Isaiah 34–66 (Rev. ed.)

As another reviewer states, this commentary is a bad apple among the Word Biblical Commentaries, and does not hold true to the stated purpose of the series. This authors divergent views have won no support among either conservative or liberal scholars, since they are simply completely unfounded. To summarize, Watts takes a novel idea — that the book of Isaiah is actually some sort dramatic play — and instead of passing over this thought and moving on to real scholarship, he chooses to make this the basis for his entire interpretation of the book. This book is a great example of why the wise student should not blindly purchase an entire commentary set, but rather handpick the best volumes from each series.

I'm reading and studying through Isaiah for the second time in ministry. WBC is a wonderful set but this commentary is a bad apple. It is the worst of contemporary scholarship- unique views which do not fit the text; flash without substance; and pushing the text to fit pre-conceived ideas of setting and structure. Strengths- Some detailed grammatical points and Hebrew study with own translation. Weaknesses- Confused authorship, pushing Isaiah to be a drama in structure, lack of building on other commentaries and scholars, and converting almost the entire 40-66 section to be speaking about Darius primarily.

His unique approach to Isaiah as drama has not won much support. Evangelical. [Full Review]