Isaiah (Hebrew origin: God has saved)
(2 Kings 19:2).
Isaiah is considered the greatest of all the Hebrew prophets. According to Isaiah 6:1, the prophet's call started the year that King Uzziah died, when Isaiah had a vision of God sitting on a throne. Isaiah heard the voice of God asking, "Whom shall I send?" and he answered, "Here I am, send me" (Isaiah 6:8). Isaiah's ministry began at a time of prosperity in Judah that was accompanied by corruption, injustice, exploitation of the poor, and idolatry. Politically, the country was threatened by the powerful Assyrian army, but the prophet considered the real threat to Judah to be the nation's disobedience toward God. During the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, invaded Judah and besieged Jerusalem; but Isaiah met King Ahaz and told him not to fear the invaders because they would not succeed.
Isaiah believed in a total reliance on God, and that Jerusalem was the site of the future universal acceptance of God by all the nations of the world. He also believed that a messianic king descended from David, would bring a reign of justice and peace, defending the poor against their oppressors He assured the people that, although God would come in fierce anger to punish Israel and the nations, a remnant of Israel would survive that punishment and all nations would eventually live in peace.
Read more biographies from Who's Who in the Jewish Bible.
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