Book of Isaiah - Composition

Composition

Jewish and Christian tradition held that the entire book is by the 8th century BCE prophet Isaiah, but scholars have concluded since the late 19th century that it cannot be by a single author. The observations which have led to this are as follows:

  • Prophecies → Passages of Isaiah 40–66 refer to events that did not occur in Isaiah's own lifetime, such as the rise of Babylon as the world power, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the rise of Cyrus the Great, which is taken as evidence of later composition. R. N. Whybray uses these passages to pinpoint the period of Deutero-Isaiah's activity to 550–539 BCE).
  • Anonymity → Isaiah’s name suddenly stops being used after chapter 39.
  • Style → There is a sudden change in style and theology after chapter 40; numerous key words and phrases found in one section are not found in the other.
  • Historical Situation → The historical situation goes through three stages: in chapters 1–39 the prophet speaks of a judgment which will befall the wicked Israelites; in chapters 40–55 the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (587 BCE) is treated as an accomplished fact and the fall of Babylon as an imminent threat; and in chapters 56–66 the fall of Babylon is already in the past.But this

Scholars therefore divide the book into three parts:

  • Chapters 1 to 39 (First Isaiah, Proto-Isaiah or Original Isaiah): the work of the original prophet Isaiah, who worked in Jerusalem between 740 and 687 BCE.
  • Chapters 40 to 55 (Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah): by an anonymous author who lived in Babylon near the end of the Babylonian captivity.
  • Chapters 56 to 66 (Third Isaiah or Trito-Isaiah): the work of anonymous disciples committed to continuing Isaiah's work in the years immediately after the return from Babylon. This section includes visions of new heavens and new earth. (Other scholars suggest that chapters 55–66 were written by Deutero-Isaiah after the fall of Babylon.)

This implied sequence of pre-exilic, exilic and post-exilic material is somewhat misleading, as significant editing has clearly taken place in all three parts.

There is some uncertainty as to how Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah came to be attached to the original Isaiah: the two competing theories are either that Deutero-Isaiah was written as a continuation of Proto-Isaiah, or that it was written separately and became attached to the famous Isaiah later.

Read more about this topic:  Book Of Isaiah

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