Many consider Isaiah to be the prophet of world peace, a utopian visionary who transcends the boundaries of political reality and inhabits the realm of ideal cosmic harmony. As the herald of peace, he has become the most influential among the Hebrew prophets; his vision of the End of Days is among the most celebrated of biblical passages: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more” (2:4).
Yet there is another dimension to Isaiah – a political thinker who spent decades around the royal palace in Jerusalem, promoting justice and charity, speaking truth to power, struggling to avert disaster. Reading his prophecies in their historical context, Isaiah: Prophet of Righteousness and Justice allows us to see beyond the surface. By recapturing the prophet’s voice and highlighting the dilemmas faced by the rulers he challenged, this work presents Isaiah’s story in all its vitality and drama.
