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First Isaiah Research Paper

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The First Isaiah, or the Isaiah of Jerusalem, was an extremely important prophet who wrote chapters 1-39 in the book of Isaiah. Located in Judah near Jerusalem "before the Babylonian exile", which was around 740 BC, Isaiah grew up in a generally wealthy family at the time (Newland 163; Miller 92; Brown 76). He was educated and could write very well, and was called to be a prophet later in his life (Newland 164). However, society at this time was extremely corrupt, and the people committed many sins, such as idolatry. Isaiah became a prophet when he had a "vision" and saw God as king in a temple along with His "seraphs" or angels serving Him (Miller 96-97). Isaiah was astonished, as he felt "unclean" due to the fact that he was from such a corrupt …show more content…

There was nothing the people could do because they had continued to reject God. When King Ahaz asked Isaiah to find him a sign from God, and Isaiah said that no "elaborate preparations" were needed to "overcome these enemies", King Ahaz did not listen and ended up betraying God by performing a sacrifice and worshipping false gods (Newland 168). Isaiah proclaimed that the Davidic Covenant would be put on pause until the Messiah came due to the unfaithful and corrupt leaders in the nation (Newland 167-168). In the Bible, there is also Midrash when Isaiah predicts the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. For example, Isaiah says to the people that "the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman," who is a virgin and is "pregnant about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel" (The New American Bible Revised Edition, Is. 7:14). He also speaks again about the coming Messiah when he says that "a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder Counselor, God-Father-Forever, Prince of …show more content…

He uses the juxtaposition of his friend and God, as well as the juxtaposition of the loved one and the people of Judah. He compares his friends' loved one to a "vineyard on a fertile hillside" because during that time period, "a lover compared to a garden... [was] found in Samerian and Akkadian texts" (Is. 5:2; Walton 25). Relating the story to something that people were familiar with allowed them to have a better understanding of the message of the story. Also, farming took up a major part in people's lives in Israel, so that was a part of the culture and lifestyle at the time. Isaiah's friend "planted the choicest of vines" and "within [the vineyard] he built a watchtower" to make sure that the grapes were growing right and were not damaged or disrupted, just like God watches over us to make sure that we are not sinning or becoming corrupted (Is. 5:2). Isaiah's friend "looked for the crop of grapes, but what it yielded was wild grapes", which meant that he saw his plants disobeying what he wanted them to do and what he wanted them to become (Is. 5:2). This is related to how when God looked to see what the people in Judah were doing, He saw that they were not following His teachings. The

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