Isaiah in Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Yeshayahu or Isaiahuw (?), Hebrew "the salvation of
Jehovah," his favorite expression, which means the same as
the name "Jesus", who is the grand subject of his
prophecies, and in whom in the New Testament the name
Jehovah merges, being never found in Scripture after the Old
Testament. The Yahu (or Jahu) in Yeshayahu shows that Yahweh
(or Jahveh) is the more correct form than Jehovah. Son of
Amoz (not Amos), a younger contemporary of Jonah, Amos, and
Hosea in Israel, and of Micah in Judah. His call to the full
exercise of the prophetic office (Isaiah 6:1) was in the
same year that king Uzziah died, probably before his death,
754 B.C., the time of the building of Rome, Judah's destined
scourge, whose kingdom was to stretch on to the Messianic
times which form the grand subject of Isaiah's prophecies.
Whatever prophecies were delivered by Isaiah previously were
oral, and not recorded because not designed for all ages.
(1) Isaiah 1-6, are all that were written for the
church universal of the prophecies of the first 20 years of
his ministry. New epochs in the relations of the church to
the world were fittingly marked by revelations to and
through prophets. God had given Judah abundant prosperity
during Uzziah's reign of 52 years, that His goodness might
lead the people to loving obedience, just as in northern
Israel He had restored prosperity daring the brilliant reign
of Jeroboam II with the same gracious design. Israel was
only hardened in pride by prosperity, so was soon given over
to ruin. Isaiah comes forward at this point to warn Judah of
a like danger. Moreover, in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah
Israel and Judah came into conflict with the Asiatic
empires. (See AHAZ; HEZEKIAH.) The prophets were now needed
to interpret Jehovah's dealings, that the people might
recognize His righteous judgments as well as His merciful
longsuffering...
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