In the earlier chapters of Isaiah the term “servant” (‘eved) refers to various individual persons (e.g. Isaiah himself 20:3, Eliakim son of Hilkiah 22:20, “my servant David” 37:35), or (in the plural, ‘avādîm) groups, e.g. “servants” of King Hezekiah 36:11 [Eliakim, Shebna and Joah], 37:5, or even “servants” of the king of Assyria 36:9; 37:24 [“servants” in 37:6 translates ne‘arîm]). In the later chapters (56-66), the term “servants” is consistently plural (‘avādîm) and consistently refers to the people of Israel (56:6; 63:17; 65:8, 9, 13 [4 times], 14, 15; 66:14), with one possible exception (“my servant Moses” 63:11 NRSV corrected from the Hebrew “my people” note d, following a suggestion in BHS with a few mss. and the Syriac version, cf. v. 12).
But there has been extensive discussion of this term in chapters forty to fifty-five–a section which many refer to as “Second Isaiah”–with conflicting and controversial results. Frequently in this section, the term “servant” (‘eved) in the singular form (not plural) refers to the nation of Israel, or a faithful remnant of Israel, which is addressed or referred to as “Israel, my servant” (Isa. 41:8), “Jacob my servant” (44:1, 2), “my servant Jacob” (45:4), “his servant Jacob” (48:20), “the servant of the LORD” (42:19), “my servant” (41:9; 42:19; 43:10; 44:21 [twice]). One similar reference is plural, “This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD” (54:17).
But the controversy centers on four passages known as the “Servant Songs,” which are indicated in the following table, which presents the “servant” references to Israel (above) on the left, and the “Servant Songs” on the right.
“Servant” (‘eved) in Isaiah 40-55, NRSV) |
|
Israel as the LORD’s Servant |
The Servant of the “Servant Songs” |
8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; (41:8-9) |
42:1-4 † (1-9 ‡) 42 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. (42:1)) |
19 Who is blind but my servant, or deaf like my messenger whom I send? Who is blind like my dedicated one, or blind like the servant of the LORD? (42:19 |
|
10 You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. (43:10) |
|
1 But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! 2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you: Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. (44:1-2) |
49:1-6 † (49:1-6, cf. 7-12 ‡) 3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." (49:3) 5 And now the LORD says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, (49:5a, b, c, d) "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (49:6) |
21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you, you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. (44:21) |
|
26 who confirms the word of his servant, and fulfills the prediction of his messengers; (44:26a, b), [of the prophet] |
|
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, (45:4) |
|
20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it forth to the end of the earth; say, "The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!" (48:20) |
50:4-11 † (50:1-9 [followed by transition, vv. 10-11, and comment on the servant’s words, 51:1-8 ‡) 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the name of the LORD and relies upon his God? (50:10) |
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, says the LORD. (54:17) |
52:13-53:12 † ‡ 13 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. (52:13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities (53:11c, d). |
† The “Servant Songs” as identified by William R. Gold and William L. Holladay, NOAB, 3rd ed., on Isaiah 42:1-4. ‡ The “Servant Songs” as identified by John N. Oswalt, Isaiah, The NIV Application Commentary, pp. 469-470 (#1), 546-548 (#2), 562-563 (#3), 581-587 (#4). |
|
It is clear that the traditional Christian interpretation of these “Servant Songs” understands them as messianic, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. They are the Old Testament readings of the Sunday lectionary for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Good Friday of Holy Week for each year in the three-year cycle (Year A, Year B and Year C, cf. the Book of Common Prayer, pp. 892-893, 903-904, 914). The fourth (Isa. 52:13-53:12) does not appear in the two-year cycle of the Daily Office Lectionary, but it does appear in the Daily Lectionaries of the Presbyterian and Lutheran Books of Worship, Wednesday in the week of the Sunday between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3 inclusive, Year One). But the others appear in January of Year one: Isaiah 42:(1-9) 10-17 (Friday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany); Isaiah 49:1-12 (Wednesday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany), and 50:1-11 (Friday in the week of the Third Sunday after the Epiphany).
A Jewish Interpretation
As one might expect, the traditional Jewish understanding of these songs, and in particular, of the fourth about the “Suffering Servant” (Isa. 52:13-53:12) differs from the Christian understanding. Benjamin D. Sommer, in comments on the first servant passage (42:1-9), says:
The identification of the servant in these vv. is hotly debated. Possibilities include Cyrus (according to Saadia Gaon), the prophet himself (so Ibn Ezra), the Messiah (so Targum and Radak), and the Israelite nation as a whole (so Septuagint and Rashi). . . .The term ‘servant’ in most other passages in chs 40-66 clearly refers to the nation Israel or to the faithful within Israel, and that is the most likely explanation here as well. This passage borrows vocabulary and ideas from both ch 11 and Jer. 31:31-36. Like those passages, this text looks forward to the ideal world of the future, in which justice will reign and the covenant between Israel and God will be observed perfectly. The servant in this passage is parallel to, though not identical with, the ideal Davidic king described in ch 11; promises made to the king there are transferred to the whole nation here. (The Jewish Study Bible, p. 867 on Isa. 42:1-9.
Of the second “Servant Song” (49:1-6), Sommer says,
The servant speaks to the nations of the wold as well as the Israelites. The identify of the servant has generated much debate. Most rabbinic commentators and some modern scholars argue that Deutero-Isaiah speaks here in the first person and that these vv. Describe the prophet’s own mission. Others argue that the whole nation Israel is the servant, and some suggest than an ideal Israel or a faithful subset of the nation is the servant. (p. 883 on Isa. 49:1-13).
Sommer compares the third “Servant Song” (50:4-11) to the second: “As in 49:1-6, Deutero-Isaiah speaks in the first person. By doing so the prophet sets a model that the nation as a whole should follow, since the whole nation has a prophetic role to the world at large” (p. 886 on Isa. 50:4-11). Sommer calls the fourth “Servant Song” (52:13-53:12) “one of the most difficult and contested passages in the Bible. . . . Many argue,” he says,
that the servant symbolizes the entire Jewish people. The passage, then, describes the nation’s unjust tribulations at the hands of the Babylonians (and later oppressors) as well as the nation’s salvific role for the world at large. Others maintain that the passage describes a pious minority within the Jewish people; this minority suffers as a result of the sins committed by the nation at large. . . . Other scholars argue that the servant in this passage is a specific individual . . . Targum and various midrashim identify the servant as the Messiah, but this suggestion is unlikely, since nowhere else does Deutero-Isaiah refer to the Messiah, and the absence of a belief in an individual Messiah is one of the hallmarks of Deutero-Isaiah’s outlook (in contrast to that of first Isaiah). (Pp. 890-891 on Isa. 52:13-53:12)
Sommers cites other interpretations of the person described here, for example, Jeremiah (by Saadia Gaon), and Moses (the Talmud, b. Sot. 142). He notes that while “Christians have argued that this passage in fact predicts the coming of Jesus,” this interpretation has been resisted by “Medieval rabbinic commentators [who] devoted considerable attention to refuting this interpretation” (p. 891).
A (Traditional) Christian Interpretation
John N. Oswalt says the following about the servant in the first “Servant Song” (Isa. 42:1-9):
The identity of this ‘servant’ [in 42:1-9] has been the source of endless controversy. The differences between him and the servant Israel are striking. The servant Israel is fearful and blind, yet God loves him and will deliver him so that he can be God’s evidence to the nations that he is indeed God. But this Servant . . . is of a different sort. He is always obedient and responsive to God, his mission is to bring justice to the nations for God, and he is to be a ‘light’ to the nations and a ‘covenant’ to the people (of Israel, see 49:6). In contrast to the promises of divine blessing constantly being given to the servant Israel, this servant receives no benefits through his ministry but only increasing difficulty. In sum, whoever this is, it is not the nation of Israel; it is another figure altogether. (John Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary, p. 470, on Isa. 42:1-9)
This distinction between Israel herself and the servant seems to be contradicted in the second “Servant Song” (Isa. 49:1-6), which includes the statement, “And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, / Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (v. 3). But, as noted by Joseph Blenkinsopp, “Israel, the word, [is] absent from some Heb. manuscripts, [and] is probably a gloss [i.e. scribal note]” (NOAB, 3rd ed., on Isa. 49:3; cf. BHS). Aware of this textual issue, Oswalt interprets the song.
The first revelation is one of call and confidence. The Servant has no doubt of his call (49:1), his divine enablement (49:2-3, or his ultimate vindication (49:4). He has been called from the womb, so his vocation is no secondary thing. Furthermore, he is perfectly suited for whatever task God may have for him. Like a ‘sharpened sword’ or a ‘polished arrow’ he will accomplish exactly what God wants at the appointed time. There is no hint of blindness or rebellion in this Servant. Even though his servanthood seems futile (the first emergence of a theme that will grow in 50:4-9 and 52:13-53:12), he knows that God will not fail him.
The contrast with the nation is obvious here. But if that is so, why is the Servant specifically named ‘Israel’ in 49:3? . . . In general, there are three options. The passage is referring to the nation, to the prophet, or to some ideal Israel. As I have said, the descriptions here do not match what is said of Israel, and if there is any further question, 49:5-6 seals the issue. Israel cannot be the agent to restore Israel to God. As far as this person being the prophet himself, the language is far too sweeping to be applied to any ordinary human. This leaves only the third option . . . The Messiah will be ‘Israel’ as Israel was meant to be. He will display the Lord’s ‘splendor’ (49:3) as an obedient Israel might have d9one, and in so doing he will be the One ‘who restores the tribes of Jacob’ to the Lord. (op. cit., p. 547, on Isa. 49:1-6)
As one might imagine, Oswalt continues with similar Christian interpretations of the Servant of Isaiah 50:4-9 (pp. 562-563) and 52:13-53:12 (pp. 581-587) as referring to Jesus as the Messiah.