Isaiah 1:1 identifies Isaiah as the son of an otherwise unknown man named Amoz (to be distinguished from the prophet Amos). Isaiah prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem roughly fifty years during the reigns of Uzziah (783-742 B.C.); Jotham (742-735); Ahaz (735-715); and Hezekiah (715-687). Ahaz and Hezekiah are the most prominently mentioned kings of Judah in Isaiah. Prophets contemporary with Isaiah are Micah in Judah, and Amos and Hosea in Israel/the Northern Kingdom. In the Old Testament contemporary activity of numerous prophets indicates the severity of a crisis of faith.
The death of Uzziah in 6:1 points to the historical setting of the book. Great prosperity and political stability had been enjoyed by Judah under Uzziah, who reigned as co-regent and king for over fifty years. Yet, prosperity led to self-indulgence in luxury and injustice to the poor. Barry Webb notes, “Religious observance continued, but could no longer conceal the rot that had set in underneath.” Besides these moral and religious issues, Isaiah prophesied during three political and military crises during his ministry. First was the Syro-Ephraimitic War, when Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel united in an effort to conquer the Southern Kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem in 734. The second crisis came with the fall of the Northern Kingdom (Israel, also called Samaria) to the Assyrians in 722. The third crisis was the siege of Jerusalem by Assyrian King Sennacherib in 701. This history is detailed in 2 Kings 15-21 and 2 Chronicles 26-33. Indeed, Isaiah himself becomes an historian in chapters 36-39, for Second Kings 18:13-20:19 is almost identical in wording with Isaiah 36-39.
Dr. David Moore is a Baptist preacher in Pampa and an online instructor in Bible and theology for Taylor University and Nations University. Email: dm5867se@outlook.com
