Messages of the Prophets (Isaiah 40-66)

In a previous post, I looked at themes in the first half of Isaiah. Here is a quick look at the second half, which relates to the late 500s BC.

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II. Chapters 40-55 have sometimes been called "Second Isaiah." They relate especially to the time around Cyrus conquering Babylon (ca. 539-38BC).

Chapter 40: hope of return from exile; Yahweh is great (love God)

40:18-20 -- idols are a burden on the poor (other gods; social justice)

Chapter 41 -- Yahweh is great; idols are not (love God, other gods, hope)

41:17 -- God cares for the poor (social justice)

42:3-4 -- God brings justice

42:7 -- God frees the captives (social justice)

Chapter 42 -- idols are pointless (love God)

Chapter 43 -- hope to return from captivity

Chapter 44 -- God is the redeemer, the only true God; idols are pointless (hope, love God)

Chapter 45 -- God is great and bringing Jews home (hope)

Chapter 46 -- God is great; idols are pointless; redemption is coming (love God, hope)

Chapter 47 -- Judgment on Babylon the oppressor (judgment, oppression)

48:1 -- half-hearted service to Yahweh; idols are pointless 14 (love God)

Chapter 49 -- hope for return from Babylon

Chapter 50 -- judgment was because Israel was unfaithful (love God)

Chapter 51 -- God is bringing salvation (hope)

Chapter 52 -- God news is on the way (hope)

Chapter 53 -- The suffering servant, past Israel has paid the penalty so present Israel can be redeemed (hope)

54:8 -- God judged them but is now going to save them (hope)

Chapter 55 -- hope is on the way

III. Chapters 56-66 are sometimes called "Third Isaiah." They picture a time after Israel's return but probably before the temple was rebuilt in 516BC.

56:2 -- keeping Sabbath (love God)

56:3-6 -- foreigner and eunuch should be included (social justice)

Chapter 57 -- those who serve idols, prostitutes, adulterers, sacrificers of children (love God)

57:15 -- God revives the lowly in spirit (humility before God)

58:3, 6, 9 -- exploitation of workers, set the oppressed free (oppression)

58:13 -- honoring the Sabbath (love God)

59:3, 7 -- blood, false dealing (concrete wrongs against others)

Chapter 60 -- hope of restoration

61:1 -- good news to poor, captive, to blind (social justice)

Chapters 61-65 -- hope of restoration (and judgment of wrongdoers)

Summary

These chapters are filled with hope for the restoration of Judah and the return from exile. This is especially true of the first half. The theme of the greatness of Yahweh, the pointlessness of idols, and the need to worship Yahweh also fills the section. Then there are also the usual themes of social justice, not wronging others, and the evil of oppression.

For Patrons: The Background of Isaiah 40-66

This week I started my second Patreon series on Isaiah 40-66 (see here for my previous series on Acts). Just this week I have:

• Looked at the Hebrew letters of Isaiah 40:1.
• Done podcast commentary on Isaiah 40:1-8 in their original OT context
• Made the patron video/podcast at the bottom of this post.
• Tomorrow I will go public with a look at the Hebrew grammar of Isaiah 40:1
• On Friday I look at Isaiah 40:1-8 again from a New Testament perspective
• Saturday for patrons I will begin to post information toward a Hebrew for ministers book.

For patrons today I made this 22 minute video on two possible settings for the writing of Isaiah 40-66: 1) a vision/prophecy of Isaiah in the eighth century BC and 2) prophetic material from the sixth century BC integrated with prophecies of Isaiah.

Patrons are those who donate at least $5 a month to my Patreon.com page, supporting my daily podcast commentaries on Acts, along with the daily videos on the Greek of these same passages.

Adventures in Isaiah and Hebrew

1. For 35 weeks (including this week) I have slowly made my way through the book of Acts. On weekdays I have done a daily podcast commentary on a passage, trying to cover about a chapter a week. Also on weekdays, I did YouTube videos on the Greek of that passage, accumulating more than 200 videos. Together, these podcasts and commentaries amount to a college course in Acts, without the tests and papers. :-)

2. Beginning December 10, we are switching to Isaiah 40-66 and Hebrew. The schedule above was quite intense, so I'm planning on a slightly less demanding schedule. Here is the plan:

• Weekly - The goal is about 15 verses a week.
• Monday - On YouTube, I plan to go through the Hebrew letters of a key verse in the passage for the week. So you can start learning Hebrew.
• Tuesday - Patreon podcast on 7-8 verses
• Wednesday - sometimes, something more for patrons
• Thursday - On YouTube, go through another key verse in Hebrew, this time looking at the Hebrew grammar of the verse. Again, you can learn Hebrew.
• Friday - Patreon podcast on 7-8 verses
• Saturday - for patrons, work on "Hebrew for Ministers and Scholars" book

3. Patrons are those who donate at least $5 a month on Patreon. I have been making patron videos available on YouTube after about a three weeks delay. I will probably continue to do that with any Saturday videos. The book writing however is toward a book so wouldn't be available until the book came out.