by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
The 4th and last Isaiah Servant Song which identifies the chosen servant of the LORD as the messiah (who also suffers), continues this theme from the verses found in Isaiah 49:7b and 50:6. As we have seen last week, this “suffering messiah” or “suffering servant” figure was also found in non-biblical texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) dating to the Second Temple period. Biblical scholars designate Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 as this final Servant Song. Interestingly, scholars also say that after chapter 53, the singular chosen servant is no longer cited; only “servants” (plural) are collectively mentioned.
Before studying this last Isaiah Servant Song let us review Isaiah 49:7 (from the ESV):
7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers:
In turn, here is Isaiah 50:6 (from the ESV):
6I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
Here is the portion of 4Q491 Manuscript C Frag. 11 Col 1; a version of Hymn 34 of 1QHa of the DSS “Thanksgiving Hymns” (Hodayot) which parallel the Isaiah verses about the suffering servant/messiah:
15... [Wh]o has been considered contemptible like me? Who is comparable to me in my glory? Who of those who sail the seas (?) shall return telling (?) 16[of] my equal? Who has born[e] troubles like me?… (Square brackets surround lost/damaged portions of the scroll. Superscript numbers refer to line number, not verse number, within the column. All translations and conventions from Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr., and Edward Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls A New Translation (HarperCollins, 2005), 169).
Here is the DSS Thanksgiving Hymn 34 Col. 26, line 1 which says:
1[… my abode is in the] holy [congregation.] W[ho is] despised like m[e? Who]… (All translations and conventions from Wise, Abegg Jr. and Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls (HarperCollins, 2005), 203).
Lastly, here is the part of “The Words of Levi,” 4Q541 Frag. 9 Col. 1, which seem as a prelude to the servant’s/messiah’s suffering:
5…They will speak many words against him, and many 6[falsehood]s; they will concoct lies and speak all kinds of slander against him. His generation is evil and perverse;… (All translations and conventions from Wise, Abegg Jr. and Cook, The Dead Sea Scrolls (HarperCollins, 2005), 313).
Let us now take a look at Isaiah 52:13 – 15 (from the ESV):
13Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Below is Isaiah 53:1 – 12 (from the ESV):
1Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Massive volumes of scholarly work, theological treatises and reflections have been produced over the centuries on this last of the 4 Servant songs. The reason is quite obvious. Christians see the suffering of this servant and notice the parallels with the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, Jewish Rabbis who reject the deity and messianic identity of Jesus of Nazareth also produced writings stating their position. Some rabbinical exegetes have posited different identities of this suffering servant. Majority say it is the nation of Israel; while others say it is the righteous remnant of Israel, not the entire nation. Still others identify the prophet Jeremiah as the suffering servant.
Other scholars say Isaiah 53 is about the (assumed suffering and death) of Zerubbabel (since he abruptly drops out of the Biblical accounts of the Temple rebuilding), and Darius of Persia is the chosen servant/messiah of the LORD God (as Cyrus the Great was before). For the authors of the sectarian documents found in the DSS, their Teacher of Righteousness could fit the description.
The debate goes on over the servant’s identity in Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 and we shall cover some aspects of the competing views.
For one, our study of the other 3 Isaiah Servant Songs seem to indicate that Israel, as a nation, alone cannot be both the servant and the sufferer at the same time. Thus, one can say that 2 different servants are really spoken of. Indisputably, Israel is one servant as there are so many Isaiah verses that say this explicitly. It is the other servant’s identity which is up for discussion. Perhaps, it is the (preserved) faithful remnant of Israel. Perhaps it is the prophet Jeremiah, as his travails as a prophet when Jerusalem was about to meet its doom in the hands of the Babylonians have led some scholars and rabbis to propose him as the suffering servant. Jeremiah’s words certainly resonate with and parallel those of Isaiah’s suffering servant. But for many Christians and Messianic Jews (who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah), who have studied and reflected on these verses; the suffering servant is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Could it be that there were multiple levels of fulfillment of Isaiah’s suffering servant prophecies? And could these different fulfillments span different historical times in the history of salvation for both Israel and the nations? Can more than one candidate only partially fulfill Isaiah’s prophecies or does only one unique servant fulfill all these prophecies?
We will continue next week.
God bless us all.