Historical Context
In the mid-8th century BCE the kingdom of Israel (called Ephraim in Isaiah) and its ally Aram-Damascus (or Syria) besieged Jerusalem to force king Ahaz of Judah into joining a coalition against Assyria, the aggressive "great power" to the north-east. Ahaz turned to Assyria itself for help, but although the Assyrians destroyed Syria and Ephraim, Judah became an Assyrian vassal. In the late 8th century Hezekiah, the son and successor of Ahaz, eventually rebelled, thinking that with Egyptian help he could regain Judah's independence; but the Egyptian aid was not forthcoming, Jerusalem was put under siege again, and Hezekiah was able to save himself only by paying tribute. By the late 7th century Assyria fell to a new "great power", Babylon, and in 586 BCE Judah was conquered by the Babylonians and its population deported to Mesopotamia. The exile lasted only a few decades, however, for in 539 Babylon in turn was conquered by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem.
Read more about this topic: Isaiah 7:14
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