Theservant songs (also called theservant poems or theSongs of the Suffering Servant) are foursongs in theBook of Isaiah in theHebrew Bible, which includeIsaiah 42:1–4;Isaiah 49:1–6;Isaiah 50:4–11; andIsaiah 52:13–53:12. The songs are fourpoems written about a certain "servant ofYHWH" (Hebrew:עבד יהוה,‘eḇeḏ Yahweh). Yahweh calls the servant to lead the nations, but the servant is horribly abused by them. In the end, he is rewarded.
Some scholars regardIsaiah 61:1–3 as a fifth servant song, although the word "servant" (Hebrew:עבד,‘eḇeḏ) is not mentioned in the passage.[1] This fifth song is largely disregarded by modern scholars; without it, all four fall within Deutero-Isaiah, the middle part of the book, which some believe to be the work of an anonymous 6th-century BCE author writing during theBabylonian Exile. The five songs were first identified byBernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah.[2]
The Self-Glorification Hymn fromDead Sea Scrolls asserts, from the first-person narrative, a messianic human who has been exalted into heaven with a status above the angels. This figure rhetorically asks "Who bears all griefs as I do? And who suffers evil like me? Who has been despised on my account?" to imply that he has been despised unlike anyone before, modelling himself on the suffering servant from Isaiah's servant songs.[3]
Rabbinic Judaism sees this passage, especially "God's Suffering Servant" as a reference to the Jewish nation, not to the kingMashiach. Jewish teaching also takes note of the historical context in which God's Suffering Servant appears, particularly because it speaks in the past tense. The Jewish nation has borne unspeakable injustices, underAssyria,Babylonia,Ancient Greece, ancientRome, which are all gone, and bears persecution to this day.[4]
Jewish scripture in Isaiah speaks in the light,[clarification needed] when it says:
See alsoRamban in hisdisputation.
The modern Jewish interpretation ofIsaiah 52:13 throughIsaiah 53:12 describes the servant of the LORD[6] as theNation of Israel itself: "My servant..." (Isaiah 53:11), "... a man of pains and accustomed to illness ... " (Isaiah 53:3). "The theme of Isaiah is jubilation, a song of celebration at the imminent end of theBabylonian Captivity".[7]
Christians traditionally see the servant asJesus Christ.[8] The songs are quoted to and applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament, as described in following sections. Another Christian interpretation combines aspects of the traditional Christian and the Jewish interpretation. This position sees the servant as an example of 'corporate personality', where an individual can represent a group, and vice versa. Thus, in this case, the servant corresponds to Israel, yet at the same time corresponds to an individual (that is, theMessiah) who represents Israel.[9]
The first poem has God speaking of his selection of the servant who will bring justice to earth. Here the servant is described as God's agent of justice, a king who brings justice in both royal and prophetic roles, yet justice is established neither by proclamation nor by force. He does not ecstatically announce salvation in the marketplace as prophets were bound to do, but instead moves quietly and confidently to establish right religion (Isaiah 42:1-4).
The first four verses are quoted inMatthew's gospel,[10] where it is said that the prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus' withdrawal from the cities ofGalilee and his request that the crowds do not make him known.
The second poem, written from the servant's point of view, is an account of his prenatal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The servant is now portrayed as theprophet of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. Yet, anticipating the fourth song, he is without success. Taken with the picture of the servant in the first song, his success will come not by political or military action, but by becoming a light to thegentiles. Ultimately his victory is in God's hands.Isaiah 49:1-6.Isaiah 49:6 is quoted by Simeon inLuke 2:32 concerning the infant Jesus Christ during the time of His mother Mary's purification.
The third poem has a darker yet more confident tone than the others. Although the song gives a first-person description of how the servant was beaten and abused, here the servant is described both as teacher and learner who follows the path God places him on without pulling back. Echoing the first song's "a bruised reed he will not break," he sustains the weary with a word. His vindication is left in God's hands.Isaiah 50:4-9Isaiah 50:4–7 is seen by New Testament commentators to be a Messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ. 50:6 is quoted in Handel's "Messiah" of Jesus. There is an allusion in Luke 9:51 to Isaiah 50:7 ("Therefore I have set my face like a flint"), as Jesus "set His face steadfastly" to go to Jerusalem.
The fourth of the servant songs begins at Isaiah 52:13, continuing through 53:12 where it continues the discussion of the suffering servant.[11]
Christians consider this song to be clearly amessianic prophecy of Jesus as do the gospels themselves. Jesus quoted one sentence in Isaiah 53:12 of this 4th servant song as referring to himself in Luke 22:37, and the New Testament cites it as referring to Jesus Christ in Matthew 8:17, Mark 15:28, John 12:38, Acts 8:32–33, Romans 10:16, 15:21 and 1 Peter 2:22.[12]Methodist founderJohn Wesley suggested that it is "so evident" that "it is Christ who is here spoken of".[13]
The Servant has moved from being a king in the first song to being someone who is bearing, and being punished, for the sins of others. Christians understand this as referring to the whole of humanity, as is shown in1 Peter 2:22–25,Romans 5:5–8,Hebrews 9 and elsewhere. He has no descendants (53:8), was killed (53:8,9). Posthumously, then, the Servant is vindicated by God (53:10-12), with an allusion to resurrection (53:11,12).
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