Best Commentaries on Isaiah

The first full one-volume Isaiah commentary in a major evangelical exegetical series in years. Heath Thomas calls it a “magisterial commentary on Isaiah” and “a must-have resource that will inform scholar, student, and minister,” and it was a finalist for a Christianity Today Book Award. McConville treats the book as a unified witness, and though he writes from a broadly evangelical position, this is the most significant recent scholarly option.

Bob Fyall’s treatment of Isaiah anchors this volume, which also covers Jeremiah (Jerry Hwang), Lamentations (Jonathan Gibson), and Ezekiel (Iain Duguid)—four prophets in one volume built for preachers, edited by Duguid, Hamilton, and Sklar.

Motyer has written a couple of commentaries on Isaiah; this is the longer and better of the two and should not be confused with his contribution to the Tyndale Commentary on the Old Testament (though that one is also worth consulting). It is widely regarded as the best, or at least one of the best, commentaries on Isaiah and a must for any theological library. Tremper Longman says, “It represents the best of conservative evangelical approach to the book at the end of the twentieth century” and praises it for being well-researched, well thought-out, and especially helpful in theological matters.

Like Motyler, Oswalt has written multiple volumes on Isaiah. His contribution to the NIVAC is regarded as top-notch but this, his entry in the NICOT, is far more thorough. Keith Mathison says, “The completion of John Oswalt’s commentary on Isaiah in 1998 was a major blessing to the Christian church. This work, which replaced E. J. Young’s older three-volume commentary on Isaiah in the NICOT series, is a model of careful evangelical scholarship. It should be on the desk of every student of the Old Testament.”

While this set is no longer part of the NICOT, it is still regarded as one of the finest commentaries on Isaiah. While the commentators on the commentaries note that Young’s writing can be tedious at times, the volumes are commended for their sound exegesis and their firmly evangelical theology. The volumes are now sold together as a three-book set. The price is a bit on the high side, but it will prove worth the cost, I am sure.

I found many of the experts commending this volume from Grogan. Longman says, “Grogan has produced one of the best short commentaries on the prophet Isaiah” and commends him for being adept at bringing out the theological meaning of the book. He also presents a strong argument for the authorial unity of the book. This one will probably not be necessary if you own the three above.

I always like to include at least one volume written for a general or devotional reader, and in this case, Webb’s is a good fit. Mathison says, “Those who are looking for a brief non-technical commentary on the book of Isaiah would do well to consider the volume by Barry Webb in the Bible Speaks Today series. Although the series does not give the space to go into great detail, Webb makes the most of it and offers very illuminating insight into the text.”