The prophecies of Isaiah have always been held in great venera tion by the Jews. Jesus, the son of Sirach, speaks of Isaiah as "a prophet great and faithful in his vision, who saw by an excellent spirit what should come to pass at the last, and comforted them that mourned in Sion. He showed what should coma to pass for ever, and secret things before they came." (Ecclesiasticus, xlviii. 22-25.) Jose phus and l'hilo frequently speak of Isaiah in terms of the greatest respect ; and his prophecies are constantly quoted by the writers of the New Testament. Seo Matt. 1. 22, 23, compared with Is. vii. 14; Matt. iii. 3, with Is. xl. 3; Matt. iv. 14.16, with Is. ix. 1. 2; xlii. 7; Matt. viii. 17, with Is. Mi. 4; Matt. xiii. 14, 15, with Is. vi. 9, 10; Matt. xxi. 13, with Is. lvi. 7; Luke, iv. 17-19, with Is.
lxi. 1-3; Acts, mill 34, with Is. lv. 3; Acts, xxviii. 25.27, with la. vi. 9, 10; Rom. ix. 27, 23, with Is. x. 22; Rom. ix. 29, with Is. 1. 9; Rom. ix. 33, with Is. viii. 14 ; Rom. x. 16, with Is. liii. 1; Rom. x. 20, 21, with Is. lxv. 1, 2; 1 Cor. i. 19, 20, with Is. xliv. 25; 2 Peter, iii. 13, with Is. lxv. 17.
A considerable part of the prophecies of Isaiah are supposed by most Christian divines to relate to the Messiah. The following list is taken from Gray's ' Key to the Old Testament,' pp. 369, 370; the divine character of Christ (vii. 14; ix. 6; xxxv. 4; xl. 5, 9, 10; xlii. 6-8 ; lxi. 1; lxii. 11 ; laiii 1-4); his miracles (xxxv. 5, 6); his peculiar qualities and virtues (ix. 2, 3; xl. 11; xliii. 1.3); his rejection (vi.
9.12; viii. 14, 15; liii. 3); his sufferings for the sins of man (liii. 4-11); his death, burial (EL 8, 9), and victory over death (xxxv. 8 ; liii. 10-12); his final glory (xlix. 7, 22, 23; lii. 13-15; liii. 4, 5), and the establishment, increase (ii. 2-4; ix. 7 ; xlii. 4; xlvi. 13), and per fection (ix. 2-7; xi. 4.10 ; xvi. 5 ; :mix. 18.24 ; xxxii. 1; xl. 4, 5 ; xlix. 9.13 ; li. 343; lii. 6-10; lv. 1.3 ; lix. 16.21; lx. ; lei. 1.5 ; 'ay.
25) of his kingdom. The number of lisaiah's prophecies relating to the Messiah was thought by Jerome to ba so numerous and import ant, that he says, in his preface to the book, that Isaiah ought rather to be called an Evangelist than a prophet; and many modern com mentators give him the title of the Evangelical Prophet.
The style of Isaiah is said by Lowth (' Prwlect.; xxi.) "to abound
in such transcendent excellencies, that he may be properly said to afford the most perfect model of the prophetic poetry. He is at once elegant and sublime, forcible and ornamented ; he unites energy with copiousness, and dignity with variety. In his sentiments there is uncommon elevation and majesty; in his imagery the utmost pro priety, elegance, dignity, and diversity ; in his language, uncommon beauty and energy; and notwithstanding the obscurity of his subjects a surprising degreo of clearness and simplicity. To these we may add that there is such sweetness in the poetical composition of his sentences, whether it proceed from art or genius, that if tho Hebrew poetry at present is possessed of any remains of its native grace and harmony, we shall chiefly find them in the writings of Isaiah." In addition to the book of prophecies, Isaiah is also said to have written tho lives of Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 22) and Ilezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 32). The former work is entirely lost; but we probably possess the greater part, if not tho whole, of the latter in chapters xxxvi-xxxviii. of his prophecies.
We learn from the Fathers that several apocryphal works which were hi circulation in the early ages of the Christian era, were attri buted to Isaiah. An Ethiopic translation of one of these works entitled the ' Ascension of latish,' which was originally written in Greek, and is quoted by Epiphanius (' ilteree,' xl. 2) and Jerome (' Commentary upon Is. lily. 4'), was published for the first time by Dr. Laurence, Oil. 1819, Svo. This work contains an account of the prophet's ascension through the firmament and the six heavens into the seventh, and also of his martyrdom during the reign of Manasseh.
(The Introductions of Eichhorn, Jahn, de Wette, Augusti, and Horne ; Vitringa, Comnaentarius in Librum Proph. hare, 2 vols. fol. 1714-1720; Lowth, Isaiah, Load. 1778, frequently reprinted ; there is a good German translation of this work with many additions by Koppe, 4 vols. 1779.1781; Doderlein, Esaias, 8vo, 3rd. ed., 1789, with excellent notes; Rosenmiiller, Scholia; Gesenius, .Der Prophet Tesaia dbersetzt and mit einem vollst6indigen philologisch-critischen and histo rischen Coramentar begleitet, Leip. 1821.29, &c.)