This is a collection of prophetic oracles and historical narrative. The former were likely delivered orally first before later being combined into a written document. For a general defense of the authorship of Isaiah, start with this article, which is where many links below will go.
- Isaiah 1:14, 43:24
- Does God ever get tired?
- Isaiah 7:1-7
- Skeptic Dennis McKinsey says of this passage, "God told Isaiah to promise Ahaz, the king of Judah, that his enemies, Rezin and Pekah, would not harm him." He quotes as follows: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two firebrands...saying let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves....it shall not stand and it shall not come to pass. He then says: "Yet Ahaz and his forces were slaughtered by Rezin and Pekah, according to 2 Chron. 28:5-6... McKinsey has left out a key phrase. After Is. 7:6 it says conquer it for ourselves,; and it says and make the son of Tabeel king in it. In v. 8-15, 2 Chron. goes on to detail the aftermath of Rezin and Pekah’s victory. They were about to take the people captive and plunder their property when the prophet Obed came and told them to let the people go, which they did. And, as 2 Chron. 28:16 says, Ahaz was still alive and kicking. So while they did technically conquer Judah, they never got to enjoy the spoils of war or replace Ahaz as king, which was their plan.
- Isaiah 7:14
- The virgin birth prophecy [Off Site] Also, Do Christians misuse this verse?
- Isaiah 7:16, 8:4
- Based on the child's age, isn't this a false prophecy?
- Isaiah 7:18
- Isn't this a false prophecy, too?
- Isaiah 9:6
- Do Christians misuse this verse?
- Isaiah 11:12
- Does this verse teach a flat earth?
- Isaiah 14:12-22
- Is this a reference to Satan?
- Isaiah 17:1
- Is this a false prophecy? There's another option by the NET Bible: Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah...There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.
- Isaiah 20:4
- So the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered to the shame of Egypt. McKinsey asks, "When did Assyrians capture Egyptians and Ethiopians and lead them away with their buttocks uncovered?" Too bad he didn’t read any encyclopedias on this one. Assyria did defeat Ethiopia and Egypt around 670 B.C. This one’s not even in dispute. And since making your enemies walk around "butt naked" was a standard way of humiliating them in this time, it’s quite certain that they did this.
- Isaiah 26:10, 40:5
- Solomon Tulbure counterpoints "Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD" with "And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed..." Even on the surface that's no match. The word behind "majesty" means excellent things (it is used only 8 times in the OT, in Isaiah and Pslams alone, and elsewhere means "pride" or "raging"); the word behind "glory" is a different Hebrew word referring to God's splendor.
- Isaiah 27:4, 34:2
- Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? vs. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies... The Hebrew words (here and in Nahum 1:2) are all the same, chemah. But Is. 27:4 is not a universal, it is a specific. Is. 27:2-3 says, "In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." Fury is not in God with regard to this vineyard he tends in the last day (27:1) -- for it will not be necessary.
- Isaiah 38:1ff
- "Why isn't there more documentation of the spectacular movement of the sun?" [Off Site] -- part of a larger essay; also discusses the nature of the event
- Isaiah 39:6-7
- Isn't this a false prophecy, too?
- Isaiah 40:22
- Does this verse teach a solid sky? -- also looks at whether this verse teaches a flat, circular earth
- Isaiah 40:28
- Does God ever get tired?
- Isaiah 42:5
- Does this verse teach a flat earth?
- Isaiah 44:14
- He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. The ash does not grow in West Asia, but a pine, as our modern translations show, is what was intended; it was the ash-knowing KJVers who selected the ash.
- Isaiah 44:28, 45:1
- Is referral to Cyrus proof of a late date?
- Isaiah 45:7
- Is God the source of evil?
- Isaiah 53:1-12
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- Does Jesus match as the "Suffering Servant"? -- a response to Gerald Segal. See also here.
- Does Is. 53:10 refer to Israel or to Jesus? [Off Site]