moreover, Uzziah prepared for all the army shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows and sling stones. In Jerusalem he made engines {of war} invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he {was} strong. But when he became strong, his heart was so proud that he acted corruptly, and he was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Then Azariah the priest entered after him and with him eighty priests of the LORD, valiant men. They opposed Uzziah the king and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful and will have no honor from the LORD God." But Uzziah, with a censer in his hand for burning incense, was enraged; and while he was enraged with the priests, the leprosy broke out on his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the altar of incense. Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he {was} leprous on his forehead; and they hurried him out of there, and he himself also hastened to get out because the LORD had smitten him. King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death; and he lived in a separate house, being a leper, for he was cut off from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son {was} over the king's house judging the people of the land. Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first to last, the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, has written. So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the grave which belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son became king in his place." (NASB)
Tiglath-pileser who is named Pul in 2nd Kings 15:19 became ruler of Assyria and the power vacuum ends. By the time of Menahem (752 – 741), Israel was paying Assyria tribute (2nd Kings 15:19 – 20..."Pul, king of Assyria, came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule. Then Menahem exacted the money from Israel, even from all the mighty men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to pay the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria returned and did not remain there in the land." (NASB)). Yet before 732, Tiglath-pileser returns to capture the whole region of Galilee north of the Jezreel Valley (2nd Kings 15:29..."In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon and Abel-beth-maacah and Janoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali; and he carried them captive to Assyria." (NASB)).
Ahaz, after his accession in 735 B.C. adopted a pro-Assyrian policy. This was the cause of Syro-Ephraimite War (734 – 732) [in Isaiah 7 – 8]...Pekah of Israel; Rezin of Damascus attach Judah in 735...
2nd Kings 16:5..."Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to {wage} war; and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 28:5 – 15..."Wherefore, the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Aram; and they defeated him and carried away from him a great number of captives and brought {them} to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who inflicted him with heavy casualties. For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah 120,000 in one day, all valiant men, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king's son and Azrikam the ruler of the house and Elkanah the second to the king. The sons of Israel carried away captive of their brethren 200,000 women, sons and daughters; and they took also a great deal of spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name {was} Oded; and he went out to meet the army which came to Samaria and said to them, "Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, He has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage {which} has even reached heaven. "Now you are proposing to subjugate for yourselves the people of Judah and Jerusalem for male and female slaves. Surely, {do} you not {have} transgressions of your own against the LORD your God? "Now therefore, listen to me and return the captives whom you captured from your brothers, for the burning anger of the LORD is against you." Then some of the heads of the sons of Ephraim--Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai--arose against those who were coming from the battle, and said to them, "You must not bring the captives in here, for you are proposing {to bring} upon us guilt against the LORD adding to our sins and our guilt; for our guilt is great so that {His} burning anger is against Israel." So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the officers and all the assembly. Then the men who were designated by name arose, took the captives, and they clothed all their naked ones from the spoil; and they gave them clothes and sandals, fed them and gave them drink, anointed them {with oil,} led all their feeble ones on donkeys, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brothers; then they returned to Samaria." (NASB)
...Edomites and Philistines attacked from the south...Ahaz in terror (Isaiah 7:2..."When it was reported to the house of David, saying, "The Arameans have camped in Ephraim," his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake with the wind." (NASB)) calls for help from Tiglath-pileser...Tiglath-pileser deposed Pekah and destroyed Damascus in 732 B.C. While Ahaz is summoned to a treaty with Assyria involving Assyrian gods.
2nd Kings 16:10 – 16..."Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and saw the altar which {was} at Damascus; and King Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the pattern of the altar and its model, according to all its workmanship. So Urijah the priest built an altar; according to all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, thus Urijah the priest made {it,} before the coming of King Ahaz from Damascus. When the king came from Damascus, the king saw the altar; then the king approached the altar and went up to it, and burned his burnt offering and his meal offering, and poured his drink offering and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings on the altar. The bronze altar, which {was} before the LORD, he brought from the front of the house, from between {his} altar and the house of the LORD, and he put it on the north side of {his} altar. Then King Ahaz commanded Urijah the priest, saying, "Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the evening meal offering and the king's burnt offering and his meal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land and their meal offering and their drink offerings; and sprinkle on it all the blood of the burnt offering and all the blood of the sacrifice. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire {by.}" So Urijah the priest did according to all that King Ahaz commanded." (NASB)
2nd Chronicles 28:20 – 21..."So Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came against him and afflicted him instead of strengthening him. Although Ahaz took a portion out of the house of the LORD and out of the palace of the king and of the princes, and gave {it} to the king of Assyria, it did not help him." (NASB)
Tiglath-pileser III died in 727, followed by Shalmaneser.
Shalmaneser V 726 – 722 B.C. (Assyria)...Following the death of Tiglath-pileser revolts broke out (Isaiah 14). One of these revolts was that of Hoshea, King of Israel. After Shalmaneser had settled the eastern front in 724, he turned toward Palestine, battling towns and cities for 3 years. Finally he put a Samaria to siege and it was taken in 722/721.
2nd Kings 17:3 – 7..."Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So king of Egypt and had offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as {he had done} year by year; so the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, {on} the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. Now {this} came about because the sons of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods." (NASB)
2nd Kings 18:9 – 10..."Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured." (NASB)
Shalmaneser V dies in 722 so there is debate if he really took Samaria. The MT is divided. However Saggs suggest that the problem can be solved by understanding that Sargon was Shalmeneser’s general in charge of the siege.
Sargon II 721 – 705 B.C. (Assyria)...As with Shalmaneser, Sargon II had to settle the initial revolts...In Babylon it was Marduk-apal-iddian who was known in the Bible as Merodach-baladan (2nd Kings 20:12..."At that time Berodach-baladan a son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick." and Isaiah 39:1..."At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered." (NASB)). This problem was not really settled by Sargon. More pressing was the Urartu situation. It was located to the North of Assyria and identified as around the region of Lake Van. Oswalt writes, "apart from a very effective punitive raid extending from Hamath in Syria down the Mediterranean to Gaza in 721, Sargon was engaged in Urartu for some seven or eight years." [Oswalt, 8]...Hezekiah began an anti-Assyrian policy after his accession to the throne. This meant that Judah would lean toward Egypt. Note Isaiah’s prophecies against Egypt in light of this, i.e., chaps. 29 – 31...Hezekiah began an anti-Assyrian policy after his accession to the throne. This meant that Judah would lean toward Egypt.
Note Isaiah’s prophecies against Egypt in light of this, i.e., chaps. 29 – 31.
Anti-Assyrian Confederation of 715 – 713...Members = Philistines and other south Syrian areas.
Isaiah 14:28 – 31..."In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came: "Do not rejoice, O Philistia, all of you, Because the rod that struck you is broken; For from the serpent's root a viper will come out, And its fruit will be a flying serpent. "Those who are most helpless will eat, And the needy will lie down in security; I will destroy your root with famine, And it will kill off your survivors. "Wail, O gate; cry, O city; Melt away, O Philistia, all of you; For smoke comes from the north, And there is no straggler in his ranks." (NASB)
Isaiah 17:14..."At evening time, behold, {there is} terror! Before morning they are no more. Such {will be} the portion of those who plunder us And the lot of those who pillage us." (NASB)
Isaiah 20:1 – 6..."In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, at that time the LORD spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet." And he did so, going naked and barefoot. And the LORD said, "Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. "Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast. "So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, 'Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and we, how shall we escape?'" (NASB)
Result: Ashdod (712) destroyed and leaders fled to Egypt, but they turned them over to Assyria..."Other Philistine towns were drawn into the revolt and, as Sargon tells us, Judah, Edom, and Moab were invited to join. That Egyptian aid had been promised is clear both from the Assyrian texts and the Bible (Isaiah 20). In fact, as Isaiah 18 (which almost certainly belongs in this context) indicates, ambassadors of the Ethiopian king himself waited on Hezekiah, hoping to enlist his co-operation." [Bright, A History of Israel, 281]
Sargon II defeats Babylon in 710 B.C.
Sennacherib 704 – 681 B.C. (Assyria)...The Merodach-baladan Problem: úBegan to gain power during the later part of Tiglath-pileser's reign (late 730’s)...After the death of Shalmaneser (722) he gain power...Sargon marches against Babylon in 710 – 709. He rules Babylon until his death in 705...Merodach-baladan reappears and is defeated finally in 700. Sennacherib's Campaign Against Palestine (701)..."Sennacherib’s campaign against Hezekiah in 701 is well known. We have an unusually complete account of this event told from both sides - if indeed it was a single event. In part because of the very different interpretations put on it by the Biblical and the Assyrian sources, some have argued that there were actually two contexts between Sennacherib and Hezekiah and that the Assyrians won the first but lost the second." [Hallo & Simpson, 142].
The Themes
Some difficulty exists in determining a central theme for Isaiah around which all other material in the book revolves. Some have suggested that the book has two themes (Chapters 1 – 39, judgment) and (Chapters 40 – 66, salvation and comfort).
The Unity
Many scholars question the unity of the book, holding that it was originally two books (Chapters 1 – 39 and 40 – 66) or even three books (Chapters 1 – 39, 40 – 55, and 56 – 66). However, Jewish tradition has uniformly ascribed the entire book to Isaiah. The Dead Sea Scrolls include a complete copy of The Book of Isaiah. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of The Hebrew Old Testament in the 2nd Century, gives no indication that The Book of Isaiah was anything other than a single book.
The Theology
Since Isaiah followed the theology of Deuteronomy (punishment must come for failure to live according to The Mosaic Covenant before a time of blessing can come), the two parts of Isaiah can be reconciled. Judgment, emphasized in Chapters 1 – 39, is the purifying force that leads to the forgiveness and pardoning of sins emphasized in Chapters 40 – 66.
Texts and Versions
Masoretic Text (MT):
"By and large, the original Hebrew text of Isaiah has been well preserved. While there are a number of instances where obscure statements suggest the possibility of textual corruptions, these are remarkably few in proportion to the whole." [Oswalt]
"Most of the difficulties with the Hebrew text arise from the language itself including the high incidence of hapax legomena, but there are also numerous textual problems." [Blenkinsopp]
Septuagint (LXX):
"The fact that LXX has few readings in common with 1QIsaa against MT points in the same direction. Comparison with MT shows a few minuses (2:22; 38:15; 40:7; 56:12) and even fewer pluses; it is quite different therefore from LXX Jeremiah, which is roughly one-eighth shorter than MT Jeremiah. At several points the translator shows an interest in bringing the text to bear on current issues and situations, a tendency characteristic of the Targum." [Blenkinsopp]
"As has been argued first of all by I. L. Seeligmann, LXX Isa contains passages which reflect an understanding of the prophecies of Isaiah as predictions of what happened in the time of the translator. This means that LXX Isa may be read and understood (i.e. decoded) as a collection of prophetical oracles like Daniel 11 or Book III of the Sibylline Oracles." [van der Kooij, "The Old Greek of Isaiah in Relation to the Qumran Texts of Isaiah: Some General Comments"]
"By and large, the original Hebrew text of Isaiah has been well preserved. While there are a number of instances where obscure statements suggest the possibility of textual corruptions, these are remarkably few in proportion to the whole." [Oswalt]
"Most of the difficulties with the Hebrew text arise from the language itself including the high incidence of hapax legomena, but there are also numerous textual problems." [Blenkinsopp]
Septuagint (LXX):
"The fact that LXX has few readings in common with 1QIsaa against MT points in the same direction. Comparison with MT shows a few minuses (2:22; 38:15; 40:7; 56:12) and even fewer pluses; it is quite different therefore from LXX Jeremiah, which is roughly one-eighth shorter than MT Jeremiah. At several points the translator shows an interest in bringing the text to bear on current issues and situations, a tendency characteristic of the Targum." [Blenkinsopp]
"As has been argued first of all by I. L. Seeligmann, LXX Isa contains passages which reflect an understanding of the prophecies of Isaiah as predictions of what happened in the time of the translator. This means that LXX Isa may be read and understood (i.e. decoded) as a collection of prophetical oracles like Daniel 11 or Book III of the Sibylline Oracles." [van der Kooij, "The Old Greek of Isaiah in Relation to the Qumran Texts of Isaiah: Some General Comments"]
Qumran Scrolls
General Comments: The book of Isaiah was one of the most popular biblical works at Qumran: Only Psalms (37 scrolls) and Deuteronomy (30 scrolls) out numbered Isaiah (22/23?). There is no sign that the Qumran scrolls identified any divisions at chaps. 39 or 55.
1QIsaa: a different recession from LXX, the only complete Isaiah scroll, dated the late 2nd Century B.C. (Radiocarbon—335 – 122 B.C. [See Flint]): One of the first scrolls discovered, therefore much early scholarly work done. Argued by earlier Qumran scholars as filled with errors, written by a "careless" scribe/s. Recent works by Abegg, Flint, Pulikottil, et. al. argues that 1QIsaa has much more to offer.
1QIsab: ". . . a manuscript with extant fragments ranging from Isaiah 7:22 – 66:24, totaling about twenty per cent of the overall text. The style of the scribal hand dates the scroll to the Herodian period." [Abegg, 2002]
Although thought to be close to MT, recent scholarship wonders if it is not closer to the Cave 4 Isaiah scrolls and therefore a Qumran or non-aligned textual category. [Tov & Abegg]
*See also Great Isaiah Scroll*
1QIsaa: a different recession from LXX, the only complete Isaiah scroll, dated the late 2nd Century B.C. (Radiocarbon—335 – 122 B.C. [See Flint]): One of the first scrolls discovered, therefore much early scholarly work done. Argued by earlier Qumran scholars as filled with errors, written by a "careless" scribe/s. Recent works by Abegg, Flint, Pulikottil, et. al. argues that 1QIsaa has much more to offer.
1QIsab: ". . . a manuscript with extant fragments ranging from Isaiah 7:22 – 66:24, totaling about twenty per cent of the overall text. The style of the scribal hand dates the scroll to the Herodian period." [Abegg, 2002]
Although thought to be close to MT, recent scholarship wonders if it is not closer to the Cave 4 Isaiah scrolls and therefore a Qumran or non-aligned textual category. [Tov & Abegg]
*See also Great Isaiah Scroll*
History of Critical Research
1. Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus: (Ecclus. 48:24 – 25)...By the spirit of might he saw the last things, and comforted those who mourned in Zion. He revealed what was to occur to the end of time, and the hidden things before they came to pass.
". . . foretelling of the future that was yet hidden (i.e., What is in Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah)." [Perdue, "Ben Sira and the Prophets"]...Dependent on Isaiah 48:5, 6; 51:3; 61:2, 3 [Whybray]
2. Talmud: Baba Bathra 15a
Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes . . . .
3. Moses ben Samuel Gekatilla & Ibn Ezra
2nd Century--The later sections of the book as coming from the Second Temple era.
10th Century--40 – 66 as being from someone other than Isaiah of Jerusalem
4. Döderlein (1775): Isaiah as two distinct works.
5. Eichhorn (1780 – 83): J. G. Eichhorn popularized the two work thesis and beings to use the terms “inauthentic” and “secondary” over against “authentic” and “primary.”
6. Gesenius (1821): Gesenius listed chaps. 13, 14, 34 and 35 as later than chaps. 1 – 39. He also calls chaps 40 – 66, “Pseudo-Isaiah.”
7. Bernhard Duhm (1892): Duhm was the first to argue for a “Trio-Isaiah” (chaps. 56 – 66). He also saw chaps 1 – 39 as consisting of several originally small collections, chaps. 1 – 12, 13 – 23, 24 – 27, etc.
8. Resent Trends: Form-Criticism, History of Tradition: von Rad, Redactional Approaches, and Canonical or Final Redaction Approaches
". . . foretelling of the future that was yet hidden (i.e., What is in Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah)." [Perdue, "Ben Sira and the Prophets"]...Dependent on Isaiah 48:5, 6; 51:3; 61:2, 3 [Whybray]
2. Talmud: Baba Bathra 15a
Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes . . . .
3. Moses ben Samuel Gekatilla & Ibn Ezra
2nd Century--The later sections of the book as coming from the Second Temple era.
10th Century--40 – 66 as being from someone other than Isaiah of Jerusalem
4. Döderlein (1775): Isaiah as two distinct works.
5. Eichhorn (1780 – 83): J. G. Eichhorn popularized the two work thesis and beings to use the terms “inauthentic” and “secondary” over against “authentic” and “primary.”
6. Gesenius (1821): Gesenius listed chaps. 13, 14, 34 and 35 as later than chaps. 1 – 39. He also calls chaps 40 – 66, “Pseudo-Isaiah.”
7. Bernhard Duhm (1892): Duhm was the first to argue for a “Trio-Isaiah” (chaps. 56 – 66). He also saw chaps 1 – 39 as consisting of several originally small collections, chaps. 1 – 12, 13 – 23, 24 – 27, etc.
8. Resent Trends: Form-Criticism, History of Tradition: von Rad, Redactional Approaches, and Canonical or Final Redaction Approaches
The Outline (Bible Knowledge Commentary on The Old Testament - Walvoord, Zuck, Cook)
Pt 1: The Retribution of God (Isaiah 1 – 39)
A) The Lord’s indictment of the nation (1 – 6)
B) Prophecies of deliverance (7 – 12)
C) Judgment on the nations (13 – 23)
D) Punishment and kingdom blessings (24 – 27)
E) The Woes (28 – 33)
F) Vengeance and Blessings (34 – 35)
G) Historical Interlude – Judah to be in captivity (36 – 39)
Pt 2: The Restoration by God (Isaiah 40 – 66)
A) Deliverance of God’s people (40 – 48)
B) Restoration by The Suffering Servant (49 – 57)
C) Restoration realized and completed (58 – 66)
A) The Lord’s indictment of the nation (1 – 6)
B) Prophecies of deliverance (7 – 12)
C) Judgment on the nations (13 – 23)
D) Punishment and kingdom blessings (24 – 27)
E) The Woes (28 – 33)
F) Vengeance and Blessings (34 – 35)
G) Historical Interlude – Judah to be in captivity (36 – 39)
Pt 2: The Restoration by God (Isaiah 40 – 66)
A) Deliverance of God’s people (40 – 48)
B) Restoration by The Suffering Servant (49 – 57)
C) Restoration realized and completed (58 – 66)