Conclusion of Evidence of One Writer

Consider, too, the testimony of the Dead Sea Scrolls-ancient documents, many of which date from before the time of Jesus.  One manuscript of Isaiah, known as the Isaiah Scroll, dates from the second century B.C.E., and it refutes  critic's claims that a Deutero-Isaiah took over the writing of chapter 40.  How so?  In this ancient document, what we now know as chapter 40 begins on the last line of a column, the opening sentence being completed in the next column.  The copyist was clearly unaware of any supposed change in writer or division in the book at that point.

Finally, consider the testimony of first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.  He not only indicates that the prophecies in Isaiah pertaining to Cyrus were written in the eighth century B.C.E. but also says that Cyrus was aware of these prophecies.  "These things Cyrus knew,"  Josephus writes, "from reading the book of prophecy which Isaiah had left behind two hundred and ten years earlier."  According to Josephus, knowledge of these prophecies may even have contributed  to Cyrus' willingness  to send the Jews back to their homeland, for Josephus writes that Cyrus was "seized by a strong desire and ambition to do what had been written.' -Jewish Antiquities, Book XI , chapter 1, paragraph 2.

As mentioned earlier, many critics point out that from chapter 40 onward, Babylon is described as the prevailing power, and the Israelites are spoken of as already being in exile.  Would this not indicate that the writer lived during the sixth century B.C.E.?  Not necessarily.  The fact is that even before chapter 40 of Isaiah, Babylon is sometimes described as the prevailing world power.  for example, at Isaiah 13:19, Babylon is called  "the decoration of kingdoms" or, as Today's English Version renders it, "the most beautiful kingdom of all."  These words are clearly prophetic, since Babylon  did not become a world power until more than a century later.  One critic "solves" this so-called problem by simply dismissing Isaiah 13 as being the work of another writer!   Really, though, speaking of future  events as though they have already occurred is quite common in Bible prophecy.  This literary device effectively underscores the certainty of the fulfillment of a prophecy.  (Revelation 21:5, 6) Indeed, only the God of true prophecy can make the statement: "New things I am telling out.   Before they begin to spring up, I cause you people to hear them. -Isaiah 42:9.

Next time: A Book of Reliable Prophecy

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001