Isaiah
The eighth-century prophet of Immanuel — 'a man of unclean lips' — the evangelist of the Old Testament.
Identity
Isaiah, son of Amoz, is the greatest of the writing prophets. His sixty-six chapters range from the specific eighth-century political crises of Judah to the eternal figure of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. Christian tradition since Jerome has called him 'the evangelist of the Old Testament' because so much of the Gospel is already present in his book.
Name and titles
'Isaiah' — Yesha'yahu in Hebrew — means 'The LORD saves' or 'salvation of the LORD.' The name is a compressed summary of his entire message. Elsewhere in Scripture he is called 'the prophet Esaias' (Matthew 3:3; Acts 8:28) — the Greek form of his name.
Historical period
- c. 740 BC — Receives his call to prophesy 'in the year that king Uzziah died' (Isaiah 6).
- c. 735 BC — Prophesies to Ahaz during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis: 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive' (Isaiah 7:14).
- c. 701 BC — Counsels Hezekiah during Sennacherib's Assyrian invasion; the angel of the LORD smites the Assyrian camp (Isaiah 37; 2 Kings 19).
- c. 700-680 BC — Continues to prophesy under Hezekiah and, tradition holds, into the reign of Manasseh.
- c. 680 BC (traditional) — Martyred, tradition says, by being sawn asunder under Manasseh (a tradition referenced in Hebrews 11:37 and preserved in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah).
Scripture appearances
- Isaiah 6 (KJV) The call and vision: 'Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts.'
- Isaiah 7:14 (KJV) 'Behold, a virgin shall conceive.'
- Isaiah 9:6 (KJV) 'For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.'
- Isaiah 11 (KJV) The stem of Jesse; the wolf and the lamb.
- Isaiah 40:3 (KJV) 'The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD.'
- Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) 'They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.'
- Isaiah 53 (KJV) The Suffering Servant.
- Isaiah 61:1 (KJV) The verse Christ Himself read in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:17-21).
- Isaiah 66 (KJV) New heavens and new earth.
- 2 Kings 19-20 and 2 Chronicles 32 (KJV) Historical narratives of Isaiah's counsel to Hezekiah.
Connected Places
- Jerusalem — the city of his prophecy.
- The temple mount — the setting of his call (Isaiah 6).
Connected People
- Christ Jesus — the one his book most fully foreshadows.
- Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah — the four kings of his ministry (Isaiah 1:1).
- John the Baptist — the voice crying in the wilderness of Isaiah 40:3.
- Paul — who cites Isaiah more than any other Old Testament book.
Salvation history role
- The evangelist of the Old Testament — his prophecies of Immanuel, the child born, the Servant, and the new creation shape every Christian reading of Christ.
- The counsellor to kings who trusted the LORD (Hezekiah) against overwhelming military threats.
- The prophet whose call vision (Isaiah 6) has shaped Christian worship — the Sanctus is drawn from his words.
Christian tradition
- Read at every Advent and every Christmas season — Isaiah 7, 9, 11, 40, and 60 are the great Advent chapters.
- The Sanctus at every Christian Eucharist quotes Isaiah 6:3.
- Handel's Messiah (1741) draws its first half largely from Isaiah.
- The Jewish and Christian book of Isaiah is one of the greatest scrolls preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls (the great Isaiah scroll, 1QIsaᵃ, dating c. 125 BC).
Household reflection
Isaiah teaches the household to see holiness truly and to speak honestly. 'Woe is me!… for I am a man of unclean lips' (Isaiah 6:5) is the household's Advent prayer.
Read Isaiah 9:6-7 aloud on Christmas Eve. Read Isaiah 40:1-11 aloud on the second Sunday of Advent. Read Isaiah 53 aloud on Good Friday. These three household readings walk the family through Isaiah's whole Christ-witness.
Room connections
Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.
- Read (Library) — Read Isaiah 6, 9, 40, and 53 across the Christian year.
- Pray (Chapel) — The Sanctus at every Eucharist prays with Isaiah's cherubim.
- Family (Kitchen Table) — On Christmas Eve, read Isaiah 9:6-7 aloud at the table before Luke 2.
- Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus' (Charles Wesley, 1744) — an Advent hymn drawn from Isaiah.
- Learn (Workshop) — Study the four Servant Songs (Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52:13-53:12) as a unit.
Further reading
The Book of Isaiah in the KJV.
Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah (fifth century).
Handel, Messiah, part one.
Elsewhere in the Atlas
Continue Your Journey
Where else this page opens into the household library.