Religion and Theology

Isaiah is one of the most significant prophets in the Old Testament. He is the one that foretold the coming of the messiah, who is Jesus Christ. He is also one of the advisors of a number of kings in Jerusalem when it was under pressure from the political threats of its neighboring counties such as Egypt and Assyria. In the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah speaks of justice from the Israelites betrayal against Yahweh. Its beginning chapters tell a prophecy of chaos, war, and an impending collapse of the state of Israel. However, the following chapters of the book show Gods mercy and promise of love.

Isaiah has been subject to many biblical scholars because of the way the book in the Old Testament was written. The textual issues concerning Isaiah have brought the concept of three different Isaiahs, known as Isaiah of Jerusalem, the 2nd Isaiah, and the 3rd Isaiah. Thus, this paper discusses the view of biblical scholars as to why there are three identities to Isaiah in the Old Testament.

Isaiah of Jerusalem
The book entitled, Understanding the Bible written by Stephen Harris provides a comprehensive explanation, based on the view of biblical scholars, as to the textual issues regarding Isaiahs roles in the Old Testament. The book of Isaiah is a collection of Hebrew prophecy which traces its roots to the mid-eight to the fifth centuries BCE. The book is actually a work of at least three prophets addressing three different crises in the history of Israel (201). The first 39 chapters of the book speak of the oldest prophecies made by Isaiah of Jerusalem, to whom the book was named. He served as the counselor to three Judean kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The prophecies in this section speak of wrongdoings in Judea and Jerusalem, judgment against foreign nations, restoration, and denunciations of Judah and Jerusalem (202). This section was more about loyalty to Yahweh and the practice of social justice (203).

The Second and Third Isaiah
Evidence supporting the premise that there was more than one Isaiah in the book on the Old Testament is that the name Isaiah was never mentioned in the chapters following chapter 39. This second main division consists of chapters 40 to 45 where the Assyrian threat is also no longer mentioned. This time, an anonymous prophet addresses the Judean captives in Babylon and declaring Cyrus of Persia as Yahwehs messiah, who will free Israel from Babylonian exile.

The third Isaiah referred to by biblical scholars is found in chapters 56-66. It consists of a number of prophetic oracles to a ravaged colony of exiles that resettled in Judah, which was already in Persian rule at that time (201).

Isaiahs Prophecy of the Messiah
The book of Isaiah is a very popular book in the Old Testament because of the prophecy of the Messiah, a descendant of David who will save the entire people of Israel from foreign rule. This was fulfilled by Jesus in the New Testament. Biblical scholars believed that the people of Israel perceived that this was with reference to Hezekiah, who was Ahaz s wife, that her child would become the heir to the throne. This was the occasion for Isaiahs poem in chapter 9, verse 7 (203). Because of the high influence of Isaiah to the people to Israel, future generations after the Davidic throne still looked up to this particular prophecy, which they referred to as Jesus of Nazareth (204).