Poetic and Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament
RELG 301
Module 10 Notes - Isaiah
The Life and Times of Isaiah
Isaiah is one of the few Writing Prophets whose life is recorded in the Historical Books of the Old Testament.
Isaiah lived and ministered in the southern Kingdom of Judah. He was centered on Jerusalem, and seems to have had free access to the royal palace and the kings of his time.
Isaiah 1:1 tells us that Isaiah's prophetic ministry ran through the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Isaiah 6:1-8 tells of the call of Isaiah to be a prophet. It gives the time as being "in the year that King Uzziah died"
Amos had already preached his sermon in the royal chapel at Bethel, in the Northern Kingdom, where he warned that Judah was becoming corrupt and disobedient (Amos 2:4-5)
Hosea was also active in Judah, and he continued to prophesy through the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Micah started his ministry a few years later, and was active through the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Isaiah's death occurred some time after the death of Hezekiah, because Isaiah 37:37-38 records the death of Sennacherib of Assyria (ca.705-681 BC)
According to (non-Biblical) tradition Isaiah was killed by King Manasseh.
Uzziah (ca.792-740 BC) was also known as Azariah. The Bible counts Uzziah as one of the "good" kings of Judah (2 Kings 15:1-4, 2 Chron.26:1-5). Uzziah reigned for 52 years - a long and stable reign for those times, so the nation was feeling secure and comfortable for most of that time. However, towards the end of his reign Uzziah became proud and wanted to act as a priest in the Temple at Jerusalem. As a result Uzziah was struck with leprosy and had to live in isolation while his son Jotham acted as co-regent (2 Kings 15:5, 2 Chron.26:16-21)
During the reign of Uzziah of Judah, the Northen Kingdom of Israel was invaded by Tiglath-Pileser III (also called Pul in the Bible), who exacted a heavy tribute from the land, and eventually carried away many of the Israelite leaders (2 Kings 15:19-20, 29; 1 Chron.5:26)
Jotham (ca.740-732 BC) reigned for 16 years. Although he was counted as a "good" king (2 Kings 15:32-35, 2 Chron.27:1-2), the spiritual and moral condition of Judah appears to have continued to deteriorate, and his son Ahaz turned away from God.
Ahaz (ca.735-716 BC) reigned for 16 disastrous years (2 Kings 16:1-3). He burned some of his children as sacrifices to the Canaanite gods (2 Kings 16:3, 2 Chron.28:3), and formed an alliance with the Assyrians which would have entailed worship of the Assyrian gods on an altar set up in the Temple. He also dismantled parts of the Temple. (2 Kings 16:7-18, 2 Chron.28:16-25)
Isaiah was sent to warn Ahaz of the dangers of an alliance with Assyria, and to reassure Ahaz that the countries which he feared, Israel and Syria (Samaria and Damascus), would soon be broken (Isaiah 7:1-9). God offered to give a sign to Ahaz, but Ahaz had probably already made up his mind to join Assyria - he refused God's offer (Isaiah 7:10-12). In response, Isaiah gave a prophecy which was later recognized to be not just for the time of Ahaz, but also a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:13-15). In fact, within a few years, both Israel and Syria had been overrun by the Assyrians, and the kingdom of Israel was taken into captivity.
Hezekiah (ca.727-698 BC) reigned for 29 years (2 Kings 18:1-3, 2 Chron.29:1-2) and restored the worship of God in the Temple. To do that, he had to throw off the Assyrian overlordship (2 Kings 18:7) which enforced the worship of Assyrian gods.
Four years into Hezekiah's reign, Shalmanezer V of Assyria invaded the Northern Kingdom and besieged Samaria for three years, finally capturing it and taking the Israelites into captivity.
Exactly what happened in Assyria at this point is not known, but towards the end of the siege of Samaria Shalmanezer was deposed, and probably murdered, by Sargon II, who then claimed the victory over Samaria. The change of dynasty in Assyria resulted in revolts and power struggles at home, so further invasion into Judah did not take place for some years. Sargon himself died in battle while leading a campaign in Anatolia.
Sargon's son Sennacherib invaded Judah, took some of the land, and made Hezekiah pay a heavy tribute (2 Kings 18:13-16, 2 Chron.32:1-2).
At this point Hezekiah must have realized that further conflict was likely in the future. He reinforced the defensive walls of Jerusalem to withstand a siege, and secured the water supply for Jerusalem by extending the underground channel of the Gihon Spring and hiding it from external view. (2 Kings 20:20, 2 Chron.32:1-8, 30)
Hezekiah's actions brought Assyria down upon him. Sennacherib invaded Judah, and besieged Jerusalem (2 Kings 32:1, 2 Chron.32:9-22; Isaiah, chapters 36 & 37).
When the Assyrians arrived, Hezekiah sent messengers to Isaiah, asking for his prayers (2 Kings 19:2-4, 2 Chron.32:20, Isaiah 37:4).
Isaiah re-assured them, and foretold that Sennacherib would receive bad news from Assyria, and would have to return to his own land, where he would be killed. (2 Kings 19:7, Isaiah 37:6-7)
It did indeed happen that Sennacherib halted his campaign and returned to Assyria. His army was decimated, thousands of his soldiers died (2 Kings 19:35-37; 2 Chron.20:21, Isaiah 37:36), and there were rebellions in other parts of the Empire.
Although Sennacherib was unable to conquer Jerusalem, he was so proud of his military campaigns that he had several accounts inscribed - three of which have survived until today, and are in Museums in Europe and the USA (the Taylor Prism in the British Museum in London, the Chicago Prism in the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) in Chicago, and the Jerusalem Prism in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem). On these, Sennacherib claimed that he "shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage" - but did not claim that Hezekiah was defeated or captured.
Rebellions in Elam and Babylon caused Assyria to turn to the east of the Empire.
Sennacherib's eldest son and heir had been appointed as ruler of Babylon, but was captured by rebellious Elamites and was probably killed (he disappeared from the historical records).
Sennacherib made the mistake of choosing another of his sons as heir, and then changing his mind and appointing another one. This led to rebellion, the assassination of Sennacherib by two of his own sons (as Isaiah had foretold), and the accession of a third son, Esarhaddon, to the throne. (2 Kings 19:7, 2 Chron.32:21, Isaiah 37:38)
At some point during his reign, Hezekiah was mortally ill, and Isaiah warned him to prepare for death. (2 Kings 20:1, 2 Chron.32:24, Isaiah 38:1)
On hearing this news Hezekiah turned to God in prayer, and before Isaiah had even left the palace he received a message from God that Hezekiah would be healed, also the way to bring healing, and a sign to reassure Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:4-11, Isaiah 38:2-8, 21)
The date of Hezekiah's sickness appears to be 15 years before his eventual death (2 Kings 20:6, Isaiah 38:5), which would put it ca.713 BC, during the reign of Sargon II of Assyria. This is supported by the account which follows, in which Merodach-Baladan, king of Babylon, sent messengers to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12, Isaiah 39:1)
Merodach-Baladan was a tribal leader who grabbed power in Babylon and claimed independence from Assyria during the power struggles at the accession of Sargon II. Merodach-Baladan ruled in Babylon ca. 721-710 BC, until Sargon drove him out; and again briefly in 701 BC. In 700 BC Sennacherib ousted Merodach-baladan, who fled to Elam once more, and died ca.694 BC
Merodach-baladan was probably looking for an ally against Assyria, hoping that if Hezekiah gave trouble in the West, the Assyrians would leave Babylon alone in the East.
Hezekiah foolishly boasted of all his possessions to the Babylonian envoys, and showed them all his treasures, thus sowing the seeds which led to the Fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. (2 Kings 20:13-15, 2 Chron.32:25, 31; Isaiah 39:2)
Isaiah foretold the end result: Babylon, at that time a tributary of Assyria, would rise to power and not only conquer Assyria, but would also take Jerusalem and carry the people off into captivity. (2 Kings 20:16-18, Isaiah 39:3-7)
The Kings of Assyria during this period were Tiglath-pileser III (ca.745-727 BC), Shalmanezer V (ca. 727-722 BC) Sargon II (ca.722-705 BC), and Sennacherib (ca.705-681 BC)
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