Interpretation of the book of the prophet Isaiah

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 Name . The Jews called prophets nabi, i.e. “speaker.” This word is rooted in a verb that is still preserved in Arabic - nabaa to give news. The correctness of this understanding of the term nabi is confirmed by the corresponding Assyrian expression nabu to call, as well as the Ethiopian nababa to speak. But if this epithet “speaking” (nebiim) was given only to certain persons, then it obviously meant special people who deserved exceptional attention and respect with their speeches, in a word, people sent by God to proclaim His will. Thus, the word nabi must denote the messenger of Divine revelation. The term of the Greek Bible has the same meaning - προφητης, by which the LXX renders the Hebrew expression nabi. In addition, the Jews called the prophets roéh - seer, chozéh - seer. Both of these names indicate that what the prophet proclaimed was received by him in a state of vision or special delight (see Numbers 24:3–4 et seq.). But since the prophet’s gaze was also directed to the external life of the Jewish state, even to its future, the prophets were sometimes called zophim, i.e. watchmen (Jer.6:17; Is.56:10), who must warn their people about the danger threatening them. The prophets were also called shepherds (Zech. 10:2; Zech. 11:3, 16), who must take care of the sheep entrusted to them - the Israelites, men of God, etc. The Essence of Prophecy. If the prophets were supposed to proclaim to people the revelations they received from God, then, obviously, God entered into close internal communication with them. He had to talk to them and they to God, and God actually comes to them and speaks to them as to His friends about what He intends to do, explains to them His plans. This is the real essence of prophecy. Therefore, Abraham is already called a prophet and friend of God (Gen. 20:7; James 2:23). “Can I,” God asks, “hide from Abraham what I intend to do? "(Gen.18:17). God also calls other patriarchs “His prophets” (Ps. 104:14–15). If prophets therefore act as teachers and leaders of their people, then they express not their own beliefs and thoughts, but what they heard from God. They themselves clearly realized that it was God who spoke through them. That is why they often have in their prophetic speeches the inscription: “God said.” God put His words in their mouths (Jer. 15:19–20), and they speak with confidence about their message from God (2 Sam. 23:2; Dan. 2:27). Therefore, they primarily include the name roeh - seer, which signifies the divine origin of prophetic inspiration much more strongly than another word - chozeh, which was sometimes used to designate prophets not in the proper sense of the word, who were, one might say, self-deceived people who believed that God spoke through them (Ezek. 13: 2, 6). 1 Various states of inspiration. Although all prophets testify: “The Lord has spoken to me” or “Thus saith the Lord,” yet there was a difference between the prophets in their attitude to prophetic self-awareness and in God’s attitude towards them. a) A special place among the Old Testament prophets belongs to the prophet Moses, with whom “God spoke mouth to mouth” (Num. 12:8). Moses' ministry as a lawgiver, as well as a judge, priest, leader and prophet was also unusually high (Deut. 34:10). In a normal, waking state, he received revelations from God. The Lord spoke to him as to each other, directly expressing his commands. Samuel also heard the clear speech of God, but did not see any image (1 Samuel 3 et seq.). However, Moses did not see the undisguised glory of God (Ex. 33:20, 23). b) A much lower form of inspiration is when God spoke to the prophets in a vision or in a dream (Num. 22:8-9). In a state of vision, admiration or ecstasy, the human spirit rises above the ordinary boundaries of space and time, above all temporary life, and lives with the soul in the other world or is transferred to the distant future (Acts 22:17; Rev. 1:10). What he sees or hears in this state, he can then communicate to others, bringing everything he heard into a certain order and giving it a more or less harmonious form. c) Sometimes inspiration takes away a person’s will and he says something that is not what he wanted to say, or he does not fully understand his own prophecies. So Balaam blessed the Jews when he wanted to curse them. He even fell to the ground in a faint when the Spirit of God descended on him (Num. 24:3, 4). King Saul was once in the same passive state of inspiration (1 Samuel 19:24). Something completely different happened with Samuel, Isaiah and other prophets. In them, the human spirit only imperceptibly increased the pace of its life and activity, under the influence of the Spirit of God. Their spiritual activity, thanks to this action of the Spirit of God, was enlivened, new moods appeared in their souls, new horizons were opened to their minds, and they were still able to discern what, in fact, came into their souls from above and what was the result of their own spiritual activity at the time of receiving revelation (Is. 6:5; Jer. 1:7; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21). Here, the Divine influence relies more on the natural individual spiritual abilities of a person - on the education he has received (cf. Dan. 9: 2 and Jer. 25: 11), which is why the prophets sometimes have almost verbatim repetitions of previous prophecies, of course known to them (cf. Is. 2: 2-4 and Mic. 4: 1). However, education was not a necessary condition for receiving Divine revelation, as is proven by the example of a prophet from simple shepherds - Amos (Amos 7:14-15). But all the prophets had to maintain complete obedience to the will of God (Mic. 3:8) and always take care of converting the people of Israel to the same path of obedience to the Almighty. Features of prophetic contemplation. a) The prophets often received revelation in the form of visions, images, parables, symbols, which are sometimes quite difficult to unravel and for which appropriate explanations were therefore given (Am.7:7-8; Dan.8 et seq.; Zech.1:9). Therefore, the prophets themselves often speak in images and perform symbolic actions. At the same time, their speeches reflect their personality traits and they themselves take an active part in giving the revelation a certain form. Symbolic actions were sometimes performed by them in reality, and sometimes the prophets talk about them as events in their inner life (Jer. 19 et seq.; Is. 20 et seq.; Hos. 1 et seq.; Eze. 12 et seq.). b) The prophets saw the future events that they foretold as taking place during their time or even as already past. Thus, Isaiah speaks of the death of Christ as if he were a witness to the suffering of Christ (Is. 63 et seq.). This is why in their prophecies they often use the past tense to denote future events, which is why they are called the prophetic past tense (perfectum propheticum). c) Prophets take a long-term view, i.e. all objects in their contemplation seem to them to be located in one picture, in general outlines, even if they were objects belonging to different eras; however, they are still able to distinguish what is in the foreground of the picture opening before them and what is behind, in the distance. Although liberation from Babylonian captivity and messianic salvation are often combined in one picture, the prophets do not merge one with the other and present the first only as a shadow of the second. d) Each prophet saw only parts of the great future that awaits people, and therefore prophetic contemplation had the character of fragmentation (1 Cor. 13:9) and one prophet complements the other. The Purpose of Prophetic Ministry. Prophecy was the most vital element in the general plan of the divine economy and was the most prominent expression of God's communication with His people. In the Law of Moses a firm foundation was given for the revelation of the Divine will, but if this law was to enter the life of the people, then for this it was necessary for God to constantly testify of Himself as the King of Israel. And for this purpose the prophets were sent by God. They constantly maintained in Israel the consciousness that it was a theocratic state. They had to protect the law, clarify the spirit and power of its commandments (Deut. 10:16; Deut. 30 et seq.), discuss the phenomena of public life in Israel from the point of view of the law, observe the behavior of kings and priests, who often deviated from the path laid out for them in the law of Moses, and, proclaiming the decisions of the will of God regarding the future state of the people, generally revive the theocratic spirit. 2 Therefore, prophets were called only from among the chosen people (Deut. 18:18). Their main task was to establish among the people faith in the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. Christ and His kingdom are the central focus of the prophets. Contents of prophecies. The prophets in their prophecies depict the history of the kingdom of God, as it existed and was supposed to exist in Israel and throughout humanity, paying special attention to the completion of this kingdom. In this case, they do not dwell only on general outlines of the future, but enter into a detailed and thorough description of particular circumstances that stand in significant connection with the history of the kingdom of God. The prophet at Bethel calls the name of King Josiah 300 years before his birth (1 Kings 13:2), Ezekiel gives special specific indications of the fate awaiting Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:2, 25–27), Daniel foresees details of future events that are to take place in the life of the Jews (Dan.11:10–11). Prophets and soothsayers. From what has been said, it is already quite clear that the true prophets were not at all like the soothsayers known among the pagans. There are two essential differences between prophecy and divination. First of all, prophecy refers exclusively to the present time, while prophecy extends to the last limit of history, to the end of days, as the prophets put it. Every prophet evaluates the present in its relation to the ultimate goal. Thanks to this, all prophecies form one inextricable whole. The prophecies of pagan oracles are a series of sayings independent of one another; they are like words, without logical connection, following one another on the columns of the lexicon. On the contrary, all Israeli prophecies are interconnected and complement each other. Then the pagan oracles spoke only about circumstances or private or national life, but Israeli prophecy from the very beginning covered all humanity with its gaze. The certainty of the divine calling of the prophets. The prophets proved the truth of their calling by God through great miracles that they performed by the power of God. In addition, in this case one must take into account the purity of their teaching and life (Deut. 13:2, 5; 1 Sam. 10:6, 9; cf. Matt. 24:24). Moses, Elijah and Elisha had a special gift for working miracles. The prophets themselves pointed to the fulfillment of their prophecies as proof of the truth of their election by God Himself. Prophet Jeremiah says; “if any prophet predicted peace, then only he was recognized ... as a prophet whom God truly sent, when the word of that prophet was fulfilled” (Jer. 28:9). The language of the prophets. Since the prophets were not weak-willed and unconscious organs of the Spirit of God, but retained self-determination and their characteristic individual properties when presenting the revelations that they received, it is clear that the language of the prophets has various degrees of perfection and from simple prosaic speech often reaches high levels of oratory and poetry. Amos, a shepherd, borrows his images and pictures from rural life, Daniel speaks like a statesman. The early prophets speak pure Hebrew, the later ones use more or less Chaldean or Aramaic. The book of the prophet Isaiah, whom some therefore called “the king of the prophets,” is distinguished by its special grace and purity of speech. Many of the prophets' speeches take the form of real poems, while retaining all the properties of Jewish poetry. History of Prophecy. If already the antediluvian patriarchs were, in a general sense, prophets (for example, Enoch - see Jude 1:14-15), if already during the time of Moses prophecy had its representatives (Mariam and 70 elders - Num. 11:16), if even in the troubled time of the Judges the fire of prophetic inspiration flickered here and there (Judges 2:1; Judges 5:1; 1 Samuel 2:27), then from Samuel (this, after the Mosaic period, is already the second period in the development of prophecy), prophecy enters a period of real prosperity and prophets appear among Israel in very large numbers. Thanks to the energy of Samuel, theocratic life in Israel was revived, and at the same time, prophetic inspiration was revealed in all its strength, and the prophets or prophetic disciples constituted entire corporations under the control of the great prophet Samuel. The prophets, starting with Samuel, had a huge influence on the entire course of life of the Israeli people and the kings of Israel, in general, were obedient to their suggestions. Since the division of the Jewish kingdom into two (third period), the energetic prophet Ahijah of Shiloh became the head of the prophets and the prophets, especially in the kingdom of Israel, where there was neither a legitimate royal dynasty nor a legitimate priesthood, acquired enormous importance. They also made a lot of efforts in the fight against false prophets, whose appearance dates back to the time of the king of Israel, Ahab, and who led the kingdom to destruction with their flattering advice. The prophets, like Elijah and Elisha, as well as the prophet-writers of this period, tried in every possible way to awaken the theocratic consciousness in the Jewish people, but the prophets of the next, fourth period, on the contrary, begin to talk about the imminent fall of the theocratic kingdom and its future transformation into the messianic kingdom, which on the one hand proves that God justly punishes the violators of His law, and on the other hand, consoles believers in the difficult trials that they were subjected to in those days. Finally, in the last, fifth - post-exilic period, the prophets, on the one hand, act in the form of restoring the internal and external life of the theocracy, on the other hand, they turn their gaze to the future transformation of this life. The meaning of prophetic books. The writings of the prophets are important because of the abundance of teaching material they contain. In them we find majestic images of the being and properties of God, His power, holiness, omniscience, goodness, etc. They give us the opportunity to penetrate with our gaze into the invisible world and into the mysterious depths of the human heart. By depicting the wickedness and bitterness of Israel, the prophets seem to be showing us a mirror in which we can see the reflection of our own lives. But the books of the prophets are especially important for us Christians, because in them we find prophecies about the Jews and other nations, and mainly predictions about Christ, fulfilled with perfect accuracy. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself pointed to prophecies as the most faithful evidence of Him and His activities (John 5:39). Finally, prophecies are important for us because they often reveal in detail what is indicated in the New Testament only in hints and brief notes. So, for example, the 53rd chapter of the book. Isaiah clarifies before us the true cause and purpose of Christ’s suffering, and also gives an explanation for the words of John the Baptist about Christ: “Behold, the lamb of God!” (John 1:29) Distribution of prophetic books in the Bible. All the prophets who recorded their speeches in books were 16. The first four - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel - are called great, and the other 12 - Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi - small, of course, due to the relatively small volume of their books. However, the book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible was classified among the ethnographers (ketubim), and the books of the 12 minor prophets constituted one book. The prophetic books in our Bible are not distributed in order of time of their origin, but, probably, by volume. The chronological order of the prophetic books can be established as follows. The oldest prophet was Obadiah, who prophesied around 885 BC, followed by Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. These are the so-called exiled prophets. Then come the prophets of the period of captivity - Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, and finally, the post-exilic prophets - Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (about 427). 3 1. Personality of the prophet. The name of the prophet - jeschajehu translated from Hebrew means: salvation is accomplished by the Almighty or, in short, the salvation of the Lord. LXX translators render this Hebrew name with the expression Ησαιας. In later biblical writing, this Hebrew expression is found in the abbreviated form jeschaeja. Who was the father of Isaiah, called Amos in the inscription of the book, is unknown. Isaiah, as can be seen from his book itself, lived in Jerusalem, and this circumstance largely explains the awareness that the prophet reveals regarding the events of capital life. The Prophet had his own house, was married and had children. He calls his wife a prophetess (Is.8:3). His children - sons - with their names symbolically foreshadowed the judgment of God to which the kingdom of Judah and Israel were to be subjected (Is. 7:3; Is. 8: 3, 18), while the name of the prophet himself served as a symbol of the salvation awaiting God's chosen ones. Isaiah lived for a very long time and his activity as a prophet was long. Having begun his ministry at least 20 years old, in the year of the death of King Uzziah (according to the old calendar it was 759 BC, according to the newest, based on the study of Assyrian monuments - 740), he last appeared as an active figure around the year 701, so that his prophetic ministry lasted at least 40 years, and maybe more. The Bible does not say anything about his death, but the Talmudic tradition, accepted by the Fathers of the Church, testifies that Isaiah was martyred at the command of the wicked king of the Jews Manasseh (a hint of this can be seen in the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 2:30). As for the spiritual appearance of the prophet, this appearance amazes us with its greatness. Isaiah is fully convinced that he was called to his high service by the Lord Himself (chapter 6) and, because of this consciousness, everywhere he reveals the most devoted obedience to the will of God and unconditional trust in the Existence. Therefore, he is free from all influences of human fear and always places the interests of people lower than the demands of God’s eternal truth. With the greatest courage, in the face of Ahaz, he condemns his entire policy (chapter 7), sharply denounces the temporary minister Shebna (Is. 22 et seq.), as well as other Jewish rulers, priests, prophets and the entire people (chap. 2, 3, 5, 28, etc.). He openly and fearlessly condemns the policy of the Jewish government under King Hezekiah (chap. 30–32) and is not afraid to even announce the approach of death to the king himself (chap. 38), and then to the same king, who had become mortally ill, confidently predicts a speedy recovery. Without fear of accusations of lack of patriotism, he predicts that Hezekiah will take all his descendants into Babylonian captivity. And his words, which in themselves breathed with the power of conviction, acquired more and more significance over time, because some of his prophecies were fulfilled while he continued his prophetic activity, and also because his words were accompanied by miraculous signs (Is. 38:7). 2. The Age of Isaiah. Isaiah was called to his ministry in the year of the death of the Judean king Uzziah, who, according to the latest estimates based on the study of Assyrian monuments, reigned from 780 to 740 BC. This pious king, with the help of God, managed to introduce good order in his small state and generally ruled so well that the kingdom of Judah acquired important importance among other Asia Minor states, especially thanks to their successes in wars with the Philistines, Arabs and other peoples. The people of Judah lived almost as well under Uzziah as under Solomon, although, however, Judah was sometimes visited by some misfortunes at this time, such as an earthquake (Is. 5:25) and although the king himself in the last years of his life was struck by leprosy, sent to him because he showed claims to perform priestly service. At the end of his reign, Uzziah made his son, Jotham, his co-ruler (2 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:21). Jotham (according to 2 Kings 15:32–38 and 2 Chronicles 26:23) ruled the kingdom of Judah for 16 years – 11 years as his father’s co-ruler and more than 4 years on his own (740–736). And he was a pious man and happy in his endeavors, although already under him the Syrians and Ephraimites began to plot against Judea. But the Jewish people under Jotham, by their deviations from the law of God, began to incur the wrath of God, and the prophet Isaiah began to announce to his fellow citizens about the punishment awaiting them from God (chapter 6). It is obvious that the external successes achieved by Jotham not only did not contribute to the moral improvement of the people, but on the contrary, as Moses predicted (Deut. 32), instilled in this people a sense of pride and made it possible to lead a carefree and dissolute life. The speeches of Isaiah contained in chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 of his book date back to this time. After Jotham, Ahaz ascended the throne (2 Kings 16.1 and 2 Chronicles 28:1), who reigned for 10 years (736–727). In direction, he was not like his father and deviated into idolatry. For this reason, the Lord, according to the writers of the 4th book of Kings and 2 Chronicles, sent enemies against him, of whom the most dangerous were the Syrians and the Israelites, who formed an alliance among themselves, to which the Edomites also joined (2 Kings 16 et seq., 2 Chron. 28 et seq.). Things got to the point that many Jews, subjects of Ahaz, were captured by enemies and, together with their wives and children, resettled in Samaria: only the prophet Oded convinced the Israelites to free the Jews from captivity. In addition to the Edomites, Syrians and Israelites, the Philistines also attacked Judea during the reign of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:18). Under this king, Isaiah made speeches contained in chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 (vv. 1–4), 14 (vv. 28–32) and 17, and also, perhaps, in ch. 1 and 10, art. 5–12. In these speeches, Isaiah condemned the policy of Ahaz, who turned to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser (or Tiglath-Pilezer III) for help against his enemies. He predicted that these Assyrians would eventually plot to subjugate the kingdom of Judah and that only the Messiah, Immanuel, would humiliate their pride and crush their strength. Touching upon the internal life of the Jewish state under Ahaz, Isaiah denounced the lack of justice among the rulers of the people, and the increasing licentiousness of morals among the people. Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, (2 Kings 18 - 2 Kings 20 and 2 Chronicles 29 - 2 Chronicles 32:1), ruled the state of Judah for 29 years (from 727 to 698 BC). Hezekiah was a very pious and God-fearing sovereign (2 Kings 18:3, 5, 7) and cared about the restoration of true worship, according to the statutes of Moses (2 Kings 18:4, 22). Although at first he was surrounded by people who had little understanding of the essence of the theocratic structure of the Jewish state and who persuaded the king to enter into alliances with foreign sovereigns, but then, under the influence of the prophet Isaiah, Hezekiah became convinced that the only strong support for his state was the Most High Himself. During Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, Hezekiah sends envoys to Isaiah for advice, and the prophet consoles the king with a promise of divine help. At the time of Hezekiah the speeches of Isaiah, contained in ch. 22, 28–33, as well as chapters 36–39 and, finally, perhaps the entire second section of the book of Isaiah (40–66 chapters). In addition, the prophecies regarding foreign nations in ch. 15, 16, 18–20 and maybe in 21 (11–17 vv.) and 23 ch. To the very end of Hezekiah's reign, the speeches contained in ch. 13, 14, 21 (1–10 v.), 24–27, 34 and 35. Let us add a few more words about the peoples who most influenced the life of the Jewish Israeli state in the days of Isaiah. In this regard, Assur was in first place. In the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, the first king of the new dynasty, Phul, ascended the Assyrian throne. This king devastated the kingdom of Israel. The same kingdom was attacked under Ahaz by the powerful Assyrian king Tiglath-Pilezer III, and in the days of Hezekiah, the Assyrian kingdom reached its highest degree of prosperity and King Salmonassar finally destroyed the kingdom of Israel, and his successor Sennacherib made attempts to subjugate the kingdom of Judah. But already in Sennacherib's last years, the power of Assyrian began to disappear. Asar-Gaddon, however, managed to suppress the uprising in Babylon and subjugated Judea to himself, taking its king, Manasseh, into captivity, but the days of the Assyrian monarchy were obviously already numbered, and around 630, Kioxares of Media, in alliance with Nabopolassar of Babylonia, took the capital of Assyria, Nineveh, and Assyria after that became Median province. As for the other great power of that time, Egypt, the Jews for the most part were in alliance with it and hoped for its help when they began to dream of liberation from subordination to the Assyrians, who for the most part pestered the Jewish kings by demanding tribute from them. Egypt, however, at that time was already outdated and weakened. In those days, Egypt was weakened by internal strife, and during the era of Isaiah’s activity, as many as three dynasties changed on the Egyptian throne - the 23rd, 24th and 25th. In their wars with Assyria over disputed Syrian possessions, the Egyptian kings of the so-called Ethiopian dynasty (from 725 to 605) were first defeated, but then the powerful Egyptian king Tirhak inflicted a strong defeat on Sennacherib and restored the greatness of Egypt, although not for long: Sennacherib's successor, Esar-Gaddon, entered Egypt with his troops, and then soon The Ethiopian dynasty was also overthrown. Quite an important figure in the era of Isaiah was the kingdom of Syria with its main city, Damascus. This kingdom constantly fought with the kingdom of Assyria. The Assyrian kings, especially Tiglath-Pilezer III, cruelly punished the Syrian sovereigns who gathered allies for themselves from among the Asia Minor states subject to the Assyrian power, but in 732 Syria was finally annexed to Assyria as its province. It is known that then there was the kingdom of the Chaldeans with its capital, Babylon. This kingdom, in the era of Isaiah, was in vassal relations with Assyria and the kings of Babylon were considered only the viceroys of the Assyrian king. However, these kings constantly tried to restore the former independence of the Chaldean state and raised the banner of indignation against Assyrian rule, attracting some other kings of Asia Minor to this, for example, Hezekiah of Judah, and in the end they still achieved their goal. As for the other peoples who came into contact with the Jews in the days of Isaiah - the Tyrians, Philistines, Maovites, Edomites, etc., due to their weakness, they could not cause particularly serious harm to the Jews, but for that they provided them with little help, as allies, against Assyria. It should also be noted that in the era of Isaiah, the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were almost always in hostile relations with each other, and this, of course, could not but affect the sad fate that first befell the kingdom of Israel, and then the kingdom of Judah. 3. Book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah consists of several separate collections of his speeches. It is impossible to say who finally grouped the prophet’s speeches into these collections. All the prophet's speeches are not arranged in a strictly chronological order, but rather in a systematic order. In terms of content, the book of Isaiah can be divided into two parts. The first - from chapters 1 to 39 - is permeated primarily with the spirit of reproof, while the second - from chapter 40. according to 66 - contains almost exclusively consolations to the people of Israel in view of the Babylonian captivity awaiting them. In the first part, the prophet reproaches the Jewish people for their stubbornness, with which they turned away from doing the will of God, mainly in the days of Ahaz. The prophet sharply draws before his listeners their ingratitude towards their Benefactor - the Lord, their imitation of the pagans in wickedness and even the idolatry to which they indulged (Is. 2:20; Is. 17:8; Is. 30:22; Is. 31:7), lack of faith in Divine revelation (Is. 29 et seq.), superficial, external fulfillment of the requirements of the Mosaic Law, combined with complete immorality (Is. 1 et seq.), lack of honesty and justice in relation to one’s neighbor, lack of mutual love and mercy for the poor. The prophet is especially strict with the great of the world who openly allow themselves to violate the demands of God's righteousness (Is. 1 et seq.; Is. 5:22–23; Is. 10:1; Is. 32: 5–7; Is. 33: 1–5). The policy of the Jewish rulers, who saw the entire salvation of the Jewish state in alliances with strong pagan powers, also finds sharp condemnation here (Is. 8 et seq.; Is. 30: 1 et seq.; Is. 31 et seq.). In view of the corruption of the people of Israel, the prophet threatens them with the judgment of God, the executors of which should be pagan nations, predicts the devastation of the land of Israel and the expulsion of the Jews from it (Is. 6 et seq.; Is. 5:13; Is. 17:9), and speaks quite clearly about the capture of Jerusalem by enemies (Is. 2: 12, 15; Is. 3: 8, 16 et seq.; Is. 22: 5); Is.30 et seq.; Is.32 et seq. 19), about the imminent fall of Samaria (chap. 28) and about the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (Is. 39 et seq.). But, on the other hand, in this part of the book of Isaiah there are many prophecies that are gratifying for the heart of the Israeli, and here and there, through the darkness of the future, bright prospects open up for Israel. The prophet depicts how the country of Israel rises from the deep humiliation into which it was plunged after the invasion of the Assyrians. Here the new Ruler of the people of Israel is drawn in the distance - the Messiah. This will be a descendant of David in the flesh, but God in a spiritual essence. He will extend His power over the entire universe. But in the near future, Israel, according to the prophet, may receive the mercies of God. Isaiah offered help from God first to Ahaz, and then to Hezekiah - both on the occasion of the invasion of enemies (Is.8 et seq.; Is.10:26-34; Is.14:24-27, 32; Is.17:12-14; Is.18 et seq., Is.39 et seq.; Is.30:27-33; Is.31:8 et seq.; Isa.33 et seq.; Isa.37 et seq.). The Lord will protect Zion - this holy mountain of his, if only Israel remains devoted to the Almighty (chap. 28, 33). At first, Zion will be devastated, but then it will rise in glory and all nations will rush to this mountain, recognizing its right to universal leadership (Is. 2 et seq.; Is. 25 et seq.). In particular, the first part of the book of Isaiah contains the following sections. Chapters 1–6 contain an extensive introduction relevant to the entire book, consisting of three separate parts: a) Ch. 1; b) ch. 2–5 and c) Ch. 6. Then from Ch. 7. 12 are the speeches of Isaiah, constituting the first section of the book, in which the prophet clarifies the relationship of Israel to Assur during the reign of Ahaz and indicates the outcome of the friendship that began between the Assyrians and Ahaz. The second section of the first part covers Isaiah's prophecies against foreign nations. At the head of these prophecies is the prophecy about Babylon, as containing a general description of God’s judgments over the pagan world “as depicting the fate of the most terrible devastator of the Jewish state” (Is. 13 - Is. 14:23). This prophecy is joined by a short prophecy about the fate of Asshur, which was so terrible for the contemporaries of the prophet Isaiah, and then followed by prophecies about the Philistines, Moab, Syria, Ethiopia and Egypt (Is. 14 - Is. 20:6), then again a prophecy about Babylon with the addition of prophecies about Edom and Arabia and Jerusalem (chap. 21-22), which are united into one collection, probably because all four are symbolic in nature, which is why some interpreters call them libellus emblematicus. The conclusion to the prophecies about alien, foreign peoples is the prophecy about Tyre (chapter 23). The finale to this collection of prophecies for foreign nations is represented by chapters 24–27, which deal with the final judgment of the world, its destruction, the resurrection of the dead and the fulfillment of the salvation promised to Israel. This last section is therefore sometimes called libellus apocalipticus by interpreters. The third section of the first part depicts the relations of Israel to Assyrian in the days of Hezekiah (chap. 28-33). Here are five speeches, each of which begins with the exclamation: woe! (goj). These speeches are arranged in chronological order: they convey the idea that the salvation of Israel depends not on an alliance with Egypt, but on the Lord alone. The fourth section embraces Ch. 34–35, representing the finale to the first part. They contain, on the one hand, an image of God’s judgment over heaven and earth, on the other hand, they draw a picture of the salvation of Israel, which, first of all, will consist in the return of Israel from captivity. The fifth section is historical legends of chapters 36–39, repeating almost verbatim the legends of the 4th book of Kings (2 Kings 18 - 2 Kings 20:19). The second part of the book of Isaiah forms one harmonious and complete whole. It is divided into three sections and each section contains nine chapters. In the first two sections there are nine speeches each, in the last - five. The subject of all these 27 chapters is the era of redemption of Israel and then of all mankind, beginning with the liberation of Israel from Babylonian captivity and extending until the time of the Last Judgment of the world. In the first section (chap. 40–48), the prophet mainly depicts the deliverance of Israel from Babylonian captivity and the culprit of this deliverance - King Cyrus, touching in places on the moral liberation of Israel from the domination of sin, thanks to the intercession of the meek Messenger of the Most High - the Messiah. In the second section (49–57 chapters), the focal point to which the prophet’s attention is drawn is the personality of the Messiah, whose suffering for the sins of the people the prophet depicts here with amazing power and clarity. In the third section (chap. 58–66), the prophet depicts the glorification of this Great Sufferer. The Messiah appears here as high priest, king and prophet at the same time. He brings judgment on the world and creates a new and better life. From what has been said, it is clear what the features of Isaiah’s prophetic contemplation are. If Isaiah, on the one hand, very thoroughly treats all the contemporary phenomena of the internal and external life of his people, then, on the other hand, his gaze is directed with the same interest to the distant future, which for him is not at all separated by any insurmountable line from the present. Both the present and the future are for him a single, continuously developing whole, and all similar relationships and phenomena of both the current life and the one yet to come appear to his prophetic gaze as if reflected at the same time on one huge light screen. For the prophet in his contemplation there are no temporal boundaries. The huge spaces that actually separate one phenomenon from another also disappear before him. His gaze quickly moves from the most distant event of the future to the circumstances of the near future, and from here again into the distance of the future; if all this does not, however, constitute an exclusive feature of Isaiah’s prophetic contemplation, then, in any case, in him these characteristic features appear with special strength and brightness. It should be noted that Isaiah in his prophecies sometimes made precise determinations regarding the time at which one or another of his prophecies should be fulfilled (see, for example, Is. 16:14; Is. 37:30; Is. 38:5). His speech everywhere breathes force and is distinguished by clarity and variety of oratorical expressions and methods of evidence. He speaks equally masterfully in the tone of a sage-teacher as in the language of a poet. His prophecies about the Messiah are striking in the majesty of their images, his complaints and denunciations are stunning, his exhortations are extremely convincing, his threats are strong. Isaiah uses all sorts of verbal expressions and techniques: alliteration, similarity, paronomasia, repetition, etc. That is why Isaiah takes first place among the prophet-writers. Jesus, the son of Sirach, calls him a great prophet (Sir. 48:25), who with his great spirit foresaw the distant future and proclaimed the future for centuries (ibid. vv. 27-28). Eusebius of Caesarea calls him a great and wonderful prophet, the greatest prophet (Demonstr. evang. II, 4), Blessed Theodoret - the most divine, Isidore Pelusiot - the most insightful and wisest of the prophets. Isaiah always prefigures future events of the Messianic time in expressions corresponding to their high significance (the birth of the Savior from the Virgin - in Chapter 7, His suffering and death - in Chapter 63). Therefore, Blessed Jerome calls Isaiah not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle. Cyril of Alexandria and St. Augustine also speak about him. In view of this significance of the book of Isaiah, it is given first place among the prophetic books both in the current Hebrew Bible and in the LXX. 4. Authenticity of the book. There has long been disagreement in biblical scholarship regarding the origins of the book of Isaiah. The Jews of the Talmud era recognized that the speeches contained in the book really belonged to Isaiah, but that they were collected and written down by his contemporaries - the so-called friends of King Hezekiah. The Talmudic tradition undoubtedly expresses precisely this idea when it says that the book of the prophet Isaiah was written by a society of friends of Hezekiah (Baba Vatta 15, a). But we cannot agree with this opinion due to the fact that there was no need for the prophet, a very educated man, to provide the writing and collection of his speeches to people who were strangers and, perhaps, disliked the prophet for his denunciations that he uttered against their short-sighted policies. Then, in addition to the Old Testament testimony of the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach (Sir.48:25-28), we have in the New Testament a clear indication that during the days of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, the book of Isaiah was recognized by the Jews as his work (Luke 4:17-22; Matt.15:7-9; Luke 22:37). The holy apostles expressed exactly the same view of the book of Isaiah (Acts 8:28; Acts 28:25; Rom.9:27). This attitude towards the book of Isaiah was also established among the most ancient church writers, fathers and teachers of the Church. But from the end of Chapter 17. Some biblical critics have begun to point out insertions into the book of Isaiah by a later hand. Then, little by little, doubts began to be expressed regarding the authenticity of individual entire chapters of the book and even entire sections, among which the most suspicion was aroused against itself by the entire second part of the book (chapters 40–56), which began to be attributed to an unknown prophet who lived during the Babylonian captivity (Gesenius, Ewald, Gitzig and Knobel). The newest scholars have brought their doubts to the point that they have left almost not a single chapter in the book of Isaiah, which could be considered the original work of Isaiah (Cunen, Doom and Couch). According to these critics, the book of Isaiah has even undergone repeated revisions (editions), so that it is now difficult to find out what its original form was. But, on the other hand, there are many scientists who recognize the complete authenticity of the book of Isaiah (Kleinert, Gefernik, Draxler, Delitsch, Keil, Corneli, Bredenkamp, ​​etc.) and these scientists have said enough to recognize all objections to the authenticity of the book of Isaiah as unfounded. First of all, against those scholars who find in the book of Isaiah the works of different authors who lived in different eras, one can put forward the consideration that throughout the entire book of Isaiah the same tone of speech is remarkably observed. Everywhere the prophet speaks with strength, swiftness and boldness, which gave the Apostle Paul a reason to say: “Isaiah speaks boldly” (Rom. 10:20). Then one notices the similarity in the way of expressing thoughts, the special clarity and objectivity of presentation noticed throughout the book of Isaiah. This clarity consists in a special picture quality, which sometimes even approaches dramatism (for example, Is. 63:1 et seq.), and objectivity lies in the fact that abstract ideas or designations of internal states of the soul are depicted as objects existing in space and time. Some of the images are constantly repeated (for example, the image of a vineyard, desert). Then the prophet has one idea running through the entire book - that Zion will be saved by the truth and power of God, and not by any earthly, human power. At the same time, however, everywhere justification or salvation is promised to the remnant of Israel, and not to the entire people, and among this remnant the Savior Himself is conceived as coming from the holy chosen remnant or seed. Further, it is noticeable that the disasters awaiting the Jews and their upcoming redemption are depicted in a certain gradualness of revelation, which again indicates the unity of the different parts of the book of Isaiah. The objections usually raised by critics against the authenticity of the entire book of Isaiah are rather unfounded. They point out, for example, that Isaiah speaks about himself either in the first or in the third person. But was he one of the ancient writers to do this? Moreover, the prophet speaks of himself in the third person even in that chapter that everyone recognizes as genuine - namely in ch. 20. They further say that in the prophets later in relation to Isaiah we do not find such a living image of the Messiah as in Isaiah. But did the later prophets have to again depict what was already so thoroughly depicted in Isaiah? Prophecy did not at all follow the path of gradual progress in depicting the face and activity of the Messiah... They also refer to their usage, style, etc. as evidence of the opinion about the late origin of some of the prophecies of Isaiah, but in all these references subjective tastes are reflected, as explained by Ed. Koenig (in his Neutestam. Prinzipien der alttestam. Kritik 1902. S. 13 et seq.). Some critics attach particular importance to the asymmetry in the construction of stanzas and verses of individual prophetic speeches of Isaiah. But was it really necessary for the prophet to observe exactly all the rules that an ordinary poetic work should satisfy? It is also not surprising that the prophet sometimes stops rhythmic speech to begin speaking in prose. Finally, they say that the sayings and speeches of the prophets were written on separate scrolls and that therefore scrolls of later origin - even the era of the Asmoneans - could be placed in the collection of the speeches of Isaiah. But to this it must be said that the book of Isaiah as an integral work, which already occupied a well-known place in the Old Testament sacred canon, was known to the author of the book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, i.e., at least 200 liters ago. BC (Sir.48:22–25). Questions about the authenticity of individual chapters that raise doubts in biblical criticism will be resolved by explaining each such chapter separately. As for the question of the authenticity of the second part of the book of Isaiah, it will be considered before interpreting it. 5. Text of the book of Isaiah and translations. The book of the prophet Isaiah has come down to us in two ancient texts - the Hebrew Masoretic and the Greek - LXX interpreters. As for the first, despite its authenticity and originality, it is still not correct in places and biblical critics sometimes make changes to it. But the Greek text of LXX in its various copies is also very unsatisfactory. The translator of the book apparently did not know how to correctly convey the proper names found in the book, and did not understand the real meaning of many Hebrew words. He also did not have a proper understanding of the peculiarities of the structure of Jewish speech, which is why he came up with sentences that were incorrect both from the point of view of Greek syntax and from the point of view of Hebrew composition. Sometimes he translates two different words with the same expression, and sometimes he translates the same words in different ways. Often he makes it difficult to understand the prophet’s speech by arbitrary rearrangements of words, insertions or omissions. Sometimes he uses the first meaning of a Hebrew word that comes to his mind, not paying attention to the fact that this results in something completely incomprehensible (for example, Is. 18: 1–2). Therefore, those critics who think to see in the Greek translation of the book of Isaiah some kind of authority that resolves all difficulties are wrong, although, on the other hand, one cannot fail to recognize the great benefit that the interpreter of the book of Isaiah can derive from this translation in establishing the correct reading in some controversial places of the text. It should be noted that in the second part of the book of Isaiah the translation of LXX is much better than in the first. In addition to the translation of the LXX, the most famous copies of which are: a) Vetus Testamentum juxta LXX according to the Vatican Codex with variant readings of the Alexandrian Codex and b) Vetus Testamentum according to the Sinaiticus copy (both editions belong to Tischendorf), we have excerpts from translations of the book of Isaiah made by Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, collected by Origen in his hexaplas and published, in some parts of their own, English scientist. Also worthy of attention in establishing the correct reading of some passages of the book of Isaiah: a) Chaldean targums, of which the targum of Johnathan agrees with the New Testament in recognizing some places of the book as messianic (for example, Is.9:6; Is.42:1; Is.52:13); b) Syriac translation (Peshito), very close to the LXX translation; c) Latin translation - Vulgata, which deviates little from the Hebrew Masoretic text. 6. Interpretations on the book of the prophet Isaiah. A lot of interpretations from the patristic era have been preserved on the book of the prophet Isaiah. The most famous of them are the works of Ephraim the Syrian (according to the text of Peshito), Basil the Great (for the first 16 chapters of the book), John Chrysostom (in the Greek text this interpretation extends only to the first 8 chapters of the book, but in the Armenian and Latin translation, published in 1880, for the entire book and the Russian translation was made from this last edition), Blessed Jerome (according to Hebrew and Greek text), Cyril of Alexandria (according to LXX), Blessed Theodoret. Of the interpretations of modern times, the best are recognized as: Gesenius, Hitzig, Knobel, Ewald, Nagelsbach, Dilman, Duma, Marty, Scheine, Orelli - all Lutheran and imbued with a rather strong spirit of criticism. Of the works of an apologetic nature, the most famous are: Gengstenberg (Christologie A.T.), Drachsler, Delich, Knabenbauer. The latest scientific interpretation is Condamin's Le livre d'lsaie. Traduction critique avec notes et commentaires. Paris. 1905. All literature on the study of the book of Isaiah is listed here and a new translation of the book is given. Also worthy of mention are new works that serve as a guide to the study of the book of Isaiah: 1) Orelli. Der Prophet Iesaja, 3rd ed.; 2) Richter. Die messianische Weissagung und ihre Erfullung. 1905; 3) Möller. Die messianische Erwartung der votexilischen Prophetenzugleich ein Protest gegen moderne Textzersplitterung 1906. From Russian interpretations of the book of the prophet Isaiah the following are known: 1) Bishop Peter. Explanation of the book of the holy prophet Isaiah in Russian translation, extracted from various interpreters, volumes 1 and 2. M. 1887; 2) Yakimova prof. Interpretation of the book of the holy prophet Isaiah (according to Slavic and Russian texts) St. Petersburg. 1884 (unfinished); 3) Vlastova. Prophet Isaiah St. Petersburg. 1898 in two parts (according to Russian translation); 4) Bishop Vissarion. Proverbs from the book. Prophet Isaiah. St. Petersburg Ed. Tuzov 1894. In addition, quite useful instructions are found in educational manuals for the study of prophetic books by Spassky, Yezhov, Nartsisov and others. A good work on the book. the prophet Isaiah is a dissertation by Hierom. Thaddeus, The Unity of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius 1901. Also useful are the articles of the professor of the Kazan Academy, Yungerov, published at different times in the journal “Orthodox. Interlocutor,” and his own private introduction to the sacred historical books. Vol. 2nd. Kazan. 1907 See Konig Das Prophetenthum in Beweis d. Glaubens. 1907. 2, 1–3. The socio-political activity of the prophets is beautifully outlined in Walter's book: Die Propheten in ihrem socialem Beruf. Freiburg 1900. 1–288 pp. Bishop gives more detailed information about prophecies in general. Michael in his essays “Biblical Science” (Old Testament, issue 4). You can read about the fulfillment of prophecies from Keith in his book: “Proofs of the truth of the Christian faith, based on the literal fulfillment of prophecies, the history of the Jews and the discoveries of modern travelers.” St. Petersburg 1870 pp. 1–530. You might be interested in: