From his book we find that he was married (Isaiah 8: 3), that he was the father of two sons who had symbolic names (7: 3 and 8: 3), that he was in a position where he could speak to the kings of his time with authority (7: 3 and 2 Kings 19: 5) about the affairs of the nation and the political situation, that he had a following of disciples (Isaiah 8: 16) and wrote down oracles (30: 8), and that he was a poet.

His call to be a prophet came to him in the Temple (Isaiah 6), but there is no clear evidence in this chapter that he was a priest although this has been suggested as a possibility. His call came to him apparently as sacrifices were being burnt on the altar. From the evidence of his life, he received his call when he was a young man. He was a prophet from about 742 to 690 B.C. during the reigns of Jotham (742-735 B.C.), Ahaz (735-715 B.C.) and Hezekiah (715-687 B.C.). His call came to him in the year that Jotham's father, Uzziah, died and Jotham succeeded him. He was a man of Jerusalem and his prophetic ministry was centred in the city, although he also prophesied about the surrounding nations.