Isaiah

Isaiah contains oracles or prophecies given over a span of time and by different authors.  There are three sections to the book.  The book was perhaps not completed until 200 BC.  Isaiah is one of the four 8th century BC prophets along with Amos, Hosea and Micah.

Chapters 1-39 correspond to the reigns in Judah of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah so roughly 780s B.C. to 680s B.C.  I like the way HC further breaks this up:  the Syro-Ephraimite war when Syria and Israel attached Judah (735-732 BC), anti-Assyrian activity against Sargon II (720-710 BC and Hezekiah's revolt against Sennacherib (705-701 BC).   I'm a bit fuzzy about authorship here.  Is it Isaiah of Jerusalem who wrote these chapters as Baker says.  Or, is it just a rehashing from 2 Kings along with the writings of some others as HC says?  Or, as Baker says later, Isaiah didn't write any of it, but it was his disciples who collected his prophecies and wrote them down.  In these chapters, Isaiah emphasizes the power of God, the holiness of God and the importance of reliance upon God rather than worldly help. 

Chapters 40-55 correspond to the Babylonian exile and so the 500s BC.  Here authorship is ascribed to a Deutero-Isaiah who harkens back to what the first Isaiah said (God is the holy of holies, Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel), but this prophet is offering reassurance to the Hebrews that their exile will end and they will return to an even more glorious Jerusalem. In this section there's considerable condemnation of idols as well as the comparison of the weakness of idols to the power of the Lord and also a satire of idols (Ch 44).  In Ch 46, idols are burdens to be carried while in contrast the Lord carries us. 

Chapters 56-66 correspond to the return from Babylon.  Here, perhaps yet a third Isaiah, talks about the difficulties the Hebrews encounter once they are back in the homeland and he prophesizes about the punishment of those who are enemies of the Hebrews and the defeat they will suffer at God's hands.

Many familiar passages of course come from Isaiah:  beating swords into plowshare, the Sanctus, the call of Isaiah, the phrases repeated in Handel's Messiah (Chapters 9,10), the Lord's threat to Sennacherib (Ch 37), a voice crying out (Ch 40), running without wearying (Ch 40), the remnant and many others. 

And Isaiah is the Old Testament book most frequently-quoted in the New Testament after Psalms.

There's much more here but I must move on to the prophet Jeremiah.  Perhaps the one prophet will provide further insights to the other.