Premillennial work, holds to the single authorship of Isaiah; holds to a double reference view of Immanuel in 7:14-16. Thoughtful insights and careful exegesis throughout. Semi-technical, but well within reach of a literate reader. He brings out a great deal of literary analysis and Hebrew nuggets. This particular volume is a "must have" because of the excellent commentaries of Isaiah and Jeremiah (by Feinberg). Both authors did the Christian world a real service in their splendid treatments of these major prophets. Not all volumes in this Expositor's Bible Commentary series are that good. This one, however, is really outstanding. Pros: Sound hermeneutics, premillennial, has many interesting literary and Hebrew insights Cons: slightly detailed, much material to read for the average person. Some material is presented at a semi-technical level.

Leupold. H. C. Exposition of Isaiah. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968, 1971. (Currently in a single volume.)

Leupold was a conservative Lutheran pastor and a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament. His treatment of Isaiah is conservative and amillennial in approach. He holds to single authorship of the book. He interprets non-literally the many references dealing with the regathering of the Jews at the end of the age and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple. This work does explain the major features of each chapter in a clear and engaging way, slightly technical to please the scholarly-minded, but not ponderous in detail or footnotes. He is especially helpful in his treatment of the messianic prophecies and in bringing out the historical background of the book. His treatment of chapters 6-9 and 40 are particularly worthwhile. It is chiefly on eschatology and his hermeneutics of future prophecy that I part with his interpretation. Other than this, Leupold is a must-read for every serious student of the book of Isaiah. Pros: Conservative, literally sound, especially good on Messianic and historical passages Cons: Amillennial, denies references to future ethnic Israel, less interaction with the Hebrew text that Grogan, Unger, or Wolf.

Martin, John A. "Isaiah," in Bible Knowledge Commentary. Grand Rapids: Victor, 1986.

Martin, a professor of Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary, has written the commentary on "Isaiah" for this seminary's one-volume commentary on the Old Testament. It is more brief than Grogan, Leupold, or Wolf, but he captures the gist of what is going on in the book of Isaiah. He is premillennial and pretribulational in approach. He offers many choice insights based on Hebrew words, the structure of the book, and sound hermeneutical principles. Pros: Very helpful--without getting bogged down in technical details, premillennial, pretribulational Cons: Brief in places.

Oswalt, John N. The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 1-39. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986. [The author has recently finished his commentary on the second portion of the book.]

This book is semi-technical, and fairly detailed, with many footnotes and scholarly references cited. This book is a good addition to a person's collection of books on Isaiah, but it shouldn't be the only one.

Unger, Merrill F. Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Chicago: Moody, 1981. (very hard to find anywhere except in libraries today)

Unger was a professor of semitics and Old Testament at Dallas Theological Seminary for many years. I believe this set to be the best commentary set on the Old Testament ever written. It went out of print a few years after it was published, and existing copies are scant. It can be found in some libraries, however. The book is the richest supply of nuggets on the Old Testament that can be found. Insights abound regarding the Hebrew language, history, culture, cross references, and typology. Some of his outlines are particularly outstanding--such as the one on the book of Isaiah. Pros: Inexhaustible fund of insights, excellent outlines, well written, clear, concise, to the point Cons: Sometimes places an overemphasis on ethnic Israel, out-of-print, and used copies are generally unavailable--it can only be found in libraries.

Wolf, Herbert M. Interpreting Isaiah. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1985.

Wolf is a professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College. His book is an especially clear and enjoyable presentation of Isaiah. The author included a wealth of background knowledge at the beginning of the book, and the appendices contain many helpful topical summaries. The book presents many insights based on Hebrew, but does it in a very non-technical way. This book is especially good for its discussion of hermeneutical elements of the book of Isaiah. Pros: Conservative, very readable (and enjoyable for the average person), much historical, preparatory and background material, a listing of many themes developed in Isaiah (he presents material here that you can't find anywhere else), premillennial, holds to a future for ethnic Israel, hermeneutically and theologically sound Cons: Less detailed, briefer treatment than some serious students of Isaiah might like. Conclusion: I usually recommend this book when people want a single, non-technical commentary on Isaiah.

Youngblood, Ronald, F. The Book of Isaiah. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984.

This book, by a professor of Old Testament at Bethel Theological Seminary in San Diego, is a brief, readable, but surprisingly good treatment of Isaiah's book. The author writes in a clear, readable style, hits all the essential points, and even brings out a number of special insights on certain passages. He shows his knowledge of Hebrew and competence in dealing with this book. Pros: Succinct, readable treatment; holds to single authorship, conservative, premillennial (but post-tribulational), holds to future for ethnic Israel Cons: Brief treatment, less explicit on eschatological passages than Unger, Grogan, or Wolf.

Best single volume commentary for the average person: Wolf

Three best commentaries to buy: (1) Grogan (Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 6), (2) Leupold, (3) Wolf

Best commentary (recently back in print): Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament

Best commentaries at a less-technical level: Martin, Wolf, Youngblood