Modern Critical Consensus - The Single Versus Multiple Authorship

When it comes to debates over biblical inspiration, the authorship and the book of Isaiah is one of the more contentious topics. Traditionally, the book in its entirety (66 chapters) was considered to have been entirely written by the prophet Isaiah, who lived in the late 8th century – early 7th century BC. From the 19th century onward, modern critical scholars argued that the book was actually three separate books (chs 1-39, 40-55, 56-66) composed in different eras (the latter sections being written during and after the exile). Consequently scholarly talk about the book of Isaiah speaks of First, Second (“Deutero”), and Third (“Trito”) Isaiah(s). Many evangelical scholars continue to reject this academic consensus, charging that it’s acceptance undermines inspiration, scriptural consistency, and predictive prophecy? Are those charges accurate? On what basis is multiple authorship argued? How do traditional single-author proponents defend their case? We discuss all these issues in this episode of the podacast.

Rooker article (in protected folder accessible by newsletter subscribers)

Mark F. Rooker, “Dating Isaiah 40–66: What Does the Linguistic Evidence Say?” Westminster Theological Journal 58, no. 2 (1996): 303–12