Introduction

Prophets and Prophecies

Name. Prophets were called among the Hebrews nabi, that is, “speaker.” This word has as its root a verb preserved also now in the Arabic language, – nabaa to give tidings. Supporting the correctness of such understanding of the term nabi are the corresponding Assyrian expression nabu to call, and also the Ethiopian nababa to speak. But if this epithet “speakers” (nebiim) was given only to certain individuals, then by it were understood, evidently, special people who deserved by their utterances exclusive attention and respect; in a word, people sent by God to announce His will. Thus, the word nabi must designate a messenger of divine revelation. The same sense is held by the term of the Greek Bible – prophetes, by which the LXX render the Hebrew expression nabi. Besides this, the Hebrews called prophets roéh – seer, chozéh – perceiver. These two names point to the fact that what the prophet announces was received by him in a state of vision or special rapture (see Num 24:3-4 and following). But since the prophet’s gaze was directed also to the external life of the Hebrew state, even to its future, prophets were sometimes called zophim, that is, watchers (Jer 6:17; Isa 56:10), who were to warn their people of the danger threatening them. Prophets were also called shepherds (Zech 10:2; Zech 11:3), who were to care for the sheep entrusted to them – the Israelites, men of God, and others.

Essence of Prophecy. If prophets were to announce to people the revelations they received from God, then, evidently, God entered with them into close internal communion. He had to speak with them and they – with God, and God, indeed, comes to them and speaks with them as with His friends about what He intends to accomplish, explaining to them His plans. In this consists the true essence of prophecy. Therefore already Abraham is called a prophet and friend of God (Gen 20:7; Jas 2:23). “Can I,” asks God, “hide from Abraham what I intend to do?” (Gen 18:17).

And other patriarchs God calls “His prophets” (Ps 104:14-15). If prophets therefore come forth as teachers and guides of their people, then they speak not their own convictions and thoughts, but what they heard from God. They themselves clearly were conscious that through them God Himself was speaking. Therefore among them “God spoke” appears frequently in their prophetic utterances. God put His words into their mouths (Jer 15:19-20), and they speak with assurance about their commission by God (2 Sam 23:2; Dan 2:27). They apply to themselves mainly therefore the name roeh – seer, which much more strongly denotes the divine origin of prophetic inspiration than the other word – chozeh, which was sometimes used to denote false prophets, so to speak, self-deluded men, supposing that God spoke through them (Ezek 13:2). 1

Various States of Inspiration. Although all prophets testify: “The Lord spoke to me” or “thus says the Lord,” nevertheless among prophets there was a difference in relation to prophetic self-consciousness and in God’s relation to them.

a) A special place among Old Testament prophets belongs to the prophet Moses, with whom “God spoke face to face” (Num 12:8). The service of Moses as lawgiver, as well as judge, priest, leader, and prophet, was also extraordinarily exalted (Deut 34:10). He in a normal, waking state received revelations from God. The Lord spoke with him as friend speaks with friend, directly expressing His commands. Samuel also heard the clear voice of God, but saw no image in doing so (1 Sam 3 and following). However, the uncovered glory of God was not seen even by Moses (Exod 33:20).

b) A much lower form of inspiration was when God spoke to the prophets in vision or in sleep (Num 22:8-9). In a state of vision, rapture, or ecstasy the human spirit is raised above ordinary boundaries of space and time, above all temporal life, and lives in soul in the world beyond or is transported into the distant future (Acts 22:17; Rev 1:10). What he sees or hears in this state he can afterwards communicate to others, arranging all he has heard in a certain order and giving it a more or less coherent form.

c) Sometimes inspiration deprives a man of will and he speaks not what he wished to say, or does not fully understand his own prophecies. Thus Balaam blessed the Hebrews when he wished to curse them. He even fell to the ground in a swoon when the Spirit of God came upon him (Num 24:3). King Saul was in a like passive state of inspiration once (1 Sam 19:24).

Quite different it was with Samuel, Isaiah, and other prophets. In them the human spirit merely imperceptibly raised the tempo of its life and activity under the action of the Spirit of God. Their spiritual activity, thanks to this action of the Spirit of God, was enlivened, new moods appeared in their souls, new horizons opened to their minds, and they could still distinguish what properly came to their souls from above and what was the result of their own spiritual activity during the receiving of revelation (Isa 6:5; Jer 1:7; 2 Pet 1:20). Here the Divine action relies more on the natural individual spiritual faculties of man – on the education he received (cf. Dan 9:2 and Jer 25:11), hence prophets sometimes encounter almost verbatim repetitions of earlier, certainly to them known, prophecies (cf. Isa 2:2-4 and Mic 4:1). However, erudition was not a necessary condition for receiving Divine revelation, as the example of the prophet from simple shepherds – Amos – proves (Amos 7:14-15). But all prophets had to maintain complete obedience to the will of God (Mic 3:8) and always care for the turning of the people of Israel to the same path of obedience to the Almighty.

Peculiarities of Prophetic Vision.

a) Prophets often received revelation in the form of visions, images, parables, symbols, which sometimes are quite difficult to understand and for which therefore corresponding explanations were given (Amos 7:7-8; Dan 8 and following; Zech 1:9). Therefore the prophets themselves often speak in images, perform symbolic acts. In doing so, traits of their personality are reflected in their utterances, and they themselves take an active part in giving the revelation a certain form. Symbolic acts were sometimes performed by them in reality, sometimes the prophets relate them as events of their inner life (Jer 19 and following; Isa 20 and following; Hos 1 and following; Ezek 12 and following).

b) Prophets saw future events, which they foretold, as if they were happening before them or even already as past. Thus, Isaiah speaks of the death of Christ as though he were a witness to the sufferings of Christ (Isa 63 and following). Hence they in their prophecies often use for denoting future events the past tense, which is therefore called the past prophetic (perfectum propheticum).

c) Prophets look perspectively, that is, all objects in their vision appear to them arranged on one picture in general outline, although they might be objects relating to different epochs; however, they still are able to distinguish what is in the foreground of the scene opening before them and what – in the distance, far away. Although the deliverance from the Babylonian captivity and messianic salvation are often united in one picture, nevertheless the prophets do not merge them one with the other, and the former they present only as a shadow of the latter.

d) Each prophet saw only parts of the great future awaiting mankind, and therefore prophetic vision had the character of fragmentariness (1 Cor 13:9), and one prophet supplements another.

Purpose of Prophetic Service. Prophecy represented the most vital element in the general plan of divine economy and was the most prominent expression of God’s communion with His people. In the law of Moses was given a firm foundation for the revelation of Divine will, but if this law was to enter into the life of the people, it was necessary for God continually to testify of Himself as the King of Israel. And for this purpose prophets were sent by God. They continually maintained in Israel the consciousness that it was a theocratic state. They were to guard the law, explain the spirit and power of his commandments (Deut 10:16; Deut 30 and following), discuss phenomena of social life in Israel from the point of view of the law, watch over the behavior of kings and priests, who often departed from the path laid down for them in the law of Moses, and, announcing the decisions of the will of God concerning the future state of the people, generally revive the theocratic spirit. 2

Therefore prophets were called only from the midst of the chosen people (Deut 18:18). Their chief task was to establish in the people faith in the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. Christ and His kingdom represent the central point to which the attention of the prophets is directed.

Content of Prophecies. Prophets in their prophecies depict the history of the kingdom of God as it existed and was to exist in Israel and in all humanity, paying special attention to the consummation of this kingdom. They do not stop in this case only at general outlines of the future, but enter into detailed and thorough description of particular circumstances intimately connected with the history of the kingdom of God. A prophet in Bethel calls the name of King Josiah three hundred years before his birth (1 Sam 13:2), Ezekiel gives special specific directions on the fate awaiting Jerusalem (Ezek 24:2), Daniel foresees details of future events which were to take place in the life of the Jews (Dan 11:10-11).

Prophets and Soothsayers. From what has been said, it is sufficiently clear that true prophets were quite different from the soothsayers known also among the heathen. Between prophecy and divination there is a twofold essential difference. First, divination relates exclusively only to the present time, while prophecy extends to the last boundary of history, to the end of days, as the prophets expressed it. Each prophet even evaluates the present by its relation to the final goal. Thanks to this, all prophecies form one indivisible whole. The utterances of heathen oracles represent a series of independent one from another sayings; they are like words without logical connection following one after another in the columns of a lexicon. On the contrary, all Israelite prophecies are connected with one another and supplement each other. Then pagan oracles spoke only of circumstances of private or national life, while Israelite prophecy from the beginning encompassed in its scope all humanity.

Certainty of the Divine Calling of Prophets. Prophets proved the truth of their calling by God through great miracles which they performed by the power of God. Besides this, one must take into account in this case the purity of their teaching and life (Deut 13:2; 1 Sam 10:6; cf. Matt 24:24). Particular gifts of miracle-working were possessed by Moses, Elijah, and Elisha. The prophets themselves pointed to the fulfillment of their prophecies as proof of the truth of their election by God Himself. The prophet Jeremiah says: “If a prophet prophesied peace, then only when the word of that prophet came true was he recognized... as a prophet whom God had truly sent” (Jer 28:9).

Language of the Prophets. Since the prophets were not unwilling and unconscious organs of the Spirit of God, but preserved self-determination and their characteristic individual properties in setting forth the revelations they received, it is clear that the language of the prophets bears various degrees of perfection, and from simple prose speech not infrequently reaches the high stages of oratory and poetry. Amos, a shepherd, borrows his images and pictures from rural life, Daniel speaks as a statesman. Earlier prophets speak in pure Hebrew, later ones more or less use Chaldean or Aramaic speech. Special elegance and purity of speech distinguish the book of the prophet Isaiah, whom some therefore called the “king of prophets.” Many of the prophets’ utterances have the form of actual poems, preserving at the same time all the properties of Hebrew poetry.

History of Prophecy. If already the antediluvian patriarchs were, in a general sense, prophets (for example, Enoch – see Jude 1:14-15), if already in the time of Moses prophecy had its representatives (Miriam and the seventy elders – Num 11:16), if even in the troubled time of the Judges here and there flickered the fire of prophetic inspiration (Judg 2:1; Judg 5:1; 1 Sam 2:27), then from Samuel (this, after the period of Moses, is already the second period in the development of prophecy) prophecy enters a period of true flourishing, and prophets appear among Israel in very great numbers. Thanks to the energy of Samuel, theocratic life in Israel revived, and at the same time prophetic inspiration manifested itself in all its force, and prophets or disciples of the prophets formed themselves into whole corporations under the management of the great prophet Samuel. Prophets, beginning with Samuel, exerted enormous influence on the entire course of the life of the Israelite people, and the kings of Israel, in general, were obedient to their suggestions. From the time of the division of the Hebrew kingdom into two (the third period), energetic prophet Ahijah of Shiloh stands at the head of the prophets, and the prophets, especially in the Israelite kingdom where there was neither lawful royal dynasty nor lawful priesthood, acquire enormous significance. Many efforts were also expended by them in the struggle with false prophets, whose appearance falls on the time of the Israelite king Ahab and who led the kingdom to destruction by their flattering counsels. Prophets, such as Elijah and Elisha, as well as the prophet-writers of this period, strove in every way to awaken theocratic consciousness in the Hebrew people, but the prophets of the next, fourth period, on the contrary, begin to speak of the coming fall of the theocratic kingdom and of its future transformation into a messianic kingdom, thereby proving on the one hand that God justly punishes violators of His law, and on the other hand comforting believers in the heavy trials to which they were subjected in those times. Finally, in the last, fifth – post-exilic period – the prophets act on the one hand toward the restoration of the internal and external life of the theocracy, and on the other – direct their eyes to the future transformation of this life.

Significance of Prophetic Books. The writings of the prophets are important already because of the abundance of instructional material contained in them. In them we find magnificent depictions of the nature and attributes of God, His almighty power, holiness, omniscience, goodness, etc. They give us the possibility to penetrate with our gaze into the invisible world and into the mysterious depths of the human heart. Depicting the impiety and hardening of Israel, the prophets as it were show before us a mirror in which we can see the reflection of our own life as well. But especially important are the books of the prophets for us Christians because in them we find prophecies about the Jews and other nations that have been fulfilled with perfect accuracy, and mainly predictions about Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself pointed to prophecies as the surest testimony to Him and His activity (John 5:39). Finally, prophecies are important for us also because often in them is detailed exposition of what is pointed to in the New Testament only by hints, brief notes. So, for example, chapter 53 of the book of Isaiah explains to us the true cause and purpose of the sufferings of Christ, and also gives explanation to the words of John the Baptist about Christ: “behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29)

Distribution of Prophetic Books in the Bible. There were 16 prophets in total who wrote down their utterances in books. The first four – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel – are called great, and the remaining 12 – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – minor, of course, in comparison with the relatively small size of their books. However, the book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible was placed in the number of writings (ketubim), and the books of the 12 minor prophets formed one book. The prophetic books in our Bible are distributed not according to the order of their origin, but probably according to volume. The chronological order of the prophetic books can be established as follows. The earliest prophet was Obadiah, prophesying about 885 B.C., after him follow Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. These are the so-called pre-exilic prophets. Then come the prophets of the period of exile – Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel – and finally the post-exilic prophets – Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (about 427 B.C.). 3

About the Book of the Prophet Isaiah

1. Personality of the Prophet. The name of the prophet – jeschajehu in translation from Hebrew means: the Lord effects salvation or, in short, salvation of the Lord. The LXX translators render this Hebrew name with the expression Ησαιας. In later biblical writings this Hebrew expression is found already in the abbreviated form jeschaeja.

Who was the father of Isaiah, called in the inscription of the book Amoz, is unknown. Isaiah, as is evident from his own book, lived in Jerusalem, and this circumstance in a significant way explains the familiarity which the prophet displays regarding events of the capital’s life. The prophet had his own house, was married, and had children. His wife he calls a prophetess (Isa 8:3). His children – sons – with their names symbolically foretold the judgment of God which was to befall the Judean and Israelite kingdom (Isa 7:3; Isa 8:3), while the name of the prophet himself served as a symbol of the salvation awaiting the chosen of God.

Isaiah lived very long and his activity as a prophet was prolonged. Beginning his service, at least at twenty years of age, in the year of the death of King Uzziah (according to the old dating this was 759 B.C., according to the newer one based on the study of Assyrian monuments – 740 B.C.), he appears last as an active participant about 701 B.C., so that his prophetic service continued no less than 40 years, and perhaps longer. The Bible says nothing of his death, but the Talmudic tradition, accepted also by the Church Fathers, testifies that Isaiah was put to death by martyr’s death by command of the impious king of Judea Manasseh (an allusion to this can be seen in the prophet Jeremiah at Jer 2:30).

As for the spiritual appearance of the prophet, this appearance strikes us with its greatness. Isaiah is fully convinced that the Lord Himself called him to his exalted service (chapter 6) and, in virtue of this consciousness, everywhere displays the most devoted obedience to the will of God and unconditional trust in the Existent One. Therefore he is free from all influences of human fear, and the interests of people he always sets lower than the requirements of eternal divine truth. With the greatest courage he openly tells Ahaz his condemnation of all his policy (chapter 7), sharply rebukes the minister-opportunist Shebna (Isa 22 and following), as well as other Judean rulers, priests, prophets, and the entire people (chapters 2, 3, 5, 28, and others). Openly and fearlessly he criticizes the policy of the Judean government under King Hezekiah (chapters 30–32) and is not afraid to even announce the approach of death to the king himself (chapter 38), and then to the same king who became gravely ill, he prophesies with assurance of speedy recovery. Not fearing accusations of lack of patriotism, he predicts to Hezekiah the taking away of all his descendants into Babylonian captivity. And his words, breathing in themselves the power of conviction, acquired ever greater and greater significance with the passage of time, because some of his prophecies were fulfilled even while he continued his prophetic activity, and also because his words were accompanied by miraculous signs (Isa 38:7).

2. The Epoch of Isaiah. Isaiah was called to his service in the year of the death of the Judean king Uzziah, who, according to newer calculations based on the study of Assyrian monuments, reigned from 780 to 740 B.C. This pious king, with God’s help, succeeded in establishing good order in his small state, and in general ruled so prosperously that the Judean kingdom acquired important significance among other states of Asia Minor, especially thanks to its successes in wars with Philistines, Arabs, and other peoples. The people of Judea under Uzziah lived almost as well as under Solomon, although, however, Judea was sometimes visited in this time by certain misfortunes, like an earthquake (Isa 5:25), and although the king himself in the last years of his life was struck by leprosy, sent upon him because he showed pretensions to performing priestly service. At the end of his reign Uzziah made his son Jotham his co-ruler (2 Sam 15:5; 2 Chr 26:21).

Jotham (according to 2 Sam 15:32-38 and 2 Chr 26:23) ruled the Judean kingdom 16 years – 11 years as co-ruler of his father and more than 4 years – independently (740–736). And he was a pious man and fortunate in his enterprises, although already under him the Syrians and Ephraimites began to plot against Judea. But the Judean people under Jotham, by their departures from the law of God, began to bring upon themselves the wrath of God, and the prophet Isaiah began to announce to his countrymen the punishment from God awaiting them (chapter 6). Evidently, the external successes achieved by Jotham not only did not contribute to the moral improvement of the people, but on the contrary, as Moses had predicted (Deut 32), instilled in this people a feeling of pride and gave them the opportunity to live a carefree and dissolute life. To this time belong the utterances of Isaiah contained in chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5 of his book.

After Jotham, Ahaz ascended the throne (2 Sam 16:1 and 2 Chr 28:1), who reigned 10 years (736–727). In character, he was not like his father and turned to idolatry. For this the Lord, according to the writers of the Fourth Book of Kings and Second Chronicles, sent against him enemies, of which the most dangerous were the Syrians and Israelites, who formed an alliance among themselves, to which the Edomites also joined (2 Sam 16 and following, 2 Chr 28 and following). The matter came to such a point that many Judeans, subjects of Ahaz, were captured by enemies and together with their wives and children were moved to Samaria: only the prophet Oded convinced the Israelites to release the Judeans from captivity. Besides Edomites, Syrians, and Israelites, Philistines also attacked Judea during the reign of Ahaz (2 Chr 28:18). Under this king Isaiah spoke the utterances contained in chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 (verses 1–4), 14 (verses 28–32), and 17, as well as, perhaps, in chapters 1 and 10, verses 5–12. In these utterances Isaiah condemned the policy of Ahaz, who turned for help against his enemies to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser (or Tiglath-Pileser III). He predicted that these Assyrians in the end would plot to subject the Judean kingdom to themselves, and that only the Messiah – Immanuel – would humble their pride and crush their power. Regarding the internal life of the Judean state under Ahaz, Isaiah condemned in the rulers the absence of justice, and in the people – the increased dissolute morality.

Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, (2 Sam 18– 2 Sam 20 and 2 Chr 29– 2 Chr 32:1), ruled the state of Judea 29 years (from 727 to 698 B.C.). Hezekiah was a very pious and God-fearing ruler (2 Sam 18:3) and concerned himself with the restoration of true worship according to the statutes of Moses (2 Sam 18:4). Although at first he was surrounded by people who understood little of the essence of the theocratic organization of the Hebrew state and inclined the king to enter into unions with foreign rulers, afterwards, under the influence of the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah became firm in the conviction that the sole strong support for his state was God Himself. At the time of the invasion of Sennacherib upon Judea, Hezekiah sends messengers to Isaiah for counsel, and the prophet comforts the king with the promise of divine help. The utterances of Isaiah fall in the time of Hezekiah, contained in chapters 22, 28–33, as well as chapters 36–39, and finally, perhaps, the entire second section of the book of Isaiah (chapters 40–66). Besides this, prophecies concerning foreign nations in chapters 15, 16, 18–20 fall to this time, and perhaps in 21 (verses 11–17) and 23. To the very end of Hezekiah’s reign belong the utterances contained in chapters 13, 14, 21 (verses 1–10), 24–27, 34, and 35.

Let us add a few more words about the peoples which exerted the most influence on the life of the Judean and Israelite state in the days of Isaiah. In this respect Asshur stands first. In the days of Uzziah, king of Judea, the first king of a new dynasty, Pul, ascended the Assyrian throne. This king devastated the kingdom of Israel. The same kingdom was attacked by the mighty Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III under Ahaz, and in the days of Hezekiah the Assyrian kingdom reached the highest degree of prosperity, and King Shalmaneser completely destroyed the kingdom of Israel, and his successor Sennacherib made attempts to subject to himself also the kingdom of Judea. But already in the last years of Sennacherib the power of Asshur began to fade. Esarhaddon, true, succeeded in suppressing the uprising in Babylon and subjected to himself also Judea, taking its king Manasseh into captivity, but the days of the Assyrian monarchy were evidently already numbered, and about 630 B.C. Cyaxares the Mede in alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylon took the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, and Assyria after this became a Median province.

As for the other great power of that time, Egypt, the Jews for the most part were in alliance with it and hoped for its help when they began to dream of liberation from subjection to the Assyrians, who mostly troubled the Judean kings with demands for tribute. Egypt, however, at that time was already weakened and exhausted. In those days Egypt was weakened by internal strife, and in the epoch of Isaiah’s activity, three dynasties changed on the Egyptian throne – the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. In their wars with Assyria over disputed Syrian possessions, the Egyptian kings of the so-called Ethiopian dynasty (from 725 to 605 B.C.) were first defeated, but then the mighty Egyptian king Tirhakah dealt a powerful blow to Sennacherib and restored the greatness of Egypt, although for a short time: the successor of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, entered with his armies into Egypt, and soon the Ethiopian dynasty was also overthrown.

A rather important power in the epoch of Isaiah was represented by the kingdom of Syria with its main city, Damascus. This kingdom struggled all the time with the kingdom of Assyria. The Assyrian kings, especially Tiglath-Pileser III, harshly punished the Syrian rulers who gathered allies for themselves from among the rulers subject to the Assyrian power of Asia Minor, but in 732 B.C. Syria was finally annexed to Assyria as its province. Known also was the Chaldean kingdom with its capital Babylon. This kingdom, in the epoch of Isaiah, was in vassal relations to Assyria, and the kings of Babylon were considered only as viceroys of the Assyrian king. However, these kings continually tried to restore to the Chaldean state its former independence and raised the banner of revolt against Assyrian rule, drawing into this also some other Asian kings, for example, the Judean Hezekiah, and in the end they succeeded in achieving their goal.

As for other peoples who came into contact with the Jews in the days of Isaiah – the Tyrians, Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and others – they, by their weakness, could not cause particularly serious harm to the Jews, but on the other hand offered them little help as allies against Assyria.

It should be noted also that in the epoch of Isaiah the Judean and Israelite kingdom were almost always in hostile relations with each other, and this, of course, could not but be reflected in the sad fate which first befell the kingdom of Israel, and then also the Judean kingdom.

3. The Book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah consists of several separate collections of his utterances. Who finally grouped the prophet’s utterances into these collections – cannot be said. All the prophet’s utterances are arranged not in strictly chronological, but rather in a systematic order. By content, the book of Isaiah can be divided into two parts. The first – chapters 1 to 39 – is pervaded predominantly by a spirit of denunciation, the second – chapters 40 to 66 – contains in itself almost exclusively consolations to the Israelite people in view of the Babylonian captivity awaiting them.

In the first part the prophet reproaches the Hebrew people for their stubbornness with which they turned away from fulfilling the will of God, mainly in the days of Ahaz. The prophet depicts with sharp strokes before his listeners their ingratitude in relation to their Benefactor – the Lord, their imitation of the heathen in impiety and even idolatry which they committed (Isa 2:20; Isa 17:8; Isa 30:22; Isa 31:7), unbelief in Divine revelation (Isa 29 and following), superficial, external fulfillment of the requirements of the law of Moses combined with complete immorality (Isa 1 and following), lack of honesty and justice in relations with one’s neighbor, absence of mutual love and mercy toward the poor. The prophet regards the great ones of the world with particular strictness, those who openly allow themselves to violate the requirements of divine truth (Isa 1 and following; Isa 5:22-23; Isa 10:1; Isa 32:5-7; Isa 33:1-5). The policy of Judean rulers, who saw all salvation of the Judean state in unions with powerful heathen powers, also finds here sharp condemnation (Isa 8 and following; Isa 30:1 and following; Isa 31 and following).

In view of the corruption of the Israelite people, the prophet threatens them with the judgment of God, whose executors were to be heathen peoples, foretells the devastation of the land of Israel and the exile of the Jews from it (Isa 6 and following; Isa 5:13; Isa 17:9), and speaks fairly clearly also about the taking of Jerusalem by enemies (Isa 2:12; Isa 3:8 and following; Isa 22:5; Isa 30 and following; Isa 32 and following 19), about the speedy fall of Samaria (chapter 28) and about the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (Isa 39 and following).

But on the other hand, even in this part of the book of Isaiah, much gladness for the heart of the Israelite is said in prophecies, and here and there through the darkness of the future bright perspectives open up for Israel. The prophet depicts how the land of Israel arises from the deep humiliation into which it was cast after the invasion of the Assyrians. Here a new Ruler of the Israelite people is depicted in the distance – the Messiah. He will be a descendant of David according to the flesh, but God by His essential nature. He will extend His power over the entire universe. But even in the near future Israel, according to the prophet, can be granted the mercies of God. Help from God, Isaiah offered first to Ahaz, and then to Hezekiah – to both on the occasion of enemy invasions (Isa 8 and following; Isa 10:26-34; Isa 14:24-27; Isa 17:12-14; Isa 18 and following, Isa 39 and following; Isa 30:27-33; Isa 31:8 and following; Isa 33 and following; Isa 37 and following). The Lord will guard Zion – this His holy mountain, if only Israel preserves faithfulness to the Almighty (chapters 28, 33). First Zion will undergo devastation, but then will rise in glory and all nations will hasten to this mountain, recognizing its right to universal leadership (Isa 2 and following; Isa 25 and following).

In particular, the first part of the book of Isaiah contains the following sections. Chapters 1–6 enclose a broad introduction, relating to the entire book, consisting of three separate parts: a) chapter 1; b) chapters 2–5; and c) chapter 6. Then from chapter 7 to 12 go the utterances of Isaiah forming the first section of the book, in which the prophet clarifies the relations of Israel to Asshur in the reign of Ahaz and points to the outcome of the friendship that began between the Assyrians and Ahaz.

The second section of the first part encompasses prophecies of Isaiah concerning foreign nations. At the head of these prophecies stands the prophecy about Babylon, as containing a general characterization of God’s judgments over the pagan world, “as depicting the fate of the most terrible devastator of the Judean state” (Isa 13– Isa 14:23). To this prophecy is joined a brief prophecy about the fate of Asshur, who was so terrible for the contemporaries of the prophet Isaiah, and then follow prophecies about the Philistines, Moab, Syria, Ethiopia, and Egypt (Isa 14– Isa 20:6), then again the prophecy about Babylon with the addition of prophecies about Edom, Arabia, and Jerusalem (chapters 21–22), which are joined in one collection, probably because all four have a symbolic character, for which reason they are called by some commentators libellus emblematicus. A conclusion to the prophecies concerning foreign nations is the prophecy about Tyre (chapter 23). A kind of finale to this collection of prophecies concerning foreign nations is presented by chapters 24–27, where there is discussion of the last judgment over the world, of its destruction, of the resurrection of the dead, and of the completion of the salvation promised to Israel. This last section is sometimes called by commentators libellus apocalipticus.

The third section of the first part depicts the relations of Israel to Asshur in the days of Hezekiah (chapters 28–33). Here are five utterances, each of which begins with an exclamation: woe! (goj). These utterances are arranged in chronological order: they convey the thought that the salvation of Israel depends not on union with Egypt, but on the Lord alone.

The fourth section encompasses chapters 34–35, which are a finale to the first part. They contain, on the one hand, a depiction of God’s judgment over heaven and earth, and on the other – sketch the picture of Israel’s salvation, which, first of all, will consist in the return of Israel from captivity. The fifth section – the historical narratives of chapters 36–39, which repeat almost word for word the narratives of the Fourth Book of Kings (2 Sam 18– 2 Sam 20:19).

The second part of the book of Isaiah forms one well-constructed and complete whole. It is divided into three sections, and in each section are contained nine chapters. In the first two sections – nine utterances each, in the last – five. The subject of all these 27 chapters is the epoch of Israel’s and then all humanity’s redemption, beginning with Israel’s deliverance from Babylonian captivity and extending until the time of the Last Judgment over the world.

In the first section (chapters 40–48) the prophet depicts mainly the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity and the cause of this deliverance – King Cyrus, touching, in places, also the moral deliverance of Israel from the dominion of sin, thanks to the intercession of the meek Messenger of the Almighty – the Messiah.

In the second section (chapters 49–57) the central point to which the prophet’s attention is directed is the personality of the Messiah, whose sufferings for the sins of people the prophet depicts here with striking power and clarity.

In the third section (chapters 58–66) the prophet depicts the glorification of this Great Sufferer. The Messiah here appears as high priest, king, and prophet all at the same time. He executes judgment over the world and creates new, better life.

From what has been said, it is clear in what consist the peculiarities of Isaiah’s prophetic vision. If Isaiah, on the one hand, very thoroughly treats all phenomena contemporary with him of the internal and external life of his people, then on the other hand, his gaze with the same interest is directed toward the distant future, which for him is not separated by any impassable boundary from the present. Both present and future appear to him as one, continuously developing whole, and all similar relations and phenomena both of current and future life appear to his prophetic vision as if reflecting at the same time on one vast screen of light. For the prophet in his vision there are no time distinctions. Great spaces vanish before him which in reality separate one phenomenon from another. His gaze is quickly transported from the most distant event of future time to circumstances of the near future, and from there – again into the distance of the future, and if this is not, however, the exclusive peculiarity of Isaiah’s prophetic vision, then in any case these characteristic features appear in him with particular force and brilliance.

It should be noted that Isaiah in his prophecies sometimes made exact determinations concerning the time at which this or that prophecy of his was to be fulfilled (see for example, Isa 16:14; Isa 37:30; Isa 38:5). His utterance everywhere breathes power and is distinguished by clarity and variety of oratorical expressions and methods of proof. He speaks with equal mastery in the tone of a wise teacher as well as in the language of a poet. His prophecies about the Messiah strike with the magnificence of their images, his complaints and denunciations – are overwhelming, his exhortations – in the highest degree convincing, his threats – powerful. Isaiah employs every kind of verbal turn and method: alliteration, similar-sounding words, paronomasia, repetitions, and so forth. Therefore Isaiah occupies first place among the prophet-writers. Jesus, son of Sirach, calls him a great prophet (Sir 48:25) who with great spirit foresaw the distant future and announced for ages to come what would be (ibid. verses 27–28).

Eusebius of Caesarea calls him a great and wonderful prophet, the greatest prophet (Demonstr. evang. II, 4), the blessed Theodoret – the most divine, Isidore of Pelusium – the most discerning and wisest of prophets. The future events of Messianic times Isaiah always prefigures in expressions corresponding to their exalted significance (the birth of the Savior from the Virgin – in chapter 7, His sufferings and death – in chapter 63). Therefore the blessed Jerome calls Isaiah not only a prophet but an evangelist and apostle. Cyril of Alexandria and the blessed Augustine speak of him in the same way. In view of such significance of the book of Isaiah, it was given first place among the prophetic books both in the present Hebrew Bible and among the LXX.

4. Authenticity of the Book. Regarding the origin of the book of Isaiah, disagreement has long existed in biblical scholarship. The Jews of the Talmudic era acknowledged that the utterances contained in the book indeed belong to Isaiah, but that they were collected and written down by his contemporaries – the so-called friends of King Hezekiah. The Talmudic tradition, undoubtedly, expresses precisely this thought when it says that the book of the prophet Isaiah was written by the association of friends of Hezekiah (Baba Batha 15a). But this opinion cannot be agreed with in view of the fact that there was no necessity for the prophet, a very educated man, to entrust the writing and collection of his utterances to outsiders and perhaps those ill-disposed toward the prophet because of the denunciations he made against their short-sighted policy. Moreover, besides the Old Testament testimony of the book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach (Sir 48:25-28), we have in the New Testament a clear indication that in the days of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ the book of Isaiah was recognized among the Jews as his work (Luke 4:17-22; Matt 15:7-9; Luke 22:37). The holy apostles expressed the same view of the book of Isaiah (Acts 8:28; Acts 28:25; Rom 9:27). Such an attitude toward the book of Isaiah was established also among the earliest Church writers, Church Fathers and teachers.

But from the end of the 17th century some biblical critics began to point to insertions made in the book of Isaiah by a later hand. Then gradually doubts began to be expressed concerning the authenticity of individual whole chapters of the book and even entire sections, of which the most suspicion was aroused by the entire second part of the book (chapters 40–56), which began to be attributed to an unknown prophet who lived in the times of Babylonian captivity (Gesenius, Ewald, Hitzig, and Knobel). More recent scholars, however, carried their doubts to the point that they almost left no chapter in the book of Isaiah that could be considered an authentic work of Isaiah (Kuenen, Duhm, and Couch). In the opinion of these critics, the book of Isaiah even underwent repeated revisions (redactions), so that now it is difficult to clarify what its original form was. But on the other hand, there are many scholars who recognize the complete authenticity of the book of Isaiah (Kleinert, Hefernik, Dräxsler, Delitzsch, Keil, Cornely, Bredenkamp, and others), and these scholars have said enough for all objections against the authenticity of the book of Isaiah to be recognized as unfounded.

Romans 10:20. First of all, against those scholars who find in the book of Isaiah works of different authors living in different epochs, one can advance the consideration that throughout the entire book of Isaiah, remarkable uniformity of tone of speech is observed. Everywhere the prophet speaks with force, impetuosity, and boldness, which gave occasion also to the Apostle Paul to say: “Isaiah dares to speak boldly” (Rom.10:20). Then the similarity in the method of expressing thoughts strikes the eye, the special clarity and objectivity of presentation noted everywhere in the book of Isaiah. This clarity consists in special pictorial quality, which sometimes approaches even drama (for example, Isa 63:1 and following), and objectivity – in the fact that abstract ideas or indications of inner states of the soul are depicted as objects existing in space and time. Some of the images are constantly repeated (for example, the image of the vineyard, desert). Then the prophet throughout the entire book weaves like a red thread one idea – that Zion will be saved by divine truth and power, and not by any earthly, human power. At the same time, salvation is promised to the remnant of Israel, not to the entire people, and among this remnant the Savior Himself is thought to be as coming from the holy chosen remnant or seed. Further, it is noticeable that the misfortunes awaiting the Hebrews and their impending redemption are depicted in a certain gradual revelation, which again points to the unity of the different parts of the book of Isaiah. The objections usually raised by critics against the authenticity of the entire book of Isaiah are quite unfounded. They point, for example, to the fact that Isaiah speaks of himself now in the first person and now in the third person. But is he the only ancient writer who acted this way? Besides, the prophet speaks of himself in the third person even in the chapter that all recognize as authentic – namely in chapter 20. They further say that in the later prophets as compared to Isaiah we do not find such vivid depiction of the Messiah as in Isaiah. But should the later prophets have again depicted what had already been so thoroughly depicted in Isaiah? Prophecy did not proceed on the path of gradual progress in depicting the person and activity of the Messiah... They further appeal to prove the opinion of the late origin of some of Isaiah’s prophecies to their vocabulary, style, and so forth, but in all these appeals subjective tastes are evident, as this has been explained by Ed. König (in his Neutestam. Prinzipien der alttestam. Kritik 1902, p. 13 and following). Some critics assign particular significance to the asymmetry in the construction of strophes and verses of individual prophetic utterances of Isaiah. But was it obligatory for the prophet to observe precisely all the rules to which an ordinary poetic work should conform? There is nothing surprising in the fact that the prophet sometimes ceases rhythmic speech to begin speaking in prose. Finally, they say that the utterances and speeches of prophets were written on separate scrolls and that therefore scrolls of later origin – even from the Asmonean epoch – could have been placed in the collection of Isaiah’s utterances. But to this one must say that the book of Isaiah as a whole work that already occupied a known place in the Old Testament sacred canon was known already to the author of the book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, that is, at least 200 years before the Christian era (Sir 48:22-25). Questions about the authenticity of individual chapters that raise doubts in biblical criticism will be decided in the explanation of each such chapter individually. As for the question of the authenticity of the second part of the book of Isaiah, it will be considered before the interpretation of the same. 5. The Text of the Book of Isaiah and Translations. The book of the prophet Isaiah has come down to us in two ancient texts – the Hebrew Masoretic and the Greek – of the LXX. As for the first, it, despite its authenticity and originality, nevertheless, in places, is unreliable, and biblical critics sometimes make changes in it. But the Greek text of the LXX in its various manuscripts is quite unsatisfactory. The translator of the book, evidently, was not able to correctly transmit the proper names encountered in the book, and did not understand the true meaning of many Hebrew words. He also did not have proper understanding of the peculiarities of Hebrew speech structure, hence there appeared in him sentences that are incorrect both from the point of view of Greek syntax and from the point of Hebrew word combination. Sometimes he translates two different words with one and the same expression, and sometimes renders similar words in different ways. Often he complicates the understanding of the prophet’s speech through arbitrary transpositions of words, insertions, or omissions. Sometimes he uses the first meaning of a Hebrew word that comes to his mind, without paying attention to the fact that thereby something completely incomprehensible results (for example, Isa 18:1-2). Therefore those critics are wrong who think they see in the Greek translation of the book of Isaiah some deciding authority for all difficulties, although on the other hand one cannot but acknowledge the great usefulness which the commentator of the book of Isaiah can derive from this translation in establishing the correct reading in some disputed places of the text. It should be noted that in the second part of the book of Isaiah the translation of the LXX is much better than in the first. Besides the translation of the LXX, the most well-known manuscripts of which are: a) the Vetus Testamentum according to the LXX of the Vatican Codex with variations of the Alexandrian Codex, and b) the Vetus Testamentum according to the Sinai manuscript (both editions belong to Tischendorf), we have fragments of translations of the book of Isaiah made by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, collected by Origen in his hexapla and published in some of its parts by the English scholar. Also deserve attention in the matter of establishing the correct reading of some places in the book of Isaiah: a) Chaldean targums, of which the Targum of Jonathan agrees with the New Testament in recognizing some places of the book as messianic (for example, Isa 9:6; Isa 42:1; Isa 52:13); b) the Syriac translation (Peshitta), very close to the translation of the LXX; c) the Latin translation – the Vulgate, differing little from the Hebrew Masoretic text. 6. Commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. There have survived very many commentaries on the book of the prophet Isaiah from the patristic age. The most well-known among them are the works of Ephrem the Syrian (according to the text of the Peshitta), Basil the Great (on the first 16 chapters of the book), John Chrysostom (in the Greek text this commentary extends only to the first 8 chapters of the book, but in the Armenian and Latin translation published in 1880 – to the entire book, and the Russian translation was made from this last edition), the blessed Jerome (according to Hebrew and Greek texts), Cyril of Alexandria (according to the LXX), the blessed Theodoret. Of commentaries of recent times the best are considered: those of Gesenius, Hitzig, Knobel, Ewald, Nägelbach, Dillmann, Duhm, Marti, Cheyne, Orelli – all Lutheran and imbued quite strongly with the spirit of criticism. Among works of apologetic character the most well-known are: Hengstenberg (Christologie A. T.), Dräxsler, Delitzsch, Knabenbauer. The latest of scientific commentaries is the work of Condamin, Le livre d’Isaïe. Traduction critique avec notes et commentaires. Paris. 1905. Here is indicated all the literature on the study of the book of Isaiah and given a new translation of the book. Also deserve mention new works serving as aids in studying the book of Isaiah: 1) Orelli, Der Prophet Jesaja, 3rd edition; 2) Richter, Die messianische Weissagung und ihre Erfüllung. 1905; 3) Möller, Die messianische Erwartung der vortexilischen Propheten zugleich ein Protest gegen moderne Textzersplitterung 1906. Among Russian commentaries on the book of the prophet Isaiah are known: 1) Bishop Peter, Explanation of the book of the holy prophet Isaiah in Russian translation, extracted from various commentaries vol. 1 and 2, Moscow, 1887; 2) Professor Yakimov, Commentary on the book of the holy prophet Isaiah (according to Old Church Slavonic and Russian texts) St. Petersburg, 1884 (unfinished); 3) Vlastov, The Prophet Isaiah, St. Petersburg, 1898 in two parts (according to Russian translation); 4) Bishop Vissarion, Selections from the book of the prophet Isaiah, St. Petersburg, Publishing House of Tuzov, 1894. Besides, quite useful indications are found in textbooks for studying prophetic books by Spassky, Yezhov, Narcissus, and others. A good work on the book of the prophet Isaiah is represented by the dissertation of Hieromonk Thaddeus, The Unity of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, 1901. Also useful are articles by Professor Yungerov of Kazan Academy, published at various times in the journal “Orthodox Colloquy,” and his private introduction to the sacred historical books, Issue 2, Kazan, 1907. * * * Notes See König, Das Prophetenthum in Beweis d. Glaubens, 1907, 2, 1–3. The socio-political activity of prophets is beautifully outlined in the book of Walter: Die Propheten in ihrem sozialen Beruf. Freiburg, 1900, 1–288. For prophecies in general, more thorough information is given in the book of Bishop Michael in his essays “Biblical Science” (Old Testament, issue 4). Regarding the fulfillment of prophecies, one can read in Keith’s book: “Evidence of the Truth of Christian Faith, Based on the Literal Fulfillment of Prophecies, the History of the Jews, and the Discoveries of Recent Travelers,” St. Petersburg, 1870, pp. 1–530.