At a glance
| Name meaning | "the salvation of the Lord" (Hitchcock's); Easton gives the Hebrew Yesh'yahu, "the salvation of Jehovah" |
| Era / period | Judah under the Divided Monarchy, the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (8th c. BC; Easton dates his ministry c. 762–698 BC and beyond) |
| Role | Major prophet; royal counselor in national crises; author of the book bearing his name |
| Key books | Isaiah; also narrated in 2 Kings 18–20 and 2 Chronicles 26 + 32 |
| One-line significance | The prophet of "the Holy One of Israel" whose Messianic and Suffering-Servant oracles are quoted more in the New Testament than any other prophet, his book is sometimes called "the fifth Gospel" |
Who Isaiah was
Isaiah (id H3470A; Greek form G2268, rendered "Esaias" in the KJV) was a prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah, son of Amoz (Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 2:1). The people catalog catalogs 47 occurrences of his name across the canon. His wife is called "the prophetess" (Isaiah 8:3), and he had at least two sons whom he gave symbolic, sign-bearing names: Shear-jashub ("a remnant shall return," Isaiah 7:3) and Maher-shalal-hash-baz ("swift is the booty, speedy is the prey," Isaiah 8:1-3).
Easton notes that Isaiah was apparently of humble rank, yet he moved freely in the royal court, advising kings. His ministry spanned the reigns of Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1), Easton reckons a span of at least sixty-four years, beginning a few years before Uzziah's death and possibly reaching into the reign of Manasseh.
Scripture's portrait centers on his vision of God's holiness. His commission in the temple, seeing "the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up" while the seraphim cry "Holy, holy, holy" (Isaiah 6:1-3), frames his whole message, and the title "the Holy One of Israel" recurs throughout his book as his signature name for God.
Story arc (life, chronological + cited)
- Call vision (temple), "In the year that King Uzziah died" Isaiah sees the Lord enthroned, the seraphim crying "Holy, holy, holy" (Isaiah 6:1-4). Undone by his own uncleanness, his lips are touched with a live coal, and he answers the divine commission, "Here I am. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:5-8).
- The Syro-Ephraimite crisis (Ahaz), when Rezin of Syria and Pekah of Israel threaten Judah, Isaiah counsels King Ahaz to trust Yahweh and gives the Immanuel sign: "behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (ASV, Isaiah 7:14; context Isaiah 7:1-16). The Hebrew word rendered "virgin" here is almah, and how to translate it is genuinely disputed: some modern versions read "young woman" instead, and the choice is argued on lexical grounds by scholars on both sides. All six translations hosted here read "virgin," though they divide between "a virgin" (KJV, ASV) and "the virgin" (BSB, WEB, LSV, FBV), a difference a reader can check directly. Matthew 1:22-23 applies the verse to the birth of Jesus.
- Oracles against the nations, Isaiah delivers "burdens" against Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, Tyre, and others (Isaiah 13–23; cf. Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 20:1).
- A prophetic sign-act, Isaiah walks stripped and barefoot for three years as a sign against Egypt and Cush (Isaiah 20:2-3).
- Sennacherib's invasion (Hezekiah), when Assyria besieges Jerusalem, Isaiah encourages Hezekiah to resist and trust God; the Assyrian army is struck and withdraws (2 Kings 18–19; Isaiah 36–Isaiah 37).
- Hezekiah's illness + the sign of the shadow, Isaiah announces Hezekiah's recovery, and the shadow goes back ten steps as confirmation (2 Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38).
- The Babylonian envoys, Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah for showing his treasures to Babylon's emissaries and foretells the coming Babylonian exile (2 Kings 20:12-19; Isaiah 39).
- Servant + restoration oracles, the latter chapters comfort the exiles, name Cyrus as deliverer (Isaiah 44:28–Isaiah 45:1), and present the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13–Isaiah 53:12).
- Death, the time and manner are unrecorded in Scripture; Jewish tradition (which Easton notes) holds that Isaiah was martyred, sawn in two, in the heathen reaction under Manasseh, a tradition often connected to Hebrews 11:37, which says of the persecuted faithful that "they were sawed in two" (BSB).
Role & significance
Isaiah is the foremost of the "writing prophets." Easton divides his book into three movements: chapters 1–35 (largely prophetic, with Assyria as the threat, presenting the Messiah as a mighty Ruler-King), 36–39 (historical, the Hezekiah narratives), and 40–66 (with Babylon in view, presenting the Messiah as a suffering, lowly victim). His twin emphases are God's holiness and judgment against sin, and the hope of a coming Messianic king and Suffering Servant.
The New Testament quotes Isaiah extensively and applies his oracles directly to Jesus: the Immanuel sign (Isaiah 7:14 → Matthew 1:23), the Galilean light (Isaiah 9:1-2 → Matthew 4:14-16), the messenger preparing the way (Isaiah 40:3 → Matthew 3:3), Jesus reading the Servant-anointing text in Nazareth (Isaiah 61:1-2 → Luke 4:17-21), and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 applied to Christ's passion (John 12:38; Acts 8:28-35; quoted across the Gospels). The Ethiopian eunuch is reading Isaiah 53 when Philip explains the gospel to him (Acts 8:28-35).
Key relationships
| Person | Relationship | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Amoz | Father | Isaiah 1:1; 2 Kings 19:2 |
| The "prophetess" | Wife | Isaiah 8:3 |
| Shear-jashub | Son (symbolic name: "a remnant shall return") | Isaiah 7:3 |
| Maher-shalal-hash-baz | Son (symbolic name) | Isaiah 8:1-3 |
| Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah | Kings of Judah he served under | Isaiah 1:1 |
| Ahaz | King counseled in the Syro-Ephraimite crisis | Isaiah 7:1-16 |
| Hezekiah | King counseled during Sennacherib's siege + illness | Isaiah 37–Isaiah 39 |
Key places
| Place | Significance | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem / the temple | Site of the throne vision and his ministry to Judah's kings | Isaiah 6:1; Isaiah 1:1 |
| Judah | The kingdom to which he prophesied | Isaiah 1:1 |
| Assyria / Babylon | The empires whose judgment + role he foretold | Isaiah 10:5-34; Isaiah 13:1; Isaiah 39:6 |
| Egypt | Object of a "burden" and his three-year sign-act | Isaiah 19–Isaiah 20 |
Key passages
| Passage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Isaiah 6:1-8 | The throne vision; "Holy, holy, holy"; "Here I am. Send me!" |
| Isaiah 7:14 | The Immanuel sign given to Ahaz |
| Isaiah 9:6-7 | "For unto us a child is born" (BSB), the Messianic king |
| Isaiah 11:1-9 | The shoot from the stump of Jesse; the peaceable kingdom |
| Isaiah 40:1-11 | "Comfort my people"; the voice preparing the way |
| Isaiah 52:13–Isaiah 53:12 | The Suffering Servant, "pierced for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5) |
| Isaiah 61:1-2 | The Servant's anointing, read by Jesus in Nazareth (Luke 4:17-21) |
Contested / interpretive points
Single vs. multiple authorship ("Deutero-Isaiah"). The unity of the book is the long-standing scholarly debate. Easton's entry engages it directly, summarizing the critical case and arguing against it; this reference presents the positions side by side.
| View | Position | Held by |
|---|---|---|
| Single authorship (unity) | The whole book is the work of the 8th-c. prophet Isaiah son of Amoz; stylistic differences reflect different subjects + later vantage, not different authors | Traditional Jewish + Christian view; Easton's stated conclusion; most confessional / conservative scholarship |
| Two-Isaiah ("Deutero-Isaiah") | Chapters 40–66 come from an anonymous prophet near the close of the Babylonian exile; the theory traces to J. C. Koppe (late 18th c.) | Mainstream critical scholarship |
| Three-or-more authors | Chapters 1–39 ("First Isaiah"), 40–55 ("Second Isaiah"), 56–66 ("Third Isaiah"), plus additions (e.g., chs. 13; 24–27) from still other hands | Much 19th–21st-c. critical scholarship |
Easton's chief arguments for unity: when the Septuagint was made (c. 250 BC) the whole book was already ascribed to Isaiah son of Amoz; the New Testament quotes the "disputed" chapters as Isaiah's words (Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4-6; John 12:38; Acts 8:28; Romans 10:16-21); and the language, imagery, and Palestinian local colour are consistent throughout. The critical case rests on the naming of Cyrus c. 170 years in advance (Isaiah 44:28–Isaiah 45:1), the exile-as-present standpoint of the later chapters, and the difference in style.
Identity of the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53). A distinct interpretive question.
| View | Position | Held by |
|---|---|---|
| Messianic / christological | The Servant is the Messiah; the New Testament reads it of Jesus (Acts 8:32-35; 1 Peter 2:22-25) | Christian interpretation broadly; the NT writers |
| Corporate Israel | The Servant is the nation Israel (or its faithful remnant) personified | Much of Jewish interpretation + many critical scholars |
| An individual figure | The Servant is a particular prophet or righteous sufferer of the exilic era | Some critical scholars |
This reference states the plain facts of Isaiah's life where the text is clear, and lays the authorship and Servant-identity questions out side by side, endorsing none.