Isaiah is often thought of as the greatest of the writing prophets. Isaiah, whose name means "The Lord saves," lived in Jerusalem during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
When King Sennacherib's Assyrian army threatened Jerusalem, King Hezekiah prayed earnestly, and the threat was removed (37:6-7). Jerusalem was later attacked and destroyed by the Babylonians. Cyrus the Persian, who would later unite the Medes and Persians, conquered Babylon in 539 (41:2). In 538, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to return home. This deliverance is a preview the great salvation from sin through Christ (52:7).
