Historical Setting
Isaiah prophesied during the latter half of the eighth century BC during the reign of four named kings (1:1). His prophecies did not simply concern his own era, however; they anticipated both horrifying and hopeful events in Judah’s future. The prophecies describe a period of destruction and exile: many of the people would be deported far away from their own land, and the land itself would be ravaged and destroyed (586 BC). Some of the book of Isaiah addresses the situation of exile (chs. 40–55). This is not the end, however, since the exiles would return and the cities would be rebuilt (c. 535 BC). Other sections of the book seem to be directed toward this later situation (chs. 56–66).
Composition
The compositional history of Isaiah is debated, with numerous competing views as to the number of authors and the time of composition. There is no reason to doubt that Isaiah son of Amoz (1:1) is the authority figure whose words launch this collection and whose authority pervades it. Since the historical scope of the prophecy covers a period of over two centuries, it is possible that Isaiah’s voice was joined by the voices of others who eventually compiled his words, though Isaiah’s God-given prophetic gift could easily have allowed him to view these historical vistas himself. Even if other voices were joined to his, they clearly have all been subsumed under the authority of Isaiah.
We have come to understand that the main medium for prophets was oral proclamation. Though their prophecies (or some of them) may have been recorded from the start, others may have been preserved orally for a significant amount of time before being committed to writing. Writing of the prophetic books would in many cases bring conclusion to the communication and transmission process rather than stand at the beginning of the process. Prophets began by speaking rather than by writing. Many of them may not have personally written at all, their words only having been compiled at some later date. Even in such a scenario, however, these would still be considered the words of the prophet that had been passed down accurately. ◆
Key Concepts
• Kings who trusted alliances brought on disaster, while kings who trusted in God experienced deliverance.
• Prophecy is not simply prediction of the future; it is God’s revelation of Himself, His requirements and His plan.
• It is important to have confidence in God’s plan and trust Him to carry it out.