T&T Clark Study Guides: The Second Isaiah

While noting that the book of Second Isaiah, or Deutero-Isaiah, is free of many of the complications present in First Isaiah, Whybray suggests that the redactional history of Second Isaiah may be even more complex than any other prophetical book of the Old Testament. He considers these chapters to be some of the most important and influential chapters in the entire Bible. Isaiah 40–55 played a crucial role in the development of some of the great themes of Jewish and Christian theologies. In particular, Second Isaiah has had a profound effect on the doctrine of God because it portrays Yahweh as the unique and individual creator, as the Lord of history, as almighty and righteous, as loving and merciful, as holy, and as Savior and Redeemer. The role of Isaiah was not so much as innovator as of one who articulated with greater clarity than his predecessors the theological understanding of God and the world.