“Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 & Rabbinic Thoughts”

          52:13. Behold, My servant shall prosper, He shall be exalted and be lifted up, and shall be very high.  14. According as many were appalled at thee---So marred was his visage unlike that of a man, And his form unlike that of the sons of men--- 15. So shall he startle many nations, Kings shall shut their mouths because of him; For that which had not been told them shall they see, And that which they had not heard shall they perceive.

          53:1. ‘Who would have believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2. For he shot up right forth as a sapling, And as a root out of a dry ground; He had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, Nor beauty that we should delight in him. 3. He was despised, and forsaken of men, A man of pains, and acquainted with disease, And as one from whom men hide their face: He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4. Surely our diseases he did bear, and our pains he carried; Whereas we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5. But he was wounded because of our transgressions, he was crushed because of our iniquities; The chastisement of our welfare was upon him, And with his stripes we were healed. 6. All we like sheep did go astray, We turned every one to his own way; And the LORD hath made to light on him The iniquity of us all. 7. He was oppressed though he humbled himself And opened not his mouth; As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb; Yea, he opened not his mouth. 8. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, And with his generation who did reason? For he was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due. 9. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich his tomb; Although he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth.’ 10. Yet it pleased the LORD to crush him by disease; To see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, That he might see his seed, prolong his days, And that the purpose of the LORD might prosper by his hand: 11. Of the travail of his soul he shall see to the full, even My servant, the Righteous One to the many, And their iniquities he did bear. 12. Therefore will I divide him a portion among the great, And he shall divide the spoil with the mighty; Because he bared his soul unto death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet he bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

                                                                                                 ‘Jewish Publication Society’

          52:13. Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. 14. As many were astounded at thee—his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men—15. So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

          53:1. Who hath believed our report?  And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2. For he shall grow up before him like a tender plant, and like a root out of a dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. 6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8. He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.  When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.  12. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.               

                                      ‘Kings James Version’

‘Rabbinic Thoughts on Isaiah 53’

The targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel (2^nd Century), reprinted by Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1953 – titled “The Targum of Isaiah” edited with a translation by J.F. Stenning renders Isaiah 52:13 this way:  “Behold, my servant, Messiah, shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase, and be exceedingly strong.”

The Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b (codified in the 6^th century) says this of Isaiah 53: “The Messiah – what is his name? The Rabbis say, ‘the leprous one:' Those of the house of Rabbi say, ‘the sick one,’ as it is said, ‘surely he hath borne our sickness.’

Rabbi Mosheh el Sheikh, commonly known as Alshech, chief Rabbi of Safed in the 16^th C., in his ‘Commentaries on the Earlier Prophets’ says of Isaiah 53:  “Our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah, and we shall ourselves also adhere to the same view.”

S.R. Driver & Adolf Nebauer, The Suffering Servant of Isaiah According to Jewish Tradition, p.203.  Rabbi Joseph ben Kaspi (A.D. 1280-1340) warned the Rabbis that “those who expounded this section of the Messiah give occasion to the heretics (Christians) to interpret it of Jesus.”  In response to this Rabbi Saadia ibn Danan observed:  “May God forgive him for not having spoken the truth.”

Driver & Nebauer, The Suffering Servant of Isaiah According to Jewish Tradition, p. 114.  Rabbi Moshe Kohen ibn Crispin, of Cordova and afterwards Toledo (14^th Century) in Spain, says:  “Those who for controversial reasons apply the prophecy of the suffering servant to Israel find it impossible to understand the true meaning of this prophecy, having forsaken the knowledge of our teachers, and inclined after the stubbornness of their own opinions.  Their misinterpretation distorts the passage from its natural meaning, for it was given of God as a description of the Messiah, whereby, when any should claim to be the Messiah, to judge by the resemblance or non-resemblance to it whether he were the Messiah or no.”

Crispin also said:  “I am pleased to interpret the passage in accordance with the teaching of our Rabbis of the King Messiah…and adhere to the literal sense.  Thus shall I be free from forced and far-fetched interpretations of which others are guilty.”

He also said:  “This prophecy was delivered by Isaiah at the divine command for the purpose of making known to us something about the nature of the future Messiah, who is to come and deliver Israel…in order that if any should arise claiming to be himself the Messiah, we may reflect and look to see whether we can observe in him any resemblance to the traits described here:  if there is a resemblance, than we may believe that he is the Messiah our Righteous; but if not, we cannot do so.”

Driver & Nebauer, The Suffering Servant of Isaiah According to Jewish Tradition, p. 319.  Rabbi Naphtali Ben Asher Altschuler (late 16^th & early 17^th Centuries) states:  “I am surprised that Rashi and David Kimchi have not, with the Targum, also applied them (vs. 52:13-53:12) to the Messiah.”

A Musaf Service prayer for the Day of Atonement (David Levy, Prayers for the Day of Atonement, 2^nd edition, London, 1807, vol. III, P.37) READS: “Messiah our Righteousness has departed from us.  We shudder; for there is none to justify us.  He bears our load of transgression and the burden of our guilt and is verily pierced for our rebellions.  He carries our guilt (sin) on His shoulder, to effect forgiveness of our sins (For He was wounded for our transgressions).  He bled for our salvation (By His stripes we are healed).  O, Eternal One, the time has come that Thou shouldest create Him anew!  O bring Him up from the terrestrial sphere.  Raise Him up from the land of Seir, to assemble us on Mt. Lebanon, a second time, by the power of Yinnon!:  (From the above prayer it is obvious that the Jewish Rabbi’s believed that the Messiah had already come and were praying that He may come a second time)

Gershom Scholem in “Sabbatai Sevi,” p.53-54, says: “In the Tannaitic period the ‘suffering servant’ passages had occasionally been interpreted as referring to the Messiah, but later Haggadicts as well as the medieval commentators preferred different interpretations.  In order to undermine Christian exegesis, he was interpreted as a figure of Moses, or of Israel, or of the pious in general.  In Jewish – Christian disputations the Jewish spokesman always denied that the passages referred to the Messiah.”

Midrash Rabbah, referring to Ruth 2:14 states: “He is speaking of the King Messiah: ‘Come hither, draw near to the Throne; and eat the bread; that is the bread of the kingdom: and dip thy morsel in vinegar.”  This refers to His chastisements, as it is said; ‘But He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.’

In the Yalkut Shimoni, a later Midrash (Rabinical commentary) it is written, "Who art thou, O great mountain? (Zech. 4:7). This refers to the King Messiah, And why does He call Him "the great mountain?" Because He is greater than the patriarchs. As it is said, "My servant shall be high and lifted up and lofty exceedingly." He will be higher than Abraham, who says, "I raise high my hand unto the Lord" (Gen. 14:22). Lifted up above Moses, to whom it is said, "Lift it up into thy bosom" (Num. 11:12): Loftier than the ministering angels, of whom it is written: "Their wheels were lofty and terrible" (Ezek. 1:18).

The original Messianic interpretation of Isaiah 53 persisted and survives even to the present day, it is preserved in Jewish liturgy for the 'Day of Atonement' (Yom Kippur) in a prayer attributed to Eliezer Ha-Kallir (8th Cen.CE); "We are shrunk up in our misery even until now! Our rock has not come neigh to us: We are in terror, and there is none to justify us! Our iniquities and the yoke of our transgressions he will bear; for he was wounded for our transgressions: he will carry our sins upon his shoulder; that we may find forgiveness for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed. O eternal One, the time has come to make a new creation: from the vault of heaven bring him up, out of Seir draw him forth, that he make make his voice heard to us in Lebanon, a second time by the hand of Yinnon (a rabbinical name of Messiah derived from Psalm 72:17).  From Ha-Kallir's prayer, it is obvious that the Jewish people of that period believed the Messiah had come and were praying that He would come 'a second time.'