out the tongue? What kind of evidence (if any) could be used to identify a large conquest in the time before writing? double for all her sins. Isaiah 40:12. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Isaiah 39:57. Thus said Jehovah, To His anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have God punished the Jews for their sin, but God brought them to repentance and restoration. good friday agreement, brexit. The "7" represents form of divine "signature". Learn. Reasonable difficulties also meet to accept the fact that a prophet could know precisely the name of the Persian king Cyrus who, almost two centuries later, would liberate Israel from the Babylonian captivity. If such a comparatively ordinary prophecy such as Obadiah's has the name of the prophet how is it conceivable that the name of the prophet of the most glorious prophetic portion of the most sublime prophecy of them all, the book of Isaiah, should be unknown? The concept is similar but distinct from postdiction, where prophecies that were genuinely written or spoken before the event are reinterpreted after the event to fit the facts as they occurred. Purpose of Writing: In 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon had conquered Judah and deported many of its inhabitants to Babylon - Daniel included. 4. prophecies of Elijah, Micaiah, and Elisha. There is only one book in the whole Bible which is truly anonymous: the Letter to the Hebrews. Daniel 8:10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped . 4 Who has done this and carried it through, Does a summoned creature play immediately after being summoned by a ready action? I merely mean their belief is a cynical view of the book of Isaiah, and necessarily attributes bad motives - including an intention to mislead - to someone, somewhere in the production of the book of Isaiah as we have it today. "To the Hebrews, written from Italy by Timothy". The term "the Holy One of Israel" referring to God is used many times in Isaiah but rarely outside the book of Isaiah: it is used 15 times in 1-39 and 14 times in 40-66 but only 6 times throughout the rest if the Old Testament and one of those 6 times is when referring to the words of Isaiah (2 Kings 19:22). I know what the exile could mean. Can We Prove Who Wrote the Book of Isaiah? Isaiah was a man who witnessed our Lord (the pre-incarnate Son) sitting on His throne in all His glory. On the other hand, the hypothesis that, at the time of Isaiah, the term Koroush, was none other than a generic royal title, widespread in the Middle East, like many others widely used in the history of mankind ("caesar") "," zar "," kyrios "," kaiser "," shah "). In my view, all of the above points 1 to 8 are accumulative evidence that the whole of chapters 44-66, along with the word "Cyrus" in 44:28 and 45:1, was written at the same time as 1-39, before the Babylonian Captivity, which started about 605 BC. @Henry - Indeed. Yet The Book of Isaiah in Chapters 44 and 45 speaks of Cyrus in no uncertain terms: Who is saying of Cyrus, My shepherd, And all my delight He doth Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. In Babylon: prophecy of Ezekiel, Return to the land under Persian rule, and writings of Ezra-Nehemiah The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: , [s.fr j.a.ja.hu]) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. "The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw." "Considers" on what basis? Indeed, on the contrary, it is likely that there were quite a few written sources he could have used for information on the Persian empire that have since been lost. You can see the original scroll online here http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah . Cyrus (580-529 BC) was the first Achaemenid Emperor, Who says Jesus couldnt predict the fall of Jerusalem, judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/31318/, skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/17871/, Its Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future, http://biblechronologybooks.com/scientificmethod.html, http://biblechronologybooks.com/hebrewkings.html, http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/579794/jewish/Haftorah-in-a-Nutshell.htm, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. them. The hypothesis of a One Isaiah is reinforced by the fact that all the Proto Isaiah is pervaded by the omen (Isaiah 29 and Isaiah 40) of an imminent fall of Jerusalem and further deportations by the millennial Babylonian power, only momentarily bent by the ascent of the Assyrian empire. Tartan was a military term in the Assyrian Army and was the highest position in the Army under the King himself. For instance, Josephus relates that when the Romans came to besiege Jerusalem the Romans learned that on the Sabbath day they could build the siegeworks for the overthrow of Jerusalem without being attacked by the Jews. (See Matthew 3:3, 4:14, 8:17, 12:17, 13:14, 17:7; Mark 7:6; Luke 3:4, 4:17; John 1:23; Acts 8:28-30, 28:25; Romans 9:27-29, 10:16, 10:20, 15:12.). At the time of Isaiah's prediction, Babylon was one of the largest and most important cities in the world. "After the incident", I started to be more careful not to trip over things. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. I'd upvote it if you presented the evidence scholars use to support this belief, as that was what the question asked for. 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. they did not obey his law. There would typically be one Tartan controlling the left side of the battlefield and another controlling the right side, and the King controlling the middle deployment. and to loose the belts of kings, 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. In the first four centuries of the Vulgar Era -in Isaiah 45.1- an impressive number of Church Fathers, read Kyrios instead of Kyros, giving great emphasis to the translation "to Christ my Lord" instead of "to my anointed Cyrus". "If this were true, then it's a miracle. 1:20 and 40:5, 58:14; If you read the Book of Isaiah, youll notice a huge shift in the style at chapter 40. Timeline of Jeremiah / Daniel / Ezekiel Kings of Judah Date Ref Josiah 640 BC 2 Kg 22:1 - 23:30 5, 6 Josiah was 8yr old when he was made king and reigned 31 years 2 Ch 34 - 35 627 BC Jer 1 1 God calls Jeremiah to be prophet in Judah. In the book of Esther there are a lot of Persian loan words; in Ezra there are Persian, and some Persian in Chronicles both 1 and 2. By inspiration, he knows that Judah will be exiled as well. Was it not the Lord, And so it proved, they never again returned to idols. I am the Lord, who made all things, Assardhon then ordered the reconstruction of Babylon but Assurbanipal subdued it again (648), after looting Thebes (665) and before destroying Susa (639). best preserved of all the biblical scrolls, and the only one that is also one of the oldest of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some one thousand What video game is Charlie playing in Poker Face S01E07? It only takes a minute to sign up. After 39 chapters of prose, the next 27 chapters are poetry. This fits with the timeline of chapters 139, where the Babylonian captivity clearly hasnt taken place yet. Daniel served in the royal court of Nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed Nebuchadnezzar. let us meet together(E) at the place of judgment. I'm not saying that it's 100% certain that Josephus had contemporary records to draw on, but I am arguing that it's at least possible and hence constitutes evidence. Many died because they had such a reverence for their scriptures. Concerning God's economy toward His chosen people, Isaiah reveals that all the nations . Pursue a deeper knowledge of God through self-paced college- and seminary-level online courses in Old and New Testament studies, theology, biblical Greek, and more. are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood. Most scholars agree that the prophet Isaiah likely only wrote a portion of the book, but recent scholarship also argues that even the portions he didnt physically write originated with him in some form. See also Jewish history which includes links to individual country histories. adding water to reduce alcohol in wine. Judah was going through times of revival and times of rebellion. Isaiah was best known as the Hebrew prophet who predicted the coming of Jesus Christ to salvage mankind from sin. How do we know which one is right? to windblown chaff(K) with his bow. Finally, (For more info on the progress of languages in the period then there is the work "Empires of the Word [not world! This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years before the temple was demolished. Most of the Hebrew Bible (OT) is comprised of anthologies and compilations that represent collections culled from diverse sources, oral and written, that were edited and composed into the "books" which we have today. Isaiah 2:1 is written for a small section of the prophecy. This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which Isaiah left behind him of his prophecies; for this prophet said that God had spoken thus to him in a secret vision: "My will is, that Cyrus, whom I have appointed to be king over many and great nations, send back my people to their own land, and build my temple." However, One thing that I notice lacking in your answer is the references. Isaiah was a Hebrew prophet who was believed to have lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet none of these suggests the slightest practice of But, actually, Isaiah. Don't see "proof" one way or the other. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Moreover, in ancient Greek "Kyros", in addition to indicating the proper name of a Persian emperor, meant "power, power, supremacy, absolute authority" and was the probable origin of the best known Greek term "Kyrios" (sir, master, capo), practically equivalent to "O ekon Kuros" (the one with authority). against whom we have sinned? who alone stretched out the heavens, But after the Babylonian Captivity the sins of the Jews were different. The Persian king Cyrus, enlightened sovereign and lover of art and culture, almost certainly knew parts of the book of Isaiah in some ancient language and, according to the authoritative testimony of the historian Flavius Joseph, he read the prophecies concerning him astonished, he meditated for a long time on these and matured the decision to free the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, XI, 5-7), perhaps grateful to the God of the Jews for so much honor received (Josephus, The Jewish War, V, 389) . 14:27 and 43:13; us before the scrolls' discovery. Historical Backing for Isaiah . For one, Daniel refers to himself in the first person in much of the book and makes the dating claim himself. My question is. Learn more in John N. Oswalt's course on Isaiah. 41 Be silent(A) before me, you islands! The Two books are written almost entirely in Hebrew poetry and they are joined by a few historical chapters (36-39) written mostly in prose. God sent them into captivity and God brought them back from captivity, and the prediction of Cyrus by name proved that it was the God of Isaiah, the LORD God of their forefathers who had done everything. In chapter 56, Isaiah jumps ahead again, to a time when the second temple is at least under construction. Get updates from Zondervan Academic directly in your inbox. Would anyone? You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. Bosque de Palabras who hath believed our report? Is there a solution to add special characters from software and how to do it. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. CLAIM: If Isaiah really wrote from Israel before the Exile (739-681 BC), then he would have predicted King Cyrus by nameover two hundred years in advance. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. When God had a message for the people, He spoke to them through prophets: men moved by the Holy Spirit to speak on God's behalf. Created by. They were being asked to leave their comfort zones and obey God. and brought to a final form by such careless production processes as modern scholars claim? It is claimed that no where does the name Isaiah appear in 40-66, the section with prophesies concerning Babylon. loose, To open before him two-leaved doors, Yea, gates are not shut: However, it is possible that the book of Isaiah is simply written after the event and written in a way that make it look as if it could predict prophecy. According to this theory, you dont simply have three Isaiahs. whose right hand I have grasped, I'm not at all sure that Isaiah himself wrote the book as we have it. Among the most authoritative testimonies it is necessary, in this regard, to remember: Pseudo Barnabas, Letter of Barnabas, XII, 11; Irenaeus, Exposition of the Apostolic Preaching, 49; Novatian, The Trinity, XXVI; Tertullian, Against Prassea, XI, 7-8 and XXVIII, 11; Tertullian, Against the Jews, VII, 2; Cyprian, Testimonies against the Jews, I, 21. Assuming for purposes of argument that Josephus' account is true, then plain common sense dictates that he was so impressed precisely because it was the genuine article - a prophecy from an earlier period - rather than a crude contemporary forgery. and proclaim to her Who would care at all for these writings if that was how they were produced? The only possible conclusion to draw is that it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart. Isaiah 42:24-25. But as for the book of Isaiah there is unanimous agreement in every ancient Old Testament version that Isaiah wrote the whole of the book of Isaiah. Scholars date the scroll of Isaiah to at least 150 years before Jesus ever walked the face of the Earth. They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. Isaiah 66:20. The idea of multiple authors of Isaiah began with Johann Doederlein, professor of theology at Jena, a rationalist who lived in the "Age of Enlightenment", and who died over 150 years before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Your form could not be submitted. almost complete. . Modern scholars argue that the book of Isaiah is a collection of writings by various anonymous writers whose writings have been added over the centuries following the time of Isaiah. Not very likely, I think. Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? However, our disagreements aside, an. If there are significant differences that may change the meaning, I'll consider all translations. Let the nations renew their strength! The scholarly view is that the "prophecy" of Daniel was written in the 2nd Century B.C. It was to bring them to see He is the true God because He alone can predict the future. And the timeline is no longer divided into three neat sections. and 532 B.C. Scholars believe that the prophet Isaiah was a real, historical person who lived during the eighth century, when many of the events recorded in Isaiah historically took place. from Cuta, from Avva, from Amat and from Sefarvaim (2 Kings 17,24). For instance, idolatry is condemned and the burning of their own children to Molech is condemned in chapter 57. 3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,(M) 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Replacing broken pins/legs on a DIP IC package. Is there any evidence that Assyrian or Babylonian kings ate their enemies? We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,.css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}contact us! The following passages are examples of those passages which describe the gross sins before the Babylonian Captivity: Jeremiah 7:31 & 19:5, 2 Kings 16:3, 21:6-16; 23:26, 24:3-4; 2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:1-19. 4055: Deutero-Isaiah, the work of an anonymous Exilic author; That the book of Isaiah was written by a single author and way before the time of Cyrus might have been believed at the time the caves of Qumran were filled with scrolls. Please check errors and resubmit. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. translations. (B) For example, Christian gospel "may" have predicted fall of Jerusalem before 70 AD. 11:12 and 56:8; was isaiah written before daniel. "Cyrus" is in 44:28 and 45:1 because God is gracious and kind towards his people. to subdue nations before him What then are we to make of the repeated condemnations of the worship of graven images and of idolatry in 40-66? But that is not the half of it: the Jews were not very mistreated while in Babylonian "captivity". However, I do believe that all that is in the book originated with Isaiah and probably that his disciples then were the ones who collected what he said and commented on and put it in its present form. Dr. He was believed to have written chapters 1-39 in The Book of Isaiah with the balance of the book authored by several other prophets. Jer 2 - 6 2, 3 God sends Jeremiah to Jerusalem to give a series of messages to the people of Judah. "Cyrus"? in the ships in which they took pride. the God of Israel, who call you by your name. I know what you're going to go through. and subdues kings before him. Why would they have revered them so much if those same scriptures were messed about with so much as modern scholars say they were? Eugene Faulstich who has worked on Bible Chronology believed it was written by one author. and Israel my chosen, Such a belief is cynical, attributing to either the original author or the compilers of the final version a dishonest purpose - to try to produce a document which looks as if the Isaiah of 700 BC was predicting the name of a man who became king of Persia 559 BC and fulfilled some of the prophecy around 539 BC, namely Cyrus. As it stands, you might as well have just answered "Yes". Learn. This is what God told Isaiah would happen to Babylon: By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from HarperCollins Christian Publishing (501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 USA) providing information about products and services of HCCP and its affiliates. Furthermore, there is historical information in Isaiah chapters 1 to 39 which has been confirmed from other sources. Subject Matter. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. The temptations they faced were different and the typical sins after the 70 years of Babylonian Captivity were different. Using Kolmogorov complexity to measure difficulty of problems? In Judea: prophecy of Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, and Habakkuk Babylon was one of the most important cities of the Assyrian empire (with Kalash, Assur and Ninive), so that Tigat Pileser III, after having conquered Syria and destroyed Damascus (732), assumed the title of king of Babylon with the name of Pulu (729). There was intermarriage with foreign women of idolatrous background; @user438 The hypothesis that prophecies generally don't work isn't assumed totally. In the chapters X and XI the subject is in fact addressed in a spiritual dimension (the remnant of Jacob will be converted to the Powerful God) with clear eschatological values (in messianic times of peace and justice even the wolf and the lamb will dwell together) and with an eager anticipation of real and imminent historical developments (redemption of the distant, collection of the exiles and the return of the missing).