Category: Lessons

Read: Isaiah 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12 Background Considerations Last week’s lesson introduced us to the so-called “Servant Songs” and the debates surrounding their interpretation. It also recommended our attempting to listen to what these words must have...

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Read: Isaiah 42:1-4; 49:1-6 Background Considerations Within Isaiah 40-55 many students of the book have seen a major theme develop around the idea of “the servant.” The term “servant” appears in this section with a...

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Read: Isaiah 40 Background Considerations It is in Isaiah 40 that all students of the book recognize a dramatic shift. Whether one attributes this to another author or not, the shift is here. For the...

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Read: Isaiah 36-39 Background Considerations Whatever position one takes about the authorship of Isaiah, chapters 36-39 provide a historical narrative which bridges the gap between the major points of emphasis and feel of the preceding...

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Read: Isaiah 13-23, 24-27 Background Considerations Among the many speech forms which the prophets use in their preaching are Oracles (Speeches) against Foreign Nations (OAN). These appear is all of the prophets except Hosea and...

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Read: Isaiah 9 and 11 Background Considerations These chapters introduce us to some of the memorable lines from Isaiah, especially for Christians who have the New Testament in mind as they read both the descriptions...

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Read: Isaiah 7 and 8 Background Considerations As noted in last week’s study guide, chapters 7-9 of Isaiah assume some awareness of the events surrounding what came to be known as the “Syro-Ephraimitic War,” a...

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Read: Isaiah 7 Background Considerations We are introduced in chapter 7 to an interesting role PKs (prophets’ kids) play in the ministry of their parents. Not unlike preachers’ kids, the offspring of prophets are not...

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Read: Isaiah 6 Background Considerations Ah, finally, we got to the prophet’s call vision! Why is it placed here and not at the beginning of the book, as in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jonah? After all, it...

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Read: Isaiah 1 and 5 Background Considerations The opening discussions about a biblical book always raise the issues of date, historical context, authorship, background, themes, general outline, etc. (see the earlier pages in this booklet)....

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