Isaiah

Among the major prophets of the Old Testament, Isaiah was the greatest, both in vision and in eloquence. He was born in Jerusalem about the year 765 B.C. and was active as a prophet of the Lord through the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Isaiah was buried in a place named Aroel (also Rogel), close to the tombs of the kings of Judah, inasmuch as Isaiah was himself of a royal family. His tomb lay near to the passage of water at Siloam which king Hezekiah had at one time stopped up. The Lord God, however, as a sign on behalf of His fallen prophet, caused the spring of water to gush forth once more. In fact, at a moment just before his death, Isaiah prayed for the Lord to send him water to quench his thirst, and God answered him by sending forth fresh running water from the spring of Siloam (which received its name, Sent, from this event). For this reason, the people of Jerusalem laid him to rest in a site near to Siloam, so that by his intercessions the spring might ever run with fresh water.

Isaiah's words and prophetic imagery are used repeatedly in the liturgical texts of the Church, which honors him today as a poet, a seer, and a righteous prophet of the Lord.