Is Isaiah Written by a Single Author?

Surveying the Exilic Evidence in Isaiah 40-55

Those who contend for the singular authorship of Isaiah, argue on the basis that the historical Isaiah wrote chapters 40-55 adopting a perspective from a future point in time. While this view cannot be completely ruled out(1) (1)In Isaiah 7, the narrative recounts Isaiah naming his son Shear-jashub meaning “a remnant shall return”. , such a reading ignores the extensive evidence in Isaiah 40-55 of an author writing in the context of Babylonian exile probably at a time close to when its fall could be predicted—i.e., a contemporary of Cyrus the Great. If this is indeed the case, that the historical Isaiah wrote this material is out of the question if we take the Bible’s claim of Isaiah being a prophet during the “reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah” (Is 1.1) at face value. Uzziah’s reign ended in 740 BCE and Hezekiah’s reign is thought to have begun in 715 BCE although the dating in each case is debatable. In other words, unless Isaiah lived to an exceedingly old age (i.e. at least over 150) his lifetime simply could not have spanned the Babylonian conquest (586 BCE) or Cyrus’ reign, which began in 559 BCE.

Post-Exilic Aspects #

Below is a systematic survey of portions of Second Isaiah that are suggestive of a post-exilic context. All excerpts are from the NRSV.

Isaiah 40.2:

Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

Mention of a “penalty” being paid, or a “term” being served.

Isaiah 41.2-4:

Who has roused a victor from the east, summoned him to his service? He delivers up nations to him, and tramples kings under foot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet. Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, am first, and will be with the last.

Very likely a reference to Cyrus. Here, the suggestion is that God has already raised this “victor” up and the prophet seems to be comforting Israel by pointing to God as the real power behind the rise of Cyrus, who is portrayed as a mere agent in God’s service. A similar theme is repeated in chapter 45.

Isaiah 41.9a:

…you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners…

Perhaps suggestive of an exilic context and a hope of restoration, but could also be read as an allusion to Genesis 12 and Abraham harking from “Ur of the Chaldeans” in Genesis 11.31. ⊕ Incidentally, could such a reference to “Chaldea” be seen as anachronistic?

Isaiah 42.21-25:

Who gave up Jacob to the spoiler, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey? So he poured upon him the heat of his anger and the fury of war; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him, but he did not take it to heart.

Especially 24-25 seems clearly to indicate that the punishment has occurred.

Isaiah 43.3b-6:

I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth.

Gathering language suggests an already established diaspora. Perhaps a forecast of the return of the exiles under Cyrus the Great(2) (2)Probably contemporaneous to Cyrus because of the mention of Chaldean downfall cf. 43.14. , but also predictive of his son Cambyses II’s conquest and incorporation of Egypt as an Achaemenid satrapy in 525 BCE and his unsuccessful campaigns against Ethiopia(3) (3)Herodotus Histories 3.17-26 . Those lands will receive the full brunt of Persian aggression; meanwhile, Israel will be restored under the Persians.

Isaiah 43.28:

Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, I delivered Jacob to utter destruction, and Israel to reviling.

Clear mention of the profaning of the priesthood (perhaps also Solomon’s temple?) and the destruction of Israel. Seems a clear allusion to the Babylonian conquest of Judah.(4) (4)2 See Kings 24-25, 2 Chron 36, Jer 25.

Isaiah 44.26-28:

…who confirms the word of his servant, and fulfills the prediction of his messengers; who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,” and of the cities of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins”… who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd, and he shall carry out all my purpose” and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”

Very clearly a post-exilic prediction of restoration. The prophet explicitly links Cyrus to the restoration. Other clear allusions to Cyrus reappear in 45.1, 45.13 and 46.11.

Isaiah 45.13:

I have aroused Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his paths straight; he shall build my city and set my “exiles” free, not for price or reward.

Explicit mention of the “exiles”.

Isaiah 46.1-2:

Bel bows down, Nebo stoops, their idols are on beasts and cattle; these things you carry are loaded as burdens on weary animals. They stoop, they bow down together; they cannot save the burden.

Clear mention of Babylonian gods. Probably, in context, should be read as imminent (probably predictable) forecasts of a period of Babylonian supremacy that is coming to an end very soon (see also 46.11-13).

Isaiah 46.3a:

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel…

Explicit mention of the “remnant”.

Isaiah 47.6:

I was angry with my people, I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand, you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

God talks of already having given his people over to a Babylonian yoke. The chapter as a whole continues the theme of Babylon’s impending doom.

Isaiah 48.10:

See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.

Promises of a period of Babylonian exile coming to an end?

Isaiah 48.20:

Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to the end of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

A declaration of salvation from the captivity under Babylon.

Isaiah 49:⊕ Perhaps prophetic fulfilment of this passage is layered; it could simply be referring to the restoration of Zion under Cyrus, but certain passages seem unfulfilled (e.g. v 23) under this reading. Can verse 23 be read Christologically? Perhaps Matthew’s gospel is evoking this imagery with the magi (notably Persian priests or sorcerers) bowing down and worshipping Jesus (Matt 2.11).

The whole chapter evokes the restoration of Zion and the return of the exiles to it (e.g. 49.14-15, 49.24-25).

Isaiah 50.1:

Thus says the LORD: Where is your mother’s bill of divorce with which I put her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? No, because of your sins you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was put away.

“Sold” and “put away” could be read as allusions to a period of exile.

Isaiah 51.3:

For the LORD will comfort Zion; he will comfort all her waste places, and will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

A more oblique reference but could be suggestive of exile?

Isaiah 50.11:

So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads…

Again, assumes a context of diaspora. Mention also of the “oppressor” and “release” under the hand of God in 50.12-14. The motif of comfort continues into the rest of the chapter; Jerusalem has “drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath” (v 17), “devastation and destruction, famine and sword” has befallen them (v 19) and Yahweh comforts his people by transferring the “cup of staggering” into the “hand of the tormentors” (v 22-23).

Isaiah 52.2-4:

Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter Zion! For thus says the LORD: You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord GOD: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.

Could be suggestive of Assyrian context, but given the later context of restoration (e.g v 9-10) probably just citing cases of Israel’s historical oppressions.

Isaiah 52.9:

Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.

Mention of the “ruins of Jerusalem” and its redemption.

Isaiah 52.11:

Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of it, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

Possibly being the vessels taken by Nebuchadnezzar which Cyrus decreed should be returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 6.5). If so, this passage could be a response to the decree.

Isaiah 53.5-7:

He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities … He was oppressed, and he was afflicted.

If read as the “servant” being Israel(5) (5)See this article for an argument in support of this reading. , the whole of chapter 53 suggests a completed period of punishment.

Isaiah 54.4-8:

…for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more… For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the LORD, your Redeemer. The barren/widow/divorcee imagery in 54 is probably best read as a reference to an exilic Israel.