"Isaiah 13–23 contains a collection of 'burdens' or pronouncements upon nations of Isaiah’s time. Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus (Syria), Egypt, and others all came under the prophet’s gloomy oracles of judgment. These chapters may seem like a vengeful series of pronouncements, but in context, these burdens provide significant insights into both the ancient and modern worlds.
"In Isaiah 14 the Lord condemned the wickedness of the house of Israel and prophesied that it would be brought into great judgments because of its evils. Generally these judgments were to be carried out by other nations. We could say: 'Granted that Israel was wicked, but even at her worst she was no worse than her heathen neighbors, and often was much better. Why should she be destroyed and the others escape?'
"The Lord showed through these burdens that the world too would be brought to judgment. Here, as in the previous chapters, Isaiah often used dualism to prophesy simultaneously to his own people and to us in modern times. Though chapters 13–23 were given to nine different nations, giving them notice that the divine timetable for their repentance had run out and that they were to reap the judgments of God, each nation was also a symbol of the modern world. You may feel a spirit of doom associated with the condition and future of Babylon and the other nations, but you should also realize that ancient Babylon with its evil and judgment was a shadow and a type of present-day Babylon, or the world. It is to present-day Babylon that Isaiah delivered the sharpest warnings."
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on Isaiah chapters 13-23 in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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"Has someone ever recommended a book to you? Did it make any difference who recommended it? Did the recommendation influence your feelings toward the book? Ponder the following recommendation given the writings of Isaiah: 'And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.' (3 Nephi 23:1). This instruction was given by the Savior to the Nephites, but the commandment to 'search these things diligently' forms a challenge that continues for us today. Isaiah had a wide perspective of God’s workings with His children. He understood the power and principles of the Zion society and saw their application for his day and for the future. While strengthening the spiritual of his own day, he prophesied of the establishment of Zion for those who would be called to carry it out. The first part of his writings contains many references to this great event.
”The book of Isaiah is a compilation of the prophet’s writings, possibly even an abridgment of some of his work. Chapters 1 through 39 deal with the ministry of Isaiah, and chapters 40 through 66 with his visions and revelations of the future. Chronological order is not always adhered to; therefore each chapter should be examined carefully within its own historical context."
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on first twelve chapters of Isaiah in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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"The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are sometimes called the 'wisdom literature.' The sages of the ancient Near East realized the superiority of wisdom over knowledge, for wisdom encompasses knowledge and includes understanding and moral conduct. One was not wise, regardless of his vast learning, if his actions did not comply with his righteous beliefs: 'Like all Hebrew intellectual virtues, wisdom . . . is intensely practical, not theoretical. Basically, wisdom is the art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results. Its seat is the heart, the centre of moral and intellectual decision [see 1 Kings 3:9, 12].' (J. D. Douglas, ed., The New Bible Dictionary, s.v. “wisdom.”)
“'The book of Proverbs in the Old Testament . . . is the best sample of Hebrew "Wisdom Literature" derived apparently from the experiences of the race, epitomized by wise men into brief rules for behavior. The book contains less material accredited to divine revelation and more attributed to human evaluations than the books by the Prophets. As to Solomon’s authorship of proverbs, he is said in I Kings 4:33 to have spoken thousands of them, covering all facets of the relationships of nature, man and God. Whether the extant proverbs in the Bible include all of them, and whether all that are attributed to him are really his would be difficult to tell now. In any case, Proverbs, chapters 1–9 are entitled "Proverbs of Solomon." They are largely in the form of advice from a father to his son, but include also some long poems about wisdom (e.g., chapter 8 , wherein "Wisdom" is personified, and seems to be not an abstraction, but a personality, a member of the Godhead). Chapters 10–22:16 are appropriately entitled "Proverbs of Solomon," for they contain only the formal pithy little poetic couplets that are by definition proverbs proper. From 22:17 to the end of chapter 24 there are a variety of longer admonishments and maxims on matters moral and social. Chapters 25 to 29 also constitute a unit called "Proverbs of Solomon." Chapter 30 is called "The Words of Agur," and chapter 31 "The Words of King Lemuel."'” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, An Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Teachings [1st ed., 1969], 2:45.)
This is the introduction to the notes and commentary on Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the church educational system's institute course on the Old Testament. If you wish to read this, please click on this link.
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