FAULKNER UNIVERSITY

Montgomery, Alabama

AN INTRODUCTION OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

SUBMITTED TO: PROF. RANDALL C. BAILEY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

BI 5305 ADVANCED INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

BY

SCOTT J SHIFFERD

NOVEMBER 4, 2014

ii

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................3

AUTHORSHIP ................................................................................................................................3

LITERARY STRUCTURE ..............................................................................................................5

THEOLOGICAL MESSAGES ........................................................................................................7

HISTORICAL PERIOD...................................................................................................................9

TEXTUAL BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................10

CRITICAL REVIEW .....................................................................................................................12

First Isaiah ...................................................................................................................................13

Second Isaiah ..............................................................................................................................14

Third Isaiah .................................................................................................................................16

The Little Apocalypse .................................................................................................................18

CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................................................19

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..........................................................................................................................21

1

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

Within the most influential book in the course of history is “the vision of Isaiah the son of

Amoz.” This is the Book of Isaiah — the epitome of prophetic eloquence. Isaiah’s alliteration

and parallelism reveal prophesy from God, the Holy One of Israel, who will save His people.

Isaiah is a compelling work challenging critics to reconsider predictive prophecies.

This introduction to the Book of Isaiah searches for a compelling plea to challenge

scholarship to reconsider its approach to Isaiah. The methodological approach of this

introduction notes the link of ancient witnesses to Isaian authorship. This approach also

examines the structure of Isaiah’s text compared to its theological messages. By affirming

Isaiah’s textual background, scholarship can cross-examine the suppositions of historical

criticism. The conclusion will result with either a growth of complex ideas or a simplified

understanding of facts.

Authorship

The author describes the Book of Isaiah as “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz” (1:1 ESV).

Second Kings identifies Isaiah as “the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz” (19:2, 20:14), and 2

Chronicles records that Isaiah was a scribe who wrote concerning the acts of Uzziah and

Hezekiah (26:22, 32:32). The Bible reports that King Ahaz and King Hezekiah had immediate

access to Isaiah (2 Kgs 19:5–6, 20; 20:1–21; 2 Chr 32:30, Isa 37:34–35). Isaiah had a following

of disciples, and he was the contemporary of the prophets Amos, Hosea, and Micah (Isa 8:16–18,

50:4). According to tradition, King Manasseh ordered the cutting of Isaiah in two, and Hebrews

11:37 appears to refer to this tragedy.

2

Every biblical writing of a prophet opens with the author’s name. Scholarship accepts the

names attributed to these prophetic books.1 The book of Isaiah opens with the name of Isaiah the

son of Amoz. Furthermore, Isaiah 1–39 repeatedly states Isaiah as the source. Isaiah 2:1

introduces Isaiah’s word as “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and

Jerusalem.” Isaiah 7:3 states, “the LORD said to Isaiah”, and Isaiah 20:2 affirms, “the LORD

spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz.” While these quotes are in the third person, Isaiah also reported

in the first person how Yahweh spoke to him (Isa 6:8–11; 8:3, 5).2 Within Isaiah, the prophet

testified to the text’s divine origin stating that Yahweh’s mouth produced the book and the Spirit

gathered “the book of the LORD” (34:16). The Book of Isaiah describes God’s commands for

Isaiah to inscribe these words on a tablet and write them in a book for a witness forever (Isa

30:8).

Outside of the text, sources attest to Isaian authorship. In about 180 BC, Jesus ben Sirach

wrote about Isaiah declaring, “He saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last,

and he comforted them that mourned in Sion. He shewed what should come to pass forever, and

secret things or ever they came” (Sir 48:24–25 KJV). Richard Coggins attributed this quote as a

reference to Isaiah’s authorship of Isaiah 40 and noted that Jesus ben Sirach held this view when

scribes copied the Isaiah scrolls of Qumran. Coggins reported that all the ancient testimony

confirm that Isaiah was one book.3

1 Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, “An Introduction to the Old Testament,” (Grand Rapids:

Zondervan, 1994) 267.

2 N. H. Ridderbos, “Book of Isaiah,” NBD2 522–27.

3 Richard J. Coggins, “Isaiah,” The Oxford Bible Commentary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)

434.

3

The Christian scriptures also record that Isaiah is the author of the Book of Isaiah. These

early sources are witnesses in presenting how the first-century Christians perceived Isaiah and

sought to persuade first-century Jews using Isaiah. Within the Christian Scriptures, the Gospel of

Matthew records Jesus describing Isaiah 6:9–10 as “the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled.” The

Gospel of John quotes Isaiah 53:1 as “the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah” and then quotes

Isaiah 6:10 as “Isaiah said” (John 12:38–41). While historical criticism divides Isaiah among two

or more authors and a number of redactors, the New Testament attests in twenty-one references

that Isaiah wrote all of Isaiah. The New Testament specifically cites Isaiah as the author of Isaiah

40:3–5, 42:1–4, 53:4, 7–8, 61:1–2, and 65:1.4 Speculating about other possible writers of Isaiah

neither mattered nor entered the scope of early Christian pleas to the Jews and the nations

throughout the world.

Literary Structure

Isaiah is made of poetic parallelism with the inclusion of narrative sections. Isaiah’s outline

reveals a coherent development of revelation. William S. LaSor, David A. Hubbard, and Frederic

W. Bush observed the structure of Isaiah in the first five chapters of Isaiah. They noted the

structure in the following order: the indictment of Israel for sin (1:1–26), the promise of

redemption (1:27–31), a vision of the glory of later days (2:1–4), judgment of the proud and

idolatrous (2:6–10), the judgment (3:1–4:1), the glory of God (4:2–6), and the “song of the

vineyard” (ch. 5). The reader can observe these subjects as an outline of Isaiah.5

4 Matt 3:3; 4:14–16; 8:17; 12:17–21; 13:14–15; 15:7–9; Mark 7:6–7; Luke 3:4–6; 4:17–19; John 1:23; Acts

8:28–33; 28:25–27; Rom 9:27–29; 10:16, 20; 15:12.

5 William S. LaSor, David A. Hubbard, and Frederic W. Bush, “Isaiah: Background,” in Old Testament

Survey: The Form, Message, and Background of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) loc: 5781.

4

Scholars generally agree upon the outline of the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 1–12 consists of

God’s warnings to Judah and predictions of the coming birth of a child upon the Davidic throne.

Isaiah 13–23 contains Yahweh’s ominous oracles concerning Israel’s neighboring nations and

prophecy of the return of the remnant. Isaiah 24–27 includes Yahweh’s desolation upon the

whole earth and Yahweh’s redemption of His people. Isaiah 28–33 consists of a precious

cornerstone of Zion, grace to Yahweh’s people, and Yahweh’s coming strike against Assyria.

Isaiah 34–39 contains the prediction of the way of holiness and the LORD striking the Assyrian

army at siege against Jerusalem. Isaiah 40–55 includes predictive prophecies of Yahweh’s

Servant, salvation, and sovereignty. Isaiah 56–66 concludes foretelling the glory of Yahweh’s

people and Yahweh’s judgment. Each section of Isaiah addressed current concerns of the day

while looking forward.

Scholars observe numerous parallels uniting Isaiah from beginning to end. “The Holy

One of Israel” describes Yahweh twelve times in chapters 1–39, thirteen times in the chapters

40–66, and five times in the rest of the Old Testament. This shows the unity present in the text of

Isaiah.6 Craig A. Evans summarized Brownlee who noted seven parallels in the whole structure

of Isaiah. First, the ruin and restoration of Israel in Isaiah 1–5 complements paradise lost and

regained in Isaiah 34–35. Second, Brownlee observed biographies in Isaiah 6–8 and Isaiah 36–

40. Third, divine blessing and judgment in chapters 9–12 parallel deliverance and judgment in

chapters 41–45. Fourth, the “Anti-Foreign Oracles” of Isaiah 13–23 correlate to the “Anti-

Babylonian Oracles” of Isaiah 46–48. Fifth, universal judgment and deliverance of God’s people

in Isaiah 24–27 correspond to universal redemption through the Lord’s Servant in Isaiah 49–55.

Sixth, ethical sermons and indictments of Israel and Judah in chapters 28–31 parallel the ethical

6 Ridderbos, “The Book of Isaiah,” NBD2 524.

5

sermons and conditions for Israel’s redemption in chapters 56–59. Seventh, the restoration of

Judah and the Davidic kingdom in Isaiah 32–33 parallel the paradise regained and the glories of

the new Jerusalem, the new heavens, and the new earth in Isaiah 60–66. Such commonality

between Isaiah 1–33 and 34–66 demonstrate that Isaiah is a united text of a single author.7

Theological Messages

Isaiah is the theologian of the Old Testament. As the structure of Isaiah reveals, the theological

themes are apparent to the reader. Isaiah describes God’s divine characteristics and God’s acts in

history. From Isaiah 1:4 to Isaiah 60:9 and in between, the prophet’s favorite description of God

is “the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah also describes Yahweh as the Redeemer.8 Isaiah also describes

Yahweh as the Savior of Israel.9

Another of Isaiah’s messages includes the King upon the Davidic throne. Isaiah

prophesied the birth of a King who will establish and uphold justice and righteousness

forevermore. The prophet describes the King as the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God,

Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6–7). The Davidic King is the root of Jesse and

the Branch (Isa 11:1). The Spirit will rest upon the Branch, and He will slay the wicked with the

breath of His lips (Isa 11:2–5). All the nations will come to the Branch (Isa 11:10). In the day of

the Branch of Yahweh, the Lord will wash and sanctify those in Jerusalem (Isa 4:2–4). Beyond

Isaiah 40, the prophet described the one who Yahweh anointed by the Spirit of God (Isa 61:1).

He will establish an everlasting covenant with God’s people (Isa 61:8). God and His Spirit have

7 Craig A. Evans, “On the Unity and Parallel Structure of Isaiah,” VT 38 (1988): 2:129–47.

8 Isa 41:14; 43:14; 44:6, 24; 48:17; 49:7, 26; 54:5, 8; 59:20; 60:16; 63:16.

9 Isa 43:3, 11; 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16; 63:8.

6

sent Him whose mouth is like a sharp sword (Isa 48:16, 49:2). He will be a light to the nations

and bring salvation “to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6).

Within the context of this coming King, Isaiah prophesied that a sign would come of a

son being born of a virgin (Isa 7:14). Richard Clifford interpreted the virgin birth of Isaiah 7:14

as possibly the pregnant wife of Ahaz. Like others, he also interpreted the Hebrew ‘almah to

mean “a post-pubescent woman” who is marriageable and likely a virgin.10 Gerald T. Sheppard

also wrote, “The Hebrew noun for ‘young woman’ neither requires that she be a virgin nor

precludes that possibility.”11 Clifford noted that the Jewish translators of the Septuagint

interpreted this Hebrew word into the Greek parthenos, which means virgin.12 If the sign of

Isaiah 7:14 is simply the maiden bearing a son named Immanuel, this contradicts the pattern of a

specific parent with the child’s prophetic name as seen by the reference to Isaiah’s son and the

prophetess’s son (Isa 7:3–6, 8:1–4). The son named Immanuel is only unique when the maiden is

certainly “the virgin” as Matthew interpreted ha ‘almah (1:23).13 This sign of the virgin bearing a

son extended beyond the Assyrian invasion, the failed siege against Jerusalem, and the desolation

of the land (Isa 7:20–25). In the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, Sheppard also noted the

prediction of a desolate Judea before Immanuel would come.14

Isaiah prophesied of “my servant” as the words of Yahweh (Isa 42:1). Historical criticism

and Jewish commentaries interpret the Servant to be a collective group and, or a particular

10 Richard J. Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:89.

11 Gerald T. Sheppard, “Isaiah,” HCB 502–03.

12 Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:89.

13 Charles L. Feinburg, “The Virgin Birth and Isaiah 7:14,” MSJ (2011): 11–17.

14 Sheppard, “Isaiah,” HCB 502–03.

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person.15 In the Anchor Bible Dictionary, Clifford observed that Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is about

God’s vindicated servant who risked everything to obey God’s Word. This despised servant bore

the sins of the people and received his just reward.16 Isaiah did previously identify God’s servant

as the Israel nation, “my servant Jacob” (Isa 41:8; 42:19; 44:2; 45:5). However, in every

occurrence of Israel being God’s servant, Isaiah specified that Jacob was the servant unlike the

general references to the Suffering Servant. In contrast to Israel being the servant, Isaiah depicted

the Suffering Servant as a man who “will raise up the tribes of Jacob” (Isa 49:6). In the “Servant

Songs” of Isaiah, the Suffering Servant is a man distinct from the nation of Israel (42:1–4, 49:1–

7, 50:4–11, 52:13–53:12). When scholarship observes the whole scope of Isaiah’s messages,

there is a single message throughout Isaiah connecting the prophecies of the Davidic King, the

Virgin Birth, and Suffering Servant.

Historical Period

Starting from Isaiah 1–39, Isaiah the son of Amoz received his vision applicable to the Assyrian

period. The Book of Isaiah begins in the face of Assyrian threat in the time of King Uriah of

Judah (2 Kgs 15:13–17). Tiglath-pileser was the king of Assyria who “came against the land”

when Menachem reigned over Israel (2 Kings 15:17–22). Historically, these kings ruled in the

same time agreeing with the chronology of the Book of Isaiah.17

LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush thoroughly describe the historical context in which Isaiah

lived in their Old Testament Survey. William LaSor et al. report that Tiglath-pileser came to rule

15 Kenneth D. Litwak, “The Use of Quotations from Isaiah 52:13–53:12 in the New Testament,” JETS 26

(December 1983): 385–86.

16 Richard J. Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:492.

17 Ibid. 479–80.

8

Assyria in 745 BC and conquered all of northern Syria by 740 BC. He subjugated the Aramean

city-state of Hamath and forced smaller kingdoms including Israel to pay tribute (2 Kgs 15:19–

20). In 734, Tiglath-pileser established a base in Philistia at the River of Egypt where some small

states allied to oppose him in the Syro-Ephraimite War. Unlike Israel, King Ahaz of Judah

refused. Ahaz turned to Assyria when the coalition of Syria and Ephraim decided to overthrow

him. Tiglath-pileser invaded and overcame Gilead and Galilee, and thereby took Israelites into

Assyria. After Tiglath-Pileser died in 727 BC, King Hoshea of Israel refused to pay tribute to

Assyria, and he turned to Egypt for support (2 Kgs 17:4). Eventually, Assyria took Israel’s

capitol of Samaria in 721 BC. Then, Babylonians resettled the land (2 Kgs 17:24). With Assyria

on the northern boundary of Judah, Isaiah wrote his words contained in chapters 7–14 including

predictions of the Medes conquering Babylon. Ahaz died in 715 BC, and Hezekiah succeeded

him. Sennacherib of Assyria conquered Sidon and forced Ashdod, Ammon, Moab, and Edom to

pay tribute. Sennacherib overcame the Judean city of Lachish and turned his focus to

Jerusalem.18 After Isaiah’s narrative of Sennacherib’s failure to take Jerusalem in 701 BC, the

Book of Isaiah contains the prophecy of the Babylonian exile that will start in 607 BC and the

Messianic hope. Critical scholarship dates these words to captivity and beyond, but traditional

scholars see these words as predictive revelations from God.

Textual Background

Scholarship recognizes the textual reliability of Isaiah.19 Richard Clifford reported that “the

editors” of Isaiah did not feel authorized to alter Isaiah, because they regarded the book as a

18 LaSor et al., “Isaiah: Background,” in Old Testament Survey loc: 5810–27.

19 Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:492.

9

sacred text. He stated that there are twenty-one manuscripts of Isaiah from Qumran.20 Francolino

J. Goncalves reported that most of these are fragmentary. The most important among these are

two scrolls from Cave 1. Discovered by a Bedouin about 1946–1947, 1QIsaa is the most

important scroll and the first discovered. Second in importance is the scroll 1QIsab, which is a

damaged scroll containing a part of Isaiah. A single hand wrote 1QIsaa in seventeen sheets of

sheepskin. Goncalves stated that the scribe of 1QIsaa wrote this manuscript in the latter half of

the second century BC between 125 and 100. The Isaiah manuscripts of the Qumran precede the

most ancient manuscripts of Isaiah by about a thousand years. Goncalves reported that 1QIsaa

and the Masoretic text are essentially identical. There are a few hundred textual variants, and a

great number of these variants are linguistic. Goncalves cited Kutscher’s findings published in

1974 describing how the Hebrew text of 1QIsaa came from the Second Temple period and is

distinct from classical Hebrew of the Masoretic text. Kutscher proposed that the scribe appears to

have updated rare terms that came to disuse in the second century BC.21 Hans Kosmala explained

how scholars detect some of these interpolations by internal evidence as the only guide, because

these additions must predate the Septuagint and the Qumran Scrolls.22

LaSor, Hubbard, and Bush observed that there is no evidence for two or more authors of

Isaiah based on textual history. William LaSor et al. presented that 1QIsaa does not make any

break from at the end of Isaiah 39 to support another author. This is contrary to secular

criticism’s previous assumption of a break between Isaiah 1–39 and Isaiah 40–66. Specifically,

William LaSor et al. note the thirty-second column ends with Isaiah 40:1 without any break from

20 Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:87–88.

21 Francolino J. Goncalves, “The Isaiah Scroll,” ABD 3:470–72

22 Hans Kosmala, “Form and Structure in Ancient Hebrew Poetry,” VT 16 (1966):152–80.

10

39:8. However, there is a space on column twenty-seven separating Isaiah chapter 33 from 34.

Despite the break in Isaiah 33, Isaiah is a whole book in the Septuagint without any indication

that Isaiah included multiple parts, and yet the Septuagint divides Samuel and Kings.23 Some

scholars have reshaped their hypotheses about multiple Isaiahs to match the break between Isaiah

33 and 34.

Critical Review

Contrary to Isaiah forming a whole book in the Hebrew Bible, critical scholars have perceived

divisions and two or more authors for the Book of Isaiah. Secular scholarship grants that Isaiah

1–33 or 1–39 originated from the “Isaiah of Jerusalem” or Proto-Isaiah with the inclusion that

editors have redacted it.24 Critical scholarship has argued that Isaiah’s teaching established other

influential prophetic authors who added to Isaiah over the course of two centuries during the

Babylonian captivity and beyond.25 They also believe that there were other authors, because

these passages address the Babylonian captivity and Judah’s return.26 Searching for other

authors, Yehuda T. Radday applied statistical linguistics to examine “author-specifying

characteristics” that an author cannot determine by choice of words.27 Radday’s statistics were

incomplete and did not consider Isaiah’s change of genre, the varying length of poetic stanzas, or

the development of the writer’s ability over time.

23 LaSor, “Isaiah: Message,” Old Testament Survey loc: 6043.

24 Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:75.

25 Ronald E. Clements, “Isaiah,” The Books of the Bible (ed. Bernard W. Anderson; The Old Testament/The

Hebrew Bible 1; New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1989) 249–50.

26 Coggins, “Isaiah,” The Oxford Bible Commentary 433.

27 Yehuda T. Radday, “Two Computerized Statistical-Linguistics Tests Concerning the Unity of Isaiah,” JBL

89 (1970): 3:319.

11

In 1992, Christopher Seitz reported that critical scholarship distinguished three different

works via internal indications. First Isaiah (chs. 1–39), Second Isaiah (chs. 40–55), and Third

Isaiah (chs. 56–66) were the proposed three divisions of Isaiah. However, W. H. Brownlee

argued for a separation of Isaiah 1–33 and 34–66 in The Meaning of the Qumran Scrolls for the

Bible.28 Marvin A. Sweeney now argues for this alternative final form of Isaiah 1–33 and Isaiah

34–66.29 Critical scholarship treats these divisions as separate works by different authors. In the

midst of Isaiah 1–33, critical scholars also separate another work known as “the Little

Apocalypse” (chs. 24–27).30

First Isaiah

Critical scholarship differs on the origin of First Isaiah. Some see First Isaiah coming from

Isaiah’s perspective in the eighth century BC. Others impute a great redaction of a rhetorical

Isaiah from the eighth century so that Isaiah’s words are indistinguishable from the edited text in

its canonical form. The proposed redactions to Isaiah are numerous.31

Historical criticism does not consider that Isaiah authored all of Isaiah. Genenius initially

proposed that Isaiah 13, 14, 34, and 35 were of an author other than First Isaiah and proposed

three parts within First Isaiah.32 Furthermore, Bernhard Duhm used Genesius’s four-book theory

and asserted that chapters 40–66 predate Isaiah 1–39. Duhm advanced the idea that “Second

28 Evans, “On the Unity and Parallel Structure of Isaiah,” VT 38 (1988): 2:132.

29 A. Joseph Everson, “Book of Isaiah,” Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2000)

649.

30 Christopher R. Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah,” ABD 3:472.

31 Gerald T. Sheppard, “Isaiah,” HBC 490.

32 Ibid. 474.

12

Isaiah” was an exilic prophet.33 Although Gerhard von Rad found “genius” in Isaiah and

described Isaiah as a rhapsodic poet, political pundit, and ethical loner, von Rad believed that

First Isaiah’s author used the preaching of Isaiah.34 Richard Clifford explained that the agreement

of certain words and images between Isaiah 1–2 and 65–66 was the work of editors instead of an

indication of unity and one author.35 Critical scholarship does not consider that Isaiah’s style of

writing and revelation from God may have changed over the course of forty years. Critical

academics avoid seeing the Book of Isaiah as solely Isaiah’s work.

Second Isaiah

Critical scholarship accepts that there is a Second Isaiah consisting of either Isaiah 34–66, 40–60,

or more specifically 40–55. According to Christopher Seitz, critical scholarship cites the twelfth-

century Jewish scholar, Ibn Ezra, for possibly questioning that the historical Isaiah wrote Isaiah

40–66. Historical criticism supports the concept of Second Isaiah by assuming that Isaiah 40:1–2

includes a prediction of Jerusalem’s decimation and the deportation of its people.36 Because of

the observation that language and details of content differ between Isaiah 1–39 and 40–55,

Richard J. Clifford considered Isaiah 40–55 to be a separate work by an author other than Proto-

Isaiah.37 Although more than a decade later, Clifford wrote that Second Isaiah held the same

view of judgment as First Isaiah, and he demonstrated this agreement comparing Isaiah 6:5 with

33 Ibid., 475–76.

34 Ibid.

35 Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:87.

36 Sheppard, “Isaiah,” HBC 489.

37 Richard J. Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:490–92.

13

Isaiah 40:7–8.38 Critical scholars must explain the agreements between First Isaiah and Second

Isaiah.

The concept of Second Isaiah has developed over two centuries. In 1775, J. C. Doderlein

described Isaiah 44–55 as “Deutero-Isaiah.” Likewise, J. B. Koppe argued that another author

wrote Isaiah 40–66 while in Babylonian Exile. This was the beginning of “Second Isaiah.”

Critical scholars also proposed modes of redaction for the formation of Second Isaiah. In 1793,

E. F. K. Rosenmuller excluded the Suffering Servant by suggesting that editors added the Servant

Songs from Isaiah 42:1–7, 49:1–5, 50:4–10, and 52:13–53:12 to Second Isaiah. Likewise, J. G.

Eichhorn promoted the view that Isaiah is an anthology of material from the eighth century to the

postexilic period.39

Critical academics attributed the historical narratives in chapters 36–39 as the end of First

Isaiah.40 Others argue that Isaiah 34–39 is a sixth-century prologue to Second Isaiah.41 N. H.

Ridderbos presented the difficulty of identifying Isaiah 34–39 with First Isaiah rather than

Second Isaiah. Ridderbos observed that Isaiah 35 presupposes the Babylonian Exile. He noted

that Isaiah 39:6–9 contains Isaiah’s prophecy delivered to Hezekiah that Judah “shall be carried

to Babylon.”42 However, to include Isaiah 34–39 with Second Isaiah, critical scholarship must

disregard that 2 Chronicles testifies to Isaiah’s authorship of “the acts of Hezekiah” that are “in

38 Clifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:84.

39 Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:490–92.

40 Ibid. 3:490–92.

41 Sheppard, “Isaiah,” HBC 491.

42 N. H. Ridderbos, “Book of Isaiah,” New Bible Dictionary (eds. J.D. Douglas, F.F. Bruce, J.I. Packer, N.

Hillyer, D. Guthrie, A.R. Millard, and D.J. Wiseman; 2nd ed.; Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1982)

523.

14

the vision of Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz, in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel”

(32:32).

Historical criticism cannot support Second Isaiah beyond hypotheses. Isaiah 40–55 has

no heading or introduction of the author by name like Isaiah 1:1 and all the other prophetic books

of the Old Testament. Therefore, the final work of Isaiah shows no indication that Isaiah 40–55

or 40–66 formed a separate work by another author.43 Concerning the claim that style required

multiple authors of Isaiah, Merrill Unger observed that this is a precarious and subjective

position that overlooks the literary development of Isaiah over forty years and the similarities

between all sections of Isaiah.44

Historical criticism has another reason for accepting Second Isaiah. Secular scholarship

rejects the idea of Isaiah predicting the Babylonian Captivity and edict of King Cyrus of Persia

for Israel’s return. They assert that Israel’s enemy of the Babylonian Empire date Second Isaiah

to 626–539 BC. Seitz recalled the perception that the eighth-century Isaiah predicted the future

in such detail “went beyond enlightened logic.”45 Because critical scholarship presumes that the

Isaian authors wrote the predictions of King Cyrus of Persia after the fact, historical criticism

dates Isaiah 40–55 to the sixth century BC.46 The predictions of Cyrus were that God would use

Cyrus to subdue nations and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (44:28; 45:1). By overlooking that

God can predict the future, critical scholarship reveals its secular foundation.

43 Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:492.

44 Merrill F. Unger, “The Book of Isaiah,” The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Bible

Institute, 1988) 631.

45 Seitz, “The Book of Isaiah,” ABD 3:473.

46 Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:490–492.

15

Third Isaiah

Because of style, many critical academics find a Third Isaiah. Richard Clifford reported the

critical position that Third Isaiah addressed the residents of Jerusalem and Judah rather than

exiles in Babylon.47 Clifford asserted that redactors edited Third Isaiah forming it into a whole.48

Starting in 1875, Bernhard Duhm persuaded secular scholarship that anonymous authors wrote

chapters 56–66 of Isaiah forming a postexilic Third Isaiah. Duhm dated Third Isaiah to about 450

BC in the time of Malachi.49 However, Duhm also described postexilic Jerusalem as one would

describe preexilic Jerusalem. As Clifford reports, Duhm presented Jerusalem with a whole

temple and inhabited with discontent people, ineffective rulers, and the rich oppressing the

poor.50

Christopher Seitz reported that critical scholarship recognizes themes and languages

within Third Isaiah from First Isaiah and Second Isaiah.51 However, he noted a disunity among

critical scholarship concerning Third Isaiah’s authorship and its break from Second Isaiah.52

Because of this disagreement, scholars have assigned Third Isaiah to various periods from the

seventh to the third century BC. Most of secular scholarship places Third Isaiah in the sixth or

fifth centuries. Because these scholars cannot resolve the inclusion of Gentile converts separate

from the service of Gentile unbelievers to Israel, they struggle to see a unity in Third Isaiah or a

47 Cifford, “Book of Isaiah,” NIDB 3:86.

48 Ibid., 3:87.

49 N. H. Ridderbos, “Book of Isaiah,” New Bible Dictionary 523.

50 Clifford, “Second Isaiah,” ABD 3:490-492

51 Ibid., 504.

52 Christopher R. Seitz, “Third Isaiah,” ABD 3:502.

16

single author (Isa 56:3; 61:5–6).53 Because Isaiah 56–66 references the Temple, critical scholars

found difficulty placing Third Isaiah during Ezra-Nehemiah in the fifth century or during

Haggai-Zechariah in the sixth century.

Seitz’s case against Third Isaiah presents the state of historical criticism. Seitz stated, “It

is one of the ironies of historical analysis in biblical studies that while skepticism over historical

veracity rules in one part of the canon, other literary witnesses are accorded absolute historical

reliability; the nature and dosage of selectivity is what produces different results.” Seitz related

that there is no clear indication of the Temple’s restoration in Isaiah, because cultic practices and

the Temple are throughout Isaiah 40–66.54 Because some critical scholars associate Third Isaiah

as a contemporary to Ezra-Nehemiah, Seitz called this “hegemony” for scholars historically

linking obscure verses with other ambiguous biblical works. Seitz reflected that such

disagreement between scholars testified that such critical analysis is speculation.

The Little Apocalypse

Critical academics refer to Isaiah 24–27 as “the Little Apocalypse.” Critical scholarship argues

whether Isaiah 24–27 is an interpolation to First Isaiah. William R. Millar identified Isaiah 24–27

as a “late postexilic apocalyptic work.” However, Millar noted that E. Kissane asserted Isaiah

24–27 to be true to First Isaiah as a “preexilic prophetic judgment.” Millar noted that there are

layers of poetry in Isaiah that compare to the best in Second Isaiah.55 Secular scholarship has

placed these passages in the sixth century, and they believe this author is a later student of

53 Ibid., 502.

54 Ibid., 503.

55 Millar, “Isaiah 24-27,” ABD 3:489.

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Isaiah’s work.56 Because of the parallels found in Isaiah 24–27 and Isaiah 40–55, some scholars

think that Second Isaiah wrote the Little Apocalypse. Critical scholarship does not consider this

as evidence for the unity of Isaiah.

Millar also perceived that Isaiah 24–27 fits the historical setting of Jerusalem’s fall and

envisions a restored Israel that shares the same setting as Second Isaiah. However, criticism

cannot explain Isaiah 26:5–6 when the text described the faithful and needy trampling Jerusalem,

which indicates a preexilic date. Furthermore, critical academics interpret Isaiah 26:11–27:6 as

an interpolation to the Little Apocalypse, because Isaiah would predict Yahweh’s victory. Millar

cited P. D. Hanson’s The Dawn of Apocalyptic to identify this description as “postexilic

tensions.”57 A careful study of the critical approach exposes a list of difficult and contradicting

assertions.

Conclusion

The purpose of this introduction is to find a plea and a challenge to biblical scholarship. For the

sake of honest scholarship, scholars must consider that God can give predictive ability to His

prophets. Scholarship must avoid stacking circumstantial evidence to support a single

methodology.

The book of Isaiah stands in its pristine textual condition. The book has survived

throughout the centuries bearing the name of Isaiah. The structural parallels and consistent

theology present the same message throughout the text. Asserting that other authors contributed

56 William R. Millar, “Isaiah 24–27 (Little Apocalypse),” ABD 3:488-89.

57 Ibid. 490.

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to the book of Isaiah disregards the ability of all writers to develop their writing. Isaiah remains

“a witness forever” (Isa 30:8).

19

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Anderson. Vol. 1 of The Old Testament/The Hebrew Bible. New York: Charles Scribner's

Sons, 1989. Cited 31 October 2014. Online: Scribner Writers on GVRL.

Clifford, Richard J. “Book of Isaiah.” Pages 75–91 in vol. 3 of The New Interpreter’s Dictionary

of the Bible. Edited by Katharine D. Sakenfeld. Nashville: Eerdmans, 2008.

Coggins, Richard J. “Isaiah.” Pages 433–486 in The Oxford Bible Commentary. Edited by John

Barton and John Muddiman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Cited 27 October

2014. Online: ProQuest ebrary.

Dillard, Raymond D. and Tremper Longman III. “Isaiah.” Pages 267–283 in An Introduction to

the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

Evans, Craig A. “On the Unity and Parallel Structure of Isaiah.” Vetus Testamentum 38 (1988)

2:129–47.

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Edited by David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

Feinberg, Charles L. “The Virgin Birth and Isaiah 7:14.” The Master’s Journal (Spring 2011):

11–17.

Freedman, David Noel, ed. Pages 470–507 in vol. 3 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York:

Doubleday, 1992.

Kosmala, Hans. “Form and Structure in Ancient Hebrew Poetry.” Vetus Testamentum 16

(1966):152–80.

LaSor, William S., David A. Hubbard, and Frederic W. Bush. Old Testament Survey: The

Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,

1996. Kindle e-book.

Litwak, Kenneth D. “The Use of Quotations from Isaiah 52:13–53:12 in the New Testament.”

Journal of Evangelical Theological Society 26 (December 1983): 385–94.

Radday, Yehuda. T. “The Unity of Isaiah in the Light of Statistical Linguistics.” Journal of

Biblical Literature 89 (1970) 3:319–24.

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Ridderbos, N. H. “Book of Isaiah.” Pages 521–27 in the New Bible Dictionary. Edited by J.D.

Douglas, F.F. Bruce, J.I. Packer, N. Hillyer, D. Guthrie, A.R. Millard, and D.J. Wiseman.

2nd ed. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, 1982.

Sheppard, Gerald T. “Isaiah.” Pages 489–537 in HarperCollins Bible Commentary. Edited by

James L. Mays et al. New York: Harper Collins, 2000.

Unger, Merrill F. “The Book of Isaiah.” Pages 629–31 in The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary.

Edited by R.K. Harrison. Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1988.