The Prophecy Of Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary [Paperback]

It's amazing how much solid exegesis and theology Motyer packed into this one volume commentary on Isaiah. Motyer is more willing to come out and say that certain prophecies in Isaiah were fulfilled by Jesus. He is also quite good at discerning the structure of the text. For example, he expounds Isaiah 66:19-26 and makes a nice diagram of the blessings associated with living under God's kingdom of justice and righteousness.

This commentary is not quite as elegantly written as the single volume masterpiece penned by Brevard Childs, but Motyer is a reliable guide through the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Jothan, Uzziah, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (Isaiah 1:1-2). I highly recommend this commentary.

Rev. Marc Axelrod

As I work through Isaiah, I have come to appreciate this work more and more. Motyer observes and explains literary artistic value in the text with a minimum of words. He also gives bits on textual criticism, but I find they are sometimes harder for me to grasp what he is referring to unless I have dug into the textual problem already.

But the heart of this commentary is not about literary design or textual criticism. The heart of this commentary is about explaining in a well reasoned way the basic exegetical idea paragraph after paragraph with references to related issues sprinkled throughout the commentary.

One negative is that the format of the text is condensed in my view and therefore a little less comfortable to read than say the NICOT or NIVAC formats.

This past Sunday I worked on Isaiah 38-39. Motyer sees that as the beginning of a new section that ends in Isaiah 55. His outline is interesting and his explanations defending his outline are good. In Isaiah 38-39 he deals with Hezekiah's predicatment and outlines the passage with a Chiastic structure that points to Hezekiah's deeper challenge that seems to underlie the text. I found that in this passage at least, Motyer's comments were more illuminating than even the excellently written NIVAC by Oswalt or the NICOT by Oswalt. Motyer sees the Chiasm in Isaiah 38-39 as pointing to Hezekiah's difficulty in obeying the point of the law where Judah is not to make alliances with foreign nations.

The poetic structure with an emphasis on the dedication of Hezekiah in 38:8-22 and the defection of Hezekiah in 39:1-2 is a fresh and preaching alliterated point that I actually ended up using in my sermon on Hezekiah.

My respect for this author has been on the rise the more I look into his work. He packs a lot into every page. Excellent book, well worth the shekels.

I have not finished this book, however I am well into it and am thoroughly enjoying it. Of all the theologies/commentaries I've read on Isaiah this is either the best or one of them. He interacts with a lot of Rikki Watt's material, Kaiser and a little F.F Bruce. He is a conservative scholar whose work should not be overlooked.
I am a senior at a biblical university with plans to go on to seminary. This book will not leave my side as I study Isaiah in the future. Often times conservative scholars are looked down upon for poor scholarship, but Motyer's work is certainly erudite. Isaiah is rich in vocabulary and fond of metaphor which Motyer captures well. In addition, one does not need a working knowledge of Hebrew grammar/vocabulary to keep up with his teaching. I would recommend this book for the pastor, adult sunday school teacher or serious student. Enjoy!