Isaiah ישעיהו הנביא
the prophet of consolation, contemporary of four kings of Judah
Yeshayahu prophesied "in the days of Uzziah, Yotam, Achaz and Chizkiyahu"—roughly from 3140, for nearly a century. His calling is a vision in the Temple: seraphim cry "holy, holy, holy", a coal touches his lips, and to the question "whom shall I send?" he answers, "Here I am, send me."
His rebukes target not unbelief but the gap between ritual and life: "What are your many sacrifices to Me?… your hands are full of blood. Wash, make yourselves clean… learn to do good, seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the orphan, plead for the widow."
Under Chizkiyahu, in 3213, when Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, it was Yeshayahu who delivered the promise that the city would not fall—and the Assyrian army perished in a night.
The second half of his book holds Scripture's strongest consolation: "Comfort, comfort My people", "nation shall not lift sword against nation", "they shall beat their swords into ploughshares". These are read after the Ninth of Av.
The Talmud says he was killed under Menashe, around 3228.
Chain of transmission
Amos the Prophet → Isaiah → Micah the Morashtite
On the timeline
Places
Related
Sources
Tanakh
- the Book of Yeshayahu — his prophecies of rebuke and of consolation
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Yevamot 49b — the death of the prophet under Menasheh
- Megillah 10b — the opening of the book and the vision of his calling
- Sanhedrin 103b — the conversation with Chizkiyahu and his kinship with the royal house
- Seder Olam Rabbah 20 — the years of his ministry
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.