3.

3. Historical. Many references in the early part of the book (e.g. ch. 7, chs. 36–9) as well as places in 2 Kings where Isaiah is mentioned by name (e.g. 19:2) make it clear that the prophet's life and activity were envisaged as taking place during the last third of the eighth century BCE, when Judah was under threat, first from its Northern neighbours, Israel and Damascus, and then from the Assyrians. But from ch. 40 all this has changed; the people addressed are pictured as being in Babylon, and Cyrus of Persia, who overthrew the Babylonian empire, is mentioned by name (44:28; 45:1). Cyrus became king in 550 BCE, and if we are to use any of the normal criteria of historical assessment the words referring to him must have been written after that date. It is generally agreed, therefore, that chs. 40–55 come from a Babylonian setting and should be dated in the 540s. Chs. 56–66 offer fewer clear indications of date, but the general consensus has been to place these chapters later still, perhaps in Jerusalem in the time when the work of restoration was going slowly forward in a disillusioned and demoralized community.