Introducing Isaiah

So, just a few things to write by way of introduction...

 Isaiah is a prophet living in JUDAH. After the death of Solomon c.930BC God's chosen people, the nation of Israel, divided into two separate kingdoms: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. The kingdom of Judah included the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It also, crucially, contained the city of Jerusalem - God's holy city, the Temple city, where God's people could make all the necessary sacrifices required by the God's Law.

 We see, from the first verse of the book, that Isaiah lived and prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah from around 740BC to around 680BC. You can read all about those reigns in 2 Kings 15-20 and 2 Chronicles 26-32.

 In 722BC the northern kingdom, Israel, is conquered by the Assyrian Empire and taken into Exile. Amos and Hosea were prophets to Israel in those days.

 Isaiah's contemporary as prophet to Judah was Micah.

 Here are a couple of links to introductions that you might find helpful:
If you want a quick overview, check this out The Bible Project - Isaiah - which also has a great little video...
And here's a more traditional intro from biblestudytools.com




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