"Isaiah is generally regarded as the greatest of all the prophetic books of the Bible" (Podhoretz 2000 32). However, there are a number of investigations concerning this powerful book that deserve to be addressed. First of all, there is controversy about who EXACTLY wrote the book and when it was written. And, secondly, some critics complain that there are a number of "misrepresentations" to which the text has been subjected by three different groups to whom Isaiah is a special favorite: Reform Jews, political liberals, and Christians.
Among the controversies is the belief that "Two different people wrote what is today known as Isaiah (called Deutero-Isaiah)" (Hoh 2000 1). Another critic writes that "The book of the Bible that has become the source of the most controversy between our two religions is the book of Isaiah" (Git 2002 2). She refers to the fact that most Isaiah translations do not accept the idea of a Virgin birth. It seems that the Hebrew word for virgin is "betulah" while the Book of Isaiah refers to "alma" which merely indicates a young woman.
There is also the controversy about the fact that some believe Isaiah was actually predicting, if not actually having knowledge of the Messiah. The Christians, of course, believe that Christ was that Messiah, while Jews claim the Messiah of the Bible is yet to appear.
To some, Verse 53 seems to indicate this acknowledgment of Christ, because it speaks of "an outstanding Servant of the Lord whose visage is marred and is afflicted and stricken. He has not deserved any pain or wounds, but was wounded through our transgressions" (Frydman 2001 2). This, to some Biblical scholars seems to indicate that Isaiah and others of his circle either foresaw, or (whoever was the other writer of the book) knew of, or was acquainted with Jesus. One rationale given for this assumption is that the book was actually written much later than at first believed, and that the la...