Isaiah

ISAIAH, the son of Amos, the first of the four great Prophets, was, as is said, of the royal family, if it be true that his father Amos was son to king Joash, and brother to Amaziah King of Judah. S. Jerom says, that Isaiah gave his daughter in marriage to Manasseh king of Judah; which we cannot easily believe: because Manasseh did not begin to reign till sixty years after Isaiah’s entring upon the prophetick office. The beginning of Isaiah’s prophecies we date immediately from the death of Uzziah¹, and the death of this prophet we place in the reign of Manasseh, who began to reign in the year of the world 3306, before J. C. 694, before the vulgar Æra 698. The Jews believe, that Amos, Isaiah’s father, was a prophet, as well as his son, according to this rule, which passes for a very certain one among them, viz. that when the scripture mentions the name of any prophet’s father, this is a proof, that his father was a Prophet. Aug. l. 18. c. 27. de Civit. Dei.But this rule is certainly very fallible. S. Austin supposed the Prophet Amos, whose writings we have, to have been Isaiah’s father; but besides that, his name is written in a different manner²; these two Prophets Amos and Isaiah were contemporaries, both living under Uzziah. It is true, Amos began to prophesy in the three and twentieth year of Uzziah, of the world 3215, and Isaiah, according to our hypothesis, did not begin to prophesy till after the death of this Prince in 3246, and consequently one and thirty years after Amos: so that there could be no inconveniency in this particular to say, that Amos was Isaiah’s father, if there were otherwise any good evidence of it. But we have shewn in the article Amos, that this Prophet was neither a man of quality, nor of the tribe of Judah. Wherefore he could not be Isaiah’s father.

Isai. viii. 5.Isaiah’s wife is called a Prophetess, and the Rabbins from thence conclude, that she had the spirit of prophecy. But it is very credible, that the Prophets wives were called prophetesses, as the priests wives were called priestesses, only from the quality of their husbands. The scripture mentions two sons of Isaiah, one called Shear Jashub, the rest shall return, the other Hash-baz, hasten to the slaughter. The first shewed, that the captives who should be brought to Babylon, should return from thence, after a certain time, and the second, that the kingdoms of Israel and Syria should in a short time be ravaged. The prophecies of Isaiah may be divided into three parts. The first part includes six chapters, which relate to the reign of Jotham, the six following to the reign of Ahaz: and all the rest to the reign of Hezekiah. The great and principal object of Isaiah’s prophecies, is the captivity of Babylon, the return of the Jews from this captivity, and the reign of the Messiah. For this reason the sacred writers of the New Testament, have cited Aug. l. 18. de Civit. c. 29.him more than any other Prophet, and the Fathers say, that he is rather an Evangelist than a Prophet³.

In the six first chapters, which contain but one discourse, Isaiah inveighs strongly against the disorders of Judah, and threatens them with very great misfortunes. In the six following chapters, he speaks of the siege of Jerusalem, form’d by Pekah and Rezin. He promises the birth of the Messiah to Ahaz, under the name of Emmanuel, and foretels the evils which threatened the kingdoms of Israel and Syria; he inveighs against the Assyrians, whom God made use of as a scourge for the punishment of the wicked. In the xith and xiith chapters, he concludes with promising a just, wise, and valiant monarch, who should restore all things. In the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign⁴, he pronounced many severe prophecies against Babylon, the Philistines, Moab, Damascus, Samaria If. xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, xviii, xix. Ch. xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, xxiv.and Egypt. Sometime after he prophesied again against Egypt, Babylon, Kedar, Arabia, Jerusalem, Tyre, and all Judea.

Sennacherib’s war against Hezekiah gave⁵ Isa. xxix. to xxxvi.occasion for many of Isaiah’s prophesies. He foretold this siege, was a witness of it, declared the end of it, and threatned the authors of those mischiefs which Judah was to suffer, with divine vengeance. He promises Hezekiah, and all the people of Judah success and perfect liberty. The happy reign of this Prince, and the peace which Judea enjoyed after the defeat of Sennacherib’s army, are described in a manner which cannot otherwise be literally verified than in the reign of Jesus Christ over his Church.

The xl, xli, xlii, xliii, xliv, and xlv Chapters contain a long discourse, which is a demonstration of God’s existence, of the truth of the Jewish Religion, and the vanity of Idolatry. In the four following chapters, Isaiah foretels the reign of Cyrus, the deliverance of his people, the destruction of Idols, the fall of Babylon, and the return of the Jews. From the xlix chapter to v. 9. of the lvi chapter, Isaiah, as it were representing the Messiah, informs us, that he was appointed by God from his mother’s womb, to publish the return of Jacob from captivity, and the conversion of the Gentiles. He afterwards describes the persecutions and troubles of the Messiah, the call of the Gentiles, the reprobation If. xlix. 1, 2, 3.of the Jews, and the establishment of the Church. This in general is the order wherein the things contained in this book are written; and what we have of his life now follows.

He tells us, that the Lord had called If. l. 4.him from his mother’s womb, that he remembred his name, that he had given him a tongue like a sharp cutting sword, that he had hidden him under the shadow of his hand, and put him like a chosen arrow into his quiver: and elsewhere, that God had given him the tongue of the learned, capable of administring comfort to those whose courage is broken: that when he received his mission for prophecy, he saw the If. vi. 1, 2, 3.Lord seated on a high throne, encompassed with Cherubims, and with all the earth for his foot-stool. Then he said: “ wo is me for I am undone, “ because I am a man of unclean lips, “ and I dwell in the midst of a people “ of unclean lips: for mine eyes have “ seen the King, the Lord of hosts. At “ the same time,” continues he, “ one of “ the Seraphims which were before the “ Lord flew unto me, having a live coal “ in his hand, which he had taken with “ the tongs from off the altar. And he “ laid it upon my mouth, and said, lo “ this hath touched thy lips, and thine “ iniquity is taken away, and thy sin “ purged. Then I heard a voice saying, “ whom shall I send, and who will go “ for us. And I answered, here am I, “ send me? He therefore said unto me, “ go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye “ indeed but perceive not. Blind the “ heart of this people, make their ears “ heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they “ see with their eyes, and hear with their “ ears, and understand with their heart, “ and turn and be healed.” By this was meant, that he should speak, and preach to them; and that they should not hear, nor be converted.

If. xlix. 1.During the course of his preaching, he had an infinite deal of contradiction to endure from the Jews. He complains of it in several places, but God encourages and supports him. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah⁶, Sennacherib King of Assyria, being come with a design of making war in Judea, sent Rabshakeh his cup-bearer with a summons to Hezekiah, requiring him to submit to his dominion. Rabshakeh in his harangue spoke in a very insolent and blasphemous manner. Hezekiah having a report hereof made unto him by his officers, rent his clothes, went to the Temple of the Lord, and sent messengers to inform If. xxxvi, xxxvii.Isaiah of what had passed. Isaiah answered him, “ hear the “ word of the Lord, fear not the blasphemous words wherewith the King “ of Assyria’s servants have dishonoured “ me: behold I will send a blast upon “ him, and he shall hear a rumour, and “ return to his own land, and I will “ cause him to fall by the sword in his “ own land.”

If. xxxvii. 21,22,&c.Soon after, Sennacherib being informed that King Tirhacah was marching against him, went to meet him, and sent Rabshakeh again to Jerusalem, where he uttered almost the same blasphemies as before.

“ Hereupon Isaiah sent to Hezekiah, “ saying: thus saith the Lord God of “ Israel against Sennacherib; the virgin, “ the daughter of Zion, hath despised “ thee, and laughed thee to scorn, the “ daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her “ head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against “ whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and “ lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the holy one of Israel. By thy “ servants hast thou reproached the Lord, “ and hast said, by the multitude of my “ chariots am I come up to the height “ of the mountains to the sides of Leba- “ non, and I will cut down the tall cedars “ thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof: I have digged and drunk water, “ and with the sole of my feet have I “ dried up all the rivers of the besieged “ places. Hast thou not heard long ago, “ how I have done it, and of antient “ times, that I have formed it? I know, “ thy abode, and thy going out, and “ thy coming in, and thy rage against “ me: therefore will I put my hook in “ thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips; “ and I will turn thee back by the way “ which thou camest. As for thee, Hezekiah, take courage; thou shall eat “ this year, such as groweth of it self: “ and the second year, that which springeth of the same; and in the third year “ sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, “ and eat the fruit thereof: for then “ thou shalt be intirely out of trouble. “ Thus saith the Lord, the King of Assyria shall not come into this city, nor “ shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank “ against it; by the way that he came, “ by the same shall he return, and shall “ not come into Jerusalem.” Accordingly the Lord caused an hundred fourscore and five thousand men of Sennacherib’s army to perish by the hand of the destroying Angel; and this Prince was obliged to fly to Niniveh, where he was killed by his own Sons.

At that time⁷ Hezekiah fell dangerously ill, and Isaiah coming to visit him, If. xxxviii. 1, 2, 3, &c. See likewise 2 Kings xx.said, set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Then Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, “ and shed abundance of tears: but Isaiah was “ scarce got out of the King’s presence, “ when the Lord said to him, Go say “ unto Hezekiah, thus saith the Lord, I “ have heard thy prayer, and I have seen “ thy tears; behold I will add unto thy “ days fifteen years: I will deliver thee “ out of the power of the Assyrians, and “ will protect this city from his arrows. “ And this shall be a sign unto thee, that “ the Lord will do this thing that he “ hath spoken. Behold I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the sun-dial of Ahaz “ ten degrees backward, by which degrees it was gone down.” Then Isaiah directed a lump of figs to be laid upon Hezekiah’s boyl, and he was so perfectly cured, that in three days he was in a condition to go to the Temple.

Soon after this, and in the beginning of the reign of Esarhaddon, Sennacherib’s successor, Isaiah received orders from the Lord,⁸ to walk three years barefoot and naked, to denote in a more express manner the approaching captivity of Egypt, and the land of Cush, which extended itself into Arabia Petræa, and is generally translated Ethiopia. It is the constant tradition both of Jews and Christians,⁹ that Isaiah was put to death with a saw in the beginning of the reign of Manasseh King of Judah. It is said, that the pretence made use of by this impious Prince for executing of him in this manner, was an expression of Isaiah in chap. vi. 1. I saw the Lord sitting on a throne; which he affirmed to be a contradiction to what is said in Moses, Exod. xxxiii. 20. No man shall see me and live. It is said that his body was buried near Jerusalem, under the Fuller’s oak, near the fountain of Siloam; from whence it was removed to Paneas near the sources of Jordan, and from thence to Constantinople, in the reign of Theodosius the younger, and in the year of J.C. 442. He prophesied a long time. They who say he began his predictions in the five and twentieth year of Uzziah, make him to perform this function for fourscore and five years. But we are of opinion, that more than threescore years cannot be allowed, since he did not enter upon the prophetick office till the beginning of Jotham’s reign, in 3246, and died in the first year of Manasseh, of the world 3306, before J.C. 694, before the vulgar Æra 698.

Isaiah is esteemed to be the most eloquent of all the Prophets. S. Jerom says, Hieronym. Præfat. in Isai. Grot. in 4 Reg. xix. 2.that his writings are, as it were, an abridgment of the Holy Scriptures, a collection of all the most uncommon knowledge, that the mind of man is capable of; of natural philosophy, morality and divinity: quid loquar de Physica, Ethica & Theologica? Quicquid Sanctarum est Scripturarum; quicquid potest humana lingua proferre, & mortalium sensus acci- pere, isto volumine continetur. Grotius compares Isaiah with Demosthenes. In this Prophet we meet with all the purity of the Hebrew tongue, as in the orator whom we have mentioned, there is all the delicacy of the Attick taste. Both are sublime and magnificent in their style, vehement in their emotions, copious in their figures, and very impetuous when they set off things of an enormous nature, Quintil. l. x. c. 20.or that are grievous and odious. Isaiah was superior to Demosthenes in the honour of an illustrious birth, and the advantage of belonging to the royal family of Judah. What Quintilian says of Corvinus Messala may be applied to him, that he speaks in an easy flowing manner, and in a style which shews him to be a man of quality. Gaspar Sanctius Gasp. Sanct. Prolegom. in Isai.thinks Isaiah to be more florid, and to have more of ornament, and at the same time to be more weighty and nervous, than any other writer that we have, whether historian, poet, or orator, and that in every kind of discourse he does so much excel, as to be superior to every author, either Greek or Latin.

Besides the writings of Isaiah which are in our possession; this Prophet wrote a book concerning the actions of Uzziah, which is cited in the Chronicles, and is not now extant. 2 Chro. xxvi. 22. Origen. in Matth. xxiii. & Epist. ad African. Epiph. hæres. 40, & 67. Hieron. in Isai. lxiv. p. 473. Ambros. in Ps. cxviii. t. 1. Oper. p. 1124.Origen, Epiphanius, and S. Jerom speak of another book, intitled The ascension of Isaiah. Some of the Jews ascribe to him the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s Song, and the book of Job. S. Ambrose cites one particular of Isaiah’s life, which is this, that the Prophet being in prison and in great danger of dying, the Devil appeared to him and said, say that you did not speak by the Spirit of God, and I will deliver you and change the hearts of those who hate you. But Isaiah chose rather to dye than to speak what was not true. The author of an imperfect work upon S. Matthew tells us, that this Prophet going to see Hezekiah, Auth. Oper. imperf. in Matt. homil. 1.while he was sick, this Prince sent for his son Manasseh, and gave him very good instructions in Isaiah’s presence. But the Prophet told him, he was very much afraid that nothing which he had said, had reached his heart; for says he, I myself must be put to death by his order. Which when Hezekiah heard, he was determin’d to kill his son Manasseh: But Isaiah withheld him, and said, God grant that this resolution may be vain. Lastly we have a long dialogue in the Talmud, between Isaiah and Hezekiah, in the time of this Prince’s sickness, when the Prophet came to visit him. But as these Gemarr. Berachot. c. 1.particulars are taken out of apocryphal and uncertain authors, we lay no stress upon them. The author of Ecclesiasticus makes an encomium of him in these few words. Isaiah the Prophet was great and faithful in his vision; in his time the Sun went backward, and he lengthned the King’s life. He Eccl. xlviii.saw by an excellent Spirit what should come to pass at the last, and he comforted them that mourned in Sion. He shewed what should come to pass, and secret things or ever they came.

The Eastern Christians tell us in their history, that the Prophet Isaiah forfeited the gift of prophecy 28 years, for not opposing King Uzziah, when he resolved to enter the sanctuary, where was the altar of incense. The same authors make him to have lived 120 years.

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