Prophet Isaiah 以賽亞 {yi3-sai4-ya3} truly stood out among the prophets of the Old Testament, and so did his Book among other Books. He prophesied to the Kingdom of Judah through the reigns of 4 kings, most notably that of King Hezekiah. Since he started his prophetic duty sometime during Uzziah’s reign, then the entirety of Jotham (16 yrs), Ahaz (16 yrs), and Hezekiah (29 yrs), his ministry must have lasted more than 60 years. That is quite remarkable.
Prophets’ families (yes, they can marry, and in some cases are commanded by God to marry) don’t always debut in the Bible, but Isaiah’s received some mentions. In fact, his son, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz 瑪黑珥沙拉勒哈施罷斯 has the longest name in the Bible. (Most popular name in 2023, hopefully?)
It’s easy to mistake him for another prophet, Elijah 以利亞 {yi3-li4-ya3}, whose Chinese name differs by only 1 character. Although Elijah’s prophecies are not recorded as a Book in the Bible, his eventful life was well documented from 1 Kings 17 to 2 Kings 2. (Think raven, widow, Ahab, Jezebel, battle of the prophets, Elisha, and most famously, not tasting death.)
Isaiah, on the other hand, didn’t have as many riveting stories. However, you can still read about his roles in Hezekiah’s close brush with death and Hezekiah’s mistake in showing off to the Babylonian envoy. Actually, those stories were repeated three times in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Book of Isaiah. Must be important, you think, and you will be right. These stories depicted the rise and fall of a king, rise because of his trust in God, and fall because of his pride in himself. If we haven’t learned after reading about it at least three times, who’s to blame but ourselves?
Onto the Book of Isaiah, it is the longest in the prophetic series, and the second longest in the entire Bible, bested only by the Psalms. I’m not sure if it’s divine or incidental that the total of 66 chapters in Isaiah corresponds to the total of 66 Books in the Bible. Perhaps it’s both. However, it’s worth noting that Isaiah didn’t break down his Book into chapters. He wrote ONE scroll, that was it. Chapters were editorial changes that people added muuuuuch later.
Here’s the thing though, this Book doesn’t need that shock factor to deserve our serious reading. Its prophecies covered judgment on empires like Assyria and Babylon, punishment for Judah’s rebellion, eventual destruction of the kingdom, coming exile and restoration of Israel, promise of the Messiah, and even the end time. It’s pretty much got our entire timeline covered. These prophecies either have been confirmed by history, in which case Hallelujah; or will be confirmed as history continues, in which case we have a lot to hope for. Either way, it serves us well to approach it next time with curiosity and awe.
Photo from Public Domain