1.
1. It may come as a surprise to some readers to discover that the whole book of Isaiah is being dealt with in one article. One of the success stories of the historical-critical method of biblical study has been to establish that the 66 chapters of the book come from a variety of backgrounds, and the custom has been to treat chs. 40–66 independently of the earlier part of the book. These chapters are said to come from ‘Deutero’- or ‘Second Isaiah’ (40–55), usually with chs. 56–66 further isolated and ascribed to ‘Trito’- or ‘Third Isaiah’. It is argued that historical references and stylistic features alike enable them to be distinguished from the Isaiah of the earlier chapters, and it might seem perversely old-fashioned to go back to treating the whole book as a unity.