The authority of the prophet greatly increased after the fulfilment of his prophecies by the Baby lonian exile, the victories of Cyrus, and the deliver ance of the covenant-people. Even Cyrus (accord ing to the above-mentioned account in Josephus, Antiq. xi. I. 1, 2) was induced to set the Jews at liberty by the prophecies of Isaiah concerning himself. This prediction of Isaiah made so deep an impression upon him that he probably took from it the name by which he is generally known in history. Jesus Sirach (xlviii. 22-25) bestows splendid praise upon Isaiah, and both Philo and Josephus speak of him with great veneration. He attained the highest degree of authority after the times of the N. T. had proved the most important part of his prophecies, namely, the Messianic, to be divine. Christ and the apostles quote no pro phecies so frequently as those of Isaiah, in order to prove that he who had appeared was one and the same with him who had been promised. The fathers of the church abound in praises of Isaiah. —E. W. II.
[Piper, Integritas IesaUe a recent. collat. vindi eata, Gryphsw. 1792 ; Moller, De Authent. Ora
cular. Esaice, cap. x1.-lxvi., Havn. 1825; Kleinert, Echtheit slimmlt. d. Buche .7es. enthalt. weir sagungen, Berl. 1829; Stieger, yesaias nicht Pseudo Yesaias, Barm. 1850 ; comp. the introductions of Eichhom, Bertholdt, Jahn, Havetnick, Keil, Bleek, Horne, Davidson. Commentaries :—Calvin, Genev. 157o, 3d ed. ; Musculus, Bas. 157o ; Schmid, Hamb. 1702 ; Abarbanel (Lat. vertit J. H. Maius), Frankf. a. M. 1711 ; Vitringa, 2 vols. Leuward. 1714-20, ed. Schultens, Bas. 1732 ; Doederlein, Nfirnb. and Altorf 1775-80-89 ; Lowth, Lond. 1778, and often ; Ilensler, Hamb. 1788 ; Paulus, Jena 1793 ; Gesenius, 2 vols., Leipz. 1820-21 •, Jerome, 2 VOIS., LOIld. 1830 ; Hitzig, Heidelb. 1833 ; Hendewerk, vols., Konigsb. 1838-43 ; Barnes, Boston U.S., 1840 ; Henderson, Lond. 1840 ; Ewald, Gott. 1841 ; Umbreit, Hatnb. 1842 ; Knobel, Leipz. 1843 ; Drechsler, 3 vols., Erlang. 1845-57, unfin. ; Alex ander, 2 vols., New York, 1846-47, edited by Eadie, vol. Edin. 1848 ; comp. also Hengsten berg, Christology, E. T., vol. ii., Edin. 1856.]