For the Strength of Youth
What do we know about the prophet Isaiah?
For the Strength of Youth September 2026


To the Point

What do we know about the prophet Isaiah?

Isaiah

Here are a few things we know about the prophet Isaiah:

  • His name in Hebrew means “the Lord is salvation.”

  • He began prophesying around 740 B.C. and continued for anywhere from 40 to 64 years.

  • He prophesied during the reigns of four kings of Judah (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah).

  • He was the chief adviser to King Hezekiah, who was righteous.

  • He saw the Lord in a vision (see Isaiah 6).

  • His prophecies refer to his own day and the times just beyond, Jesus Christ’s day, the latter days and the Restoration, and the Second Coming and Millennium.

  • He wrote his prophesies using poetic language and forms.

  • Tradition says he died by being sawn in two during the reign of King Manasseh.

  • Copies of the book of Isaiah are among the oldest existing Old Testament manuscripts.

  • In the scriptures, he is quoted more often than any other prophet.

  • Jesus Christ told the Nephites, “Great are the words of Isaiah” (3 Nephi 23:1), and that everything Isaiah prophesied had been or would be fulfilled (see 3 Nephi 23:3).