Isaiah 40 Footnotes

40:3 The writers of the NT Gospels (Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4) connect these words with the ministry of John the Baptist. Isaiah saw a general picture of someone making preparation for the Lord’s coming (v. 5), while Malachi later specified that this person would be “my messenger” (Mal 3:1). Although Isaiah and Malachi were not given the messenger’s name, John the Baptist fulfilled the role in preparing the way for Jesus, the Son of God. The announcement that “all humanity . . . will see” God’s glory (Is 40:5) suggests that Isaiah was talking about an event of greater scope than the Jews’ return from exile—that is, an event of universal significance for the coming of the kingdom of God.

40:3-11 Comparisons between Isaiah’s call in these verses and in 6:1-8 have convinced some that another prophet, perhaps a later unnamed disciple of Isaiah (8:16), was here relating his call to proclaim the Lord’s message. There are verbal similarities: a voice was calling (the seraphim in 6:3, unspecified in 40:3); all flesh would see the glory of the Lord, similar to his glory filling the earth (6:3; 40:5); and the “good news” (v. 9) reversed the terrible news in Isaiah’s call (6:9-10). Although someone was instructed to speak “good news,” this message was not contrary to what Isaiah had already spoken (2:2-5; 4:2-6; 9:1-7; 11:1-6; 14:1-3; 19:18-25; 32; 35). There is no indication that a different prophet was being called to ministry in this passage, and the oldest Isaiah manuscripts (from the Dead Sea Scrolls) show no break between chaps. 39 and 40. Those who were summoned to proclaim the good news were the people of Zion and Jerusalem (v. 9), not a new prophet.

40:10-11 Isaiah depicted the salvation to come for Jerusalem with two metaphors for the Lord’s action: the warrior king bringing gifts to his people, and the shepherd who cares tenderly for his flock. This is not a mixed metaphor; in the ancient Near East kings were often compared to shepherds, a connection made in the original prophecy of David’s enduring dynasty (2Sm 7:7-8). The NT saw this prophecy realized in Jesus Christ, who is both the good shepherd (Jn 10:11-15) and the mighty warrior King (Rv 19:11-16).

40:22 Isaiah spoke of God who “is enthroned above the circle of the earth.” Some commentators have cited this as evidence that biblical writers were aware that the earth is a globe, not a flat surface. While the shape of the planet was not Isaiah’s concern here, his phrase is a reminder that modern critics should be cautious about ascribing a “primitive” or “prescientific” outlook to Scripture, as a way of discounting its relevance to contemporary cultures.