Isaiah 1:1

Hasn’t it been shown that Isaiah is actually two or more books, and that it was not all written by one Isaiah in the 8th century B.C.?

PROBLEM: The traditional view of the Book of Isaiah is that it was written by Isaiah, son of Amoz, some time between 739 and 681 B.C. However, modern critics have argued that Isaiah is actually composed of at least two individual books. What has been designated as First Isaiah encompasses Chapter s 1 through 39, while Second Isaiah encompasses Chapter s 40 to

66. Is the Book of Isaiah actually several books put together, or is it one book written by the one prophet Isaiah who lived in the 8th century B.C.?

SOLUTION: The traditional view that the Book of Isaiah is a single work written by the prophet Isaiah is supported by several arguments. First, the critical view that separates Isaiah into two or more books is based on the assumption that there is no such thing as predictive prophecy. Modern scholars claim that the prophecies in Chapter s 40–55 concerning Cyrus must have been written after Cyrus ruled in Persia. This view is antisupernatural and tries to explain these sections of Isaiah as history rather than predictive prophecy. However, since God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), it is not at all necessary to deny the supernatural element in Isaiah’s prophecies.

Chapter S 1–39 Chapter S 40–66

1:15—“Your hands are full of blood.” 59:3 —“For your hands are defiled with blood.”

Fourth, in Luke 4:17 we find that when our Lord rose to read in the synagogue, “He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.” The people in the synagogue and Jesus Himself assumed that this book was from the prophet Isaiah. Other NT writers accepted Isaiah as the author of the entire book. John 12:38 states that Isaiah was the one who made the statement that is found in Isaiah 53:1. Other instances where the NT ascribes portions of Chapter s 40–66 to Isaiah include Matthew 3:3 (Isaiah 40:3), Mark 1:2-3 (Isaiah 40:3), John 1:23 (Isaiah 40:3), Matthew 12:17-21 (Isaiah 42:1-4), Acts 8:32-33 (Isaiah 53:7-8), and Romans 10:16 (Isaiah 53:1).