Isaiah

Introduction
Isaiah’s vision
Personal history
Isaiah’s theology
Prophetic mission
Message to Israel
Later interpretations of Isaiah’s message

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Isaiah summary

Related Questions

How did Isaiah respond to Assyrian pressure on Judah during King Hezekiah’s reign?
How did Isaiah’s message about Jerusalem differ from Micah’s message?
How did the Assyrian withdrawal from Jerusalem affect views of Isaiah’s prophecy?
How did the Babylonian Exile shape the message of Deutero-Isaiah?
How did the Greek Septuagint translation affect the interpretation of Isaiah’s Immanuel prophecy?
How did the rise of the Assyrian Empire threaten Judah and Israel?
How have scholars interpreted the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52–53?
How was the Immanuel sign connected to the threat from Syria and Israel?
What advice did Isaiah give King Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimitic War?
What are the Servant Songs in Deutero-Isaiah?
What did Isaiah mean by calling on Judah to seek justice and correct oppression?
What did Isaiah mean by saying that security came from trust in God rather than alliances?
What did Isaiah predict about a future Davidic ruler?
What did Isaiah teach about the relationship between worship and moral behavior?
What did the name Immanuel mean in Isaiah’s message to King Ahaz?
What did the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz symbolize?
What evidence connects Isaiah with the Temple in Jerusalem?
What happened to Damascus after Tiglath-pileser III conquered it?
What hope did Deutero-Isaiah offer to people exiled in Babylon?
What is the meaning of Isaiah’s image of a shoot growing from the stump of Jesse?
What is the peaceable kingdom described in the Book of Isaiah?
What social problems in Judah did Isaiah condemn?
What vision of peace appears in Isaiah’s words about swords becoming plowshares?
What was the Syro-Ephraimitic War?
When did Isaiah begin his prophetic ministry in Judah?
When were the writings known as Deutero-Isaiah composed?
When were the writings known as Trito-Isaiah composed?
Which Assyrian ruler was expanding his empire when Isaiah became a prophet?
Which kings of Judah ruled during Isaiah’s lifetime?
Who was Isaiah’s father Amoz?
Why did Deutero-Isaiah describe Cyrus the Great as an instrument of God?
Why did Isaiah believe Jerusalem would not fall to the Assyrians?
Why did Isaiah criticize rich landowners and dishonest judges?
Why did Isaiah oppose Judah’s plan to seek military help from Egypt?
Why did Isaiah see Assyria as an instrument of God’s judgment?
Why did Syria and Israel threaten Judah during the Syro-Ephraimitic War?
Why did a seraph touch Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal?
Why did early Christians consider the Book of Isaiah important?
Why do some scholars suggest that Isaiah may have come from an aristocratic family?
Why is only part of the Book of Isaiah attributed to the 8th-century prophet Isaiah?
Why was the fall of Samaria important to Isaiah’s message?
Why were Isaiah’s writings important to the Jewish community at Qumran?
What happens to Joseph in Egypt?
Why was St. Luke influential?
Where is St. Luke buried?
What was Flavius Josephus’s childhood like?
What did Flavius Josephus write?
What was Flavius Josephus’s role in the Jewish revolt of 66–70 CE?
Who was Joshua in the Hebrew Bible?
How did Joshua become Moses’ successor?
What role did Joshua play in the conquest of Canaan?
How do historians interpret the conquest of Canaan as told in the Bible?

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External Websites

World History Encyclopedia - Isaiah
Jewish Virtual Library - Isaiah

Isaiah

Hebrew prophet

Also known as: Yeshaʿyahu

Written by

Sheldon H. Blank

Professor of Bible, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1926–78. Author of Prophetic Faith in Isaiah and others.

Sheldon H. Blank

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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History

Isaiah (flourished 8th century bce, Jerusalem) was a prophet after whom the biblical Book of Isaiah is named (only some of the first 39 chapters are attributed to him), a significant contributor to Jewish and Christian traditions. His call to prophecy about 742 bce coincided with the beginnings of the westward expansion of the Assyrian empire, which threatened Israel and which Isaiah proclaimed to be a warning from God to a godless people. The earliest...

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