The Vision Of The Prophet Isaiah

""Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!"" Isaiah's words are deeply loved by many who attend Sunday services. But how many can say that they have actually read this book? This commentary invites you to read Isaiah from the era when it reached its sixty-six-chapter form and came to be part of Israel's sacred writings. Three memories helped to give shape to the Isaiah scroll. The first memory is of the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. How could God have allowed that to happen? The opening section of the scroll addresses that question. The second memory involves the fall of Babylon after 562 BCE. People, nations, and even empires rise and fall. The second section of the scroll addresses war and the sorrows of war. The third memory is of Cyrus of Persia, who allowed the exiles to return home after 539 BCE. His actions are presupposed, not just in the joyful poetry of the latter chapters of the scroll, but also in the confidence in God's love that runs through the entire scroll. God is the Lord of all nations and of all creation. Isaiah is a theological interpretation of past history. It is a passionate call for people to live with integrity, compassion, and hope. ""Joe Everson's scholarship and experience as a teacher of Scripture are on display in his new study of the book of Isaiah. This 'synchronic' reading, as he describes it, provides reliable historical, theological, and literary perspectives on the full book of Isaiah. This commentary is a clear and accessible guide for Bible students and curious readers alike."" --Scott Tunseth, General Editor, Fortress Press ""The strengths of this work are obvious. This is a unified reading of the book of Isaiah that is not uncritical. Full attention is given to the historical context in the post-exilic era and how the message of the book interacts with that. The interpretive comment is succinct, to the point, and well presented. The integration of a translation and comment is appealing."" --Patrick D. Miller, Professor Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary, ""The in-depth commentary offers an understanding of the book to anyone who wishes to read and learn, and the commentary provides common ground for Jews and Christians to reflect together about the message of Isaiah."" --Belle Michael, California Lutheran University ""This commentary by A. Joseph Everson is concise and to the point. It is not overbearing or tedious; rather, it is insightful and well-focused. This work will assist readers to deeply explore and understand what is most important in the Isaiah scroll. From the post-exilic era, the Isaiah scroll comes into focus as a theological interpretation of past history."" --Jeremy Kays, Journey the Church, Camarillo, California A. Joseph Everson is professor emeritus of religion at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California. He has taught Hebrew and biblical studies for over forty years at Luther College in Iowa; at St. John's University in Minnesota; as a pastor in St. Paul from 1975-1990; and at California Lutheran University, where he was a member of the Religion Department from 1990-2012.

In this lucid study, Berges interprets the scroll of Isaiah as a 'literal cathedral', written by many hands and empowered by the experience of sorrow and disaster, liberation and joy. Methodologically, the book combines synchronic and diachronic perspectives and paves the way to a fruitful conversation between them. The vast reception history of the Book of Isaiah in the Septuagint, the New Testament, and in rabbinic and Christian traditions, as well as in painting and music, is also illustrated by some of the most illuminating examples.

The prophet Isaiah spoke words that reflected God's desire for humanity: victory, hope, comfort, and restoration. His message remains a call to those who long to live in God's realm of glory each day. The Vision offers 365 daily devotions and prayers to usher you into his presence. With Scripture from The Passion Translation(R), this devotional will bring you face to face with the King of love and mercy every day of the year. Encounter the fiery, living breath of the Word and experience a revelation to awaken your heart. It was because of our rebellious deeds that he was pierced and because of our sins that he was crushed. He endured the punishment hat made us completely whole, and in his wounding we found our healing. Isaiah 53:5

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. We have represented this book in the same form as it was first published. Hence any marks seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

This hymn or poem is an important Gnostic text and should be essential reading for anyone interested in early mystical literature. Also known as "The Hymn of the Pearl", it is an allegorical tale. Instead of an outer journey, as it first seems, it is interpreted here as a deeper, inner one. It contains a message that can be quite profound, depending on the reader's level of spiritual understanding. This book works on the inner psyche, creating an interactive balance, in some cases, between the upper (hidden) and lower (physical) worlds. That was the aim of many Gnostic stories, poems and parables. With that in mind, this book has much to offer.

The fall of Samaria is narrated in 2 Kings 17. The cuneiform inscriptions dealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest is ascribed to both Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. The surmise of H. Tadmor that Samaria was conquered twice is investigated. At the same time the events are interpreted in their socio-historical framework. Tadmor's assumption cannot be falsified, although his theory should be modified as regards the date of the first conquest: 723 B.C.E. The fall of Samaria can be interpreted as an inevitable result of the expansion of the Assyrian Empire in combination with internal struggles in Israel. Evidence of deportation reveals that deportees were treated as normal citizens. Thorough discussion of the sources and their interpretation is a feature of this book.

“Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!” Isaiah’s words are deeply loved by many who attend Sunday services. But how many can say that they have actually read this book? This commentary invites you to read Isaiah from the era when it reached its sixty-six-chapter form and came to be part of Israel’s sacred writings. Three memories helped to give shape to the Isaiah scroll. The first memory is of the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. How could God have allowed that to happen? The opening section of the scroll addresses that question. The second memory involves the fall of Babylon after 562 BCE. People, nations, and even empires rise and fall. The second section of the scroll addresses war and the sorrows of war. The third memory is of Cyrus of Persia, who allowed the exiles to return home after 539 BCE. His actions are presupposed, not just in the joyful poetry of the latter chapters of the scroll, but also in the confidence in God’s love that runs through the entire scroll. God is the Lord of all nations and of all creation. Isaiah is a theological interpretation of past history. It is a passionate call for people to live with integrity, compassion, and hope.

In recent years, an interest in empire(s) has emerged in Assyriology, Old Testament/Hebrew Bible Studies and in other areas of the study of the ancient world. Collaborative research projects are devoted to questions of empire and imperialism, and the prophets of Israel and Judah and the books named after them are explored as agents in the contexts of the empires of their times. To some degree, all of this may be seen as a revival of the intense interest which the works of Oswald Spengler, Arnold Toynbee and Karl Wittfogel generated in the twentieth century, in historical situations very different from our own age. But then we too live in an age of transition characterized by insecurity and a lack of orientation and are driven to study the rise and fall of empires through the ages. The present volume, containing essays which are the fruits of the fifth meeting of the Aberdeen Prophecy Network, at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg of the University of Göttingen in October 2015, provides a distinctive perspective on prophecy in the context of empire. It is inspired by the fact that the book of Isaiah enables us to follow the vagaries of a particular prophetic tradition through five centuries under three different empires. The essays in the present volume focus on the history of composition of the constituent parts of the book of Isaiah as well as their correlations with the political and cultural histories of the empires under which they were produced. The volume thus navigates some of the key points of the history of Isaiah and the book named after him.