The Prophetic Book of Isaiah

Stained glass representation of Isaiah

-Brian Mendonca

The book of Isaiah in the Bible tells about the destiny of the holy city, Jerusalem. It tells about the siege of Judah in the early part; the fall of the city and the captivity of the Jews in the middle part; and the restoration of the holy city when the Jews return. It suggests that God never abandons his people.

The book(s) of Isaiah can be divided into three parts. The names of the kings of Judah who ruled during the three periods of Isaiah are given below. 

BCE 765 - BCE 687
FIRST ISAIAH	BCE 589 - BCE 540
Chapters 1-39	SECOND ISAIAH	BCE 539 - BCE 520
	Chapters 40-55	THIRD ISAIAH
Uzziah		Chapters 56-66
Ahaz	Zedekiah
Hezekiah		Belshazzar

BIBLICAL HISTORY

First Isaiah	Second Isaiah	Third Isaiah
BCE 739: Jews besieged by Assyrians; Isaiah is chosen to prophesy.	BCE 589: Nebuchadnezzar lays siege to Judah.	BCE 539: Cyrus conquers Babylon; sets the Jews free.
BCE 701: Sennacherib lays siege to Judah.	BCE 587: Jews taken to exile/captivity in Babylon	Jews return to Jerusalem.
		Rebuilding of Jerusalem.

The book of Isaiah has 66 chapters in the Bible. Each section is written by a different prophet though they all have the same name. The first chapter has 39 chapters and is the most composite; the second comprises 16 chapters and the third 11.   

 The (first) prophet Isaiah (c.765 BCE - c. 687 BCE) lived in Jerusalem, in the Southern kingdom of Judah. The second Isaiah lived about 200 years after the Isaiah of Jerusalem i.e. 540 BCE. The third Isaiah lived when Jerusalem was being restored.   

FIRST ISAIAH (Chapters 1-39)

First Isaiah speaks of events in Isaiah's lifetime. In 739 BCE he saw a vision in which the Lord made him his messenger. He prophesied in Jerusalem for 40 years. He foretold many things always giving the people hope in the birth of a Messiah - a future king- 700 years later (Is. 11).  The Assyrians under King Sennacherib, destroyed the Northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE and laid siege to Judah in 701 BCE. 

Isaiah reassures King Hezekiah of Judah that God will protect them from the Assyrians. 'Then the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people rose early next morning there lay all the corpses. So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed: he returned home and lived in Nineveh. (Is. 37:36-37)

SECOND ISAIAH (Chapters 40-55)

The last king of Judah, King Zedekiah, dishonoured the promise made to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and sought an alliance with Egypt. As a result King Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in 589 BCE. The Jews were taken into exile in 587 BCE. When their faith was wavering, God sent King Cyrus who conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. 

THIRD ISAIAH (Chapters 56-66)

This part deals with the restoration of the Jews in Jerusalem when they returned from their exile in Babylon, i.e. after 539 BCE till 520 BCE. Verse 60 hails Jerusalem and exhorts her to arise to her former glory. 

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Stained glass by Valentin Bousch. Pic courtesy ancient-origins(dot)net. Compiled from various sources including the introduction to the book of Isaiah in The New Community Bible, Bombay Saint Paul Society 2008. Updated 7 Dec 2021.