Introduction—Background
Isaiah Study
David Ingrassia
Chronology
Date BC
785 780 775 770 765 760 755 750 745 740 735 730 725 720 715 710 705 700 695 690 685 680
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Kings of Judah
Uzziah (785-742)
Jotham (750-735)
Ahaz (735-715)
Hezekiah (715-687)
Kings of Israel
Jereboam II (790-749)
Zechariah (749)
Shallum (748)
Menahem (748-738)
Pekahiah (738-736)
Pekah (736-730)
Hoshea (729-720)
Kings of Assyria
Tiglath-Pileser (744-727)
Syro-Ephramite War (734-732)
Shalmeneser V (726-722)
Sargon II (721-705)
Fall of Northern Kingdom (722/21)
Sennacherib (704-681)
Assault on Judah (701)
Historical Background
Northern Tribes of Israel
King David (1011-972 BC) united the tribal confederacy of the Jews, waged
successful war against enemies such as the Philistines, and for the first time created the
state of Israel. Under his son, Solomon (972-933), the kingdom grew in territory, power
and prestige. However, due to Solomon’s unfaithfulness in worshiping the gods of his
many wives and concubines, God would tear the kingdom in two during the reign of his
son.
That son, Rehoboam (933-915), reigned in Judah while an ex-official, Jeroboam
(933-911), ruled over the Northern tribes of Israel.
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Alternative dating with Uzziah’s death in 740 BC; Jotham (740/39-732/1); Ahaz (732/31-716/15);
Hezekiah (716/15-687/86)
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After a long string of godless kings in the North, God’s judgment came through
the Assyrians, who in 722 BC destroyed Israel’s northern capital of Samaria, took its
population captive and transported many to Assyria.
Assyria
During this period Assyria became a rising power that was soon to dominate all of
Mesopotamia. Using the full strength of her terrifying armies, Assyria either conquered
and ruled its neighbors or exacted heavy tribute as the price for peace.
Following the imperialist Tiglath-pileser III (744-727), Assyrian king
Shalmaneser V (726-722) conquered Samaria. However, Shalmaneser himself was
killed shortly thereafter in a revolution, in which Sargon II (722-705) seized the throne.
The Assyrians were unable to capture Judah in the South, but nonetheless, Judah
did not escape the brutalities of the fierce Assyrian army. Sargon’s successor,
Sennacherib (704-681), turned his attention toward Judah and in 701 BC destroyed
many of her cities. The utter destruction and torture of the Judean city of Lachish, for
example, is graphically portrayed in Assyrian reliefs that once covered the walls of the
palace in Nineveh, but now hang on display in the British Museum.
King Hezekiah, shored up by Isaiah the prophet, cried out to the Lord for help. In
one night, the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians, sending Sennacherib back to
Assyria where he would ultimately be killed by his own sons while worshipping in the
temple of his god (2 Kings 19).
Enemies and Coalitions
To understand the times in which Isaiah prophesied, one must have a basic
understanding of the intricate politics of the Levant and all the players involved. Trying
to counter Assyrian advances, rulers attempted to build coalitions, not always
successfully.
At the head of the coalition building attempts was the last king of Syria (Aram),
Rezin of Damascus. It seems that at the end of the reign of Jeroboam II (790-749) in
Israel, Rezin began to expand his territory into Northern Tribes. He continued his
attempts at expansion through the reigns of Menahem (748-738) and Pekahiah (738736). It would not be surprising if Rezin was also behind the coup in Israel that brought
Pekah (736-730) to the throne to replace Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:25).
Pekah brought Israel into the anti-Assyrian coalition alliance with Rezin of
Damascus. Other coalition members included: Hiram of Tyre; Mitinti of Ashkelon
(Philistine); Hanno of Gaza (Philistine); and Samsi Queen of the Arabs.
Together, Rezin and Pekah pressured Ahaz (735-715), king of Judah to band
together with the coalition. At the instigation of Isaiah, however, Ahaz refused to join,
choosing instead to pay tribute to Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) of the Assyrians.
This refusal ultimately lead to the Syro-Ephramite War (734-732), which was
mightily put down by the Assyrians and which cost the instigator Rezin his life.
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Military Campaigns
Syro-Ephramite War (734-732)
The Syro-Ephramite War was touched off by an attempt to force the Ahaz, king
of Judah, into an anti-Assyrian coalition. These events are recording in 2 Kings 16 and
are also the events that lie behind Isaiah 7-8.
In the larger picture, Assyria struggled on numerous fronts to establish her
empire. To the southeast, the Babylonians were a constant challenge to Assyrian
hegemony. In the northeast, the problem was the Urartians. The Egyptians (and
Ethiopians), who always had a vested interest in the Levant as a land bridge to
Mesopotamia, adopted an anti-Assyrian posture. And in the west, Rezin of Aram and
Pekah of Israel together with their coalition, attempted to buttress the inevitable
onslaught.
Phase I: Assyria attacks Philistia (734/733) and marches all the way to the Brook
of Egypt.
Phase II: Rezin, Pekah, and Hiram, joined by Samsi and Mitinti, continue their
resistance (733-731). Tiglath-Pileser defeats Syria in the field and at the capital in
Damascus, putting Rezin to death. Tiglath-Pileser also defeats Samsi, Queen of the
Arabs, and Hiram of Tyre, but allows them to keep their thrones and swear allegiance.
Mitinti of Ashkelon in assassinated. Interestingly, the punishment of Israel was minimal
considering her conspiracy, but perhaps such was due to Hoshea’s revolt against Pekah
and his pro-Assyrian stance (2 Kings 15:28-30).
Fall of the Northern Kingdom (732/731)
Hoshea (732-724) had assassinated his predecessor, Pekah, and was then allowed
to rule with Assyrian permission. Hoshea, however, had other plans and did not remain a
loyal vassal. Encouraged by Tiglath-Pileser’s death, and perhaps mislead by a false sense
of security, Hoshea courted Egypt in building another anti-Assyrian coalition.
Unfortunately for Israel, Assyria’s new king, Shalmaneser V, was strong and
continued to build Assyrian military and political dominance. Israel was handily defeated
and after a long siege, its capital of Samaria was captured and destroyed (722/721).
These remnants of Israel were now all incorporated into the provinces of Assyria. Some
people were deported, others remained to intermarry with foreigners. As an independent
nation, Israel ceased to exist.
Judah, on the other hand, continued to pay tribute to Assyria, and for the time
being, avoided conquest and incorporation.
Sennacherib’s Campaign into Judah (701)
The biblical account of the invasion of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704–681),
is found in 2 Kings 18-19 and Isaiah 36-37. Hezekiah, king of Judah (715-687), had
entered into a protective alliance with Egypt, one of Assyria’s strong enemies.
Sennacherib responded by invading Judah and systematically decimating her cities.
During the siege of Lachish (701 BC), Hezekiah, who was holed up within the
fortifications of Jerusalem, attempted to avoid certain destruction by paying a large
tribute to the Assyrian king.
Sennacherib’s anger was not to be so easily assuaged, however, so he dispatched
his emissary (the “Rabshakeh”) to Jerusalem to proclaim threats of destruction in the
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presence of all who stood at Jerusalem’s walls. His goal was to try to persuade the
denizens of Jerusalem to surrender the city without a fight.
Isaiah counseled Hezekiah not to yield or buckle under Sennacherib’s threats, but
to trust in the Lord, who would bring deliverance for his people. The Bible recounts that
in one night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians. In the morning the rest
retreated to Assyria. Sennacherib would ultimately be murdered by his own sons while
worshiping in the temple of his god (Nisroch).
Historical “Future”
Normally, a prophet will peer into the future in order to address the events and
situations of his own time. For example, in Isaiah’s case, he predicts the short-lived
triumph of Assyria, only to be followed by her ultimate defeat, in order to challenge the
kings of Judah to trust in Yahweh for national protection.
What makes Isaiah unique among the prophets is that he goes beyond the
“historical present” into the “historical future,” so-to-speak, in order to address events
that stand even further in the future (eschatological—end times).
c.a. 740 BC
Assyria
c.a. 605 BC
Babylon
c.a. 538 BC
Persia
End Times
Babylon
Fall of Jerusalem (605, 597, 586)
One of these “historically future” events from Isaiah’s vantage point is the fall of
the Southern kingdom to the Babylonians. In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
surrounded then subjugated Jerusalem. Upon hearing of the death of his father, the king,
Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon. Judah refused to remain a loyal vassal state of the
Babylonians, so Nebuchadnezzar sent his armies again in 597 and 586, ultimately
destroying Jerusalem and its Temple.
Persia
Decree of Cyrus the Great (538 BC)
As the Babylonians once defeated the mighty Assyrians, so the Persians and
Medes conquered the Babylonians. Unlike the Assyrians and Babylonians, however, the
Persian governing policy over vassal states was to return the exiled populations to their
homelands in order to create buffer states and to secure new bases of taxation. In 538 BC,
Cyrus the Great issued a decree that the people of Israel could return to their land.
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Isaiah, who lived 150 prior to this Persian period, actually refers to Cyrus by
name on three occasions (Isa. 44:28; 45:1; 45:13)
Greece and Rome
Greece
For the sake of completeness of these notes, I add the empires of Greece and
Rome. Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.), king of Macedonia (336–323), conquered
the Greek city-states as well as the mighty Persian empire stretching from Asia Minor
and Egypt to all the way to India. In 323 BC at Babylon, Alexander’s short dominion
came to an end with his sudden death.
Alexander’s kingdom was ultimately divided into four pieces by his generals:
Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimmacus, and Cassander. Of importance to the recording of
biblical history, the Ptolemys ruled Egypt to the south of Israel, while the Seleucids ruled
Syria to the North. Israel would become a political ping-pong ball throughout the
intertestamental period.
Rome
Roman General, Pompey’s advance in 63 BC marked the entrance of the mighty
Roman Empire into Palestine and the consolidation of Roman rule over the civilized
Western world. Roman dominion would be solidified by the time of Christ and would
hold firm throughout the beginning centuries of the New Testament church.
End Times
Day of the Lord
Isaiah’s prophecies are ultimately concerned with the final outworking of
Yahweh’s judgment and justice in heaven and on earth. He speaks of the Day of the Lord,
which we understand through New Testament lenses to include the Second Coming of
Christ, the judgment of the nations, and the establishment of His kingdom in peace and
righteousness.
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