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Isaiah.

The holy God who judges his people and then redeems them — the Servant who suffers for many.

Testament

Old Testament

Section

Major Prophets

Chapters

66

Date

8th–6th c. BC.

Who wrote Isaiah?

Isaiah of Jerusalem (8th c. BC); modern scholarship sees later prophetic material in chapters 40–66 ("Second" and "Third Isaiah").

Who was it written for?

Judah before the exile (1–39), the exiles in Babylon (40–55), and the post-exilic community (56–66).

Structure

  • Judgment on Judah and the nations (1–39)
  • Comfort and the Servant Songs (40–55)
  • Post-exilic vision (56–66)

Key verses

Why Isaiah matters

The most-quoted prophet in the New Testament. Isaiah 53 — the suffering servant — is the lens through which the Gospels read the cross. Jesus opens his ministry by quoting Isaiah 61 ("the Spirit of the Lord is upon me"). If you want to understand how the New Testament reads the Old, Isaiah is where to start.

Related tools

Read the book, then test it.

Kerygma's trivia rounds cover Isaiah in the Major Prophets stream — once you've sat with the overview, the questions go deeper into the text. Free for seven days.

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