Second Isaiah

Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55)

The sixteen chapters that begin with “Comfort, comfort my people” comprise a complex but thematically continuous piece focusing on Jerusalem’s restoration as the Babylonian era ended. The prophet is self-effacing and barely visible, but certain aspects of the poetry have led some to speculate that it was written by a woman. Positive feminine imagery for God and Zion and a democratizing vision of human leadership combine to support this supposition, along with the absence of gendered language denoting the prophet…