Isaiah
Prophet of Judah under Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah. He called Jerusalem’s kings to trust God when Assyria threatened, and the New Testament quotes his book for the birth, ministry and suffering of Jesus.
Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied in Jerusalem under four kings of Judah, from Uzziah to Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1). He dates the vision in which he was sent to the year Uzziah died (Isaiah 6:1–8). He confronted Ahaz during the attack by Syria and Israel (Isaiah 7:1–17), went naked and barefoot as a sign in the year the Assyrians took Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1–2), and told Hezekiah that Sennacherib would not enter the city (Isaiah 37:21–35). Chronicles names him as a writer of the acts of Uzziah and of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 26:22) (2 Chronicles 32:32).
The later chapters of the book speak to the exiles in Babylon and name Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28–45:1); see the Prophecy of Comfort and the Suffering Servant. In Luke, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:16–21), and in Acts Philip explains a passage of Isaiah to an Ethiopian official as speaking of Jesus (Acts 8:27–35).
In the timeline
- about 740 BC, estimated dateThe Call of Isaiah
In the year King Uzziah dies, Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned in the temple and is sent as a prophet to Judah. When Syria and Israel attack, he tells King Ahaz to trust God, gives the sign of Immanuel and speaks of a coming king from David’s line.
- 701 BC, firm dateHezekiah Withstands Sennacherib
Sennacherib of Assyria overruns Judah, takes Lachish and shuts Hezekiah up in Jerusalem. Hezekiah pays tribute, Isaiah promises that the city will not fall, and it is not taken. Assyrian annals and reliefs record the campaign from the other side.
- about 550 BC to 539 BC, estimated dateThe Prophecy of Comfort and the Suffering Servant
Isaiah 40–55 tells the exiles that their punishment is over, names Cyrus as the Lord’s anointed who will send them home, and speaks of a servant who suffers for the sins of many.