Introduction to the prophet Isaiah
The 23rd book of the Bible, consisting of 66 chapters
The first and longest of the Prophetic Books
The name Isaiah is “Yeshayahu” in Hebrew and means “YHWH is salvation”—or “the Lord saves.”
According to Jewish tradition, Isaiah himself belonged to the royal family; he was a grandson of King Joash, a brother of King Amaziah, and was murdered under King Manasseh.
The Bible tells us (right in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 1) that he was a son of Amoz; Amoz is a short form of Amaziah, and thus the prophet Isaiah was presumably a younger brother of King Uzziah (Asarja), and Amaziah was his father.
What else we know about him is that the prophet Isaiah ministered in the Southern Kingdom of Judah between 750 and 680 B.C. under the kings Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh.
Thus, Isaiah was also a contemporary of the prophet Micah, who likewise served in Judah, and Hosea from the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
It was a time when Assyria (modern-day northern Iraq) stood as a great empire at the height of its power and was the dominant force in the Middle East.
Isaiah received his call to be a prophet in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem from God personally, specifically in the year of his brother King Uzziah’s death (Chapter 6).
Isaiah himself married a prophetess (Chapter 8, Verse 3) and gave his sons names that point to the finality of his prophecies.
In our Bibles, Isaiah is the first book among the prophetic books. With its 66 chapters, it is also the longest and most detailed of these books, making Isaiah the first in the line of the “major” prophets.
Apart from all 150 Psalms combined, nowhere else in the Old Testament do we find more references to the coming Messiah.
Nor is any other book referred to as often in the New Testament as Isaiah and the literal fulfillments of his prophecies in Jesus Christ.
The period covered by Isaiah in his prophetic vision extends from his own time and the Aramaic (Syriac)–Israelite war against the Kingdom of Judah, through the dispersion of the people of Israel, the destruction of Jerusalem, and their later return from Babylon and Persia; the first and second coming of our Savior Jesus—including His reign after the end of our present age—all the way to the creation of a new heaven and a new earth at the end of time in the distant future.
In modern biblical criticism, the Book of Isaiah is often divided into three parts, believed to have been written by at least three different authors at different times; yet even their arguments fail to adequately explain the fulfillment of Isaiah’s visions over the centuries.
Among the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered at Qumran are two copies of the Book of Isaiah from the 2nd century BCE, which already existed in their present form at that time. In my opinion, a division into two main parts therefore makes much more sense:
Outline of the Prophet Isaiah:
Chapters 1 through 39—primarily deal with events that took place during Isaiah’s lifetime, though revelations about Jesus and his ministry can already be found here as well.
Otherwise, they mainly contain warnings and messages of judgment directed at Judah, Israel, and the Gentile nations.
Chapters 35 through 39, in particular, recount the reign of King Hezekiah.
Chapters 40 through 66—as the second part—contain prophecies that extend far beyond Isaiah’s time.
Here we find many messages of comfort and encouragement, as well as the announcement of the salvation of Israel and ultimately the whole world through our Savior Jesus Christ.
Content of the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah chapter 1
A. First Major Section of the Book (Chapters 1–39)
I. Revelations Concerning the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah (Chapters 1–12)
Isaiah chapter 2
Idolatry and reliance on wealth and outward power provoke God’s wrath and punishment
Announcement of God’s judgment upon all earthly authority and human pride
The idols in particular will suffer a shameful fate
Isaiah chapter 3
Collapse of the Judean state as punishment for misrule
God announces judgment to the leaders of the people
Isaiah chapter 4
Isaiah chapter 5
Isaiah chapter 6
Isaiah chapter 7
Isaiah’s encouragement to King Ahaz following the outbreak of the Syrian-Ephraimite war
Isaiah’s threatening speech to the unbelieving Ahaz; the sign of Immanuel; the future desolation of Judah
Sign of the future judgment upon Jerusalem
Isaiah chapter 8
Prophecy of the conquest of Damascus and Samaria by the Assyrians
Prophecy of the devastation of Judah by the Assyrians
The prophet announces to the nations the failure of their plans
True danger does not come from human plans and alliances, but from disregarding God
Isaiah’s firm trust in the truth of the words of God revealed to him
The folly and the devastating consequences for the people of turning away from God
Prophecy of the establishment of the Kingdom of God by the promised descendant of David
Isaiah chapter 9
The chastisements of the haughty northern kingdom of Ephraim have had no effect on all of Israel
Even massive loss of life has not reformed this unrepentant people
The inexorable march toward internal self-destruction
Isaiah chapter 10
Woe to the worthless leaders of the people! A terrible fate awaits them
Assyria has, in criminal arrogance, overstepped God’s command
God’s judgment of punishment upon the Assyrians’ arrogance
The salvation of the remnant of Israel, reformed by the affliction
God encourages His people by announcing the destruction of the approaching enemy
The advance of the enemy from the north and its destruction before Jerusalem
Isaiah chapter 11
Isaiah chapter 12
Isaiah chapter 13
II. Threats and warnings to individual (mostly foreign) nations, cities, and persons (Chapters 13–23)
Announcement of the Day of Judgment; the terrifying advance of the army summoned by God
The horrors and dreadful effects of this Day of Judgment (including in nature)
The conquest and destruction of Babylon by the Medes
Isaiah chapter 14
God will restore His people Israel out of mercy after Babylon’s fall
A song of mockery by the liberated people of Israel over the fall of the king of Babylon
Joy throughout the earth over the fall of the mighty one
Joyful amazement in the realm of the dead
What a fall for the arrogant one! What a shameful end!
God’s confirmatory judgment of destruction
Isaiah chapter 15
Isaiah chapter 16
Isaiah chapter 17
Isaiah chapter 18
Isaiah chapter 19
The Egyptians’ fear of God and His people
The firstfruits cities of Egypt and the spreading worship of God among the Egyptians
Assyria, Egypt, and Israel will form a great world empire in the service of God
Isaiah chapter 20
Isaiah chapter 21
Isaiah chapter 22
Isaiah chapter 23
Isaiah chapter 24
III. The Last Judgment and the Completion (Chapters 24–27)
Isaiah chapter 25
Isaiah chapter 26
Isaiah chapter 27I
saiah chapter 28
Isaiah chapter 29
Isaiah chapter 30
Isaiah chapter 31
Isaiah chapter 32
Isaiah chapter 33
Isaiah chapter 34
Isaiah chapter 35
Isaiah chapter 36
V. Appendix: Historical Accounts from the Time of King Hezekiah (Chapters 36–39)
Isaiah chapter 37
Isaiah chapter 38
Isaiah chapter 39
Isaiah chapter 40
B. Second Main Section of the Book (Chapters 40–66)
I. God’s Actions to Deliver His People from Babylonian Captivity (Chapters 40–48)The comforting word of God regarding the pardon of the people
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness!
The vanity of man, but the eternal validity of God’s Word
Zion’s song of victory: The almighty and faithful God is here
God’s greatness in creation
The vanity of all nations, all idols, all things in heaven and on earth
Isaiah chapter 41
Israel as God’s servant, chosen in Abraham and never since rejected
Israel as a people who, though outwardly poor, are nevertheless strong and blessed in God
God’s reference to His chosen servant and his nature and work
God announces to His servant his calling to mission
Praise of the Lord who brings about salvation (especially the deliverance of His people); God’s promise of His active intervention in spite of the idol worshippers
Lament over the blindness and unfitness of present-day Israel, the servant of God
Isaiah chapter 42
Isaiah chapter 43
Announcement of the deliverance and gathering of all God’s people from every corner of the earth
The Lord, despite Israel’s blindness, is testified to as the true God in contrast to the mute idols of the Gentiles
God’s judgment against Babylon
God’s impending act of redemption compared with His earlier miracles
Israel’s unfaithfulness and guilt atoned for through God’s free grace
Isaiah chapter 44
A promise of abundant divine blessing, especially the bestowal of the Holy Spirit
A reference to the Lord’s sole divinity and the contemptibility of idolatry
A mocking depiction of the making of idols
An exhortation to renewed faithfulness to God and a concluding hymn of praise
An announcement of the great divine plan
Isaiah chapter 45
God’s choice of Cyrus for the redemption of Israel; proclamation of salvation for the hero of God
God’s blessing upon the completed work
Rejection of those dissatisfied with this way of God; reference to the salvation blossoming for Israel
The result will be an ever-increasing glorification of Israel (or Jerusalem) and its God
A renewed call to all nations, pointing to the future blessings of God’s plan of salvation
Isaiah chapter 46
The pitiful end of the Babylonian idols
God’s reminder of the faithfulness He has shown His people thus far and the folly of all idolatry
An encouraging indication of the nearness of salvation
Isaiah chapter 47
The humiliation of the proud and opulent ruler, reduced to the lot of a slave
The humiliation of the world ruler as punishment for her mercilessness toward Judah and her excessive carelessness
The judgment of punishment falling upon the godless, haughty mistress
Sorcery and secret sciences cannot avert destruction
Isaiah chapter 48
A Stern Rebuke to the Stubborn People
The earlier prophecies have had no effect, and the new promises of salvation find a people who have not repented
A new reference to the calling of Cyrus and the dire consequences of past disobedience
A call to return from Babylon and a cry of joy from the redeemed
Isaiah chapter 49
II. The Work and Suffering of the Servant of God for the Restoration and Inner Salvation of Israel and Thus of All Mankind (Chapters 49–55)
The Gentiles as Submissive Servants and Caretakers of God’s People
The Almighty God Himself Will Overthrow Israel’s Tyrant
Isaiah chapter 50
God has neither definitively rejected nor sold His people; He has the right and the power to redeem them
Isaiah chapter 51
Isaiah chapter 52
Isaiah chapter 53
Isaiah chapter 54
Isaiah chapter 55
Isaiah chapter 56
III. Appendices to the Second Book of Isaiah (Chapters 56–66)
Isaiah chapter 57
Isaiah chapter 58
Isaiah chapter 59
Isaiah chapter 60
Zion outshone by God’s radiant glory
Zion as the gathering place of his children scattered among the nations and of the treasures of the world
Zion honored and adorned as the mistress of the world
Zion, the glory and joy of the nations, as the peaceful center of the earth
Zion, a city of light filled with God, blossoming in splendor
Isaiah chapter 61
The messenger of God (i.e., the Spirit-anointed speaker) proclaims the purpose of his mission
Exposition of the glory promised by God
The congregation’s cry of joy
Isaiah chapter 62
God declares that He will not rest until Zion’s day of glory arrives
God’s resolve to glorify and secure His city will unfailingly be fulfilled
An exhortation to the watchmen appointed over Jerusalem not to let the Lord rest until He has fulfilled His promises
A call to depart from the land of the Gentiles and go to the city of God, destined for supreme salvation
Isaiah chapter 63
Isaiah chapter 64
Isaiah chapter 65
Isaiah chapter 66