The Book of Daniel is one of the later books of the Bible, and perhaps the latest of them. Its composition reaches up to Antiochus IV Epiphanes' persecution of the Jews and ends even before the liberation of Jerusalem and the purification of the Temple. The book is bilingual, written in Aramaic and Hebrew, and was written in the Hellenistic period in two different places: Babylon and the Land of Israel. Chapter 1, written in Hebrew, serves as an introduction to chapters 2-6, which are in Aramaic. The stories in these chapters are about Jewish courtiers in Babylon who manage to maintain their faith and the customs of the ancestors, even when their lives are threatened. They are then saved from the hands of their persecutors, and even rise to greatness in the courts of foreign kings. These chapters are intended to encourage Jews in the Diaspora to maintain their faith. Chapters 7-12 have a completely different tone. Chapter 7 is written in Aramaic and links the two parts of the book. Chapters 8-12 are in Hebrew. These chapters are visions that Daniel had, but required an angel in order to interpret and understand them. These visions are an interpretation of global and local historical events and their vicissitudes, which both occurred during the author's lifetime and are yet to occur in his future. The chapters written in Aramaic are translated into Hebrew, and appear facing the Aramaic text. This is the only book in the Bible that touches upon the resurrection of the dead, among other things. A special appendix is added, which surveys the development of the idea of the remaining soul and the resurrection of the dead.

The anonymous prophet called Second Isaiah prophesied in the mid-sixth century BCE, toward the end of the Babylonian exile and the early return of the nation to Israel some 150 years after the prophecies of Isaiah ben Amoz (First Isaiah). Abraham ibn Ezra was the first to note that certain prophecies in chapters 40–66 should be attributed to a later prophet, and this insight was subsequently confirmed by modern scholarship on the basis of historical and linguistic criteria. Second Isaiah’s earlier prophecies, delivered in Babylonia, are distinguished by a series of distinctive traits: emphatic affirmation of the uniqueness and incomparability of the God of Israel; universalism; sharp polemics against idols and their craftsmen; the announcement of the appearance of Cyrus, who executed the conquest of Babylonia and the liberation of the nation so they could return to Israel and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple; the wanderings on their return through the desert; the “eternal covenant,” once promised to David, was now extended to all of Israel; and the four “servant” songs. Second Isaiah’s latter prophecies, delivered in Jerusalem, describe the ideal future glory and centrality of Judaism while also referring to the practice of foreign cults and the schism within the nation between those faithful to the God of Israel and those who have forsaken Him. This two-volume Hebrew commentary of Second Isaiah (chapters 40–48 and 49–66, respectively), written by Professor Emeritus Shalom Paul, former Chair of the Bible Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, examines the above-mentioned topics through a close reading of the text, offering an in-depth exegesis of the historical, linguistic, literary, ideological, and theological aspects of the prophet’s writings. The intertextual influences drawn from earlier Biblical and extra-Biblical literature, primarily Akkadian and Ugaritic, shed light on many of the themes, verses, and words in the prophecies and render this work fascinating and unique. Paul’s verse-by-verse commentary and synthesis make ample use of modern critical scholarship and also draws on the rich legacy of the medieval Jewish commentators. This comprehensive work is invaluable for students, scholars, and lay readers interested in broadening their understanding of Second Isaiah’s message during these momentous episodes in the nation’s history.